"Heh, explain? What's there left to explain?" Ning Zhiyuan's face was filled with mockery, his cold demeanor making Huo Mian extremely uncomfortable.
It was as if this wasn't Ning Zhiyuan, the gentle and considerate boy she had dated for three years.
Overnight, he had changed so much.
"Zhiyuan, we've been together for three years. Don't you understand me?"
Ning Zhiyuan looked up at Huo Mian's face and smiled. "I really don't understand you, Goddess Huo. If it weren't for last night, I really would have thought you were a pure fairy, pampered and doted upon in my palm. Who would have thought... that the goddess in my heart, seven years ago, was... slept with by someone else? How old were you then, 18? Huo Mian, I realize now how shameless you truly are. No wonder I wondered why you'd be with me. Turns out I picked up someone else's worn-out—old shoes."
Ning Zhiyuan emphasized "old shoes" deliberately.
Even the nurse He Man nearby showed a surprised expression, looking at Huo Mian as if in disbelief.
Facing Ning Zhiyuan's harsh words, Huo Mian wasn't too sad, just a little heartbroken.
Such vulgar words, coming from a man who usually seemed so gentle.
Huo Mian looked at Ning Zhiyuan with some disappointment and slowly began, "Zhiyuan, everyone has a past. That's ancient history now. Qin Chu and I..."
"Shut up! Don't show off your ex-boyfriend to me anymore. I'm disgusted by him. What's so great about him? Is driving a fancy Audi R8 impressive? If you like him so much, then go reconcile with him. Don't come looking for me again."
"Zhiyuan, you might not be calm enough right now. I know you're very angry, and decisions made in anger often aren't truly what one intends. So, you calm down properly, and I'll talk to you again later."
After saying this, Huo Mian turned and left.
Ning Zhiyuan felt somewhat agitated.
He had pursued Huo Mian for three whole years, causing a sensation throughout the entire medical college. He truly loved her.
But he couldn't accept that his fiancée had such a disgraceful past.
Moreover, that ex-boyfriend even came to provoke him, claiming he had kissed her just yesterday.
It was important to remember that they had dated for so long and had never slept together. Now that he knew so much, he definitely felt uncomfortable.
"Dr. Ning, I didn't realize Huo Mian was such a frivolous woman. What a shame," He Man murmured softly.
"What's a shame?" Ning Zhiyuan frowned slightly.
"It's a shame for a good man like you, of course. Many nurses in our hospital say Dr. Ning is excellent," He Man said, her eyes curving into a smile.
Ning Zhiyuan quirked his lips.
Indeed, Ning Zhiyuan was handsome, with delicate features, somewhat like a male lead in a K-drama. In a large hospital like this, most attending doctors were middle-aged men in their forties or older. A young doctor, occasionally, was naturally very sought after.
Other nurses had confessed to him before, but because his heart was only for Huo Mian, and they were buying a house and planning to marry, he hadn't dared to think too much about it.
Now that this situation had arisen, he really needed to think things through.
"Is that so? So I'm that popular?" Ning Zhiyuan smiled.
"Of course."
Just as He Man finished saying "of course," Ning Zhiyuan suddenly lowered his head, leaned close to He Man's lips, and asked, "Then... does that include you?"
He Man's eyes curved into a crescent moon as she smiled, then provocatively replied, "Guess?"
In the ophthalmology clinic, Ning Zhiyuan flirted with the young nurse.
Over in the obstetrics and gynecology department, Huo Mian was distracted and out of sorts, unable to focus on work.
"Huo Mian, how many times have I called you?" the head nurse snapped.
"Yes, Head Nurse."
"I asked you to get me some new anti-smog masks. Are you deaf?"
"Yes, I'm going to get them now."
"Sister Huo, what's wrong? Are you troubled? Do you want to take time off? You seem to be in a daze." Huang Yue, a new nurse, asked caringly.
Huo Mian shook her head wearily.
All day, she had been restless, and frustratingly, it wasn't because of the cold war with Ning Zhiyuan.
Instead, she kept thinking about that man she shouldn't be thinking about.
Had he really come back? Everything last night wasn't a dream, was it?
She remained in a daze until quitting time. Huo Mian changed out of her white nurse's uniform, put on a light blue long dress, and walked out, carrying her bag.
Just then, she saw Ning Zhiyuan's white Chevrolet Cruze parked at the entrance.
He had just picked it up last month. Since they planned to marry, Ning Zhiyuan's parents contributed some money, and they added their own salaries, totaling over a hundred thousand yuan. It was quite a nice car.
The license plate, 0510, was Ning Zhiyuan's birthday, so it had to be his car.
Was he parked there waiting for her?
Just as Huo Mian was about to walk over and ask, she saw He Man, wearing a super short skirt, quickly open the car door and sit in the passenger seat.
Then, the car drove away.
Huo Mian's eyes slowly dimmed. She calmly took out her phone and called him.
"What is it?" Ning Zhiyuan sounded a bit impatient on the other end.
"Are you off work? I wanted to ride with you."
"Not yet, I have another surgery, I'll be working overtime. You go back first. Don't call me for no reason, that's all."
With that, Ning Zhiyuan hung up.
Huo Mian gave a mocking smile. She already understood why Ning Zhiyuan was lying; it seemed he wanted to get back at her.
But this kind of tactic was truly distasteful.
Huo Mian suddenly felt that the ordinary man she had dated for three years was not ordinary at all.
She looked up at the sky, finding it overcast, just like her mood.
Just then, Zhu Lingling called.
"Xiao Mian, are you off work?"
"Mm."
"Come to my place. I'm off today and made some delicious food for you, braised pig trotters!"
"Perfect, I'm starving. Wait for me." Hanging up the phone, Huo Mian hailed a taxi and went directly to Zhu Lingling's house.
Zhu Lingling's parents lived in the county town. To make commuting to work easier, she rented a cozy apartment near the airport.
Huo Mian often came to freeload on meals. It seemed that besides home and the hospital, this was her only other place to go.
After the pig trotters were ready and served, before Huo Mian could even eat, Zhu Lingling began her barrage of questions about yesterday's events.
Unable to resist her persistence, Huo Mian reluctantly recounted everything.
Of course, she omitted the more violent details like the forced kiss, focusing on the less sensitive parts.
"So, that's what happened, Miss Zhu Lingling, please give your review."
Huo Mian pursed her lips, looking obediently at Zhu Lingling with her sparkling, adorable big eyes.
"Oh my god, how exciting! So you're saying that aloof Qin Chu proposed to you yesterday?" Zhu Lingling asked, surprised.
"Big sister, please, that's not the point, okay? The point is Zhiyuan doesn't believe me and wants to break up with me..." Huo Mian protested.
"Xiao Mian, tell me honestly, do you still love Qin Chu?" Zhu Lingling asked seriously.
Hearing this, Huo Mian paused slightly.