Ye Fei glanced at the caller ID and saw an unfamiliar number. But he recognized the area code—it was from the military district in Wang Hai City.
He figured it must be Zhang Qiang or Li Yun calling about something, though he had no idea what it could be.
Curious, Ye Fei picked up the call. Before he could say anything, a pleasant female voice came through: "Ye Fei? You’re really hard to track down. I had to go through a lot of trouble to get your number."
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Ye Fei had expected it to be one of the guys from the special forces team, so he was surprised to hear it was Dongfang Ruolan. He immediately recognized her voice, but he still blurted out, "Auntie Ruolan?"
"Of course it’s me! Can’t you even recognize my voice?" she said, sounding a bit annoyed.
What Ye Fei didn’t know was that her heart was racing.
Ever since that awkward encounter with him, she couldn’t seem to stay calm around him.
Sometimes she even found herself thinking back to how his touch had sent tingles through her chest, which made her feel really flustered.
That’s why she snapped at him a bit, just to cover up her own nervousness.
Ye Fei chuckled nervously. He wasn’t about to explain why he’d asked that. Instead, he said, "No way, Auntie Ruolan! You’re someone I think about all the time. Of course I’d recognize your voice. It’s just that my phone is kind of crappy and it changes the sound a bit."
He meant it as a joke, just to cover up his initial slip-up and maybe make her laugh.
But to her, it sounded like something more. She was already on edge, and hearing that almost made her drop the phone. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
But then she remembered she had something really important to talk to him about, so she forced herself to calm down and said, "Alright, never mind that. Can you come over here for a bit?"
"Sure thing! I’ve been missing you since we last met. I’ll be right there!"
Ye Fei replied, still clueless about how his words had affected her.
Her heart skipped a beat again.
She quickly cut him off, saying, "Alright, just come straight to my office."
Without waiting for his response, she hung up.
After hanging up, Ruolan’s face turned bright red. She clutched her chest, which was pounding fiercely.
She felt a mix of emotions.
On one hand, she loved that fluttering feeling in her heart that she’d only felt since her last encounter with Ye Fei.
On the other hand, she was terrified. He was more than a decade younger than her, and worst of all, he was the son of her best friend.
If she ever lost control of her feelings, how would she face Liu Yiru?
Meanwhile, Ye Fei was puzzled by the sudden end of the call. He didn’t dwell on it too long, though. He’d see her in a bit and could ask her about it then.
"Hmph, smooth talker. Who are you trying to charm now?"
Xiao Hanyue and Lin Ling had overheard the whole conversation.
Xiao Hanyue just smiled warmly at Ye Fei, who was about the same age as her daughter but made her heart race all the same. Lin Ling, however, pouted and grumbled, "Who do you think you’re fooling?"
Ye Fei chuckled and pinched Lin Ling’s pouting lips, teasing, "Jealous, my dear?"
Lin Ling’s heart had changed since Ye Fei’s transformation.
She no longer felt the need to possess him completely. But even she had to admit that it was a lot to take in.
There was Ye Yunqi, the mysterious voluptuous woman, herself, and now her mom.
And now there was this "Auntie Ruolan."
Even if Lin Ling was generous, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. But she wouldn’t admit it, huffing, "Who’s jealous? It’s good to have more girls keeping an eye on you."
Ye Fei found her petulance adorable.
"Don’t worry. It’s just Auntie Ruolan from the military district. You know her. I was just joking around with her."
Xiao Hanyue and Lin Ling didn’t know Ruolan very well, but they remembered her stunning beauty, which was on par with theirs.
Lin Ling pouted again, "Yeah, right. You’ll flirt with anyone, even Mom. Of course you’d go after a single woman like Auntie Ruolan."
"Hey, you two, don’t drag me into your bickering!"
Xiao Hanyue playfully scolded her daughter, though she wasn’t really upset.
Watching the two of them banter made her feel incredibly warm inside. Her feelings for Ye Fei were complicated.
She loved him deeply, but she also saw him as the boy she’d watched grow up.
Instead of confusing her, these feelings gave her an even more intoxicating sense of connection.
After breakfast, Ye Fei said goodbye to the two women. He didn’t head straight to the military district, though.
Instead, he found a quiet spot and called Su Yuqian. Since he’d been back, he’d seen all his women except for her. He’d planned to visit her today, but Ruolan’s call had changed those plans.
He figured he’d better check in with Su Yuqian over the phone.
It turned out to be a good decision. Su Yuqian and Ming Yuexin were busy helping Professor Ming move to Wangda University.
The place was hectic, and Su Yuqian was swamped with preparations. Ye Fei was glad he hadn’t gone over; he would have just been in the way.
But there was a silver lining.
Once Professor Ming moved out, Ming Yuexin would be busy with work, and Su Yuqian would be home alone most of the time.
That meant Ye Fei could see her anytime he wanted.
Feeling pretty good, Ye Fei made his way to the military hospital. He was well-known there, and the guards let him through without any trouble.
He walked straight to Ruolan’s office, disappointed that he didn’t run into her adopted daughter, the cute nurse Miao Xin.
Standing outside Ruolan’s office, Ye Fei paused. He entered a calm state, projecting his senses into the room to see what she was doing.
He wanted to know how she was feeling.
He had a crush on her and wanted to make her happy.
To his surprise, Ruolan wasn’t working.
She was just sitting at her desk, staring blankly ahead with a complicated expression.
Sometimes she’d smile dreamily, and other times she’d frown in frustration.
Ye Fei’s heart skipped a beat.
She looked like a woman lost in thoughts of a lover.
Could she be in love?
Even though he was trying to stay calm, the thought of her being with someone else made him feel a pang of jealousy.
He’d thought of her as his since their last meeting. He couldn’t believe she might be in love with someone else.
It was a terrible feeling.
For the first time, he understood what jealousy felt like. He thought about his own women, how he’d divided his love among them.
He knew they must have felt hurt, but they’d accepted it because they loved him so much.
He loved Ruolan too.
Did that mean he should let her be with someone else if she wanted to?
If he followed his women’s example, the answer was yes.
But Ye Fei realized it was really hard to do.
He was about to knock when Ruolan sighed, took something out of her drawer, and stared at it, murmuring, "Why did you have to grow up? If you were still the same as before, I wouldn’t be so troubled."
Curious, Ye Fei focused on what she was holding. His heart leaped with joy.
She was holding a photo frame, and the picture inside was of him and her from three years ago.
It was him!
She was thinking about him!
Ye Fei felt like dancing with happiness.
The feeling of going from despair to elation was incredible!
After a while, he calmed himself down and knocked gently, calling out, "Auntie Ruolan, I’m here!" He watched her reaction closely.
She started, quickly hid the photo frame in her drawer, straightened her already neat clothes, took a deep breath to calm herself, and said, "Come in. The door’s not locked."
Ye Fei chuckled inwardly at her actions but also felt touched. He silently vowed to be even better to her—and to all his women.
He knew how it felt to have his love divided. He couldn’t abandon any of them, so he’d just have to love them even more to make up for it.
He entered and sat down opposite Ruolan, getting straight to the point.
"So, what did you want to see me about?"
Her relief was palpable. She was afraid he’d flirt with her again like he had on the phone. His words had already made her heart race.
But now that he was being straightforward, she felt a mix of relief and disappointment.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed of her own conflicting emotions.
"Well, I heard from Xin that you have some pills that can instantly restore most of a person’s energy. Can you give me a few to study?"
Ruolan explained, calming herself down.
"And since you seem to be in better shape now, I’d like to examine you again and see how you’ve changed."
"Sure, here you go," Ye Fei said, pulling out a bottle of recovery pills and handing it to her. "Let me know if you need more."
He then asked, "As for the exam, how should I cooperate? Is it gonna be like when we were kids?"
Ye Fei’s question made Dongfang Ruolan’s face turn slightly red.
When Ye Fei was a child, she had examined him a few times. Since the meridian check required precise acupoints, he had to be undressed.
But back then, he was just a kid, and she didn’t feel anything.
Now, things were different.
He had grown up, and most importantly, her feelings for him had changed without her realizing it.
She couldn’t face him as casually as before.
"It’s not convenient here. Let’s do the examination at my dormitory," Dongfang Ruolan suggested.
Normally, examining a patient’s body was a routine procedure, but she felt guilty and subconsciously worried that someone might see, which led her to make this request.
Ye Fei, of course, didn’t object to such an advantageous suggestion and laughed, "Alright, I’ve never been to your private place before. Now I finally get to see it."
"Smooth talker!"
Dongfang Ruolan felt a wave of fluster and instinctively gave him a sideways glance.
However, she didn’t realize that her shy, coquettish look made her appear incredibly charming, causing Ye Fei’s heart to flutter.
Although Dongfang Ruolan’s residence was called a dormitory, it was actually a separate building located to the northeast of the hospital.
Only she and Miao Xin lived there. This arrangement didn’t seem unfair to anyone because Dongfang Ruolan’s medical skills were so extraordinary that she could be called a "miracle doctor."
As her adopted daughter, it was only natural for Miao Xin to live with her.
Moreover, having inherited most of Dongfang Ruolan’s medical expertise—though lacking only some experience—Miao Xin could also be considered a little miracle doctor herself.