The Wild Doctor and the Fair Beauty

"I'm starving. Let's head inside."

To ease the awkwardness between the two women, Jiang Xinghai could only make a gentle show of concern with both hands.

Both Shen Lingxue and Su Yanyun were taken aback once more.

The former had merely wanted to use an intimate gesture to show Su Yanyun the nature of her relationship with Jiang Xinghai.

And the latter's intentions were nearly identical.

But neither had expected Jiang Xinghai to accept them both. It seemed he was trying to have it both ways.

"Xinghai, I worked overtime late into the night two nights ago. You know, my neck and shoulders are still a little stiff. How about you give me a massage tonight?" Shen Lingxue said with a gentle smile.

This was the first time Jiang Xinghai had ever seen Shen Lingxue's gentle side. "Leave it to me."

Of course, he didn't refuse.

'Two nights ago, Shen Lingxue hadn't been working overtime. They had spent a wild night together that lasted until dawn.'

'She was reminding him to keep his distance from Su Yanyun.'

"That's right, Xinghai's massage technique is truly amazing."

Su Yanyun immediately chimed in, "Did you know, Lingxue? This afternoon at my wellness center, Xinghai gave me a deep-tissue massage all the way from my head down to... here... Oh, it's so embarrassing!"

She pointed to her waist and abdomen, a look of pleasure on her face.

"Is that so."

Shen Lingxue nodded with a faint, unreadable smile, but her fingers suddenly pinched Jiang Xinghai's side.

"Hiss..."

Jiang Xinghai winced in pain, but he couldn't say a word.

"Xinghai, are you okay? Does something hurt?" Su Yanyun asked with concern.

"I'm—I'm great. Absolutely full of energy."

Smiling innocently, Jiang Xinghai naturally slipped his arm out of Su Yanyun's grasp. He quickly used both hands to support Shen Lingxue as she stepped onto the stairs. "Lingxue, be careful on the steps."

Shen Lingxue lifted her chin slightly, walking into the First-grade Pavilion with delight.

In the silent struggle between the two women, Shen Lingxue had emerged the victor.

'That guy...'

Su Yanyun wasn't angry. Instead, she gave a wry, self-deprecating smile.

'They knew each other first, after all,' she muttered to herself. 'And me... HUFF! I was defiled by that disgusting old man. How can I possibly compare to Lingxue...?'

'But... since his Eldest Martial Sister told me to stay close enough to him, I can't just disobey her.'

A cunning glint appeared in Su Yanyun's eyes as she, too, stepped into the First-grade Pavilion.

「Inside the First-grade Pavilion.」

The first-floor dining hall was already packed, with most people waiting for a table to open up.

Jiang Xinghai and Shen Lingxue were standing by the entrance, waiting for Su Yanyun.

"Lingxue? What a coincidence!"

Just then, a flamboyantly dressed woman dripping with jewelry walked in on the arm of a man.

"Xue Li, Cheng Jiahao, you're here too."

Shen Lingxue knew the man and woman who walked over; they were both her university classmates.

"Lingxue, long time no see! So you have a boyfriend now? Aren't you going to introduce us?" Xue Li said, eyeing Jiang Xinghai's plain clothes before deliberately pressing herself against her own boyfriend, Cheng Jiahao.

"His name is Jiang Xinghai."

Just then, Su Yanyun, who had walked in ahead of them, turned back to glance at Xue Li and Cheng Jiahao. "Well, what a coincidence."

"Yanyun?"

Xue Li was the first to exclaim in surprise.

She seemed to know something about the fire at the Yu Family estate three years ago. "Su Yanyun, so you're still alive."

"Xue Li, you bitch, what kind of morbid crap are you spouting?"

Su Yanyun's brow furrowed, and she shot the other woman a nasty glare. "Did you want me to be dead?"

"Oh, I suppose I should call you Madam Yu."

Xue Li wasn't annoyed at being called a bitch. Instead, her tone became suggestive. "You didn't come here with Lingxue, did you? Well, since we've had such a chance encounter, why don't we all just share a table tonight?"

"Good idea. We can call it a little reunion for old classmates."

Cheng Jiahao, who had been smiling the whole time, chimed in his agreement.

His eyes roamed shamelessly over both Shen Lingxue and Su Yanyun.

'Back in their university days, Shen Lingxue had been one of the campus queens.'

'And Su Yanyun had also been a top-tier beauty.'

'As for Xue Li, who was standing beside him, she hadn't even been considered the prettiest girl in their class.'

'If they hadn't met up later, and if he hadn't found some of Xue Li's 'skills' to be so proficient and satisfying, he wouldn't be dating her now.'

'Of course, for him, she was just a fling anyway.'

'But now, with the three of them standing together, he couldn't help but compare.'

'To be blunt, Xue Li wasn't even in the running.'

"Cheng Jiahao, is it?"

At that moment, Jiang Xinghai, whom Cheng Jiahao had been pointedly ignoring, could no longer stand by.

"If I remember correctly, your name is Jiang Xinghai, isn't it? But as I recall, there are no major families with the surname Jiang in Jizhou. I wonder where you're from, Brother Jiang?" Cheng Jiahao said with a suave smile.

His every word dripped with sarcasm about Jiang Xinghai's family background.

Xue Li chimed in cooperatively, her eyes full of smug satisfaction. "Jiang Xinghai, I might as well tell you, my boyfriend is from the Cheng Family of Jizhou—a second-tier family! Their status is even higher than Lingxue's Shen Family, you know."