After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 78.1

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t want Chen Yi to see her pained expression, so she tried her best to appear calm and natural.

However, while it’s easy to fake pain when you aren’t hurting, when you actually are in pain, your control over your facial expressions weakens, making it very difficult to pretend you feel nothing.

As Chen Yi’s footsteps drew closer, Shen Xiaojiang sat back down in her seat.

She had initially thought the dim light would provide her some cover.

But she was wrong. The moment her brow furrowed, Chen Yi noticed. “Shen Xiaojiang,” she said softly, “is your stomach hurting again?”

Just as Shen Xiaojiang was about to deny it, Chen Yi spoke again: “Don’t push yourself. You have a long road ahead of you. When your stomach hurts, the perception of pain overrides all your other nerves, and your work efficiency will inevitably be affected to some degree. If you want to complete your work more excellently, then come to the hospital with me.”

Though these words were spoken seriously and without much emotion, they were logically sound.

Clutching her throbbing abdomen, Shen Xiaojiang gave a dull response it was unclear if she was answering Chen Yi or just the empty air.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, it was already 9:00 PM.

Aside from the emergency room staff, everyone else had already clocked out.

However, a single phone call from Chen Yi not only brought out the hospital director but also summoned the top chief physician from the gastroenterology department.

Shen Xiaojiang sat in the waiting area while Chen Yi stood in a corner talking to the director.

Suddenly, the director who was also a woman, let out a laugh.

Hearing the sound, Shen Xiaojiang looked over. Chen Yi and the other woman stood facing each other but maintained a significant, safe distance. From their expressions, they seemed quite familiar, yet their posture suggested they weren’t that close.

Chen Yi turned her head, and Shen Xiaojiang quickly averted her gaze.

Close or not, given Chen Yi’s status as the president of the Nancheng Chamber of Commerce, even if they hadn’t been close before, they certainly were now.

“Should I hold your valuables for you?” When Chen Yi wore flat shoes, her footsteps were almost silent.

Shen Xiaojiang looked up, her eyes devoid of emotion.

Chen Yi gave a faint smile. “I just requested the director’s permission to accompany you inside during the examination.”

Shen Xiaojiang took out her phone and keys, hesitating for a moment.

Chen Yi slowly reached out, opening her palm and curling her fingers slightly. “Give them to me.”

Shen Xiaojiang’s heart tightened as she placed the items into Chen Yi’s palm.

“This way, please,” the nurse said, leading Shen Xiaojiang into the consultation room.

Chen Yi stayed by her side, never straying a step.

“Aren’t we doing a gastroscopy?” Shen Xiaojiang asked the nurse nearby.

The nurse smiled. “A gastroscopy requires fasting for over eight hours, and you can’t even drink water for two hours before the exam. So, you can’t do it today.”

A heavy stone lifted from Shen Xiaojiang’s heart, but she looked at Chen Yi with a slight frown. She didn’t explain that clearly, she let me worry for nothing.

Chen Yi spoke with the doctor first, and then Shen Xiaojiang described her symptoms in detail.

After processing the information, the doctor smiled. “It’s late, so we can’t do a gastroscopy, but we can check your bacterial levels first. Based on my years of experience, you probably don’t need a gastroscopy. It’s likely an overgrowth of Helicobacter pylori. Let’s do a breath test and see.”

Shen Xiaojiang looked confused. Just as she was about to meet Chen Yi’s eyes, she dodged the gaze at the last second.

She whispered to the doctor, “What is a breath test?”

The doctor led her to an exam room where a large machine came into view.

Although there was no eye contact throughout the process, Chen Yi followed closely, more vigilant than any bodyguard.

Five minutes later, everything was ready, and Shen Xiaojiang began the breath test.

She took the air collection bag from the nurse and, following instructions, blew a large breath into it. Then, she swallowed a special capsule the nurse provided, waiting half an hour before blowing into another bag.

She completed the entire procedure perfectly.

Ten minutes later, the results were in.

The doctor compared the data carefully and told Shen Xiaojiang that her Helicobacter pylori levels were over the limit.

“Um, what is Helicobacter pylori?” Knowledge of different fields is like a mountain range; having never encountered this before, Shen Xiaojiang found the report daunting.

Her daily routine was usually regular, and she didn’t eat much junk food.

The doctor adjusted his glasses, his expression calm. “Helicobacter pylori is a common gastrointestinal infection that lives in the stomach lining. Many people have it, but there is a normal range. Generally, a value under 100 isn’t an issue and doesn’t require medical intervention. But if it exceeds 100, it can cause anything from minor stomach ailments to ulcers, or even life threatening perforations. Therefore, medication is necessary.”

Shen Xiaojiang nodded blankly.

She was never afraid of being sick, but the doctor’s next sentence made her skin crawl.

“The source of H. pylori is relatively singular. Current medical research suggests that infected individuals are the only source of transmission.”

Infected individuals?

The concept was easy to understand: eating from the same plate, drinking from the same glass, using the same chopsticks, or… kissing.

Was it her, or someone else?

Involuntarily, Shen Xiaojiang stole a glance at Chen Yi standing beside her.

Sensing her gaze, Chen Yi turned and looked back at her.

Suddenly, Shen Xiaojiang froze. Surely not, she thought.

“Doctor, can you tell when someone was infected?” Shen Xiaojiang asked softly.

Chen Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly; she thought she knew exactly what Shen Xiaojiang was thinking. But she said nothing.

The doctor rubbed his chin, his expression turning serious. “We can’t determine that at the moment. We can only make a rough judgment based on previous check-ups and your own history. Do you remember when you first felt the pain?”

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t remember the exact date. “About… two months ago.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi’s brow twitched slightly.

She subconsciously gripped her skirt. The ice-blue Tencel fabric creased easily, and her grip left several dry wrinkles in the material.

Shen Xiaojiang’s brow also tightened. She was worried…

The doctor cleared his throat and cautioned, “When you go back, try to keep your bowls, chopsticks, and face towels separate from your family’s. Everyone reacts differently. Some people are like you they get occasional stomach pain after infection but others develop severe gastric ulcers. Better safe than sorry.”

Shen Xiaojiang hummed in response, looking down at her palms. Her eyes wandered slowly until she stole a look at the plain flat shoes on Chen Yi’s feet.

“Doctor, am I the one who was infected by someone else?” she asked.

The doctor said calmly, “You could be the one who was infected, or you could be the source. Anything is possible.”

“You might have caught it from someone else, or you could have contracted it yourself. Some foods contain H. pylori, such as frozen products or raw fish. It’s hard to say for certain,” the doctor added.

After listening, Chen Yi and Shen Xiaojiang shared a knowing look.

Their gazes met in the air like fleeting fireworks lasting only a second before pulling apart.

Based on Shen Xiaojiang’s condition, the doctor prescribed specific medications and told her to come back for a follow-up in a week.

Leaving the consultation room, the two walked along a familiar path.

The flowers on the trees lining the road had long since withered, and the green leaves had thinned after repeated rains. They would gradually leave before winter arrived.

“Auntie.” Shen Xiaojiang stopped.

Chen Yi paused at the sound.

“Mm?” Her voice was soft. When she said only one word, it truly sounded like she was acting spoiled.

Shen Xiaojiang’s fingertips tightened.

“Since we’re already here, if it’s possible, would you…” She bit her lower lip, looked at the gray ground by her feet, then raised her eyes again to look into Chen Yi’s light-colored pupils. “Would you like to do a breath test too?”

The wind picked up, carrying the scent of trees and car exhaust not pungent, but not pleasant either.

“The two of us…”

Shen Xiaojiang wanted to say that the two of them had been in the most frequent and intimate contact.

But the words reached the tip of her tongue and immediately took a turn.

Shen Xiaojiang: “I might have passed it to you.”

Chen Yi: “Are you afraid I passed it to you?”

Once again, the two spoke in perfect, simultaneous unison.

The atmosphere turned awkward.

Perhaps remaining silent was the right choice. But neither could keep quiet.

Shen Xiaojiang: “I’m not afraid.”

Chen Yi: “I wouldn’t have.”

Both were using their own way to answer the other’s doubts.

The breeze swayed the trees, and shadows danced on the ground. From an unnamed tree, a few leaves occasionally shook loose and fell.

Chen Yi’s gaze softened more and more, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile played at the corners of her mouth.

“Okay,” she said.