Edge of A Burning Kiss - Chapter 26

Xia Ziling had just finished reviewing a patient’s medical records and hadn’t even had a chance to catch his breath when his phone screen suddenly lit up.

A new friend request popped up on WeChat. Without giving it much thought, Xia Ziling accepted it.

Before he could even ask who the person was, a message came through:

[Hello, Doctor! I’m Xia Jin’s boyfriend. I’d like to ask about her physical condition after the car accident.]

Xia Ziling froze for a second. What the hell? Boyfriend?

His first instinct was that this was some kind of prank message, and he was about to delete the contact.

But seeing that the person was inquiring about Xia Jin’s health, he hesitated and held back.

How did this person know about Xia Jin’s car accident? Could he really be his sister’s boyfriend?

Wait… had his sister secretly started dating behind his back?

But if that were the case, why wouldn’t he know about Xia Jin’s condition? And why was he calling her “doctor”?

Was this guy sent by a rival company to dig for information?

Xia Ziling stared at the message for a long time, his fingers itching. Unable to resist, he sent back a big question mark,

[?]

But the next second, he regretted it. What if this really was his future brother-in-law…

Just as he was about to recall the message, another text came through:

[Sorry, are you Xia Jin’s attending physician?]

Xia Ziling quickly withdrew his question mark and followed up:

[Apologies, I accidentally pressed the wrong button. I am indeed Xia Jin’s attending physician. May I ask how I should address you?]

Sitting in Xia Jin’s living room, Qin Yu frowned at the reply.

Had Chi Fan sent him the wrong doctor’s contact?

This doctor Xia Jin had found seemed even more questionable than Xia Jin herself.

With one hand stroking the dog’s head and the other typing, Qin Yu replied:

[Just note me down as Qin Yu.]

Qin Yu?

No wonder he had been at Xia Jin’s place that day when he delivered the medicine. At the time, he had actually believed Xia Jin’s excuse that they had just “run into each other.”

Now that he thought about it, how was that even possible?!

What kind of coincidence would make them neighbors?

Since when had his sister managed to land someone like this?!

And she had kept it completely under wraps, wasn’t she just recently locked in a life-and-death struggle with Lelai?

The more Xia Ziling thought about it, the weirder it seemed. But professionalism forced him to stay calm. Instead of prying into the gossip, he cut straight to the point:

[Has something happened to Ms. Xia Jin?]

Qin Yu typed rapidly: [Ever since the car accident, she’s been fainting inexplicably. I’m worried it might be a lingering aftereffect. Is there any way to control or alleviate it? What should we watch out for?]

The words “fainting frequently” nearly made Xia Ziling slam the table.

What did he mean, fainting frequently?!

Something this serious, and Xia Jin hadn’t breathed a word about it to him?!

Every time they met, she acted like nothing was wrong, always putting on a tough front!

His expression darkened instantly, but he kept his tone restrained.

[In such cases, it’s best to schedule a follow-up examination for brain and nervous system-related tests as soon as possible. If convenient, please bring her to the hospital for a full check-up at the earliest opportunity. The sooner, the better. Don’t delay, and don’t hide symptoms. If there are any issues, communicate them promptly. Please relay this to her, thank you for your cooperation!]

Qin Yu’s reply was straightforward: [Understood. I’ll arrange a time to take her in for a re-examination. Thank you for the advice, Doctor.]

Xia Ziling was itching to call Xia Jin immediately and give her a thorough interrogation.

But then he remembered that the person who had just added him on WeChat was Qin Yu and if what he said was true, that he was his sister’s “boyfriend” then recklessly exposing the fact that her attending physician was actually her younger brother might not be the best move.

After all, he could use Qin Yu to fish for information and gather some firsthand intel.

Who knows? He might even uncover some early warning signs and take control of the situation.

With that in mind, he forcibly suppressed his anger, pacing in place for a couple of circles before abruptly sitting back down in his chair.

Gritting his teeth as he glared at the chat interface, he quietly schemed about the best course of action.

But after waiting for what felt like forever, the other side remained silent, no new messages came through. The quiet green chat box and the tangled mess of doubts in his mind left him scratching his head in frustration.

Finally, Xia Ziling couldn’t take it anymore. He typed out a message:

[Excuse me… Are you really Ms. Xia Jin’s boyfriend? Would you mind confirming your relationship? This is for updating the patient’s family records. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Thank you!]

This time, it was Qin Yu’s turn to be baffled.

[?]

A perfectly standard question mark bounced back, looking even more bewildered than the one Xia Ziling had sent earlier.

Wait, since when were doctors responsible for this kind of thing?

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Yu replied:

[Yes, I am. She has agreed to make our relationship public, so you can safely record it in the files. Feel free to contact me if there are any issues. Thank you for your concern, Doctor.]

The department was relatively quiet early in the morning, so Xia Ziling couldn’t resist picking up his phone to check Qin Yu’s profile.

CEO of Qin Enterprises, born into a prestigious family, his background was certainly a match for his sister. An only child, too, so no need to worry about sibling rivalry.

And, crucially, he was quite handsome, far more reliable than trash like Ye Tiyan. The only question was whether he genuinely liked Xia Jin or if he was just playing games…

As Xia Jin’s only blood relative, he had to be on high alert, nipping all potential risks in the bud.

Otherwise, if Xia Jin ever got hurt because of Qin Yu, wouldn’t it be his fault for not protecting her?

And so, he opened his browser and quickly searched for keywords like “Qin Yu, CEO of Lelai Entertainment, personal info” and “Qin Yu ex-girlfriends.”

A flood of gossip forum threads scrolled past, everything from his educational background to his business empire to his past rumored flings.

He scrutinized every detail with the diligence of a student cramming for the college entrance exams,

Only to find that there was shockingly little about Qin Yu online. Most of the results were official announcements about Qin Enterprises’ collaborations. No scandals, let alone any confirmed ex-girlfriends.

The internet was suspiciously clean, leaving him both doubtful and uneasy.

Was he really that principled, devoted only to Xia Jin?

Or had all the negative rumors been scrubbed away?

Meanwhile, Qin Yu, who was busy petting his dog, suddenly sneezed. Of course, he had no idea it was because his dear future brother-in-law was cursing him behind his back.

Instead, he glanced at Fanbao and nodded decisively, convinced that the sneeze was due to the dog needing a bath.

The more Xia Ziling thought about it, the more uneasy he became, mentally upgrading Qin Yu to a Ye Tiyan Plus in his imagination.

At that thought, he pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts to an international number, and typed out a text message.

“Brother Shen Du, if you don’t come back soon, my sister is going to find another to marry.”

Xia Ziling still believed Shen Du was the best match for Xia Jin.

Less than a minute after sending the text, the reply came just three short words: “She wouldn’t dare.”

Qin Yu had no idea that his troublesome brother-in-law had already switched sides.

Right now, he was still racking his brains over how to leverage Fanbao the dog to climb the social ladder, father rising by canine merit.