Please Don’t Give Up On Treatment

Yu Tian was determined to occupy all of Yan Ming’s time after work, ensuring he couldn’t interfere with her mother’s date!

Fearing that Yan Ming might find time to refuse her, she quickly put on an expression that indicated their decision was made: “I’ll wait for you here after your shift!”

With a glance at her watch, she rushed out as if to attend to more pressing matters, completely unaware of the way Yan Ming was watching her retreating figure with a look of disbelief.

Yan Ming had not expected to receive another meal from Yu Tian.

Even as he finished the last of the food containers in his office, he found himself staring blankly at the stack that had, surprisingly, accumulated.

Yu Tian’s culinary skills were truly impressive; the food was exceptional, among the best he had eaten lately, leading him to eagerly anticipate the next time he might dine on her cooking.

However, with their parents’ breakup, Yu Tian no longer needed to curry favor with him to facilitate his father’s romantic pursuits. Her mother had initiated the split.

So why was she still so proactive? Had she come to terms with the end of their parents’ relationship and genuinely wanted to develop a connection with him?

Her assertion that their parents’ current emotional state might actually promote their relationship was as straightforward as it could be.

Yet, Yan Ming found it hard to believe.

He had been pursued by many, but never had someone approached him so openly, not bothering to disguise their intentions—even expressing them outright after a handful of encounters.

It was astonishingly direct.

But amid his surprise and confusion, a sudden realization dawned on him.

Yu Tian’s earlier enthusiasm, which he had found puzzling, now seemed to have a justification.

She genuinely had feelings for him.

Perhaps she had initially suppressed her emotions due to the potential for their parents to form a blended family, but now that those constraints were lifted, her pursuit had become more forthright.

Not only had she brought him delicious food, but she had also insisted on dining together after work.

Yan Ming knew he should refuse her invitation, but he didn’t want to owe her anything.

If he reciprocated by treating her to dinner tonight, then he could later turn her down when she inevitably confessed her feelings—this would allow him to end the matter cleanly.

He suspected Yu Tian wouldn’t be heartbroken; after all, her sincerity was questionable, evidenced by her willingness to give her carefully prepared meal to Qi Sihao yesterday.

Nonetheless, the food she made was genuinely delicious.

And she was undeniably attractive.

Perhaps overly so; her beauty struck him as akin to a character from a drama—a seductive figure whose harmless demeanor seemed rooted in ulterior motives.

Unbeknownst to Yu Tian, Yan Ming’s thoughts were racing.

In the meantime, she was rummaging through drawers—not for clothes, but for a notebook.

Beyond her typical broadcasts sharing recipes, Yu Tian was planning to create a series of educational content for her medical knowledge platform, focusing on disease identification and self-care techniques for common ailments and emergency situations.

This was her primary content output plan for her social media account.

Ophthalmology was a field where people frequently encountered issues, yet many lacked a proper understanding of eye health, often delaying necessary intervention until conditions worsened. Most people believed that as long as they could see clearly, there was no reason for concern, and when their eyes felt uncomfortable, they were likely to simply purchase eye drops from a small clinic without consulting a professional.

With the increased usage of electronic devices, conditions like dry eye and myopia were on the rise, particularly among the young.

With this analysis in mind, Yu Tian believed that focusing on eye health education, common eye disease identification, and myopia prevention for minors would be excellent entry points—both accessible and genuinely beneficial to her audience.

Such topics in ophthalmology shouldn’t go to waste; merely focusing on medical education could justify an entire ophthalmology series.

Having previously jotted down a rough outline for her ophthalmology topic in her notebook, along with several questions, she decided to bring these along to consult with Yan Ming and refine her outline, further subdividing the subtopics.

Moreover, she had watched some recordings of Yan Ming’s surgeries. Although she recognized that her own ability to operate was now impossible due to her injury, she still felt her medical career hadn’t concluded entirely.

After all, once she accumulated some savings through her entrepreneurial efforts and overcame the psychological impact of her injury, she might return to academia, possibly even reviving her academic pursuits. Thus, she held interest in some of Yan Ming’s unconventional surgical techniques, which were not typically performed in domestic ophthalmology.

After gathering her scattered notes and questions, she realized it was almost time for Yan Ming to finish work.

In a rush, she threw on a T-shirt, slipped into a denim skirt, and pulled on a pair of canvas shoes before dashing out the door.

The restaurant she had chosen was a trendy hotspot featuring not only a higher price point but also exceptional cuisine, utilizing a blind box ordering system, making the dining experience quite exciting.

Elegantly decorated and limited in capacity, the restaurant provided a tranquil ambiance where noise levels were low and privacy was assured, having even seen celebrities visit.

While the price was slightly steep, Yu Tian gritted her teeth, feeling it was still manageable—though her social media account hadn’t reached profitability yet, she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t feeling the pinch.

Yet, to her surprise, when she arrived at the restaurant and waited at the front desk to confirm her reservation, the server delivered some welcome news.

“Miss, if you’re dining with your boyfriend, I recommend trying our special couple’s blind box for tonight!”

The server beamed as she continued, “This box features a richer selection of dishes than our regular dinner blind boxes, but the price is only half of the usual menu.”

“It’s a celebration by our owner, who just won over the heart of his crush, leading to this half-price couples’ promotion only available this week.”

The server smiled warmly at Yu Tian, explaining, “You just need to provide a photo of you two together to prove your relationship and leave a sweet note in our guestbook. Our owner wants to keep it as a memento.”

Yu Tian hesitated at first but was swayed by the discounted price. The requirements didn’t seem too difficult to fulfill.

She quickly took out her phone and sent a message to Qi Sihao.

【Little Fish】: Feeling a bit nostalgic about our friendship; I’d love to relive a moment. Could you send me a close-up picture of us together?

【Qi Sihao】: ? I’m busy working!

【Little Fish】: I want to show off to my new friend how handsome my good friend is.

As expected, Qi Sihao quickly made time for her.

A few moments later, she received a close-up picture from him.

Yu Tian then browsed her phone’s album for a candid picture of Yan Ming, ultimately selecting one that could be edited well.

In the photo, Qi Sihao had playfully draped his arm around Yu Tian’s shoulder, though she had no recollection of when it was taken.

But it worked perfectly, giving an air of intimacy.

She swiftly edited the image, superimposing Yan Ming’s face over Qi Sihao’s neck, just managing to obscure his face.

Despite the somewhat rough edits, it was passable enough for her purposes.

Thus, her “couple photo” with Yan Ming was ready.

The server merely glanced at it for formality before approving her request. “Now, could you please scan this QR code? You need to upload the photo as per the requirements of our system. We need to keep a record since there’s a limit to how many couples’ blind boxes we can offer each day.”

Wait… there’s more to this requirement?

Noticing Yu Tian’s perturbed expression, the server explained patiently, “Earlier, we had an incident where an intern staff member reserved the half-price couple’s meal internally and resold it, so our owner requested this backup to prevent that from happening again.”

While it made sense, Yu Tian was still hesitant. “Won’t this photo be used for other purposes?”

“Not at all! Rest assured, while we allow uploaded photos to be used for non-commercial marketing, if you explicitly request that it not be used, I will note that and ensure your privacy is protected.”

That sounded reasonable enough…

As other customers started to line up behind her, Yu Tian didn’t want to keep them waiting. She quickly scanned the QR code and uploaded her edited photo.

“Now, please leave a sweet note in our guestbook.”

Though it felt a bit tedious, considering the discount made it worthwhile, Yu Tian quickly jotted down a makeshift line of affection, resembling a light-hearted poem.

After finishing the note and taking her seat at the reserved table, the timing was just right.

Yan Ming had also arrived.

However, while this trendy restaurant boasted otherwise, there was one consistent issue: the slow pace of food service.

This was also one of the reasons Yu Tian had chosen this restaurant.

She decided to find a safe topic to break the ice and bridge the gap with Yan Ming.

“Brother Yan Ming, you look great in that shirt! The color really suits you! It’s my favorite color too! How fortunate!”

Unfortunately, her flattery didn’t hit the mark.

Yan Ming raised his eyes slightly, glancing at her before deadpan responding, “It is rather fortunate, but it’s actually my least favorite color. My mother bought it for me.”

“…”

Yu Tian awkwardly chuckled. “Well, that just shows how much she cares for you—she loves you enough to buy you clothes! In her heart, you’re still a little boy, but her generation’s aesthetics certainly differ from ours, so the color might not suit your taste…”

“She completely mixed up my favorite and least favorite colors. She thought this was something I would like, and the purchase was just a matter of hitting a discount of three thousand on a five-thousand-yuan total and this shirt happened to be two thousand.”

“…”

Yu Tian attempted to pivot the conversation several times, but something about Yan Ming’s demeanor put her on edge, as if he was bracing for something. It felt as though he was on high alert to prevent her from saying anything strange.

Yet her conversational topics were quite harmless and normal…

Unbeknownst to her, what she considered safe territory appeared entirely different to Yan Ming.

What Yu Tian perceived as light conversation felt to him like a setup for discussing something potentially awkward.

He sensed her attempts to ease the atmosphere before she would inevitably confess.

Yan Ming had indeed resolved to reject Yu Tian during this dinner, but he didn’t want to do so right at the start of the meal.

If she confessed before they had even sat down to eat, his rejection would make it difficult to continue the meal, creating an awkward atmosphere.

He hoped Yu Tian could hold off until they finished eating.

That would be more in line with proper etiquette and allow him to decline tactfully when the moment was appropriate, providing a clean conclusion to their entanglement.

Thus, when Yu Tian began her well-meaning but clearly proximity-seeking topics, Yan Ming grew increasingly wary, hoping the restaurant would serve their meals soon.

Unfortunately, Yu Tian failed to pick up on his discomfort.

She persisted with the light topics she had chosen.

As Yan Ming continued to obstruct her efforts, it became evident that Yu Tian was becoming restless, as if she were about to burst. Still, she seemed determined to pursue her original intentions—she was ready to get to the heart of the matter.

“Brother Yan Ming, while we wait for the food, I…”