Chapter 108: Zhao Ling'Er's Little Thoughts

Xue Yang asked curiously, "Divine Doctor Zhao, you're famous locally. Can it be that even you can't cure this illness?"

Divine Doctor Zhao waved his hand. "It's not that easy. This isn't my area of expertise. My young friend Mu Lin is much more skilled in this."

Xue Yang was secretly stunned. Divine Doctor Zhao was addressing Mu Lin as an equal.

This meant that Mu Lin's abilities were likely far greater than he let on.

"I see! Well, I can head to work without any worries then!"

Mu Lin also stood up to leave. "I have to go with Miss Xue to see her sick friend. Please excuse me."

Zhao Ling'Er's heart sank. 'Mu Lin is an expert with his Acupuncture Technique. Treating a woman with needles means they'll have to get undressed for him. Even if it's just through a thin layer of underwear, that's something I absolutely can't tolerate.'

"Brother Mu, it's already noon. Why don't you just have lunch here at the Holy Medicine Hall?"

Mu Lin figured he had no choice. He said to Xue Yang, "Manager Xue, could you please apologize to your sister for me? I'll go find her this afternoon."

Xue Yang smiled. "Sure, I'll let her know."

Zhao Ling'Er let out a long sigh of relief, but she knew Mu Lin would have to leave eventually.

This thought made her worried all over again. She turned and went to the kitchen to cook.

Zhao Ling'Er was an excellent cook. Knowing Mu Lin would be there for the meal, she worked even harder, preparing a table laden with food.

The food was served, but Zhao Ling'Er was nowhere to be seen.

Mu Lin found it a bit strange. "Where's Ling'Er?"

Divine Doctor Zhao said, "Ling'Er asked me to have you wait a moment. She said she has a surprise for you."

A moment later, Zhao Ling'Er emerged wearing light makeup, a short skirt, and black stockings.

She had researched this outfit for a long time. It was supposedly a "virgin-killer," guaranteed to work on any inexperienced young man.

And sure enough, it left Mu Lin completely stunned.

Seeing Mu Lin's reaction, Divine Doctor Zhao was immensely pleased. 'Sorry, Old Li, but my little shovel is about to start digging.'

"Mu Lin, come on, let's eat!"

Divine Doctor Zhao had saved the seat next to Mu Lin, arranging for Zhao Ling'Er to sit there. Meanwhile, Zhao Ling'Er acted like the perfect hostess, gracefully carrying dishes back and forth.

A table of delicious food steamed, filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

"Brother Mu, eat up!!"

Zhao Ling'Er sat demurely beside Mu Lin, clinging to him like a delicate bird. 'I've already shown my hand,' she thought. 'No point in pretending anymore. I might as well be bold and go after him.'

'If that girl from the Li Family doesn't cherish him, then I'm making my move.'

Mu Lin ate the meal with great relish. It was strange; everything he ate was perfectly suited to his tastes.

He polished off more than half the dishes on the table and stretched contentedly.

"That was delicious!" Mu Lin exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like it, Brother Mu. All the hard work I put into learning from the head chef at Huangshang Huang was worth it."

Mu Lin was shocked. "You learned from the head chef at Huangshang Huang? They just let you into the kitchen?"

"I just had a word with Manager Wang, and he let me in. The head chef was a very thorough teacher!"

'Manager Wang probably did it as a favor to me,' Mu Lin thought. 'And the chef must have known about Zhao Ling'er's background—that she wasn't planning to open a competing restaurant—so he taught her properly.'

'Being a doctor really opens doors in this city.'

After resting for a bit, Mu Lin prepared to leave to see Xue Xi's best friend. He only had one day off, so he had to make the most of it.

In the office, Li Xue was still busy with work.

Her young secretary brought over a boxed lunch and placed it in front of her.

"Thanks. Could you get me some water?" Li Xue handed over her cup, then grabbed her phone, intending to watch some short videos on local financial news.

'Even when buried in work, I still have to do my best to find new business opportunities.'

But when she opened TikTok, the title of the first video that popped up was alarming.

"Furious for a Fair Maiden: Young Man Kicks Troublemaker Across the Street in Front of Holy Medicine Hall"

The title was obvious clickbait, and Li Xue was about to swipe it away.

But the person in the video made her stop. 'Isn't that Mu Lin?'

She'd recognize that back even if it were turned to ash.

Right next to him was Zhao Ling'er, her beautiful face pale with fright. The "fair maiden" from the title was probably her.

'And the way his arm is wrapped around her...'

Mu Lin had explained the matter with the VW Polo before, saying it was Zhao Ling'er's car.

Li Xue had managed to accept that at the time, but seeing this video, she couldn't contain herself any longer.

'This obviously happened today. But when he asked for the day off last night, he said he was going to treat Xue Yang's sister.'

'Hmm... Then again, if he's treating someone, of course he'd go to the Holy Medicine Hall, right?'

Li Xue was so angry she was getting muddled.

'Either way, I'm not letting him off the hook.'

Li Xue wolfed down her food, completely ignoring her usual composure, leaving her young assistant staring in bewilderment.

She shot to her feet and marched straight to the project department.

Xue Yang had just finished lunch and was walking back to his office when he was startled to see Li Xue standing there.

"President Li, what can I do for you?"

"Where's Mu Lin?"

'What's going on?' Xue Yang wondered. 'Since when does President Li care so much about Mu Lin?'

"He took the day off today! My sister is sick, so he's helping take her to see Divine Doctor Zhao."

Mu Lin had warned him repeatedly not to say that he was the one doing the treatment, otherwise Li Xue would likely blow a fuse.

Li Xue's expression remained grim, but she felt slightly better.

'Acupuncture usually requires removing clothes. If Divine Doctor Zhao is the one administering the treatment, I guess I can accept that.'

"So, the treatment's done. Where is he now?"

Xue Yang added, "He also has to take my sister's best friend for treatment. It'll take him a while to go and come back."

Li Xue just said, "Oh," and walked straight to the special team's office.

She pushed open the door. The three people left inside saw her and immediately rushed over, bowing and scraping.

"Sister Xue! So nice of you to finally remember us here in the special team."

Li Xue demanded, "Where's Mu Lin? Why didn't you tell me he wasn't at work today?"

Chen Xi could tell something was off with Li Xue's attitude.

"Manager Xue told me Mu Lin took the day off. I assumed you would have already heard from HR?"

Of course, Li Xue knew. But she was annoyed, so she stubbornly insisted:

"I didn't know! I told you to report to me, so why didn't you say anything?"

Chen Xi hurriedly apologized, "Yes, yes, you're right! It's my fault! Sister Xue, you told me to report every one of Mu Lin's movements to you, and I failed to do so. I was wrong!"

He said all this while bowing obsequiously, but inside, his thoughts were a complete mess.

'Sister Xue isn't usually this aggressive. But whenever it involves Mu Lin, she gets completely furious.'

'I'll have to give Brother Lin a heads-up later and tell him to watch his back.'

"Oh yes, you've made plenty of mistakes," Li Xue said, leaning against the doorframe and pulling up the video on her phone.

Chen Xi stood there awkwardly, at a loss for how to respond.

'Mu Lin sending that guy flying with a kick was awesome. I should be happy about it.'

'But Li Xue is clearly looking to blame Mu Lin. If I look happy, I'll probably get caught in the fallout.'

Li Xue spoke slowly, enunciating every word.

"Last time I told you to teach him a lesson, did you actually do it?"

To avoid blowing his cover, Chen Xi could only brazen it out. "I did! Of course I did! I beat him until he was on the ground. He submitted right then and there!"

Li Xue looked up at the ceiling. 'And to think I actually believed him. I can't believe he's still lying to my face.'

'With Chen Xi's flashy but useless moves, Mu Lin could probably take out a whole squad of guys with one punch.'

'It's obvious who taught who a lesson.'

She reached out, grabbed Chen Xi's cheek, and gave it a vicious twist. "You did? Hmm?"

"OW, OW, OW, OW..." Chen Xi yelped in pain.

Zhou Yu quickly interjected, "Sister Xue, why do this? Brother Lin has done so much for our team. He's made huge contributions. There's no need to always target him, is there?"

Li Xue glanced at Zhou Yu. She remembered Zhou Yu's former punk-girl look and guessed the reason for her transformation.

'A woman changes her appearance for the man she adores, is that it?'

That made her even angrier.

"So all of you are hiding things from me, is that it? Just you wait. You'll all get what's coming to you!"

Li Xue spun around and walked away, leaving the three of them standing there, utterly speechless.

"What... what was all that about? What exactly is Brother Lin to Sister Xue?"

Zhou Yu asked, carefully lowering her voice.

Chen Xi pursed his lips. "I'd like to know too. But don't ask. Just hurry and report this to Brother Lin. Tell him to watch his own back. We can't protect him from this anymore."

Li Xue hadn't gone far. She heard their conversation through the crack in the door.

She was fuming.

'Brother Lin this, Brother Lin that.'

'So much respect, huh?'

She turned around and marched to the project department office. "How much of Mu Lin's salary is left for this month?"

Xue Yang was taken aback but answered honestly, "A little less than 120,000."

Li Xue was tempted to dock his entire salary, but what if that pushed Mu Lin to leave with Zhao Ling'er for good?

"Mu Lin is absent without leave. Dock his pay by five thousand as a disciplinary measure."

Xue Yang was dumbfounded. 'But I already reported his leave of absence to HR.'

'Docking his pay? Isn't that going too far?'

'I'll just put this on hold for now. In a few days, after Li Xue cools off, she'll probably forget about it.'