After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

No sooner had Sister Hong left than Gu Qiangying slammed her medicine box heavily onto the consultation table.

Lin Qingqing hadn't recovered from the embarrassment she'd just felt and was looking down, picking at her fingers.

"Cousin?" Gu Qiangying took off her white coat and hung it on the wooden rack next to her.

Lin Qingqing muttered softly, "Then what else can we say? We can't exactly tell people that I'm your sister-in-law, and a widow at that."

Gu Qiangying snorted and walked to the sink to lather up with soap, the foam slipping between his long, slender fingers.

"Whose sister-in-law are you? It seems you're closer to my eldest and second brothers. You're quite a good sister-in-law."

Lin Qingqing sensed the barb in his words and didn't dare to argue back. She went over and picked up a towel to wait for him.

After washing her hands, Gu Qiangying didn't take the towel; instead, she pressed her wet hands directly onto Lin Qingqing's face.

The chill made Lin Qingqing shrink her neck.

Gu Qiangying cupped Lin Qingqing's face in her damp hands and snorted coldly, "Stay here and keep your little schemes to yourself. You chat with everyone who comes by; are you that bored?"

Lin Qingqing stuffed the towel into his arms and boldly replied, "I was just being polite. Third Brother, you're really hard to please."

Gu Qiangying dried her hands, threw the towel back into the basin, and pointed to the bottom row of medicine cabinets.

"Those in that row, if they don't finish memorizing the medicinal properties this afternoon, they won't need to eat dinner tonight."

Lin Qingqing looked at the dozens of drawers and her face turned green.

Around 2 PM, the clinic received its first patient.

It was Grandpa Zhang, who lived at the end of the alley. He had chronic bronchitis, and he coughed so loudly as soon as he entered the door.

Gu Qiangying sat back behind the consultation table, and her whole demeanor instantly changed.

"Uncle Zhang, did you drink again last night?" Gu Qiangying asked without looking up, scribbling on the medical record book with a pen in her hand.

Grandpa Zhang stopped coughing, his face flushed: "I only drank a small sip, just to improve blood circulation."

"If you want to improve your blood circulation, go for a run; if you drink alcohol, you're just hoping to be reincarnated sooner." Gu Qiangying spoke without any politeness.

Lin Qingqing watched in stunned silence.

"Go and get the medicine. Three qian of ephedra, three qian of bitter apricot kernel, half a liang of gypsum..."

Gu Qiangying rattled off the names of the medicines quickly, and Lin Qingqing hurriedly opened the drawer and frantically grabbed a small scale to measure them.

"There's too much plaster." Gu Qiangying's voice drifted over from behind, as if she had eyes.

Lin Qingqing looked down and saw that it was true.

She quickly pulled out a little bit, wondering to herself, "Does this man have eyes in the back of his head?"

After Grandpa Zhang had walked away with the medicine, Gu Qiangying stood up and walked behind Lin Qingqing.

He was more than half a head taller than Lin Qingqing, and when he got close, his shadow enveloped her completely.

"You can't even use a scale, who are you planning to poison?"

He reached out and grasped Lin Qingqing's hand holding the scale; his palm was a little hot.

Lin Qingqing tried to break free, but he held her down tightly.

"Look, the guiding star is right here. Don't let your hands shake, or the medicine won't be accurate."

He took her hand and adjusted the position of the weight little by little.

In this position, Lin Qingqing was almost completely nestled in his arms.

The scent of medicine mingled with the man's cold aura, filling her nostrils and making her somewhat distracted.

"Third Brother, I got it." Lin Qingqing protested softly.

Gu Qiangying didn't let go. Instead, she leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice, "You understand now? When that old man asked you a question, why didn't you say you were my cousin?"

Lin Qingqing's heart skipped a beat.

Just now, Grandpa Zhang did ask who this girl was.

Lin Qingqing was busy getting medicine and didn't have time to talk to him.

"I forgot."

"Forgot?" Gu Qiangying chuckled, releasing her hand and then pinching her waist. "I think you want the whole town to know that Doctor Gu is keeping a beauty in his house."

Lin Qingqing cried out in pain and turned around to glare at him.

Gu Qiangying, however, had already sat back down in his chair with ease, opened his medical book, and looked every bit the gentleman.

Lin Qingqing was a little annoyed, so she went to the backyard to wash the basket of herbs.

Lin Qingqing squatted on a small stool, her sleeves rolled up, her fair arms swaying in the water.

The basket contained freshly harvested indigo plants, still covered in mud.

As she washed, she cursed Gu Qiangying eight hundred times in her mind.

How strange. She didn't understand why Gu Qiangying would act so sarcasticly just because of the terms "cousin" or "sister-in-law".

It's the same at home.

It's just a title; she mainly doesn't want people to gossip about her or talk about her own affairs, so she's just dealing with outsiders.

This man is really strange.

While I was washing, a commotion came from the clinic in front of me.

"Dr. Gu! Dr. Gu, please take a look! What's wrong with my child?"

Lin Qingqing didn't even bother to wipe her hands before rushing back to the front hall.

A woman was holding a five- or six-year-old boy, sweating profusely with anxiety.

The boy's face was flushed, his eyes were closed, and he was talking nonsense.

Gu Qiangying went up to him and touched the boy's forehead with the back of her hand.

"Qingqing, go get some alcohol and ice."

Lin Qingqing was stunned for a moment. She knew where the alcohol was, but where could she find ice here?

"Go to the convenience store next door and buy it, hurry up!" Gu Qiangying shouted.

Lin Qingqing took off running.

When she returned with a bag of crushed ice, Gu Qiangying had already given the child several injections.

The child was still convulsing, but the convulsions had subsided considerably.

"Apply ice to the armpits and groin," Gu Qiangying instructed as she continued administering acupuncture.

Lin Qingqing didn't care about anything else and did as Gu Qiangying said.

The ice made her fingers numb, but seeing the child's pitiful state, she gritted her teeth and endured it.

Gu Qiangying's movements were extremely steady; she inserted the long needle into the acupoint without the slightest hesitation.

About twenty minutes later, the boy let out a long breath and burst into tears.

The woman's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, grabbing Gu Qiangying's trouser leg as she tried to kowtow.

"Alright, stop with the nonsense. The child's fever is caused by indigestion; just give him less oily food in the future."

Gu Qiangying put the needle away, her tone returning to its usual coldness.

After seeing the mother and son off, Lin Qingqing was about to return to the backyard to continue washing the medicinal herbs when Gu Qiangying stopped her.

"Give me your hand."

Lin Qingqing reached out her hands, both of which were red from the cold ice. Gu Qiangying frowned, warmed her hands, and then gently rubbed them.

"Hiss—" Lin Qingqing tried to pull her hand back.

"Bear with it, your hands are so cold, it's easy to feel uncomfortable."

Gu Qiangying's hand movements slowed down considerably, and her previously numb fingers gradually regained sensation.

Looking at his lowered eyelashes, Lin Qingqing felt her resentment inexplicably dissipate.

"Third Brother, you looked quite handsome when you were giving me acupuncture."

Gu Qiangying paused, looked up at her, and her gaze behind her glasses was unreadable.

"nice?"

Gu Qiangying rubbed Lin Qingqing's hand repeatedly with her fingers until the delicate skin turned a thin red.

"What did you just say about me?" Gu Qiangying released one hand and pushed the gold-rimmed glasses up her nose.

Lin Qingqing didn't dare to look up, staring at the little flower at her toes, "I said you look pretty when you're getting acupuncture."

"It only looks good when you're giving her acupuncture?" Gu Qiangying wrapped both of her hands in her palms, leaned forward slightly, and forced her to the side of the medicine cabinet.

Lin Qingqing pressed her lower back against the cool drawer pull ring. "You look good even normally."

Gu Qiangying chuckled briefly. Before Lin Qingqing could react, he released her and turned to tidy up the mess on the consultation table.

What do you want to eat tonight?

Lin Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing her feverish hand. "Anything is fine, I'm not picky."

"Go wash that basket of isatis root in the backyard, I'll make you dumpling soup tonight," Gu Qiangying ordered without turning her head, the pen in her hand scratching on the paper.

Lin Qingqing responded and ran to the backyard as if fleeing.

She squatted by the basin of water, putting her hand into the cool water, and the heat she had felt earlier subsided a little.