Red Socks_2

Nian Yuyu "..."

It's just a foot inspection, why add fuel to it?

Pushing open the door, Nian Yuyu paused for a second. The doctor in the consultation room was unreasonably young. He wore a white lab coat over a black turtleneck sweater, with a cold and aloof demeanor. His eyes were dark as ink, his nose was high and straight, his thin lips were slightly pursed, and his jawline was sharply defined—exceptionally refined and handsome.

As Nian Yuyu turned to close the door, she caught sight of the older man she had encountered earlier winking and gesturing at her, which made her somewhat uneasy. She quickly shut the door tightly.

Chu You took out a new medical record and glanced up briefly before looking down again. His voice rose, cold and clear.

"Name."

"Nian Yuyu," she answered subconsciously. "Yuyu, as in 'may there be surplus every year.'

Chu You's pen stopped for a moment.

"Age."

"24."

...

After filling in the basic information, Chu You finally directed his gaze at the person in front of him. He scanned her from top to bottom but couldn't see any obvious symptoms.

Feeling the scrutinizing gaze, Nian Yuyu instinctively straightened her back even more, while silently criticizing in her mind. How could there be such a young and attractive associate chief physician! He was nothing like the associate chief physicians she had imagined!

Noticing that Nian Yuyu was zoning out, Chu You raised his eyebrows slightly, his voice turning even colder.

"Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

"I sprained my foot."

Nian Yuyu added silently, "My right foot, I missed a step going downstairs while looking at my phone."

Chu You showed no expression, simply turning his chair to face her and fixing his gaze on her right foot.

"Take off your shoe."

"Ah," Nian Yuyu stiffened.

This was a perfectly normal part of the process, yet for some reason, facing this handsome doctor who looked like a celebrity, she just didn't want to take off her shoe. It felt indecent, as if she was defiling him.

Nian Yuyu looked up and in Chu You's deep, dark eyes, she saw an unmistakable command. After a moment of mental preparation, she silently removed her gray snow boot from her right foot.

The next second, a foot wearing a bright red sock with the character "Double Happiness" on it came into view.

Nian Yuyu "!!!"

Red socks!

These were the socks Lady Yu Qian had handed her as she was leaving that afternoon.

Although she had complained about them at the time, she still put them on.

Being 24 years old after the New Year, it was her zodiac year. Thus her mother, Lady Yu Qian, had prepared various red garments for her. So far, she had only compromised by wearing the red socks, but... she had forgotten about having to take off her shoes for the foot examination!

If there were a crack in the ground, she would have liked to crawl into it this very moment!

Chu You's face also showed a brief moment of confusion when he saw the red socks, but his gaze quickly focused on the noticeably swollen instep, even through the sock.

"Take off your sock as well."

"Okay," Nian Yuyu replied, dejectedly.

She promptly removed her sock, almost with a sense of resigned frustration.

Putting on gloves, Chu You knelt in front of Nian Yuyu, his left hand grasping her calf while lifting her foot gently.

Nian Yuyu's foot was small, and her usually delicate and pale foot looked somewhat terrifying with its swollen arch and bruised ankle.

Chu You's right hand held Nian Yuyu's toes while his left hand gently maneuvered.

Nian Yuyu felt slightly uneasy, her lips lightly pursed, her gaze wandering. Chu You's touch was different from the indirect contact through her trousers; through only a thin layer of medical glove, his hand was somewhat cold.

"Let's go for an X-ray," Chu You said after observing for a while. He gently laid Nian Yuyu's foot back down.

He immediately stood up, removed his gloves, walked to the sink, squeezed some hand sanitizer, and rigorously cleaned his hands according to the seven-step handwashing method.

Nian Yuyu's gaze followed Chu You's slender and distinct hands, feeling as if she herself was being rubbed and cleaned at the moment.

The thought that he was washing his hands because he had touched her foot made her feel somewhat embarrassed, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

After rinsing off the hand sanitizer, Chu You pulled out a piece of tissue paper and carefully wiped the water off his hands.

Under the bright lights, the man's facial features appeared even more profound, with delicate brow bones, yet his whole being exuded an air of coldness and detachment, like a snow-capped mountain that deters others from approaching.

"First, go to the radiology department next door and get an anteroposterior and lateral X-ray to check for any fractures or dislocations," Chu You spoke in an even tone without any fluctuation.

"After it's done, bring the films back to me."

Nian Yuyu silently accepted the medical record book and payment form, swallowing the words "Just give me a bottle of safflower oil" she had meant to say.

After paying at the machine, she got her X-rays done in the radiology department and was told to return in an hour for the results.

Nian Yuyu heaved a long sigh and slouched on the sofa in the rest area like a salted fish, her eyes vacant.

Her mind alternated between thinking of her brightly colored socks and recalling the scene of Chu You squatting down to hold her foot.

After a few seconds, Nian Yuyu gathered her emotions and pulled out her phone.

She logged into the website where her comic was being serialized, intending to check the comments, but they were all uniformly demanding updates.

Nian Yuyu had been an art student with a special talent for the arts since high school, she studied fine arts, and in college, she was accepted into her desired program of art history.

But she preferred drawing comics, and she started serializing comics on the current website after the college entrance exam and went full-time post-graduation, doing this for six or seven years now.

She had also sold various copyrights, and now, she was a somewhat famous comic artist in the industry.

As soon as she logged out of the website, a message notification from a chat app flashed at the top of her phone.

Seeing who it was, Nian Yuyu inhaled sharply and cautiously started replying to the message.

A Fish: [Happy New Year to the editor! ·v·!]

A Fish: [Working so hard during the New Year, the website should award you a Model Worker prize!]

The reply from the other side came thunderously and with a barrage of messages.

Watermelon: [I'm not having a good one! Why did you miss another update today! You've only updated one chapter in the past two weeks!]

Watermelon: [The website shouldn't be awarding me, they should give you a Best Goldbricker award!]

Nian Yuyu sighed and quickly retorted.

A Fish: [This time it's really not goldbricking! I twisted my ankle and I'm at the hospital!]

She then snapped a photo of the medical record book and sent it over.

The reply on the other end came swiftly, but it wasn't in the least sympathetic or considerate, even issuing an ultimatum.

Watermelon: [You draw with your hands, not your feet!]

Watermelon: [Finish and upload the latest chapter by noon tomorrow!]

Nian Yuyu still wanted to delay it for a few days, but her editor flatly refused with stern words.

Seeing that she couldn't win the struggle, she reluctantly agreed.

Luckily, she hadn't been shirking work lately, and she only needed to wrap up the latest chapter; with a bit of effort, she could still get it done.

--

In less than an hour, Nian Yuyu had received her X-ray, and she stared seriously at the black-and-white images for a while but naturally couldn't make sense of them.

Fortunately, the diagnostic report stated there were no problems with the bones in her ankle.

Returning to the examination room, the door was wide open, and there were no other patients at the moment.

She knocked lightly on the door, and a detached voice sounded from within.

"Please come in."