Physician's Odyssey

"That's my younger cousin, Yin Le. She's a news anchor in the Hanzhou Television Station, so it's natural for you to find her familiar." Zhang Fang smiled as she introduced, "She often has dinner with us after her work."

"No wonder she's so familiar." Su Tao smiled, "Unlike on the television, she's prettier in real life."

Yin Le cast a glance at Su Tao and faintly said, "It's required for me to put on mature makeup on the news." Her voice was a little indifferent, and she looked more relaxed and casual, unlike how she usually looked on television.

She's 28 this year, and it proved how outstanding she was, since she could become a news anchor at such a young age, even if it's only a province television station.

In a third-tiered province like Hanzhou, television had a bigger influence, when compared to the newspaper. Therefore, Yin Le could be considered as a celebrity in every household. Along with her outstanding appearance and voice, she had quite a few fans for herself. Many youths watched the Hanzhou News just to see her on television.

Everyone in the media circle knew that a talented news anchor like Yin Le was merely using the Hanzhou Television Station as a stepping stone so that she could climb higher when the time came.

Di Shiyuan smiled and introduced Su Tao to Yin Le, "This is the Department Head of my Hospital's TCM Department, Su Tao."

Yin Le was stunned with doubt. "TCM Department's Head? Shouldn't all of them be old?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover; his medical skills are extraordinary." Di Shiyuan explained with a smile.

Yin Le raised her brows, since she didn't believe it. "Oh? Sometime before, there were many breaking news of scammers claiming to be specialists in TCM to con others."

Hearing Yin Le's words, the good impression that Su Tao had for her instantly disappeared. "There is scum in every profession, just like the media. There were fake medicine advertisements that were being broadcast without testing their authenticity. Furthermore, aren't those so-called 'TCM specialists' advertised by the media without knowing their authenticity?"

Yin Le's face instantly turned red from anger when she heard Su Tao's words before she stared at him. "TCM doesn't have a good reputation now, how can they blame the media if they didn't reflect on their shortcomings? I never thought that your insight was so poor."

Su Tao faintly smiled. "Not only is TCM fading, but even the entire Chinese culture is also in an awkward situation. However, not only is the media not doing anything to help, they even target the market by introducing those variety shows and similar programs to mislead the audience. So isn't the media responsible for the declining Chinese culture?"

Zhang Fang was dumbfounded while she watched the two of them war with their words. She took a long time to recover from the shock and smiled. "What's wrong with the two of you? Why do the two of you seem like you've eaten gunpowder, and quarrel the moment you meet?"

Di Shiyuan waved his hand and chuckled, "This isn't quarrelling, it's a reasonable disagreement of opinions, and that means that the two of them can find a topic to talk about. When two people come together, the terrifying thing is that there isn't any spark. On the contrary, I feel that the two of them are pretty good."

Yin Le glared at Di Shiyuan and sourly responded, "Brother-in-Law, I do not have a common topic with a guy who blames others without reflecting himself."

Su Tao knitted his brows. He felt that Yin Le was an entirely different person than when she's on the television. On TV, she was composed, kind and a woman of few words. But at the dining table, her tongue was sharp and ruthless; her words were akin to firecrackers.

Su Tao was a man, after all, so there's no need for him to bicker with a woman. Thus, he composed himself and quietly ate while ignoring Yin Le.

Zhang Fang knew that Su Tao was wronged, so she placed a drumstick on his plate. "Physician Su, I heard that you live alone. Do come and have dinner with us often."

Su Tao used his chopsticks to peel the drumstick and frankly replied, "I'm not alone, I have a few workers in the Three Flavour Hall, and we live together."

Gently patting her lips, Zhang Fang smiled. "I actually forgot about it, Old Di told me that you have a pharmacy that you have inherited from your grandfather."

"So you're born with a silver spoon." Yin Le spoke in a soft voice with her brows raised.

Su Tao naturally heard her words. How was he born with a silver spoon? The Three Flavour Hall nearly closed down a while ago, and it was all due to his efforts that the Three Flavour Hall made it this far.

Seeing Su Tao's unsightly expression, Di Shiyuan patiently explained, "It's true that the Three Flavour Hall was left to him by his grandfather, but it was nearly demolished, and the businesses were bad when he took over. So Su Tao still relied on himself to prop up this family business."

When Yin Le heard Di Shiyuan's words, she pouted and no longer continued to provoke Su Tao.

When they finished dinner, Zhang Fang and Yin Le went into the kitchen to prepare fruits while Di Shiyuan and Su Tao sat on the couch, watching television. Surprisingly, Di Shiyuan was fond of dramas. This drama that was airing was called 《A Beautiful Encounter》, a story of China back in the Republic of China regarding the grudges between two families that dealt with silk. It's a clichéd plot, the hostility of the previous generation implicating into the current generation. However, love sparked between the two families but the male and female protagonist couldn't be together due to the animosity between their families.

In the drama, the male protagonist took a bullet for the female protagonist and suffered heavy injuries. The female protagonist cried her heart out, which actually caused the brim of Di Shiyuan's eyes to turn red with tears dripping out; a scene that left Su Tao speechless.

"This is too touching!" Di Shiyuan sincerely sighed.

Su Tao bitterly smiled and went along with it, "Yeah, it's too tragic."

At this moment, Zhang Fang came out with a plate of fruits. When she saw this scene, she immediately sat down. "Hey, did I miss the best part?"

It was at this moment that Su Tao realised that this husband and wife had such a similar interest.

Yin Le chuckled, "Sister, Brother-in-Law, the two of you are highly educated, so why do the two of you like to watch that kind of soap opera?"

Zhang Fang rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So what if we're highly educated? It's tiring to work during the day, so can't we relax ourselves by watching dramas when we're back home?"

Yin Le sat on the couch and changed her posture a few times while she ate a few grapes. However, she felt that the atmosphere was a little dull and she suddenly stood up. "I don't have the luxury of time to waste. I'm going back home now."

"Don't you drive? Can you send Su Tao back on the way?" Di Shiyuan smiled.

Yin Le knitted her brows. "Brother-in-Law, I don't let other guys sit in my car. If my boyfriend knew about it, he'd get jealous."

Speechless, Zhang Fang replied, "What boyfriend do you have? I told you to bring him home a few times, and you never did!"

Yin Le glared at Su Tao and replied, "That's because he's busy at work. I'll surely bring him over when he has the time. I'll let you guys know the meaning of a talented and handsome young man."

After she spoke, she put on her silver heels and called out at Su Tao, "Aren't you coming?"

Su Tao initially wanted to refuse, but he was afraid that Di Shiyuan and his wife would be placed in an awkward situation. Thus, he smiled. "President Di, Sister Fang, I'll take my leave first, then."

When he came down, Yin Le pressed the button on her car remote and a Ford Mondeo responded. "Are you coming? But, of course, I think that you will probably refuse."

Su Tao actually didn't have the intention to sit in her car, but he quickened his steps and entered the front passenger seat after being triggered by her.

Knitting her brows, Yin Le sat in the driver's seat and she clicked the seat belt, then stared at Su Tao. "You sit behind. The front seat is not something that just anyone can sit on."

Su Tao winded down the window and smiled. "I have already invaded your comfort zone, anyway. It might be difficult to bear, but just endure for ten-odd minutes."

After Yin Le started the car and travelled out for a distance, she suddenly came to realise that there's a meaning behind Su Tao's words. She blushed. "Your mouth is pretty cheap."

Rubbing his nose, Su Tao replied with a smile, "Don't think in the wrong direction. One must have pure thoughts so that the words of others would be pure as well. Otherwise, anything would sound ear-piercing to you."

Yin Le sighed at her misfortune. Her sister told her that an outstanding man was joining them for dinner, but he turned out to be a disappointment instead. Aside from his appearance, Su Tao had quite a few flaws that made her feel uncomfortable.

The Ford Mondeo stopped outside the Three Flavour Hall. When Su Tao came out from the car, Yin Le instantly stepped on the accelerator and the car flew out. Su Tao was stunned on the spot for a long time before he walked towards the Three Flavour Hall.

Yin Le tuned to the radio channel 95.8 that was playing《I'm Really Hurt》that was sung by Tian Fuzhen. "It's clouding outside, and the music is tuned down. I'm starting to yearn for you. The phone rang, and you're about to speak. But I thought that you're about to tell me how much you missed me…"

Affected by the sorrowful melody, Yin Le felt her nose sour as tears fell. Actually, the reason why she was making things hard for Su Tao today was that she wanted to hide the injuries in her heart. Her love was an unacceptable one in the eyes of the public. Her boyfriend was really outstanding, it's just that he was already married. In the end, all she could be was only a mistress to him.

Even if he had promised that his love for her was real and he no longer loved his wife, every time he was together with his wife, his phone was always switched off, and she would only hear "The number you have dialled is currently unavailable.".

She was a prideful woman, and she wanted to cut the relationship several times. However, she failed to do so because she fell too deeply in love. So even if she was hurting, she could only silently accept it.

She had no idea how long she could last, since she still wasn't determined yet.

The phone suddenly rang and Yin Le placed the bluetooth earphone on her ear before Zhang Fang's pleasant voice sounded, "Lele, I think Little Su is pretty good. He's an honest and handsome kid, and his job is pretty good as well. I think that the two of you are a pretty good match."

Yin Li sighed. Just when she wanted to reject, her eyes suddenly lit up. "Then, I'll try to interact with him. Send me his number later, and I'll contact him."

After Zhang Fang hung up the phone, she was astonished, "Old Di, you're godly! Why did you think that Yin Le and Su Tao can get together?"

Di Shiyuan's eyes were still glued to the television as he smiled. "There are some that have a chemical reaction the moment they meet. Although they might be quarrelling all the time, you can also call it a quarrelsome but loving couple."