Lisheng lay on her bed scrolling through trending topics, noticing that the buzz about her had finally died down quite a bit.
But now, another video had taken over the top spots on the trending list.
Curious, she tapped play.
In the video, a man was lying unconscious on the ground. Yancy Shaw was kneeling beside him, performing CPR without pause, even though rain was pouring down, drenching him through. Despite being soaked, his hands kept moving steadily, never faltering.
The man remained unresponsive for a long time; the situation was obviously critical. Yancy Shaw kept at it, not daring to slacken for even a second, until suddenly the man stirred. The sound of applause broke out on the video as bystanders cheered.
The three-minute video was racking up likes, comments, and shares at a staggering rate.
Lisheng scrolled to the comments section, only for her smile to freeze on her lips when she saw what people were saying.
“Look at his face, those hands, that body—who can resist him? (drools)”
“Does anyone know who this hot doctor is? I seriously want him to give me CPR.”
“Let go of that guy on the ground—let me take his place! (shy)”
“From now on, he’s officially my type.”
...
Clearly, it was a video about rescuing someone, but the comments section had devolved into a massive fangirl free-for-all.
Lisheng watched for a while, then replayed the video yet again.
Yancy Shaw’s focused, attentive expression as he knelt saving the man—combined with his strikingly handsome face—was simply flawless. Even in the dim, unfiltered glow of the phone camera, he was captivating.
Plenty of people were busy digging up his identity, and before long, someone had figured out where Yancy Shaw worked.
“Yancy Shaw, chief resident in cardiac surgery at Ancheng First Hospital—he did my dad’s surgery at the end of last year. Amazing skills, incredible looks. (fangirl emoji)”
“Thank you, kind soul. I’ve already booked an appointment for him overnight!”
...
A jumble of question marks floated above Lisheng’s head.
Are girls these days always this obsessed?
Yancy Shaw lay down beside her, noticing she was staring at her phone, completely engrossed.
“What are you watching so intently?” he asked.
Lisheng looked at him, arching an eyebrow. “Dr. Shen, you’re about to become a star.”
No, actually, she thought, you’re already famous now.
She handed him the phone, letting him see for himself.
Yancy Shaw took the phone, his long fingers swiping across the screen. Lisheng inadvertently found herself staring at his hands, recalling how, the previous night, they’d traversed every inch of her body with remarkable skill...
Her heart suddenly beat faster, and her ears grew inexplicably warm.
Yancy Shaw just glanced nonchalantly a few times before returning the phone to her.
“Shengsheng,” he murmured, eyes sparkling with amusement as he caught the rosy color on her ears.
Lisheng looked at him blankly, not understanding.
The innocent, clear look in her eyes only reminded him of how, the previous night, she had bloomed like a wanton rose—his gaze darkened with desire.
“I’m tired, I want to sleep,” he said.
Sensing the heat in his gaze, Lisheng edged away from him. “You should behave yourself tonight. Your hand’s hurt—you need proper rest.”
Yancy Shaw stopped teasing her, and instead used his uninjured arm to pull her into an embrace. He kissed her forehead lightly, his voice low and tender. “Go to sleep.”
--
The next morning.
Yvonne Sung awoke in the hospital, his head and hand both wrapped in gauze bandages. Even the slightest movement brought a stab of pain.
While none of his injuries were life-threatening, they were certainly bad enough to keep him in bed for quite a while.
When Yana Quinn rushed in and saw him battered and bruised—face mottled in blue and purple—her heart twisted with hurt. She gently brushed his cheek, only for Yvonne Sung to suck in his breath. “Ow,” he yelped, unable to help himself. He’d never been beaten up like this before—Yancy Shaw really hadn’t held back.
“Who did this to you? How did you end up like this?” Yana Quinn’s eyes brimmed with sympathy.
Weren’t you just supposed to be at a birthday party? How did this happen?
Yvonne Sung was in excruciating pain, and his hatred toward Yancy Shaw only grew stronger.
Thinking of last night’s humiliation, he gritted his teeth. “Yancy Shaw, I’ll never let this go.”
Yana Quinn finally understood. So that’s who’d beaten him.
“Why did he hit you?” she asked.
“He’s insane,” Yvonne Sung said curtly, omitting any mention of what had actually led up to the fight. “He just barged in and started beating me.”
Completely love-struck, Yana Quinn saw only Yvonne Sung’s injuries; any reasoning went out the window. She grabbed her phone, typed out a carefully worded post, and hit send.
She’d seen Yancy Shaw’s viral video too—knew he was trending everywhere. But beating up Yvonne Sung was unacceptable, and with Yancy Shaw’s popularity soaring, this was the perfect opportunity to stir things up, killing two birds with one stone.
By noon, Mia May sent her a link.
“Sis Sheng, take a look—isn’t this about your guy?”
Lisheng clicked open the trending topic.
She found that everyone online was condemning Yancy Shaw—the public mood had shifted 180 degrees overnight, leaving her baffled.
A trending topic titled “Ancheng Hospital’s Cardiac Surgeon Assaults Yana Quinn’s Fiancé” exploded onto the scene.
Trouble really did come wave after wave.
Skimming quickly, Lisheng saw that the post was accusing Yancy Shaw of beating Yvonne Sung, claiming that she and Yancy Shaw were unreasonable troublemakers, and that Shen’s actions were due to old grievances between Lisheng and Yvonne Sung.
Not only that, but the post dragged Lisheng’s name into the spotlight again. She was already dogged by negative rumors; just as things had begun to settle, the internet mob was stirring up trouble again.
With Yana Quinn being an actress, her influence easily surpassed ordinary people.
Lisheng could handle insults against herself, but seeing Yancy Shaw drawn into the mess—she couldn't stay calm.
After what Yvonne Sung had done, Yancy Shaw had already shown restraint; she hadn’t expected them to keep pushing their luck.
She tried to call Yancy Shaw, but there was no answer.
Taking a deep breath, Lisheng forced herself to stay calm. She couldn't afford to lose her cool now.
Meanwhile, Yancy Shaw had been summoned to the director’s office.
“Dr. Shen, is what’s circulating online true?”
If he’d really beaten someone up so badly, he might not be able to keep his hospital position.
But Yancy Shaw had always come across as a model gentleman—not one for violence—so the director wanted to hear the full story directly from him.
Yancy Shaw’s face was composed. “Half of it’s true, half of it’s not.”
What did that mean? Half true, half not?
“I did hit him. Everything else is fabrication.”
The rumors that he and Lisheng had targeted Yvonne Sung out of spite, or that Lisheng had come between Yvonne Sung and Yana Quinn—utter nonsense.
He slightly regretted not having hit Yvonne Sung harder.
The director was stunned. “So you really did hit him?”
No matter what the circumstances, violence was inexcusable. The director felt a pang, worrying that the medical field might be about to lose a great talent.
Compared to the director’s agitation, Yancy Shaw remained utterly calm. “I’ll handle this myself. Sorry for the trouble I’ve caused the hospital.”
The director didn’t say much more. What would happen next depended on the hospital board’s decision after a meeting.
“You should go rest at home for now. Don’t come in for the next few days.”