Gu Shunuan's leg was fractured.

The injury was quite serious. Her boss took one look at her and said, "It takes a hundred days for bones and tendons to heal," then immediately gave her medical leave, telling her to recover before returning to work.

As for how she got injured, Gu Shunuan was too embarrassed to say.

"She was attending a friend's wedding, and when she tried to catch the bridal bouquet, she stepped on a chair. She caught the bouquet, but fell off and fractured her leg."

Her colleague was quick to speak up before Gu Shunuan could stop her, revealing the cause of her injury.

Feeling humiliated, Gu Shunuan pulled the hospital bed's blanket over her head, pretending to be dead.

The attending physician, Wen Zhan, who had been standing by her bedside, snorted coldly when he heard this. "You really are desperate to get married."

Gu Shunuan was immediately annoyed by his tone. She threw off the blanket and glared at Wen Zhan. "What does it matter to you if I want to get married or not? Is that how a doctor should talk to a patient? I need peace and quiet, okay? Stop making sarcastic remarks at me all the time."

Unexpectedly, Wen Zhan wasn’t angry. Instead, he laughed, looking as if he was deliberately trying to provoke her. "I'm not speaking to you as a doctor right now. I'm greeting you as your ex-boyfriend, after all these years."

Greet you, my foot!

Gu Shunuan almost swore, but with one leg out of commission, her anger seemed a bit muted.

Already feeling unlucky for ending up in the hospital after breaking her leg while catching the bouquet, she now had to deal with her ex-boyfriend being her attending physician. Gu Shunuan felt like she was cursed lately.

Seeing her in such a powerless state, Wen Zhan chuckled softly and returned to his gentle and warm demeanor as a doctor.

"Get some rest."

Gu Shunuan rolled her eyes. "I could rest just fine if you weren't here."

Wen Zhan didn't respond and simply walked out of the room.

After he left, her colleague eagerly leaned in, clearly excited. "Shunuan, I didn't know you had such a handsome ex-boyfriend! He's totally a white-coat god!"

Hearing her colleague's praise for Wen Zhan, Gu Shunuan scoffed. "Don't be fooled by his gentle and harmless appearance. There's a saying: 'All that glitters is not gold.' He's the perfect example of a scumbag in disguise!"

"So... did he cheat on you? Is that why you broke up?"

Gu Shunuan nodded firmly, her face full of righteous anger. "He was flirting with other girls while we were dating, using his looks to seduce innocent women. He's basically a real-life Chen Shimei—a male vixen!"

Her colleague, surprised by her indignation, asked, "If you hate him so much, why did you date him in the first place?"

At this, Gu Shunuan hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed. After some awkward shifting, she finally said, "Well, back then I was young and foolish, and I was deceived by his seemingly innocent appearance."

The first time Gu Shunuan met Wen Zhan, the situation was quite similar to this one, though far more dangerous.

At the time, she was a freshman in college. Her classmates had organized a barbecue by the river, and after eating, she decided to take a walk along the riverbank by herself. She had walked a fair distance and was about to head back when she saw a little boy drowning. Without a second thought, Gu Shunuan's sense of justice kicked in, and she dove into the water.

It took all her strength to push the drowning boy to the shallow area, but in the process, she cramped up and couldn’t move.

As a wave hit her, she was swept further away by the current.

What happened after that, Gu Shunuan didn’t remember clearly.

All she recalled was waking up to find Wen Zhan leaning over her—performing CPR.

Groggy from having swallowed a stomachful of river water, Gu Shunuan thought someone was taking advantage of her, so she slapped him hard. The crisp sound of the slap startled the group of children watching.

Not caring about anything else, Gu Shunuan scrambled to her feet and began cursing Wen Zhan, "Pervert! Scoundrel! How shameless can you be?"

The slap was strong, and Wen Zhan’s face stung with pain. Hearing her accusations, he was so angry he laughed. "Miss, I just saved your life."

The children around them chimed in, "Yeah, big sister, this big brother saved you."

Gu Shunuan’s face fell as conflicting emotions swirled inside her—gratitude for being saved mixed with the frustration of having lost her first kiss this way. She shot him a glance and muttered under her breath, "My first kiss... just gone like that..."

Even though she spoke softly, Wen Zhan heard her. He rubbed his nose, his ears turning slightly red.

"As if it wasn't my first kiss too."

At that, their eyes met, and a strange tension filled the air.

They both stood frozen, but Wen Zhan’s face grew redder. Before Gu Shunuan could figure out why, he stood up, grabbed his backpack from the side, and pulled out a jacket, tossing it to her.

Gu Shunuan was stunned for a moment before realizing that her thin T-shirt had become see-through after getting wet, revealing her bra underneath.

Now it was Gu Shunuan’s turn to blush.

In that instant, not only was her first kiss gone, but so was her dignity.

Gu Shunuan practically fled in embarrassment.

When she got back to where her classmates were barbecuing, her roommate noticed her drenched clothes and the fact that she was wearing a boy’s jacket. Their gaze turned teasing.

"Well, well, Shunuan, did you sneak off to find a boyfriend behind our backs?"

Gu Shunuan waved her hand dismissively and pointed toward the river. "See that?"

Her roommate was puzzled. "See what?"

"That’s the boyfriend I found. Go ahead, call him dad."

"..."

Compared to their first intense encounter, Gu Shunuan and Wen Zhan's second meeting was much more lighthearted.

That day, Gu Shunuan was attending a social event on the school’s big lawn with her club seniors. Halfway through, one of the seniors received a phone call and left for a while. When he returned, he was accompanied by a group of people, introducing them as his classmates from the medical school.

At the time, Gu Shunuan was engrossed in reading a detective manga on her phone. She barely glanced up when the senior greeted everyone, not paying attention to who had arrived.

After a while, she felt someone sit down next to her. Then a hand reached over and pointed to a character on her manga screen, saying, "This person is the murderer."

Gu Shunuan was instantly annoyed, her mind racing with thoughts. She turned her head sharply, only to find Wen Zhan sitting beside her. Remembering their awkward first encounter, her face flushed red again, and the words she intended to say got stuck in her throat.

Perhaps he had just come from the lab, as there was a faint scent of disinfectant on him.

The evening breeze blew by, carrying the smell of osmanthus flowers, and strangely enough, it made Gu Shunuan feel a sense of comfort.

She also remembered the incident where she had fallen into the river. Since she had fled in embarrassment, she hadn’t even thanked him properly.

Gathering her thoughts, Gu Shunuan looked at him and said, “Thanks for saving me last time. Oh, and I’ve already washed your clothes. They’re in my dorm; I’ll get them for you later.”

Wen Zhan glanced around and suggested, "How about you get them now? I’ve been in the lab all day and I’m a bit tired. I’d like to head back early to rest."

Gu Shunuan, who had already been bored enough to read manga on her phone, saw this as a good excuse. While no one was paying attention, she and Wen Zhan quietly sneaked away.

She went to her dorm, fetched his clothes, and ran back down to give them to him. Wen Zhan took the clothes and turned to leave.

But after just a few steps, he stopped, turned back to her, and asked, "Hey, do you want to grab a late-night snack?"

The clean-cut, confident young man stood under the soft glow of the streetlamp, flashing her a broad, carefree smile.

At that moment, Gu Shunuan wasn’t sure what came over her—perhaps she was dazzled by his looks—but she ended up going with him for that late-night snack.

Later, when they were officially dating, Gu Shunuan recalled that evening and asked Wen Zhan, "When we were at that lawn social, it was only the second time we’d met. Plus, it was dark there—how did you recognize me so quickly? Were you already scheming something?"

Wen Zhan put down the book he was reading, looked at her with affectionate eyes, and gently brushed a hand through her hair. "I admit I was interested in you, but I recognized you at the lawn because you hadn’t washed your hair that day. It was so greasy it was practically glowing."

"…"

Now that she thought about it, Gu Shunuan couldn’t figure out why she liked Wen Zhan so much. Sure, he was good-looking, but he had a sharp tongue and was the epitome of a typical straight man.

Back when they were together, she once had severe menstrual cramps and called him from her dorm. He braved the cold to bring her brown sugar water.

But besides the brown sugar water, he also brought a packet of acupuncture needles, earnestly suggesting, "Next time you have cramps, just poke these into the acupoints."

At the time, Gu Shunuan was so deeply in love that she refrained from sticking those needles in his face.

But after they broke up, she actually did something like that.

She sneaked into his dorm and scattered a handful of embroidery needles under his bedsheet, fully intending to "stab" the shameless jerk to avenge her broken heart.

Although Gu Shunuan used to resent Wen Zhan to the point of gnashing her teeth, she didn't want to hold onto those grudges anymore—especially since he was now her primary doctor, and her life was in his hands. She couldn't afford to be reckless.

Gu Shunuan's parents lived in another city, but upon learning that she was injured, her mother, Mrs. Gu, rushed over to take care of her.

When Wen Zhan entered the hospital room, Mrs. Gu was peeling an apple for Gu Shunuan while scolding her, "I urged you to get married, not because I thought you couldn't find someone. Now look at you—broke your leg! Who's going to want you after this?"

Gu Shunuan was initially letting her mother ramble, but the moment Wen Zhan stepped into the room, she snapped to attention and quickly interrupted her mother.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I went to catch the bouquet because I already have a boyfriend. I caught the bouquet, so the wedding is happening soon."

Wen Zhan's eyes darkened at her words as he silently approached her bedside.

Back when Gu Shunuan and Wen Zhan were dating, Mrs. Gu hadn't known about it, so she didn't recognize Wen Zhan. However, she couldn’t help but notice the handsome doctor who was treating her daughter.

Gu Shunuan glanced at Wen Zhan but ignored him, turning to her mother instead. "Mom, you don’t believe me? I really do have a boyfriend…"

Before Mrs. Gu could respond, Wen Zhan let out a cold chuckle, his tone indifferent. "Miss Gu, you've been hospitalized for several days now, and the only man who visited you was that balding boss on the first day. Is your boyfriend your boss?"

"My boyfriend is just busy and doesn't have time to visit me," she retorted, somewhat childishly. But then she realized there was no point in arguing with him and huffed, turning away from him in a huff.

As soon as Wen Zhan left, Gu Shunuan called Qin Yu, the most attractive guy in her company, asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend. But Qin Yu refused.

"Director Gu, you may be my boss, but you can't abuse your power. You're eager to get married, but I'm still a young, fresh guy. If you do this, you'll ruin my innocence..."

Gu Shunuan gritted her teeth, "Cut the nonsense. If you come, I'll help you get together with the receptionist."

"Deal."

The next day, Qin Yu came by after work, and as luck would have it, he ran into Wen Zhan at the hospital room door. Quick-witted as he was, Qin Yu greeted Wen Zhan first, "You must be Nuan Nuan's attending doctor, right? Nice to meet you, I'm her boyfriend, Qin Yu."

Qin Yu extended his hand, but Wen Zhan merely glanced at it and said, "No need for a handshake. I just finished surgery and don't want to get blood on you."

At first, the comment seemed innocent enough, but on second thought, it gave Qin Yu pause.

Whose blood?

Did this former boyfriend of Gu Shunuan's have a ruthless streak?

Qin Yu began to regret taking on this role just to win over the receptionist.

Wen Zhan was there for a routine check-up, something that usually only took a few minutes. But today, he lingered, eventually pulling up a chair and sitting down as if he belonged there.

Since there was only one chair in the room, Wen Zhan took it, leaving Qin Yu without a place to sit. Gu Shunuan patted the edge of her bed, "Come on, Qin Yu, sit here."

Just as Qin Yu was about to sit down, Wen Zhan stood up, grabbed him by the arm, and despite his objections, pushed him into the chair, taking a seat beside Gu Shunuan on the bed instead, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Both Gu Shunuan and Qin Yu couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

Noticing the hostility in Gu Shunuan's tone, Wen Zhan raised an eyebrow slightly and asked her, "Do you really dislike me that much? I'm just curious about the guy who replaced me as your boyfriend."

Gu Shunuan corrected him, "Ex-boyfriend."

Having already been briefed by Gu Shunuan on the phone, Qin Yu sensed the tension and chimed in, "So you're the infamous ex, huh? Nuan Nuan told me she got cheated on by an old, shameless guy. I imagined someone else… I didn’t expect you to be so young."

Qin Yu was three years younger than Gu Shunuan, and Wen Zhan was a year older than her. So, Qin Yu calling Wen Zhan "old" wasn't entirely baseless.

However, Wen Zhan's face darkened upon hearing this.