[Today is Lunar New Year’s Eve. Wishing every reader a Happy Spring Festival! Lots of red envelopes! And don’t forget to cast your votes as well!]
"Is that so... Well, okay then..." Xia Rou hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.
After all, this was an incredibly rare and valuable opportunity. Missing out on it would be such a pity.
"Alright, alright then, it’s settled. Tomorrow morning at nine, come find me at Fu’er Hospital. I’ll help you handle all the procedures myself."
Leaving Dexi Hall, Zhang Hongde seemed thoroughly pleased.
Without spending a single penny and simply leveraging Xia Rou, he’d locked in Yan Xiaobao, this hidden Divine Doctor.
Sure, Xia Rou was young, inexperienced, and lacking deep credentials. That much was true. But so what? If truly challenged with a rare and tricky case she couldn’t solve, would Yan Xiaobao stand by and do nothing?
"Sister Xia Rou, congratulations!" Zheng Xiaoyu cheered exuberantly as soon as Zhang Hongde stepped out, "You’re now a Specially Appointed Expert at Binhai Medical University! That’s incredible! You might even be the youngest Specially Appointed Expert in history!"
Xia Rou was delighted but kept her head clear; she had already deduced Zhang Hongde’s ulterior motives. "If it weren’t for a certain someone, Dean Zhang wouldn’t have invited me at all."
"Regardless, Sister Xia Rou, you’ve got real talent and skills. It’s only by breaking the norms that Dean Zhang would offer you the position!" Chen Long added his congratulations, then suggested, "Sister Xia Rou, you really ought to treat us to celebrate today."
"Exactly, exactly!" Zheng Xiaoyu eagerly agreed, an unusual occurrence, "Sister Xia Rou, take us out for a feast! After dinner, we can go sing karaoke. We absolutely have to celebrate properly tonight—playing to our heart’s content, not going home till we’re drunk!"
"Great, great!" Yan Xiaobao burst into excitement. Hearing "not going home till drunk" instantly sparked mischievous ideas in his head.
Joining the Specially Appointed Experts group paved a promising future for Xia Rou, who truly felt jubilant. Following everyone’s suggestion, she led them to the finest restaurant nearby, Baofeng Building, for a feast.
Just after the dishes were ordered, Yan Xiaobao’s phone rang.
"Hubby, where are you? Sister Bingbing left earlier, and now I’m all alone and so bored. Can I come find you and hang out?"
This was Yan Xiaobao’s newly minted "Reserve Concubine"—Ye Shanshan.
"I’m not ready to take you along just yet," Yan Xiaobao replied, feeling Ye Shanshan still hadn’t quite met the standard for a "concubine." He wasn’t particularly interested in her. freēNovelHub.com
Chen Long chimed in, "Brother Bao, it’s always livelier with more people at KTV. If she’s a friend, just invite her over to join us."
"Really?" Yan Xiaobao had never been to KTV before and finally agreed to let Ye Shanshan come along after hearing Chen Long view it as important.
Ye Shanshan arrived just as the dishes were being served, perfectly timed.
"Hubby, are these all your friends? Could you introduce me?" Her first sentence upon entering left everyone stunned.
After hearing Yan Xiaobao call others "wife" all day long, today was the first time someone actually addressed him as "hubby."
"You’re only a Reserve Concubine for now; you can’t call me ’hubby’ yet."
Yan Xiaobao’s words left Xia Rou, Zheng Xiaoyu, and Chen Long completely speechless.
Reserve? Concubine? What kind of person...? What kind of world...?...
Ye Shanshan wasn’t offended at all and instead humbly asked, "Then what should I call you? Reserve Hubby?"
"I’m not the reserve; you are!" Yan Xiaobao tried thinking hard but couldn’t figure out what Ye Shanshan should call him. In the end, he gave in and let her start calling him "hubby" early.
Chen Long introduced himself and Zheng Xiaoyu to Ye Shanshan. But when it came to Xia Rou, he wasn’t sure what to say about her identity.
Yan Xiaobao, on the other hand, was more than happy to introduce his "wives."
When Ye Shanshan found out Xia Rou was the so-called "Rourou Wife," she immediately raised her glass to toast her, "Sister Rourou, please take care of me. I’m Xiao Liu; what’s your rank?"
Yan Xiaobao had never officially ranked his wives, but Ye Shanshan’s question prompted him to start counting on his fingers, "Heavenly Sister is first, Xiao Wan Wife is second, Rourou Wife is third, Bingbing Wife is fourth, Tiantian Wife is fifth."
"Huh?" Chen Long became anxious upon hearing this, "What about my sister Chengcheng?"
Yan Xiaobao asked in confusion, "Who’s your Chengcheng?"
"Chengcheng is my little sister!"
"Oh..." Yan Xiaobao thought a moment, "Your sister isn’t even of age yet, and I haven’t met her either..."
"You can’t leave her out. She shouldn’t be lower in rank!" Chen Long urgently defended his sister’s "status." "She ought to rank ahead of Ye Shanshan—Chengcheng at sixth and Ye Shanshan at seventh."
"Hey!" Ye Shanshan immediately protested, "I’m sixth! Hubby personally promised me that! If you dare fight me for it, watch out—I’ll beat you!"
"You’ll beat me? Ha." Chen Long wasn’t intimidated by Ye Shanshan; although he respected Yan Xiaobao, he was steadfast in advocating for his sister’s "privileges" when necessary.
"With your bean-sprout body, you dare show off in front of me?" Ye Shanshan shot him a disdainful glance. "I’m a disciple of the Ye Family’s Wing Chun!"
"You win!" Chen Long, analyzing the situation, immediately conceded, "Fine, I’ll be magnanimous and let you keep sixth place. My Chengcheng will take seventh."
"That’s more like it." Ye Shanshan grinned smugly.
Xia Rou and Zheng Xiaoyu exchanged a look.
Clearly, the only sane ones left here were the two of them.
With Ye Shanshan joining the group, the meal became lively and boisterous.
After dinner, upon hearing they’d go to KTV, Ye Shanshan enthusiastically responded, "Great, great! I sing really well, you know. Everyone says I’m the next Yang Liying!"
"Who’s Yang Liying?" Yan Xiaobao asked for the second time, puzzled. Last time, Chen Long said his sister resembled Yang Liying, and now Ye Shanshan claimed her singing was akin to Yang Liying’s. Yan Xiaobao’s curiosity grew even stronger.
"You don’t know Yang Liying?" Ye Shanshan stared at him like he was an alien. "She’s the most popular rising Heavenly Queen right now! A triple-threat star in acting, singing, and dancing; she’s practically everywhere."
"Oh." Yan Xiaobao nodded, "Well, why don’t you give her a call and invite her to join us?"
"Huh?" Ye Shanshan was stunned. "Hubby, are you thinking of making Yang Liying your concubine as well?"
Yan Xiaobao seriously mulled it over, "If she’s pretty, has a good figure, a gentle personality, and a great temper, I wouldn’t rule it out."
"Haha." Ye Shanshan forced an awkward laugh, "Unfortunately, I don’t know her personally nor have her number."
"Let’s just go already; karaoke time!" Zheng Xiaoyu couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted. Any more nonsense from Yan Xiaobao, and her worldview might just collapse completely.
"Which place are we going, Night Banquet?" Ye Shanshan asked as she stood up.
"I don’t like Night Banquet." Xia Rou’s expression darkened; she had nearly been assaulted by Luo Jianbi at Night Banquet last time. Even the thought left her uneasy.
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