Chapter 89 Reputation Damaged

The rehabilitation department’s doctor’s office was not large. Inside, there was a middle-aged male doctor. Seeing Qu Jing walk in with Qin Huai, he greeted them warmly:

“Dr. Qu, accompanying Old Master Luo for therapy?”

As he spoke, the male doctor handed over a chocolate bar. “Have some snacks.”

Qu Jing waved her hand. “Little Qin brought me glutinous rice cakes. I’m just here to use your office and have a bit of dessert.”

The male doctor then looked at Qin Huai and smiled. “We’ve all tasted Little Qin’s craftsmanship. The pastries Dr. Qu bought last time were unforgettable!”

Qin Huai was somewhat surprised—surprised that Qu Jing would actually share the pastries with the rehabilitation department doctors, and also surprised that the rehab doctors knew who he was.

Qu Jing explained calmly, “Little Qin, last time you accompanied Mr. Luo here, your name spread throughout the rehabilitation department. This is Dr. Zhao. He even went to Yunzhong Cafeteria yesterday to buy pastries, though he only managed to get one shaobing and one crab-shell yellow.”

Qin Huai seemed to vaguely recall something. So that idle office worker from yesterday was Dr. Zhao.

No wonder—how could there be an office worker hanging around the cafeteria near Yunzhong Community during work hours? Turns out he was a doctor who had already finished work.

Dr. Zhao smiled at Qin Huai and went to pour water for them.

Qu Jing sat down, and Qin Huai also casually found a chair. He watched as Qu Jing opened the container and used chopsticks to pick up a piece of glutinous rice cake filled with red date paste.

Her chopsticks happened to grip the middle of the cake, and the soft rice cake drooped slightly.

Qu Jing took a small bite and chewed carefully.

Her way of eating was correct.

When eating something as soft and sticky as glutinous rice cake, if one doesn’t take small bites, it can easily get stuck in the mouth and be difficult to chew and swallow.

“How is it?” Qin Huai looked at her expectantly.

The game’s notification did not ring. That was normal.

Qu Jing’s side quest clearly wasn’t something that could be completed in the short term. Qin Huai would need to continuously provide desserts suited to her taste. Matching her taste was step one; long-term consistency was step two.

However, Qin Huai felt that as long as the taste matched, long-term wasn’t a problem. Worst case, he could just make her preferred desserts regular items on the menu. He was the boss—what to sell each day was his decision.

Qu Jing nodded in approval. “Very delicious.”

“I didn’t expect you to make glutinous rice cakes so well.”

“I made two flavors today, Dr. Qu. Could you help me evaluate which one suits your taste better? Right now the cafeteria doesn’t have fixed desserts. Glutinous rice cakes are easy to make in large quantities, so I’m planning to select a few suitable items for daily fixed sales.” Qin Huai improvised smoothly, pretending Qu Jing didn’t know how the cakes were made.

Qu Jing accepted without suspicion and picked up the red bean paste one, taking a small bite.

“Red bean paste is a bit sweeter, so some people might find it too much. But I personally have a sweet tooth, so I think it tastes pretty good.”

“However, I prefer the date paste flavor more. I feel that date paste pairs better with glutinous rice cakes.”

Qin Huai noted this down mentally, pondering whether Qu Jing preferred date-flavored desserts.

If so, he could try date yam cakes, red date sticky rice cakes, and date paste square pastries.

Making glutinous rice cakes was really exhausting.

“Dr. Qu, if you ever have any desserts you’d like to eat, feel free to message me on WeChat. When I come with Mr. Luo for therapy, I can bring them for you.”

Qu Jing slowly swallowed the rice cake and said with some surprise, “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”

“Not at all. Have you met my younger sister, Luo Luo? For all these years, I’ve always learned to make whatever she wanted to eat. Now that she’s in high school and busy with studies, she doesn’t have time to enjoy snacks. I’ve been worrying about not having anyone to request new desserts from.”

“You don’t know me well, Dr. Qu. I don’t have much of an opinion of my own—I need someone to guide and push me.”

“If you’re willing to order, and even help taste-test, I’d be more than happy.”

“Now that the cafeteria business is improving, customers are demanding more variety. If we keep selling the same items, people will get bored. We need to develop new dessert options.”

Qu Jing was gradually bewildered by Qin Huai’s words. Although she felt something was a bit off, she couldn’t find anything wrong with it, so she could only nod.

“Then I’ll trouble you, Little Qin,” Dr. Qu said hesitantly. “If possible, I’d like to try date paste yam cakes.”

Bingo!

Qin Huai clenched his fist excitedly in his mind, though his expression remained unchanged.

Qu Jing, despite eating the rice cake in small bites, wasn’t slow. By the time they finished chatting, she had already finished the entire box.

She tidied up the trash and stood up, putting her mask back on.

“Little Qin, let’s go outside and keep Mr. Luo company. Otherwise, he’ll be bored alone and have no one to talk to. He might not want to come next time.”

“Alright.” Qin Huai stood up and followed her.

In a corner of the office, Dr. Zhao, who had been silently sitting with almost no presence, finally took out his phone after the two left and sent a message to Dr. Zhou.

Dr. Zhao: “Tell the nurses in the department to avoid walking near Mr. Luo during therapy sessions. I think Little Qin is pursuing Dr. Qu—we should create some quiet space for them to chat.”

Dr. Zhou: “Received!”

Qin Huai, unaware that his reputation had already been “damaged” within the rehabilitation department, stood outside with Qu Jing waiting for Mr. Luo to finish therapy. While waiting, he even wondered why the department seemed unusually busy today, with no nurses in sight.

Today, Mr. Luo was undergoing leg therapy, which took much longer than the previous session.

Standing at the door, Qin Huai didn’t know what small talk to make with Qu Jing. After thinking it over, he realized that people from the Qin family didn’t seem to have much talent for academics. Since he had encountered a real-life top student, he might as well ask for her study secrets.

Maybe it would be useful for Qin Luo.

In the end, Qu Jing’s secret was passion.

Just like Qin Luo loved eating, Qu Jing genuinely loved studying.

She liked reading, liked medicine, liked being a doctor, liked writing papers, and liked doing research—none of which Qin Huai could personally relate to.

Her unique interests even left Mr. Luo in the therapy room speechless.

“Mr. Luo, what do you usually enjoy doing?” Qu Jing shifted the topic.

“Watching movies.” Luo Jun gave a very standard answer. “A few days ago I watched a new xianxia drama. The plot was ridiculous—the female lead died and then came back to life. Why should she come back to life? Dead means dead. If the female lead dies, how can the show continue?”

Qin Huai & Qu Jing: ……

Mr. Luo, that demand is a bit unreasonable.

It’s a xianxia drama—if the female lead really died, how could the story continue?

“Little Qin, do you watch TV dramas recently?” Qu Jing asked.

“Some.” Qin Huai didn’t watch dramas much in his daily life; he preferred variety shows. After all, his leisure time was fragmented, and he didn’t have time to watch full-length series at once.

“I watched a mystery detective drama. It was alright. What about you, Dr. Qu?”

Qu Jing shook her head. “I don’t really watch dramas. I usually read papers.”

Alright—workaholic lives are indeed different from ordinary people’s.

“Then Dr. Qu, don’t you have any other hobbies?” Qin Huai asked, genuinely curious.

After chatting with her a few times, he realized Qu Jing truly didn’t seem to have many hobbies.

He could even understand why not being able to eat the desserts she wanted would become a concern for her—her life was basically composed of work and study. One could say it was quite monotonous, and desserts could almost count as her only hobby.

“Not really,” Qu Jing shook her head. “If volunteering counts, then maybe volunteer medical outreach is my hobby.”

“Don’t you find that boring?” Qin Huai asked.

Qu Jing paused slightly, then smiled and shook her head. “No. Climbing the peaks of learning itself is very interesting. Alzheimer’s disease has yet to be conquered, and in this field, there is still so much for us doctors to learn and research. My daily work and study are already fulfilling enough.”

Qin Huai didn’t understand—he was deeply astonished.

On the way back, Qin Huai rarely expressed his amazement to Luo Jun.

Luo Jun looked unsurprised.

“People like her—those who never truly awaken in their final life—are all deeply bound by obsession. Even without any prior memories, their obsession remains. It’s obvious that Little Qu’s obsession is being a doctor. What’s so strange about that?”

Qin Huai nodded and began to think.

An obsession with being a doctor—how noble.

He glanced at Luo Jun, who had already started playing on his phone.

Chen Huihong’s obsession was Huiniang, Qu Jing’s was being a doctor… then what about Luo Jun’s?

Watching movies?

Qin Huai organized his thoughts and asked quietly, “Then what is your obsession?”

“Me?” Luo Jun looked up and sneered disdainfully. “I don’t really have any obsession. I just think the world is too dull and want to stay a bit longer.”

What you’re saying contradicts itself in every way possible.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Luo Jun warned, glaring at him. “Don’t try to pry into my memories.”

After saying that, Luo Jun paused briefly and added, “But if you can actually see my memories, let me know.”

“Huh?” Qin Huai was confused.

“Come to my home to look,” Luo Jun said. “I don’t like people secretly snooping around in my memories.”