Chapter 190 You’re… someone I finally found the courage to like

3:00 PM, Orthopedics Office, Kangren Hospital.

Yin Siyao had just finished his outpatient clinic. He took off his white coat and draped it over the back of his chair, then rubbed his sore neck.

Opening his pinned chat, his long fingers quickly typed: “There’s a new Sichuan restaurant in the East District. Want to go try it?”

Leng Keyan loved spicy food—especially the kind that left your scalp tingling and your eyes watering. Every time, he’d eat until his face was flushed red, yet still couldn’t stop.

After about five minutes, a reply came: [I need to work on my graduation thesis. No time.]

Yin Siyao stared at the message and let out an annoyed laugh.

It was winter break. The university library was only open half a day—working on a thesis?

Who was he trying to fool?

Of course, Yin Siyao knew exactly what Leng Keyan was upset about.

That day on the rooftop—by the time he reacted and chased after him, Leng Keyan had already disappeared.

Later, he had tried to explain. Said it was just stubborn pride in the moment—he insisted on competing with Song Jingmo and ended up getting tricked by him.

But this time, Leng Keyan seemed determined. Not easy to coax anymore.

It had already been two days—not a single message initiated by him.

Every time Yin Siyao reached out, the reply was either “busy” or “something came up.”

Knowing Leng Keyan liked spicy food, he had deliberately picked a highly-rated Sichuan restaurant.

He wanted to use the chance to make things right over a meal.

But the other party wouldn’t even give him the chance to meet.

“Fine, Leng Keyan. You’re ruthless.”

Yin Siyao tossed his phone onto the desk and rubbed his throbbing temple.

In his thirty years of life, this was the first time he truly understood what it meant to have a “warm face met with a cold shoulder.”

The worst part?

He still had to keep trying—because he was the one who’d angered him first.

Staring at the screen, Yin Siyao ground his molars. “Forget it. I’ll just go eat alone.”

That’s what he said—but once he got home, he couldn’t hold back.

7:00 PM.

Fresh out of the shower, his hair still dripping, he picked up his phone and called Leng Keyan.

It rang seven or eight times. Just when he thought it would be hung up again, the call connected.

“Hello.”

Leng Keyan’s voice came through—stiff, cold. The background was quiet.

“Yanyan, what are you doing?”

“Writing my thesis.”

Short and to the point. “Dr. Yin, do you need something? If not, I’m hanging up. I still need to look up materials.”

That tone—colder than how he treated ordinary colleagues.

The irritation in Yin Siyao’s chest flared again, but he forcibly suppressed it.

Clearing his throat, his voice turned weak: “Yanyan… my stomach hurts.”

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

“What did you say?”

A trace of tension crept into Leng Keyan’s voice.

“My stomach hurts…”

Yin Siyao continued the act. “I went to that new Sichuan place tonight. The boiled fish was too spicy. My stomach feels like it’s on fire.”

“Yin Siyao!”

Leng Keyan’s voice shot up, full of anger. “Are you doing this on purpose? You know you can’t eat spicy food, and you still went and did something this reckless—”

“I just missed you,” Yin Siyao said. “Using food to cope with lovesickness…”

Leng Keyan: “…”

“Do you have any stomach medicine at home?” he asked.

“No.”

“Wait there.”

The call was hung up.

Listening to the busy tone, Yin Siyao couldn’t help but smile. “Got you.”

He tossed his phone onto the sofa and walked to the mirror.

His hair was still dripping, his face slightly flushed from the shower—it really did make him look a bit unwell.

After thinking for a moment, he went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of hot water.

Then he returned to the living room, turned on the TV, and played a short drama.

Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Yin Siyao adjusted his expression and called out weakly, “Door’s unlocked. Come in.”

The door opened, and Leng Keyan rushed in, breathing heavily.

He had clearly run all the way upstairs—his face flushed, fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

In his hand was a plastic bag filled with various stomach medicines.

“Dr. Yin, you—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

Yin Siyao was sitting perfectly fine on the sofa, holding a cup of hot water, while a short drama played on the TV.

On the screen, a girl in a white dress looked teary-eyed at the male lead: “Did your sister misunderstand me? I really just see my senior as a brother…”

And Yin Siyao was watching with great interest.

Leng Keyan’s expression shifted from worry… to confusion… to anger.

“Yin. Si. Yao.”

He called his full name, one word at a time.

The fake weakness vanished from Yin Siyao’s face, replaced by a slightly guilty—but also somewhat smug—smile.

“Yanyan, you’re here.”

Leng Keyan threw the plastic bag onto the floor. Boxes of medicine scattered out.

He stared at Yin Siyao, his chest rising with anger. “Your stomach hurts?”

“It’s… a bit better now.”

Yin Siyao scratched his nose.

“From eating Sichuan food?”

“Well… I only had two bites.”

“YIN SIYAO!”

Leng Keyan finally exploded. “Is it fun messing with me?”

“I ran out in the middle of writing my thesis, went to the pharmacy to buy you medicine, ran all the way here—and you’re sitting here watching some ridiculous drama?!”

He pointed at the TV, his hand trembling with anger.

Yin Siyao quickly turned it off.

The living room fell silent, leaving only their breathing.

“I didn’t mean to trick you.”

Yin Siyao stood and walked over to him. “I just… wanted to see you.”

Leng Keyan glared at him—his eyes suddenly reddening.

“If you wanted to see me, couldn’t you just say it properly? Why pretend to be sick to lie to me? Do you know how worried I was just now?”

“All the way here, I kept thinking—what if you had stomach bleeding? What if you needed to go to the hospital…”

His voice choked. “And what about you? You’re here watching a show…”

“I was wrong.”

Yin Siyao admitted immediately. “I was really wrong. Yanyan, don’t cry…”

“I’m not crying…”

Leng Keyan wiped his eyes, but the tears still fell anyway.

“I’m just angry. Do you know how awful I’ve felt these past two days? Yin Siyao, have you even thought about how I feel?”

Yin Siyao froze.

Only then did he realize—maybe Leng Keyan’s anger wasn’t just about that careless remark.

“I…”

He opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

“I thought you’d at least come find me and explain things properly.”

Leng Keyan sniffed. “But what did you do? You sent a few messages—and that was it.”

“I ignored you, and you didn’t seem anxious at all. Then today, you suddenly remembered to coax me—and used such a lousy trick…”

The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded.

“Yin Siyao, what am I to you?”

“A trainee you can summon and dismiss at will? Or just a pet you tease when you’re bored?”

He was starting to doubt whether the time Yin Siyao stood up to his parents for him back in his hometown had all just been his own imagination.

Those words cut too deep. Yin Siyao’s heart clenched painfully.

“No.”

He grabbed Leng Keyan’s hand tightly.

“You’re someone I like. Someone I… finally found the courage to like.”

Leng Keyan froze.

Tears clung to his eyelashes, trembling—on the verge of falling.