Incurable Pain

IP Chapter 68

Incurable Pain | Chapter 68

Forgetting is a form of freedom.

After bidding farewell to Bai Xunyin’s house, Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but stop by the jewelry store he had pa.s.sed by before when driving past Times Square.

Amidst the enthusiastic voice of the salesperson, Yu Luoyin focused his attention and quickly scanned the dazzling array of rings displayed under the counter, finally pausing at one in the lower left corner.

“This one.” 

Yu Luoyin pointed to it, his voice calm. 

“Bring it out for me to see.”

“Oh my, sir, you have quite the eye for it.” 

It was rare for a man to come to the jewelry store ‘alone’, especially such a dazzling man. The salesperson felt her heart fluttering uncontrollably. 

Unfortunately, Yu Luoyin chose a ladies’ ring.

It seemed he was picking out a ring for his girlfriend.

“This is the latest design of the year, simple and elegant. The row of small diAh Monds in the middle is more delicate than a single large diAh Mond.” 

The salesperson enthusiastically introduced, “We also have a matching men’s ring. It’s a cla.s.sic couple’s ring.”

A couple’s ring?

Yu Luoyin’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and he immediately handed over his card. 

“Give me both.”

Amidst the surprised voice of the salesperson, he provided the ring sizes for Bai Xunyin, which he had secretly measured while holding the woman’s slender and soft hand in the corridor.

As for the ring finger, he didn’t need to consider it for the time being since the little girl wouldn’t accept it anyway.

“Sir, are you buying these for proposing to your girlfriend?” 

After preparing the order for the two rings, the salesperson smiled as she wrapped them up. 

“Actually, these rings are usually worn regularly. If it’s for a proposal, I suggest you get one with a larger diAh Mond.”

After all, no woman could resist the temptation of a diAh Mond.

But upon careful consideration, Yu Luoyin felt that for Bai Xunyin, diAh Monds might not be as attractive as electric stones…

Electric stones could even be used for experiments.

Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but amuse himself with his own thoughts, his clear brows and eyes containing a smiling expression that was as refreshing as a clear moonlit night breeze, causing the salesperson to involuntarily shiver.

She felt that today’s considerable sales were not as enjoyable as admiring such a beauty.

With such a face, he was like a walking ‘money-printing machine’.

But for now, the money-printing machine had no intention of buying a large diAh Mond ring.

After paying the bill, Yu Luoyin just nodded slightly and left.

Treating the admiring gazes in the room as if he hadn’t seen them at all.

Currently, Yu Luoyin only had one thing on his mind.

He had to find an opportunity to put this ring on Bai Xunyin’s finger.

On the weekend, while Yu Luoyin was working overtime, Bai Xunyin, who rarely had a break from being pestered by him, agreed to Ji Huiying’s request to invite Ah Mo over for dinner.

Due to the nature of Ah Mo’s work, the elderly were generally very superst.i.tious. After she arrived, Ji Huiying made her wash her hands several times.

“Auntie, your obsession with cleanliness is getting worse.” 

It wasn’t until Ah Mo almost rubbed her hands raw from washing them so many times that she came over to play with Bai Xunyin, looking a bit aggrieved. 

“You won’t even let me hug you without washing my hands.”

“You deal with corpses every day.” 

Bai Xunyin said lightly, “Of course, she feels unsafe.”

“Tsk, and you’re blaming me. Don’t you deal with those toxic gases in the lab every day?” 

Ah Mo, who had been in the field for over a year, shrugged indifferently, “And you’re blaming me.”

Bai Xunyin: “So my mom treats everyone the same, and I have to wash my hands several times a day too.”

…

Ah Mo was speechless, but her eyes quickly caught sight of the pile of things Yu Luoyin had brought. When she saw the string of pearls in the sandalwood box on top, she couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement.

“The pearls are from Zhuo Ding Xuan, right? Yu Luoyin is indeed wealthy.”

Bai Xunyin remained silent, his gaze lowered to the paper in front of him, his eyes subtly hollow.

“Buying so many things, does that mean you’re officially meeting the parents? You guys are moving quite fast.” 

Ah Mo looked around curiously and asked, “What’s Auntie’s impression of him?”

Bai Xunyin remained silent for a while before slowly saying, “She thinks he’s good.”

In reality, Ji Huiying was very satisfied.

These past few days, Yu Luoyin had been coming over from time to time, under the pretext of wanting to spend more time with Auntie before Ji Huiying returned to the ancient town. He almost made Ji Huiying laugh and smile every day, and she already regarded him as a future son-in-law in her heart.

It was fortunate that Yu Luoyin was quite busy with work at the hospital. If he weren’t, he would probably want to come over three times a day for meals.

But the more this happened, the more restless Bai Xunyin felt.

Perhaps, as Ah Mo said, they were moving too fast. 

They had just gotten together not long ago, and coincidentally, Ji Huiying came over. 

Moreover… she was sensitive enough to feel that Yu Luoyin seemed a bit ‘restless’ these days.

Just like the ring he mentioned that day.

Actually, whether it was intentional or not, she could tell.

To be honest, Bai Xunyin was a little afraid of ‘taking it to the next level.’

In matters of the heart, she had never been a courageous person. She just felt that their current comfort zone was quite good.

However, in the eyes of the elders, a girl at the age of twenty-four was not young anymore, and it was time to ‘hurry up’. Ji Huiying was very optimistic about her relationship with Yu Luoyin, so naturally, she would advise Bai Xunyin to care more about him.

“Is Luoyin on the night shift today?” 

During dinner, Ji Huiying kept serving dishes to Ah Mo while reminding Bai Xunyin, “I’ll pack some food for you later, and you can take it to him.”

Bai Xunyin’s soup spoon paused, her voice calm, “They have meals provided at their workplace.”

“How can workplace meals compare to the ones made at home?” Ji Huiying couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Besides, Luoyin likes the dishes I cook, right?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” 

Ah Mo, on the side, flattered shamelessly. 

“Auntie’s cooking is the best!”

Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but give this flatterer a disdainful look.

Actually, there were many reasons she could use to refuse. For example, video conferences, wrapping up papers, and so on… Ji Huiying wouldn’t force her.

But images of Yu Luoyin sitting alone in the deserted office, munching on cuc.u.mber, and his words in the car, “I know you care about me,” kept popping up in her mind. So she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

Fine.

Bai Xunyin agreed.

It was convenient to hitch a ride with Ah Mo to deliver the meal. Bai Xunyin changed out of her home clothes and into her usual T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was casually tied up, revealing a small face as fair and tender as a palm. 

The loose khaki T-shirt concealed her slender and graceful figure, making her look like a high school student.

Seeing her dressed like this, Ah Mo couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh.

“I used to have a baby face too.” 

She said earnestly, “But now I feel like if I walk with you, someone will say I’m old. Bai Xunyin, can you stop pretending to be young?”

…

Bai Xunyin simply ignored her words and stepped into her ever-present white canvas shoes. 

“I always wear these clothes.”

Even as they descended the stairs, Ah Mo kept chattering about how she shouldn’t dress so immaturely and should be more mature, blah blah blah.

Bai Xunyin just smiled, indifferent. Compared to those mature and beautiful but restrictive clothes, loose fit was the most important thing for her.

There weren’t many people in the hospital after eight o’clock at night, and compared to the hustle and bustle of the daytime, it was extremely quiet, with the scent of disinfectant permeating the air.

Bai Xunyin’s canvas shoes stepped on the floor tiles almost silently as she made her way through several corners, heading straight for Yu Luoyin’s office.

After all, she had been here a couple of times before.

Although there usually was only one doctor on duty in an office, Bai Xunyin still knocked on the door before entering, three times, as a matter of propriety.

But the clear knocking sound became background noise, with no response.

Could it be that Yu Luoyin wasn’t here?

Bai Xunyin furrowed her brows slightly, tentatively turning the doork.n.o.b—unlocked, but the room was empty. She immediately noticed Yu Luoyin’s phone and half-eaten lunch box on the desk. It seemed he had hurriedly left midway through his meal.

She closed the door behind her and walked over to inspect the contents of the lunch box.

Hmm, one meat and two vegetables, it was considered healthy. Indeed, as Ji Huiying had said, workplace meals couldn’t compare to home-cooked ones.

He seemed quite pitiful.

Bai Xunyin placed the lunch box she was carrying on the table and took the initiative to finish the simple lunch. As she tidied up properly, Yu Luoyin’s phone screen lit up.

She glanced at it unintentionally, but her gaze froze for a moment, narrowing slightly in confusion. The recent flash wasn’t important, just some useless message notification. 

But… but the desktop of Yu Luoyin’s phone looked very familiar.

Bai Xunyin picked it up and examined it carefully.

Her slender fingers swiped away the junk message that had just been sent, revealing the entire lock screen.

The image showed a towering ancient tree, seemingly reaching into the clouds. The angle was taken from below, with the floating sunlight pa.s.sing through the leaves, sprinkling down on the young girl sitting on the trunk of the tree.

The girl was wearing a floral dress that blended in with the fields, her fair skin complemented by the goose-yellow hue. Her skirt was pulled up to her knees, revealing two fair and straight legs swinging on the tree trunk.

The angle of the shot captured her looking up with a slight smile.

The composition and atmosphere of the whole picture were so artistic. Sunlight, ancient tree, a vibrant feeling… 

The girl sitting on the tree was just a small part of it, and only a small part of her side profile was visible, making it difficult to discern her features.

But Bai Xunyin could never fail to recognize herself.

Six years ago, she used to love wearing dresses.

In the ancient town, she had many qipaos and floral dresses made by her grandmothers. The fabric was soft and comfortable, and Bai Xunyin had worn them for every visit to the ancient town.

Including the time she took Yu Luoyin to climb the mountain and watch the stars.

Now recalling it, she vaguely remembered climbing the tree under Yu Luoyin’s astonished gaze, and that fellow took a picture of her from below.

But she had forgotten about it a long time ago.

So Yu Luoyin had been using it as his desktop wallpaper all along.

At the bottom of the photo, someone had written in bold and free-flowing handwriting:

“Memory is a form of reunion,

Forgetting is a form of freedom.”

This was a poem by Kahlil Gibran. Below it, there was a ‘response’ that was quite in Yu Luoyin’s style.

“But d.a.m.n it, I just can’t forget.”

Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but smile, a hint of bitterness in her usually calm smile.

She understood Yu Luoyin’s actions—since he couldn’t forget, he might as well use it as his wallpaper and look at it every day.

Each time he looked at it, he would feel heartbroken.

She liked the feeling of being surrounded by such pa.s.sionate love, but she was also afraid of being burned.

Yu Luoyin really was her nemesis.