DCH CH 16
by LinnaceThis Doctor, I’m Serious!
The room was unlit as he paced to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the breathtaking view of West Lake below. Wealth and natural beauty melded seamlessly here, the night outside pitch-black, dotted with the city’s lights flickering against the glass.
The sound of running water continued, faint but piercing in the silence.
Lu Jingcheng sighed softly. Today’s mess was, ultimately, his own fault. He pulled open the window, and the night breeze lifted the curtains, carrying a cool, refreshing touch.
Tilting his head back, he breathed in the air of this place—where every inch of land cost a fortune—letting the evening wind wash over him.
Truthfully, Qingyi was… really good.
In every possible way.
Successful in his career, handsome, from a harmonious family—a rich second-generation heir but not a spoiled playboy. And when it came to emotions, he seemed… serious.
But why would someone like him choose Lu Jingcheng?
The city’s glow seeped through the window, casting hazy outlines on the dim dormitory floor.
Lost in thought, Lu Jingcheng paced aimlessly, not even realizing when he naturally stepped into that patch of light.
When Qingyi emerged from the bathroom, he saw Lu Jingcheng standing by the window, hands behind his back. The urban lights filtered through the glass, scattering blurred shapes across the floor—and Lu Jingcheng’s shadow merged seamlessly into them.
“It’s late. I’ll take you back,” Qingyi broke the silence, speaking first. “Don’t you still have reports to grade for your students?”
“Sorry,” Lu Jingcheng didn’t turn around. “About today… I jumped to conclusions.”
“…”
In the bathroom, Qingyi had briefly considered cutting ties with Lu Jingcheng entirely. But the moment Lu Jingcheng spoke, he knew he couldn’t.
Lu Jingcheng turned, his gaze deep and steady. “I really shouldn’t have assumed things about you without understanding you first.”
The corners of Qingyi’s eyes were still faintly red. He’d done some thinking in the bathroom too.
Someone like Lu Jingcheng—well-educated, raised with strict discipline—probably couldn’t genuinely develop feelings for him. Maybe he just wanted to break free from the life his parents had mapped out for him, to do something different.
But so what? I like him anyway!
Qingyi touched the jade pendant hidden under his shirt, steeling himself before turning to face Lu Jingcheng head-on. （？＿？）
“Don’t sigh. Don’t frown.” Lu Jingcheng stepped forward, gently smoothing the crease between Qingyi’s brows with his fingers. “This really is my fault.”
With just those words, Qingyi crumbled. Cursing himself for being so lovesick, he let Lu Jingcheng’s hand linger on his forehead, shooting him a helpless look before tentatively resting his chin on Lu Jingcheng’s shoulder. His voice was muffled. “Can you not tease me like this? I can’t take it.”
“I’m not teasing you,” Lu Jingcheng didn’t push him away, but the seductive edge from earlier was gone, replaced by his usual daytime composure. “Honestly, you’re the one who pursued me first. You started this… game.”
“I’m serious. I never treated this as a game!”
“Everyone says that at the beginning,” Lu Jingcheng’s tone remained gentle as he adjusted Qingyi’s collar. “Like I said, we’re both adults. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“…” Qingyi took a deep breath, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He was going to die of frustration because of this man.
“But I do owe you an apology for tonight. No matter what, I was in the wrong.” Seeing Qingyi’s expression, Lu Jingcheng quickly shifted the topic. His voice was warm, his attitude sincere—directly admitting fault and it left Qingyi flustered.
Before tonight, he’d prepared himself for rejection, even the possibility of losing their friendship entirely. But he never expected Lu Jingcheng to dismiss it all as some “adult game.”
“I’m really chasing you.”
“Mm, I know.” Lu Jingcheng smiled softly, even leaning in to press a light kiss to the corner of Qingyi’s mouth. “Then I’ll wait for your courtship.”
“…”
Qingyi felt like he’d just punched cotton—a deep, helpless frustration.
Lu Jingcheng checked his phone. “It’s really late now.”
“Yeah.” Qingyi caught his meaning and played along. “Time flies.”
“Let’s go. Time to head back.”
The sleek sports shark slid out of its nest again. As Qingyi drove, he glanced at Lu Jingcheng in the passenger seat. “So… does this count as you rejecting me today?”
“It’s just reevaluating our relationship,” Lu Jingcheng kept his eyes on the scenery outside. “If this is serious, there’s a lot we need to consider.”
Qingyi weighed his words. “You… are serious, right?”
“My attitude depends on yours.”
With desire now faded, Lu Jingcheng had reverted to the cool, rational Dr. Lu of daylight hours.
“You don’t feel anything for me?”
Lu Jingcheng still didn’t look at him. Of course he had some fondness for Qingyi—otherwise, the moment he was discharged, Lu Jingcheng would’ve stopped paying attention to anything beyond his medical condition.
But he wasn’t willing to gamble on a rich heir’s sincerity.
“No.”
The flashy sports car stopped at the entrance of Lu Jingcheng’s neighborhood.
“I’m off.” Lu Jingcheng waved. “Get some rest.”
“Wait—” Qingyi pushed the door open, hurrying to his side, hands nervously gripping his pants. “One more question.”
“Go ahead?” Lu Jingcheng blinked at him.
“Can I… keep coming to see you directly?” Qingyi stammered, a far cry from the trash-talking king of the esports arena. “Like, you know… what I mean.”
“Mm.”
At Lu Jingcheng’s response, Qingyi’s pupils contracted. He looked up, face alight with excitement and hope.
His eyes were so bright that Lu Jingcheng could see his own reflection clearly in them.
Lu Jingcheng reached over to close the car door. “Don’t rush. Let me finish.”
He held Qingyi’s gaze. “First, you have a match tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep, recharge. Don’t let this distract you too much.”
“If you lose because of me, I’d never hear the end of it.”
Qingyi’s eyes dimmed. He wrinkled his nose, staring at Lu Jingcheng with a mix of resentment and resignation, but said nothing.
After a few seconds, Lu Jingcheng patted his shoulder. “Second, think carefully about what this relationship means. If I really ‘cut off your family line,’ the backlash would be brutal.”
Lu Jingcheng felt disturbingly calm. He saw himself as just an ordinary surgeon—his background paled in comparison to Qingyi’s. Rather than hitting inevitable obstacles later, it was better to think things through now.
He took a few steps forward, then turned back. “So you’re really not considering my earlier suggestion? Adults having fun—it’s normal.”
Qingyi: “…” He gritted his teeth. “One last time. I’m not playing games with you.”
Alright, any more and the team captain’s really gonna blow up.
Lu Jingcheng shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. “Then let’s take it as it comes. Don’t overthink it.” With that, he strode through the neighborhood gates.
Qingyi stood at the entrance, watching Lu Jingcheng’s figure disappear around the corner before snapping out of it and chasing after him for answers.
Lu Jingcheng’s building wasn’t far. By the time Qingyi reached it, the elevator was already ascending.
Staring at the rising floor numbers, Qingyi was left in disarray once again.
What the hell does this guy even mean?!
“Don’t overthink it”—was that a warning not to get ahead of himself?
“Did this guy actually have any feelings for me?”
Damn.
What an assh*le.
Get laid and turn cold.
In the underground parking garage of Team IF, Qingyi rolled his eyes, muttering curses under his breath as he dissected Lu Jingcheng’s attitude toward him.
The more he analyzed, the more hopeless he felt. The road ahead seemed long and arduous.
Ugh!
Ding— A WeChat notification chimed. It was from the head coach: 【The scrim from yesterday when you weren’t there was a mess. Take a look.】
Qingyi sighed. Even in his pitiful state, he still had to analyze scrims.
【If possible, give them a rough breakdown first. I think I’m going to lose it in tomorrow’s review session.】
A question mark popped up in Qingyi’s mind. He typed back: 【That bad? The skill gap isn’t huge, how bad could it be?】
【Just watch it. It was awful.】
Skeptical but professional, Qingyi opened the replay. The deeper he got, the tighter his frown became—
The moment the enemy Nexus exploded, he unbuckled his seatbelt, stormed into the dorm building with a dark expression, and ran into the first-team members in the hallway.
Wen Jing, who had been living under a rock at KTV, had finally caught up on the whole drama—along with the live-stream audience. The entire fandom had feasted on the gossip.
The team’s Weibo fanbase was practically celebrating like it was New Year’s.
“Oh, Captain, back so early?” Wen Jing, high on shipping energy, greeted Qingyi cheerfully with a teasing grin. “Not staying at Lakeside Hotel for some fun?”
“Fun my ass!” Qingyi glared at Wen Jing and the other players. Their attitude, combined with his already foul mood, made his tone razor-sharp. “You guys went out without reviewing yesterday’s scrim? There’s a match tomorrow night—don’t treat the Platform Cup like it’s nothing!”
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “I just rewatched yesterday’s scrim. We had Storm Lord buff and three-lane high-ground advantage, and we still lost the teamfight! Their bot inhibitor got taken by the minions! Even the creeps had bigger balls than you guys—how the hell did you play so scared?!”
“We killed two of them first, and then you all froze up like deer in headlights!” Qingyi’s voice suddenly spiked, making Wen Jing and Wumian flinch. “This is our current carry duo? Jungle and ADC?!”
Wumian weakly defended, “But I wanted to win too… My early-game as Master Yi was a disaster, I couldn’t find any openings—”
Qingyi yanked open his dorm door but didn’t step inside, continuing the review right there. “Then Wen Jing, explain this—we had lane pressure and Storm Lord, and you had Guardian Angel. Why the hell did you wait for them to engage first?”
Wen Jing’s playful smirk had long vanished.
As Qingyi turned to enter his room, he tossed one last icy remark over his shoulder: “You can’t rely on my calls forever. I’ll retire someday. You’re all human—I know mistakes happen, but this error rate is unacceptable.”
He slammed the door.
Two seconds later, while the team was still exchanging stunned looks in the hallway, the door swung open again. Qingyi’s tone was slightly softer, but still frosty. “Bad mood today. Didn’t mean to snap. Don’t take it personally. But brace yourselves—Coach is gonna rip into you tomorrow.”
Down the hall, another dorm door cracked open slightly. A second-string player peeked out, whispering, “Damn… Captain’s terrifying. No wonder they say the real boss of this club is him…”
Back in his room, Qingyi slumped into his chair, staring at the shelves of collectibles with mixed emotions.
His phone buzzed with a new WeChat message.
It was from Lu Jingcheng.
A simple check-in: 【Did you get back safe?】
Qingyi typed a terse reply: 【Yeah.】
No mood for elaboration.
Lu Jingcheng stared at the message, puzzled.
Another notification popped up—just two clipped words: 【Sleeping.】
Lu Jingcheng: “……”
Just days ago, Qingyi would ramble endlessly about team antics, nag him to eat on time, remind him to sleep early…
Did I go too far?
The next morning brought another dreary, drizzly day.
Rain had poured all night, leaving puddles everywhere. One misstep and your shoes were soaked—annoying as hell.
In his office, Lu Jingcheng changed into his scrubs. He had to take two interns into surgery this morning.
He forced a smile at the mirror. The reflection—black shirt under a white coat—mimicked the strained expression back at him.
Lu Jingcheng stepped closer. Director Cui had recruited him for his skills. So what did Qingyi see in him?
He tapped the mirror lightly. Surely it’s not just my face?
…Though, it is a pretty good face.
Outside, the rain had stopped. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, creating dreamlike beams of light via the Tyndall effect.
Lu Jingcheng’s south-facing office became a channel for that light, the rays landing directly on him.
The door creaked open. An intern knocked and entered—just in time to see his usually cold, composed mentor bathed in ethereal glow, radiant and untouchable, like an angel descended to earth.
“Dr. Lu, we’re ready to—whoa, you’re already prepped?”