Too Eager to See Him Again

Day three after being discharged from the hospital was supposed to be peaceful.

Ailine had slept enough, eaten on time, and stayed away from stress.

She followed every instruction Dr. Lisa gave her.

Normally, that should be great—

but for an artist… it was a tiny nightmare.

No—scratch that.

It was a full-blown nightmare.

Ailine stood in front of the large mirror in her apartment, gripping her waist on both sides like a beauty pageant judge evaluating herself. She puffed her cheeks in and out several times, inspecting every angle.

“Oh no. What is this?”

Her voice rose in panic. She immediately shouted, “Emma…”

Emma had been in the kitchen preparing herbal tea.

“Yes, Miss Ailine?”

She rushed over to her.

“There’s a huge problem!”

“What do you mean?”

“I think… I’m… expanding.”

Emma set the teacup down on the table closest to the mirror.

“It’s only been three days, Miss Su!”

“I know! That’s exactly the problem!”

Ailine squeezed her cheeks.

“My skin feels… looser? Is the lighting wrong? Is the mirror distorted? Am I retaining water? Why is my stomach bigger even though I didn’t snack?”

Emma had to physically hold back a laugh.

“Oh, Miss Ailine, there’s no such thing as ‘water pregnancy.’”

“But look at this!”

Ailine twisted her torso left and right.

“My stomach isn’t flat! I only ate porridge, juice, and soup… So why does it feel like I ate an entire basket of hamburgers plus 5 kilos of fried chicken?”

Emma massaged her temples.

Ailine’s dramatic imagination was truly unmatched.

A whole basket of hamburgers AND five kilos of chicken? Really?

“Miss Ailine, you just got discharged. Your body needs nutrients to recover. You’re not gaining weight, you’re just feeling sensitive. Don’t overthink it.”

“But the camera doesn’t care that I just recovered…”

Ailine sighed dramatically.

“Cameras are evil.”

Emma understood the psychological pressure Ailine lived with.

An artist’s life revolved around appearance—

not just in real life but also under the relentless scrutiny of cameras.

“Miss Ailine, you might feel like this, but trust me—

even if you gained four kilos and weighed fifty, you would still look extremely thin to me and everyone else.”

Ailine inhaled deeply, as if making a life-altering decision.

“I want to work out!”

Emma’s eyes widened.

“NO! You are absolutely not listening to me, are you?”

Ailine crouched halfway, reaching for her running shoes.

“Just light stretching!”

“No.”

“Yoga?”

“No.”

“A slow walk on the treadmill?”

“No, Miss Ailine!”

“I just want my body to remember that it still has a future!”

Emma placed her hands on her hips.

Her mom mode activated—a dangerous sign.

When she got like this, a long lecture was inevitable.

“You were discharged only three days ago! Three! You’re not fully healed! Your first follow-up appointment isn’t even until the day after tomorrow!”

Ailine exhaled heavily.

“That’s the point. I can’t wait. I want to check up sooner so I’ll know if I’m healthy enough to work out again.”

Emma narrowed her eyes.

“Miss Ailine… what’s the real reason? Want to work out… or want to see Dr. Owen?”

Ailine choked on air.

“W–WHAT? NO! It has nothing to do with that!”

Emma raised a brow, her expression practically saying:

Tch. So even the nation’s top superstar can be defeated by Dr. Owen’s good looks, huh? Even Prince Julian Feng loses this round.

Emma didn’t know about Ailine’s past with Owen.

But she wasn’t blind—Dr. Owen was extremely handsome.

Even without seeing people’s faces clearly, Emma could tell from his physique alone that he was above average.

And she’d heard gossip from the nurses—apparently, Owen had a crowd of admirers at the hospital.

Ailine turned her face toward the mirror.

“I swear… I just want to make sure I’m fine. If… If Dr. Owen says I’m fit again, then I can dance, I can do photoshoots, I can return to my normal life.”

“And if Dr. Lisa says it, you don’t believe her? She’s your main doctor, you know!”

“I do believe her! Really.”

“But you prefer hearing it from Dr. Owen?”

“Emmaaa…”

Ailine screamed in embarrassment.

Cherry, her tiny white kitten, ran over cutely with her tail swaying.

Ailine immediately crouched and hugged the cat dramatically.

“You believe Mommy isn’t expanding, right? You still love Mommy, right?”

“Meong…”

Emma patted Ailine’s shoulder.

Sometimes her superstar’s level of anxiety was… abnormal.

“Alright, Miss Ailine. Let’s do this—eat healthy today, rest, and no exercise. You can go for your checkup tomorrow. But… if you want to move it earlier to Day 4, I’ll help arrange it.”

Ailine shot up instantly.

Her eyes sparkled.

“SERIOUSLY? YOU WILL??”

Emma stared flatly.

“Yes. But don’t say it was my idea. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

Ailine hugged her from behind.

“Emmaaa, you’re my lifesaver! My angel! My everything!”

Emma muttered without expression.

Her superstar was always overly dramatic.

“Yes, yes. Now let’s have breakfast. And don’t faint later when you see Dr. Owen.”

Ailine froze.

Owen again.

Damn Emma’s sharp radar.

“Who would faint?”

“The one who keeps screaming about expanding but still dressed up perfectly early in the morning.”

Ailine’s cheeks reddened instantly.

“I… just want to look healthy…”

“Healthy for whom? Miss Ailine Su? Obviously for Dr. Owen Young. Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Believe it—Emma’s laugh was incredibly dry.

“EMMAAAA!!”

Emma burst out laughing at last.

Ailine had been bored to death for two days straight, stuck in her room with nothing to do. Normally, her schedule was packed from morning to morning.

So Dr. Owen wasn’t that simple in Ailine’s life, huh?

“Miss, are you seriously falling for Dr. Owen after ten whole years with zero romantic scandals with men?”

“Stop making things up!”

Ailine covered her entire face—part embarrassed, part annoyed—because Emma always knew her secrets…

even the ones she hadn’t admitted to herself.

Falling for Owen?

Tch.

If Emma ever found out Ailine was actually his ex, she would roll on the ground seven laps around a stadium.

---

Centra Medica Hospital

The doctor’s office felt too bright that day.

Owen stared at the patient file in front of him, but the words blurred together, refusing to settle into coherent meaning. He read the same diagnosis three times, and it still didn’t register.

For the thousandth time—

he couldn’t focus.

“Dr. Owen?”

A nurse’s voice snapped him out of his daze.

“Patient number 12 has been waiting fifteen minutes, Doctor.”

He blinked rapidly.

“Ah—yes. My apologies. Let them in.”

The nurse left, though she cast him a puzzled glance before closing the door.

Focus, Owen.

Not like this…

He tapped his cheeks lightly.

But when he lowered his gaze again, the only thing in his mind was the image of Ailine standing in the hallway—pale yet smiling, as if hiding a dangerous truth.

“Your eyes… haven’t changed, Owen. They’re the eyes of someone who isn’t done with me.”

The sentence struck his chest over and over.

Even after three days, he could still hear it vividly.

And the stupid thing was—

he had no rebuttal.

Owen clenched his stethoscope.

His palms were cold.

Why did Ailine have to say something like that?

Why did she have to smile like that?

Why did she have to come back with the same unwavering resolve that once made him fall?

Wasn’t he the one who hurt her?

Why didn’t she hate him?

A knock.

The patient entered.

Owen stood up, forcing himself into professionalism.

“I need to work. I need to stay professional. This kind of thing shouldn’t distract me. I’ve been fine all this time, and I will continue to be fine. Yes. Definitely.”

But…

would he?

Wait—

Why did it feel like doubts were creeping in?

Hold on.

Ailine’s first follow-up appointment was the day after tomorrow, right?

It seems… a storm is on its way.