Hearts in Turmoil

Chapter 5 - Sparks Fly

Ethan Li took his eyes off her, clearly not interested.

If Lily Zhao knew what he was thinking, she'd probably feel pretty wronged.

She had dressed for him today, but her smile wasn't flirtatious – it was just polite.

Lily waited patiently outside until Ethan had finished work.

When the time came, she finally went over to him and called out, "Dr. Li."

Ethan didn't look at her, instead raising his wrist to check his watch. "You should head home." "I've got a meeting," he said, not looking up from his watch.

The meeting wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't urgent either. She mostly just put a damper on his mood.

"When can we meet up again?" Lily enquired, biting her lip.

"We'll see," he replied, sounding pretty dismissive.

Sensing his aloofness, Lily pressed her lips together, looking up at him without saying anything.

Ethan, however, didn't stay to chat, turning and walking away. It was so easy for men to change their minds. When she was no longer useful to him, he didn't even spare her a second glance.

Lily’s heart sank. Without Ethan's support, she'd never be able to get Jason where she wants him. In a panic, she grabbed his hand and quickly intertwined their fingers, her pinky brushing against his larger hand in a tentative, pleading gesture before he could react.

"Dr. Li," she said, her eyes wet and innocent, making her look a bit pitiful.

Ethan turned his head, giving their clasped hands a quick, indifferent look.

Lily couldn't read his expression, but she had a feeling he wasn't too happy about it. Today, he hadn't said a single suggestive thing, and she tightened her grip on his hand.

"Dr. Li, just get on with your work." "No matter how late it gets, I'll wait for you," she said firmly.

Ethan took his hand back, not really taking her words to heart. That afternoon, he carried out another operation. When he was finished, he stepped out, exhausted, and lit a cigarette.

"Dr. Li, are you heading downstairs together?" a colleague asked.

Ethan gave a nod. The other doctor rubbed his temples and said, "The patient we saw today was in a bad way." If anything had gone wrong, it would've been a huge hassle. Did you get to meet his son? The guy's unreasonable even on a good day. It's a challenging job being a doctor. You're saving lives, but you're always facing the risk of disputes.

Ethan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said, "Let's go."

When Ethan and the doctor got to the hospital entrance, they saw Lily squatting down, her short skirt riding up a bit too high.

Since there were people around, she didn't approach him, even though she saw him.

Ethan told his colleague, "You go on ahead, I'll catch up with you later."

"Sure. Get some rest – we've got a few major surgeries coming up," the colleague replied, opening his umbrella and leaving.

Ethan strolled forward at a relaxed pace, not waiting around for Lily. But she quickly caught up with him.

"Dr Li."

Ethan asked, "Do you need some help with seducing a man?"

Lily's face turned red. It was true – she wasn't very good at it. But she hadn't expected him to think she was this bad at it.

"I can play along once or twice for fun, but too much of it is boring," Ethan said, not really paying attention. "You're probably quite confident in your looks, but as I've said before, appearance alone isn't enough. "Don't come looking for me again."

Lily felt her face turn red with embarrassment.

"Dr. Li, I understand." She paused for a moment, then walked over to him, struggling a little before she finally found his hand. "So, a bolder woman is more attractive, right?"

She looked at him with a curious, almost naive expression.

There was a security camera right there, facing them. Luckily, Lily's actions were hidden by her body.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

She quickly noticed a change in him.

The next moment, he shifted his body subtly. Lily thought he was rejecting her, but then he playfully pinched her, rubbing his tired temples. "Go start the car." … Lily realized that Ethan enjoyed risky situations.

For instance, even though they were right outside his building, he insisted on staying in the car.

No one expected someone to knock on the window. The next moment, Jason Chen's voice rang out. "Well, well, Ethan. I thought you never indulged in a little extracurricular fun."

The window wasn't fully up, and Lily's face instantly went pale.