Chapter 925 - 891: Subsequent Cooperation

After Xu Chunliang broke up with Fan Lidada, he originally intended to take a taxi to leave. He took out his phone to call a cab but then changed his mind and first sent his location to Xiahou Mulan.

Xiahou Mulan also sent him a location in response, and the map showed she was already close to Qiaocheng.

Xu Chunliang originally thought she would stay, but she eventually left. Xu Chunliang felt that the sun and moon exchange plan midway was a bit inappropriate; he gained so much from it, and Xiahou Mulan was obviously the losing party, which made him feel somewhat uneasy.

Soon, Xiahou Mulan replied to him with a message - "Anything up?"

Xu Chunliang replied: "I want to discuss further cooperation with you." He was just talking nonsense, as their cooperation currently only extended to the physical realm, but was still somewhat tacit.

Xiahou Mulan soon replied - "We’ll talk next time we meet."

Xu Chunliang spoke frankly: "Opportunity knocks once... When he realized the pinyin mistake, he thought the pinyin input was really stupid, and quickly withdrew the message to resend - "Opportunity knocks once, never to appear again. It’s a matter of physical health, not a trivial matter, please take it seriously."

Xiahou Mulan did not reply after that.

Unable to wait for Xiahou Mulan’s response, Xu Chunliang prepared to call a cab to leave, but then saw a car flash its lights at him. When he looked closely, it was that Land Cruiser with a Yu license plate.

The car stopped next to Xu Chunliang, Xiahou Mulan rolled down the window, her hair more beautifully styled now. Although still in a ponytail, her hair had become smoother.

Xu Chunliang grinned at her: "Hey, you changed your look in no time. Women dress up for those who please them, who are you dressing up for?"

Xiahou Mulan said, "Cut the crap, are you getting in the car or not?"

"Yes!" Xu Chunliang opened the car door and got in, only then did he realize Xiahou Mulan had a complete makeover from head to toe.

Xiahou Mulan said, "I’ve thought over what you said."

Xu Chunliang nodded. In fact, he already knew the answer without her saying it. Xiahou Mulan being here was enough to express her attitude.

Xiahou Mulan whispered, "Just this once, don’t let it happen again."

Xu Chunliang said, "Tonight is the crescent moon, the perfect time for the blending of yin and yang. You’ve known me for a while; shouldn’t you know who I am?"

Xiahou Mulan said, "Only touch what’s appropriate, absolutely don’t touch what isn’t."

Xu Chunliang said, "I promise you."

"Your eyes cannot be staring at me."

"No problem."

"And... After tonight, let’s not meet again, even if we do, just act like we’ve never met."

"Of course, each of us leads our own life, not interfering with each other. Helping you this time also fulfills a wish."

"You... you mustn’t think less of me because of this..."

"How could I? It was my initiative; you were completely enduring passively. I purely want to help you, and also lessen the guilt in my heart through this."

"You... you can’t like me either..."

"I have no feelings for you. After sunrise, we’ll go our separate ways. From then on, our paths in Jianghu will be distant, and we’ll never meet again."

...

The morning light filtered through the curtain cracks, falling on the bed. Xiahou Mulan was awakened by this golden beam, and the first thing she looked for was the person next to her.

Xu Chunliang was still sleeping peacefully. Xiahou Mulan saw the marks on his neck, and her pretty face couldn’t help but blush. She remembered the crazy night before, the rules she’d set being broken one by one by herself. Had this guy given her a spell? Looking at Xu Chunliang’s sharp features, her heart couldn’t help but fill with endless gentleness. She couldn’t help but recall Zhang Ailing’s famous saying, was her soul’s pathway opened by him in such a primitive way?

Xiahou Mulan quietly crawled out of Xu Chunliang’s embrace, lifted the blanket corner to find her clothes. The scattered clothes on the ground formed a route pointing towards the door.

From behind came Xu Chunliang’s voice: "Later, I’ll take you to Horse Market Street to taste Dongzhou’s special breakfast."

Xiahou Mulan was bending over to pick up her underwear from the floor, suddenly realizing this angle must have given him a full view, instantly frozen, she bit her lip and said: "I’m full..."

Xu Chunliang was amused by her comment, and Xiahou Mulan immediately understood what he found funny. She turned and fled back to the bed, grabbing his arm, trying to bite him fiercely, only to be turned and pinned under him by Xu Chunliang.

"You promised me after the sunrise we’d..."

"Don’t worry, I’m just testing the effect to make sure your meridians are fully healed."

"But you’ve tested it several times... already..."

"Being cautious never hurts."

"Don’t try to tease me intentionally."

...

"No, no, stop harassing me, if you keep bothering me, I’ll turn against you."

...

"Fine, if you don’t listen, I... will really turn against you..."

Xiahou Mulan’s hands trembled slightly as she held the bowl, looking at Xu Chunliang’s mischievous smile opposite her. She had an urge to pour the hot and spicy soup over his head.

Xu Chunliang kindly picked up a potsticker for her: "Get some energy, and when we get home, I’ll brew some herbal medicine for you."

Xiahou Mulan shook her head, thinking to herself to let her go, she’s afraid to go to his house again. This guy’s performance is like a volcano dormant for millennia; the bursts are truly astounding. Xiahou Mulan considers herself in good health, yet now she feels sore and aching, though oddly warm inside.

Xu Chunliang said: "Don’t worry, your meridians are fully healed, and with last night’s training, your kung fu should be better than before."

Xiahou Mulan shyly retorted: "You’re shameless, actually tricking me."

Xu Chunliang said: "How come you seem a bit ungrateful? As a benevolent doctor, I can’t bear to let you develop residual ailments, so I don’t spare energy to repair and restore your meridians. I’ve put in so much effort, even if it’s not a success, it’s still hard work, right? Now your issues are resolved, but we shouldn’t forget the cook after being full. Besides, I’m treating you to breakfast."

Xiahou Mulan thought that this scoundrel was treating her for the first time, spending less than ten yuan on breakfast, while he exhausted her all night yesterday; the more she thought about it, the more she felt disadvantaged.

Xu Chunliang said: "Later I have to go to Mining University, I can’t accompany you."

"No need to accompany." Xiahou Mulan originally wanted to say something like "from now on, the roads of Jianghu are distant, never to meet again," but swallowed the words back, feeling that saying it would achieve nothing; their relationship seemed rather tangled.

Xiahou Mulan said: "I have things to do, I need to leave after breakfast."

Xu Chunliang said: "Safe travels, don’t worry, I won’t backtrack on my promises."

Xiahou Mulan coldly said: "That’s your own business." Hearing him say this made her somewhat unhappy.

Xu Chunliang’s reason for visiting Mining University was to see the secretary’s wife, He Wanying.

He Wanying had already learned Xu Chunliang’s intentions from Ye Qingya. Their school’s agenda to establish a medical school had been underway for several years but hadn’t been realized.

The school assigned this challenging task to her due to her status and background, believing her involvement could obtain more local government support and attract more attention, smoothing out procedural aspects significantly.

He Wanying invited Xu Chunliang to her office. Xu Chunliang had once visited her home as Ye Qingya’s guest, so they were familiar, though Xu Chunliang’s own influence wasn’t enough—his ties with the Ye family substantially benefited him.

He Wanying took a bottle of chilled mineral water from the refrigerator and handed it to Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang said thanks.

He Wanying straightforwardly said: "Qingya has already shared your idea with me. You indeed have insider knowledge, we haven’t officially announced the preparation for a medical school yet, how did you know?"

Xu Chunliang said: "To be honest, I have connections within your school too." He certainly didn’t want He Wanying to guess it was Qin Zhengyang.

He Wanying laughed: "Jianming often says there are no absolute secrets in the world. Xiaoxu, I have a question, why did your hospital consider us? Our medical school is still just a plan on paper, after all, Dongzhou Medical University’s reputation is dominant here."

Xu Chunliang said: "Dongzhou Medical University’s influence is limited to the Dongzhou Region, beyond which recognition drops. Your school is a prominent institution, a Double First-Class 211, its fame is not on the same level as Dongzhou Medical University. Moreover, there are already many affiliated hospitals of Dongzhou Medical University; even if we reach an agreement, we’d rank lower, so I figured a shortcut by partnering with Dongzhou’s best university."

He took a file from his briefcase, which contained the rushed collaboration terms. Collaborating with Zhonghua Mining University meant a stepping stone for the Infectious Disease Hospital, and will certainly yield them greater returns, so substantial sincerity was necessary.

He Wanying flipped through the document, then asked: "Xiaoxu, as far as I know, your hospital is only a Grade III B specialized hospital, isn’t it? Dongzhou has many Grade III A comprehensive hospitals; what advantage do you have over them?"

Xu Chunliang said: "You might know we’ve secured a hundred acres of land in the mining area for constructing a new hospital. The initial phase, the infectious disease section, is ready and soon construction will start. The second phase is the comprehensive hospital project, and numerous powerful corporations and funds are interested in investing, including the renowned national investment firm Equatorial Capital and the leading herbal processing company Mulan Group."

He Wanying laughed: "You’re a bit off-topic. What I mean is we clearly have much stronger comprehensive hospitals to choose from; why pick yours?"

Xu Chunliang said: "Choosing us is like sending charcoal in a snowstorm, choosing them is embellishment on brocade. As you just said, even if your school establishes a medical school, it cannot surpass Dongzhou Medical University overnight. Dongzhou’s major hospitals mostly have deep collaborations with Dongzhou Medical University; your school can’t replace them swiftly. I can assure you we will adhere to the world’s highest standards in developing the second phase comprehensive hospital, attracting top-tier talents, which post-collaboration would become an intangible asset for your school. I believe we should mutually contribute to each other’s achievements."