Chapter 86

Thinking of how her little uncle went on a blind date yesterday, Shen Lihuan was quite curious about how it turned out. Her little uncle looked so ascetic—she wondered whether he might take the initiative for once.

Back home, Shen Lihuan immediately sent Gu Tingyu a message:

“Little Uncle, how did your blind date go yesterday? Any progress?”

Gu Tingyu was probably still busy and didn’t reply right away. Shen Lihuan tossed her phone aside and called out to 521.

“521, I want to enter the space.”

With a flutter of its wings, 521 flew out, its childlike voice clear and sweet:

“Okay, Master!”

The next second, Shen Lihuan appeared in a bright operating room. A pale-skinned young woman was lying on the surgical bed.

Shen Lihuan put on a white lab coat, a mask, and double gloves, then began surgery on the woman.

This was one of 521’s functions. After binding with Shen Lihuan, it had recommended this space to her. Back then, Qin Aocheng had used this simulated space to learn songwriting and composition.

Everything in the space was simulated and had no impact on reality. For instance, if Shen Lihuan failed a surgery here, the only consequence would be a deduction in her Faith Value.

Speaking of Faith Value, just having Sheng Yan up there was enough for Shen Lihuan to have an endless supply, not to mention all the merit she had. 521 now felt incredibly lucky to have met such a remarkable master after the failed host Qin Aocheng.

Time in the space flowed at a ratio of 10:1 compared to reality, giving Shen Lihuan ample time to perform surgeries and, most importantly, regain the tactile feel of surgery.

A doctor who doesn’t operate for a few days will lose some of their skill. It’s like writing—if you don’t do it for a while, you forget how to write the characters.

She hadn’t performed surgery for several months. The moment she entered the space and did her first operation, she could immediately feel the slowness and stiffness of her movements.

After more than five hours, Shen Lihuan finally finished the surgery. The patient was soon enveloped in a dazzling white light and disappeared from the operating room three seconds later.

The space trembled slightly, and a mechanical voice rang out:

“This round of surgery was successful. Score: 91. Please keep up the good work.”

Shen Lihuan frowned. She was still far from her past self. If she had performed at her previous world’s level, she would have scored at least 98.

Dissatisfied with herself, she exited the space and went to the bathroom to wash her face. 521 followed behind her, trying to comfort her in its childish voice:

“Don’t be discouraged, Master. Current medical standards are nowhere near the level of interstellar medicine. The space evaluates based on interstellar standards. Scoring above 90 is already an amazing result!”

Shen Lihuan wiped the water from her face with a towel. Her peach blossom eyes were filled with a fierce fighting spirit.

“521, I want to study interstellar medical knowledge. Do you have the materials?”

“Yes! Don’t worry, Master. With your intelligence and talent, you’ll master interstellar medical content in no time. 521 believes in you!”

Back in the interstellar era, 521 had been bound to other hosts as well. But in its eyes, aside from Master Qin Yuan, its current master was by far the most astonishingly brilliant.

Shen Lihuan smiled slightly and didn’t respond. Since she had resolved to become a medical scientist, she would give her all. She was born proud—if she was going to do it, she’d be the best of the best!

Suddenly, her phone on the bed began to buzz. Shen Lihuan picked it up and saw several messages from her little uncle.

“It went alright. I think she’s pretty nice.”

That was Gu Tingyu’s message from five minutes ago—sounded rather casual. But two minutes later, he sent another one, his tone beginning to shift.

“She’s really cute.”

Then, after a short pause, Gu Tingyu started spamming her with messages.

“Lihuan, you’ve got great taste. I think she could be your future little aunt.”

“She loves reading—just like you.”

“She’s a foodie, but super picky. Only eats what she likes. Kinda like you.”

“With so many things in common, you two are bound to get along.”

Shen Lihuan raised an eyebrow. This repressed, reserved man—at first, he wouldn’t tell her a thing, and now just minutes later, his true colors were showing. Looks like Uncle really liked this blind date of his—he was already thinking of marrying her.

“Mhm~ Little Uncle, have you and Future Little Aunt made it official yet?”

She quickly typed out a reply with flying fingers.

“…Cough, almost. It’s our first meeting—I didn’t want to scare her.”

Gu Tingyu felt a bit guilty. Truth was, he had already scared Guan Kening.

When he told Guan Kening that he liked her, she was startled. She wasn’t a stunning beauty or anything, and someone like President Gu had surely seen countless women. And yet, he said he had fallen for her at first sight?

After the initial surprise came doubt and a bit of insecurity. Was President Gu serious, or was he just saying something polite?

Seeing the uncertain look on her face, Gu Tingyu sighed and explained:

“You don’t have to put yourself down. I’m not someone who judges by appearances. If I were, I wouldn’t have been single all these years. I really do think you’re great.”

Guan Kening clutched her fluttering heart.

“Can I ask… have you ever had a girlfriend before, Tingyu-ge?”

“No. You’re the first person I’ve ever had feelings for.”

Gu Tingyu answered honestly.

“I… I’m so happy.”

Originally, Guan Kening had wanted to say she was shocked. But when she met Gu Tingyu’s deep, affectionate gaze, she instinctively changed her words and spoke from the heart.

Gu Tingyu looked at her and chuckled softly, his voice rich and magnetic. The sound made Guan Kening’s heart beat wildly. Oh my god. Not only did she like mature men—she was also a total voice junkie. With a voice like that, how could she possibly resist?

“And what about you? Have you ever had a boyfriend?”

Gu Tingyu asked gently. The girl was already twenty-five and still going on blind dates—maybe she, like him, had never been in a relationship before.

Guan Kening immediately became uneasy. She lowered her eyes and snuck a glance at Gu Tingyu, then stammered, “I… I had a boyfriend back in high school.”

The smile on Gu Tingyu’s face slowly faded. When his face turned cold, he exuded the kind of commanding presence and authority that only those in power possessed. Guan Kening didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly and quickly began explaining in a rush like a machine gun, “But we broke up really quickly. He was a scumbag cheating on multiple girls. I dumped him. Aside from that, I’ve never dated anyone else.”

“Looking back now, I was really stupid, letting him fool me like that. If I had the chance to go back to high school, I definitely wouldn’t have said yes to him.”

She blamed herself for being foolish back then. During military training, when she saw that jerk carrying a girl who had fainted from heatstroke to the infirmary, she thought he was so manly. Now she realized that girl was one of his ambiguous love interests at the time, one of his future girlfriends. Of course he wanted to put on a good show.

And yet she, blind as she was, failed to see through it. When the scumbag later confessed to her, she even bashfully agreed. In the end, she caught him kissing another girl in a small grove. That was when she realized he had multiple girlfriends, not just her. At the time, it made her feel sick—like she’d swallowed a fly.

“I know I was blind to fall for a jerk like that, but I have absolutely no feelings for him anymore. I don’t even remember what he looks like. The person I like now… is you…”

Fighting off her embarrassment, Guan Kening laid bare her heart. The jealousy that had welled up inside Gu Tingyu quickly melted away. He raised a hand to his lips and coughed lightly. “Is that so? A jerk like that wasn’t good enough for you anyway. You were right to dump him. But… do you mind that I’m nine years older than you?”

“Of course not. You look so young—you seem five or six years younger than your actual age. Why would I mind?”

Guan Kening quickly waved her hands. “Honestly, I was drawn to you the moment I first saw you. You’re really good-looking.”

She shyly lowered her head.

Gu Tingyu couldn’t help but want to laugh again. This honest little girl—he really liked her. “Being able to attract your attention is my honor.”

Guan Kening looked up, and their eyes met. A tender, sweet feeling swelled quietly in their hearts.

The two of them chatted for a long time. Gu Tingyu gained a much better understanding of Guan Kening—she was cheerful and generous, and could carry on any conversation naturally. If the topic ever drifted into something she didn’t know, she wouldn’t pretend to understand but would openly admit it and ask him to explain more.

When Gu Tingyu dropped her off at home, he asked for her contact information, hoping to see her again. Guan Kening blushingly agreed. As he looked at her lovely face, Gu Tingyu couldn’t resist planting a kiss on her cheek. Guan Kening clutched her face and stumbled home, giddy with joy.

“In that case, go for it, Little Uncle! I believe you’ll definitely be able to bring Little Aunt home.”

Shen Lihuan cheered Gu Tingyu on. “Once you marry Little Aunt, our family will have one more member. It’ll be so lively then.”

“I will,” Gu Tingyu replied. “Lihuan, just wait to meet your Little Aunt.”

Thinking of Kening’s flushed cheeks, his heart stirred with excitement.

Shen Lihuan hadn’t expected her Little Uncle to be so decisive. He had already settled on his future wife. And to think, she had even been the one to point out Little Aunt to him—that meant she played matchmaker for them!

“I’ll wait! When the time comes, you have to give me a big red envelope, Little Uncle.”

“I will, I will, I will. However big you want it, that’s how big it’ll be.”

Gu Tingyu was more than generous.

Satisfied with their chat, Shen Lihuan ended her conversation with her Little Uncle and dove back into her space to continue studying interstellar medical knowledge.

You Changqing got off work at noon, and their part-time housekeeper, Aunt Zheng, arrived punctually at 11. She greeted Shen Lihuan and then headed straight into the kitchen to start cooking. She was clearly not much of a talker, which suited Shen Lihuan just fine.

Aunt Zheng worked quickly. In just half an hour, she prepared five dishes—meat and vegetable dishes, plus soup. The delicious smell wafted through the air, and Shen Lihuan was equally satisfied with her cooking skills.

After finishing, Aunt Zheng said goodbye, and Shen Lihuan nodded and saw her to the door.

Once the door was shut, she went back to her room, changed into a dress and denim jacket, then left to pick up her precious girl. This time, it was Luo Er who had come to drive her, having switched shifts with Luo Yi.

Jintang was so close to Dingshang International that in less than two minutes, Shen Lihuan had arrived at the gate. She glanced at the watch on her wrist—it was 11:45. Looks like she was early.

She leaned back in the seat, deciding to wait until her precious girl came out before getting out of the car.

After 12, people began to trickle out of the building. You Changqing, tall and upright with striking looks, stood out easily in the crowd. The moment Shen Lihuan saw her, she smiled and stepped out of the car to walk over—but then she saw someone walking beside her.

It was a boy, at least 1.85 meters tall, with delicate and handsome features.