{Chapter: 239 Surging violently!}
Lin Yuan was determined to prevent Jiang Rou from meeting Ye Feng.
But that was easier said than done.
Jiang Rou had already been invited to perform a high-level surgery for Ye Feng, and as a highly respected and ethical doctor, she wouldn't simply cancel a professional obligation without a compelling reason.
If Lin Yuan wanted her to back out, he needed to provide her with a convincing, logical excuse—one that wouldn't compromise his image or raise suspicion.
Although Lin Yuan had offered her a generous payment to treat Qiu Wanxi, he knew deep down that money was never Jiang Rou's primary motivation. Given her impressive expertise and prestigious medical reputation, she was already extremely wealthy. She wasn't the type to be swayed by wealth alone.
More importantly, she was a woman of principle.
She had a strong sense of professional ethics and a serious attitude toward her responsibilities as a doctor. That, alone, made it difficult for Lin Yuan to intervene directly.
But he had done his homework.
Jiang Rou might be unyielding when it came to money, but she wasn't without weaknesses.
In fact, Lin Yuan had identified two distinct soft spots in her otherwise disciplined personality.
The first was her overly romanticized obsession with domineering CEOs—the type of powerful, cold, alpha male figures found in countless romance novels. She secretly fantasized about being swept away, dominated, and treated as a cherished but fragile "little wife." It was a cliché that Lin Yuan found both amusing and slightly absurd.
The second was her fascination with bizarre and complex medical conditions.
Jiang Rou was always eager to explore mysterious or unsolved cases. Her passion for medicine drove her to take on the most challenging scenarios, and she had built her reputation by curing patients others had deemed hopeless.
Lin Yuan wasn't particularly interested in playing into her CEO fantasy—he found that notion ridiculous and, to some extent, distasteful. The idea that so many women secretly yearned to be dominated, to surrender themselves to the fictional image of an icy-hearted billionaire, left him feeling disgusted. Unless, of course, they happen to be in S&M and Dominatrix.
He much preferred logic over fantasy.
So, instead of pretending to be the archetype of a domineering CEO, Lin Yuan decided to tap into her second weakness—her professional curiosity.
Fortunately, his divine-level medical skills gave him the perfect setup to do so.
With a subtle smile, Lin Yuan shifted the conversation back to health and medical research as he and Jiang Rou continued to chat.
Then, at the right moment, he paused and said casually, "By the way, Dr. Jiang, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. It's about a peculiar condition I've been experiencing."
Hearing his words, Jiang Rou's eyebrows subtly knitted together.
She was immediately on alert.
Over the years, countless men had used her reputation and her known interest in rare diseases to get close to her. Some were subtle, while others were downright shameless.
And now Lin Yuan, despite being polite and composed, had brought up the exact topic she usually avoided with strangers.
They had only just met. How could he possibly know she was interested in rare illnesses?
Although he hadn't said anything inappropriate, Jiang Rou couldn't help but feel suspicious. His handsome face and confident demeanor made him come off as just another rich playboy trying to impress her.
Suppressing her irritation, she asked bluntly, "Young Master Lin, may I ask what your so-called strange disease is? If it's something along the lines of an unusually long genital or excessive foreskin, then I suggest you see a urologist."
She said this flatly, recalling similar absurd remarks from some of her more ridiculous suitors in the past. She was no longer shocked by such encounters—just exhausted by them.
Lin Yuan, however, didn't react with embarrassment or anger. Instead, he chuckled softly.
Then, with a calm expression, he leaned forward slightly and said, "Doctor Jiang, how about you take a listen and judge for yourself—with your stethoscope?"
He gestured toward his chest, his tone neither flirtatious nor sarcastic, but composed and serious.
Noticing the unexpected shift in tone, Jiang Rou's curiosity was piqued.
She looked at him carefully.
Despite her earlier annoyance, she couldn't ignore how calmly and confidently he was acting. He wasn't joking. And more importantly, he had cleared the room, politely asking the nearby doctors and nurses to give them a moment of privacy. He didn't seem like a man playing games.
With mild skepticism still lingering in her heart, Jiang Rou finally lifted the stethoscope that hung neatly around her neck. She placed the cold disk gently against Lin Yuan's chest.
She began to listen.
And within seconds, her expression began to change.
The irritation in her eyes faded, replaced by confusion.
Then her brows furrowed slightly as she heard something... irregular.
Her expression deepened into surprise.
Then shock.
And finally, fascination.
This wasn't a joke.
Lin Yuan's heartbeat—though rhythmic most of the time—would suddenly pause, just long enough to defy medical logic. And then it would start again, as if nothing had happened.
It was unlike anything she had heard before. There was no underlying arrhythmia, no sign of heart damage, and yet... it wasn't normal. It was an impossibility made real.
She quickly withdrew the stethoscope and stared at Lin Yuan, her mind spinning with possibilities.
Seeing her reaction, Lin Yuan calmly said, "I take it you heard it? My heart occasionally stops beating for a few seconds... no known cause. No symptoms. Just... silence."
His tone was relaxed, as if this wasn't a big deal.
But for Jiang Rou, it was enormous.
This wasn't just a rare case. It was a medical mystery.
A challenge she couldn't ignore.
Her earlier skepticism faded completely, replaced by eager curiosity.
Lin Yuan had successfully baited the hook.
And Jiang Rou had taken it. As her next words proved it.
"Yes!" Jiang Rou nodded firmly, her tone turning serious. "It's not a complete cardiac arrest, but the rhythm is extremely weak. After two or three normal beats, there's a sudden drop—almost like the heart forgets what it's supposed to do. I need to listen more closely to understand the pattern."
She tilted her head, her brows furrowed in concentration. "But I have to say, your condition is highly unusual. In all my years of practice, I've neither encountered nor even read about a case quite like this."
Then, with a curious gaze, she asked, "By the way, when you first approached me for surgery, why didn't you mention anything about this strange condition?"
Lin Yuan gave a calm and knowing smile, his voice relaxed yet deliberate. "Because even if I had told you back then, you wouldn't have believed me. And more importantly, would you have even understood what I meant?"
Jiang Rou was momentarily taken aback, his words catching her off guard. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Because in truth—he was right.
Even now, after using her own instruments to detect the anomaly, she was still uncertain of what she was hearing. If Lin Yuan had merely described it without any proof, she would have dismissed it as exaggeration or misunderstanding.
Moreover, now that she thought about it, the secrecy made sense.
A strange illness in the heir of the prestigious Lin family? If such information leaked, it would send shockwaves through the business world. Stocks could plummet, rival companies might exploit the news, and the stability of the Lin Group could be severely threatened.
"Alright… I understand now," Jiang Rou said, nodding thoughtfully, a hint of empathy flickering in her eyes.
"Actually, Dr. Jiang," Lin Yuan said with a casual air, "if you use your hand to feel the rhythm directly, you might notice the irregularity more clearly."
Before she could respond, Lin Yuan gently took her delicate hand and placed it against his chest.
The sudden gesture startled her.
Jiang Rou instinctively felt a wave of discomfort and resistance rise within her. Her inner voice questioned his boldness—was this appropriate? Was he crossing a line?
Despite being a skilled and confident surgeon, Jiang Rou had always harbored a private fantasy—a whimsical obsession with the archetypal domineering CEO, the kind of man who could take charge and make decisions for her. Because of this, she rarely allowed herself to get close to men in reality, preserving herself for that one imagined, perfect partner.
And now, here was Lin Yuan, taking liberties that bypassed her guarded boundaries.
Yet… in spite of herself, her resistance began to fade.
Because the moment her palm touched Lin Yuan's chest, what she felt truly shocked her.
His heartbeat—just seconds ago erratic and slow—was now beating with extraordinary force. It was almost thunderous, as though someone were pounding war drums within his chest.
Jiang Rou blinked, startled. Her eyes searched Lin Yuan's face. There were no signs of exertion—no heavy breathing, no flushed cheeks, no sweat. His expression was calm, even composed.
"How can this be…?" she murmured to herself.
As she struggled to make sense of it, Lin Yuan secretly pressed a few acupuncture points that increased the flow of blood/Qi through his body, intensifying the illusion of a powerful surge in his heartbeat.
"It's bizarre… It's like your heart slips into stagnation, then suddenly erupts with thunderous energy. There's no pattern to it. It's just too strange," Jiang Rou muttered, her mind racing with theories and doubts.
She had no way of knowing that all of it—the weakness, the sudden spikes—was a carefully crafted illusion by Lin Yuan.
"Try checking my pulse this time," Lin Yuan suggested smoothly, taking her small hand once again and gently guiding it to his wrist.
He didn't ask for her permission.
He simply acted.
The boldness of it—the unhesitating confidence—triggered something strange in Jiang Rou.
It should have annoyed her, maybe even offended her. But it didn't.
Because it reminded her of those fantasy scenarios she secretly read about: the assertive, commanding man who took control without asking.
And, against her better judgment, she let him.
As her fingers rested on his wrist, Jiang Rou's eyebrows knit once more. The pulse she felt was as irregular as his heartbeat—fast and furious at times, then suddenly faint or even absent for a second.
"Master Lin… your condition is really something else!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with a mix of concern and excitement. "This might be the most perplexing case I've ever seen."
"There's more," Lin Yuan said with a smile that carried a trace of authority. "Use the stethoscope again—but this time, I want you to listen without the shirt in the way."
His tone had shifted.
It was still polite, but now carried a hint of command.
To anyone else, the request might have seemed inappropriate.
But to Jiang Rou—who had long fantasized about being told what to do by a powerful, decisive man—it didn't feel like an imposition.
In fact, her heart began to race just a little.
She couldn't quite decide if her excitement stemmed from the prospect of diagnosing the strangest case of her medical career… or from the faint thrill in Lin Yuan's commanding tone.
*****
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