Chapter 88

Stethoscope Instructions.

After that, Yu Dule didn’t contact Gu Yi, but she could clearly see his updates on his social media. After editing two programs, he took a long break and spent his time visiting various high-rated escape rooms, getting scared. Every time, he would post the location and give it a rating. After two weeks, he posted an update: “Probably immune to ghosts now.”

This stand-up comedian’s way of healing from a broken heart was by exhausting himself in escape rooms. And the story with escape rooms wasn’t over yet—Gu Yi was really waiting for the little cop Pan Tao’s escape room stand-up comedy, no wonder he didn’t want to share any material with anyone:

“I’m a police officer, very happy to be here on the stand-up comedy stage, ah, it’s my second time here, a bit excited. Let’s get to the point. Nowadays, many people love to play escape rooms, and I like them too. Looking for excitement, huh? Work isn’t enough of a thrill, you have to spend money to play even more dangerous games. But let me tell you the real inside scoop: the fire safety in these escape rooms is not very good. What does that mean? Escape rooms, you know, are meant to lock you in and let you explore, no lights, with old furniture, and if there’s a fire, you’ll be roasted alive. If you encounter a fire in the escape room, you should call us right away, or else you might end up playing with your life.”

“Of course, fire safety isn’t your main concern—it’s us. But watch out for perverts and molesters! Yes, with phones updating, these perverts are keeping up too. Their targets aren’t the subway or buses anymore; it’s the escape rooms. Escape rooms are perfect for their role-playing fantasies—no lights, pitch black, and the girls screaming, most of them are beautiful and hot, and the late-night sessions—perverts know exactly where the pretty girls are. A hundred or two hundred bucks to get in, and they’ll start groping women. When we see ghosts, we say, ‘Hey, you’ve worked hard, don’t be a ghost anymore,’ but when we see a pervert, we really want to say, ‘Be a decent human.’“

“We used to joke that when you’re in danger, look for the police uncle. But people still have this instinctive thought, thinking that meeting a handsome guy is some kind of romantic encounter, but you shouldn’t be thinking that way—no matter how handsome he is, if he’s harassing you when you don’t allow it, call the police immediately. We get reports about this every month. Young perverts know the layout, hiding in corners or places the cameras can’t capture, and making their move. Just a few days ago, I caught one—born in 1995, good-looking, over 1.8 meters tall, looks like a proper office worker. But guess what? When girls are walking down the hallway with their arms around each other’s shoulders, he’ll suddenly grab them by the underarm, touch their chest. When the NPC shows up, the girls will get scared, and he’ll take advantage to grope their butt. He denied it in the interrogation, even though his belt was undone, and then he complained, acting like a jerk. I was pulling out a wisdom tooth that day, and my mouth was full of blood. But when I met this guy, I just gritted my teeth and dealt with it, although I couldn’t actually bite him. I was really angry, though, because of the tooth pain. When he tried to run during the arrest, I had no mercy, pinned him to the ground, and cuffed him. He tried to fake fainting to accuse the police of excessive force, but fortunately, there was surveillance footage. Be careful, these people go into escape rooms thinking they’re boosting their sexual abilities. But if you run into them, don’t be afraid, grab them, use the intercom to tell the staff, call the police, and we’ll send him to the public section and make him famous overnight. After becoming a police officer, I still don’t trust others too much, but you can trust us. After all, we’ve been trained to be alert in order to protect you. Alright, that’s it for today.”

The dialogue is crisp and to the point, and Gu Yi even feels that Pan Tao must have spent a lot of time studying how to deliver jokes. People who are far from this industry are working hard, so she can’t afford to slack off. Yu Dule signed a contract with the company and occasionally does opening acts for comedians. But right now, she feels that being an open mic performer is fine too—she isn’t in a rush to make money from stand-up comedy, since she can still draw comics from her jokes. Whether it’s advertising traffic or the occasional ads she picks up… she makes more than from performing on stage.

She isn’t in a hurry to burn herself out and wants to experience more in life. On the other hand, Liang Daiwen has thrown himself completely into his career as a speaker. Since the release of his speech on accessible design on Bilibili, various video platforms and tech media have been inviting him for interviews. Now, whenever you search for the words “accessible,” you’ll see his face. He changed his hairstyle, shaving his temples and the back of his head clean. His short hair no longer covers his face, revealing his bright eyes. His expressions are still a bit stiff, but he now has a charming, focused look. He naturally has well-defined brow bones, and when he furrows his brows, it accentuates his furrowed brow and slight lines of concentration. His left eyelid is deeper than the right, which brings a vibrant depth to his expression. His speaking pace is faster than average, and his logic is clear. When explaining technical details, there’s a sense of confidence and boldness.

Gu Yi always found it hard to remember Liang Daiwen’s exact facial features at first, but now, with his expressions, he has left a deep impression. Like now, standing at a developer conference, talking passionately about facial expression capture technology, he exudes wisdom even when he’s listening to others. This is the result of accumulated knowledge.

A person with expression is truly “radiant.” Gu Yi’s heart beats faster—wow, he’s so handsome!

He saw Gu Yi from a distance, waved to her, but didn’t immediately wrap up his conversation, instead chatting with someone for another half hour. When they talked about her drawing jokes beside the conference, he walked over: “Am I taking up your time? Are you hungry? Want to grab a meal?”

“It’s fine, if you’re busy, I’ll just head to the café to read.”

“Well...” He showed a somewhat apologetic expression. “It’s a rare opportunity. I do want to talk more about visual effects capture and the specialized game controllers for people with disabilities.”

Gu Yi stood up, lightly nudging him: “Go ahead and take care of it.”

She waited until 8 PM when Liang Daiwen finally walked in, wearing a dark gray shirt and black trousers—he looked unbelievably good. But once he sat down, his image was gone, as he wolfed down the sandwich Gu Yi hadn’t finished. He couldn’t hide his excitement: “Meeting an expert made me realize how professional visual capture is for data gathering now. The commercials you see in movies and shows aren’t just staged; they’re added in post-production. Professional visual effects companies collect data on what parts of the screen viewers focus on and arrange for targeted advertising. This made me think, the front camera could capture facial expressions and eye movement. I plan to hold a meeting with my team soon to explore opportunities for games and software that support eye tracking.”

“Can games be done too?”

“Of course. There have been games popular among people with disabilities before, like The Last of Us 2; they had great accessibility features.”

“I’ve noticed, you get much more excited talking about new things than when you talk about our relationship.”

“Really?” Liang Daiwen picked up the menu. “Probably because our team hasn’t made much progress in a while, and we’re all eager to create something new. Anyway, not talking about that, I’m starving, my hands are shaking.”

Gu Yi recalled what Xu Guanyue had said: Liang Daiwen probably would never see love as more important than work. But looking at him now, flipping through the menu while humming, she thought, so what? Having something that excites him is better than emptiness.

Back home, after showering, Gu Yi lay on the bed stretching. Her silky nightgown glided over her skin. Liang Daiwen wasn’t in the bedroom, so she played a song, Stand Still, lifted her leg to rest on the headboard, and the dim yellow light grazed her skin. She thought of a joke she had written long ago—beginner men look at a woman’s face and chest, advanced desire looks at her waist and legs, but ultimate sex appeal lies in her pelvis and ankles. That’s the sophisticated language women hide.

Just as she thought this, Liang Daiwen entered the room, his eyes narrowing: “What are you doing?”

Gu Yi hurriedly tucked her leg under the blanket: “Nothing, just stretching.”

“Afraid of what?” Liang Daiwen aggressively rubbed his hair dry, as if polishing a basketball. “Did I leave you with some psychological trauma?”

Gu Yi didn’t like hearing that. Was he always mocking her? It was time to spark some competitive spirit. She flipped over, raised her buttocks, lowered her waist, and pressed her face into the pillow: “Have you seen that set of pictures online? Anyone who can do this pose is an ‘expert.’“

Liang Daiwen pretended not to see, changing into his sleepwear and sitting at the bed’s edge, unpacking books. The new books piled on the bedside shelf, and the cold room started to feel warmer—books, fragrance, her.

Gu Yi lay on her stomach, saying that the company had recently made a female-oriented sitcom, each episode discussing a different women’s issue. The latest script was returned by the platform because it mentioned sanitary pads and underwear.

“That’s too harsh.”

“Yeah, something so ordinary, but the platform thinks it’s vulgar. The audience is likely teenagers, and if they don’t restrict content, parents will complain, then the editing becomes troublesome. Isn’t this like your accessible design work? Because it’s troublesome, they just cut out these people’s issues, as if they don’t exist.”

Liang Daiwen didn’t respond. Gu Yi turned over: “Can’t talk about underwear and sanitary pads, but Viagra is front and center in pharmacies, with slogans like ‘Make women crave it.’ Double standards.”

“True, everyone’s use of underwear is different.”

“Is it?”

“Of course. For those with smaller breasts, they wear underwear just to shape them. You wear it to fight gravity.”

Her ears turned red after saying that. Gu Yi stared at Liang Daiwen in disbelief: “Did you just tell a joke and offend me?”

“I didn’t, what did I say?”

“How come I never noticed you were so lecherous?”

“Because back then, you were always fantasizing about me.”

“Wait a minute.” Gu Yi leaned in and playfully tugged on Liang Daiwen’s ear. “When did you start checking out my figure?”

“It was when you tripped at your bedroom door one time. You slid right past my arm—and shivered a bit. I saw it all,” Liang Daiwen explained, then coughed awkwardly.

“You!”

“At first, I didn’t think much of it. I’d seen stuff like that online before, so what’s the big deal? But later, I realized seeing you naked is still pretty eye-catching.”

“...Liang Daiwen, if you say things like that behind closed doors again, I’ll call Pan Tao to arrest you.”

“Oh?” Liang Daiwen grabbed his stethoscope. “Are you trying to get me arrested for being a doctor? And aren’t these words just meant to seduce me into bed with you?”

With those words, he kissed her lips. As they pulled apart, their mouths seemed to have a magnetic pull—the closer they got, the faster they stuck together. She had to admit that the sound of their lips touching in this dim, quiet room was incredibly... arousing. The heat inside her flared up. Every time they started foreplay, she felt a little shy, as if her whole body was being examined. But whenever he picked up the stethoscope, she couldn’t resist kissing his lips and licking the small dip where his collarbones met. He chuckled softly at her. “Is the stethoscope some kind of switch for you? Whenever I pick it up, you completely change.”

“No way...”

His fingers gently brushed against her chest through the nightgown before lightly pinching it. “Look down at yourself.”

Embarrassed, she refused to meet his eyes. “Doctor, what are you doing? That’s not proper!”

Liang Daiwen gripped her chin, moving the stethoscope over her chest. “I’ve figured out your problem today. This patient always has a fast heartbeat and blushes when she sees a stethoscope. It looks like you have love fever—and it might be contagious to doctors too.”

“What medicine do I need for this?”

“Probably an injection.”

“I’m not accepting any needles.”

“This patient is just too dirty.”

Kisses rained down on her neck. Gu Yi tilted her head back, letting lips fall on her chest, then under the covers on her stomach and further south. The tip of his tongue circled sensitive spots, delving inside her as she gradually lost control. As he climbed up, all her clothes had been removed while the doctor remained fully dressed. He hung the stethoscope around his neck, licking his lips with satisfaction. His endurance was surprisingly good; it seemed that the bonus feature of having trouble expressing emotions was—delaying gratification. She straddled the wicked doctor, wanting to cover her exposed chest with her hair but failing as he pushed it aside. A part of her body cried out in exhaustion from emptiness. All he did was hold her close and kiss her, the stethoscope touching her chest here and there, occasionally caressing her skin with his fingers. Every inch he glanced over turned red and flushed.

“Liang Daiwen.”

“I’m a doctor.”

“I...”

“What’s wrong?”

She blushed and tugged at his pants. He smiled contentedly. The moment he entered her, she tilted her head back, as if understanding the meaning of delayed gratification. Her body was filled with desire, and only when completely satisfied did she feel endless pleasure.

Next, it was her turn to take control. She had been waiting for this moment—straddling him, leaning down so he could lick her chest, gently swaying as she kissed him—not just on the lips, but also her hips and pelvis, speaking the sensual language of women. The man who was usually focused and intelligent during work now became foolish. Just before reaching climax, he would stop and tease, then suddenly strike again once she adjusted—she couldn’t always let him have his way; this time, she wanted him to surrender too. The proud doctor from moments ago now panted heavily, his hands gripping her waist tightly. “Don’t move anymore.”

“What is it?” Gu Yi looked at him smugly.

“... You’ve learned some bad habits.”

She had won this round with her boasting. But escaping wouldn’t be so easy next time. His skills would cool down soon enough, and his stamina was surprisingly good. Even when she hid on the other side of the bed, he pulled her back. His stubble scratched painfully against her cheeks as they kissed between two pillows. Then he turned her over and pressed her down, each sound coming naturally from their bodies. She realized that this man’s strange possessiveness and competitiveness drove him until she begged for mercy. Maybe he got excited knowing he’d seen through her shame. He always tried new ways to attract her attention, then waited like a wolf in sheep’s clothing for her to give in—his schemes were too deep.

“Liang Daiwen.”

“Hm?”

“I’m a bit jealous of your ex-girlfriend. You must have come up with so many things together...”

“Nope.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Even though we understood our bodies before, I didn’t really know what she wanted. And there wasn’t much emotion involved; she always thought of me as a sex robot. Now I can tease you—it’s way more fun.”

“So you’ve been a sex robot all along?”

“...I’m tired now. Can we just go to sleep?”

Well, that was pointless! Gu Yi was so angry she wanted to stomp her feet and tear up the ceiling. Liang Daiwen held her back firmly.

“I already said I won’t bring up old stuff. You get upset over nothing—try understanding my situation as a patient...”

After a few more words of persuasion, both of them fell asleep with their heads still covered by blankets. Exhausted beyond belief, Gu Yi curled up in Liang Daiwen’s arms, feeling completely drained.

The vibration woke her up; it was still early morning. Her voice was hoarse when she asked, “Who is it?”

“Your mother.”

“Why would she call in the middle of the night...?”

“Look outside—the sun has been up for hours already—I’m in Shanghai now, came to see you.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? Where do you live?”

Gu Yi stared at Liang Daiwen, who had just opened his eyes. This man clearly hadn’t realized the disaster approaching. Damn it, thought Gu Yi, referring to her mother—a woman who always carried a bottle of alcohol wherever she went, bringing chaos and misery everywhere she went. Now, it seemed, the chaos was finally coming to him.