PDGUT - 51

Yan Ming had a surgery that could calm him down, and Yu Tian also felt that she shouldn’t wallow in it. She should do something to cool her head.

She first went to the police station to give her statement, then returned home.

Regarding Zhao Xinxin’s slander against her at the hospital, accusing her of纠缠 (harassing) her, Yu Tian didn’t plan to let it go. She decided to take her time to plan, find a reliable lawyer, obtain the hospital’s surveillance footage, compile the evidence, and file a lawsuit.

However, before doing so, she couldn’t allow Zhao Xinxin’s interference to disrupt her work plans.

Yu Tian returned to her studio, turned on her computer, and uploaded the newly edited ophthalmology science videos of Yan Ming to her account.

But as soon as Yu Tian logged into her UP account and started uploading the video while intending to handle some private messages, she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of comments and private messages.

Had another one of her science videos suddenly gone viral?

The traffic was alarming.

Unfortunately, Yu Tian’s surprise didn’t last long. After opening the comment section and private messages, she realized that things weren’t going as she had hoped.

Her account was flooded with insults and personal attacks—

“Scumbag mistress, get out of Earth!”

“What? On one hand, you’re deceiving us online, pretending to be this entrepreneurial independent persona, even claiming you graduated from a medical school, so you got acquainted with many doctors to make these science programs. In reality, you used your job convenience to interfere in a doctor’s relationship and became a mistress. Have some shame!”

“This UP host never shows her face, probably because she isn’t attractive. But damn, she’s quite the flirt. Look at those explicit chat records—it’s shocking!”

“I’ve already reported all her videos. You’re welcome!”

“Can anyone dox her real information? This kind of person deserves to be socially dead in real life too.”

In tandem with the flood of abusive comments and private messages, Yu Tian’s previously uploaded videos were hit with a wave of malicious reports.

It didn’t take much thought for Yu Tian to realize she was under attack orchestrated by Zhao Xinxin.

Yu Tian had planned to finish her work on social media before starting to look for a lawyer to address Zhao Xinxin’s slander and defamation at the hospital. However, she hadn’t expected the old saying to hold true—”The villain always strikes first.” Zhao Xinxin, the main culprit, had already made her move against Yu Tian earlier.

Judging by the timing of the mass abuse, it was clear Zhao Xinxin had been multitasking—causing a scene at the hospital while finding out Yu Tian’s social media account. Not only did she want Yu Tian humiliated in real life, but she also wasn’t letting her off in the virtual world either.

Now, after being ambushed and verbally attacked at the hospital entrance by Zheng Tingfu’s new lover, she might finally realize she had targeted the wrong person. But rumors and scandals spread faster than any clarification. Even if Zhao Xinxin were willing to step forward now and defend Yu Tian, it wouldn’t make much difference. Moreover, Zhao Xinxin herself was in no position to help, given her own troubles, and she harbored hostility towards Yu Tian. Yu Tian couldn’t count on her to take responsibility for her mistakes.

True enough, shortly after Yu Tian uploaded Yan Ming’s video, she found herself under a new wave of attacks—

“She definitely isn’t a professional medical student, and the doctors she claims to know are definitely not professionals either. When have you ever seen doctors this good-looking? Eighty percent chance they’re just hired models or actors. Look at this eye doctor—how is he legal?”

“The male doctor in this eye program could debut as an idol anytime. There was another handsome male doctor in one of her previous science videos too.”

“Doesn’t this woman hook up everywhere? Remember that big UP ‘Paid Leave’ from the neighboring district who promoted her relentlessly? Later, I saw she unfollowed ‘Paid Leave’ after crossing the bridge. After ‘Paid Leave’ promoted her, she never interacted with them again.”

“What an ungrateful wretch!”

“The more you talk about it, the more I suspect this woman has a ‘collector’s complex.’ Just look at those exposed chat records—so explicit!”

With a tight-lipped frown, Yu Tian was scrolling through the comments when she received a call from her platform liaison assistant.

“Little Yu, our platform will host a UP Master awards ceremony this weekend—a small gathering. We’d like to invite you. The entire event will be live-streamed, and there will be some fun icebreaker games where you can meet many top UPs, our platform executives, and some of our partners and suppliers. We’ll also announce a few major strategic partnership signings during the event. All attending UPs will receive traffic support packages for the next year.”

Yu Tian wasn’t keen on showing her face and was about to decline when the assistant seemed to anticipate her response—

“Don’t rush to refuse. I noticed someone recently exposed your real-life identity. This has happened frequently to other UPs on our platform. Last year, a beauty sector UP was falsely accused by her ex-boyfriend of cheating, suffered online exposure, and eventually developed depression due to the pressure. Other signed UPs on our platform have encountered similar situations. Some UPs indeed acted improperly and were exposed, but we’ve found that over half of the UPs didn’t commit the acts they were accused of online, or there were extenuating circumstances, or they were taken out of context.”

“And online trends are always about striking first. People easily form preconceived notions. Frequent exposure not only severely impacts a UP’s account value but also affects the platform’s reputation, which is closely tied to our interests. Therefore, this live-streamed UP gathering will include a segment addressing personal reputation. Big UPs from our legal zone will be present, including several law firm partners. They’ll create a win-win program.”

“A few UPs who have been severely slandered or maliciously exposed recently will attend. Since you’ve also been targeted recently, I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in clarifying the situation.”

The assistant’s wording was careful: “If it’s not true, it’s better to clarify. Our platform has strategic partnerships with the law firms of several legal zone UPs. If you’re willing to participate, we’ll cover the costs of having these law firms handle the infringing statements online. You won’t need to pay anything.”

“If you agree, we’ll provide free legal aid for filing lawsuits against the defamers.”

Yu Tian had no interest in showing her face, partly to protect her privacy. But now, thanks to Zhao Xinxin’s drama, her photos and personal information had already been exposed. At this point, stepping forward bravely to clarify and using legal means to protect her rights might be better than staying silent and handling it discreetly.

Moreover, even without the platform’s help, Yu Tian knew she couldn’t just ignore the situation. She still needed to defend her reputation. Rather than finding a lawyer on her own, it made sense to collaborate with the platform.

After much deliberation, Yu Tian finally nodded.

Although a few netizens who knew the full story or were her former classmates stood up to defend her in the comments, their voices were quickly drowned out by negative information.

If she didn’t stand up for herself and relied solely on others to clarify, it would be even less realistic.

In the end, Yu Tian decided to attend the UP Master awards ceremony hosted by the platform.

Most of the time, staying low-key is a virtue. But sometimes, continuing to stay low-key and not stepping forward to clarify can actually harm oneself.

Even though she agreed to attend the platform’s offline event, her mind wasn’t focused on the ceremony itself. Before that, she was more concerned about her date with Yan Ming tonight.

Unable to resist convention, Yu Tian dressed up nicely, wearing a more eye-catching dress paired with stiletto heels.

The girl in the mirror looked almost妖艳 (seductive).

Yu Tian rarely dressed up like this. After a glance, she regretted it slightly, but there was no time to change.

Not wanting to be late for their first date, Yu Tian braced herself and headed out.

The restaurant Yan Ming chose was the same one where Yu Tian had photoshopped their fake couple picture. Yu Tian arrived early and sat alone, intending to quietly browse the latest menu updates. However, she kept being interrupted.

When Yan Ming arrived, this was the scene he witnessed—

Yu Tian appeared to be politely refusing a man asking for her number, likely for the nth time.

She looked radiant, her long hair styled with playful curls at the ends. Her strikingly beautiful face was balanced with an aura of intellectual elegance. When surprised, her eyes widened like a cat’s—similar to a British Shorthair Yan Ming once owned. Beautiful, but somewhat clueless, lacking the arrogance and aloofness often associated with beauties, and instead appearing rather innocent.

A woman of her caliber was hard to resist based on looks and figure alone.

Sure enough, the man Yu Tian politely declined didn’t give up easily. By the time Yan Ming approached, he could hear the man say—

“Beauty, I don’t mind if you have a boyfriend. I just want to add your contact info and start as friends. If you ever feel your boyfriend isn’t right for you, let me be on your list.”

This was getting intolerable.

Yan Ming walked toward the man, his face stern as he prepared to assert his claim and chase away this clueless man. But before he could speak, Yu Tian instinctively called out to him in surprise—

“Brother Yan Ming!”

Clearly, she hadn’t yet fully broken the habit of calling him “brother.”

But the joy on Yu Tian’s radiant face pleased Yan Ming immensely.

He was about to open his mouth to dismiss the man when the other beat him to it, trying to strike up a conversation—

“Oh? Are you this beauty’s brother? No wonder the whole family has great genes. Brother, you’re really handsome. Are you her biological brother, cousin, or what? Should we share a table?”

“No blood relation, but the kind of ‘brother’ who holds hands, kisses, and hugs. So sharing a table isn’t appropriate.”

The exchange happened in an instant. Before Yu Tian could even open her mouth, Yan Ming calmly and deliberately spoke to the man who had approached them, his dark, calm eyes fixed on him.

The man’s expression turned incredulous. He looked at Yan Ming, then at Yu Tian, seeking confirmation.

Wanting him to leave quickly, Yu Tian simply nodded along with Yan Ming’s words: “Yes, exactly what you’re thinking—a ‘brother’ who sleeps together but has no blood relation.”

The man was utterly stunned. This response was indeed highly effective. He completely stopped pestering and, looking embarrassed, touched his nose and left in defeat.

Only Yu Tian and Yan Ming remained at the table.

Though the earlier comment had been bold, after the man left, Yu Tian grew somewhat awkward. She coughed and started gulping sparkling water.

Unfortunately, Yan Ming didn’t intend to let her off the hook. After ordering their meal and waiting for the dishes to arrive, he sipped his tea and coolly asked, “Sleeping together? Have we slept together? When?”

“…” Yu Tian regretted her earlier bravado.

Blushing, she muttered softly, “What’s the harm in saying it? I just didn’t want to rely on you to rescue me every time. I can handle situations like this on my own.”

Yan Ming glanced at her. “So I’m supposed to be your convenient excuse whenever you need me? Am I getting paid for appearances?”

“Stingy!”

As a result, faced with Yu Tian’s accusations, Yan Ming became quite serious: “You think I’m stingy?”

The disbelief on his face was so obvious that it might as well have been written across his forehead—”I am the most generous man in the universe.”

“You’re not stingy? Then how exactly are you generous?”

Yan Ming seemed to have prepared extensively for this question. Without hesitation, he smoothly replied, “When you bought pajamas for Qi Sihao, I accompanied you, but you only picked something for him and didn’t even think of me. The movie I wanted to see—you didn’t give it a second thought to watch it with me. You’ve already established a relationship with me, kissed me, yet you were still exchanging flirtatious glances with Qi Sihao.”

Yan Ming looked at Yu Tian. “Just by casually thinking about it, I can list so many examples like these. And yet, I’ve been very generous about all of them—no jealousy, no questioning, not even throwing a tantrum. Have I ever complained?”

“...” Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing right now?

However, Yu Tian’s silence clearly failed to bring Yan Ming back to reason. Suddenly recalling something, his expression darkened again, and his tone turned dangerous.

“You once said that when you kissed me, it was purely because your principle is that if someone makes a move on you, you respond in kind. So, if someone kisses you, you kiss back. But at that time, in your mind, I wasn’t your boyfriend. So does that mean that even if the person isn’t your boyfriend, you’d still kiss back?”

Yan Ming paused here, his gaze drifting past Yu Tian as if looking at something else. His tone became casual again. “So, Yu Tian, who else have you kissed?”

He pursed his lips briefly before adding, “I’m just asking casually—I’m not saying I disapprove of you having other relationships before me.”

Yu Tian felt that all her recent unease and uncertainty about Yan Ming—the unspoken fluttering, the indescribable frustration, the lack of confidence and hesitation—all suddenly crumbled away.

Because it was obvious—Yan Ming was jealous.

Resting her chin on her hands, Yu Tian fixed her sparkling eyes on Yan Ming. “Am I pretty?”

Yan Ming was taken aback, clearly not expecting Yu Tian to change the subject so abruptly. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but eventually, under Yu Tian’s steady gaze, he gave in and nodded awkwardly after averting his eyes. “Not bad.”

“Not bad means not pretty,” Yu Tian scolded, grabbing Yan Ming’s head and forcing him to look directly into her eyes. “So do you think I’m not pretty?”

It was as if he had been bewitched; by the time he realized it, the truth had already slipped out.

“Pretty.”

“So when you first saw me, did you feel something unforgettable?”

This time, Yu Tian loosened her grip, allowing him to finally look away. “Hmm.”

“So, don’t you think someone as pretty as me would have had people chasing after me? Would I lack boyfriends?”

Yan Ming pressed his lips together, gazing at Yu Tian.

Yu Tian put on an indifferent expression and said naturally, “So of course I’ve kissed others. Kissed a lot of people.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and looked back at Yan Ming. “I don’t even remember how many people I’ve kissed. You’re not bothered, right?”

“Not bothered. That’s all part of your past relationships. As long as there’s no flirting around while we’re together, I have no right to object.”

But despite his words, Yan Ming’s expression clearly showed he was dying of jealousy. His voice and demeanor became extremely awkward and unnatural.

Yu Tian beckoned him closer with her finger. “Come closer, I’ll tell you a secret.”

Yan Ming pursed his lips and leaned closer.

Fighting the nervousness that made her heart race like a startled deer, Yu Tian quickly leaned in and kissed Yan Ming lightly on the cheek.

Then she moved close to his ear and whispered, “Just kidding.”

Yan Ming froze momentarily.

“I haven’t kissed many people.” Yu Tian blushed and avoided his gaze. “I’ve only kissed you.”

“Only you, from start to finish.”

Yan Ming came to his senses, his face showing some discomfort. He cleared his throat and calmly stated, “There’s no need to explain. I already said I don’t mind.”

Resting her chin on her hands, Yu Tian muttered, “What do you mean, ‘don’t mind’? Your face clearly says you’re dying of jealousy and overthinking.”

She glanced at Yan Ming. “Can’t you be honest?”

“I don’t mind because I respect your past relationships, but I can’t help being jealous. It’s hard to be generous when you really like someone, so maybe I’ve become a little stingy.”

He looked at Yu Tian. “But there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Who told you to be such a cunning little ingrate?”

After saying that, he glanced at Yu Tian again and whispered, “Come closer, I’ll tell you a secret too.”

The restaurant’s lighting deepened the shadows in Yan Ming’s eyes, making them shimmer faintly with star-like brilliance, as if they held the mysteries of the cosmos, drawing one in unconsciously.

Almost instinctively, Yu Tian leaned closer.

And then she saw Yan Ming’s prominent nose bridge approaching her, along with his soft lips.

Without hesitation, Yan Ming cupped her face and gave her a long, deep kiss.

Lips brushed against lips, tongues entwined.

This was what it meant to connect through a kiss.

Yu Tian’s brain went blank, her body going limp and warm.

Still, Yan Ming pushed further, claiming more territory with each passing moment, kissing deeper and deeper.

When he finally released her, he leaned in again to peck her twice.

With a low, satisfied laugh, Yan Ming murmured, “All those before were just kisses. This... this is a real kiss.”

Their eyes met, each seeing their reflection in the other’s gaze. Yu Tian couldn’t help but glance at Yan Ming’s lips, but quickly looked away.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt that after the kiss, Yan Ming’s lips seemed fuller, redder, and glossier than usual, as if marking the evidence of her misdeeds.

Even though the air conditioning was on in the restaurant, Yu Tian still felt a bit hot.

She raised her eyes to look at Yan Ming. “How could you do that here? What if someone saw us?”

Although the restaurant wasn’t crowded, and their table wasn’t particularly noticeable, Yu Tian’s heart still raced.

“When I kiss you, I don’t think about those things.”

Yan Ming picked up his glass of water as if to cover his embarrassment. “Because I like you too much. Sometimes, my thoughts aren’t thorough. It’s like liking you makes me stupid and impulsive.”

He looked up at Yu Tian, his tone resigned. “But I guess there’s no better way.”

Yu Tian rested her chin on her hands. “You like me that much, huh?”

Yan Ming averted his gaze, looking both embarrassed and reluctant to answer. But eventually, Yu Tian heard his deep voice murmur, “Mm.”

It sounded like resignation, but Yu Tian found it sweet.

After a moment of thought, she couldn’t resist asking, “Tell me, did you... have inappropriate thoughts about me a long time ago?”

Yan Ming paused, then answered seriously, “Probably you were the one who started it.”

Yan Ming continued, “You’re beautiful, and you know how to charm men. I’m just an ordinary person without much dating experience. It’s only natural that you charmed me.”

Yu Tian had asked casually, but Yan Ming’s response made her take it more seriously. “When did I ever charm you? Clearly, you were the one who made the first move! Spending so much money at the auction to win a ride with me—you were the one doing all the flirting, weren’t you?”

Yan Ming widened his eyes slightly. “Didn’t you almost get hit by a motorcycle because of me? A woman willing to do that for you doesn’t just walk away saying she has no feelings for you. Can you honestly believe that? Don’t tell me you didn’t fantasize about it. Back then, did you really have no feelings for me?”

“Even if the photoshopped couple picture was just for a discount at the restaurant, and even if bringing me meals was because you thought my mom and your dad hadn’t broken up yet, risking your life for me can’t simply be explained by parental connections, right?”

Yu Tian spoke with righteous indignation. “No, I didn’t!”

Heaven and earth could attest—Yu Tian truly hadn’t!

“At that time, I just instinctively wanted to protect your hand! You’re such a great doctor—I couldn’t bear to see your hand injured, especially since your surgery patients were all queued up waiting for you! Even if it had been another male doctor, like Dr. Jiang Yuming, I would’ve done the same thing! After all, if I get injured, I can recover easily since I can’t perform surgeries anyway, but your injury would greatly affect your patients! And you still refused to listen to me about getting hand insurance!”

“So you risked your life just for my hand?”

Yan Ming sounded incredulous, his voice tinged with frustration. “Yu Tian, are you saying you didn’t charm me, and I was the one imagining things?”

“Well... I guess you could say that...”

Yu Tian thought Yan Ming might get a little upset, but instead, he just chuckled softly.

“The value of my hand and Jiang Yuming’s hand isn’t the same. There are plenty of doctors who can replace Jiang Yuming in orthopedic surgeries, but for such delicate eye surgeries, there are hardly any substitutes for me in Rong City. Plus, I’m younger than doctors of the same skill level.”

“So, my hand is worth more, right?”

As he spoke, Yan Ming captured Yu Tian’s hand on the table, slowly interlacing his fingers with hers in a ten-finger clasp.

“You’ll have to make sure I take good care of my hand,” Yan Ming said earnestly. “After all, I’m a busy doctor, and sometimes I can be careless. Having someone around to remind me constantly will help me use my hands to better serve my patients.”

Yan Ming was full of tricks, one after another.

But Yu Tian couldn’t deny that she willingly fell for every single one of them.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we recently launched a couple’s flower promotion. Just leave a romantic message in this notebook, and you can pick a bouquet for free...”

The waiter pushed a small flower cart forward but paused upon recognizing Yu Tian and Yan Ming. “Oh? You two?” She immediately grew flustered. “I’m sorry for interrupting.”

Given the extraordinary attractiveness of the two protagonists, the waiter vividly remembered the previous mix-up, nearly recalling the photoshopped couple incident at the mere sight of their faces.

“I originally wanted to recommend tonight’s couple’s set menu, but if you’re not a couple, we also have family or friendship dessert sets with discounts, 20% off!”

“No need for the family or friendship sets.”

The waiter was about to detail the menu options when Yan Ming interrupted her first. “We’re a couple.”

He lifted their intertwined hands. “This time, we’re officially a couple.”

The waiter paused, then smiled and offered her blessings. “You two make such a perfect match! Sir, leave a romantic message in our notebook, and you can choose a bouquet for the lady—it’s free!”

The flowers on the cart were fresh, including a single red rose. Yu Tian shyly waited for Yan Ming to choose the rose for her.

To her surprise, Yan Ming bypassed the rose and selected a sunflower bouquet instead.

Yu Tian stared blankly as she accepted the sunflowers.

Why not a rose?

Who gives sunflowers to their girlfriend?

Unheard of!

By the time she snapped out of it, Yan Ming had already signed the message, and the waiter had left after offering another blessing.

Soon, the red rose was chosen by a man at another table for his girlfriend.

Yu Tian looked at the sunflowers, feeling a bit dejected. Who wouldn’t want to be a vibrant red rose?

Aren’t red roses the standard gift for girlfriends?

But seeing Yan Ming’s oblivious expression, she didn’t dare to complain.

Staring at the bright yellow flower heads in her arms, Yu Tian fell into self-doubt.

Did he give her sunflowers because he thought her mind was filled with dirty thoughts?

Though she had indeed stolen glances at Yan Ming several times and vividly recalled his appearance after stepping out of the shower... but... but it was just imagination!

And now that Yan Ming was officially her boyfriend, what was illegal about that?

Besides, Yan Ming’s physique was excellent—well-proportioned, tall, healthy, muscular but not exaggerated. The glimpse of his abs earlier was incredibly sexy and alluring, paired with his aloof, cold demeanor, creating an irresistible illusion...

Yu Tian decided she needed to stop.

Thinking further would be dangerous.

She couldn’t let herself spiral into mental chaos just because Yan Ming gave her yellow sunflowers!

Perhaps Yan Ming simply preferred sunflowers? After all, during her last stay at his place, there was a sunflower bouquet in the guest room.

Fortunately, by the time they began eating, Yu Tian had adjusted her mood and was cheerful again.

She had already won Yan Ming over—what more could she ask for?

The restaurant’s atmosphere was lovely. Recalling the earlier mix-up here, Yu Tian couldn’t help but chuckle. When Yan Ming went to the cashier in the center of the restaurant to pay, she stood near the entrance, waiting.

The couple’s flower event had clearly ended, and the notebook for romantic messages had returned to the front desk.

Though it was meant for romantic notes, Yu Tian knew most entries were casual. When she had flipped through it last time, most were either funny like hers or simple and universal phrases like “I love you.”

She didn’t expect Yan Ming to write anything profound in such a short time. Somehow, his personality didn’t seem suited to crafting moving love phrases.

She flipped through the pages absentmindedly, not expecting any surprises.

Thus, when Yan Ming’s familiar handwriting caught her eye, Yu Tian froze completely.

Like a summer breeze rustling through a forest, stirring every branch and leaf, her heart trembled like leaves touched by the wind at the sight of that line.

Suddenly, she understood why Yan Ming had chosen sunflowers for her.

Because he wrote—

“You are my sun, and I am your sunflower. The moment you appeared, I promised to never take my eyes off you.”