Triage Guide NANA and the Stunningly Handsome Man

The academy's night wind stung Sigelica's face.

She tugged up her coat collar, clutching the health insurance card between her fingers, its metal corners pressing her palm red.

The automatic doors to the resonance medical department slid open, and the pallid lights made her squint.

The girl behind the service desk looked up, her high silver-white ponytail tracing a stiff arc through the air.

"Hello, and welcome to the Flamebearers' Academy Resonance Medical Center."

The nameplate on the girl's chest glowed blue, displaying the letters NANA.

Sigelica stared at the mechanical light patterns in her ice-blue eyes and swallowed.

"How may I help you?"

NANA produced a programmed smile. Her voice was clear and bright, but there was no sound of her drawing breath.

Sigelica's cheeks burned, and veins stood out on the back of the hand gripping her card.

She couldn't very well shout at the registration desk that her best friend had been lured away by a salted fish.

Still less could she say that salted fish had swindled her out of almost all her money for nutrient solution.

"I'm here for a consultation."

"Certainly. Please describe your symptoms, and NANA will match you with the most suitable department."

Sigelica closed her eyes and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"My friend got rooted up by a pig. What department handles that?"

Several strings of code flashed deep in NANA's pupils.

Two seconds later, she put on that standard smile again.

"Keywords received: friend rooted up by a pig. Analyzing semantics, matching to emotional trauma."

"Matched to the Department of Deep Interpersonal Relationship Stress Counseling."

NANA turned sideways and raised a hand, pointing her slender fingers down the corridor.

"The room at the very end of the second floor. Dr. Lu Hesi happens to be on duty tonight."

Sigelica loosened her grip on the sweat-slick insurance card and headed up the stairs.

The corridor was so quiet that all she could hear was the echo of her military boots on the tiles.

She stopped in front of the metal door engraved with Lu Hesi's name, her chest rising and falling sharply several times.

I have to make myself clear when I go in.

Dania's love brain needs treatment.

That bastard Zhou Yu's bill needs settling.

And I need some medicine for not being able to eat or sleep these past few days.

She raised her hand and rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Come in."

The man's voice from inside was as deep and rich as a cello.

Sigelica pushed open the door. The warm yellow glow of a desk lamp spilled across a dark wooden desk.

The man sitting behind it set down his pen and looked over the rims of his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze settling on her face.

Sigelica forgot to breathe.

The corners of the man's eyes tilted upward, and his features were more perfect than those of a custom-made doll in a shop window. Somehow, he made his white coat look like a piece of haute couture.

All the accusations she had prepared vanished from her mind in an instant.

The words Linnai had shouted in the cafeteria that day-"walking hormones"-echoed wildly in her ears.

"Please, have a seat."

Lu Hesi gestured toward the visitor's chair opposite him.

Sigelica shuffled over, moving her arms and legs in awkward unison. She sat ramrod straight, perching on only half the seat.

Lu Hesi looked at her tense shoulders, opened the drawer beside him, and took out a small, clear glass bottle.

"Everyone gets nervous their first time here."

He unscrewed the cap and poured out a few colorful candies, holding them out to her on his long, well-defined fingers.

"Have a piece of candy and relax first."

Sigelica stared at the mint-green and strawberry-pink candies in his palm. Her gaze followed his clean fingernails upward, passing over the prominent wrist bone visible beneath the cuff of his white coat.

She was certain her face had turned completely red.

"I'm not sick."

The words slipped out, but her voice was so soft that even she found it embarrassing.

Lu Hesi chuckled and placed the candies on the desk in front of her.

"You can have candy even if you're not sick. Sweetness promotes dopamine secretion, which helps ease anxiety during the empty-nest stage."

Sigelica jerked her head up, her eyes wide and round.

"How did you know I was in the empty-nest stage?"

Lu Hesi leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in front of him, a soft light reflecting off his lenses.

"NANA sent me your triage record just now."

"Having your friend rooted up by a pig usually comes with a strong sense that your territory has been invaded, as well as a feeling of emotional loss."

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on her clenched fists.

"So, who is the pig that rooted up the cabbage?"