"Boss, sit still and don’t move!" Song Sisi said, rubbing her hands together. Her eyes were sparkling, making her look just like a cat about to sneak a fish.
Li Xu sat in the chair, a strange chill running down the back of his neck.
Just as he was about to say sothing, a pair of small hands landed on his shoulders.
"Ah!" Li Xu cried out, caught off guard. "Gently! That’s my bone!"
Song Sisi flinched and pulled her hands back. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t get the spot right!"
Li Xu took a deep breath, trying to remain patient. "Rember, you have to find the grain of the muscle first..."
"Got it!" Song Sisi declared, confidently placing her hands on him again.
This ti she eased up on the pressure, her fingers hopping around on Li Xu’s shoulders as aimlessly as two lost little bunnies.
"Stop! That’s the Jianjing acupoint. You need to use the pads of your fingers..."
Before Li Xu could finish, Song Sisi pressed down hard.
"OW!" Li Xu yelped, nearly leaping off the chair in pain. "That’s the joint!"
Song Sisi frantically pulled her hands back. "I-I thought it was a muscle..."
Li Xu sat up straight, rubbing his brutalized shoulder.
He was starting to understand that a massage from Song Sisi was basically a form of torture. She’d press with all her might where she should have been gentle, and her touch would be feather-light where she needed to apply pressure.
She hadn’t found a single acupoint, but she’d managed to prod every bone in the area.
"Boss..." Song Sisi said, blinking pitifully. "Am I just really bad at this...?"
Seeing her head hung low, Li Xu sighed. "Never mind. I’ll teach you."
"Really?" Song Sisi was instantly re-energized. "You’re the best, Boss!"
Li Xu pointed to an acupuncture chart in the clinic. "If you want to learn massage, you have to start with the basics: identifying the acupoints..."
Just as the two of them were huddled together over the chart, the clinic door swung open. Hu Qiming’s voice rang out, "Li Xu! I’m back! Co help us take a photo for the record..."
His voice trailed off. "What are you two...?"
Li Xu looked up to see Hu Qiming and the familiar nurse standing in the doorway, holding a blood pressure monitor and so brochures.
Hu Qiming’s eyes went wide as his gaze darted between Li Xu and Song Sisi.
"Teaching her massage," Li Xu explained curtly.
"You know how to do massages?" Hu Qiming asked, looking incredulous. "When did you learn that?"
"Just now," Li Xu replied. He paused what he was doing to help Hu Qiming set up a table by the entrance and erect a promotional sign.
He’d just finished and hadn’t even had a chance to catch his breath when Hu Qiming’s eyes suddenly lit up. He looked past Li Xu toward the doorway. "Xiaoyu! What are you doing here?"
Lin Xiaoyu, dressed in a pale blue sundress, stood in the morning light like a fresh bloom.
She was holding a delicate notebook and seed to startle for a mont when she saw Hu Qiming. "Dr. Hu? I... I’m here to see Dr. Li."
Hu Qiming’s smile froze on his face. "Oh?"
Then, he turned to Li Xu with a scrutinizing glare.
Li Xu shrugged, the very picture of innocence.
Lin Xiaoyu was very pretty.
Hu Qiming had a thing for her.
And he’d been sucking up to her lately.
But Lin Xiaoyu wasn’t interested.
A mont ago, Hu Qiming had thought Lin Xiaoyu was there to see him.
Li Xu paid no mind to Hu Qiming’s complicated feelings. The guy was just a player, falling for every new girl he saw.
"Editor Lin, are you feeling unwell?"
Li Xu invited Lin Xiaoyu into the clinic.
"Dr. Li, I ca specifically to thank you."
"Thank ?"
"For your premium Mugwort Bag."
"Then you should be thanking Hu Qiming. I gave it to him, and he gave it to you."
On the sidelines, Hu Qiming discreetly gave a thumbs-up.
Lin Xiaoyu smiled. "Yes, I’m grateful to you both. I also wanted to ask if you have any more affordable, yet still effective, Mugwort Bags? A lot of our magazine’s readers have been complaining that you won’t sell them the premium ones, and that they’re very expensive."
"The premium Mugwort Bags are difficult to mass-produce," Li Xu explained. "Putting aside the precise dicinal formula, just acquiring rosewood that’s several centuries old is very difficult. I have a limited supply, and once it’s gone, it’s gone..."
"I see..."
Lin Xiaoyu looked disappointed. "That’s a real sha. Our magazine’s readers were all hoping I could get so premium Mugwort Bags for them. It seems that’s not going to be possible."
Suddenly, she let out a soft "Hiss..." and rubbed her lower back.
Li Xu’s sharp eyes caught the detail. "Is your back bothering you?"
"Yes," Lin Xiaoyu said with an embarrassed smile. "It’s probably from sitting too much. I’ve been on deadline recently, so I’m often sitting for seven or eight hours at a stretch. I was actually hoping you could take a look at it while I was here, Dr. Li."
Over the past couple of days, Lin Xiaoyu had been asking around about Li Xu.
’To be hired as a consultant by the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese dicine at such a young age, he must be highly skilled.’
Before Li Xu could say anything,
Hu Qiming leaned in. "Sitting for long periods is terrible for your back! Our hospital’s physical therapy departnt has a really amazing..."
"Lie face down on the bed over there so I can take a look," Li Xu said, cutting him off and pointing to the examination table.
Lin Xiaoyu glanced at Hu Qiming. He was staring at her with wide, pleading eyes, looking just like a big dog that had its bone snatched away.
She suppressed a smile. "I’ll let Dr. Li take a look first."
Then she followed Li Xu to the examination table.
"Lumbar muscle strain." Li Xu gestured for her to lie flat, hovering his fingers over the sides of her lower back. "The *Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor* states that ’prolonged sitting injures the flesh.’ When you maintain the sa posture for a long ti, it obstructs the flow of qi and blood in your lower back, leaving the muscles undernourished."
His fingertips moved slowly a few centiters above her skin, as if sensing sothing. "You see, the erector spinae muscles on both sides here are clearly stiff. There’s a distinct tenderness when I press down."
As he spoke, he gently pressed down on the right side of Lin Xiaoyu’s lower back.
"Ah!" Lin Xiaoyu cried out softly. "That’s the spot! It really hurts!"
Hu Qiming, standing nearby, wrung his hands anxiously. "Li Xu, do you even know what you’re doing? Don’t make it worse..."
"A classic case of lumbar muscle strain," Li Xu said, ignoring him completely. "Western dicine would call it myofascial pain syndro of the lower back, while traditional Chinese dicine considers it a result of qi and blood stagnation, which blocks the ridians."
"It can be treated with massage to clear the blockage. Would you like to try it?"
"Massage?" Lin Xiaoyu asked, looking curious. "You know how to do massages, Dr. Li?"
’I thought he would just prescribe so dicine.’
Li Xu nodded. "I know a little."
"Okay, I’ll try it."
Lin Xiaoyu agreed.
Li Xu went over to the sink and washed his hands.
Then, in his mind, he opened a video that ca with his system.
He had already watched the techniques for cervical and lumbar spine massage.
But he’d forgotten a few of the details.
This was a perfect opportunity to practice and learn at the sa ti.
Hu Qiming clearly didn’t trust Li Xu and muttered from the sidelines, "Li Xu, are you sure about this? Maybe you should just..."
"Why don’t you do it, then?" Li Xu shot back, raising an eyebrow.
Hu Qiming opened his mouth, but ultimately retreated to the side with a dejected look, his eyes glued to the examination table.
"We’ll start with the Shenshu acupoint."
Li Xu gently placed his palm on Lin Xiaoyu’s lower back. Even through her dress, he could feel her muscles tense up instantly.
"Relax," Li Xu’s voice was calm and steady. "The Shenshu acupoint is located below the spinous process of the second lumbar vertebra, about an inch and a half to the side."
His thumb found the exact spot. Gradually increasing the pressure from light to firm, he slowly pressed down. "This is where the kidney’s qi gathers. Massaging this point can warm and tonify the kidney yang."
"Mmm..." Lin Xiaoyu humd softly, her tense body gradually starting to relax.
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