Meanwhile, over at the Grain and Oil Inspection Department, things were in an uproar.
After finishing her inspection work, Jiang Xiaoxiao stepped out and immediately felt everyone in the office staring at her.
It was completely different from before, when people welcomed her because she treated illnesses for free. Now, no one dared approach her.
Her face burned with embarrassment, and she quickly lowered her head and hurried to her desk.
Yesterday, after being dragged to Beicheng County Hospital by the Li family, Jiang Xiaoxiao had been forced to apologize. Although Li family’s daughter-in-law hadn’t actually made her kneel, she had still been pressured into bowing and admitting fault. Faced with the fierce-looking eldest son of the Li family, Jiang Xiaoxiao had cried so hard her makeup ran as she repeatedly bowed. The hospital had been packed with onlookers.
…They definitely all knew about it now.
“Excuse me, is Comrade Jiang here?”
A smiling woman stood at the office entrance. She worked in the Finance Department. She’d heard coworkers say that Jiang Xiaoxiao was skilled at prescribing medicine to help regulate the body. Since she rarely had time to visit a hospital and the Grain and Oil Department was nearby, she’d specifically come over to ask for help.
“There, by the window,” one coworker replied, pausing her gossip and pointing toward Jiang Xiaoxiao. Her gaze, however, carried obvious disdain.
Jiang Xiaoxiao nervously twisted the hem of her clothes.
Was this woman here to cause trouble?
Unexpectedly, the woman politely placed a bundle of pastries on Jiang Xiaoxiao’s desk.
“Comrade Jiang, could you prescribe me something to help improve my health?”
Jiang Xiaoxiao froze, unable to believe her ears.
Soon, the shock was replaced by a surge of excitement.
See? No one truly believed the Li family’s accusations. She’d treated so many people before—why had only the Li family had problems?
“Of course, sit down first—”
Before she could finish, another coworker immediately dragged the woman away.
“You still dare ask this fraud for treatment?” the coworker said loudly. “I drank the medicine she prescribed before and had diarrhea for five straight days! Later I went to the hospital, and the doctor said the dosage of cold-natured herbs was too strong and told me to stop immediately, or it might affect fertility.”
If she hadn’t considered their previous coworker relationship, she would’ve gone to Jiang Xiaoxiao’s house and started a fight already.
“And another thing—you probably don’t know this yet. She made Auntie Li’s grandson vomit blood. The hospital doctor said it was originally just a duodenal ulcer, something that could’ve been quickly relieved with proper treatment. But what did Jiang Xiaoxiao diagnose him with? Indigestion!”
“The doctor even said he’d never seen anyone prescribe medicine like that before. She gave a child an adult dosage and even included herbs that promote blood circulation, which worsened the bleeding.”
“What?” the woman gasped. “That diagnosis is way off! How could she still claim to have good medical skills and dare treat people? Isn’t that harming others?”
The coworker curled her lips and deliberately raised her voice.
“What else could it be? She learned all that bourgeois nonsense—trying to win people over, trying to show off, trying to enjoy everyone’s praise and applause!”
As soon as those words fell, mocking gazes flooded toward Jiang Xiaoxiao from every corner of the office.
Unable to endure it any longer, Jiang Xiaoxiao lowered her head onto the desk and burst into tears. Crystal-like teardrops quickly soaked her sleeves.
After crying until she had no strength left, she finally wiped her tears and stood up.
No.
She couldn’t let people slander her like this.
She had to go find Xiang Zhou and make him explain things to everyone.
Xiang Zhou was her boyfriend—and a real doctor at the hospital. His words would carry weight.
“Brother Zhou!”
The moment Jiang Xiaoxiao entered the hospital and saw him, all her grievances exploded out. Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears poured down her face.
The tears streaked through her dark, rough skin, drying into pale white lines.
Inside the ward, interns were following their supervising doctors on rounds. Jiang Xiaoxiao’s cry drew everyone’s attention.
Xiang Zhou stared at the two white tear tracks in horror and nearly vomited on the spot.
The others recognized Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately. After all, yesterday the hospital had admitted a child vomiting blood from a duodenal ulcer after taking the wrong medicine. When the Li family dragged Jiang Xiaoxiao over to apologize, most of the hospital staff had gathered outside the ward to watch.
“Xiao Xiang, what’s going on here?” his supervising doctor asked sternly.
Recently, rumors had been spreading through the hospital that Xiang Zhou had issues with his personal conduct. At first the doctor hadn’t paid much attention, but now, seeing a dark-skinned woman crying as she chased after him, he began to suspect the rumors were true.
“N-Nothing… just a friend looking for me. I’ll go talk to her.”
Sweating all over, Xiang Zhou hurried outside and pulled Jiang Xiaoxiao into an office. After locking the door, he looked at her sitting in the chair sobbing, and for a moment he truly wanted to strangle her.
But what choice did he have?
Vice Director Jiang only had this one niece.
If only…
If only Vice Director Jiang treated Jiang Li equally too…
For some reason, Xiang Zhou suddenly thought again of Jiang Li’s gentle, watery eyes. Though he and Jiang Li had never even held hands while dating, his heart still couldn’t stop stirring.
“Brother Zhou, help me.” Jiang Xiaoxiao cried with tears and snot everywhere. “I didn’t do anything wrong. The Li family framed me. The entire Grain Management Bureau is full of gossip now—I can barely stay there anymore.”
Xiang Zhou suppressed the rage in his chest.
Many people at the hospital already knew he’d once dated Jiang Li. That fact was like a ticking time bomb, making him extremely cautious. He didn’t dare openly involve himself with Jiang Xiaoxiao anymore.
After last night’s incident, if the hospital learned Jiang Xiaoxiao was his girlfriend, he’d lose all face completely.
“How exactly do you expect me to help?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Brother Zhou, come with me to the Grain Bureau and tell everyone that… that even doctors sometimes prescribe the wrong medicine! Doctors aren’t gods—making a mistake once in a while is normal.”
Jiang Xiaoxiao’s thoughts were in complete chaos.
In truth, she had dreamed about life in Beicheng long ago. That was why she deliberately studied medicine on the island for two years—so that when she returned to Beicheng, she could outshine Jiang Li.
But why had everything turned out like this?
Xiang Zhou’s eyes turned cold.
“What exactly do you think human life is?” he said word by word. “At the hospital, the attending physicians diagnose patients while I only help write prescriptions. Before an intern gets licensed, they aren’t even qualified to prescribe medicine. You don’t even have a medical license, yet you wrote prescriptions just to show off. Did you ever think about the consequences?”
In his opinion, merely being forced to bow and apologize was already the lightest punishment possible.
Just last week, a doctor had been attacked by a patient’s family during a medical dispute and had his head smashed open with a chair.
Jiang Xiaoxiao’s body went limp as she collapsed into the chair.
“I… I didn’t know…”
More tears streamed down her face as she grabbed Xiang Zhou’s arm.
“Brother Zhou, you’re my boyfriend. You have to help me. I… I promise, until I get a medical license, I’ll never prescribe medicine again.”
Xiang Zhou frowned.
No matter what, Jiang Xiaoxiao would supposedly become his wife in the future. This incident was embarrassing enough already, but if she pursued medicine later, this scandal would follow her forever.
Just as he hesitated over whether to help her, a thought suddenly struck him.
He bent down, gently wiped away her tears with his thumb, and spoke softly:
“Xiaoxiao, I’m only an intern doctor. My words don’t carry weight. But just now I saw Vice Director Jiang in his office. Isn’t he your third uncle? Go ask him. The words of a hospital vice director are far more authoritative than mine.”
Jiang Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up.
That’s right.
Wouldn’t a vice director’s words be more convincing?
Xiang Zhou paced anxiously outside the vice director’s office.
Finally, the office door opened a crack. Jiang Xiaoxiao walked out pale-faced while Jiang Ren’s cold voice sounded from inside:
“There was no fault in you being mistakenly raised by another family. Blame fate, nothing else. I may be your uncle in name, but I owe you nothing. When people make mistakes, they must learn to pay for them. As vice director, I have a duty to protect the hospital’s reputation. I will never agree to such an unreasonable request. Go home and reflect on yourself.”
The office door shut firmly.
Jiang Xiaoxiao collapsed weakly onto a blue chair.
“Third Uncle refused to help.”
At the same time, Xiang Zhou felt his own body go limp. His trembling fingers clawed at his scalp.
Only now did he realize—
Vice Director Jiang had played him.
Back then, when the vice director had said, “The one who carries Jiang family blood is my real niece,” it had only been a trick to make him break up with Jiang Li.
The niece Vice Director Jiang truly cared about…
was Jiang Li.
“Brother Zhou, then you should come with me instead.”
Jiang Xiaoxiao reached for him, but Xiang Zhou slapped her hand away.
Her mood was already terrible, and now her hand stung with pain. Fury instantly surged up.
“What are you doing?!”
Xiang Zhou sneered.
“You want to use my name to clear yourself? Dream on.”
Then he turned and hurried away, his only thought being to find Jiang Li and reconcile with her as quickly as possible.
He’d been wrong.
The person he truly loved had always been Jiang Li.
How could he possibly bear to break up with her?
He needed to beg for her forgiveness immediately.
“What do you mean? I’m your girlfriend! What’s wrong with asking you for help?” Jiang Xiaoxiao shouted as she grabbed his arm and refused to let go.
“Who said you’re my girlfriend?” Xiang Zhou snapped. His gloomy eyes stared at her dark face as all the words he’d long suppressed burst out at once.
“You’re so ugly I lose my appetite just looking at you. How could I possibly spend my life with you? Comrade Jiang, I have absolutely no relationship with you.”
Jiang Xiaoxiao had never expected him to be this heartless. Trembling with rage, she clutched his arm tighter.
“You want to deny it now? You clearly promised to marry me!”
“When did I ever promise that?” Xiang Zhou struggled to shake her off.
Their shoving quickly drew a crowd.
Seeing Xiang Zhou about to escape, Jiang Xiaoxiao screamed at the top of her lungs:
“When you borrowed the money!”
She clung desperately to him and shouted toward everyone nearby:
“You all know about it, don’t you? Xiang Zhou borrowed five hundred yuan from Jiang Li! He promised to marry me before I agreed to lend him the money!”
Whoa—
The sentence hit like a bombshell.
The entire area instantly fell silent.
Several nurses at the nurse station had been gossiping while eating sunflower seeds.
One round-faced nurse stopped mid-bite and shrieked:
“Oh right! I was wondering why someone would agree to help repay such a huge debt. So Doctor Xiang promised marriage! But didn’t you just break up with Comrade Jiang Li?”
Another nurse chimed in:
“Doesn’t that clearly mean Doctor Xiang was messing around romantically?”
The head nurse stepped forward righteously.
“Doctor Xiang, your chaotic private life has already affected hospital order. I’m reporting you to the organization!”
“It’s over…”
As more and more contemptuous stares landed on him, Xiang Zhou’s body went weak like mud.
He collapsed onto the floor.
If someone really reported him, his chances of becoming a full doctor were finished.