With just a single sentence from Ruan Qiu, everyone turned to look at her.
Department Head Tan, having witnessed Ruan Qiu’s capability before, stepped forward and asked, “Comrade Ruan Qiu, do you also think this matter is very serious?”
“Of course it’s serious. Daring to commit murder in a military hospital is sheer ignorance. If our hospital investigates the culprit internally, and it turns out to be a military family member, they might try to brush it off as a minor issue. But if we report it to the authorities, it must be officially filed and investigated!” Ruan Qiu deliberately framed the matter with utmost gravity.
Chen Ji felt that Ruan Qiu made a valid point and said to Department Head Tan, “Let’s report it to the police!”
“Don’t report it.”
Just as Chen Ji’s voice trailed off, a remorseful voice sounded from the corner, “I pulled out the IV tube.”
Everyone looked over.
Chen Ji was struck with utter dismay: “Mom?!”
Mother Chen rubbed her hands in shame. “Chen Ji, Mom just felt that she couldn’t do anything right and would only hold you back, so Mom…”
“So you pushed her down the stairs?” Ruan Qiu accused.
Mother Chen stammered, lowered her head, and looked thoroughly terrified.
“I acted on impulse at the time, and I just did it.”
Chen Ji never imagined that the reason his wife fell down the stairs was because she had been pushed by his own mother.
“Mom, do you have any idea what you’ve done? Xiao Tao is carrying my child in her stomach, your own grandchild! How could you be so vicious as to push her down the stairs?” Chen Ji asked with grief and indignation.
Mother Chen was at a loss for words. “Son, Mom was muddle-headed at the time. Mom was just confused and panicked.”
“Pushing Xiao Tao down the stairs was being muddle-headed, but what about pulling out her IV tube?” Chen Ji angrily pressed further.
Mother Chen’s face was full of panic. “Mom was afraid the truth would come out.”
Fearing that the truth would come out, she resorted to such a vicious method to pull out Xiao Tao’s infusion tube. This was attempted murder.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, not knowing how to handle the situation at this moment.
Even though the law allows for no exceptions, this was ultimately Chen Ji’s mother, and the final decision still rested with Chen Ji himself.
“Mom, go turn yourself in at the police station,” Chen Ji said with great difficulty.
Mother Chen panicked. “Son, after your dad passed away, it was Mom who raised you single-handedly through all the hardships. Is this how you are going to treat your mother?”
“Mom, your actions broke the law. You are hurting people.” Chen Ji clenched his fists, turning his face away to avoid his mother’s sorrowful gaze.
On one side was the mother who raised him, and on the other was his wife.
He found it hard to choose, but facing so many people, Chen Ji didn’t know what to do either.
Mother Chen burst into sobs.
Ruan Qiu sighed and remained silent.
As they were leaving, Tan Bo hurried to catch up with them.
“Quick, tell me, how did you figure out that Xiao Tao was pushed down the stairs by her mother-in-law?”
Tan Bo really wanted to learn this skill; it was simply too awesome.
Ruan Qiu rolled her eyes. This guy admired her skills to the point of blind worship.
“I have a scientific basis for it, not wild guesswork. Like I told you, read more books.”
With that single remark, Ruan Qiu strode away.
In fact, even Sister Lian was curious. On the way back, Ruan Qiu recounted how she discovered the problem once again.
Sister Lian gave her a thumbs-up. “Xiaoqiu, you are amazing! This kind of divine deductive ability is something I have only ever seen in storybooks.”
Ruan Qiu gave a dry chuckle.
There was nothing really to envy; it was simply accumulated from her years of practicing as a forensic pathologist.
Yet, forensic pathology was a very monotonous profession.
She didn’t actually like it very much.
Ruan Qiu carried the vegetables she had bought back home, where Zhou Yishen had already learned the whole story through a phone call with Chen Ji.
Ruan Qiu’s judgment was entirely correct. Xiao Tao had indeed been pushed down the stairs.
Watching Ruan Qiu busy in the kitchen, Zhou Yishen felt his doubts deepen.
A country girl who hadn’t even finished elementary school—knowing medical skills was already strange enough, but she could also logically deduce a crime scene.
Lifting her head inadvertently, Ruan Qiu met Zhou Yishen’s probing gaze and touched her face.
“Is there something on my face?”
“No.” Zhou Yishen hastily withdrew his gaze to mask his awkwardness.
Once the dishes were served on the table, Political Commissar Lu and Sister Lian came over.
“Commissar, Sister Lian.”
Zhou Yishen and Ruan Qiu hurriedly stood up to invite the two inside.
Political Commissar Lu waved his hand, signaling them to sit down.
“Your sister-in-law has cooked dinner, and we were just getting ready to eat. She just told me what happened at the hospital. Xiaoqiu, you were simply terrific!”
As soon as Political Commissar Lu heard his wife finish recounting the story, he immediately called a classmate, determined to secure an auditing slot for Ruan Qiu no matter what.
Such a talent must absolutely not be wasted.
“I just asked a cousin of mine about it. He is the principal of a Teachers’ College. He said it is completely fine. He suggested you audit classes temporarily, take a test assessment after a month, and if you pass, they will issue you an auditing card. After that, you can take other exams at the school and graduate right along with this batch of students.”
Hearing this, Ruan Qiu immediately bowed to Political Commissar Lu to express her gratitude.
“Thank you, Commissar!”
“No need to thank me. True talent will always shine through, and our country desperately needs versatile talents. Since you have this ambition, we naturally must support you wholeheartedly. Right, Xiao Zhou?” Political Commissar Lu looked at Zhou Yishen.
Zhou Yishen didn’t know yet about Ruan Qiu’s plan to audit classes at the school.
“The Commissar is right. If you have this intention, you should work hard for it.”
This woman had bypassed him entirely to approach Political Commissar Lu and secure a schooling spot without a word.
It seemed he really didn’t understand her at all.
After the Commissar and his wife left, Zhou Yishen asked Ruan Qiu, “Why do you want to go to school?”
“To transfer positions, of course! I can’t just be a nurse forever, can I? I want to be a doctor, but without a diploma, there is no way to transfer.” Ruan Qiu stated her thoughts very earnestly.
“Yinian is at that Teachers’ College.”
Ruan Qiu abruptly raised her head.
So Zhou Yinian had tested into the Teachers’ College.
That settled it then. She was going to go there to provoke him and make him lose sleep.
“That’s great, we can look out for each other in the future,” Ruan Qiu said casually.
Staring at Ruan Qiu’s vibrant and spirited appearance, Zhou Yishen asked, “It seems to me that you and my younger brother, Zhou Yinian, are quite familiar with each other.”
Based on his intuition, he always felt there was an undercurrent flowing between the two of them.
“I’m not actually that familiar with him. It’s just that because you joined the military early and weren’t at home, whenever I went to your family’s place, he was definitely the one I’d see.”
The original owner’s affection had been for Zhou Yinian, so naturally, going to the Zhou household meant looking for him.
It was just that she, a transmigrator, had mistaken the person.
“Put that way, shouldn’t you like him even more?” Zhou Yishen remarked offhand.
Ruan Qiu put down her chopsticks and gazed at Zhou Yishen with sparkling eyes.
“Why does that sound so sour coming from you?”
Feeling that his previous remark showed a bit of pettiness, Zhou Yinian hastily lowered his head to shovel down his rice.
“Zhou Yishen, if you’ve decided to spend your life with me, I will tell you all my stories. But if you have no such intention, you’d better not ask too many questions.”
Ruan Qiu didn’t want unnecessary emotional entanglements to disrupt her plans.
Zhou Yishen cast a cold glance at Ruan Qiu. Not yet certain of this woman’s true identity, he certainly wasn’t going to make any casual commitments.
“You’re overthinking it.”