Chapter 16

“Got your eye on someone, huh? Look at you!” Ji Xianting glanced in the direction Jin Long was looking, shooting Fu Yashan a cold glance. She then looked back at Jin Long, grabbed her bag, and stormed off in anger.

Ji Xianting was wearing a gray pleated woolen skirt, delicate and charming; black striped thigh-high stockings, fitting and lively; and a pair of white patterned wedge-heeled sandals, alluring and entrancing. Her top was a sleeveless, low-cut water-red blouse, with creamy cleavage slightly exposed, vibrant and sexy. Ji Xianting’s petite stature made her appear exquisite! Even her features were astonishingly delicate, and her slender waist swayed in front of everyone with a confident stride like a rose petal carried by the wind-aromatic and enticing, yet impossible to grasp!

Jin Long couldn’t help but take another look at Ji Xianting. As she walked out the door, Fu Yashan left as well. However, neither of the beauties looked particularly pleased. Jin Long sat at his seat, staring at the LCD screen displaying Liu Zixu’s name, his eyes sharp behind his glasses, a murderous aura enveloping his face.

“Doctor, can we go in now?” Zina asked a young male doctor heading toward the emergency room.

“Y-yes…of course…” the young male doctor stammered, dumbfounded as he gazed at Zina.

“Hey, wait a minute, who are you to him?” The young male doctor snapped back to reality, stopping Zina and her group, speaking formally as he approached them.

“We’re his classmates.”

“Classmates? Usually, only family members can…”

The young male doctor was just trying to make things difficult for Zina. Noticing his lewd behavior, Xiang Tengfei placed a hand on his shoulder, which left the doctor momentarily speechless.

“However…the patient’s condition has stabilized. You…you can go in now.” Just as Xiang Tengfei’s hand was about to touch the young male doctor’s neck, Xiang Tengfei abruptly stopped, fuming, “What a damn disgrace!” Ignoring him further, the group proceeded into the emergency room.

In the corridor, the man’s eyes turned red with anger, then became dazed, muttering to himself, “Was that joke really necessary?” He seemed to realize something was amiss, shuddered suddenly, and then headed toward the emergency room.

“Ye Chen, Ye Chen…”

“Hey! Are you serious? The oxygen tube hasn’t been removed yet!” Just as Zina was about to lean toward Ye Chen, the young doctor walked in and grabbed Zina’s arm, stopping her. In doing so, he forgot to let go, and Zina’s small arm was completely enveloped by his hand.

“Hmph! Haven’t you ever seen a woman before?” Xiang Tengfei snorted, knocking away the young male doctor’s hand from Zina’s arm. Surprisingly unperturbed by the woman’s clothing and man’s voice, the young male doctor sneered at Xiang Tengfei, “Did you have a tumor in your vocal cords as a child? At which hospital was the surgery done? Such androgynous side effects can be quite terrifying!” With each word he spoke, the young male doctor moved a centimeter closer to Xiang Tengfei, and by the time he finished speaking, his face was less than a centimeter away from Xiang Tengfei’s.

“Hey! What are you two doing?” Liu Zixu and Yixuan, upon seeing the open emergency room door, walked in, only to witness the scene before them. Liu Zixu asked in confusion.

“Good day, Madam President! It’s nothing. He just mistook me for a girl.” Xiang Tengfei politely addressed Liu Zixu.

“If he mistook someone for a girl, do you really need to get that close? Have some decency! Mind your manners!” Liu Zixu instinctively assumed an authoritative tone. The young male doctor, however, seemed unbothered, his eyes appreciating the two beauties entering from the doorway, feeling quite content.

“How is Ye Chen?” Yixuan asked Cai Erman.

“Well…” Cai Erman didn’t answer directly, instead glancing at the young male doctor.

“Cough, cough, cough! Don’t worry, he will regain consciousness soon.”

“Dr. Tang?”

“Oh, you’re here. Quick, remove his oxygen tube.”

“Oh, okay.”

As they spoke, a few more doctors entered from outside. Although they were not as stunning as Yixuan, Zina, and Liu Zixu, they had some charm. It seemed the young male doctor was quite selective in choosing his assistants, indicating a shift in the treatment prestige for doctors.

“Alright, every ten minutes, call his name. If you want, one of you can hold his hand and call him; it might work a bit better that way,” the young male doctor said to Yixuan, Zina, and Liu Zixu. Despite his somewhat impolite gaze, there was an unspoken kindness in his tone.

As the young male doctor left the emergency room, Zina sat on Ye Chen’s bedside, holding his left hand with her right. Yixuan, initially focused on Ye Chen’s face, found herself staring at their clasped hands, as if magnetically drawn, unable to look away.

“You really are lucky, but please, don’t cause any more trouble in the future. If there’s another incident at Shengze College, what am I supposed to do?” Liu Zixu said quietly, standing and watching Ye Chen. He lay there silently, leaving them unsure if he could hear their voices.

“Ye Chen, you have to get better! You have to recover; good people deserve good things, and the heavens will surely protect you,” Yixuan silently prayed in her heart.

The first time Yixuan saw Ye Chen’s gentle eyes, and now seeing him lying on the bed-so much had happened in such a short span of time, it seemed time had moved at an overwhelming pace.

“Knock, knock!”

“What are you back for?” Xiang Tengfei asked, watching as the young male doctor leaned against the wall and tapped the door with his fingers.

“Could you please settle the medical bills? It’s not a small amount.”

“How much in total?” Liu Zixu turned her head and asked the young male doctor coolly.

“Up to now, the total is 1.3 million yuan!” The young male doctor expected the beauty before him to react with shock at the figure, but Liu Zixu calmly replied, “Do you have time? Could you handle it for me?”

“What? Handle it for you?…”

“Here is a check for ten million yuan. Please settle it for me,” Liu Zixu said, cutting him off as she approached, taking out a ten million yuan check from her wallet and handing it to the young male doctor before he could finish his sentence.

The young male doctor glanced at the check and then toward the end of the corridor.

“Hey! Xiao Qin! Come here!” At his call, the female doctor came over immediately. It’s hard to understand how someone like him could be so “beloved”!

“Help me settle this,” he said.

The approaching female doctor took the check without any expression, and with a sigh, she remarked, “Dr. Tang, I bought shares of Shengze College following your lead, but since this morning, their value has been plummeting. Now, I can’t even sell them.”

“What? Shengze’s stock is falling? By how much?” The young male doctor was taken aback.

“Falling by…”

“What? Miss, did you just say Shengze’s stock is dropping?” Liu Zixu hurriedly came over to ask.

“Yes, Shengze College’s stock is falling. It has dropped 5% in the past two or three hours.”

“What? In just two or three hours? A 5% drop?” Liu Zixu was shocked. Since “Shengze BG Group” (another name for Shengze College) listed on the NASDAQ in Yamei Country, such a single-day drop had only happened during the “Black Spirit Incident” a year ago. Now, a drop exceeding 5% in such a short period was unexpected. The recent mass brawl incident at Shengze hadn’t been exposed by the media, making the sudden stock plunge even more surprising to Liu Zixu.

Pondering over this, Liu Zixu took out her phone.

“Hello? Xiao Shi, quickly check if our stock is falling?”

“Madam, our stock has already dropped 7%…”

“Quickly check out the cause!” Liu Zixu urged.

“Madam, there’s no need to check. Just watch the live broadcast on HL TV. Numerous media outlets have picked up on the news, and it’s spreading online. They claim there are violent elements within our school and mention a mass brawl involving thousands,” a female voice replied on the line.

“What?…”

“You… you… you’re Liu Zixu, the Madam President of Shengze College? Nice to meet you, Ms. Liu…” Dr. Tang, overhearing Liu Zixu’s conversation, added a hint of flattery to his tone.

Liu Zixu ignored him, merely giving him a fleeting glance before entering the room where Zina and others were. “I have an urgent matter and need to return to the school. I may not be able to wait for Ye Chen to wake up. Please take good care of him. I’ll return as soon as I’ve handled the situation,” she said.

“If you keep this up, you won’t see me next time I visit!” As Liu Zixu was about to leave, she turned to Dr. Tang with a sharp tone.

Dr. Tang, the young male doctor, stared wide-eyed at Liu Zixu without saying a word. Although no one touched it, the door slammed shut behind him, leaving Dr. Tang standing there, feeling like he had been given the cold shoulder.

Outside the Armed Police Hospital, the wind picked up over the Ping River, strong enough to disrupt the picturesque view. A northern wind blew some red-and-black bags into the scene, slightly spoiling the natural beauty. The trees by the river swayed with the ripples in the water. In the distance, buildings stood eerily still, as if the flow of water couldn’t reach them. Perhaps the sunlight was too straightforward, failing to perfect this harmonious scene. With the building’s shadows not cast over the river, standing on the small bridge over the Ping River, one might find the breeze refreshing against the face, while the surrounding view was less pleasing. Anyone expecting to see swans but instead finding a duck swimming around would be displeased.

By midday, Liu Zixu sat in her car, feeling a bit stifled. She rolled down the window, gazing outside with an expression that held not urgency, but a hint of frustration. Perhaps finding the sunlight too glaring, she gently brushed back her wind-blown hair with her right hand and then closed the window.

“Mr. Zhang, could you send a few reporters to Shengze to interview me?”

“Hello, Ms. Liu. Our reporters are already on their way!”

“What? They’re already on their way? Where did you get the news?”

“A stranger called and tipped us off.”

“Alright, I understand. Thank you.”

These few brief words made Liu Zixu increasingly sense that something was off. She called Captain Wu, “Captain Wu, is the situation at our college supposed to be under wraps?”

“Yes, Madam President. It’s been kept under wraps; outsiders don’t know the specifics,” Captain Wu replied on the other end.

“Oh? Where are you right now?”

“I’m at the municipal headquarters. The Municipal Committee and Municipal Government are highly concerned about this incident and are currently holding a meeting to discuss how to resolve it.”

“Okay, I won’t disturb you then.”

Liu Zixu was never one to be indecisive. She was always straightforward and efficient.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

“Ye Chen? You’re awake? Quick! Mingzi, get some water.”

“I’ll do it!” Mingzi moved to get the water, but Yixuan stopped him and went to fetch the water herself.

Yixuan carefully poured hot water into a clear cup, then set the kettle aside and brought the cup towards Ye Chen. Perhaps she deliberately wanted to personally bring it to Ye Chen, or maybe she was focused solely on him and didn’t notice Zina reaching out to take the cup.