CH 16

Ji Yao thought that when Hao Yu mentioned “waiting for news,” it referred to waiting for the processing plan and communication results. Unexpectedly, as he waited, he received notice for a vacation.

“Xiao Ji, rest assured, there’s absolutely no other meaning from the hospital’s side.” Hao Yu seemed worried that Ji Yao might misunderstand, so he quickly waved his hand and explained, “You see, recently there have been too many incidents of medical disputes and violence against medical staff in the news. The hospital is concerned about your safety. You didn’t see the posture of the Li family members. When I escorted them out earlier, there were several burly young men waiting in the lobby. I couldn’t tell if they were family members or bodyguards. They looked intimidating. Who knows if Mrs. Li might suddenly lose control and do something.”

In recent years, tensions between doctors and patients had been high, and headlines frequently featured incidents of violence in medical facilities. This led to emergency preparedness plans against such incidents across Shanghai. Nobody dared to take the risk.

Although Ji Yao wasn’t pleased, he still felt a bit fearful about dealing with unreasonable patients’ family members. Hearing this, he put down the pen he was holding and asked, “How long is the vacation?”

“About a week,” Hao Yu gestured with his fingers, sighed, and continued, “Actually, you know, our department is seriously understaffed. But, safety comes first. There are medical disputes every year, and training doctors is not easy. It wouldn’t be worth it if something happened due to a misunderstanding like this. Plus, our department was short-staffed for the past few months, and you helped with a lot of shifts. Now, it’s the perfect time for a break.”

“During this period, we will try our best to communicate and reach a consensus with the patients’ family members. That would be the best outcome,” Hao Yu said. “The board of directors’ intention is that during this time, you can take your regular leave, and we will follow our own administrative attendance process. Just submit a leave application form.”

Ji Yao understood his meaning. Going through the administrative process would mean that his leave was officially approved, and it wouldn’t be related to the patients’ family members or medical incidents.

“Okay,” Ji Yao said. “Thank you, Director.”

Hao Yu rubbed his hands together, stood up, patted Ji Yao’s shoulder, and sighed, “You’ve really worked hard.”

Hao Yu was genuinely worried for him, more so than Ji Yao himself.

In the medical profession, encountering troubles a few times in one’s career was inevitable. Ji Yao could tell that Li Linghua didn’t fall into the category of extreme malicious intent. She wasn’t asking for compensation; she only wanted justice for her son’s death. She was a typical emotional and distraught mother unable to accept the fact of her son’s death.

Dealing with such people was tricky. Conventional methods like compensation or apologies often didn’t work for them. However, it was also simple in a way. As long as they calmed down and accepted reality, things would usually resolve.

Just consider it as paid leave, Ji Yao thought.

After seeing off the overly concerned Hao Yu, Ji Yao returned to his office and organized the recent patients’ cases to hand them over to his colleague who had been called back for duty temporarily.

His colleague was slumped over the desk, looking tired and dejected, and looked up at him with a hint of resentment, saying, “Your vacation is making me busier than ever.”

“Sorry,” Ji Yao said. “I hope the Medical Affairs Department can quickly resolve the issue with the patients’ family members.”

“True, it’s not your fault,” his colleague shook his head. After receiving the patient case information from Ji Yao, he asked casually, “Any patients I should pay extra attention to?”

“Those with special conditions are marked,” Ji Yao said. “But…”

He had wanted to mention how Jiang Heng had left the hospital against medical advice, but then he thought Jiang Heng was going to be discharged in a day or two anyway. It wouldn’t make much of a difference, so he shook his head and said, “Nothing special.”

“Okay, got it,” his colleague said. “Don’t worry, if anything comes up, I’ll give you a call.”

Over the past few years of working, Ji Yao had never taken such a long vacation at once. As he walked out of the hospital gate, he still felt a bit uneasy.

It was nearing midnight, and the outpatient building was shrouded in darkness. The emergency department was brightly lit, and the sound of ambulances echoed as they passed by and stopped at the entrance of the emergency building.

Medical staff hurriedly rushed past Ji Yao. He stepped aside, leaving a clear path for stretchers to pass by.

The patients’ family members followed the stretchers, crying and wailing. Blood seeped through the seams of the stretcher, dripping all along the way.

The hospital seemed to have the same appearance every day, yet it also felt different each time. Ji Yao bent down to pick up a pitch-black wallet from the ground, then walked briskly a few steps and handed it to the distressed family member, slipping it into their arms.

“You dropped this,” Ji Yao said.

The family member was disoriented, holding the wallet in their hands and staring at Ji Yao blankly for a couple of seconds. Then, they quickly bowed to thank him.

Ji Yao waved his hand to indicate it was nothing, tightened his coat, and navigated through the crowd. He crossed the emergency building and left the hospital.

Lately, there had been too many things going wrong. Taking a break would be good, Ji Yao thought. Right now, he just wanted to escape from the patients’ family members and his ex-boyfriend, and find some peace and quiet.

He slept a few full nights at home, performed deep cleaning inside and out, wiped the air conditioner three times before he was dug out from home by He Xiangyin, who had heard the news.

“What’s the big deal?” He Xiangyin said. “To the point that it has you rotting at home?”

“Watch your words,” Ji Yao said. “I’m not rotting at home. I’m just on vacation. Do you have a cup for drinking water?”

“Vacation?” He Xiangyin came from the kitchen wearing slippers, raised an eyebrow, and said, “You’re on vacation, but you’re not out having fun? I tried calling you several times to make plans, but couldn’t get through. If I hadn’t come to knock on your door, I was afraid you’d sleep yourself to death.”

“I was overworked last month and tired. Can’t I catch up on some sleep?” Ji Yao replied impatiently. He stood up from the couch and walked towards the dining area, wearing slippers.

“Forget it, I have no cups left.” He Xiangyin shrugged and said, “I broke the cup we use for drinking water the day before yesterday after a fight with Er Gou.”

Ji Yao: “…”

“Damn .” Ji Yao let out a long sigh of relief and said, “Let’s just pretend I didn’t ask.”

“On a serious note, if that woman’s family is really wealthy, won’t they actually do something to you?” He Xiangyin said. “You really need to be careful. Don’t end up as a scapegoat for the hospital.”

“Is this a TV drama?” Ji Yao wasn’t very concerned. “This matter has nothing to do with me. The patient’s death caused during resuscitation doesn’t constitute negligence. Even if they sue, it won’t hold.”

“But what if they have significant connections?” He Xiangyin felt increasingly worried. He put down his fork and stood up, coming over while holding a bowl, and said with concern, “And then they manipulate things behind the scenes.”

“The hospital wouldn’t agree either.” Ji Yao said. “Don’t overthink it. Medical disputes are numerous year-round, but how many actually go to court? Even if the immediate family is acting on emotions, there are usually rational relatives who help calm the situation.”

He was about to continue speaking when his phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated. Ji Yao gestured for He Xiangyin to be quiet, picked up the call, and answered.

He Xiangyin couldn’t see the caller ID clearly, but he saw Ji Yao making affirmative sounds on the phone, then hanging up. Ji Yao stood up and walked to the door, putting on his coat.

“Hey, are you leaving?” He Xiangyin blinked, confused. “Weren’t we supposed to finish eating and then go out later?”

Ji Yao glanced at the bowl of braised beef noodles in He Xiangyin’s hand and said, “Not today. The hospital called me to assist with an investigation.”

“Assist in what investigation?” He Xiangyin watched him warily. “It’s not some hidden scheme, is it?”

Ji Yao put on his coat and gave him a look that said “I don’t know,” then took out two thin rods from a decorative basket by the door and handed them to He Xiangyin.

“It’s better if you eat your noodles,” Ji Yao said.

Ji Yao hailed a cab back to the hospital. Since he was on vacation, he didn’t need to clock in at the office. He took the elevator upstairs and planned to find Hao Yu first.

Hao Director’s office door was partially open. As Ji Yao approached, the head nurse from the emergency department walked out of the office.

“Be careful with your words, Dr. Ji,” the head nurse walked over to him and grabbed Ji Yao’s arm, whispering, “It seems like this time the patient’s family means business.”

Ji Yao looked up at the half-closed office door and asked, “What’s going on?”

The head nurse nodded towards the office, looking worried. “They’ve brought a lawyer.”

Ji Yao furrowed his brow, starting to feel a headache.

He had assumed that Li Linghua was just speaking out of anger, and that after going through the standard internal procedures, things would calm down. He hadn’t expected her to be so persistent.

“Alright, I know,” Ji Yao said. “Thanks.”

The head nurse shook her head and said, “It’s okay,” then patted his shoulder before walking away.

Ji Yao stepped into the office and heard Director Hao Yu speaking with someone. The conversation paused briefly as Ji Yao entered, then Hao Yu’s voice sounded, asking him to come in.

Ji Yao entered the office and found a man sitting across from Hao Yu. When their eyes met, the man obviously paused, appearing taken aback.

“… Ji Yao?” Jiang Heng asked.

In that instant, Ji Yao’s heart sank.