CH 7

Li Linghua firmly accused that Li Wen’s father had already explained the situation to Ji Yao at the time, and it was Ji Yao’s own wrong decision that led to the surgery on Li Wen.

Hao Yu wanted to help explain on behalf of Ji Yao, but with the emergency room busy at the time and surveillance cameras only capturing their images, there was no concrete evidence of what was actually said.

Li Wen’s father, Liu Jianhua, refused to show up, leaving Ji Yao unable to confront him face to face. Li Linghua also refused to listen to testimonies from other emergency room staff, insisting that they were colluding to protect each other and that she would hold Ji Yao responsible.

Any discerning person could tell that Li Linghua was trying to find a scapegoat, but the fact remained that Li Wen had died, and her insistence on blaming Ji Yao complicated matters and made it difficult to resolve.

Hao Yu was afraid that things might escalate, that the emotional turmoil of the patient’s family might lead to adverse consequences. He wished they could just make a settlement, but unfortunately, Li Linghua was convinced that the signed consent form was evidence that Ji Yao and the woman were conspiring to harm her son. No matter how much Hao Yu tried to reason with her, she refused to accept the outcome of the accidental situation and insisted on pursuing Ji Yao’s “criminal responsibility.”

“You’ll see!” Li Linghua angrily left, leaving behind a threat, “Either your hospital gives me an explanation, or we’ll see you in court!”

Hao Yu bid her farewell with kind words, and as soon as she left, he wiped off a layer of sweat.

Ji Yao handed him a cup of tea in silence. “Thank you for your hard work, Director.”

“No need to thank me,” Hao Yu smiled wryly. “After being in this field for so long, I know that there’s at least one medical dispute like this every year—some patients’ families just can’t accept reality. Some might just throw a tantrum, while others can even set up mourning halls in the hospital lobby.”

“I understand that it’s not your fault.” Hao Yu patted Ji Yao’s shoulder and whispered, “Although the signed consent form does indeed deviate from regulations, it’s far from a medical accident. Don’t worry.”

“I know,” Ji Yao said. “After all, it’s hard to stay calm when a family member is involved. I can understand.”

Hao Yu was afraid that Ji Yao, being a young person, might lose his temper and clash with the unreasonable family members, escalating the situation. Hearing Ji Yao’s response, he felt a bit relieved.

“Indeed, it’s hard for anyone to stay calm in such situations,” Hao Yu said diplomatically. “However, when it comes to families with relatively good financial backgrounds and complicated family dynamics, it might be more difficult to handle. Ji, you need to be mentally prepared.”

Ji Yao ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

“Of course, we’re just preparing for the worst-case scenario. It might not necessarily come to that,” Hao Yu rubbed his hands together and said with a hint of difficulty, “Rest assured, even if it does come to legal proceedings, our hospital has legal assistance available. Of course, if you have friends who are lawyers or trustworthy lawyers you know, you can also suggest them to the hospital.”

Almost instinctively, Ji Yao’s mind conjured up the face of Jiang Heng.

Habits seemed to be quite fearsome—Jiang Heng had disappeared from his life for several years, but suddenly reappeared and managed to bypass all other options to become Ji Yao’s subconscious go-to for help.

His subconscious and reason clashed for an instant. He realized that so much time had passed and this “request for assistance” had long expired.

“…No,” Ji Yao said. “I’ll follow the hospital’s guidance.”

“Alright then,” Hao Yu said. “In that case, let me discuss this matter with the hospital’s board of directors after this, and we’ll decide how to handle it.”

Ji Yao hadn’t said anything yet, but it seemed like Hao Yu was afraid he might overthink things. He quickly added, “Rest assured, we won’t unjustly blame our own doctors.”

“I know,” Ji Yao said. “Then I’ll go back to work.”

Hao Yu nodded. “Go ahead.”

Perhaps due to mentioning Jiang Heng so frequently over the past few days, on his way back to the office, Ji Yao accidentally took a detour towards the ward.

He didn’t know what he intended to do—neither did he want to ask Jiang Heng for help nor did he want to reminisce with him. It seemed like he just wanted to take a couple of steps in that direction.

This is too embarrassing, Ji Yao thought.

As of today, he couldn’t accurately describe his feelings when facing Jiang Heng.

He had to admit, Jiang Heng sometimes earned his admiration—maintaining an friendly relationship with an ex was a skill. A small misstep could lead to a disaster, though he himself wasn’t eager to maintain any type friendship with his exes.

Being with someone who had once been so close, who had experienced sweetness and arguments, who had seen you at your most vulnerable and vice versa—trying to revert to a “friendship” after parting ways was impossible for Ji Yao.

Because there were both genuine grievances from the breakup and genuine love.

Jiang Heng was the ex who had spent the longest time with Ji Yao. Just as Jiang Heng’s reputation as a romantic suggested, he had a knack for managing relationships. He knew when to be considerate, when to be quiet, and when to make his presence known. When they were together, it was easy to experience the comfort and ease of adult romance.

In the three years they were together, they had only quarreled a handful of times. And even when they did, Jiang Heng would use different approaches to make up based on the reasons for their argument.

Even if Ji Yao, known for being “unreliable,” refused to admit it, he had to acknowledge that having someone like Jiang Heng around made it hard for anyone not to be attracted to him.

Thankfully, after the breakup, Jiang Heng had disappeared without a trace, so Ji Yao hadn’t intentionally thought about him much in the past three years.

However, it seemed that Jiang Heng had an inherent ability to draw people’s attention. Within just a few days of his reappearance, he had managed to rekindle Ji Yao’s long-lost “subconscious.”

This isn’t good, Ji Yao reflected seriously. It’s a dangerous sign.

Just like magnets attracting each other, Ji Yao had a feeling that the closer he got to Jiang Heng, the more that uncontrollable feeling would intensify.

An ex should at least maintain a bit of dignity. Therefore, Ji Yao decided to keep his distance from him completely.

Standing in front of Jiang Heng’s ward, Ji Yao just intended to just take a look and leave. However, a sweep of his gaze revealed that Jiang Heng’s bed was empty, and only a nurse was tidying up. The bed was neatly made, not like it was meant to be occupied.

Ji Yao furrowed his brows and pressed down the doorknob as he entered.

“Where’s the patient?” Ji Yao asked.

“Mr. Jiang signed a liability waiver with the nurse at the reception,” the nurse said.

Ji Yao raised an eyebrow. “…”

Logical and prepared.

Ji Yao lost his temper. On one hand, he was exhausted from dealing with unreasonable patient family members, and on the other hand, he had no interest in dealing with his reckless ex-boyfriend. After instructing the nurse not to discharge the patients without his consent anymore, he returned to his office to write up records.

Jiang Heng’s home was in a small, relatively new community near Jing’an Temple, a 300-square-meter fully furnished duplex. He had moved in just two months ago and it already felt like he had lived there for twenty years. As he entered the community, the ride-share vehicle stopped at the entrance. Jiang Heng, wearing a slightly thick coat, walked in. He exchanged greetings with the security guard at the gate.

“Mr. Jiang, welcome back.”

Jiang Heng bent slightly, protecting the wound on his tummy with his other hand, and smiled at the security guard, responding kindly, “Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

“Not a problem at all,” the security guard smiled. “One of the streetlights in the community was broken, and it was just repaired. Please be careful when you go in.”

Jiang Heng nodded.

He had only moved here two months ago, but it felt like he had lived here for twenty years. Everyone from the security guards at the gate to the staff at the delivery points and the old lady who brought her child to the community park every day could greet him by name.

Jiang Heng returned each greeting with a smile. Finally, when he arrived home, his pockets were filled with throat relief sweets that the old lady had given him.

He took off his coat at the entrance and hung it on the hook, then walked slowly to his bedroom, switching on the bedside lamp.

He placed his wallet and cellphone from his pockets onto the bedside table and accidentally knocked an acrylic box off the table, causing it to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.

Jiang Heng: “…”

At least it broke safely, Jiang Heng thought.

He consoled himself, finding his own optimism quite amusing. He smiled wryly, carefully bent down, and began sifting through the wreckage of the acrylic box. He retrieved what was originally inside the box.

It was an ordinary British pound coin, worth one pound. It was well-preserved and shone brightly.

Jiang Heng used his thumb to rub the surface of the coin, making sure there were no scratches on it. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.