9:30 PM.
Dinner wrapped up.
Everyone enjoyed themselves, especially the signature dishes at Dihao Grand Hotel, which left Fu Yanjie and the others in awe.
The group headed out of the hotel.
“Coming to my place tonight?” Bai Bing whispered to Ye Qiu.
“Ice Sis, if your body can handle it, I’m in,” Ye Qiu teased with a smirk.
Bai Bing shot him a glare, “Then forget it, I’m scared you’ll wear me out.”
Ye Qiu had said it on purpose.
He knew it’d make Bai Bing back off, freeing him up to pamper Lin Jingzhi tonight.
He’d learned long ago that the key to a harmonious harem was balance, keeping everyone happy and satisfied. It just took a toll on stamina.
Ever wonder why some ancient emperors died young?
Too many concubines, their bodies couldn’t keep up, drained dry in their prime.
Luckily, Ye Qiu’s innate true qi flowed endlessly, keeping him brimming with energy.
Otherwise, he’d be a goner someday too.
“Director, we’ll grab a cab back, how’re you getting home?” Old Xiang asked.
“I’ll drive Dean Bai home,” Ye Qiu replied.
“Cool, we’ll head out then.”
“Safe trip.”
Bzzz bzzz!
Suddenly, Ye Qiu, Old Xiang, Fu Yanjie, and Su Xiaoxiao’s phones buzzed simultaneously.
They checked, Director Li from the ER was @-ing everyone in the hospital’s main group chat.
“Urgent notice: ER just got a call, someone drowned on Renhe Road.”
“Ambulance dispatched, ETA 30 minutes to Renhe Road.”
“If any staff are near Renhe Road, please assist and head there ASAP.”
Old Xiang said, “Director, we’re not far from Renhe Road.”
“About ten minutes away,” Fu Yanjie added, looking at Ye Qiu, “Director, should we go?”
Ye Qiu nodded, “Lives are at stake, let’s check it out, might be able to help.”
“I’ll come too,” Bai Bing said.
Ye Qiu drove the four of them straight to Renhe Road.
Renhe Road was an old street in Jiangzhou, worn and potholed from years of neglect.
Pushing the car to its limit, Ye Qiu got there in seven minutes.
From afar, they saw a crowd gathered by the riverbank, accompanied by heart-wrenching sobs.
Ye Qiu’s stomach dropped, a bad feeling creeping in.
“Hope we’re not too late.”
He parked, and the group raced toward the crowd.
“We’re doctors from Jiangzhou Hospital, please make way, make way…”
Ye Qiu shouted as he pushed through.
But when he broke into the centre, he saw a body on the ground.
Already dead.
The victim was a teenage boy, about fifteen or sixteen, soaked through, a few strands of waterweed tangled in his hair.
A schoolbag lay beside him, clearly a student.
A middle-aged couple clung to the boy’s body, wailing, it had to be his parents.
Fu Yanjie stepped forward, checked the boy’s pupils with a flashlight, then returned to Ye Qiu, whispering, “Drowned.”
Sigh.
Ye Qiu let out a breath. He was a doctor, not a god, he couldn’t bring the dead back.
A kid in the prime of youth, gone just like that, what a tragedy.
“Such a shame,” Bai Bing sighed softly.
“Little Fatty, message Director Li at the ER, tell him the kid’s gone,” Ye Qiu instructed quietly.
“Got it.”
Fu Yanjie pulled out his phone and sent the update.
Suddenly, the boy’s father leapt up, pointing at two women in the crowd and roaring, “My son’s dead, you owe me my son, you owe me my son…”
He lunged at them, but the crowd held him back.
Ye Qiu glanced at the women, dressed provocatively in short skirts, stockings, heels, carrying designer bags, hair wet, faces cold and detached.
Was the boy’s death tied to them?
The father shouted again, “You killed my son!”
“If he hadn’t tried to save you, would he be dead?”
“He was only fifteen, sob sob sob…”
One woman replied icily, “How can you blame us for your son’s death?”
“Did we beg him to save us?”
“Let me tell you, we didn’t ask for it, he got what he deserved!”
Ye Qiu’s brow twitched, irritation flaring.
Whether they were involved or not, saying something so cruel was like rubbing salt in the parents’ wounds.
Sure enough, the boy’s mother stood, pointing at the woman, voice trembling, “My son died saving you, and you’re not even grateful, just vicious, where’s your conscience, did a dog eat it?”
The other woman, silent till now, said, “He was showing off, how’s that our fault? Sure, we yelled for help, but not at your son. Are our lives worth less than his?”
“You, I’ll fight you!”
Fury overtaking her, the mother charged at them.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Stay back, don’t ruin my clothes, this is designer!”
The women shrieked, retreating.
“What a sin, how can there be such ungrateful wretches,” an old man nearby cursed.
“Sir, what happened here?” Ye Qiu asked.
The old man explained, “Those two are some kind of influencers, filming by the river, fell in by accident. This boy was passing by, heard the cries for help, and jumped in without hesitation.”
“He saved them, but drowned himself, such a pity.”
“Tell me, young man, what kind of world is this? I’m just an uneducated old-timer, but even I know a drop of kindness should be repaid with a fountain, let alone a life saved.”
“For them to show no gratitude, they’re worse than wolves.”
Ye Qiu’s anger surged.
The boy gave his precious life for them, yet they not only lacked gratitude but insulted his grieving parents, despicable.
“Director, let’s head back,” Su Xiaoxiao said, noting Ye Qiu’s dark expression, “It’s late, we’ve got work tomorrow.”
Ye Qiu didn’t budge.
“Xiaoxiao, remember this: we’re doctors, used to life and death, but that doesn’t mean we’re heartless.”
“A good doctor doesn’t just heal, they uphold justice and punish evil.”
With that, he stepped up to the two women.
Slap! Slap!
Two sharp slaps landed on their faces.
