Dr. Chi’s Mission: Seduce Officer Su - Chapter 34.2

She drove to the People’s Hospital.

Pushing open the door to her office, Xiao Minghao followed her in, holding a post-operative medical record.

“Morning, Director Chi.”

“Morning.”

Xiao Minghao placed the file on the desk and pulled up a chair to sit down. “Yesterday’s surgery was relatively successful. The child is still under observation in the ICU. They won’t be paralyzed, but they’ll need a long period of rehabilitation.”

Hearing that the child wouldn’t be paralyzed, Chi Jue instinctively let out a sigh of relief. “As long as they’re okay. Thank you for your help yesterday.”

“It’s part of my job. Any doctor would step up in an emergency,” he said, feeling somewhat relieved to receive Chi Jue’s gratitude for once. “Are you okay? I mean, aside from the injury.”

Chi Jue put on her white coat and turned to him with a smile. “My mental resilience isn’t as weak as you think.”

“I heard the inspection department will be coming to see you today. They already questioned me yesterday, and I explained everything truthfully. That’s why I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

“Alright, I understand.” Chi Jue didn’t show much reaction to his proactive honesty. Checking the time, she felt it was about time for rounds and invited him along. “Let’s go, we can head to the inpatient department together.”

“You don’t blame me for saying too much, do you?” Xiao Minghao followed behind her, pressing further, though he felt his behavior was unnecessary. “I think you made mistakes, but you were only trying to take responsibility by provoking the child’s father. In a way, that might not be wrong either.”

Chi Jue found Xiao Minghao particularly conflicted at times, wanting to be an upright doctor yet wavering in his stance. She could only shake her head to reassure him, unable to find more words to respond.

But halfway there, inspectors intercepted her. “Director Chi, are you heading for rounds?”

“Yes. If you have something to discuss, let’s talk after I’m done,” Chi Jue replied, naturally prioritizing her patients.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble Director Xiao to handle the rounds for you. The hospital held a meeting yesterday and decided to suspend your duties. Here’s the official notice from the hospital.” The inspector showed her the document stamped with the official seal.

Chi Jue frowned tightly and immediately questioned the decision. “You didn’t seek me out first to understand the situation. How could you make a decision without my knowledge? That’s against protocol.”

“This was decided by the hospital leadership after discussion. If you have any objections, Director Chi, you might want to take it up with President Xiao. For now, we’ll need to take up some of your time. Please come with us to the inspection department to provide a written explanation.”

“Let’s go.” Chi Jue didn’t want to waste time, but this kind of notice was also beyond her expectations. When the inspection department mentioned President Xiao, she immediately realized things weren’t so simple.

The interrogation by the inspection department was always tedious, making a big deal out of trivial matters and obsessively circling back to the same questions. That’s why most doctors would rather endure grievances and losses than get tangled up in such trouble.

“You’ve asked me the same question no less than ten times. My explanation won’t change, are you sure you understand?” Chi Jue leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples as she gradually lost patience.

“Director Chi, please don’t be impatient. We just want to clarify the details. Why did you confront the patient’s family directly at the time? And why did you ultimately agree to discharge the patient?”

“At best, the child’s medical incident is somewhat linked to you. At worst, if the family keeps causing trouble at the hospital, it could affect your career.”

“The more detailed our questions, the better we can protect your rights. If this goes to court, we need to have solid reasoning and evidence, don’t you agree?”

The explanation sounded reasonable on the surface, but in reality, it was just bureaucratic foot-dragging, nothing more than an attempt to pressure the person involved into admitting fault.

Chi Jue scoffed, picking up the written explanation she had prepared and placing it lightly in front of the staff. “I’ve explained everything I needed to, even outlining the logical chain of events for you. How you draft your report is your business, but if the final version is biased, forget about whether there’ll be a lawsuit with the family, you’ll have to deal with me first. I won’t entertain this any longer.”

Chi Jue had every reason to stand her ground against the inspection department.

She was never one to shy away from conflict. If it really came down to a fight, high-profile lawyers in Zhouhai would be lining up to represent her.

Leaving the inspection department, Chi Jue strode straight ahead, skipping the courtesy of knocking and pushing open the door to Xiao Qishu’s office.

President Xiao was in the middle of a discussion with another doctor. Seeing Chi Jue storm in with a dark expression, he signaled for the doctor to leave.

Once the door closed, he stood up with a smile, preparing tea to offer her. “You could’ve at least knocked. What if I had an important guest?”

Chi Jue didn’t respond. This was the first time she had ever breached etiquette, but she had her reasons.

Xiao Qishu knew better than to provoke her further. He simply walked over with a cup in hand. “Don’t just stand there. Sit down, have some tea, and cool off. I know what you want to say.”

Chi Jue didn’t take the cup. Instead, she asked coldly, “Just answer me this, did Chi Qinian pressure you into making this decision?”

Seeing her indifference, Xiao Qishu took a sip of tea himself, smacked his lips, and sat back in his office chair, dropping the act. “Well… we had to hold an emergency meeting yesterday to handle it.”

“People’s Hospital is a public institution. What right does a private business owner have to interfere in hospital affairs?” Chi Jue’s anger flared like never before, Chi Qinian had become her personal powder keg.

“Calm down first.” Xiao Qishu maintained his amiable expression. “The incident where you were pushed down the stairs by the family is common knowledge now. Even if you were in the right, a temporary suspension of your duties is unavoidable. We’re not just considering the impact on the hospital, we’re also thinking about your psychological and physical trauma. Doesn’t this arrangement seem reasonable?”

Chi Jue disagreed with such an explanation and retorted vehemently, “At the very least, you should have waited for the inspection department’s results before making a hospital-wide announcement. Yet, you didn’t even bother to ask me a single question.”

Xiao Qishu was well aware that his arrangement was unreasonable and could only resort to evasive tactics. “You’ve never used your annual leave all these years. Take this chance to make up for it, stay home, work on research topics, prepare lectures, or write academic reports. It’s a good opportunity for self-improvement.”

Chi Jue didn’t respond. Her gaze sharp as a blade, she stared directly at the dean.

Xiao Qishu, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable under her stare, had no choice but to change his approach. “Yesterday, your video was uploaded online. Old Chi saw it and came to the hospital looking for you. When he couldn’t find you, he spoke with me. Go home for a while. He cares about you more than you think.”

“Cares?” Chi Jue snorted coldly. “That word has become derogatory when associated with him. Apart from listening to his repetitive lectures, I can’t see any point in returning to that house.”

“Even if it’s rotten to the core, it’s still your home,” Xiao Qishu sighed helplessly. He stood up, walked behind Chi Jue, and patted her shoulder. “How you perceive everything around you depends entirely on your own perspective. Just like when you believe a surgery will succeed, the chances of success are often higher than you anticipate. If you think they don’t love you, it’s because you believe they don’t.”

Chi Jue couldn’t stand President Xiao’s rambling any longer. She stood up angrily, ready to leave. “I won’t disturb you any further.”

Xiao Qishu quickly called out to stop her, “Did you get a full-body check-up yesterday? Are you seriously injured? If you’re feeling unwell, don’t keep it to yourself. Hidden injuries are no joke.”

“I’m not going to die,” Chi Jue retorted, slamming the door shut behind her.

Even after the door closed, Xiao Qishu craned his neck and shouted after her, “How are things with that Dr. Yu? Ah, this child is as stubborn as an ox!”

Uncertain how long this sudden suspension and forced leave would last, Chi Jue returned to her office and summoned all her assistant doctors. She methodically arranged the follow-up tasks.

Just as she was about to leave the hospital, officers from the local police station showed up, as if on cue.

“Dr. Chi, hello. We’re officers from the precinct police station.”

It was the same two officers who had handled the scene yesterday. Today, their attitude was remarkably polite.

“Captain Su specifically asked us to come to you since you’re injured and might find it difficult to move around. We hope we’re not disturbing you.”

“Please, have a seat. What would you like to know?” Chi Jue’s tone softened slightly upon hearing it was Su Qiao’s arrangement.

“…”

The police questioning was even more tedious than the inspection department’s. The entire morning slipped away in the blink of an eye.

After seeing the two officers out, Chi Jue slumped exhaustively over her desk. Suddenly, she felt like leaving the decision of whether to go home to Su Qiao. Noticing it was already lunchtime, she dialed his number.

By the time she counted to three in her head, (Little Bear) had answered the call.

“Did you miss me, Dr. Chi?” Su Qiao seemed to be eating, with faint chewing sounds in the background, but his voice was brimming with excitement.

In a foul mood, Chi Jue launched into a complaint without preamble, “If I hadn’t called you, would you never have bothered to check in on me?”

The person on the phone paused for a moment, then chuckled and explained, “Oh dear! Are you here to hold me accountable? It’s not that I’m not taking the initiative, I was just afraid you might be busy. What if you were in surgery? What if you were seeing a patient? What if you were in a meeting? What if…”

Chi Jue was amused by Su Qiao’s lighthearted tone, and her mood seemed to lift a little. Covering her mouth, she giggled softly and retorted, “What if I was thinking of you?”

Su Qiao was likely struck directly in the heart by this brief, sweet remark, and she secretly paused again before asking with concern, “Have you eaten yet?”

“Today’s just awful, absolutely terrible. I really don’t have any appetite,” Chi Jue murmured unhappily before asking, “What are you eating that smells so delicious?”

“I’m having cafeteria food, braised chicken with mushrooms, stir-fried pork, sautéed cabbage, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and a bowl of seaweed and pork rib soup,” Little Bear replied earnestly, making sure not to miss a single dish from the menu, probably wanting to prove she was taking good care of herself so Dr. Chi wouldn’t worry.

“Your meals sound pretty good… Hmph, but now I’m even more annoyed. I have no appetite, yet you’re eating so heartily!” Chi Jue frowned, though she wasn’t really angry.

“Huh? Then I’ll stop eating,” Su Qiao hurriedly put down her chopsticks and actually stopped.

“Just kidding. Eat with gusto for me, maybe I’ll get hungry soon too.” Chi Jue stood up, took off her white coat, and as she opened the door, she got to the main point: “My dad wants me to go home. Do you think I should?”

“So, today’s awful because of that?”

Chi Jue pouted. “No, what’s even worse is that I’ve been suspended and forced to take time off.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Medical disputes led to a forced vacation. I don’t know if this is a blessing in disguise or just more trouble. You still haven’t answered my question!”

Over the receiver, Su Qiao hummed and hawed for a long time. Chi Jue waited patiently until she finally got a serious reply.

“I think you should go back. You should always try to communicate properly with your family. If you really can’t stand it, you can always leave later. Just give me a call when you do, and I’ll come pick you up~ with a cream cake~”

As soon as Su Qiao mentioned the cream cake, a blush instantly spread across Chi Jue’s face, reigniting the fire she had barely managed to extinguish in the bathtub last night.

Annoyed at her own frivolity, she coughed lightly, pretending to be serious. “Alright, major decisions are mine to make, minor ones are yours. Keep your phone on.”

“Aye-aye~ Little Bear is always on standby for your call~”