Chapter 18: What’s Your Relationship with Her?

Meanwhile, Shen Chaoyi had just parked her car and was taking the elevator upstairs.

Since she entered the elevator from the parking garage, during the morning rush, she got gradually pushed to the very back of the staff elevator.

“Hey, did you guys check the group chat? The ER is buzzing again today.”

“What happened? I just got here, haven’t had time to look yet.”

“Look, that person who was all over the news a few days ago—the one who killed her own father—the police went to her ward today. Three or four of them, and they looked really aggressive.”

“Oh? That’s the investigation into her being beaten up, right?”

“You bet. I heard the ones who beat her are still in detention. And it was her own aunt who hired them.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. But as much as she’s hateful, she’s just a woman, and she just got out of prison not long ago…”

“Nurse Zhang, you’re actually feeling sorry for her? She’s a murderer; she deserves everything she gets.”

“Yeah. If she came to our department, I doubt anyone would even dare to treat her. Only the ER—what’s her name? Shen?”

“Shen Chaoyi. That day in the emergency room, she did rescue breathing on her directly, kept it up for over twenty minutes before getting her heartbeat back. And because of that, the chief doctor chewed her out.”

“And now she’s still that murderer’s attending physician.”

Everyone in the elevator chattered away, completely missing Shen Chaoyi standing in the far corner.

Shen Chaoyi listened calmly, her smile restrained. She didn’t speak up or stop them; she just stood there quietly.

Her fingertips unconsciously curled into her palms until they were almost numb.

This wasn’t the first time she’d been talked about behind her back because of Yi Qingzhuo. Even the times she’d overheard with her own ears were too many to count on both hands.

Shen Chaoyi listened to the same old arguments, always centered on the idea of protecting oneself by staying out of trouble.

She never argued or defended herself. She just listened in silence, her face warm and composed. Her tall, slender figure was illuminated by the light casting shadows on her face, giving her an elegant and poised aura.

That was probably the grace of one who carries poetry in her heart—the dignity of impeccable refinement.

She was beautiful, like a warm sun, like a spring breeze.

The elevator reached Shen Chaoyi’s floor. She turned sideways and followed the people in front of her out. “Excuse me.”

Her high heels clicked softly against the floor as Shen Chaoyi stepped out under a dozen surprised gazes.

She pivoted on her heel, turned back, and just as the elevator doors were closing, her soft lips curved into a smile. She nodded at them.

Amidst the murmurs, she had walked out from among them—and she was smiling.

The elevator doors cut off the sight of each other, as well as the storm about to erupt inside the elevator.

Shen Chaoyi turned and hurried to the office. She slipped on her white coat and walked toward Yi Qingzhuo’s ward.

Before she got close, she saw Chen Yao and the others coming out of Yi Qingzhuo’s room.

Shen Chaoyi looked down to adjust her ID badge, which she hadn’t had time to fix properly. When she looked up, Chen Yao was already standing in front of her.

Chen Yao said lazily, “Doctor Shen, starting work already?”

Shen Chaoyi didn’t think she was close enough to Chen Yao for that kind of casual talk, so she just nodded slightly. “Mm. Officer Chen.”

She wasn’t in any of those group chats, so before she arrived, she hadn’t known the police had gone to see Yi Qingzhuo.

By the time she heard about it in the elevator and came over, it already seemed too late.

“I remember I said on the phone that I’d let you know when her condition stabilizes.”

Shen Chaoyi’s face was slightly flushed—whether from rushing over or from holding in the anger from the elevator conversation, it was hard to say. Either way, she had lost some of her usual warmth and composure.

Chen Yao tightened his grip on the notebook in his hand, but he kept a smile on his face. “She’s awake, isn’t she? So to avoid delaying the investigation and to get results as quickly as possible, we had to be a bit presumptuous.”

“I understand,” Shen Chaoyi said, then shifted gears. “But walking around the department in police uniforms every day disrupts our work. Besides, Yi Qingzhuo was only transferred out of the ICU a day ago. She underwent major surgery and received a heavy dose of anesthesia. It’s hard to say if her mind has fully cleared up. For the sake of your rush to get answers, this will only be counterproductive.”

“Doctor Shen, it’s our duty. Please understand,” Chen Yao said, clearly less concerned about whether Yi Qingzhuo was lucid and more focused on closing the case. “My colleagues will come this afternoon to ask more detailed questions about the earlier conflicts. It’ll take a while, and there will also be a medical injury assessment. Please cooperate with us.”

Even the small amount of professional pity Shen Chaoyi felt for Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t shake Chen Yao’s unconditional commitment to his duty.

He might ask about her physical condition an extra time during the interrogation, but he wouldn’t give Yi Qingzhuo any breathing room to recover before questioning her.

Shen Chaoyi narrowed her eyes. “Getting the patient back to health as fast as possible is also our duty. Please understand that too, Officer Chen. You can do the injury assessment, but Yi Qingzhuo’s current condition isn’t suitable for high-intensity questioning.”

“Besides, she’s a victim, not a suspect. Officer Chen, I suggest you don’t get the priorities mixed up.”

“You—” Chen Yao was left speechless.

He clearly hadn’t expected the gentle, refined Shen Chaoyi he’d met before to refuse him so bluntly in public.

Her tone wasn’t oppressive or beyond question, but compared to their first meeting, it was much firmer.

Chen Yao crossed his arms and thought for a moment. “Then when will Yi Qingzhuo be able to be questioned?”

“After your police department completes the injury assessment, you’ll have your answer,” Shen Chaoyi said, glancing at the unabashed stares around her.

She tightened the stethoscope in her hand. “Officer Chen must be busy. I won’t keep you.”

“You—” Chen Yao also realized this wasn’t a good place for a discussion, so on the verge of speaking, he swallowed his words.

He nodded. “Alright. Doctor Shen, get back to work. I have things to do at the station, so I’ll go first. We’ll keep in touch by phone.”

“Mm.” Shen Chaoyi put her hands in her pockets. Her original intention to go to Yi Qingzhuo’s room was abandoned with so many people watching.

She turned and headed to the main office.

Since it was almost time for rounds, the main office was full of doctors preparing for them.

They had been buzzing with gossip, but the moment Shen Chaoyi walked in, silence fell.

It was quiet, but all eyes unconsciously drifted toward Shen Chaoyi.

Sensing the abnormality, Shen Chaoyi paused for only a moment, then walked calmly to her own workstation.

She turned on the computer, logged into her system, and checked today’s schedule.

Everyone seemed to have formed an unspoken understanding, communicating only with glances. The only sound was the clicking of keyboards.

Han Yecheng watched Shen Chaoyi’s seat with a complicated expression. The computer screen partially obscured her body, leaving only a pair of long, slender, fair hands resting on the mouse, occasionally clicking lightly.

Shen Chaoyi’s hands were lovely—beautiful like a pianist’s, comparable to those artistic hands you’d see in a manga.

Han Yecheng bit his lip, hesitated for a few minutes, then picked up a bottle of apple juice from his desk and walked over to Shen Chaoyi.

“Chaoyi,” he called, placing the apple juice beside her hand.

Shen Chaoyi heard him, glanced at the bottle, then looked at Han Yecheng.

“Have some juice in the morning—it’s nutritious. I freshly squeezed it,” Han Yecheng said with a smile.

Shen Chaoyi smiled gently and refused softly, “You have it. I have surgery coming up, so I need to drink less water.”

Han Yecheng’s eyes dimmed, and his smile froze for a moment.

His hand covered the bottle. He quickly composed his expression. “Alright, I’ll save it for you to drink at lunch.”

He stepped back, respecting Shen Chaoyi’s decision.

Shen Chaoyi was busy reviewing medical records, but her peripheral vision caught the onlookers’ amused expressions. She knew this would become fodder for those gossip groups later.

“Is there something else?” The politeness in Shen Chaoyi’s words was clearly a dismissal. She didn’t dwell on the juice with Han Yecheng.

Han Yecheng thought about it and finally asked, “What’s your relationship with the patient in Bed Seven?”

Shen Chaoyi had been acting too strangely lately. She got scolded for saving that patient, went to see her after work, and now had defended her in front of everyone.

Chen Ya had also said that Shen Chaoyi had mentioned knowing Yi Qingzhuo before.

But with Shen Chaoyi’s clean background, how could she possibly be connected to Yi Qingzhuo?

Han Yecheng was curious—or rather, the entire ER was curious.

“Isn’t it obvious? The relationship between a doctor and a patient,” Shen Chaoyi replied, refocusing her attention on the computer screen. The light from the monitor cast a glow on her high-bridged nose, creating a soft halo.

Her eyelids drooped, making her emotions hard to read.

It was clearly a perfunctory, evasive answer. Han Yecheng wouldn’t be brushed off so easily.

He clenched his fists, glanced at the colleagues who were pretending to work but actually eavesdropping, and pursed his lips.

“You know her situation. Don’t get too close to her—it’s not good for you. The whole department is avoiding her. You have to think about your own safety. Don’t end up in trouble because of her.”

Han Yecheng was worried about Shen Chaoyi, so he couldn’t help but advise her.

After speaking, he watched her face closely, not wanting to miss any expression.

Though his voice was deliberately lowered, in such a quiet environment, it was practically broadcasted.

Shen Chaoyi froze at his words, even her hand on the keyboard stopping mid-motion.

A full three seconds passed before she looked up at Han Yecheng.

The worry and anxiety on his face were genuine, but Shen Chaoyi felt no warmth from it.

“I treat all my patients the same,” Shen Chaoyi said. “It’s just that you pay more attention to her than to other patients, so you think I’m close to her.”

Shen Chaoyi said that, but she didn’t notice that as she spoke,

her gaze flickered for just a moment.

The words were true, and the facts were indeed like that. But what else was mixed in, only Shen Chaoyi herself knew.