Chapter 20

“What are you doing?”

“Help! Someone help!”

“Put down the stool!”

“Stop him!”

In the parking lot, the nurses who had followed screamed for help. Doctors from other departments saw the commotion and ran over, shouting at the man to stop. Dong Guo’s father, hearing the shouts, froze for a few seconds, dropped the stool, and fled.

“T-Tang…” Lin Ye was white as a sheet, frozen in place. Then she realized what had happened and quickly turned, instinctively reaching to lift Tang Feiwan’s clothes.

Tang Feiwan gently pushed Lin Ye’s hand away, flipped over, and sat on the ground. She looked up at the other woman’s visible anxiety and felt a warmth in her chest. She said, pretending to be casual, “I-I’m fine.” The man had hit the left side of her back, near the shoulder. Tang Feiwan moved it. It hurt, but she was sure nothing was broken. She didn’t want the other woman to feel guilty and fuss over her because of the injury, so she added softly, “D-Director Lin, if it had been any other colleague, they would have rushed to help too. And if another colleague were in danger, I’d also be the first to step in.”

Lin Ye understood Tang Feiwan’s meaning. Her expression darkening, she sighed, her voice muffled. “Colleagues can also check each other’s injuries.”

So that’s how it works?

“Oh.” Tang Feiwan stopped refusing and let her crouch behind, lifting her shirt.

“Actually, my knees hurt more. My back is really fine.” Her knees had scraped the ground, and her hands too.

Lin Ye examined her injuries. Her warm fingertips occasionally touched the skin, and Tang Feiwan couldn’t help swallowing. The next second, the other woman applied a bit of pressure.

“Tsk…” Tang Feiwan hissed, holding back a cry.

A closed soft tissue injury, not serious. But Lin Ye’s furrowed brows deepened as she said, “We need to treat the scrapes on your knees soon.”

“Okay.” Tang Feiwan felt the other woman’s concern. Though she could barely suppress the smile tugging at her lips, thinking of Lin Ye and the endless harassment the hospital might face from Dong Guo’s family, she sobered up.

Meanwhile, doctors from other departments came to check on her, and nurses from the same department called the police. The attacker had fled, so they’d need the police to catch him.

Tang Feiwan stood and followed Lin Ye back. Both were silent. At the elevator, Lin Ye suddenly said, “Thank you.”

“What?” Tang Feiwan turned and saw her expression slightly relaxed. She blurted out, “Don’t say thank you. It might make me unhappy. I’m already in pain, and now you’re making me unhappy.” After saying it, she felt she might have hit her head in the fall. What am I doing? She quickly turned back and faced the wall to reflect on her mistake, blushing.

Lin Ye made an almost imperceptible “mm” and said nothing more. Inside the elevator, the silence was deafening. Tang Feiwan bit her lip, her back to Lin Ye, and took her own pulse.

107 beats per minute. Isn’t that too fast?

Tang Feiwan didn’t know that behind her, Lin Ye had seen her action and finally relaxed her furrowed brows, smiling the way she did with patients.

That’s the second time today I’ve found her cute…

The elevator doors opened. Neither reacted, lost in their own worlds. It was Gu Yan, who had been about to go down and was standing at the elevator entrance, who reminded them: “Director Lin, Doctor Tang, why are you back?” She immediately noticed Tang Feiwan’s scraped knees and asked in a fluster, “Doctor Tang, what happened?”

“Dong Guo’s father came at Director Lin for revenge. Doctor Tang stepped in.” Sun Qinhe, as head nurse, was always well-informed. She stood to Gu Yan’s right, ready to go home, and asked Tang Feiwan, “Should I have a nurse help clean those wounds?”

Lin Ye said in a low voice, “No need. I’ll do it.”

Sun Qinhe thought that was fine and offered a few words of concern. The four exchanged places, and the elevator doors closed.

Tang Feiwan and Lin Ye walked side by side, around the triage desk, and ten meters ahead was the emergency department’s treatment room. Tang Feiwan entered and sat on a stool at the edge. She knew the drill. Before Lin Ye could speak, she took out her phone and registered via the app.

“Wait here.” Lin Ye saw her registration go through. Staring at the bleeding wounds on her knees, her just-relaxed brows knitted again. She turned away and was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, “I’ll be right back.”

Tang Feiwan watched her back and obediently replied, “Okay.”

Lin Ye walked out. She needed to find the duty doctor to write orders, then take the slip to pay.

Tang Feiwan watched Lin Ye leave the treatment room and scrolled through funny videos on her phone to distract herself. After the numbness wore off, the pain was nearly unbearable. Cleaning them would be even worse.

By 11 p.m., the number of emergency patients was noticeably fewer than during the day. Within ten minutes, Lin Ye returned after paying. She went straight to the treatment counter, opened the cabinet, and took out hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, gauze, and other supplies.

“It’ll hurt. I’ll try to be gentle,” Lin Ye said in a low voice, pulling a low stool over and sitting in front of her, bending slightly to look at the wounds on her knees.

“Should I do it myself?”

Lin Ye’s right hand, holding the forceps, paused. She didn’t look up or answer.

Tang Feiwan worried Lin Ye had misunderstood and quickly explained, “I’m not worried about troubling you. It’s just that I can control the pressure, so…”

“I understand.” Lin Ye curved her lips faintly and handed the forceps to Tang Feiwan, then scooted back a little to watch her clean the wounds.

Time passed. Tang Feiwan grimaced in pain but bit her tongue. Fortunately, a phone call came in, and Lin Ye left to answer.

“Hello. Yes, we’re in the emergency treatment room.” Lin Ye looked in. “The police are here to take a statement.”

Tang Feiwan was in too much pain to speak, so she just nodded.

Three minutes later, two police officers knocked and entered. The lead officer asked, “You called, right?”

“Yes,” both said in unison.

“Based on the phone number you provided, we’ve contacted Cao Yangqiao. She’s willing to report and get examined. She’s on her way from home now.” The officer introduced the uniformed woman beside her. “This is our forensic examiner. She’ll examine your injuries.”

Tang Feiwan said, “Thank you.”

The officer motioned for Lin Ye to step outside to talk. They stood in the corridor. The officer said, “Our colleagues are still at the scene. They’ve secured the weapon.”

Lin Ye nodded as the officer continued, “The attacker’s phone is off. We’re working to apprehend him.” The officer paused for two seconds. “From your perspective, describe the attacker’s motive.”

Lin Ye recounted the events calmly and methodically, and the officer took notes. Before she finished, Cao Yangqiao arrived and waited for questioning and examination. Through the statements, Lin Ye learned that Cao Yangqiao and Dong Guo had known each other for four years and been together for two. Three months ago, Dong Guo introduced Cao Yangqiao to his family, but his father disapproved and obstructed them, so Cao Yangqiao asked to break up.

It turned out Dong Guo’s father came from a farming background but made a fortune in business, earning nearly ten million. Now he lived off rent and believed Cao Yangqiao wasn’t good enough for his son.

The officer complained, “He was a farmer too. Why look down on you? Besides, you got into graduate school. You’re more educated than his son.”

“That’s why I realized it and broke up early to escape.” Cao Yangqiao recalled, “Dong Guo’s dad has violent tendencies. He’s always beating and cursing Dong Guo’s mother and sister. But he favors boys over girls and never lays a hand on Dong Guo.”

The officer asked, “His mother never reported it?”

“Never. I guess she’s used to it. But Dong Guo’s sister doesn’t put up with him. She got into grad school at a law university. Dong Guo said she’d find a way to get their mom out of that hell.”

The officer cursed Dong Guo’s father, calling him scum, and took notes. She said this couldn’t be tolerated and suggested they not settle privately, letting him spend a couple of days in detention and taste some hardship.

Cao Yangqiao readily agreed.

After her injury examination and statement, Tang Feiwan took the elevator down with Lin Ye.

“Leave your motorcycle here. I’ll drive you.” Lin Ye lowered her eyes, her tone back to its usual flatness.

“I have to go home tonight. Tomorrow’s my dad’s birthday. He’s hosting lunch at home.” Tang Feiwan held the bruise liniment Lin Ye had bought, her lips curving upward at the other woman’s concerned words. Her eyes sparkled like jewels.

“Then I’ll drive you home.”

“Okay.” Tang Feiwan felt as if it were another lifetime. She tilted her head slightly and caught Lin Ye with her head down, her dark hair hiding most of her face yet unable to conceal the long-lost tenderness in her brows.