Chapter 32: Love, Growing Wild Part 1

“This is a hospital. Kindly remember where you are.”

Zhou Jinglong pushed through the door, his first words a sharp reprimand.

As he took in the scene before him, his gaze lingered on Yi Qingzhuo for a fraction of a second. A flicker of cold severity passed across his face.

Then he turned his attention to Shen Chaoyi, who stood opposite Xu Jiangqin. His deep, resonant voice rang through the entire ward. “Shen Chaoyi! Remember your position! Get over here!”

He turned and spoke to the security personnel. “Let him go first.”

Shen Chaoyi was still frowning, her brow furrowed, when she heard Zhou Jinglong’s voice.

Rarely, she didn’t move. She kept her eyes fixed on Xu Jiangqin, ready for any sudden move.

When Zhou You saw Zhou Jinglong, he immediately knew the person in charge had arrived.

His eyes, which were so narrow they were practically slits, darted around. He saw the two men who had been restraining him obediently release their grip.

He snorted coldly, rubbing his neck. “So, I take it you’re the big boss here?”

Shen Chaoyi hadn’t obeyed him, which made Zhou Jinglong’s face darken. Hearing Zhou You’s voice, Zhou Jinglong nodded, his tone still fairly polite. “I am Zhou Jinglong, Chief Doctor of the Emergency Department. You’re the patient’s family member. If you have any issues, you can discuss them with me. There’s no need for such a big commotion. It doesn’t look good.”

“Then tell these people to get out!” Zhou You said, tilting his chin up arrogantly.

Hearing this, Zhou Jinglong took a good look at Zhou You and Xu Jiangqin.

Finally, he gave the security guards a meaningful look, signaling for them to leave first.

“You two go outside for now. Wait in the hallway.”

He didn’t ask the security personnel to leave.

In the end, aside from Chen Ya—who had just tried to come in but was promptly ushered out by security—only Yi Qingzhuo, Shen Chaoyi, Zhou Jinglong, Zhou You, and Xu Jiangqin remained in the room.

“See? There are no outsiders here now. Whatever the matter is, just clear the air. Easy as that.” Zhou Jinglong spread his hands, his eyes filled with steady calm.

He took a couple of steps, positioning himself between Yi Qingzhuo and Zhou You.

“Yi Qingzhuo is our patient right now. If you openly pick a fight in our hospital like this, we can’t just sit by and do nothing, now can we?”

Zhou You ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair, looking every bit the rough thug he was.

His entire body seemed to slouch as he spoke. “Mind your own business? This is a family matter between us. You people are way too nosy. Especially you! What’s it got to do with you?”

Zhou You pointed a finger at Shen Chaoyi, his face contorted with rage.

“Alright, alright, sir. She is Yi Qingzhuo’s attending physician. If something happens, she’s responsible. So you can’t really blame her. It’s her duty.” Zhou Jinglong tried to placate Zhou You.

His gaze landed on the sheet of paper beside Yi Qingzhuo’s hand. As soon as he made out the contents, he immediately understood.

The real reason for Zhou You’s visit.

Shen Chaoyi turned around. Zhou You’s provocative remark had made a grayish pallor spread across her face, a look she couldn’t hide.

“How can you have zero knowledge of the law? Even if you don’t, weren’t you taught anything in those nine years of compulsory education? A document you forced someone to sign like this holds no legal validity whatsoever. Furthermore, what you’re doing is illegal.”

“Assault and battery, intentional injury. You really do look like a hopeless legal illiterate.”

Every aspect of a crude, despicable person was on full display in him.

Word by word, point by point, Shen Chaoyi laid it all out clearly.

It stunned Zhou You for a couple of seconds. Even though he couldn’t follow Shen Chaoyi’s logic, he certainly understood the gist.

She was calling him uneducated, vulgar, and stupid.

A whole speech without a single swear word, yet it thoroughly lampooned Zhou You.

He rolled up his sleeves and yelled in frustration, “Who saw me hit anyone? You got proof? Just based on the word of that murderer? Don’t think you can scare me with your fancy talk. Think I was born yesterday?”

Zhou You’s agitated, raised voice was clearly an attempt to mask his own lack of confidence, to bolster his flagging courage.

Seeing this, Xu Jiangqin chimed in, “Stop your boasting. Which eye of yours saw us forcing her to sign anything? And which eye saw us hit her? No matter what law or regulation you’re talking about, you need evidence, right? So, where’s the evidence?”

She was determined to brazen it out to the very end.

In the presence of two cultured individuals like Shen Chaoyi and Zhou Jinglong, the hooligan nature of Zhou You and Xu Jiangqin stood in stark contrast.

If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, who would have thought?

That just by looking at their appearances, you could tell good from evil.

That a person’s true level isn’t just reflected in their clothes and appearance, but even more so in their speech and manner.

Upon hearing this, Yi Qingzhuo lifted her head.

The clear, unmistakable handprint on her cheek seemed to mock the stupidity of Zhou You and Xu Jiangqin.

Even though she was already in such danger, Yi Qingzhuo suppressed the raging storm within her heart.

The nauseating disgust inside her coalesced into a strange strength. Yi Qingzhuo let out a cold, furious roar. “Get lost.”

When Xu Jiangqin heard that, she couldn’t let it slide.

She became even more aggressive, yelling as she lunged forward to teach Yi Qingzhuo a lesson.

“Oh? You ungrateful little wretch! Is that how you talk to your elders? What the hell did your mother teach you?”

Her hand had just shot out when another hand blocked her. “I’ve already called the police. My phone has been recording everything from the very beginning. If you make a move now, there’s your evidence.”

Shen Chaoyi held up her phone with one hand, pointing it at Xu Jiangqin, while using the other to block her.

She was resolute, preventing Xu Jiangqin from getting even an inch closer.

But from Yi Qingzhuo’s angle, she could see that Shen Chaoyi’s left hand, holding the phone, was trembling slightly.

She was clearly scared too. She also knew that if Xu Jiangqin really wanted to fight,

there was no way she, with her own strength, could hold her off.

At the very least, in a scuffle, compared to someone like Xu Jiangqin who enjoyed acting like a foul-mouthed shrew, the gentle and refined Shen Chaoyi wouldn’t stand a chance.

Yet, she still stood in front of Yi Qingzhuo, taking her side, protecting her—whatever it took. She was on Yi Qingzhuo’s team.

The moment this awareness took root in her mind,

it felt like something struck Yi Qingzhuo’s heart.

She threw off the covers, gritting her teeth against the searing pain from her wounds, and stood up.

Standing beside Shen Chaoyi, her gaze as cold as frost, she fixed it on Xu Jiangqin. “My mother taught me better than you. At least she didn’t raise me to be an animal.”

Xu Jiangqin had thought that even after being hit, Yi Qingzhuo would just lie motionless on the bed. But now she had suddenly stood up.

For a woman, Yi Qingzhuo’s height, combined with the chilling aura that surrounded her, was incredibly intimidating.

Xu Jiangqin subconsciously took a step back, momentarily at a loss for words to counter Yi Qingzhuo’s deeply insulting retort.

Shen Chaoyi, too, looked at the woman beside her in astonishment.

Her shoulder pressed against Yi Qingzhuo’s arm, which was burning hot. It felt as if the raging fire inside Yi Qingzhuo’s heart was already setting her ablaze.

Unable to help herself, she lowered her head and picked up the now-crumpled A4 paper.

Her fingertips traced the bloodstains that had formed from Yi Qingzhuo’s struggle, the droplets blooming into flowers of blood on the stark black and white. The sight was jarring.

Shen Chaoyi’s palm tightened, instinctively crumpling the paper into a ball. Just as she was about to throw it back at Zhou You, a hand grasped her wrist.

Yi Qingzhuo pulled the crumpled paper from her hand, then hurled it with pinpoint accuracy directly at Zhou You’s face. “Get the hell out!” she roared, her fury uncontainable.

Shen Chaoyi’s head snapped up. She saw Yi Qingzhuo’s eyes, blazing with murderous intent.

Her gaze was fixed on Zhou You, filled with a towering rage. “If you don’t want to be the next victim, get the hell out!”

She was the murderer, wasn’t she? That’s what everyone kept saying.

Shen Chaoyi stared intently at her. The sensation of that touch on her palm was so real.

This was a completely unfamiliar Yi Qingzhuo. Her eyes were like knives, radiating a biting cold.

This was Yi Qingzhuo fighting back. A Yi Qingzhuo who was resolute and strong.

In that instant, Shen Chaoyi felt as if she were witnessing, right before her eyes, the look in Yi Qingzhuo’s eyes as she had tried to crawl out from among the crowd, covered in blood.

It was chilling, yet Shen Chaoyi felt no fear.

Even the uncontrollable shaking of her own hand from a moment ago involuntarily stopped.

Yi Qingzhuo. In this second, she was Shen Chaoyi’s rock.

Shen Chaoyi could no longer tell if she was protecting Yi Qingzhuo, or if Yi Qingzhuo was protecting her.

But at this moment, she felt at ease. And so was Yi Qingzhuo.

“You son of a bitch! I’m giving you too much face!” Zhou You wasn’t about to take that lying down. He rolled up his sleeves, banking on Yi Qingzhuo’s physical weakness and his own natural advantages in size and strength.

Young and hot-headed, he completely forgot about the phone Shen Chaoyi was using to record everything.

He also didn’t have Xu Jiangqin’s fear of consequences.

So he clenched his fist and charged at Yi Qingzhuo, swinging wildly.

Even Zhou Jinglong, who had been standing right beside him, ready to intervene if he made a move, was caught off guard. He only managed to brush against Yi Qingzhuo’s clothes as he tried to stop Zhou You.

But Yi Qingzhuo reacted quickly. She sidestepped, dodging the punch that carried the full force of a man.

However, Zhou You wasn’t a pushover either. He spun around, changed hands, and swung his fist in the opposite direction.

Shen Chaoyi had never experienced anything like this. She couldn’t react in time.

Even though Yi Qingzhuo had raised her hand to block the blow, a heavy punch still landed on Shen Chaoyi.

Her head was instantly knocked to the side. The phone slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.

Shen Chaoyi’s mind went blank for a second.

“Chaoyi!” Han Yecheng, who had just walked in with the police, happened to witness the scene.

Forgetting everything else, he rushed over to Shen Chaoyi in two or three quick strides. “Chaoyi, are you alright?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

In his urgency, Han Yecheng put his arm around Shen Chaoyi’s shoulder.