Chapter 92: Fang Qi

Chapter 92: Fang Qi

Qiong Cang had been sitting in the car for half an hour before He Jueyun returned, his face downcast.

He pulled open the door, caught a whiff of the Golden Throat lozenge scent, and twitched the corner of his mouth. "Ah, such a nostalgic throat lozenge scent."

Qiong Cang generously offered to share it with him, but He Jueyun declined. "No thanks, you enjoy it yourself."

Qiong Cang blew a breath in his direction from afar, and He Jueyun inexplicably felt the smell in the car grow stronger.

"Do you think you're an air freshener?"

Qiong Cang replied, "The smell of smoke on you is too strong, it's wafting over."

He Jueyun lowered his head to adjust his wrinkled sleeve. "Qiong Cang, next time you drop a bombshell, can you think about your teammates first? Liu Chen pulled me aside to explain and cry about his miserable life. You changed your expression the fastest and ran away the quickest. That's a bit much."

Qiong Cang accepted the criticism with an open mind and promised to improve next time.

But who could guarantee such promises?

He Jueyun still felt a bit apprehensive. He hurriedly drove away from the neighborhood, feeling relieved only when they were far enough that the other party couldn't catch up.

He cracked open the window to let in a bit of breeze to clear the smell. As his hearing gradually adjusted to the whistling wind, his brain began to focus on the real matter at hand.

He Jueyun steered the wheel with one hand and chatted with the person next to him. "Liu Chen's testimony is completely different from what the two people at the hospital said. Who's lying?"

"It's not entirely different; it's just that everyone is speaking for themselves," Qiong Cang replied, pulling out a bottle of ice water. After coughing twice, she continued, "Balancing their statements might give us the answer."

He Jueyun glanced at her, not wanting to talk to her because of her strained voice, but still couldn't help asking, "How do we balance it out?"

Qiong Cang said, "Look at what they are deliberately emphasizing."

He Jueyun waited for her to finish the sentence, but there was only silence in the car.

"Is that all?"

Qiong Cang raised an eyebrow and pointed to her throat, signaling for him to figure it out himself.

Here we go again with the guessing game.

He Jueyun used to think Qiong Cang's love for shocking statements and bad puns created a communication barrier between them. Now that she was nearly mute, he realized that without clear communication, people still needed words to bridge the gap.

A talking Qiong Cang was truly adorable.

The concept of 'heart-to-heart' communication was too vague; people needed to be more direct with each other.

He Jueyun drove, looking for a familiar route, while trying to organize the testimonies again in his mind.

His review was slow because the traffic, as usual, was congested, and the reckless drivers weaving through traffic kept interrupting his thoughts.

By the time they passed two traffic lights, He Jueyun finally figured it out.

"The doctors and nurses at D University’s affiliated hospital kept emphasizing Tian Zhaohua's popularity and reputation, stressing how good he was with patients, his professional skills, and his work ethic. When it came to whether there were any surgical errors, both insisted on trusting the committee's verification result. The doctor remained very neutral, deliberately distancing himself from Tian Zhaohua. The nurse, however, was more emotional, constantly questioning us with societal controversies. Both sidestepped the issue to some degree."

Qiong Cang nodded.

The surgical error wasn't the main point of contention. It was just that the medical staff considered Tian Zhaohua's minor mistake as a normal risk, not medical malpractice.

He Jueyun continued, "So, it’s likely true that Tian Zhaohua got reprimanded by his superiors. Liu Chen overheard their conversation and then began causing trouble."

Qiong Cang: "I believe the doctors' and nurses' testimonies are largely credible. They have some protective stance towards their colleagues, but there aren't any obvious lies. As for Liu Chen..."

Victims often portray themselves as entirely helpless in order to gain sympathy from bystanders. In doing so, they not only highlight their own excellence and innocence but also go to great lengths to prove the other party's shamelessness and villainy.

Liu Chen's testimony fits this pattern.

From the beginning, he narrated his years of misfortune to Qiong Cang and the others, not hiding his leg defect, and painted Tian Zhaohua as someone mentally unstable, malicious, and duplicitous. He used his intense emotions and indignant accusations to cover up the holes in his logic.

These extreme descriptions show he has intense negative feelings towards Tian Zhaohua and feels no remorse for causing his death.

Qiong Cang said, "Without his subjective descriptions, nothing he says is credible."

Liu Chen's narrative was clear, without any stuttering, inversion, or repetition. Based on his word choice and demeanor, it seems he had rehearsed this scenario before Qiong Cang and the others found him.

Qiong Cang: "The only real contradiction is who hit whom in the car accident."

He Jueyun frowned and slowly stopped at a red light, tapping the side of the steering wheel: "Medical staff believe Liu Chen took revenge on Tian Zhaohua out of malice, feeling righteous indignation. But Liu Chen insists he was framed."

"That shouldn't be hard to verify. The dashcam footage should still be in the archives, and Liu Chen had no reason to lie about that." Qiong Cang licked her dry lips and continued, "And Liu Chen has a point: It’s unlikely he’d kill Tian Zhaohua just for his nephew. If he killed someone, where would he get the money?"

Liu Chen made such a fuss mainly because he wanted money.

Qiong Cang guessed that Liu Chen probably knew the surgery wasn't a medical malpractice case but still took the opportunity to try and extort Tian Zhaohua. Unfortunately for him, the hospital, experienced in handling doctor-patient relations, made its own judgment and ultimately chose to protect Tian Zhaohua, foiling his plans.

Qiong Cang took a sip from her bottle and continued, "I believe that after his initial plan failed, Liu Chen probably resorted to some less-than-honorable means to continue his extortion."

He Jueyun asked suspiciously, "So, backed into a corner by Liu Chen, Tian Zhaohua had no choice but to choose such a dangerous method to clear his name?"

Qiong Cang was about to respond when she saw in the rearview mirror that a car behind them was getting too close, its stubbornly swerving front indicating a desire to cut in, with a hint of a head-on collision. Her expression changed immediately, and she urgently said, "Up ahead! Don't look at me!"

He Jueyun jumped at Qiong Cang's sudden shout and muttered a curse at the driver, slowed down, and let the other car pass. He thought to himself, isn't her voice quite loud?

Qiong Cang was drenched in cold sweat, her eyes drooping with exhaustion.

"I'm a good driver, and we're only doing 40 mph. At worst, we'll dent a bumper. No need to worry."

He Jueyun tried hard to reassure her, but Qiong Cang wasn't convinced. He could only say, "Go on."

Qiong Cang, puzzled, said, "What? If Tian Zhaohua was thinking clearly, your theory falls apart."

He Jueyun felt subtly that Qiong Cang was implying something about him.

He frowned once, then again, and finally scowled, frequently looking back, making Qiong Cang exclaim in fear.

She quickly added, "It just means there must have been other reasons pushing Tian Zhaohua toward suicide, and it just so happened that Liu Chen was buzzing around him like a fly at that time, snapping the last string of his rationality. Fearing that after his death Liu Chen would continue to harass his wife and daughter, he decided to drag Liu Chen into his downfall. Don't forget who led us to Tian Zhaohua."

He Jueyun finally remembered the person he had almost forgotten: "Mei Shiyong?"

Yes, she was the key figure. The witness in Fan Huai's case, the patient who accused Tian Zhaohua of sexual assault and was pregnant.

No matter what the real relationship was between Tian Zhaohua and Mei Shiyong, his extramarital affair was a fact since Mei Shiyong was pregnant.

Qiong Cang said, "They weren't very public at the hospital, so the doctors and nurses didn't notice their relationship and didn't know what kind of person Mei Shiyong was."

He Jueyun: "Liu Chen didn't even know Mei Shiyong's name and probably wasn't aware of the situation."

As the main character in the case, Mei Shiyong's presence was surprisingly weak.

Qiong Cang said, "If Mei Shiyong was really sexually assaulted or trying to extort money through a setup, she should have caused more trouble at the hospital than Liu Chen. But why do the medical staff focus so much on Liu Chen when recalling the events? It's as if Mei Shiyong was too low-key."

It really does look out of place.

Every time they get to this emotional analysis part, He Jueyun feels a deep headache coming on.

He was about to use his years of being single to figure things out when he heard a vibrating "buzz" from the next room.

Qiong Cang dug into her pocket for her phone, checked the caller ID, and answered.

"Fang Qi."

Isn't this the go-to big brother? A free external aid has arrived?

He Jueyun quietly closed the car window and leaned over to eavesdrop.

Fang Qi always spoke with a full-throated voice; even without the speakerphone, He Jueyun could hear him clearly.

"I'm coming to check on you now, just giving you a heads-up. Don't run around like a frog. Wait for me to come and offer my condolences!"

Qiong Cang said, "D University’s affiliated hospital."

"Wait, what's wrong with your voice?" Fang Qi, hearing the hoarse voice, was stunned for a moment, then erupted with righteous indignation, "What did He Jueyun mess up? How did your condition get worse after treatment? And you still dare to run around? Did you go help him with work? That guy, does he even have a conscience? He doesn't care about you at all! Even if you own a mule, you give it some breaks. Is He Jueyun keeping all that money in the bank to raise pests?"

Qiong Cang said, "Does that mean he doesn't see me as a mule?"

Fang Qi scolded, "You have such low standards!"

He Jueyun, who had been listening to his own slander the whole time, immediately placed Fang Qi in the revolutionary enemy camp.

What do you call such a person? In ancient times, this kind of person would be hung on the city gate. Out of jealousy, they can't stand to see others happy and specialize in breaking up relationships. It's utterly despicable.

He should be glad no one heard that; otherwise, that quack doctor might break his neck with a scissor kick.

He Jueyun deliberately said loudly, "Don't waste your time with this guy; just rest your voice properly."

Fang Qi flew into a rage, "He’s actually listening in on your call? He doesn't respect you at all! He's just after your clever little brain!"

Qiong Cang thought, how can these two guys cause so much drama? Weren't they polite to each other before? The friendship between men really crumbles in an instant.

She made a gesture, signaling He Jueyun to be quiet for a moment, then unilaterally declared Fang Qi's victory, "He's been driven away by you."

Fang Qi said, "Stay put at D University Hospital; I'll be there soon! The experts in the ENT department at D University are firm in their stance, and I know them well. Listen to their medical advice in the future, don't follow He Jueyun around."

He Jueyun was so angry he wanted to jump out and confront him right away.

Qiong Cang vaguely said, "Waiting to have dinner with you."

"Alright, wait for me," Fang Qi was greatly satisfied, "Now you know who your own people are, right? So don't get easily led astray."

Qiong Cang hung up the phone and picked up her water to take a small sip.

He Jueyun turned his head and looked at her tilting her neck, the curve of her side slightly rising and falling, the tightly bound bandages making her look exceptionally fragile. His tone softened a little, but he was still somewhat angry, "Going to D University’s affiliated hospital?" He was currently heading towards his private hospital.

Qiong Cang said, "Of course, to the place that can save my life first."

He Jueyun said, "What about Fang Qi..."

Qiong Cang showed her ruthless side, "Let him run a leg; I don't want to move anymore."

This is what an emotional rollercoaster feels like...

He Jueyun curled his lips, unable to hide his smug expression.

This is what it means to have one's own people.