Chapter 279: Accident

Chapter 279: An Unexpected Turn

When Wu Tao suggested "going for a walk," he simply meant taking a stroll around the base.

It was a bit cold outside, and indoors, aside from the dormitories, there were only laboratories, classrooms, and tool rooms—none of them were good spots to talk.

Across from the childcare facility, there was a small playground.

In the summer, people played basketball here or exercised.

Now, in winter, the place was mostly empty, but the covered area was perfect for a chat.

Wu Tao cut to the chase and told Jiang Leyin how he felt.

"Dr. Jiang, I’ve had feelings for you for a while. The reason I’m telling you now is that I might be leaving here next year."

Jiang Leyin looked up. "Where are you going?"

Wu Tao: "I don’t know yet, but I’m definitely getting transferred out of here."

Jiang Leyin’s mind raced—if Wu Tao could leave, maybe she could too.

She was sick of the never-ending sand, sick of the days when water rations didn’t even fill a bucket. In her mind, anywhere would be better than this place.

But in response to Wu Tao’s confession, she only said, "Can I have some time to think?"

Wu Tao suddenly reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"What if someone sees?" Jiang Leyin struggled.

"Don’t keep me waiting too long," Wu Tao said as he quickly let go.

Neither of them noticed that someone had passed by during their embrace.

Yang Juan was off today.

While reading, he kept zoning out.

He was on duty again, and only when someone came to collect medicine did he snap back to attention.

After dispensing the medicine and the person left, he drifted off again.

Since Ye Xiaoxiao and Yang Juan worked alternating shifts, she didn’t notice anything unusual about him.

The first to realize something was wrong with Yang Juan was Li Zhen.

At lunch, Li Zhen and Ye Xiaoxiao whispered together.

She pointed at Yang Juan, who was sitting not far away. "Look at him—moping around. He’s totally lovesick."

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t believe it. "He’s not even in a relationship. How can he be lovesick?"

"A crush still counts!" Li Zhen shot back. "Never liked anyone?"

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head—she really hadn’t.

Coming from anyone else, this would sound fake, but with Ye Xiaoxiao’s stunning beauty, Li Zhen couldn’t even argue.

"You’re the best!" She gave a thumbs-up and continued eating.

After a while, Li Zhen looked up again.

"Besides Lu Hanchuan, have you ever been in a relationship with anyone else?"

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head again.

Li Zhen looked utterly dismayed. "Then he’s getting away with too much!"

"Getting away with what?"

Lu Hanchuan’s icy voice cut in from behind.

Li Zhen nearly had a heart attack, bolting up like a spooked cat.

"Nothing, nothing! I didn’t say anything!"

She grabbed her bowl and scurried off.

Ye Xiaoxiao turned around. "What brings you here?"

Lu Hanchuan sat down naturally across from her. "I was looking for you."

"Have you already eaten?"

"Yep."

Ye Xiaoxiao continued eating unhurriedly.

It had been quiet, but just as Ye Xiaoxiao was about to speak, a ruckus erupted a few tables away—someone passed out.

"Old Wang, you okay?"

Lu Hanchuan immediately headed over.

Ye Xiaoxiao left her meal half-eaten but quickly put down her chopsticks and followed.

She knelt to check on him.

"He’s in bad shape. What did you eat today? Any diarrhea earlier?"

"Old Wang had a low-grade fever this morning, so he went to the clinic to get some medicine. After taking it, he started vomiting and had diarrhea. He figured he’d grab lunch first and then see about getting fluids.

I walked him over here, but he only took a few bites before puking it all up."

A bystander who knew the deal immediately shared what they knew.

By then, Yang Juan came running over too. He remembered the man—he had indeed come for medicine that morning.

"All I gave him was Tylenol and antibiotics, nothing else."

Ye Xiaoxiao said, "We need to get him to the clinic, stat."

Too chaotic here to treat him.

But with everyone pitching in, Wang Dazhi was hauled to the clinic in no time.

Ye Xiaoxiao used acupuncture on the patient to relieve the pain.

Wang Dazhi had stomach issues, throwing up and diarrhea until he collapsed, then passed out.

A high fever usually doesn't cause these symptoms.

Ye Xiaoxiao asked, "Do you still have the meds from this morning?"

Yang Juan was the most nervous when he heard Ye Xiaoxiao's question.

"Xiao Xiao, I just prescribed regular meds. They definitely wouldn’t cause this kind of problem."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I just want to find the cause."

Wang Dazhi took out a small paper packet from the inner pocket of his coat. "I took a few pills, and the rest are all here."

At first glance, these were indeed fever meds.

Since they were all white tablets, there was no obvious difference.

But Ye Xiaoxiao crushed one pill, carefully smelled it, and observed its form.

"This isn’t a fever reducer but a digestion stimulant. When combined with the anti-inflammatory meds you prescribed, it can easily cause severe diarrhea."

"Impossible!"

Yang Juan immediately retorted.

But his tone wasn’t so firm. He'd been spaced out all day, so it was possible he had given the wrong medicine.

Since the packaging and appearance of the drugs were mostly similar, he couldn’t ID them just by sniffing like Ye Xiaoxiao.

But Yang Juan knew very well that he couldn’t admit to this mistake.

For a doctor, prescribing the wrong medicine was a serious mistake. If the patient pressed charges, it could leave a stain on his record.

Ye Xiaoxiao passed the meds to Zhao Chunhua. "Head, please take a look first. I’ll go set up the IV for the patient now."

These calls should naturally be made by the Head. She just needed to do what a doctor should.

"This... prescribing the wrong medicine? Dr. Yang, how could you make such a basic mistake? Do you know that after taking the meds you prescribed this morning, Old Wang has been making constant bathroom runs and is now totally wiped out?"

The patient’s friend was more anxious than the patient himself.

Because Wang Dazhi was in no shape to blame anyone or press charges—he was too weak to react.

Ye Xiaoxiao started the IV. "Stick to porridge for now."

Wang Dazhi: "..."

Talk about bad luck running into something like this.

Zhao Chunhua pulled Yang Juan aside.

"Yang Juan, though you're no star doctor, you’ve always been a hard worker. How could you make such a basic mistake?"

Zhao Chunhua barked, angry but also disappointed.

Yang Juan had been at the Nalan facility for seven or eight years, and Zhao Chunhua had feelings for him.

But today, everyone was watching, and Regiment Commander Lu was present. Yang Juan’s mistake had to come down hard on this.

Yang Juan dropped his head. "I... I was wrong, Head. Please don’t put this in my record. I still need to take my grad school exams."

Zhao Chunhua barked, "You’re still thinking about the exam?! Get out of here and think about what you've done. This isn’t just up to me—it also depends on whether Wang Dazhi presses charges."

Yang Juan skulked off, his back looking totally defeated.