"How could she suddenly be in critical condition? She was fine just now!"
Qiao Jingjing felt her mind go blank, her expression filled with undisguised panic and fear. Yet, despite this, she maintained her defiant posture, arms spread wide to block Chen Xiao.
"Get out of the way!"
Chen Xiao's patience was completely worn thin. He shoved Qiao Jingjing aside and quickly reached out to examine Su Shan, the mysterious, wordless golden formula in his mind activating at his will.
If he were still in the private room at Zhetian, Chen Xiao wouldn't have bothered about Su Shan's life or death. However, the anonymous post published by Li Xin had caused a huge uproar at the central hospital. Even if the aftermath could be quelled, Chen Xiao needed Su Shan to clarify the defamatory post. If Su Shan died, the misunderstanding among the entire hospital staff towards Chen Xiao would be difficult to resolve.
"Ah—"
Seeing Chen Xiao reach into Su Shan's hospital gown and start touching and pressing, Qiao Jingjing completely lost it. She yelled to stop him, "You scoundrel, don't touch my mother! If you have any low-down tricks, aim them at me. At worst, I'll just consider myself bitten by a dog..."
"If you don't want a black-haired person sending off a white-haired one, then shut your mouth!"
Chen Xiao interrupted Qiao Jingjing without any politeness. He then expressionlessly unbuttoned Su Shan's top and focused entirely on acupuncture.
According to Chen Xiao's diagnosis, Su Shan's severely diminished sense of smell and complete loss of taste were actually caused by an extremely rare nerve blockage. The medication Feng Daxing had used for her infusion happened to be incompatible with Su Shan's condition, thus exacerbating the nerve blockage and leading to her sudden critical state, with her vital signs rapidly declining.
"A black-haired person sending off a white-haired one?"
Qiao Jingjing was utterly stunned by Chen Xiao's words, frozen in place as if petrified. By the time she reacted, Chen Xiao had already inserted over a dozen silver needles into Su Shan's chest, which, at a glance, resembled a Bagua diagram. The alarm on the cardiac monitor had stopped, and Chen Xiao's expression was solemn and focused, his eyes solely fixed on the needles in his hands, not even glancing at Su Shan's exposed chest.
"Did I really misunderstand him?"
With that thought, Qiao Jingjing couldn't help but re-examine Chen Xiao.
"Mmm—"
At that moment, with a faint hum, Su Shan slowly opened her eyes.
Since her sense of smell had severely deteriorated, she had lived in anxiety and torment every day. This morning, when she went out to work, she even realized she couldn't smell her perfume from twenty centimeters away. But now, as soon as she opened her eyes, she smelled the scent of an opened bottle of disposable disinfectant alcohol placed half a meter away, leaving her utterly dumbfounded.
Immediately after, upon noticing Chen Xiao performing acupuncture on her, she became both surprised and delighted. With trepidation, she spoke, "Dr. Chen... Dr. Chen, you... you're finally willing to set aside past grievances and treat this humble one? Have I finally collected 3888 likes on my social media?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a chill on her chest. Looking down, she realized all her top buttons were undone. With her daughter, Qiao Jingjing, watching by her side, she blushed furiously and instinctively tried to cover herself.
Chen Xiao, who was intensely focused on inserting the final needle, frowned slightly when he felt Su Shan move and stopped her, "Don't move. If it affects the accuracy of my needle placement, all our efforts will be in vain!"
"Ah?"
Su Shan was startled. Her slightly raised hands froze as if on pause.
To cover her embarrassment, she thought for a moment and then, steeling herself, urged the still dumbfounded Qiao Jingjing, "Jingjing, didn't you hear Dr. Chen? Hurry up and go out!"
"This... that... I..."
Qiao Jingjing was flustered, her mind a jumble, making it difficult to even speak coherently. After much stammering, she managed to eke out, "Mom, do you really know this scoundrel? But Uncle Xin from Caicaizi Sushi said you were knocked out by him."
Although Su Shan didn't know what happened after she fainted, her partially restored sense of smell made her acutely aware that Chen Xiao could cure her strange illness. Fearing that Qiao Jingjing might anger Chen Xiao, she retorted without hesitation, "Dr. Chen is not only handsome but also a doctor with a compassionate heart. How could he be a scoundrel? Furthermore, my sudden fainting had nothing to do with Dr. Chen. You've definitely been tricked by Li Xin. Apologize to Dr. Chen immediately, or don't blame me for disowning you, my daughter who can't tell right from wrong and repays kindness with enmity!"
"I..."
Qiao Jingjing clutched her cheek, which still stung fiercely. Recalling the embarrassing moment when Chen Xiao saw her skirt, tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
Just then, Li Xin arrived with great fanfare, accompanied by seven or eight intimidating bodyguards.
He clearly hadn't expected Chen Xiao to be in Su Shan's hospital room and was momentarily taken aback as he entered. However, he quickly recovered and then mockingly taunted with schadenfreude, "Well, well, isn't this Dr. Chen, who was exposed online for hitting a woman in public? Why haven't you turned yourself in yet?"