One visit makes a stranger, two visits make a friend.
Chen Xiao was no longer intimidated by hospital leaders like Lin Chenggang, but he couldn't bear to see Bai Su caught in the middle and in a difficult position. Out of helplessness, he had to let Xu Jingyin continue on duty alone for the time being. Then, he went to the dean's office as if he were very familiar with the place, even stopping by the convenience store to buy a cup of milk tea that Bai Su liked.
At this moment, led by Lin Chenggang, more than a dozen hospital leaders, including vice deans and department heads, were pressuring Bai Su in the dean's office. The one who was arguing the loudest was called Li Guigui.
Birds of a feather flock together. Li Guigui, who was nearing retirement, usually kept close company with Lin Chenggang, Gou Shunquan, and others. He frequented entertainment venues like bars almost every night, leading a dissolute life of extravagance and debauchery. Relying on his seniority as a vice dean, he did as he pleased, neglecting his professional duties. To this day, he only held the professional title of a clinical attending physician in psychiatry.
Starting from Mo Shuting, the psychiatry department of the Central Hospital had been unable to retain professional talent for the past decade, especially any female talent with a bit of charm, all thanks to Li Guigui.
Even more outrageous was that Li Guigui had been secretly coveting Bai Su, dreaming of finding fault with her.
Without a doubt, Chen Xiao's incident was exactly what he needed to exploit.
"Dean Bai, I believe there's no need for further discussion. The doctor surnamed Chen in the emergency department's outpatient clinic must be fired. If you continue to waste everyone's time, you are showing favoritism to that violent maniac!"
He said this with conviction and a firm attitude, his expression filled with indignation, as if Chen Xiao had dug up his ancestral grave. Moreover, he subtly focused the conflict on Bai Su, his intentions being extremely malicious.
As his words fell, the others present, eager to please Lin Chenggang, scrambled to chime in.
"Yes, yes! Dean Bai, please issue the notice to fire Chen Xiao quickly!"
"He's just a resident physician, a negligible existence. It doesn't matter if he's fired. Why should we all waste so much time discussing this?"
"As far as I know, Chen Xiao caused extremely negative repercussions by inciting a brawl in the waiting hall. The on-duty doctors and nurses, as well as the waiting patients and their families, all scattered. It's conceivable that someone must have filmed the scene and exposed it online. If we don't fire Chen Xiao with thunderous force, the reputation of the Central Hospital will inevitably be severely affected!"
Listening to the rising tide of discussions, Bai Su felt a splitting headache, thinking to herself:
"You little brat, you've stirred up a hornet's nest!"
Despite the headache, she still spoke up for Chen Xiao without hesitation:
"Everything should be investigated for its reasons, and more importantly, there should be 'reason.' As leaders, shouldn't we investigate the whole story before deciding to fire an employee..."
The more Bai Su defended Chen Xiao, the more excited Li Guigui became. After all, this was his only chance to find fault with Bai Su. Therefore, without waiting for Bai Su to finish speaking, he interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Hitting someone is wrong! And it's even more wrong for a doctor to hit someone publicly in a place of duty..."
Just then, Chen Xiao suddenly burst through the door, moving so fast that he created a gust of wind. Before Li Guigui could finish his sentence, he delivered a clean and swift slap to his face.
The next second, with a crisp "slap," the noisy dean's office fell into deathly silence. Everyone present stood frozen. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that Chen Xiao, without a word, had slapped Li Guigui, sending him spinning like a top.
But Chen Xiao acted as if nothing had happened, smiling as he handed the milk tea to Bai Su, who was stunned behind her desk. Then, with a playful expression, he turned back to Li Guigui and said:
"As a vice dean and the leading figure in psychiatry, you've repeatedly been exposed for coercing female psychiatric patients into improper relationships. You scumbag, instead of hiding in the trash can where you belong, what right do you have to point fingers at me?"
Although Chen Xiao had not been working at the Central Hospital for long, he had heard all sorts of disgusting rumors about Li Guigui from time to time. He found it deeply shameful. Now that the other party had provoked him, how could he be polite?
As he spoke, he didn't even wait for the dizzy Li Guigui to recover. He lunged forward and delivered a kick to Li Guigui's chest, sending him sprawling. His tone became even more disdainful:
"Hitting someone is wrong? And it's even more wrong for a doctor to hit someone publicly in a place of duty? I'm hitting you today, what are you going to do about it, you waste who's about to retire but is still only an attending physician?"
Li Guigui's body had long been depleted by alcohol and women. He was usually weak and frail, unable to withstand Chen Xiao's violence. He fell straight onto his back and struggled for a long time before managing to get up. The fat on his face twitched violently, and he glared at everyone present with venomous eyes, baring his teeth and roaring:
"Bai Su! Lin Chenggang! Sun Shengjie! Qian Wanjiang... are you all deaf? Didn't you see me being beaten by that guy surnamed Chen? Call security! Call the police! Damn it!"
"Heh."
Chen Xiao sneered and threw a punch at Li Guigui's face:
"Trash is trash. Besides talking, do you have any other value? To be frank, a dog like you who only harms others is a waste of air just by living!"
"Ah—"
Li Guigui was hit again and instinctively let out a pig-like scream. As he opened his mouth, his yellow teeth, mixed with blood, fell to the ground.
"If you don't want me to cripple you in public, shut your mouth immediately!"
Chen Xiao frowned slightly. With just one sentence, he made the indignant but不敢言 (daring not to speak) Li Guigui instinctively cover his mouth. Then, he turned to Bai Su with a smile and asked politely:
"Dean Bai, may I ask why you called me here?"
When he smiled, he was even more radiant than the sun, exuding a refreshing cleanliness from head to toe.
"This... cough... cough cough..."
Bai Su's mind went blank. She coughed a few times subconsciously before feigning composure and saying:
"Dr. Chen, in front of all of us, please explain the brawl that just happened in the emergency department waiting hall..."
"Hmph!"
Before Bai Su could finish speaking, Lin Chenggang, with a cold snort, said with a dark expression:
"Dean Bai, Chen Xiao's brutal act of beating Vice Dean Li in front of us is enough to warrant immediate dismissal and even police involvement. Is there still a need to explain the vicious brawl in the waiting hall? Even if an explanation is needed, it should be to the police, to the judge!"
Lin Chenggang knew that Chen Xiao's medical skills were so extraordinary that even his father, the former dean Lin Huichun, admitted he was inferior. He didn't have a hundred percent certainty of bringing Chen Xiao down, especially since the so-called vicious brawl involved the reputation of Ye Tiezhu and his son Ye Qingtian.
After Ye Qingtian fled the Central Hospital in disgrace, he immediately called Gou Shunquan and instructed him to downplay the matter. He also dispatched people to try and cover it up with money. To curry favor with the Ye family, Lin Chenggang had no choice but to bypass Luo Qingping and bribe the security department to hastily delete the surveillance footage of the scene.
Since there was no surveillance footage, and the other human and physical evidence had been destroyed by the Ye family's money, even if they went to court, the so-called vicious brawl might not only fail to bring Chen Xiao down but could even turn into defamation against Chen Xiao.
However, Chen Xiao's beating of Li Guigui at this moment was a fact witnessed by everyone present. Lin Chenggang naturally thought that the opportunity to bring Chen Xiao down was right before him, and he wouldn't hesitate any longer. With a single phone call, more than a dozen pre-arranged security guards rushed into the dean's office.
Lin Chenggang felt even more confident of victory. He pointed at Chen Xiao with excitement and said:
"This violent maniac named Chen Xiao publicly assaulted Vice Dean Li, which constitutes a serious criminal offense. You will immediately hand him over to the police. If he resists, beat him to death!"
Lin Chenggang's hatred for Chen Xiao was genuine, as Chen Xiao had stolen his thunder when treating Song Kaichao not long ago. However, the main reason he spared no effort to collude with Gou Shunquan to deal with Chen Xiao, both openly and secretly, was his greed for Chen Xiao's extraordinary medical skills, especially the Sheng Sheng Zao Hua Needle.
He thought that once Chen Xiao was in trouble, he could easily grant him some small favors and obtain the Sheng Sheng Zao Hua Needle, or even turn Chen Xiao into his pawn.
Li Guigui didn't know what Lin Chenggang was scheming, nor did he care. All he wanted now was revenge on Chen Xiao. Seeing more than a dozen burly security guards surround Chen Xiao in an instant, he, who had been cowering and silent just a moment ago, became excited. He covered his bloody nose and mouth, jumping up and down and shouting:
"Chen, obediently go to the police! But this is just the beginning. I will hire a lawyer to sue you to death. This is the consequence of offending me!"
Bai Su watched as more than a dozen burly security guards were about to apprehend Chen Xiao and became completely anxious.
The moment before, she was sitting behind the dean's desk. Without thinking, she sprang up and shielded Chen Xiao behind her, saying with a frosty expression:
"Retire immediately! Dr. Chen's issue has not yet been clarified. No one can touch him!"
Lin Chenggang was somewhat surprised that Bai Su would help Chen Xiao at this critical juncture. After a brief pause, he became even more excited and said impatiently:
"Bai Su, Bai Su, are you crazy? Chen Xiao beating Li Guigui is a confirmed fact. As the dean, you are obstructing the security guards from apprehending him, which is abetting evil and compounding your crime! Therefore, you should also be sent to the police..."
However, before Lin Chenggang could finish speaking, Chen Xiao suddenly pulled Bai Su back to the chair behind the desk and said with a half-smile:
"Director Lin, why are all these security guards you called strangers? Our Central Hospital is a public hospital. If someone impersonates security personnel to perform security duties, it should be a crime, right?"
Perhaps it was due to his handsomeness that he was envied, but Chen Xiao had been bullied by the security guards at the Central Hospital quite a bit during his internship. He was always on edge when encountering security guards on his commute. Therefore, even though there were dozens of security guards in the security department and personnel changes were very frequent, he clearly remembered the general appearance of every security guard.
Without a doubt, all the security guards present were strangers he had never seen before.
Coupled with Luo Qingping's absence, it was difficult for him not to suspect the identity of these security guards.
"..."
The dozen or so burly security guards exchanged glances, their faces filled with panic, and they instinctively cast guilty looks at Lin Chenggang.
As the dean, Bai Su's main responsibilities were administrative. She was often away on business trips, coming and going by car. Naturally, she couldn't recognize all the on-duty security guards. Unexpectedly, with Chen Xiao's words, she immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and said warily:
"Director Lin, are these security guards really fake? No, I must call Luo Qingping to come out in person!"
As she spoke, she unhesitatingly picked up the desk phone.
Lin Chenggang never dreamed that Chen Xiao would be able to see through his fake security guards. His face instantly turned green. Before Bai Su could dial, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely:
"What are you all standing there like idiots for? Get moving! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"