The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 152

Zhai Ning waited in the private dining room for Jiang Xunwei for half an hour. He had said there was traffic and that he would be there soon.

Irritated, Zhai Ning checked the time.

During this half hour, her thoughts wandered to the times she and Jiang Xunwei had worked together.

Jiang Xunwei was older than her and had joined the hospital earlier. However, years ago, a secretly arranged surgery had derailed his promotion.

Only a handful of hospital leaders knew about it. At the time, they chose not to publicize the matter out of consideration for Jiang Xunwei’s reputation. Still, it eroded their trust in him.

A person who blatantly played favorites for his family was not someone they could rely on.

Back then, Zhai Ning had felt that Jiang Xunwei’s actions were understandable. After all, everyone has their human ties and attachments, and familial bonds are often the hardest to sever.

If she were in his shoes, she might have done the same to protect her daughter’s reputation.

So when she became the hospital director, she didn’t treat this incident as a black mark on Jiang Xunwei’s record. She tried to be as fair as possible to every employee who added value to the hospital.

However, while she didn’t hold the private surgery against Jiang Xunwei, she had been unfair to him due to her relationship with Zhou Hong.

Officially, it was a decision that could be justified—Zhou Hong was more well-liked than Jiang Xunwei. But deep down, she knew her own bias played a role.

Jiang Xunwei’s desire for a private conversation with her post-retirement was perfectly natural.

As her thoughts spiraled, they eventually landed on that mother and daughter from earlier.

The scene had been so emotionally jarring that she felt she might need a good night’s sleep to shake off the feeling.

Just as she was about to call Jiang Xunwei again, there was a knock at the door. The waiter opened it, and Jiang Xunwei appeared.

Zhai Ning frowned slightly.

As the door opened, she felt a rush of cool air—mountain air, cold enough to seep through his coat.

Jiang Xunwei smiled, smoothing his graying hair. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Director Zhai.”

Zhai Ning temporarily ignored the chill emanating from him. “Have a seat, Chief Jiang.”

The private room wasn’t very soundproof. Zhai Ning could faintly hear the door of the neighboring room opening and several people entering before it closed again.

Jiang Xunwei hung his coat on the rack, rolled up his sleeves, and rubbed his red, frozen hands. “Director, have you ordered anything yet?”

Zhai Ning shook her head. “No, I’m not very hungry. You can order something; I’m fine with anything.”

She really didn’t have much of an appetite. The image of the mother and daughter groveling on the floor lingered, making the idea of feasting in a fancy restaurant feel almost sinful.

After all, the cost of this meal could buy a few boxes of Jiake Ting (a medication).

Jiang Xunwei called the waiter and ordered a two-person set meal. It was clear that he wasn’t particularly eager to eat, either.

In the next room, Li Rong smiled as he slid the menu toward Sui Wanjun, bypassing the phone in the center of the table, which was in the middle of a call.

The phone had been configured beforehand so that while this side’s voice wouldn’t be transmitted, the conversation in Zhai Ning’s room could be heard loud and clear.

Sui Wanjun turned her head away, silent.

She felt that agreeing to eavesdrop on her daughter in this way was already a sign of mistrust toward her.

Doing something like this—spying on her own child—left her feeling unable to eat.

Li Rong shrugged indifferently, not forcing her.

Hong Ru, however, continued to cling to Sui Wanjun’s arm, her guard up as she observed Li Rong, Cen Xiao, and Jian Fu.

She now understood that these people were not university student volunteers from the youth association, but she still didn’t know their true identities.

Having been deceived once, Hong Ru harbored no goodwill toward them, no matter how decent their appearances were.

Zhai Ning poured herself a cup of tea. Just as she was about to pour one for Jiang Xunwei, he moved his teacup away and shook his head. “If I drink tea at night, I won’t be able to sleep.”

Zhai Ning gave a faint smile and nodded. “I heard you joined a private hospital. The benefits are said to be excellent.”

Jiang Xunwei knew this was just small talk. He would typically respond with pleasantries, but today he was in no mood for that.

“Director Zhai, you know I’m a stubborn man, someone who clings to principle. Now that I’ve reached retirement, there’s something that’s been eating at me. I can’t bear to take this question to my grave. I need to know the truth.”

Zhai Ning, about to take a sip of tea, paused.

She knew Jiang Xunwei’s personality well—direct and unyielding, sometimes to the point of harshness. But she also understood that if he had waited until retirement to broach the topic, it was because he didn’t want to cause trouble for the hospital.

At his core, he was a simple, straightforward man with a good heart.

“Ask away,” Zhai Ning said calmly.

Truthfully, today wasn’t the best time for this conversation. She would have preferred to go home, take a long shower, and sleep off the shock from her day.

But it didn’t feel right to brush Jiang Xunwei off now that he was retired. If she did, he might read too much into it.

Jiang Xunwei cut straight to the chase. “Did you decide against choosing me as the pediatric director because of Zhou Hong’s connection to your family?”

This wasn’t his real question. He already knew the answer and didn’t care about it anymore.

He brought it up deliberately, starting with a personal grievance, to make Zhai Ning lower her guard.

This strategy had been suggested by Li Rong.

Zhai Ning rubbed her throbbing temples, showing little surprise.

She looked sincerely and patiently into Jiang Xunwei’s eyes and said, “Chief Jiang, I know you have some concerns about this matter. But deciding who is appointed as the head director is not up to me alone. It’s the result of a meeting by the hospital leadership. We also conducted an anonymous survey across the entire pediatrics department, and Director Zhou Hong’s support rate was indeed higher. I know you’ve been with the hospital for many years, you’re highly experienced, and your medical skills are exceptional. But the hospital has been reforming its personnel appointments to better serve the overall system. This decision isn’t personal—”

“Director Zhai,” Jiang Xunwei interrupted directly, “I’m already retired, so there’s no need for the empty formalities. Can you honestly say that Zhou Hong’s appointment wasn’t influenced by your family connection?”

When Zhou Hong first joined Jiajia Central Hospital, he wasn’t particularly cautious. In front of many colleagues, he referred to Zhai Ning—who was already the favored protégé of the former hospital director—as “older sister.”

Zhai Ning had to explain to others that Zhou Hong was her distant cousin. But exactly how distant, or why Zhai Ning seemed unfamiliar with him before he called her “older sister,” no one knew.

Zhai Ning was silent for a moment. Jiang Xunwei’s gaze was sharp, but she still tried to meet it evenly.

Taking a deep breath, Zhai Ning said firmly, word by word, “I have a clear conscience about appointing Zhou Hong as the director.”

“Good!” Jiang Xunwei suddenly raised his voice. “Since Director Zhai is so impartial, promoting talent regardless of family ties, then I want to know—why was Zhou Hong, as the head of pediatrics, never held accountable for the deaths of twenty children during the clinical trials two years ago, when rescue efforts failed?”

Zhai Ning froze, not expecting Jiang Xunwei to bring up an incident from two years ago.

Her eyes widened, and she moved her lips but couldn’t form a response.

The title of director, along with its salary and benefits, comes with added responsibility. 

Even if an ordinary staff member in the department made a mistake that caused harm to a patient, the director would still bear responsibility and face consequences.

Yet in the Luyinxu drug scandal, the media and public fury were entirely directed at Li Qingli and Gu Nong, the married couple behind the drug. No one held Jiajia Central Hospital accountable, nor did anyone pursue Zhou Hong, an inconspicuous department director.

But today, Jiang Xunwei unexpectedly brought it up.

In the next room, Sui Wanjun’s hands involuntarily clenched.

Zhai Ning’s silence made her heart sink. Although she didn’t fully understand hospital procedures, the righteousness in Jiang Xunwei’s questioning and Zhai Ning’s inability to confidently respond told Sui Wanjun that Zhai Ning was in the wrong.

And if Zhai Ning was in the wrong, could it really be unrelated to her relationship with Zhou Hong?

Sui Wanjun was old, but she wasn’t senile.

She recalled how many times she had reminded Zhai Ning to look after Zhou Hong, to guide him. She had told her that they should support each other in the hospital, even if Zhou Hong didn’t acknowledge her as his mother.

After all, he was her biological son. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, and despite Zhou Hong’s lack of affection—and even lingering resentment—toward her, Sui Wanjun still loved him.

Zhai Ning must have felt guilty too. If not for Sui Wanjun choosing Xiaochengxiang and choosing her, she wouldn’t have been separated from her biological son.

Zhai Ning’s guilt toward Zhou Hong had likely resulted in the unfairness that Jiang Xunwei spoke of.

Sui Wanjun shook her head slowly, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.

Hong Ru quickly pulled out tissues and carefully wiped Sui Wanjun’s face.

She shot a reproachful glance at Li Rong. If it weren’t for these people, Sui Wanjun wouldn’t have needed to learn about these matters, wouldn’t have been dragged into feelings of guilt.

This elderly woman had spent her whole life doing good. Now that she was older, why couldn’t she simply enjoy her remaining years in peace?

Li Rong, of course, caught her meaning, but he no longer let such things provoke his anger.

“Would you like some water?” he asked mildly, then methodically poured two cups of hot water for Sui Wanjun and Hongru.

Since Jiang Xunwei had said tea would keep him up at night, Li Rong didn’t serve them tea either.

But Sui Wanjun likely wouldn’t be sleeping much tonight.

Hong Ru rolled her eyes, muttering softly, “Busybody.”

She wasn’t referring to Li Rong pouring water but rather criticizing the insistence on uncovering the truth from two years ago.

The matter had long passed and been resolved. Why did Jiang Xunwei, at his advanced age, feel the need to stir up the case of Luyinxu?

Even if his claims were true and Li Qingli and Gu Nong were wrongfully accused, neither Sui Wanjun nor Hong Ru had been directly involved. Life was complicated enough without chasing after the truth.

Hong Ru hadn’t even followed the unprecedented slander and online vitriol surrounding the case closely. She’d been busy with her wedding at the time, catching snippets of the news and using it occasionally to make conversation with her in-laws.

She considered herself one of the most innocent parties in this entire matter.

Zhai Ning remained silent for a long time. Her head began to ache sharply, perhaps from the wind earlier, triggering her chronic migraines.

She pressed her temples and finally spoke with resignation. “Chief Jiang, the situation back then was very complicated. And it’s been so long now…”

“Really?” Jiang Xunwei let out a low, mocking laugh, full of derision. Suddenly, he pushed the table forcefully with both hands and stood up, his voice booming. “Director Zhai, why don’t you just say that Zhou Hong was innocent? Why don’t you say it was all Li Qingli’s fault, that the fake drug Luyinxu killed those twenty children! That Li Qingli deserved to be vilified, deserved to die alongside his wife, paying with their lives for those twenty children! Say it! Can you?”

Jiang Xunwei slammed his palm on the table, causing the tea to spill over.

Zhai Ning’s hands trembled violently. Jiang Xunwei’s gaze was like a searing light, burning her skin. Her headache intensified, and her vision blurred to the point she nearly fainted.

For the first time, she realized that words could be as lethal as knives. At such close range, they stabbed directly into her heart.

She could only watch helplessly as her figurative blood gushed out, her body temperature dropped, and she turned into a hollow shell—

“Doctor, please save my daughter! I’m begging you!”

“We ordinary people have no hope left. We used to pin our hopes on Luyinxu, but even that turned out to be fake!”

“Mama, don’t abandon me.”

“Why don’t you just say it was all Li Qingli’s fault, that the fake drug Luyinxu killed those twenty children?”

“So, Li Qingli deserved to be condemned as a heinous criminal, deserved to end his life in a double suicide with his wife.”

“Can you say those words?”

She couldn’t say them…

She couldn’t bring herself to say them!

Her vision blurred, unable to distinguish between Jiang Xunwei’s righteous indignation and the pleading, desperate voices of a mother and child. Their words echoed in her mind, crashing against her eardrums.

She felt like a parched wanderer lost in the desert, unable to find direction, water, or even herself.

A raging sandstorm engulfed her, yellow sands filling the sky. She knew she would eventually be buried, left as nothing but a lonely, desiccated skeleton.

All because a butterfly once flapped its wings.

Jiang Xunwei watched Zhai Ning’s trembling hands, her dazed and hollow expression, and yet he felt no pity for her.

His voice became calm, almost melancholic: “Director Zhai, every action leaves a trace. As the lead surgeon who participated in the resuscitation, you should know how many anomalies I discovered. I just want to ask, why did it have to come to this? How could you betray Li Qingli, who entrusted you with the first phase of the trial?”