Insufficient balance

  Although these gold-edged chief doctors have not yet reached the noble sentiment of viewing wealth as dirt, under the eyes of so many people, they cannot accept the two thick stacks of 100-yuan bills handed over by Hu Youcai.

  Moreover, Hu Youcai's tone of voice was indeed infuriating to these doctors who didn't know the true face of Lushan, but they didn't dare to openly argue with him. Instead, they coldly turned their faces away and politely declined in a tone that even an idiot could tell was insincere: "Sir, thank you for your kindness, but the hospital has rules, we can't accept private bribes from patients' families. Of course, as medical practitioners, we will do our best to save the life inside, please trust the hospital and trust us who have dedicated ourselves to medicine for decades."

  After finishing speaking, the group of doctors walked into the emergency room with a dignified manner, but each person's face looked unpleasant, as if they all felt a pang of pain from Shuai Hu's generous reward.

  "Damn it, don't take it if you're not willing to pay. I'll save a lot by not selling it anyway. You come out to sell and still think about setting up a signboard, do you really think you're a singing girl from Qinhuai River who sells her voice but not her body?"

  Hu Youcai cursed and muttered to himself as he put the money into his briefcase, lit a cigarette and sat down in a nearby chair, blowing out rings of smoke. As for Liang Tao, since the emergency room's red light came on, he had been pacing back and forth like a husband waiting for his wife to give birth in the hospital, making Hu Youcai feel annoyed, so he could only close his eyes and lie down on the chair.

  Bai Bing, who had always been afraid to get close and even more afraid to speak up, saw Ye Jun sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up and sat down beside him: "Mr. Ye, I'm sorry, I didn't expect this kind of thing to happen either."

  Ye Jun initially didn't make a sound, just as Bai Bing was hesitating and thinking about whether she should leave the hospital first. Suddenly, Ye Jun opened his eyes and looked at Bai Bing's face, which was full of contradictions and unwillingness. He spoke slowly and clearly: "This matter is not your fault. To be honest, if I had known that the police station in Jiangling City was so corrupt and had so many parasites who ate the emperor's grain but didn't do any real work, I would rather die than go to the police station to make a statement."

  Bai Bing's face turned pale upon hearing this, and Ye Jun's words seemed to be letting her off the hook for her mistake, but even a fool could tell that Ye Jun still held a grudge in his heart.

  Bai Bing was a straightforward person, although from start to finish she felt wronged and even wanted to argue with Ye Jun several times, but every time she saw that clear eyesight that had never appeared on other men, Bai Bing could only retreat: "Alright, I'll go back to the police station first."

  Ye Jun simply nodded and continued to lie on the chair with his eyes closed. Coincidentally, at this time, Han Kuangqing found himself on the fourth floor, where he unexpectedly ran into Bai Bing, who looked lost, at the elevator entrance. Feeling that Bai Bing's expression was not quite right, Han Kuangqing couldn't help but ask in puzzlement: "Officer Bai, what's wrong? Could it be..."

  "There is none at present; Liang Huan is currently undergoing surgery and there is no danger to his life for the time being."

  Han Kuangqing seemed to think of something crooked, and Bai Bing hurriedly explained with a forced smile. However, what she got in return was Han Kuangqing's even more suspicious gaze, causing Bai Bing's face to flush as she explained: "Because this matter is somewhat related to me, and I even have to take some responsibility for it, so it's very distressing."

  "Officer Bai, this isn't your fault. It's just that the police department's personnel selection system is too sloppy. I just got off the phone with the municipal committee and told them the whole story truthfully. You should head back to the police station for now. The municipal committee might send someone over to investigate soon."

  As soon as she heard that the municipal party committee was going to thoroughly investigate this matter, Bai Bing's face gradually turned pale. However, Han Kuangqing, who had been in politics for decades, somewhat guessed at the worry in Bai Bing's heart and quickly comforted her: "Don't worry, I basically understand the whole thing, the key person responsible is that male police officer. Moreover, I just communicated with your bureau chief on the phone, he said he would strictly investigate this matter, I believe you are definitely innocent, there's no need to worry about this."

  "Thank you, Mayor Han. If there's nothing else, I'll head back to the police station first." Bai Bing's expression improved slightly upon hearing this, and she quickly bid farewell and left.

  Han Kuangqing quickly found the emergency room after saying goodbye to Bai Bing, and found that Ye Jun and Hu Youcai were both frowning, while Liang Tao was a typical case of "the emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is".

  She handed the shopping bag in her hand to Ye Jun and smiled: "Xiao Jun, your things are on the car, come and take them."

  Ye Jun opened his eyes, forcing a smile on his face, took over the shopping bag containing Da Ge's and Jiang Shi Dan's gift boxes, and quickly got up to give Han Kuangqing a seat. At this time, Hu Youcai also heard the movement here, stood up familiarly, and handed a cigarette to Han Kuangqing. As for Liang Tao, he just smiled kindly at Han Kuangqing and continued pacing back and forth.

  A strange atmosphere was born, during which everyone did not say a word, even the sound of coughing that could not be held back, was covered with their mouths as much as possible, as if afraid to break this rare silence.

  An hour has passed...

  Two hours have passed...

  Three hours have passed...

  Until the night suddenly fell, Ye Jun looked at his watch and found that it was already 8 o'clock in the middle of the night. Suddenly, a loud bell rang out, and the three big characters of the emergency room, which were originally hung with red lights, also changed to fresh green.

  With a loud noise, a hospital bed was pushed out by five or six doctors and nurses. Liang Tao saw that it was his own younger brother Liang Hao. At the first moment, he grabbed the doctor who had just passed by him and asked in a trembling voice: "Doctor, what's wrong with my brother?"

  "Sorry, sir. I suggest you ask the chief surgeon who just came out. We need to send the patient to the ICU for observation now."

  The doctor wiped his sweaty face and pointed to the emergency room door behind him, then followed in a hurry.

  At this time, Ye Jun, Hu Youcai and Han Kuangqing had already stood up, waiting with Liang Tao for the few doctors who were the main surgeons. When the three self-proclaimed provincial authorities of the golden knife came out, Ye Jun and others were frightened, because they found that these doctors looked like they had been starving for three days and nights, and even two of them showed a drowsy fatigue.

  Ye Jun and others were indeed frightened, but these doctors who were originally extremely dispirited also had their hearts severely shocked. The doctor walking in the front hurriedly jogged to Han Kuangqing's side, stretched out his hand, and smiled: "Unexpectedly, Mayor Han has arrived in person. Look, we didn't make any preparations beforehand. How about going to the office for a cup of tea first?"

  Han Kuangqing smiled and shook hands with the doctor, then exchanged pleasantries with the other doctors for a while. As if seeing Liang Tao's urgent gaze, he asked seriously: "How is the injured person's condition?"

  The originally harmonious atmosphere suddenly dropped, and many doctors lowered their heads. Only the three main surgeons who claimed to be the best in the province showed a thoughtful expression. After a long while, one of them raised his hand, and when he saw Mayor Han's gaze fall on him, he managed to squeeze out a smile that was uglier than crying. "Mayor Han, to be honest with you, don't blame me. Although we doctors live in an era of technological advancement and our thinking is not conservative or superstitious, this surgery was very strange. The patient presented several times with a death state on the operating table but came back to life miraculously after a few seconds. Of course, from a medical perspective, this can be understood as pseudo-death. However, how could a person who has been anesthetized present pseudo-death multiple times? This completely goes against medical principles."

  He let out a bitter laugh and shifted his gaze to another surgeon standing beside him.

  The doctor seemed to understand that he had to explain the following, so he cleared his throat and said: "When the patient appeared in this situation, all the medical staff present in the emergency room were nervous, because from a heart rate perspective, this is extremely abnormal. To be honest, I've been on the operating table for most of my life, with over 500 surgeries, big and small, but it's the first time I've seen such a situation. Especially when the bullet was successfully removed, the patient had a brief convulsion, and we initially thought that according to normal logic, the patient would enter a state of apparent death. But strangely, after observing for five minutes, unexpectedly, the patient actually uttered some dazed and confused murmurs, which is what shocked us the most."

  "So that means the operation was a success?" Liang Tao hastily asked, his heart racing with every word from the doctors.

  Three chief surgeons looked at me, I looked at them, first shook their heads, under Liang Tao's disappointed gaze, but then nodded. This ambiguous answer made Hu Youcai furious, and he immediately spat a mouthful of saliva on the ground, saying in a cold voice: "Now is it a success or a failure? Don't give me any nonsense, speak up if you have something to say, fart if you have gas!"

  These doctors were apparently shocked that Hu Youcai dared to say such a vulgar phrase in front of the vice mayor of Jiangling City, but seeing Han Kuangqing seemed not unexpected and not disgusted, but rather showed a listening expression, suddenly exclaimed unexpectedly. However, these doctors also knew their place and explained: "This operation was successful in some sense, but because it deviated too far from the expected goal, it can also be considered a failure."

  "Get to the point!" Hearing this, the doctor seemed to want to launch into a long speech, and Hu Youcai couldn't help but glare at this chatterbox.

  "In short, the injured person is still in a critical condition and if they can't wake up within three days, they will become a living dead."

  With Hu Youcai's interruption, the doctor seemed to have come to a realization and went straight to the point. However, this answer threw Liang Hui and Ye Jun into confusion. The so-called "living dead" was actually a puppet that would never know when it could regain its consciousness, also known as a vegetative state!

  After saying goodbye to the doctors, Hu Youcai suggested going out for a meal, but Ye Jun and Liang Tao didn't put their minds on that at all, and they kept staring at Liang Hao inside the isolation window.

  If Liang Hao really can't wake up, Ye Jun vowed to take on the responsibility and obligation of being a son for Liang Hao.

  "Xiao Jun, can you help me keep an eye on Ah Hao for a moment? I'll go home and tell my mom about this." Liang Tao said with a worried expression, sitting beside Ye Jun.

  "Taoge, don't worry, I'll take good care of Haoge. When you get back, please help me greet Auntie."

  "It's alright, this has nothing to do with you, it's all because of that damned beast. You don't need to blame yourself either. My mom is a good person, I know her character, she doesn't actually blame you, it's just that Ah Hao encountered some unexpected trouble and was momentarily flustered."

  It seemed that Liang Tao saw Ye Jun's low mood, and he couldn't help but squeeze out a smile. This smile had no pretentiousness, and he patted Ye Jun's shoulder and said with a laugh: "Alright, it's getting late, I'll head back first. After dinner, I'll come over to take over the shift, so you can go back too."

  Ye Jun thought of saying something, but when he looked up, Liang Tao had already turned into the elevator, and could only sit in his original position with a bitter smile, looking through the isolation window at the lifeless Liang Hao inside, lost in thought.

  As time passed, Ye Jun voluntarily lit the cigarette that had been tucked behind his ear, which was the only way he could relieve stress. The lighter was borrowed from a doctor who happened to be passing by nearby, although smoking was strictly prohibited in the hospital, it seemed that this doctor also knew about Ye Jun's relationship with the deputy mayor of Jiangling City, so he just turned a blind eye.

  When he extinguished the half cigarette, Ye Jun suddenly rose up with a fierce anger, and fiercely clenched his fist to hit the wall near the isolation window. Enduring the pain transmitted from his arm, Ye Jun glanced at Liang Tao with a slightly desolate look. It was better not to look, but when he did, his heart skipped a beat, because the instrument monitoring the heartbeat frequency beside the bed suddenly produced a huge fluctuation, which made Ye Jun ecstatic. Without thinking, he loudly shouted: "Head nurse, come quickly! There's a situation!"