Chapter 16: The Truth Behind Li Jiao Jiao’s Work

Lan Mo returned home and immediately told her grandparents and her mother, Su Mei, about what had happened at the hospital.

Upon hearing the details, Su Mei was furious. “How can the Vice Hospital Director’s daughter be so ill-mannered? Momo, if she dares to insult you again, take off your shoe and slap her across the mouth.”

“Mom, I might have caused trouble for you all. I heard the Vice Hospital Director only has one daughter, Li Jiaojiao.”

“Don’t be afraid. We stand upright and fear no shadows. If her mouth is foul, she deserves to be hit! If that Vice Hospital Director tries to stir up trouble, come back and tell us. I’ll have your dad and your brother back you up!”

Just then, Lan Jingtian walked in and asked, “Back up what? Momo, did something happen at the hospital?”

“Dad, the Vice Hospital Director’s daughter called me a fox spirit today, saying I only know how to seduce wild men. I couldn’t take it, so I slapped her. After I hit her, she said she’d go home and tell her father, so he could come after me…”

“Momo, don’t be afraid! If your Vice Hospital Director tries to cause trouble for you, just drop your dad’s name. If he still dares to act recklessly, I’ll find a way to deal with him.”

“Dad, won’t that be inappropriate?”

Lan Mo didn’t want her father to lose his job over such a trivial matter.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything illegal, but I will investigate illegal activities. If they bully my Momo, I’ll definitely fight back. Let’s hope your Vice Hospital Director doesn’t make any mistakes.”

“Dad, please don’t let my issues affect your work. As long as she doesn’t come looking for trouble, I’ll try to avoid her from now on.”

She had acted impulsively today. If she wanted to get back at someone, she should have stabbed them in the back instead.

“Don’t worry. I won’t act recklessly. We’re all law-abiding citizens. Momo, in the future, if you encounter something like this, speak up just like you did today. You used to be too kind-hearted—even when your fountain pen was stolen, you didn’t say a word. If you don’t tell us, how can we help you find out who stole it?”

Lan Mo carefully recalled the time when the original host had just started middle school. Lan Jingtian had rewarded her with a new fountain pen, but it was stolen before she could even use it for two months.

The original host didn’t know who stole it because the thief never used the pen openly. In the end, she didn’t even report it to the teacher.

If Lan Zhiyuan hadn’t accidentally noticed his younger sister still using that old, bent-nib fountain pen for her homework, they wouldn’t have known her pen had been stolen for over a month.

In truth, her personality was quite similar to the original host’s—both disliked trouble and preferred to avoid unnecessary conflicts. However, she wasn’t as rigid in her ways as the original host.

As soon as Li Jiaojiao got off work, she went straight to her mother, Lin Cuiru, to complain. “Mom, that seductive fox spirit Lan Mo slapped me today! Look, my face is swollen…”

“Oh, my poor dear… Let Mom take a look. How dare she hit your face? That seductive fox spirit actually dared to hit my Jiaojiao. When your dad comes home, I’ll tell him everything. I’ll have him teach her a lesson and find a way to transfer her to another hospital.”

“Mom, are you serious?”

If Lan Mo were transferred to another hospital, then Doctor Lu wouldn’t see her anymore and probably wouldn’t think about her, right?

It would be best to transfer her to a rural clinic. She doesn’t deserve to work in a big city hospital.

“When your dad comes home, I’ll have a good talk with him.”

“Mom, you’re the best!”

“If I ever run into her, I’ll slap her twice and ruin her face.”

At that moment, Li Jianye walked in, placing his briefcase on the coffee table, and asked, “Whose face got slapped? Have you two been causing trouble again?”

“Old Li, our Jiaojiao got slapped today. Look at her poor little face…”

He couldn’t see any handprint. Li Jianye was puzzled and continued, “Who hit you? Did you cause trouble outside again?”

“Dad, that Lan Mo from the Orthopedics Department slapped me. That little bitch has already bewitched Doctor Lu. Hmph!”

“Tell me, why did she hit you?”

“I just called her a seductive fox who lures wild men, and she came up and gave me a slap.”

“Didn’t you deserve it? If someone insulted you like that, wouldn’t you fight back too? I already transferred her to Orthopedics. Why did you provoke her again?”

“Dad, she looks just like a fox spirit. Whose chest is as big as hers? Whose eyes are as seductive as hers? You should have transferred her to a rural clinic and made her marry some farmer.”

Li Jianye didn’t know what to say. Was being attractive enough to be called a fox spirit?

“Jiaojiao, be sensible! The night before last, you barged into the doctor’s lounge in the Emergency Department. I’ve been trying my best to cover it up for you. Don’t cause any more trouble now.

I’ve spoken with Lu Zeming. It’s impossible for him to become a live-in son-in-law in our family. Besides, he’s from Jingshi and might be transferred back there someday. He’s under the Hospital Director’s protection now, so don’t set your sights on him.

And don’t provoke Lan Mo either! I recently reviewed her file. Her grandfather is a veteran military doctor, her father is the deputy director of the Dongcheng District Police Station, and her second brother is still in the military. Her elder brother, sister-in-law, and mother all have good jobs. Provoking her is asking for trouble.”

“Dad, so I just take that slap for nothing?”

“What else do you want? Slap her back? Go ahead, then. Let the whole hospital watch the spectacle. Do you want me to step down sooner?”

Lin Cuiru panicked upon hearing her husband mention stepping down. “Old Li, why are you talking so seriously? Step down? Step down from what?”

“Have you forgotten how Jiaojiao got her job? How she got into medical school? Don’t you have any idea?”

“Wasn’t it because your cousin’s wife was seriously ill and had no money for treatment? We gave their family two hundred yuan for her medical expenses. Their daughter just changed a name on the exam paper.”

“Keep your mouth shut! If anyone finds out that Xiaoling wrote Jiaojiao’s name on the exam paper and Jiaojiao wrote hers, it’s over.

Jiaojiao’s job will be gone, my job will be gone, and we’ll all be finished. Li Jiaojiao, behave yourself lately. Don’t provoke Lan Mo or Lu Zeming, understand? You’re not even twenty yet. What’s the rush to date?”

Li Jiaojiao felt wronged. Why couldn’t she date? Her best friend was already a mother.

Her cousin was indeed better at studying. If her father hadn’t given their family two hundred yuan for her mother’s treatment, her mother might have died long ago.

Lin Cuiru no longer had the mood to comfort her daughter. She sat beside Li Jianye and asked, “Old Li, your cousin’s daughter won’t go around blabbing, will she? It’s been so many years.”

“How could she spread rumors? We didn’t impersonate anyone or use someone else’s admission letter to go to school. If she dares to spread false information, she’ll have to bear legal responsibility too.

As long as you keep your mouths shut and don’t go around gossiping, who will know the truth? Li Jiaojiao, you must not be foolish!”

Li Jianye was indeed cunning. While others were still resorting to impersonation, he directly used money to bribe his cousin’s daughter to take the exam for his own daughter. The two deliberately filled in each other’s names and exam numbers on their test papers.

He had accidentally overheard people discussing how a certain examinee had taken the exam for someone else, helping them get into their ideal university. If caught, proxy testing could lead to serious consequences, so he eventually came up with this clever plan.

Li Ling had no choice but to comply. Without that two hundred yuan for emergency medical expenses, her mother would not have survived back then.

If she hadn’t passed the technical secondary school entrance exam, her uncle had said he wouldn’t blame her. One must know how to repay kindness, so she did her best to perform well in the exam. At the very least, she used her knowledge to save her mother’s life.

She also knew that even if she had passed the exam on her own, her father wouldn’t have allowed her to continue her studies. The only reason she was able to finish junior high school earlier was because her mother hadn’t fallen ill yet, and the family’s financial situation was barely manageable.

Lan Mo thought that once Li Jiaojiao went back to tattle, she would stir up trouble. Unexpectedly, she remained unusually quiet over the next few days.

Since Li Jiaojiao made no move, Lan Mo naturally didn’t provoke her.

Today, her farm finally reached level three. She no longer had to plant rice and could now grow vegetables that yielded more Experience Points. She needed to find a way to quickly reach level ten so she could secretly take out some of the supplies from her space to use.

Gu Yan’an had been busy outside for several days and finally had some free time to visit the First People’s Hospital to check on his leg. He also planned to see the girl he had met twice before.

He had already inquired with his second aunt and learned that the girl’s name was Lan Mo. She was just twenty years old and had previously worked in the Emergency Department before being transferred to the Orthopedics Department.

Most importantly, she was still single. He had heard that many young doctors wanted to pursue her, but upon learning her father was a public security officer, they backed off.

This time, he was going to the Orthopedics Department to ask Director Qin to perform surgery on him. He hoped that during his hospital stay, he could win the girl over. He felt they were quite well-suited for each other.