26. Let me

◎Song Qinggui, I'm giving you one chance to back out◎

When Wu Xiaoqian first came to the Medical Affairs Department of Jingtian Hospital, she looked down on the position.

She didn't study hard when she was young and only got into a private second-tier university. Under her parents' pressure, she studied a major that many regular universities don't offer—hospital management.

After finally graduating from university, her parents asked around and used their connections to get her a job as a junior clerk in the medical affairs department of Jingtian Hospital.

For a long time, Xiaoqian scoffed at the career plans her parents had made for her. She really didn't know what was so good about Jingtian Hospital. It wasn't a public hospital, and there were no permanent positions. The salary was indeed a little higher than that of a public hospital, but it was only a difference of 4,000 yuan for a public hospital and 5,000 yuan for her. After work, they would both have to eat out.

Her only advantage is that it sounds good when she goes on blind dates. When someone asks, "Where do you work?", she answers, "At the hospital."

Until she met Song Qinggui.

Xiaoqian initially disliked Song Qinggui and kept her as far away from her as possible. How could the boss's wife be on the same page as her employee? She must be out of her mind to have a relationship with the Empress.

But as she worked day after day, Xiaoqian felt more and more that Song Qinggui was a very admirable person, and she also felt that her job was not just to provide her with a good meal, but that her job might have a purpose.

For example, right now...

The news editors and frontline reporters from a number of media outlets, including Lancheng Daily, Xinlan Daily, and Lancheng Youth, were all seated in the conference room of Jingtian Hospital. Song Qinggui sat in the center of the conference room and negotiated with them.

Song Qinggui’s voice was gentle yet firm: “I’ve invited everyone here today because I have a request for you. I’m sure you’re all aware of the recent case of the cross-provincial transfer of a cardiac teratoma. I hope you can investigate and report on this news in depth, and give Haichuan Central Hospital and Jingtian Hospital a fair evaluation.”

The media professionals exchanged bewildered glances. Song Qinggui's words were tactful, but he essentially wanted the media to speak on behalf of the hospital.

The editor-in-chief of Xinlan Daily, who has collaborated with Jingtian Hospital many times, speaks frankly: "Director Song, we're old acquaintances. I'm a straightforward person, please don't mind. Patients are a vulnerable group compared to hospitals, and as you know, when there's a dispute between doctors and patients, the public naturally identifies with the patient and is more empathetic. And to be honest, although we're not doctors, we've all been to hospitals. Public hospital doctors have bad attitudes, and private hospitals charge high fees, so it's no wonder patients have grievances against hospitals and doctors. We've also interviewed the Health Commission about this inter-provincial transfer issue; it's indeed irregular, and the hospital is in the wrong. How can we help?"

Other media professionals nodded in agreement.

Song Qinggui remained calm: "All major hospitals are now focusing on service attitude, and we are also reflecting and making progress. But let's stick to the facts. The point of contention regarding this inter-provincial transfer is the cost, not the doctor's attitude."

"Rome wasn't built in a day," a male reporter from the Lancheng Daily said condescendingly. "To put it bluntly, hospitals are in the service industry. The reason you have so many disputes now is because you haven't figured out your place."

Song Qinggui looked over with a stern expression, and the male reporter was startled.

He saw that Song Qinggui was young and beautiful, and thought she was naive and inexperienced. He wanted to teach her a lesson with his social experience, but he didn't expect to anger the beautiful woman.

But her anger was different from that of other women. In his memory, women's anger was either coquettish or hysterical. However, Song Qinggui's anger had weight, making people afraid to speak.

Song Qinggui looked the male reporter in the eye: "First, let me correct you. Regardless of how society views the medical industry, it is always a technology industry. Technology is the threshold of this industry and the bottom line for ensuring patient safety. Second, even if you don't understand the difference between a technology industry and a service industry, and you think of hospitals as bars and restaurants, and doctors and nurses as chefs and waiters, let me ask you: would you take a knife to the kitchen and chop up the chef because the food is bad? If a restaurant opens at 11:00, and you go at 10:30, and it's not open yet, would you call the citizen hotline to complain, forcing the owner to apologize to you personally, deduct the waiters' wages, and then move the opening time forward by half an hour?"

When Song Qinggui asked this question, everyone fell silent, because news of doctors being killed or injured was indeed constant.

"But you know, people really do attack doctors with knives. And there are people who complain about the hospital because the outpatient doctors haven't started work yet, and they don't want to pay the emergency room registration fee, demanding that the hospital leaders apologize, deduct the doctors' salaries, and demand that the outpatient department open earlier." Song Qinggui's voice softened: "Jingtian Hospital's original outpatient opening time was 8:00 AM, but two years ago, because of a complaint, our outpatient department opened earlier at 7:30 AM. Some doctors who live in the suburbs have to get up at 5:00 AM, otherwise they will miss the earliest subway at 6:00 AM. Ladies and gentlemen, doctors and patients are like husband and wife, the closest and the most distant, there is no point in bringing up the past. Are you here to argue with me about these things? Don't you think it's a waste of time? I've called you here today to solve the problem with money."

Everyone fell silent after hearing Song Qinggui's words, while Xiaoqian was alarmed. Song Qinggui was too blunt. "Let you pay to solve the problem"—was that something he could say so directly? Wouldn't that make the hospital's position even more tainted?

Song Qinggui never concealed his purpose; in his work, directly stating his needs was the most efficient way to improve efficiency.

“If this matter is not handled properly, the entire Jingtian Hospital will be shut down. Whether our more than a thousand employees can keep their jobs depends on you all. So, whoever dares to be the first to disclose the complete process of the inter-provincial transfer, you can name your own expenses.”

The editors' eyes lit up when they heard this.

However, the editor-in-chief of Xinlan Daily still had concerns: "What do you mean by disclosing the complete process? Aren't the existing reports already quite clear? The transfer fee was 30,000 yuan, but Haichuan Hospital couldn't provide a detailed breakdown of the expenses, and the family is demanding a refund for the unclear fees. What else do you want to disclose?"

Song Qinggui closed his eyes wearily for a moment, then quickly opened them again: "Go and find out the cost of activating Ecmo, the cost of compliant inter-provincial transport by professional ambulance, and the cost of accompanying professional emergency personnel. Also, find out the difficulty of getting an appointment at hospitals in Shanghai and the waiting list for specialist surgeries. If you do any in-depth research, you'll understand what I'm talking about today. In this child's case, he was successfully transported with Ecmo assistance and underwent surgery quickly upon arrival in Shanghai. The current cost is 30,000 yuan, which is not compliant with regulations. If every single detail is listed, it could easily be more than 100,000 yuan."

The editor-in-chief of Lancheng Youth is a capable woman. Upon hearing this, she understood: "If that's the case, this matter can be reported, and it will definitely generate traffic. Moreover, if hospitals are no longer allowed to lend out ambulances and Ecmos because of this incident, many critically ill patients in the future will probably just have to wait to die on the spot."

Song Qinggui looked at the woman and made a decisive decision: "You are the most journalistic person in this room. Xiaoqian, go to the legal department and have them draft a cooperation agreement with Lancheng Youth."

"Hey... Director Song, what are you doing?" The others exclaimed anxiously, "We didn't say we wouldn't report it!"

The female editor-in-chief of "Lancheng Youth" smiled at Song Qinggui: "Director Song, you don't need to pay any fees. We will investigate this matter thoroughly, and if it's different from what you said, we won't report it the way you said. If we take your money, things won't be the same. We journalists aren't as mercenary as you think."

Song Qinggui finally showed his first smile to the media: "What's your name?"

"Shu Qing," the woman replied.

Song Qinggui nodded and looked at her sincerely: "Shu Qing, thank you. On behalf of the medical staff, and on behalf of the patients who will be waiting for their lives to be saved in the future."

After listening, Shu Qing stood up and clapped her hands: "Let's go, kids, time to get to work! We'll be working overtime next week!"

The other two media outlets followed suit: "Get moving, everyone! We can't let Lancheng Youth monopolize such a big piece of meat!"

...

As the group left, Xiaoqian looked at Song Qinggui with admiration.

Song Qinggui had talked too much and was really thirsty, so she gulped down a whole bottle of mineral water. Only after she finished did she notice Xiaoqian's infatuated face: "What's wrong with you now..."

Xiaoqian flattered, "I don't know why, but I suddenly have a lot of confidence in our industry! Lu Xun was wrong, studying medicine can still save the Chinese people!"

Song Qinggui didn't have time for idle chatter: "What you need to do now is not to commemorate Mr. Lu Xun, but to go to the online media department and have them write up an announcement, ready to be released at any time."

...

After dealing with the media, Song Qinggui quickly ate a few bites of food at the cafeteria before rushing home. Xue Lu was still sick, and she needed to give him another injection today. There was only one serving of porridge and stir-fried bok choy left in the cafeteria, so Song Qinggui packed them up to take home for Xue Lu.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Song Qinggui returned home. Xue Lu was still asleep. She touched his forehead and found it was still a little hot, but better than the night before.

She frowned and turned to prepare the IV drip supplies.

But before she could leave, Xue Lu reached out and grabbed her arm. Song Qinggui turned around and asked, "You're not asleep?"

"My throat hurts, and I can't sleep." Xue Lu's voice was even hoarseer.

"Wait a moment, I'll go get the medicine and give you the injection."

When Song Qinggui brought the things over, Xue Lu had already propped himself up and sat on the bed.

Song Qinggui hung up the prepared medicine and sat on the edge of the bed facing Xue Lu: "Stretch out your hand."

"I don't want to get a shot," Xue Lu said, but he still obediently placed his hand in Song Qinggui's hand.

"Why don't you want to get a shot?" Song Qinggui asked, gently patting Xue Lu's hand.

Xue Lu said in a muffled voice, "It hurts."

Song Qing smiled and said, "How old are you? Why are you still afraid of this?"

Xue Lu licked his lower lip. He was sick and had a fever, so he could probably talk nonsense, right...?

"I'm not afraid when I'm fighting alone," Xue Lu said. "But I'm afraid when you're around."

Song Qinggui abruptly stopped. She looked up into Xue Lu's eyes, which were languid and moist, even revealing a hint of... innocence...

After watching for only a short while, Xue Lu suddenly turned his head away: "Don't look at me, you'll catch it."

"I've taken my medicine, both cold medicine and amoxicillin." Song Qinggui inserted the needle into Xue Lu's vein, and the blood flowed back smoothly. "Besides, even if it's contagious, there's no escaping it. We kissed last night..."

Song Qinggui's voice was very low when he said the last sentence, but Xue Lu heard it clearly. His head was spinning from the fever, and he even thought that all of this might just be a dream he had while delirious from the fever.

So even though he felt sweet inside, he didn't dare show it on his face, afraid that any impulsive action would shatter the illusion in front of him.

“I timed it yesterday; it would take you about an hour to finish this bag. I’ve set an alarm; go get some sleep, and I’ll come to change your dressing when it’s time.” Song Qinggui, having been busy for a day and a night, couldn’t help but yawn.

Xue Lu nodded, and before leaving, Song Qinggui remembered something: "If your fever doesn't break tomorrow, you'll have to go to the hospital for a blood test, but I might be very busy at work tomorrow, so you need to remember that."

Song Qinggui rubbed his eyes, feeling sleepy, but Xue Lu asked, "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

Song Qinggui was taken aback: "Is it...very sudden?"

“Song Qinggui.” Xue Lu remained silent for a long time before looking at her solemnly: “I’m not Cheng Wuliang or Yan Fengqian. I’m not so easy to dump.”

Song Qinggui's heart tightened.

Xue Lu continued, "While I'm sick, think it over carefully. I'll give you a chance to back out."

Song Qinggui glanced at him, said nothing, and walked out of the room.

Xue Lu stared at her retreating figure, his gaze lingering for a long time.

Song Qinggui, you'd better be prepared. Once you agree to my terms, I will make you pay back the ten years you owe me, bit by bit...

[Author's Note]

I know that spending a lot of time describing the female lead's work might bore some readers.

But personally, I think that as the main characters, regardless of gender, they should have a school or a class to attend.

Thank you all for your understanding of this little quirk of mine. I'm grateful.