Chapter 33
Shen Bining was very annoyed all morning because of some work-related issues.
These past two days, a peculiar female patient came to the oncology department. She was in the terminal stage of pancreatic cancer and only had a few days left to live. The patient's mother approached Shen Bining, hoping that she could provide end-of-life care for her daughter, whose life was counting down—mainly to persuade her daughter to get a divorce before she died.
Here's what happened: The female patient was remarried and had a daughter when she married her current husband, only to find herself in another unhappy marriage. Her husband was a serial cheater, and after she was diagnosed with cancer, he became even more unfaithful. He not only neglected his sick wife but also openly brought his mistresses to her, seemingly intent on driving her to her death.
Therefore, the female patient's mother hoped that her daughter could end the marriage while she was still alive and make the scumbag leave with nothing. Her only goal was to secure more property for her granddaughter so that her granddaughter would have money to rely on after her daughter's death.
However, whether the female patient was too love-struck or her illness had damaged her brain, she stubbornly refused to get a divorce, completely disregarding what would happen to her elderly mother and daughter after her death.
When the elderly mother found Shen Bining, she was crying uncontrollably, grabbing Shen Bining's hand and pleading, "I just hope my daughter can get a divorce while she's still alive. The thought of most of her inheritance going to that scumbag after she dies fills me with rage. She has to leave some money for my poor granddaughter, right? The child is so young. I'm too old to be with her forever. Am I supposed to pin my hopes on her shameless stepfather? But my daughter refuses to get a divorce no matter what. What sins have I committed to give birth to such a fool? She only thinks about that man, doesn't she even leave her daughter a way to live?"
Shen Bining couldn't stand stories of scumbags dating women, so she immediately promised the old lady that she would do her best, and then followed the old lady to her daughter's ward.
But things were more complicated than Shen Bining had imagined. No matter how much the old lady cried and begged, or how much Shen Bining tried to persuade her, the female patient was as if she were possessed and refused to get a divorce no matter what.
If they said a few more words, the female patient would pretend to have an attack, convulsing and fainting, resulting in Shen Bining and the old lady being kicked out of the ward by the attending physician.
After a disappointing start to the morning, Shen Bining ate a couple of bites of lunch with little appetite, then prepared to try again.
As luck would have it, Shen Bining had just left her office when she saw the female patient at the end of the corridor. She seemed to be visiting and was talking to several other patients. When she saw Shen Bining walking over from a distance, a mocking and malicious expression suddenly appeared on the female patient's face.
Shen Bining had a bad feeling, but still, adhering to her professional ethics, she went to the female patient and prepared to continue her work.
Shen Bining's expression changed drastically, and she asked in a trembling voice, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"You know best whether I'm talking nonsense or not. I heard that you were cornered here by someone's girlfriend a few days ago and given a real dressing down. No wonder you advised me to get a divorce. You're the mistress, of course you'd side with the mistress."
The female patient stood with her hands on her hips, pointing at Shen Bining and cursing. She had obviously just heard gossip about Shen Bining from the other patients on this floor.
Those patients who had been gossiping behind her back were shocked that the female patient would dare to get so close to Shen Bining and use her full power. They panicked and glared at the female patient angrily before trying to leave.
Gossiping behind someone's back is one thing, but having it said in front of them is quite another. They were truly exasperated by this foolish woman; she had a conflict with Shen Bining herself, so why drag them into it?
Just as Shen Bining was so angry that she almost fainted, the female patient thought she had caught Shen Bining red-handed and was feeling smug, and the others who were gossiping were trying to escape the scene, a voice that was both angry and calm suddenly rang out from behind.
"No one is allowed to leave."
Everyone was startled and turned to look. They saw a tall, handsome man striding towards them, his face dark with anger.
Behind him was a blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman. The gossipy patients on this floor immediately recognized her as the one who had caused trouble a couple of days ago.
Tang Hui and Lisa? What are they doing here?
Shen Bining stared at the two of them in surprise until Tang Hui walked to her side and held her cold hand tightly, at which point she came back to her senses.
At that moment, she was completely at ease, knowing that Tang Hui had come to support her.
Tang Hui grasped Shen Bining's hand, which was as cold as ice, instantly freezing his heart. He glanced at Shen Bining, whose expression was not good, and felt a surge of anger.
"I am Dr. Shen's boyfriend. I am here today to clarify the recent rumors about my girlfriend."
As he spoke, he turned his head and glared at Lisa.
Lisa was extremely aggrieved and terrified. This time, she really dared not disobey Tang Hui because her intuition told her that if she didn't come to help Shen Bining clear up the misunderstanding, Tang Hui would really send her to the defendant's dock.
With a heavy heart, Lisa stepped forward, her eyes red, and said in a tearful voice, "I'm sorry, I took advantage of everyone's sympathy and deliberately slandered Dr. Shen. Actually, she's not a mistress. I've always liked the man beside me, but he doesn't like me. He's with Dr. Shen, and I couldn't stand it, so I came to cause trouble for Dr. Shen. They were both single when they got together, so there was no third party involved."
Lisa's words left everyone speechless. Although they had guessed the general truth from Lisa and Shen Bining's conversation that day, it wasn't Lisa who said it herself, so they were still skeptical.
However, this time Lisa spoke up to clarify, which can be considered as completely clearing Shen Bining's name.
Several gossiping patients smiled sullenly at Shen Bining, eager to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.
Then, they were scolded by Tang Hui again.
"I said you're not allowed to leave." Tang Hui's voice turned several degrees colder, almost carrying a command and warning tone.
He was genuinely angry. These people were spreading rumors behind people's backs with their bare hands. With just a few words, they could ruin someone's reputation and cause irreparable harm and malice.
But when the truth was revealed, they didn't even apologize. They just gave an awkward laugh, thinking they could gloss over the evil they had done and the harm they had caused to others.
Who gave them the rights and qualifications?
While Tang Hui was furious, the patients he had scolded were also very angry.
They knew it was wrong to gossip behind their backs, but what was this man's attitude? What gave him the right to yell at them?
"What do you want to do? We can leave whenever we want. Who are you to order us around?"
"Exactly, who are you? What gives you the right to tell us whether we're leaving or not?"
Several patients started arguing loudly with Tang Hui, as if only in this way could they cover up their guilty conscience.
Tang Hui was both amused and annoyed by their self-righteous attitude after doing something wrong. He didn't waste words with them and said directly, "You have been slandering my girlfriend behind her back, causing a bad reputation for her. Please apologize to her in person immediately and promise not to do it again."
"You think you can just accuse me of defamation like that? Who do you think you are?" One of the patients, a man with a red face and a thick neck, roared at Tang Hui.
As a man himself, he felt humiliated being bossed around by another man, and taking advantage of his superior numbers, he immediately started arguing unreasonably.
Tang Hui took out two business cards from his suit pocket, handed them over, and said calmly and professionally, "On behalf of my client, Dr. Shen Bining, I reserve the right to pursue legal action against you."
Everyone was stunned. They took the business cards with trembling hands and looked at each other, their faces grim.
They certainly know that spreading rumors and defamation is illegal, but because such defamation lawsuits are time-consuming, laborious, and not very effective—in today's terms, not cost-effective—most people choose to remain silent when they are slandered and rarely stand up to use legal means to protect themselves.
However, the situation is different now. Dr. Shen's boyfriend is actually a lawyer, which means that if Dr. Shen insists on pursuing their legal responsibility, they will be in big trouble.
And then they suddenly remembered that someone had said Dr. Shen was the daughter of the hospital's director...
The few gossiping patients perfectly illustrated the saying "a wise man submits to circumstances," not only apologizing immediately but also promising never to talk nonsense again.
Even the female patient who refused to divorce her cheating husband was forced to apologize under pressure.
After apologizing, just as everyone was about to slink away, Shen Bining stopped her patient, her expression serious but her tone surprisingly calm.
"Madam, I don't understand why you're still so confident your husband loves you. The truth is, he not only doesn't love you, he can't even provide the loyalty and respect expected in a marriage. A man who doesn't love you simply doesn't love you; your self-pity won't change anything. You have a daughter and a mother. It's none of my business if you're blinded by love and cling to that cheating man, but I urge you to fulfill your responsibilities as a mother and daughter. Leave a guarantee for your elderly mother and young daughter after you die. All you see is that man who doesn't love you and just wants you dead. Have you ever considered your daughter and mother who love you deeply? If you had any conscience, you should consider their future. Why should two people connected to you by blood be less important than that unfaithful and disrespectful man? Wake up!"
After scolding her, Shen Bining grabbed Tang Hui's hand and strode towards her office, leaving the dumbfounded female patient standing there, stunned and unable to recover for a long time after being hit by Shen Bining's words.
Lisa glared angrily at the departing figures of the two men, cursing inwardly, "What does 'If a man doesn't love you, he just doesn't love you, and your self-pity here is useless' mean? This wicked woman is mocking me again."
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