People shouldn't act impulsively out of spite.
When Shen Bining came out of the restroom stall, Xu Jie had just hung up the phone. The two looked at each other, and there was a moment of awkwardness on their faces.
Xu Jie quickly struck first, her face flushed as she asked irritably, "Why were you eavesdropping on my phone call?"
"Who's eavesdropping? This is a public restroom, anyone can come in. You dare to make such a loud phone call here and you don't care if someone hears you?" Shen Bining rolled her eyes and retorted.
Xu Jie felt guilty for speaking ill of Shen Bining on the phone, and she was also quite certain that Shen Bining had overheard her in the next room. She glared angrily at Shen Bining, as if this method could make her feel less guilty.
Shen Bining ignored her and went straight to the sink to wash her hands, wanting only to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.
Just as Shen Bining was about to leave, Xu Jie, who had been secretly angry, suddenly spoke up: "Since you heard everything, you should know that Liu Yiming and I are getting married. You are not allowed to have any more thoughts about him."
Shen Bining was furious. How did this woman figure out that she had feelings for Liu Yiming? She was talking nonsense with her eyes wide open. No wonder Liu Yiming chose her. It's true that "two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed."
"Nobody cares about your fiancé. Just keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't have any inappropriate thoughts about other people. I sincerely wish you two can stay together forever," Shen Bining said sarcastically.
As a result, Xu Jie became even more upset. She rushed to Shen Bining, her face flushed red and her eyes filled with tears, as if Shen Bining's words were a huge blow to her.
"Shen Bining, stop right there!" Xu Jie strode forward and blocked Shen Bining's path, unleashing a torrent of mindless shouts in a fit of rage. "What makes you so great? You're just relying on being the dean's daughter! What are you without your father?"
"You're really something," Shen Bining was so angry she laughed. She wasn't in a hurry to leave, so she just stood there with her hands on her hips, ready to reason with this unreasonable woman. "You're talking badly about other people behind your fiancé's back, and you want to play the victim? I told you I'm not interested in your fiancé, and you're still not satisfied with that answer? Also, why are you bringing up my dad in private matters?"
Shen Bining's job nature dictates that she has excellent eloquence; she is not only good at comforting people, but also exceptionally good at roasting them.
As for Xu Jie, well, she's good at gossiping about others behind their backs, but when it comes to something serious, she's surprisingly tongue-tied.
The two women remained locked in a stalemate in the restroom, neither speaking nor leaving first.
During this time, many patients and their families entered the restroom, staring at the two with surprised looks and expressions of amused curiosity.
Shen Bining suddenly felt a little fortunate that the patients or their families who came were all strangers. If her familiar colleagues had seen her arguing with Xu Jie in the restroom, they might have mistakenly thought that their argument was about Liu Yiming...
If such rumors were true, Shen Bining would want to kill herself.
Perhaps genuinely afraid of being seen arguing with Liu Yiming's fiancée by her colleagues, which might lead to outrageous rumors and give Liu Yiming further impure thoughts, Shen Bining decided to stay away from trouble.
She ignored Xu Jie and turned to leave.
Xu Jie, seemingly unwilling to let Shen Bining leave so easily, shouted loudly in a fit of anger, "Why won't you admit you rely on your father? Everyone in the hospital is treating patients and saving lives, and you're the only one doing this 'hospice care' thing. Our hospital didn't even have this department, but as soon as you came back from studying abroad and said you wanted to do it, Dean Shen immediately opened a department just for you. And you still say you don't rely on your father? All that foreign stuff you learned in America, as a doctor, instead of thinking about how to save patients' lives, your head is full of empty talk, using that 'people should live with dignity' and 'only by leaving without regrets can one rest in peace' to deceive patients. I think people like you are just treating human life like dirt, coaxing patients to die sooner."
Shen Bining was truly enraged this time. She didn't care that Xu Jie misunderstood her and Liu Yiming's relationship, but she absolutely could not tolerate Xu Jie's insult to her work.
With a "click," Shen Bining locked the bathroom door while no one else was in the room. She planned to have a good chat with this vulgar woman.
"What are you doing?" Xu Jie was so frightened when she saw that Shen Bining had locked the door that she turned pale and unconsciously took a half step back.
She was genuinely afraid that Shen Bining would become enraged and resort to violence. Should she retaliate or not? If she did, that was the dean's daughter, and she feared she would lose her job; but if she didn't retaliate, she couldn't swallow her anger.
Shen Bining had no intention of fighting with Xu Jie. She crossed her arms and began to reason with Xu Jie. "If you're uneducated and ignorant, go read more books. The hospice care industry has been around in China for many years; many large hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai offer it. Our hospital established this department after discussions among senior leaders. You've been a doctor for so many years, don't you know that some diseases are incurable even by modern medicine? That's why hospice care is needed to accept such patients, to alleviate their suffering before death, to fulfill their wishes, and to allow them to live with dignity, without pain or regret in their final stage of life. How is that meaningless? At least the patients and their families I've served are all grateful to me in the end."
Xu Jie was rendered speechless by Shen Bining's reprimand, and seemed to realize that she could not win the argument, so she dared not question Shen Bining's professionalism.
However, she was still unwilling to give up and made a last-ditch effort. "The terminally ill patients assigned to you are all those with good economic conditions and high levels of education. They are not short of money, so they come to experience end-of-life services. They are also more knowledgeable than others, so they recognize your work. If you really want to prove yourself, then go and challenge those very difficult cases."
Shen Bining was so angry at Xu Jie's unreasonable behavior that she almost laughed. She finally understood what it meant to "give someone a bad name and they will always find a reason to do so."
She has a flaw: she can't stand being provoked. After hearing Xu Jie's complaints, she immediately got carried away and blurted out, "Isn't this a coincidence? I just took on a very tricky case. The patient who came to me is a terminally ill murderer in prison who wants me to help him find his son, whom he hasn't contacted for twenty years, hoping to reconcile with him before he dies. I don't know if you consider this case difficult, but I will complete it successfully to prove you right."
*
After leaving the restroom, Shen Bining still went to the cardiovascular department office to find Chen Nian.
By the time she reached the office door, her feverish and dizzy mind had calmed down.
After calming down, she felt regret. Just thinking about the promises she had made in a fit of anger made Shen Bining want to slap herself twice.
She's almost twenty-seven years old, yet she's still so easily influenced by others, and she'll act impulsively without considering the consequences if provoked even slightly.
She had clearly decided to refuse the job and not help Zhou Nianhua find her son, but she had already said it. Is it too late to regret it now?
She really didn't want to get involved in Zhou Nianhua and her son's affairs, but if she couldn't complete this task smoothly, and Xu Jie found out, she would have a hard time getting to her, and who knows what she and Liu Yiming would do to her behind her back.
No, she's a strong-willed person and absolutely cannot let others have leverage over her, especially if the other party is someone she dislikes.
Or should she use being too busy with work as an excuse to postpone it until Zhou Nianhua passes away? Anyway, he won't live much longer, and if the patient dies prematurely, it won't be her responsibility...
Shen Bining racked her brains for a solution, so much so that she didn't even know when she returned to Chen Nian's office.
Chen Nian had not returned yet, and Shen Bining sat at her desk with a furrowed brow, continuing to wait. Soon, a female doctor who was free in the department noticed that something was wrong with Shen Bining.
The female doctor is getting on in years and is preparing to retire this year, so she doesn't have much work at the moment. Everyone calls her "Sister Yun".
Sister Yun is a warm-hearted older sister with a good temper and personality. She especially likes the young people in the hospital and treats them like her own children.
Seeing that Shen Bining looked listless as soon as she returned, Sister Yun kindly brought over a bag of potato chips, handed it to Shen Bining, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Did you go to the bathroom and the battery died? Did you eat something bad or have menstrual cramps?"
Shen Bining listlessly raised her eyelids and gave Sister Yun a bitter smile. "I ran into Xu Jie in the restroom and we exchanged a few words. I'm feeling really down right now."
After saying that, she let out a long wail and complained, "They're just a young couple arguing and they can blame it on me. Where can I go to seek justice?"
Many people in the hospital knew about the affair between Liu Yiming, Xu Jie, and Shen Bining. Because Shen Bining and Chen Nian were close, the cardiovascular department knew particularly detailed information about it.
To be honest, due to his background and limited understanding, Liu Yiming's personality has always been somewhat extreme and biased. He is extremely insecure yet arrogant, stingy yet fond of taking advantage of others, always feeling that everyone around him is inferior to him, that their good fortune is simply due to being born into a better family, and that his own unhappiness is because the whole world owes him something...
Because of Liu Yiming's personality, he became increasingly unpopular at the hospital. Moreover, people inevitably become pragmatic in society, and when everyone learned that Liu Yiming had failed in his attempt to woo the hospital director's daughter and had offended the director, they distanced themselves from him as if to avoid trouble.
Although Sister Yun wasn't that snobbish, she had a sharp eye and had never really liked Liu Yiming and Xu Jie. Hearing Shen Bining's complaints, she immediately guessed that Xu Jie must have provoked Shen Bining again.
Although she didn't like Liu Yiming, Sister Yun had a pretty good impression of Xu Jie. She sat down next to Shen Bining and said slowly, "Actually, Xu Jie has had a tough time. She went through a failed marriage and finally managed to get over it and start a new relationship. It's understandable that she's anxious and insecure. This woman has nothing new to offer, neither good nor bad."
Shen Bining wasn't familiar with Xu Jie and didn't know the latter had been married. Now, hearing Sister Yun say this, she immediately asked gossipily, "How come Xu Jie was divorced? When did that happen? How come I didn't know?"
"You weren't even working at our hospital when she got married and divorced," Sister Yun said, opening a bag of potato chips and whispering to Shen Bining as they ate. "Xu Jie's ex-husband's family was quite powerful; they were rich and influential, and he worked in the government with a bright future. But he wasn't very honest. He cheated on her right after they got married, and when his mistress got pregnant, he pressured Xu Jie to divorce him. Xu Jie wasn't one to be trifled with; she demanded a large sum of money from him, threatening to cause trouble at his workplace otherwise. Afraid of jeopardizing his career, he had no choice but to pay her off, giving her a considerable amount for emotional distress."
At this point, Sister Yun curled her lip in disdain and said with some contempt, "Otherwise, why do you think Liu Yiming got together with Xu Jie? Isn't it because he's after the money in her hands? Liu Yiming's purpose in finding a girlfriend is clear. As for Xu Jie, after experiencing a failed marriage, she's afraid of men from wealthy families. She probably thought that Liu Yiming came from a poor background and was an honest man who could make a living, which is why she agreed to Liu Yiming's pursuit."
Shen Bining was completely stunned, her mouth agape for a long time before she could recover. If she hadn't misheard, Xu Jie was accusing Liu Yiming on the phone of not being sincere with her and of making various excuses to avoid marrying her...
At this point, Sister Yun said, half angry and half helpless, "You know, women's taste in men is always fixed. If it doesn't work out the first time, it won't work out the next. If they date a jerk once, they're likely to keep dating jerks. Xu Jie really thinks Liu Yiming is some kind of man she can rely on. Bah! Liu Yiming is a typical gigolo. He's clearly after Xu Jie's money, but behind her back, he always complains that she's older than him and divorced. He thinks Xu Jie isn't good enough for him, but he can't bear to part with her money. I think Xu Jie might end up even worse off this time. If she loses both her money and her lover, she'll have a lot to cry about."
Sister Yun's words echoed in her ears, and Shen Bining's anger vanished completely, replaced by sympathy and guilt for Xu Jie.
Xu Jie is just a pitiful person who has been deceived by scumbags time and time again. What's wrong with her being worried about her fiancé? It's those men who are despicable.
As for herself, Shen Bining thought almost desperately that she had not only spoken ill of a pitiful woman who had been hurt by love, but more importantly, she had also made a bet in a fit of anger, and was forced to do something against her will.
Impulsiveness is indeed the devil; one should not act impulsively for no reason.
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