"Xiao Mandong, why are you here? When... when did you get here? What are you doing here?" Shao Tingting's words were practically a jumble when she saw Xiao Mandong.
Xiao Mandong wore a puzzled look. "Why are you so worked up? I'm here to pick up my white coat and stethoscope," she said, holding out the slip Director Qi had written for her.
Shao Tingting snatched the slip from her hand, flicking the edge of the paper between her fingers with disdain. "You're here as an intern?"
"Is there a problem?" Xiao Mandong felt nothing but irritation toward every one of Lu family's relatives, including this Shao Tingting.
"No problem. But let me advise you—whatever you might have overheard just now, I suggest you mind your own business. Otherwise, whether this hard-earned internship of yours survives... well, that's not guaranteed."
As she spoke, she studied Xiao Mandong's expression and, seeing no change, relaxed a little.
Xiao Mandong looked at Shao Tingting, her gaze sweeping over the woman's tightly clenched fingers. "Are you threatening me? Worried about what I might have heard?"
"All I saw was a male doctor leaving your room, looking rather pleased with himself. What, do you two have some secret you're afraid someone will overhear?"
"Don't you talk nonsense. What secret could we possibly have? He just came to pick something up. I'm only warning you out of family kindness—hospital politics are complicated. That's all."
Just then, another intern, Zhou Qiaolian, called from outside the door: "Xiao Mandong, what's taking you so long to grab a stethoscope? Director Qi sent me to check if you couldn't find the logistics office."
This long? How long had it been? Shao Tingting's face went pale at the other intern's words. This Xiao Mandong must have been eavesdropping outside her door. What was she going to do?
Shao Tingting bit her lip hard, her palms damp with sweat. To be absolutely safe, there was no way she could let Xiao Mandong stay at this hospital—and especially not in Director Qi's internal medicine department. That was completely out of the question.
But how could she get Xiao Mandong expelled from the hospital? Suddenly she remembered her aunt saying Xiao Mandong was a useless waste—everyone in her family had studied medicine, but she knew nothing at all.
Hospital interns had to understand medical fundamentals. Shao Tingting had no idea how Xiao Mandong had wangled this opportunity, but since the woman knew nothing, all Shao Tingting had to do was expose that secret and everything would be solved.
Shao Tingting tore the slip to shreds. "Someone who doesn't know medicine—and you want to be an intern doctor? Are you here to help people or kill them?"
Xiao Mandong hadn't expected Shao Tingting to be so brazen, even daring to tear up a doctor's slip: "Shao Tingting, are you out of your mind? I'm an intern sent by the commune. How dare you question the commune's decision?"
"You must have hidden the fact that you don't know medicine from the commune. Otherwise, why would they possibly send someone like you to intern here?"
"That's none of your concern. You're just a temporary worker yourself—acting like you're the hospital director with all this meddling."
The commotion drew doctors from the nearby departments. Hearing that the new intern knew nothing about medicine, they were incensed as well: "These people who sneak in through the back door are really infuriating. Knowing nothing, having to study for years—it's a waste of national resources."
"Last year our department had one who just mooched an intern slot, stayed half a year, married a good catch, and quit."
The chorus of murmurs only strengthened Shao Tingting's resolve. As long as she latched onto this point, she could definitely run Xiao Mandong out. Otherwise, she'd be living in constant fear.
"Who my department takes as an intern—since when is that decided by a temporary logistics worker?" It was Director Qi's voice.
Shao Tingting saw Director Qi and forced herself to stay calm: "D-Director Qi, this Xiao Mandong is my cousin's ex-wife. She doesn't know the first thing about medicine. How could she possibly intern at a hospital?"
"Tsk tsk, no way—she's divorced too? Must have some serious connections."
"Right, that's outrageous. How can they let a divorced woman like her be an intern?"
Director Qi's face darkened. "You're just a temp. Do your own job and stop meddling. You don't earn much, but you sure worry about a lot."
Shao Tingting's eyes reddened at Director Qi's rebuke. Everyone kept harping on her being a temp. So what if she was a temp? Temps could get promoted too: "I was just thinking about the hospital's welfare, so—"
"Worry about yourself," Xiao Mandong cut in without hesitation. "You haven't even made permanent yet, and you're fretting over others."
"Since you have so much authority that you can manage my internal medicine department, how about you take over as department head?"
Shao Tingting's breath caught, like a hand was squeezing her throat.
"I... I didn't mean it that way."
"Then get on with it. Utter nonsense—you've already delayed our rounds."
Director Qi's tone was severe, and the bystanders drew sharp breaths. Even the senior doctors who had worked with him for years had never seen him this angry.
Shao Tingting didn't dare argue further. She quickly handed the stethoscope and white coat to Xiao Mandong.
Watching Director Qi's retreating back, Shao Tingting's eyes burned with hatred. She greeted a colleague and hurried out, making her way to Director Zhang's office. When Director Zhang saw her, he quickly closed the office door and pulled her into his arms, planting kisses on her.
Ever since Shao Tingting had given her consent, he'd been counting the hours until the end of the workday. He never expected the woman to be so eager, coming to him on her own.
Shao Tingting felt a strange sensation being held by a man like this for the first time.
"Director Zhang—"
"Call me Chenghui."
"Mmm... Chenghui, wait. I have something urgent."
Shao Tingting pushed him back. First, she wasn't ready to accept being with him, and second, she had something more important to discuss.
Shao Tingting told him about Xiao Mandong possibly overhearing them. Director Zhang's heart jumped—the mood evaporated instantly.
But when he heard that Xiao Mandong's class background was that of a capitalist's daughter, Director Zhang smiled. The hard requirement for an intern was class origin.
He pinched Shao Tingting's... softness.
"Go back for now. Wait for my good news."
Shao Tingting's heart pounded wildly from Director Zhang's advances. In her dull, ordinary life, this thrill made her almost look forward to the evening.
Director Zhang went to Dean Cao's office and reported Xiao Mandong's class background issue.
Dean Cao was also shocked. By all logic, class background was a hard requirement—someone of that origin could never become a barefoot doctor.
But she was rather busy at the moment. This matter still needed to be reported to the commune. The dean told Director Zhang to go back first and wait to see what the commune said after the report.
Seeing Director Zhang lingering: "Is there something else?"
"Dean Cao, you know my father-in-law. I'm just afraid he'll soften and bring trouble. That's why the moment I found out, I came to report to you first. I'm worried if he finds out I was the one who reported it, well..."
Dean Cao understood. "Don't worry. I won't reveal who reported it."
Only after Dean Cao's assurance did Director Zhang feel at ease enough to leave.
