As Ye Qiu opened the door, he heard the voices of a man and a woman coming from the bathroom.
“I’ve been longing to do this for the past few days.”
“Hey, I’m still in the bath. You’re so impatient…”
Ye Qiu’s blood ran cold, his face turning ashen as if he had been struck by lightning.
The second voice belonged to his girlfriend, Zhang Lili.
They were classmates in medical school and had both applied to work as doctors at Jiangzhou Hospital after graduation, where they were still probationary employees.
Ye Qiu never imagined that Zhang Lili would betray him.
As the heavy breathing from the bathroom grew louder, Ye Qiu’s anger reached its peak, and he clenched his fists, ready to march into the bathroom.
He needed to know: who was this man inside?
However, as soon as he took a step forward, he stopped himself.
What difference would it make if he saw the man? Would it change anything?
The distance between them felt insurmountable, as if a thousand mountains and rivers separated Ye Qiu and Zhang Lili at that moment.
Forget it. They had once loved each other; let’s at least leave some dignity intact for both parties.
Ye Qiu took a deep breath and turned around, preparing to leave, when voices suddenly rang out from the bathroom.
“Hurry up, Ye Qiu will be off work soon. We can’t let him catch us.”
“It’s fine if he sees us; I’m not afraid of him.”
Ye Qiu frowned; the man’s voice coming from the bathroom sounded familiar.
Then, Zhang Lili’s voice rang out, “You’re so naughty… Oh, by the way, have you talked to your dad about my promotion yet?”
“Don’t worry, my dad’s the vice president of the hospital. One word from him, and your promotion is guaranteed.”
It’s him! Ye Qiu instantly recognized the man in the bathroom—Guo Shaocong.
Guo Shaocong was a surgeon at Jiangzhou Hospital who leveraged his father’s position as the hospital’s vice president to intimidate others. He had been accustomed to getting his way since he started working there.
From the first day he joined the surgical department, Ye Qiu had heard numerous rumors about Guo Shaocong, such as forcing his pregnant girlfriend to have an abortion, seducing married women, and harassing beautiful nurses.
In a nutshell, Guo Shaocong was scum.
“Could it be that Lili is willing to stoop so low as to get together with this scum, Guo Shaocong, just for a promotion?” Ye Qiu’s heart bled at the thought.
Inside the bathroom, Zhang Lili asked, “Do you think Ye Qiu will be able to secure a permanent position?”
“No way,” Guo Shaocong replied. “I asked my dad, and there’s only one permanent position available for all the probationary doctors in your group. Everyone else will have to wait until next year.”
“Ye Qiu got a perfect score during his national medical exam, and his performance during his probationary period has been exceptional as well,” Zhang Lili said. “Most importantly, Director Bai seems to value him a lot.”
“Director Bai’s fondness for him doesn’t mean s***. Ultimately, my dad has the final say,” Guo Shaocong said. “But according to my dad, Director Bai approached him, wanting to offer Ye Qiu the opportunity for a permanent position. I just don’t get it; why is Director Bai so fond of Ye Qiu? Do they have some secret relationship or something?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Director Bai is so beautiful; how could she possibly be interested in Ye Qiu?”
“You’re right, Director Bai always has a cold expression on her face, giving off an air of aloofness. It’s clear she has no interest in romance.”
“Then did you ask your dad who got the permanent position?”
“Who else could it be? It’s obviously reserved for you! Too bad for that Ye Qiu guy; not only did he fail to secure the position, but he also got cuckolded—what a loser.”
“What, are you feeling sympathetic toward him?” Zhang Lili asked.
“Sympathetic, my ass!” Guo Shaocong laughed. “Honestly, the guy’s a fool. You two dated for two years, and he didn’t even get to sleep with you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was training to become a eunuch.”
“That’s enough, stop talking.”
“You’re upset because I insulted him? I guess that’s understandable, considering you two dated for two years…”
“What nonsense! Why would I care about that bastard?” Zhang Lili said, clearly annoyed.
Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu’s breathing quickened, his face flushed, and fire seemed to spew from his eyes.
Bastard…
The words were harsh but true. He was indeed a bastard.
And because of this, his mother had been disowned by her family.
This was Ye Qiu’s darkest secret, something he had shared only with Zhang Lili.
“Ye Qiu is a bastard? What do you mean? Tell me everything,” Guo Shaocong asked.
Zhang Lili responded, “To this day, Ye Qiu doesn’t even know who his biological father is.”
“No way, he doesn’t know who his own father is? He’s lying to you.”
“He really doesn’t know.”
“Then, who did his mother have him with?” Guo Shaocong asked. “Even if it was a dog, they should at least know the dog’s name…”
Veins popping, Ye Qiu kicked the door open; his mother was his biggest taboo, and he would not tolerate anyone insulting her.
“Bang!”
The sudden opening of the bathroom door sent shockwaves through the room.
“Ah…” Zhang Lili shrieked, quickly grabbing a towel to cover herself.
Guo Shaocong also jumped in fright, hurriedly standing up from the bathtub. When he saw it was Ye Qiu, his anxiety vanished, and he laughed. “Lily, look who’s here.”
Zhang Lili froze upon seeing Ye Qiu. “Ye Qiu, when did you get back?”
“I’ve been back for a while now. Sorry to interrupt your fun.” Ye Qiu’s expression was dark as he struggled to suppress his anger.
Zhang Lili tried to explain, “Ye Qiu, it’s not what you think, I…”
“I saw it with my own eyes! Are you going to tell me that everything I saw was a lie? Zhang Lili, I never took you to be this kind of person!”
His words enraged Zhang Lili, who stopped trying to explain. “I must have been blind back then to have fallen for a good-for-nothing like you. In the two years we’ve been together, the only thing you ever given me was a cheap jade bracelet, which you claimed was an heirloom. Puh!”
Zhang Lili removed the white jade bracelet from her wrist and threw it at Ye Qiu. “From now on, you and I are strangers. You live your life, and I’ll live mine.”
Ye Qiu stared at Zhang Lili, his heart shattered. How had the woman he loved become so cold-hearted?
Guo Shaocong wrapped his arm around Zhang Lili’s waist and turned to Ye Qiu with a grin. “How about I give you a live stream of our performance? I can put on a show with Lili here.”
“Watch your mouth,” Ye Qiu said, throwing a punch at Guo Shaocong.
A loud thud echoed, and blood trickled from Guo Shaocong’s nose.
“F***, you dare hit me? I’ll kill you.” Guo Shaocong’s punches rained down on Ye Qiu relentlessly.
Standing at six feet tall, a whole foot taller than Ye Qiu, and with a regular workout regimen, Guo Shaocong was a formidable opponent. Ye Qiu stood no chance against him.
Within seconds, Ye Qiu was knocked to the ground.
“A pathetic mutt like you dares to hit me? You must be tired of living!”
After punching Ye Qiu to his heart’s content, Guo Shaocong grew tired and, with one swift kick, broke two of Ye Qiu’s fingers.
“Ah…” Ye Qiu cried out in pain before passing out.
“You’re so fragile and still dare to throw a punch at me? What a useless fool.”
Guo Shaocong spat on Ye Qiu. At that moment he failed to notice that a stream of blood flowed from Ye Qiu’s broken fingers and seeped into the white jade bracelet…
