The Scalding Sweet Potato

Chapter 4 - A Hot Potato

"Take a look at this first."

Su Mei glanced around and pushed a copy of the Binjiang Daily over to him.

To anyone else, bringing a newspaper to a meal was just a habit of reading while eating, snatching a moment of leisure—but she had brought it deliberately.

The Binjiang Daily had a daily circulation of over a million, known for its outspokenness and integrity, beloved by the public. Whenever major news broke, a reporter from the Binjiang Daily was sure to be on the scene. It was said that the hardware and software in their news vans were even better than what the Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Department had.

On the top page Su Mei had deliberately flipped to, there was a particularly striking piece of news. The bold black headline read: "Jealousy and Rejection Lead to Murder: Rich Second Generation Runs Over Victim's Boyfriend with Car."

A wealthy young master had taken a liking to a common woman who worked at a street stall, but she already had a lover and repeatedly turned down his advances. Driven by jealousy and rejection, the rich second generation lost his mind and rammed his Maserati into her stall, killing her boyfriend, who had been helping out after work, and injuring four or five customers to varying degrees.

By all logic, murder demands a life, and the rich second generation couldn't escape execution.

Noticing that Li Bai's gaze had landed on this news, the little nurse Su Mei lowered her voice and said, "The appointment evaluation this afternoon is for this rich second generation."

"This guy has a mental illness?"

Li Bai frowned.

The girl wasn't greedy for wealth, and she was self-reliant—a rare good woman. Even if his feelings weren't returned, he should have respected her. Acting so recklessly with human life was sheer madness; no normal person would do such a thing.

"Hmph, everyone knows what's really going on. A rich young master wants a psychiatric evaluation to escape legal punishment. This bastard should be executed, and right now."

Su Mei snorted, pulling out her phone and scrolling through online news comments.

Newspapers were one-way, lacking the interactivity of the internet. The Binjiang Daily's front-page story had been shared and reshared endlessly. On the local popular forum 17th Floor, it had already exploded. Netizens were furious, unanimously condemning the rich second generation.

"Dragon Wolf A'ya Zi: Damn it, money makes you special? Money lets you act like a thug? He needs to be shot!"

"Second Battalion Commander and His Intent: Guys like this should be executed for an hour. No mercy."

"Gold Coins and the Dragon's Dance: Rich second generation Yao Bing has a prior record of causing disability, and it was swept under the rug."

"Star Luo: I know about this. Last time, the victim was bribed to drop the case. After the public trial, it was a suspended sentence and medical parole. He didn't even spend a few days in detention, and even that was a luxury single room. I've figured it out—money can do anything. Problems money can solve aren't problems. I heard the victim's family is determined to press charges this time. The murderer, rich second generation Yao Bing, is planning a psychiatric evaluation, probably to settle with money again."

"Diving Expert Secretly Made Milk: Crazy people kill without consequence. If the murderer doesn't die, there'll be a second, a third, even more victims. Are we poor people supposed to let the rich buy their lives with money? Is there no way out? No justice!"

"Rainbow: Don't look into the Yao family unless you're ready for a shock. Their assets are at least three billion. They've done plenty of charity and philanthropy in recent years, sponsoring many social events. The public influence they've built might let this Young Master Yao slip through."

"Light Clouds and Gentle Wind: Murder must be paid with life. Find out where Yao Bing is getting his evaluation. We'll supervise. Anyone who helps him, we'll dox them."

"Drunk for a Beauty: Agreed! Count me in!"

Aside from a couple of trolls stirring trouble with fake outrage, the comments and replies were overwhelmingly one-sided.

"See? This guy is a pile of dog shit. Whoever touches him gets stained. The Judicial Appraisal Center is just dragging people into the fire with them. Even the law firm defending Yao Bing is keeping its head down, afraid of being doxxed and criticized. Their office might get smashed one day. You need to be careful."

Su Mei pointed at the furious comments on her phone screen, looking a bit shaken.

She hadn't brought the newspaper just for gossip—it was a warning.

This rich second generation was now a pariah, pointed at by a thousand fingers. Anyone who got involved would be tainted. If it landed on Li Bai, it could ruin his reputation, even put the Seventh People's Hospital under immense pressure. Losing his job and being called a rich man's lapdog would be the least of it. There might even be a risk to his life—who knew when a brick might fly from behind and leave him half-dead?

No one could underestimate the power of online public opinion. There was once a cute girl who said some online gamers were virgins who'd never seen a woman, and she sparked a firestorm. She was doxxed and nearly tormented to death.

"Mm, thanks. I've got it."

Li Bai lowered his head again, unconcerned, and continued eating.

A reckless rich second generation and a boiling online backlash—could they be harder to deal with than the cultivation sects, the Eastern Expeditionary Army of the Holy Court, and the Heavenly Evil Cult from another world?

Seeing Li Bai still unmoved, Su Mei grew anxious. "The one handling this appointment evaluation is Chen Sheng. He deliberately made an excuse to pass it to you. He's using you as a scapegoat. You should find an excuse to get out of it."

"It's fine. I have a way to handle it."

Li Bai happily chewed on a sweet-and-sour rib. The small restaurants outside used mixed cuts, but the cafeteria used spare ribs, with plenty of cartilage.

The doctor wasn't worried, but the nurse was. No matter how Su Mei tried to persuade him, Li Bai finished his meal at a leisurely pace, set down his clean plate, and strolled off, not the least bit concerned that he'd just taken on a hot potato.

Neither Su Mei nor Li Bai knew that just after noon, an insider had tipped off the media. The widely hated Young Master Yao would be undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at the Seventh People's Hospital.

The rich second generation's murder case continued to ferment online. Some angry netizens began heading to the Seventh People's Hospital to verify the news.

On the way back to his consultation room, standing at his own door, Chen Sheng rarely took the initiative to greet Li Bai. "Doctor Li, have you eaten? Thanks a lot for this morning."

"Mm, no big deal. Just say the word if you need help."

Li Bai nodded, as if he had no idea Chen Sheng had dumped a huge mess on him.

"Of course, of course!"

Chen Sheng's smile was especially sincere, but inwardly he sneered. Getting involved in this afternoon's big trouble was a lose-lose situation.

Whether he provoked the locally influential Yao family or stirred up public outrage, there would be no good outcome. Either way, Li Bai had no chance of competing with him for the Attending Physician position.

If anyone had looked at Chen Sheng's work computer at that moment, they would have found the login information of the tipsters on the screen.

At 1:30 PM, a Procuratorate police car arrived at the Seventh People's Hospital to coordinate with the administration. Over a dozen Police Officers from the Public Security Bureau also arrived. Not long after they got there, angry netizens showed up with eggs and protest signs. They were stopped before they could enter the first-floor registration hall and could only stand behind a temporary barrier, protesting and exposing the murderer's long list of crimes to passing patients.

A few reporters from various newspapers managed to slip in cleverly. But the hospital had already issued a gag order, and everyone kept their mouths shut. The reporters didn't get much valuable information.

At 3:00 PM, three black Mercedes-Benz S600s drove through the gates of the Seventh People's Hospital, led by a police car.

A young man in handcuffs stepped out of the middle Mercedes. His face was pale, his eyes sunken—clearly a man who'd overindulged in wine and women. He glanced sideways at the protesting netizens, his expression sour, obviously aware that his case had sparked public outrage and he couldn't just quietly slip by like before.

Yao Bing suddenly let out a scream as an egg exploded against his face.

It's the 21st century—who still uses raw eggs? Of course it was hard-boiled!

A certain Knight-errant had impressive arm strength; the blow landed solidly, and a large, bruised lump swelled up on his forehead in no time.

Under the protection of the police and the Yao Family's bodyguards, the suspect, rich second generation Yao Bing, scrambled into the registration hall, barely escaping the mob.

At the elevator entrance, a furious Yao Bing, sporting the big bruise on his forehead, made a provocative, arrogant gesture at the netizens.

The police maintaining order on the scene barely managed to hold back the angry crowd. Someone captured the moment on their phone, and the internet quickly exploded—how blatantly despicable could this scumbag be?

It wasn't just netizens; even the patients and their families coming for treatment couldn't stand it.