A Hot Potato

Chapter 4 - A Hot Potato

"Take a look at this first."

Su Mei glanced around, then slid a copy of the Binjiang Daily over to him.

To others, bringing a newspaper along to a meal simply meant reading while eating, a way to make the most of a spare moment. They had no idea she'd brought it on purpose.

The Binjiang Daily had a daily circulation of over a million and was famous for its frankness and integrity. It was hugely popular with the public. Whenever major news broke, the paper's reporters were sure to be there. It was said that the equipment in their news vans was even better than that of the Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Department.

On the page Su Mei had deliberately turned to the top was an unusual story. Its bold headline read, "Driven by Jealousy After Being Rejected, Rich Second-Generation Heir Runs Over and Kills Rival's Boyfriend."

A wealthy young man had taken a fancy to an ordinary woman who worked at a food stall. But she already had someone she loved, and repeatedly rejected the rich heir's advances. Driven by jealousy and rejected one too many times, the heir lost all reason and rammed his Maserati into the woman's food stall. He not only killed her boyfriend, who had been helping out after work, but also injured four or five customers to varying degrees.

By rights, a murderer deserved to pay with his life. The rich heir should have been sentenced to death, too.

Noticing that Li Bai's gaze had settled on the story, Su Mei, the young nurse, lowered her voice. "The appointment evaluation this afternoon is for this rich heir."

"Does this guy have a mental illness?"

Li Bai frowned.

The young woman wasn't shallow or money-hungry, and she worked hard to support herself. She was a rare good woman. Even if she didn't return someone's feelings, he should still treat her with respect. To take a life so casually was utterly deranged. No normal person would do such a thing.

"Hmph. Everyone knows what's going on. This rich kid wants a psychiatric evaluation so he can escape legal punishment. He deserves to be executed—and right away."

Su Mei snorted and pulled out her phone, scrolling through the online comments.

A newspaper was a one-way medium, nowhere near as interactive as the internet. The Binjiang Daily's front-page story had been shared over and over, and the local portal forum 17th Floor had already erupted. Netizens were furious and unanimously condemning the rich heir.

"Dragon Wolf A'ya Zi: Damn it, so what if he's rich? Does being rich mean he can do whatever he wants? He has to be executed!"

"Second Battalion Commander and His Intent: Someone like this should be executed for an hour. Don't let him off!"

"Gold Coins and the Dragon's Dance: Rich heir Yao Bing had a prior case of injuring someone badly. It was quietly dropped in the end."

"Star Luo: I know about that one. The victim was paid off and withdrew the charges, and after the prosecution, Yao Bing got a suspended sentence and medical parole. He barely spent any time in the detention center—and even that was in a private room. I see how it is now. If you have money, you can do whatever you want. Any problem that money can solve isn't a problem. I heard the victim's family is determined to press charges this time, and the rich heir and murderer Yao Bing is planning to get a psychiatric evaluation. I bet he'll pay them off and make it all go away."

"Diving Expert Secretly Made Milk: Killing someone while mentally ill isn't a crime. If the murderer doesn't die, there'll be a second victim, a third, and even more. Are we poor people supposed to let the rich buy their way out of murder? Is there any hope for us? This is outrageous!"

"Rainbow: You don't know the Yao Family until you look into them. They have at least three billion in assets. They've done plenty of charity and sponsored all kinds of social events over the past few years. Their accumulated public influence could help this Young Master Yao slip through the cracks."

"Light Clouds and Gentle Wind (Three): A life for a life. Find out where Yao Bing is getting his psychiatric evaluation, and let's go keep an eye on it. If anyone dares help him, we'll dig up everything about them."

"You Are Drunk for Beauty: Seconded! Count me in!"

Aside from two or three troublemakers who didn't mind stirring things up and pretended to be on the opposite side, the replies were almost unanimously against him.

"See? This guy's a pile of dog crap. Whoever gets near him is going to stink. The forensic evaluation center is just trying to drag someone else into this mess. Even the law firm defending Yao Bing is keeping its head down and staying quiet, afraid of getting doxxed and attacked. They might get their windows smashed any day now. You'd better be careful."

Su Mei pointed at the outraged comments on her phone, looking rather uneasy.

She hadn't brought over the newspaper just to gossip. She'd come to warn him.

Right now, this rich heir was a pariah, and anyone who got involved would end up covered in filth. If this landed on Li Bai's desk, he could easily ruin his own reputation—and even put the Seventh People's Hospital under immense pressure. He could lose his job. Being called a rich man's lackey would be the least of his worries; he might even be in danger. Who knew when someone might throw a brick at him from behind and leave him half-dead?

Nobody dared underestimate the power of online public opinion. Once, a cute young woman had said that some online game players were fat, friendless shut-ins who'd never seen a woman. She'd provoked a public outcry, been doxxed, and nearly been tormented to death.

"Mm, thanks. I understand."

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

Could a rich heir who ran amok and a furiously outraged online public really be harder to deal with than the sects of the Daoist path, the Eastern Expeditionary Army of the Holy Court, and the Heavenly Evil Cult in another world?

Seeing that Li Bai still didn't seem bothered, Su Mei grew anxious. "Chen Sheng is in charge of this appointment evaluation. He deliberately made an excuse to pass it off to you. He's making you take the fall. You should think of a way to refuse."

"It's fine. I know how to handle it."

Li Bai continued happily chewing on his sweet-and-sour ribs. The little restaurant outside used miscellaneous cuts, but the cafeteria served spare ribs, with plenty of crunchy cartilage.

The doctor wasn't worried, but the nurse was. No matter how much Su Mei tried to persuade him, Li Bai took his time finishing his meal, left behind a spotless tray, and strolled away. He wasn't the least bit concerned that he'd just picked up a hot potato.

Neither Su Mei nor Li Bai knew that, just after noon, someone in the know had tipped off the public that Young Master Yao, who had stirred up so much fury, would be getting a psychiatric evaluation at the Seventh People's Hospital.

The rich heir's murder case continued to spread online. Some outraged netizens began making their way to the Seventh People's Hospital to confirm the news.

In the corridor outside the Consultation room, Chen Sheng stood by the door to his own office. For once, he took the initiative to greet Li Bai. "Doctor Li, have you eaten? Thanks so much for your help this morning."

"Mm, it was nothing. Just ask if you need anything."

Li Bai nodded, as if he had no idea the other man had dumped a huge mess in his lap.

"Certainly, certainly!"

Chen Sheng's smile was especially sincere, though inside he kept sneering. Whoever got mixed up in the afternoon's mess was bound to displease both sides.

Whether he antagonized the locally influential Yao Family or provoked public outrage, there would be no happy ending. Either way, Li Bai would never again be able to compete with him for the position of attending physician.

If anyone had checked Chen Sheng's work computer then, they would have found the login details of the tipsters who had leaked the news.

At half past one, a police car from the Procuratorate arrived at the Seventh People's Hospital and met with hospital officials. More than a dozen officers from the Public Security Bureau arrived in quick succession. Not long after they got there, angry netizens showed up with eggs and protest signs. They were stopped before they could enter the registration hall on the first floor, and could only protest from behind a makeshift barrier while telling passing patients about the murderous man's long record of crimes.

A few newspaper reporters, however, were experienced enough to slip inside. The hospital had already issued a gag order, and everyone kept their mouths shut. The reporters weren't able to learn much of value.

At three o'clock, three black Mercedes-Benz S600s drove through the gates of the Seventh People's Hospital, escorted by a police car.

A young man in handcuffs had just climbed out of the middle Mercedes. His face was pale and sallow, his eyes sunken, and he looked like he'd overindulged in wine and women. He glanced sideways at the protesting netizens, his expression darkening. He clearly knew that his case had stirred up public outrage and that he couldn't keep his head down and sneak through like before.

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

It was the twenty-first century. Who still used raw eggs? Of course they were hard-boiled!

The person who threw it had quite an arm. The egg hit him squarely, and a huge purple bruise swelled up in no time.

Protected by the police and the Yao Family's bodyguards, the suspect, rich heir Yao Bing, hurried into the registration hall in a sorry state. Only then did he escape further harm.

As he reached the elevators, furious Yao Bing stood there with a huge bruise on his forehead and made a provocative gesture at the netizens.

The police maintaining order at the scene could barely hold back the furious crowd. Someone filmed the moment on a phone, and the internet soon erupted. What an arrogant piece of trash!

It wasn't just the netizens. The patients and family members who had come for treatment couldn't stand the sight of him, either.