Zhang Zhi was in a terrible mood. Even standing in the sunshine, he felt as though mold was growing all over him.
As head of the infectious diseases department at Huaxi Hospital, he had led a team to support Luo City, carrying his superiors' trust and expectations. Yet not only had they failed to solve the problem, one of the experts had been infected. As their leader, he could not even identify the virus. How was he supposed to write his report? How could he fulfill his dream of being promoted to hospital director?
And of all times, Ma Zhonghua had chosen this moment to announce that he had invited a miracle doctor to help.
A miracle doctor? Miracle doctor, my ass!
When it rained, it poured. Just when he was already struggling, another setback came along.
While Zhang Zhi was silently cursing, Ma Zhonghua came in with two people.
Zhang Zhi's gaze quickly locked onto Ye Yiming. His instincts told him that the so-called miracle doctor was that thin old man, and he began working out how to send him packing.
If that so-called miracle doctor resolved this, his career would be finished.
Smiling, Ma Zhonghua was about to introduce them, but Zhang Zhi beat him to it.
A provocative sneer tugged at Zhang Zhi's lips. "This elderly gentleman must be the miracle doctor. May I ask which hospital you're from? Why haven't I heard of you?"
Ye Yiming was utterly bewildered.
Zhang Zhi added sarcastically, "I wonder how many papers this miracle doctor has published, and where I can find them. I'd love to read them."
Ye Yiming frowned. "Who are you?"
Zhang Zhi raised his voice. "Zhang Zhi, head of the infectious diseases department at Huaxi Hospital. I lead the expert team supporting Luo City. I've published three papers in The Lancet, all available online. What qualifications do you have to call yourself a miracle doctor and come here looking to cash in?"
The air was thick with hostility.
Ma Zhonghua cleared his throat. "Department Head Zhang, you've made a mistake. This gentleman is Mr. Ye Yiming, my former superior. This is the miracle doctor I mentioned—Divine Doctor Luo."
Zhang Zhi's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. The young man before him was about the same age as his son, Zhang Bai. Unless he had started studying medicine in the womb, how could he possibly be a miracle doctor?
One look at Zhang Zhi's round face told Luo Yang whose father he was. Zhang Zhi's motives were equally transparent. Luo Yang could not even be bothered to greet him and walked straight past him.
Feeling insulted, Zhang Zhi flew into a rage. "Stop right there!"
Luo Yang turned around. "Department Head Zhang, did you need something?"
Zhang Zhi sneered. "Now I remember. My son has a classmate named Luo Yang who got him beaten up. Was that you?"
"You failed to teach your son properly, so someone helped you out. Isn't that a good thing?" Luo Yang no longer bothered to pretend to be polite.
Zhang Zhi pointed at Luo Yang but looked at Ma Zhonghua. "Curator Ma, don't you realize you've been duped? This brat is my son's classmate, a student at Bacheng Medical College. Wise Heaven Hospital fired him as soon as he finished his internship. You invited a little fraud like him here and called him a miracle doctor? This is absurd!"
Ma Zhonghua's expression darkened. "Department Head Zhang, this isn't the infectious diseases department at Huaxi Hospital. This is the Museum. Please watch what you say."
"I'm only doing this for your own good!" The more Zhang Zhi spoke, the more wronged and angry he felt. "We came here out of goodwill to support you, and one of our colleagues even got infected. Yet you invite a little fraud here to insult us! Is this how you treat people?"
Ma Zhonghua's face turned livid with anger, but he did not want to argue with Zhang Zhi. Keeping all that anger bottled up was painfully uncomfortable.
Luo Yang, however, remained completely unfazed. He even smiled. "Department Head Zhang, you seem awfully bitter. Do you think I don't know what you're planning? If you can't solve it, nobody else gets to solve it either. Am I right?"
"Nonsense!" Zhang Zhi flatly denied it.
Luo Yang smiled. "Department Head Zhang, if you'd solved it, why would I be here? You're incapable of doing it yourself, yet you still want to sabotage others. Why are you so nasty?"
"You little fraud!" Overcome with rage, Zhang Zhi raised his hand to slap him.
Luo Yang did not so much as move.
Neither Ma Zhonghua nor Ye Yiming stepped forward to stop him. There was even a hint of anticipation in their eyes.
If that slap landed on Luo Yang's face, seasoned operators like them would find this matter much easier to handle.
Zhang Zhi slowly lowered his hand, but still delivered a threat. "Brat, twenty years ago, I would've knocked your teeth out!"
Luo Yang scoffed. "Your son really did inherit your genes perfectly. Not much ability, but one hell of a mouth."
"You-" Zhang Zhi raised his hand again.
The anticipation in Ma Zhonghua's and Ye Yiming's eyes as they watched Zhang Zhi grew even more obvious.
But Zhang Zhi lowered his hand again.
Disappointment appeared on both Ma Zhonghua's and Ye Yiming's faces.
Their hopes had been misplaced after all. The man had no guts.
Luo Yang could no longer be bothered to waste words on Zhang Zhi. He turned and headed toward the prefabricated isolation building again.
Still unwilling to let it go, Zhang Zhi shouted angrily, "Who authorized you to practice medicine here? There's probably something underhanded going on. I'm reporting this!"
Ma Zhonghua could not take it anymore. "Zhang, you'll have to answer for what you're saying!"
"And I will! A junior physician-and one who was fired by his hospital, at that-has no right to be here!" Zhang Zhi refused to back down.
Quite a few onlookers nearby began murmuring among themselves.
Luo Yang turned back again and said calmly, "Let's stop arguing. This puts Curator Ma in a difficult position and solves nothing. How about we make a wager?"
Zhang Zhi snorted. "A wager? What makes you think you're qualified to make a wager with me?"
Luo Yang was unusually composed. "Department Head Zhang, you know perfectly well what position you're in. The leaders in Ba City and at your hospital trusted you, so they put you in charge. But not only have you failed to solve the problem, you've let an expert get infected. What will your superiors think of you?"
"None of your business!"
Luo Yang did not get angry. "Think about it, Department Head Zhang. Your superiors put you in charge because they value you. You're destined to become the director of Huaxi Hospital. This problem is just a stumbling block on your path to promotion. As it happens, I'm part of that stumbling block too. Don't you want to kick me out of the way?"
"Hmph!"
"I'll give you a chance to kick me out of the way. I'm willing to sign an agreement stating that I only need half an hour to cure one of the archaeology experts. If I fail, I'll admit to every accusation you've made, and you can call the police yourself and have me arrested. The terms are simple. You just need to transfer five hundred thousand yuan into the guarantor's account. If I can't cure an archaeology expert in half an hour, you'll get every penny back. If I succeed, the money is mine, and you stop making trouble for me and Curator Ma. Interested?" Luo Yang's eyes were full of anticipation.
Zhang Zhi's face was dark, and he could not make up his mind.
Five hundred thousand yuan was nothing to him, but signing this sort of wager with his son's classmate felt beneath him.
Luo Yang sighed. "So I'm not worthy. Fine, I'll go solve the problem now. If I cure them, you'll be the one who has to leave. Then I imagine you, a department head at Huaxi Hospital, will become the laughingstock of the profession. And Huaxi Hospital's reputation will suffer. Oh dear..."
"I'll sign!" Zhang Zhi made up his mind. He simply did not believe this greenhorn could cure an archaeology expert in half an hour.
A smile spread across Luo Yang's face.
No wonder so many people were obsessed with fishing. Watching a fish take the bait really did feel fantastic.
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