physician s odyssey
“What are you doing! Get off me!” Liu Ruochen didn’t expect Su Tao to be really pretending to be drunk. She was completely deceived by him. She let out a soft cry and tried to push Su Tao away.
“I’m not someone who follows the rule. If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. But if anyone offends me, then I’ll take revenge ten-fold!” Su Tao smiled. “You’re the one who teased me first.”
Tease? Liu Ruochen’s face flushed with anger, “I was just trying to see if you’re really drunk!”
“So what if I’m not drunk? Does that mean that you can push me off the bed?” Su Tao readjusted himself when Liu Ruochen was struggling. He pinned both her hands firmly on the ground.
“Alright, I’ll apologize to you!” Liu Ruochen’s eyes were wide open as she turned her head away. She felt that she might lose her rationale if she continued to look at Su Tao.
Su Tao was a passionate young man, and Liu Ruochen was also an ordinary woman with needs.
Liu Ruochen’s pajamas were thin. Su Tao had no idea why he would react so strongly today.
Since I’m drunk, why can’t I just go with it? The devil spoke in Su Tao’s mind.
No way! Ruochen is a good woman, and she’s your partner. How can you hurt her? said the angel in his mind.
How do you know if you’re hurting her? Perhaps this is an opportunity for you guys to get closer!
If she’s a willing party, she would’ve already jumped on you.
Ruochen is a reserved woman. So there’s no way she will take the initiative.
So should I take the initiative?
That’s right. You should bring out the domineering side of men. If she’s really unwilling, then you can just apologize to her when you wake up tomorrow.
Will that work? You’re not worried that she’ll report you for rape?
What is there to be afraid about? If she’s really afraid, then she wouldn’t have agreed to stay in the same apartment as you.
Alright. Demon, you win!
Su Tao was having an internal conflict before he finally tossed it away.
“Mmmm!” Liu Ruochen groaned out before her aloof image immediately weakened.
“Don’t do this! We can’t play with fire!” Liu Ruochen shook her tongue to try and to clear her mind.
“Ruochen, you don’t have any feelings for me?” Su Tao whispered in her ears. His warm breath mixed with the smell of alcohol made Liu Ruochen twist her body subconsciously.
“I don’t want to answer that question!” Liu Ruochen took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“Well, it doesn’t matter even if you don’t want to answer me. In truth, you have already acknowledged it in your heart.” Su Tao said.
“Acknowledge what?” Liu Ruochen’s face turned cold.
“Your pulse is beating over 90 a minute. It means that your heartbeat is accelerating.” Su Tao smiled.
“That’s because you’re lying on me and I’m trying to resist. I’m an emotional being, so it makes sense for my heartbeat to speed up.” Liu Ruochen glared at Su Tao.
“Why are you trying to explain yourself?” Su Tao questioned.
“Is there a problem with that?” Liu Ruochen stared back at Su Tao.
“And you still say that you have no feelings for me? An ordinary woman would call for help if they’re in your position. Since when do you see someone trying to argue like you?” Su Tao chuckled.
“Is crying out for help even useful?” Liu Ruochen was speechless.
“Well… no!” Su Tao smiled.
Liu Ruochen and Su Tao were living in the same apartment together. It was midnight now, so no one could care even if Liu Ruochen cried for help. They would only think of it as a fight between a couple.
“So that’s why I’m trying to convince you since I know that crying for help isn’t going to do anything. Don’t make a mistake or I’ll be sad.” Liu Ruochen’s tone became sincere.
Su Tao sighed inwardly. Liu Ruochen was so calm that he wasn’t in the position to force himself on her. After a brief pondering, he turned around and let her go.
Liu Ruochen let out a sigh in relief when she saw that Su Tao didn’t force himself on her. She had already expected this result because she knew that Su Tao wasn’t that kind of person. He was someone who respects women.
“Are you sober now?” Liu Ruochen got up and tidied her clothes. She changed the topic, “How’s the situation in Xijing Workers Hospital today?”
“It’s all prepared. We’ll start from the Nonferrous Metals Group’s executives.” Su Tao replied while he laid on the ground.
Intrigued, Liu Ruochen asked, “What has it got to do with the Nonferrous Metals Group?”
“The executives of the Nonferrous Metals Group treat the hospital as their private property to get benefit from it. The group allocates millions to the hospital annually, but that money eventually reached the executives in all forms.” Su Tao explained in a solemn tone.
“What do you mean?” Liu Ruochen was baffled.
“Firstly, the hospital’s medicine representatives are appointed by them. That means that the representative will be able to get a share of the money. Secondly, the hospital would mark the posts with a price. So you’ll need to pay if you want to get in. Lastly, the hospital will undergo renovation every year and purchase new facilities. These are where they draw money from.” Su Tao explained.
“So, who’s this person?” Liu Ruochen was shocked.
“It’s not an individual, but a group. It’s not only in the hospital, but the Nonferrous Metals Group as well. The corporation became a tool for them to obtain wealth illegally.” Su Tao was impressed by the information he found. Who could’ve imagined that a state-owned enterprise would be so corrupted to the core!
Liu Ruochen’s gaze became complicated when he heard that and asked, “That means that we’ll have to touch their interest?”
“We just have to catch the key person.” Su Tao replied. “Let’s start by fishing the person responsible out.”
“Firstly, we’re not a law enforcement agency nor do we have the power to do so; secondly, this is Xijing City that we’re talking about. It won’t be easy trying to deal with that person.” Although Liu Ruochen had no experience as an official, she still had basic common sense.
“Well, it’ll depend on how we operate the resources. When a person embezzles a lot of money, many people will become jealous. We can follow through this clue to find that person.” Su Tao smiled. “After days of investigation, I’ve already found that person.”
Liu Ruochen roughly understood what Su Tao meant and smiled, “I didn’t expect you to be so good at conspiracy.”
“It’s good as long as we can succeed. Don’t tell me that you’re taking sympathy on them?” Su Tao looked at Liu Ruochen sourly.
Liu Ruochen smiled, “I was worried that you were drunk. But looking at you right now, you don’t look drunk at all. So I can be reassured now.”
Su Tao was briefly stunned before he covered his forehead, “Ouch! My head hurts!”
“Bah!” Liu Ruochen said. Just a moment ago, Su Tao was still pretty good with his acting. But now, it looked too exaggerated.
She left the room decisively.
Su Tao laid on the ground. When he saw that Liu Ruochen wasn’t returning at all, felt the urge to visit the toilet. When he walked in, he saw Liu Ruochen cleaning up the mess he did. When he saw her, he immediately regretted what he did.
He was guilty of what he did to such a considerate woman. Even if he wanted to achieve his goal, she had to be a willing party. It was like boiling frog in the water, he couldn’t be too anxious about it.
Ma Xiangming originally planned on staying in the hospital for a few more days. But he suddenly received a call from his father, Ma Yongcai, to return home immediately. In the end, Ma Xiangming and his friends drank and ate in the ward till 11 p.m. before returning home.
Ma Xiangming’s house was located in a well-known district for the rich. You could see luxury villas everywhere. His own villa was located at the back. From the location alone, you could see what status the Ma Family enjoyed here.
Ma Xiangming tiptoed in and opened the door. A black shadow suddenly pounced out, startling him. He nearly threw the crutch in his hand away. When he saw the Tibetan Mastiff that he had for years, he cursed, “You don’t even recognize me?”
The Tibetan Mastiff sobbed before running back to its house and bit on the bone with some flesh lingering in it. There was another smaller Tibetan Mastiff beside it. Because of the good food, the two Tibetan Mastiff looked like calves, looking majestic under the light.
In order to obtain these two mastiffs, Ma Xiangming personally went to Xijiang Plateau for a month to buy them. And after years of feeding, the two mastiffs became very loyal.
The door guard saw Ma Xiangming and whispered, “You’re back, master.”
“Don’t tell me dad that I’m back!” Ma Xiangming lowered his voice.
He purposely came home late because he was worried about being blamed by his father. Ma Yongcai had a regular lifestyle daily, going to bed at half past eleven.
The guard was slightly startled before he smiled, “Okay!” Despite his words, the master had already informed him to notify him when Ma Xiangming returned. So when Ma Xiangming disappeared, he immediately notified Ma Yongcai through the intercom.
Just when Ma Xiangming through that he had successfully sneaked home, he suddenly heard a cough behind him. Ma Yongcai looked at Ma Xiangming coldly and barked, “Kneel down!”
“Dad, my leg is still injured!” Ma Xiangming didn’t seem afraid. But when he stood before his father, he couldn’t even straighten his back. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come home late just to hide from his father.
“Why did you come back so late?” Ma Yongcai questioned.
“A few friends of mine came to visit.” Ma Yongcai kneeled on the ground with one leg and started explaining for himself.
“They’re just a group of scoundrels!” Ma Yongcai raged. “Do you know what you did?!”
“What did I do?” Ma Xiangming still feigned innocence.
“You nearly killed someone! Do you know that!” Ma Yongcai picked the vase on the cabinet and threw it at Ma Xiangming.
Ma Xiangming knew that the case was worthed about ¥30,000. Knowing that his father was genuinely furious, Ma Xiangming immediately fell onto the ground, forgetting about his injury.
Pointing at Ma Xiangming, Ma Yongcai reprimanded, “Stay at home for now. Otherwise, I’ll break your other leg too!”
Ma Xiangming lowered his head. He didn’t dare to refute his father. He had been living this way since he was a child. Whenever he caused trouble, he would be locked up by his father.