After entering the ward, Li Yi touched Hao Ritian's head as per his habit, his attitude being very intimate. "How are you feeling today?"
Hao Ritian rolled his eyes, then listlessly closed them. He didn't seem to want to talk. Zheng Yue, who hid himself by leaning against the side of the doorway, tightened his fists, his eyes impatient. Why haven't they started the infusion? Are they still talking rubbish?!
Unfortunately, the more impatient he was, the slower the progress inside the ward. The normally direct and efficient Li Yi was, for whatever reason, dilly-dallying today. Zheng Yue didn't know what he was playing at. Where were his professional ethics?
These past few days, Zheng Yue had been paying close attention to Hao Ritian's timetable and discovered that Director Li would start Yu Hao's infusion at the same time everyday. The appointed time had already passed, so why hadn't they started?
With the situation unfolding outside of his expectations, Zheng Yue became too impatient to wait. He'd been indescribably miserable these past few days. Yu Dahai and Yu Li had been repeatedly urging him and he desperately needed the money. The pressure from the two sides was steadily crushing him, and he had no choice but to deal with Yu Dahai and Yu Li first and calm them down.
However, the two of them would be coming to the hospital this afternoon to check on Yu Hao. If they realised that Yu Hao's condition not only hadn't become more serious, but was also improving, the money promised to him would go down the drain. How could he allow that?
Sadly, ever since Li Yi took over Yu Hao, it had become incredibly difficult for Zheng Yue to find opportunities to put his plan into motion. Today, he'd finally gotten his opportunity. He would permit only success, not failure.
After punching the wall, Zheng Yue prepared to act as though he was carelessly coming in to look in on Hao Ritian. After all, Yu Hao had been his patient when he first came in. It wouldn't be over the line for him to express concern. After hatching this plan, he quickly adjusted his expression. But just as he'd stepped in with his left foot in front, a dreary shout suddenly burst out behind him, causing him to jump and swiftly look back.
Zheng Yue's pupils rapidly shrank when he glanced over. Once he saw who it was, his entire body stiffened up, and by the time he regained his senses, the other person had nearly reached him. Zheng Yue hurriedly obstructed him. "Why are you making a ruckus? Return to your ward!"
As he shouted, he repeatedly sent the other person meaningful glances.
This man was one of the three fake psychiatric patients—he one Hao Ritian had beaten up, and who was constantly being pestered by his wardmate nowadays, He Wei. Though his doctor had planned to transfer him to another ward because of this, the transfer had, for whatever reason, been delayed till now. He Wei had also tried contacting Zheng Yue privately in hopes that he would help him out; then, when he realised he wasn't transfering from his ward, he knew Zheng Yue hadn't helped him at all.
He Wei could no longer stand it. Though Zheng Yue would aid him, there were oversights at times when he was busy with his own matters. When he was unlucky, He Wei would be fed medicine a couple of times. Since he clearly didn't have a problem, why did he have to take medicine?
More importantly, he was being driven nuts by the man who shared his ward. Yesterday, during the dead of night, he'd woken up to see the muscular man kneeling beside him, wanting to take his clothes off. At that time, he'd become completely homicidal. All sorts of reasons had piled up, and He Wei couldn't bear it anymore.
The ruckus was a bit too loud, and many people soon gathered in the corridor. The situations with He Wei's two other accomplices were no better than his. When they noticed He Wei's attitude, their hearts formed a guess on what he was going to do, yet they were hesitant to turn themselves in.
While they were hesitating, He Wei caught sight of the burly man chasing after him, about to catch up, and immediately pushed Zheng Yue out of his way. Caught off guard, Zheng Yue was actually shoved to the floor while He Wei sprinted into Ward 502. He shut the door with a 'bang' and locked it with trembling hands. He leaned against the door, panting heavily and with a face full of fright.
The look of terror on his face increased when heavy knocks rattled the door. Both disordered and unorganised, it nevertheless penetrated with a ferocity which seemed to engulf him. He Wei's body subconsciously shivered and he hurriedly turned around to press his back against the door, as if this would prevent the person outside from coming in.
—Despite having personally locked the door, his fragile nerves could no longer endure and he didn't quite even believe in himself.
His eyes, full of panic, faced the gazes of the people in the ward. Some were suspicious, others curious, and there was also one whose gaze was calm and waveless. The calm and waveless gaze belonged to Director Li. He'd known Director Li would be here, which was why he'd worked so hard to run over. Now that he was face-to-face with him, the weariness after his recent breakout surged up. His legs gave out, and he slowly kneeled on the floor.
"Director, I'm not sick. I want to be discharged. Please, help me." He Wei's voice trembled, like he was looking at his only saviour.
Only now did he realise that it was easy to be sent into a mental hospital, but it was extremely difficult to be discharged. If his attending doctor didn't issue notice of his recovery, the hospital wouldn't allow him to leave. And since his motive for entering hadn't been pure, he'd concealed this affair from his family, and so, he had no way of asking them to pick him up. He'd instead backed himself into a dead end. He never would've made this choice to obtain money if he'd know this would happen.
"Oh?" Li Yi didn't look surprised, he simply raised his eyebrows.
Hao Ritian, however, smirked. Look, didn't he voluntarily send himself to his door to surrender? He did say he might be leaving today, and see? He got it right. That guy's endurance really isn't up to par!
By then, the knocking at the door had gradually weakened and soon disappeared altogether. Without the urgent knocks on the door, He Wei's nerves finally relaxed. He glanced at Hao Ritian, then suddenly covered his face and confessed.
It was only after personally experiencing life at a psychiatric hospital that he learned how rough psychiatric patients had it. And yet, to earn money, he'd actually wanted to make a move against a young man not even 20, wishing to make him forever stay locked up in a mental hospital as a patient. Looking back on it now, he felt he'd been simply inhumane to take action for that.
...
As expected, Yu Dahai and Yu Li came as usual during visiting hours. The two of them were carrying high hopes since they'd heard from Zheng Yue that progress was going smoothly. Now, they only had to confirm their nephew's condition first-hand to truly relax.
In the end, they'd been waiting for a while in the reception office but no one showed up. Just as they planned to inquire about this, they were shocked to see four police officers – two men and two women – enter the room. The two policemen leading their team immediately handcuffed them before they could react and matter-of-factly said, "Mr Yu, Ms Yu, you are suspected of embezzling your nephew's assets and conspiring against his life. Please follow us back to the police station for further investigation."
Yu Dahai and Yu Li became utterly dumbfounded and their minds had yet to catch up. What is going on?
They finally reacted once the police officers pushed them out of the room. Sweat poured from Yu Dahai's forehead as he forced a smile. "Officers, did you get the wrong guy? My nephew's psyche developed a problem because of his parents' deaths, and he's currently receiving treatment here. Me and his aunt visit him every week, wishing for his quick recovery so that we can bring him home. Why would we harm him?"
Yu Li was obviously more flustered than him. She shouted as she struggled, "How can you police officers be so unjust and randomly arrest people? If you don't let go of us, I will sue you!"
The officers were unmoved no matter what the two asserted. Handcuffed as they were, they were subjected to contemptuous looks from the hospital staff while leaving the reception office. The blatant disdain and disgust caused Yu Dahai and Yu Li to become extremely agitated and aware that the situation was spiraling out of their control.
Yu Li completely lost her calm in her panic and, in the blink of an eye, started to make a scene like a shrew, screaming in a loud and ear-piercing voice. She dragged her heels, absolutely unwilling to leave. "You don't have the right to arrest me. I'll say it again, let go of me!"
Immediately after saying that, she acted without shame and actually sat on the ground. The eyelids of many who were watching twitched, but the police didn't fall for her tricks.
The two policewomen each went to either side of Yu Li and pulled her up. One of them spoke with a cold expression, "If you have anything to say, say it once we return to the police station. If we treated you unjustly, we'll give you a statement then."
The attitudes of the four police officers were firm, and Yu Dahai and Yu Li were quickly taken away in a police cruiser. The specialised hospital was located closer to the suburbs, and because people knew it was a psychiatric hospital, normal people rarely came by and so no one witnessed this scene.
Nevertheless, once the police took them away, the staff in the hospital started discussing.
"The police came over before noon today to take away three patients and, most shockingly, Dr Zheng."
"I was on the fifth floor at the time, so I heard a little of what happened. It seems Dr Zheng Yue added poison to a patient's medicine, but it's been shaken out now."
"Yeah, it was that Yu Hao from Ward 502. He was sent to the hospital by his aunt and uncle, and they bribed Dr Zheng Yue to secretly harm him. I couldn't have imagined this at all."
"…"
Since residing in the hospital for a period of time, Hao Ritian had made quite a name for himself. Due to his relatively eye-catching behaviour and also the director's focus on taking care of him, there were naturally a lot of people who paid him attention, which was why today's incident blew up. In actuality, they weren't clear about the concrete details; everything they knew was simply what they'd overheard.
For example, they couldn't understand how crazy someone's aunt and uncle had to be to treat their nephew this way. Hence, their happiness soared when they saw the officers take Yu Hao's maternal aunt and uncle away.
There were a few who couldn't restrain themselves and posted this incident online. Still, because they didn't have any evidence and the ins-and-outs of the situation were unclear, for the time being, not many people clicked to read. However, every single one of those who did read it stayed behind to inquire about the follow-up.
Gossiping, after all, was a part of human nature.
...
At the police station, all the key characters involved in this plot were present.
Hao Ritian, Yu Dahai, Yu Li, Zheng Yue, He Wei and the other two—Cheng Dali and Hu Cheng.
Li Yi, as Hao Ritian's attending doctor, accompanied him. The police knew that Hao Ritian was the victim, that it hadn't been long since his parents' deaths and his psyche was a little troubled because of deliberate provocation, so they treated him cautiously. A policewoman even poured a hot cup of water for him to drink and calm his emotions.
Li Yi sat next to Hao Ritian, and despite having never spoken a word, his simple presence easily gave people peace of mind. Hao Ritian appeared quite reliant on him, and seeing that his mood was well, the police officers relaxed.
Compared to Hao Ritian, the others weren't feeling well at all.
Yu Dahai and Yu Li blanched when they saw so many people upon entering the police station, their eyes unable to hide their panic. Zheng Yue had sensed something was amiss when He Wei acted in an abnormal manner this morning, ran inside Ward 502, and then locked the door. He'd tried to comfort himself several times to no avail and, feeling guilty, wanted to escape, but was blocked by the security guards under the director's orders.
While He Wei had confessed on his own initiative, once the plot was exposed, Cheng Dali and Hu Cheng lost any drive to resist. Besides, the two of them, like He Wei, couldn't stand staying in the psychiatric hospital any longer and hoped that, by confessing, they would be granted leniency. They continued to supplement more details following He Wei.
Which was how everyone related to the incident came to be at the police station at this moment.
The person in charge of this case was a middle-aged police officer with sharp eyes and a stern face, called He Hong. He sat at the centre of the room. Two assistant officers and two officers in charge of taking notes sat to his left and right respectively.
He Hong's sharp gaze fell directly on He Wei. "Now that everyone involved is here, repeat the whole story of the case in detail. Don't omit any important clues. I presume you understand the basis of leniency in confession."
He Wei's psychological quality was ordinary, and this serious atmosphere had him feeling daunted even though he'd long been mentally prepared. Since he'd already decided to confess, he naturally couldn't continue to put up a stiff resistance at this point in time.
"Yes, Officer." He Wei subconsciously straightened his back.
Yu Li yelled wildly at that instant, "I don't know these people! Their words can't be used as testimony. Quickly, let me leave…"
Officer He's sharp gaze immediately shocked her into silence, as if she were a strangled duck. No matter how shrewd she was, the only people she'd associated with in the past were middle-aged women of a similar age—how could those people compare with Officer He, a valiant man who'd carry out his tasks even in the teeth of wind and rain?1
"If you interrupt the handling of the case again, expect a harsher sentence."
This simple sentence caused Yu Li to shrink back like a quail, her heart beating violently, as if it was going to jump out of her throat. She felt completely stunned, her mind going blank. She had no clue what would happen next.
He Wei didn't dare delay for a second and repeated what he'd confessed in the ward this morning all over again, including what possessed him to accept Yu Hao's maternal aunt and uncle's request, along with the fact that Dr Zheng Yue was their plant and so on. He didn't dare omit anything.
In order to strive for a chance to perform and thus gain leniency, Cheng Dali and Hu Cheng also rushed to add in more information, painting the picture of Yu Dahai and Yu Li's plot through their oral accounts. Even the stoic police officers were filled with compassion. After listening to these statements, their hearts couldn't help but go out to the victim.
Not to mention, the information they had at hand was even more abundant than this.
Holding his glass of water, Hao Ritian looked down, appearing uneasy as he received sympathetic gazes. The police officers quickly looked away.
This time, however, it was Zheng Yue's turn to quibble. His expression was a bit ferocious as he said, "I didn't do any of those things. They're slandering me. As an attending doctor at Si Ren Hospital, my wage is high and I don't lack money at all, so why would I play around with my career just for some cash like them? They're absolutely slandering me."
Cheng Dali wouldn't hear any of it. Wasn't he implying that they'd lied to the police officers? How could he tolerate this? After staying at the psychiatric hospital for over a week, his mindset had slightly changed. He immediately pointed at Zheng Yue and yelled, "You were clearly covering for us at the hospital! You even wanted us to find an opportunity to mess with Yu Hao's medication, but unfortunately for you, the director soon became his attending doctor so you couldn't do it. Do you dare say this isn't the case?"
Before this, he wouldn't have had the audacity to act in this manner. He was an ordinary worker and was full of reverence towards doctors. Adding to the fact that his daughter was in the hospital and needed surgery, his respect for doctors had doubled. How could he point at a doctor's nose and yell at him?
Neither Hu Cheng nor He Wei would cover for Zheng Yue at this point in time, much less when Zheng Yue hadn't cared about them at all while they were at the hospital. If he had, they wouldn't have been bullied by the psychiatric patients. Therefore, they were full of resentment towards him and ratted him out, each blunter than last.
Zheng Yue's hands trembled with anger.
Yu Dahai, who'd been silent from the start, carried despair in his eyes. He understood better than his younger sister that they were completely done for.
He spotted Hao Ritian from the corner of his eyes and unexpectedly stood up. Just as he was about to head to him, he was pushed down by the officer beside him. Despite not being able to move around, his mouth didn't stay idle. Looking mournful, he called out, "Haohao, Haohao, aren't you clear about how Uncle treats you? How could Uncle do such an insane thing? Uncle is being wrongly accused, you must believe me."
That's right, he was doing this. If the victim didn't intend to bother him or report him, the police department couldn't put it on record and he could get away. This was the only option Yu Dahai could think of at the moment. He had to seize this final opportunity.
Hao Ritian's body shook for a moment before he abruptly looked up at Yu Dahai. The rims of his eyes slightly red, and he suddenly said, "Uncle, do you really think I'm an idiot?"
His simple sentence sounded heartrending.
Yu Dahai's expression startled. "You're well?"
Hao Ritian smiled bitterly. "You would prefer to see me deranged, wouldn't you, Uncle? Yes, Director Li has already treated me. I know everything."
Li Yi draped his hand over his shoulder, bringing him comforting strength.
"You… What do you know? Would you rather believe these strangers over your uncle?" Yu Dahai's face turned aggrieved as his eyes passed over Li Yi with obvious meaning.
"Enough!" Officer He put a stop to the conversation. He, honestly, couldn't look on. A person that would bully his own blood nephew was simply worse than pigs or dogs.
"Yu Dahai, Yu Li, and Zheng Yue, there's no need to quibble—we've already collected all the evidence. We just wondered if you would realise your errors and confess. Unfortunately, since it seems you three don't know how to repent, I'll have to convince you." Turning over the evidence in his hands, He Hong's expression was rather cold.
While the trio were still stunned by his words, Officer He turned his gaze to Zheng Yue. "Today at 8:10:30 a.m., you injected an unknown substance in Yu Hao's infusion medicine. There's video proof. After undergoing police examination, we detected that the substance infused inside is a deadly drug which is extremely harmful and stimulating to psychiatric patients, not to mention addictive as well. The material evidence has since been collected. Such acts already constitute a criminal case, but in view of the fact that this was discovered early and hasn't caused substantial harm to the victim, you will be sentenced to three years of incarceration at most, in accordance with the law."
He Hong continued, undeterred by Zheng Yue's expression becoming blank. "After Mr Li Yi reported the case this morning, the police conducted a detailed investigation on you. According to the investigation, you have the tendency to become violent in private and frequently act in violence against your wife. Despite having always put up with it, when you beat your pregnant wife two weeks ago, causing a miscarriage, she finally reached the end of her patience and informed her family. Your wife's family visited you to settle accounts. They demanded a divorce and two million for the damages caused. If you didn't agree, they would drag your name through the mud. It was while you were at the end of your rope that the two siblings, Yu Dahai and Yu Li, sought you out, offering one million to deal with Yu Hao and another million after the act."
As Zheng Yue had previously stated, the wages for attending doctors in Si Ren Hospital was high; for example, his annual income was over a million dollars. However, his expenses were high as well. His mortgage and car loan weren't cheap, and as he frequently beat his wife black and blue, he needed to buy her medicine and gifts, then give her a lot of pocket money. When one calculated it all, he basically had no savings.
Every time he beat his wife, he would apologise to her, and sincerely at that. And his wife, after being beaten up so many times, not only feared him, but had also become submissive to her bones. As such, he'd never imagined that his wife would rebel against him.
What he didn't know was that sometimes women with children could erupt with incredible courage. His wife, who was indeed scared of him and hadn't dared to leave him, finally grew a spine after the miscarriage and told her family everything.
Zheng Yue was therefore violently beaten up by his wife's family. But even when they threatened him, he couldn't cough up two million dollars, so Yu Hao's maternal aunt and uncle's timely appearance was like an opportunity for him. Ultimately, he hadn't been able to resist temptation and had accepted their offer.
As he listened to the police dig out everything that he'd tried to hide, he finally couldn't fool himself about safely getting through this. The cops already had the evidence, so what was the use of arguing?
Zheng Yue collapsed on the stool, his body losing its strength.
He Wei's trio also looked at Zheng Yue with surprise. They'd never imagined that the outwardly cultured and polite Dr Zheng Yue, a seemingly proper man, would actually be so violent and had even beaten his wife, causing a miscarriage. In their opinions, this was simply unacceptable behaviour for men.
—Although they'd lost all credibility after failing to resist temptation and agreeing to enter the psychiatric hospital to harm Yu Hao in cahoots with Zheng Yue. When all was said and done, they were all in the same boat then—being spurned.
Even Hao Ritian was amazed by how scummy he was. Since he knew soon after crossing over that this man was the most direct driving force in harming Yu Hao, Hao Ritian naturally utilised the system's ability to scan his life story. Thus he'd learned of these things a long time ago. Zheng Yue could treat even his wife this way, not to mention a stranger like Yu Hao!
Hence, he'd decided at that moment to not let this scumbag off so easily.
According to the law, this scumbag could only be sentenced to a maximum of three years in jail. After all, Hao Ritian hadn't actually gotten hurt by Zheng Yue in the end, and he couldn't go along with Zheng Yue, allowing him to hurt him just so he'd stay in prison for a few more years, right? That would be really silly!
But it would be naive to think that just three years in prison was enough to atone.
Hao Ritian pondered carelessly as he drank his hot water.