Qiao Xi, You’re Going to Jail

The Next Day

Qiao Xi walked into the hospital in high spirits. Nurse Shu Xue, ever the gossip, nudged her with an elbow and teasingly whispered, "Was that giant red lettering on the Tianyuan Group building for you last night?"

She raised an eyebrow, grinning ambiguously.

Qiao Xi's eyes were soft, her face glowing with a subtle warmth as she denied it, "No, that was just to celebrate the opening of the Tianyuan Tower."

Shu Xue snorted, "You're all smiles, but you're lying through your teeth."

"If you don't believe it, that's up to you."

Qiao Xi tried to cover it up, but Shu Xue wasn't having any of it. She grabbed her arm and playfully pouted, "Come on, tell me! What did you two do last night?"

Qiao Xi bit her lip, her teeth grazing it lightly.

Last night, they had gone wild in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, completely losing control.

She had never thought that something as simple as a kiss could leave her dazed, as though she wanted to melt into him.

In the end, it was Mr. Huo who called a halt to it with a hoarse voice, stopping things from going too far.

Seeing her current expression, Shu Xue was sure it was an exciting night. Just as she was about to ask more, a loud, chaotic voice cut through the air from the hospital entrance.

"Where's Dr. Qiao?! Qiao Xi, get out here!"

"Quack doctor!"

"Wake up, husband, wake up!"

Qiao Xi and Shu Xue rushed over.

They saw Wang Dafu on a stretcher, vomiting and in distress. His wife was crying hysterically. The scene was surrounded by reporters and curious patients, severely disrupting the order of the hospital.

"Dr. Qiao!"

As soon as Wang Dafu's wife spotted Qiao Xi, she rushed over, grabbing her hand and preventing her from leaving.

The reporters immediately turned their cameras on Qiao Xi's face.

"Dr. Qiao, yesterday you said my husband only had a simple case of gastritis, and you gave him acupuncture and medication. But now look at him! My husband said the acupuncture was uncomfortable, and now he's coughing up blood!" she screamed, throwing a fit.

Qiao Xi furrowed her brows, her face serious. "According to the medical instructions, that shouldn't have happened."

"You're just trying to shirk responsibility! Heartless quack!"

Wang Dafu's wife pulled out the prescription from her pocket, waving it in the air. "Look at this! Look, everyone!"

The reporters zoomed in on the prescription with their cameras. "This prescription isn't signed. That's an illegal procedure!"

"It's not like that… Yesterday…"

Qiao Xi tried to explain, but their voices grew louder, and no one was listening.

"I can check on Wang Dafu again. Let me feel his pulse and examine him properly." More than the insults, she wanted to know what had gone wrong with his health.

She was confident in her medical skills, but the human body was complicated. Did he have some hidden condition?

Wang Dafu pushed her away, shouting angrily, "You're just an intern! You treated my husband alone, and now you're trying to harm him!"

"Intern? So young and just graduated? Does she even know all the acupoints of the human body?"

"How can Hai City Hospital let an intern treat patients alone? This is a matter of life and death!"

"She doesn't even have a medical license!"

The voices kept murmuring.

Qiao Xi tightly pressed her lips together, and Shu Xue ran outside to call security.

When the security guards arrived and began to disperse the crowd, the chaos finally died down.

Wang Dafu's wife refused to let Hai City Hospital treat him, saying she only trusted other hospitals.

Only after the hospital promised to give a fair resolution did she reluctantly agree to wait at a nearby hotel for the result.

The issue of doctor-patient relationships had always been a hot topic in society, and now, the intern at Hai City Hospital had made a medical error, and the public's outrage was already spreading online.

No one knew who had leaked the surveillance footage from the Chinese medicine room, but it clearly showed that Qiao Xi was the only one present while the supervising doctor was nowhere to be seen.

The negative impact was severe.

In the Dean's Office

Xu Xiuyuan stared coldly at Qiao Xi, his tone harsh. "Do you not know that prescriptions need the supervising doctor's signature? Is this some kind of common knowledge you're not aware of?"

He threw his phone in front of her, the screen showing footage of her alone treating a patient.

"How dare you, someone without a medical license, do this? Now the family is causing trouble, and what do you expect the hospital to do?"

Qiao Xi clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms.

"Dean Xu," she spoke with a strained voice, her eyes unwavering as she looked at him. "I didn't misdiagnose him. His symptoms were indeed gastritis. If I follow…"

"Qiao Xi!" Xu Xiuyuan interrupted her. "That's not the point! The point is, they're coming for you, and they've got the evidence!"

It didn't matter how she diagnosed it.

Xu Xiuyuan, sharp as he was, could see that there was something off about that couple.

Someone was behind this, pushing them to cause trouble.

Following the lead from Yan Shian, Xu Xiuyuan knew Qiao Xi had been intentionally left alone in the Chinese medicine room.

She had been set up, but Xu Xiuyuan didn't care about the process—only the outcome.

The corners of Qiao Xi's eyes reddened. "I'm sorry."

"Qiao Xi, practicing medicine without a license is a criminal offense. If the circumstances are serious, you could face up to three years of imprisonment," Xu Xiuyuan's voice was cold.

In simpler terms, she could go to jail.

Unless the family was willing to forgive her.

Xu Xiuyuan looked at her deeply. "You've really disappointed me. You've gone out of your way to attract attention, and now others are targeting you. Let me give you some advice—go beg Huo Xingzhou."

Qiao Xi lowered her head, her eyes red.

She never felt like she was good enough for him, and how could she bring herself to beg him? That would only make her seem smaller.

"I'll find out the truth on my own," Qiao Xi pressed her lips together, looking up at him with determination. "As long as Wang Dafu is willing to let me examine him, I'll find out what happened."

"You still dare to investigate?"

Xu Xiuyuan stood up and walked toward her, towering over her.

His irritation only grew as he looked at her familiar face.

"You've stirred up the already tense doctor-patient relations. Those families who just lost loved ones want to tear you apart and vent their grief on you. When working in a hospital, why didn't you use your head more? Not all patients are good people."

Qiao Xi stood straight, her thin back ramrod straight.

Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, but she fought to hold them back.

She looked at Xu Xiuyuan and spoke slowly, her voice soft but firm. "Dean Xu, the school only taught me that doctors are supposed to cure and save lives, and to respect life. They never taught me to scheme or deceive others. I'm sorry, but I haven't learned that lesson yet."

Xu Xiuyuan's heart unexpectedly clenched painfully, and it took him a moment to recover.

He didn't know why he felt this way, but looking into her eyes that asked why the hospital had to play games, he felt a sense of guilt.

As an administrator, he hadn't protected his doctors properly.

In the past, doctors just needed to focus on improving their skills and saving lives. Now, they had to roll around in the muck, learning how to be cunning and deceitful.

Qiao Xi was pure and young.

He hardened his heart. "To quell the public outcry, you will be suspended for six months according to the rules. You need to apologize publicly, and I'll investigate the truth."

Qiao Xi asked, "If I apologize, does that mean I admit I misdiagnosed him? You can punish me further to calm the public and reduce the hospital's losses. But as for the rest, I'd like to try doing it my way."

She wouldn't tarnish her profession.

And she didn't want to disappoint some people's hopes.

After saying this, Qiao Xi turned and walked away.

Her back was straight, as though she had made up her mind to risk everything.