Xing Zheng knew Lin Mei was stubborn and had her own ideas, and she was unwilling to show weakness in front of him. If she asked him like this now, she must have been at her wit's end. "What is your father's condition now? Does he need surgery?"
"I don't know yet." Lin Mei shook her head slightly. "I'll go for an angiogram and MRI later."
Xing Zheng: "If surgery is needed, it's best to transfer to a specialized cardiac surgery hospital. Anzhen's cardiac surgery is better than here."
When this was mentioned, Lin Mei's tone became dejected again. "If I don't agree to marry Chen Qi, my dad won't have the surgery."
Xing Zheng's gaze deepened slightly. "Do your parents like Chen Qi that much?"
Lin Mei pulled at the corner of her mouth mockingly. "Yes, I didn't expect it to be like this either. They'd rather believe Chen Qi's claim that I had a mental affair than believe me when I said Chen Qi was seeing someone else."
Xing Zheng had a good impression of Lin Mei's parents. He remembered that when Xiao Yue tutored him as a child, she often chatted with his maternal grandmother.
Xiao Yue and Lin Zhengde were both learned, sensible, and easy to get along with. When neighbors mentioned this couple, they praised them highly. Xing Zheng couldn't connect the people in his memory with what Lin Mei was saying.
"Your parents trust Chen Qi so much because he saved you back then?"
After much thought, this seemed to be the only reason. If it weren't for the life-saving grace, how could two learned and sensible intellectuals become so unreasonable?
"Yes." Lin Mei had a terrible headache. "So Chen Qi thinks he has a death-exempting token."
Xing Zheng gently pressed Lin Mei's shoulder with his palm, his fingertips touching her shoulder. "He's certain you have no evidence."
Lin Mei did have evidence, but the intensity of the video... Lin Zhengde's heart couldn't bear it now. If she wanted to find other evidence, it would take a lot of time.
"I only have that video, and I don't dare to show it to them. My father's health... I can't afford to gamble."
"Leave it to me," Xing Zheng said.
Lin Mei: "You?"
Before she could hear Xing Zheng's answer, Lin Mei's phone rang. It was Xiao Yue calling. Lin Mei quickly answered, "Mom."
Xiao Yue: "Your dad is about to have an angiogram, why aren't you back yet?"
Lin Mei: "I'll be right back."
Xing Zheng waited for Lin Mei to finish her call. When Lin Mei looked at him, he said, "I'll message you later. Let's go up first."
When Lin Mei returned to the ward, she saw Chen Qi helping Lin Zhengde up. Both Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue showed reproachful expressions when they saw Lin Mei. Just as Xiao Yue was about to speak to Lin Mei, Chen Qi smoothed things over, "Teacher Xiao, we should go down."
Lin Zhengde: "You're still speaking up for her."
When Chen Qi returned earlier, his face was bruised. They had asked him for a long time, and Chen Qi had stammered out that Lin Mei had hit him. Both Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue felt Lin Mei had acted inappropriately. Unexpectedly, Chen Qi kept speaking up for Lin Mei, which made them feel even more guilty.
Xiao Yue even said directly to Lin Mei, "It's only because Chen Qi has a good temper and can tolerate you like this. If it were any other man, he would have argued with you long ago."
Lin Mei understood the whole story from her parents' words. It turned out Chen Qi had put on a show of pitifulness with his bruised face again. Lin Mei saw the hypocritical smile on Chen Qi's face and no longer wanted to waste her breath explaining to them. She chose silence and left the ward without a word.
By the time Lin Zhengde finished his angiogram and CT scan, it was already three in the afternoon. This was a very fast speed in a public hospital. When they returned after the examination, the group actually ran into Ming Zhou.
As soon as Chen Qi saw Ming Zhou, his face changed drastically. He supported Lin Zhengde and assumed the posture of the legitimate spouse, interrupting Ming Zhou, who was about to speak to Lin Mei. "Mr. Ming."
To let Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue know Ming Zhou's identity, Chen Qi deliberately called him this way. As expected, upon hearing the surname, the elders knew who this man was. Observing the way he looked at Lin Mei, they knew his intentions towards Lin Mei were not simple.
Ming Zhou was a generous and easy-going person. Although he had had conflicts with Chen Qi before, he still nodded politely to Chen Qi when Chen Qi took the initiative to greet him. However, Chen Qi's focus remained on Lin Mei: "Junior, why are you at the hospital?"
Lin Mei introduced Ming Zhou to her parents, "My father is hospitalized for an examination."
Ming Zhou looked at the elders and greeted them, "Hello, Uncle and Aunt. Is Uncle feeling unwell? Please let me know if you need any help."
"No need, my son-in-law is helping me with everything." With Chen Qi's previous words, Ming Zhou's image in Lin Zhengde's mind was naturally not good. Even if he appeared elegant and polite now, in the hearts of Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue, he was merely a third party trying to break up his daughter and son-in-law.
Lin Zhengde's attitude immediately made Chen Qi much more arrogant. He smiled and said to Ming Zhou, "Mr. Ming, you are too kind. You don't need to worry about our family affairs."
His tone was sarcastic. Even a three-year-old child would know he was saying it deliberately.
Lin Mei couldn't stand Chen Qi's arrogance. She said to Ming Zhou, "Thank you, Senior. I'll contact you if needed. I won't delay your work. We'll be going back now."
Ming Zhou also noticed that Lin Mei's parents were not very friendly. It was likely that Chen Qi had poisoned their minds. It wouldn't leave a good impression to continue showing his presence in front of the elders at this time. Ming Zhou politely said goodbye.
Not long after returning to the ward, Chen Qi suddenly received a call saying he had some urgent work to handle. Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue didn't suspect anything and told him to go and deal with it quickly. However, Lin Mei knew clearly that Chen Qi wasn't leaving because of work.
If it were a work call, he wouldn't have to go out to take it. He could have answered it in front of the elders and continued to build his image in their eyes.
It was probably a call from some woman outside, and he had to go out to deal with it. But if she said it, no one would believe her.
After Chen Qi left, Xiao Yue asked Lin Mei, "Did you hit Chen Qi today?"
Lin Mei knew she couldn't escape this question. She nodded in admission and showed no intention of explaining, appearing to have given up all pretense.
Lin Zhengde was extremely annoyed by her attitude. "What has gotten into you? Just because of that person just now, have you forgotten all the good things Chen Qi has done for you over the years?"
"It has nothing to do with him." Lin Mei couldn't tolerate them dragging Ming Zhou into this. However, her words sounded different to others, as if she were defending Ming Zhou. Xiao Yue immediately followed up with a question: "If it has nothing to do with him, why are you so agitated?"
When parents become unreasonable, they are completely incomprehensible. They only believe in their own firm beliefs, and explanations are taken as excuses.
Lin Mei felt tired of talking. "I'll go get the examination report."
Lin Mei went to retrieve the examination report. When she returned, the attending physician happened to come over.
Lin Mei handed over the report. After the doctor reviewed it, his expression gradually became serious.