Qiao Qiao’s heart quickened as she read the message. She immediately looked around, and seeing no one, she let out a small sigh of relief, though her heart continued to pound nervously, her hand holding the phone trembling slightly.
“You can’t betray Yu He and Grandma Yu!”
“What I can give you, I can also take back!”
The words Qiao Wei had once lectured her with, and the things Yu He had said before, kept replaying in her mind, like two small figures locked in a relentless, indecisive battle.
She tried to recall Yu He’s past kindness towards her, but in the end, it couldn’t overcome Qin Beiting’s infuriatingly handsome face, which was buried deep in her heart.
Just then, she heard activity in the courtyard. She stepped out a little and saw Qin Beiting walking hand-in-hand with Yu He, laughing and talking, as they emerged from the east wing and returned to the west wing.
Seeing this made Qiao Qiao so jealous her eyes turned red. Qin Beiting only had that particularly charming smile when he was with Yu He.
She longed to possess his smile too…
“Oh, Qiao Qiao, why are you standing behind the door? You startled me,” Xiao Qing said, returning unexpectedly and jumping when she saw Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao was also startled back to reality. She put away her phone and said casually, “I, I was just going to the restroom.”
Xiao Qing looked a bit puzzled and glanced into the room. “Is the restroom inside broken?”
“Uh, I think so,” Qiao Qiao replied vaguely. Seeing the prescription in Xiao Qing’s hand, she asked, “Is it a new prescription?”
Mentioning the prescription immediately diverted Xiao Qing’s attention. She replied, “No, have you gotten the prescription for patient number four, Liu Xi, yet?”
“Not yet, why?” Qiao Qiao asked.
Xiao Qing said anxiously, “That’s great. The patient is allergic to seahorse. Grandma Yu is replacing it with Eucommia bark. This is a new prescription, make sure not to get it wrong. The patient will come for the medicine tomorrow afternoon.”
Qiao Qiao took the prescription. “Okay, leave it to me.”
After Xiao Qing left, Qiao Qiao casually placed the prescription on the table, took out her phone again, took a deep breath, and finally made up her mind, replying to Qi Suilin.
Qiao Qiao: [When does it start?]
After sending the message, the other party didn’t reply immediately. Qiao Qiao picked up the prescription from the table and continued to dispense medicine.
Five minutes later, her WeChat chimed with a notification. She immediately put down the medicine and looked at her phone.
Qi Suilin: [Tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock. Clear your schedule, I’ll pick you up. We’ll talk when we meet.]
Qiao Qiao’s heart pounded like a drum. She replied: [Okay, Brother Suilin.]
Followed by a cute emoji.
She waited for a while, and seeing that Qi Suilin hadn’t said anything else, she put away her phone and picked up the prescription list to continue dispensing medicine, completely oblivious to the fact that the last prescription she had picked up for patient number four was the old one.
The next day at noon.
After lunch, Qiao Qiao asked Grandma Yu for leave while she was preparing for her nap.
“Grandma Yu, I’d like to take leave this afternoon to go out. I’ve already explained the patient’s medication to Xiao Ya,” she said.
There were two nurses in the clinic. After serving patients, Xiao Qing learned acupuncture from Grandma Yu, while Qiao Qiao guided Xiao Ya in making medicinal diets.
Both girls were eager to learn and quick to grasp things. Grandma Yu was confident leaving things to Xiao Ya. However, she found it a bit strange that Qiao Qiao had been taking leave rather frequently lately.
“Is something the matter?” Grandma Yu couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes, a friend of mine isn’t feeling well and can’t go out, so I’m going to see him,” Qiao Qiao nodded, offering an excuse.
“Qiao Qiao, have you found a boyfriend?” Grandma Yu asked. Her reasons for taking leave were always similar – either a friend had something going on or she had plans with a friend.
Qiao Qiao’s eyes darted away. To avoid appearing suspicious, she feigned a pout. “Grandma Yu, you always tease me! No, just ordinary friends.”
Grandma Yu smiled, guessing that she had likely made a male friend outside. “Go ahead. When the time is right, bring him back so everyone can get to know him.”
Qiao Qiao felt a pang of guilt. “…Okay.”
She left the clinic, went home to change into a goose-yellow dress, put on some makeup, and then exited through the back gate of the complex. After walking about five hundred meters, she saw a black BMW parked by the roadside.
Qiao Qiao looked left and right, confirmed no acquaintances were around, then approached the car and got into the back seat.
There was already someone in the back seat, dressed in a black suit, with his long legs casually crossed, leaning back and looking at a tablet. It was Qi Suilin.
Seeing her get in, he merely glanced up at Qiao Qiao and said to the driver, “Let’s go.”
“Brother Suilin, where are we going?” Qiao Qiao asked.
“Renren General Hospital, to draw some blood and do a paternity test,” Qi Suilin said, pulling a contract from the seat pocket in front of him and handing it to her. “This is the contract. Sign it if there are no problems.”
Qiao Qiao swallowed. “Okay, I’ll look it over first.”
Half an hour later, the car arrived at the Renren General Hospital parking lot, where a nurse was already waiting.
Qiao Qiao handed the signed contract to Qi Suilin. The nurse then came over to escort her out of the car and through the staff entrance for the blood draw.
After the blood draw, the nurse escorted her to the director’s office and left.
In the office, all the Qi family members were present except for Old Master Qi and Qi Yuan Yuan, who was in prison. Their expressions were varied, and the atmosphere was grim.
Seeing Qiao Qiao enter, Madam Qi, with red eyes, asked Qi Ye Wen:
“Do we really have to do this? Yuan Yuan is already in prison. For the sake of the Qi family, the people in prison won’t make things too difficult for her. If we announce to the public that she’s not of Qi blood, won’t she lose even the little bit of comfort she has left?”
Qi Ye Wen’s face was somber, and he remained silent. Old Madam Qi spoke up sternly:
“If she hadn’t been so vain back then, would the Qi family have ended up like this because of her?”
Even though they had cut ties with Qi Yuan Yuan and let her face the consequences of her actions in prison, she was still a stain on the Qi family. Because of this stain, Qi’s Pharmaceutical stock had been sluggish, and competitors had even used it as news to attack the Qi family’s reputation.
As a result, Qi Ye Wen had racked his brain trying to find solutions, implementing various public relations strategies, but with little success. Especially with the presence of the seemingly miraculous Yu Immortal Doctor’s Clinic in the capital, which could cure almost anything, the Qi Corporation’s reputation had been tarnished to an unprecedented low for the first time in a hundred years.
Finally, Old Madam Qi, referencing the highly publicized news of the real and fake daughters from the Qin family a while ago, came up with the current drastic plan—
They were going to announce to the public that Qi Yuan Yuan was adopted, and Qiao Qiao was the true eldest daughter of the Qi family.
“Since we abandoned her back then, let’s abandon her completely. This can be considered her final contribution to the Qi family!” Qi Ye Wen said slowly.
Madam Qi shook her head, unable to accept it. “No, is there no other way?”
“This is the best way. It can save the Qi family’s reputation and is also the best way to avenge Yuan Yuan!” Qi Ye Wen said soothingly.
Qiao Qiao’s medicinal diets were among the best in the capital, and she was also the second-in-command at the Yu Immortal Doctor’s Clinic.
The Yu Immortal Doctor’s Clinic treated patients with acupuncture combined with medicinal diet therapy, neither of which could be omitted. Bringing her to the Qi family would be a heavy blow to the Yu Immortal Doctor’s Clinic!
Moreover, Qiao Qiao’s previous request was to help her connect with Qin Beiting, and the Qi family did not want to give up the marriage alliance with the Qin family. Old Madam Qi had also made contact with the Huang family…