After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

On the afternoon of the day Lin Wan was brought back from the police station, her fever reached 39.2 degrees Celsius.

Zhao Shuya was frantic. She put the thickest quilt in the house on Lin Wan, then rummaged through drawers and cabinets to find half a bottle of fever-reducing pills. She broke off two pills, dissolved them in warm water, and fed them to her daughter spoonful by spoonful.

Lin Weiguo sat in the living room, smoking one cigarette after another, while the enamel ashtray on the coffee table was half full of cigarette butts.

He didn't go into the bedroom to see his daughter.

It's not that I don't feel sorry for you, it's that I don't know what to say.

Lin Weiguo had worked at the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital for so many years, and all the connections and prestige he had built up over those years were shattered by Lin Wan's actions this morning.

When he entered the interrogation room of the police station, the police officer on duty was looking at his precious daughter with the eyes of someone looking at a habitual criminal—her face was covered in smeared makeup, her wool coat was smeared with yellow mud, and her hair was disheveled like that of a madwoman.

He pulled out his work ID, a letter of introduction from the main hospital, offered the director a cigarette, and spent a long time explaining with a forced smile before finally leading the person out.

As he reached the main gate, he overheard a young policeman inside whispering to his colleague, "The vice president's daughter? Is this all she is? No wonder she was reported by the public."

Lin Weiguo was smiling at the time, but his shirt was completely soaked through.

However, what surprised him even more was that the joke had legs.

The next morning at seven o'clock, Lin Weiguo walked into the administration building of the main hospital as usual.

In the corridor, he ran into Old Zhang from the logistics department, who was carrying an enamel mug to get hot water. The two met face to face, Old Zhang glanced at him, his lips twitched, he hurriedly greeted him, and then lowered his head and walked away.

Lin Weiguo didn't pay attention.

As he reached the second-floor stairwell, Xiao Liu from the pharmacy department and Wu, an officer from the nursing department, were leaning against the window, whispering to each other. Seeing him approach, they both immediately fell silent, giving him a knowing, ambiguous smile.

Lin Weiguo's heart skipped a beat.

Pushing open the office door, his secretary, Xiao Chen, was placing the day's documents on his desk. Seeing him enter, Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Dean Lin, there were some rumors circulating in the cafeteria this morning..."

"What gossip?"

Xiao Chen rubbed his hands awkwardly: "They said... Comrade Lin Wan was arrested by the police at the train station yesterday, mistaken for a human trafficker, and you personally went to the police station to bring her back."

Lin Weiguo slammed his briefcase onto the table with a "thud".

"Who sent it?"

"Well... it's hard to say. A lot of people in the cafeteria were talking about it this morning, even the nurses in the outpatient department know about it." Xiao Chen shrank his neck. "Some people also said that Comrade Lin Wan thought a patient's family member was dirty at the train station and kicked their luggage several times, resulting in her being surrounded by middle-aged women from Beicheng on the street."

Lin Weiguo plopped down in the chair, feeling a throbbing sensation in his temples.

He had considered that Lin Wan might not be used to going to the train station, and that she might complain and whine, but he never expected that this girl could turn a simple task of picking someone up into a criminal case.

What's worse, the news spread way too fast.

Overnight, the news that "Vice President Lin's daughter was arrested at the train station" spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the hospital.

By noon, the version had evolved to its third generation.

The most outrageous version came from the pharmacy: Lin Wan not only looked down on the patient's family, but also threw away the child's life-saving medicine. She was handcuffed and taken away by the police, and it was Lin Weiguo who begged for two hours at the police station to get her out.

Lin Weiguo did not go to the cafeteria for lunch.

He asked Xiao Chen to buy two steamed buns from outside, and they ate them in the office with the door closed.

At 2 PM, the administration office held its routine administrative meeting.

When Lin Weiguo forced himself to enter the conference room, everyone was whispering among themselves. As soon as he came in, their voices immediately fell silent, but those gazes—some sympathetic, some gloating, some suppressing laughter—felt like needles pricking his back.

Zhou Hai sat in the main seat, flipped through the documents in his hand, and didn't mention the matter.

But when the meeting was over, Zhou Hai called him back.

"Old Lin, have a seat."

Lin Weiguo sat down, placing his hands on his knees, his knuckles clenched tightly.

Zhou Hai took off his glasses, wiped them, and said slowly, "I've heard about what happened at the train station."

"Dean Zhou, that's a misunderstanding—"

"I know it's a misunderstanding." Zhou Hai waved his hand, interrupting him. "The police have already verified his identity, and there's nothing further to it. But Lao Lin, think about it yourself, why would the public misunderstand?"

Lin Weiguo opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"What kind of project is 'Heart of China'? It's the lifeline for children with congenital heart disease across the country. Picking up patients' families at the train station is the face of our main hospital. Your daughter went there in a wool coat and high heels, complaining about the dirt on the luggage of these rural people, and throwing a tantrum in public—Old Lin, if you were a bystander, how would you feel?"

Lin Weiguo's face turned a deep purplish-red.

Zhou Hai put his glasses back on his nose and looked at him through the lenses: "I won't talk to Ye Zhen about this. This position was something you asked for yourself. But let me remind you, the Heart of China is now a key project registered with the Ministry of Health, and there are people watching it. If your daughter does something like this again, it won't just be her who loses face."

When Lin Weiguo got home, it was already dark.

Lin Wan's fever had subsided, and she was wrapped in a blanket, leaning against the headboard, with a bowl of egg drop porridge cooked by Zhao Shuya in front of her. When she saw Lin Weiguo come in, her eyes reddened again.

"Dad, are people at the hospital talking about me today?"

Lin Weiguo stood at the bedroom door, looking at his daughter's face, and remained silent for a long time.

"Wanwan, tell Dad the truth." He walked to the bedside, sat down in a chair, and said in a low voice, "Do you really want to continue working at China Heart?"

Lin Wan bit her lip.

"I don't want to."

When she said those three words, she collapsed onto the pillow as if all her energy had been depleted.

"I can't do it. I really can't do those jobs. I can't understand the phone calls, I can't open the letters properly, and when I go to the train station to pick people up... I got arrested as a human trafficker. Zhao Lanlan and Gu Yue looked at me like I was a lump of mud."

Lin Wan's voice grew louder and louder until she was practically shouting.

"I don't want to go back! I'd rather stay home than set foot in that office again!"

Zhao Shuya came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of medicine. Upon hearing this, she glanced at Lin Weiguo.

Lin Weiguo closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

The silence lasted for almost a minute.

"Okay." Lin Weiguo opened his eyes, his voice sounding as tired as if he had aged ten years. "Tomorrow I'll go to the administration office to submit a report saying that you're not feeling well and are applying for leave to recuperate."

"Then the organizational structure—" Zhao Shuya said anxiously.

"No, I don't want it anymore." Lin Weiguo stood up and walked out of the bedroom, his back slightly hunched. "I can't afford to lose face like this."

The next morning, a brief application for resignation appeared on Zhou Hai's desk.

Zhou Hai glanced at it, picked up his pen, and wrote two words: "Agreed."

In the Huaxia Heart Rescue Office, Zhao Lanlan put down the phone and glanced up at Lin Wan's empty folding chair. The ballpoint pen, which hadn't been used at all, still sat on the chair.

Gu Yue walked over and put the pen into the drawer.

"It's good that you're gone." Gu Yue opened a newly arrived letter, her voice very soft. "That chair is now empty, perfect for putting a second telephone."

Zhao Lanlan didn't reply. She lowered her head, turned to a new page of the registration form, picked up a red pen, and continued working.

The poplar trees outside the window have sprouted new buds, and the spring breeze carries the scent of freshly turned soil.

The dark green office phone rang again.

Zhao Lanlan answered the receiver: "Hello, this is the China Heart Congenital Heart Disease Relief Hotline—"

A woman's voice with a heavy Hunan accent came from the other side, and she burst into tears.

Zhao Lanlan didn't rush to speak. She waited until the crying subsided before speaking in a slightly hesitant Changsha accent, "Sister, don't cry. How old is your child?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"You...you can speak our language?"

"I know a little. Tell me slowly, I'll take notes."