In the executive vice president's office, Zhang Lili laid out her suspicions to Guo Danu.
After listening, Guo Danu frowned. "You're saying Ye Qiu came looking for Shaocong, and he was absolutely furious?"
"Yes," Zhang Lili said. "If Director Bai hadn't stopped him, Ye Qiu might actually have killed me."
"You and Ye Qiu were lovers for years. You really think he'd have the heart to kill you?" Guo Danu didn't believe her at all.
"Dean Guo, I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth!" Zhang Lili panicked. "I was terrified."
"Tell me exactly what happened, from start to finish."
Guo Danu sat back in his chair and listened carefully as Zhang Lili spoke.
Five minutes later.
Guo Danu had a clear picture of what had gone down. "Zhang Lili, go find Ye Qiu at once. If Shaocong's disappearance has anything to do with him, you find out where Shaocong is."
"Dean Guo… why don't you ask him yourself?"
Zhang Lili had no desire to go. The murderous look in Ye Qiu's eyes that morning still made her shudder.
Guo Danu's face darkened. "You expect an executive vice president to go running after some lowly care worker? Don't overestimate him, Zhang Lili."
"Dean Guo, that's not what I meant —"
"I don't care what you meant. Go find Ye Qiu, and find out if he's behind Shaocong's disappearance. If he is, get his location out of him."
"What if he isn't?"
"Even if he isn't, you find out where Shaocong is. Otherwise, I won't give you the permanent hospital position, and I'll never let Shaocong marry you."
Zhang Lili paled instantly. "Don't worry, Dean Guo! I'll find him! I'll go right now!"
She hurried out of the room.
"Idiot!" Guo Danu cursed, his brows knitted tightly as he muttered to himself. "Shaocong, Shaocong… where the hell have you run off to?"
Three seconds later.
Guo Danu picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number. When it connected, he spoke politely: "Hello, I'm looking for Lei Hu… He's not there? Do you know where he went? No? Alright, could you ask him to call me when he gets back? My name is Guo Danu, executive vice president of Jiangzhou Hospital. Alright, thanks."
He hung up, his frown deepening.
"What is going on today? Shaocong missing, Lei Hu unreachable… it's like we're cursed."
Suddenly, his eyelids began twitching violently. A terrible sense of unease washed over him.
...
Ye Qiu left Lin Jingzhi's ward and ran straight into Zhang Lili around a corridor corner.
He chose to ignore the woman who had betrayed him, walking straight past her.
"Stop!" Zhang Lili shouted.
Ye Qiu pretended not to hear and kept walking.
Zhang Lili hurried in front of him and snapped angrily: "Are you deaf? I called you!"
"Were you talking to me?" Ye Qiu said coldly. "I thought it was just some dog barking."
"You —"
"Out of my way."
Zhang Lili's face turned green with rage. Normally, she would have turned and left without a second thought. But she couldn't now. No matter how angry she was, she had to find out where Guo Shaocong was. Otherwise, she would lose her permanent position and never marry him.
Rumors had been spreading around the hospital that Guo Danu would take over from the retiring old director and become the new head of Jiangzhou Hospital.
When Zhang Lili heard that, she had started pushing for marriage, hoping to wed Guo Shaocong as soon as possible. If she became Guo Danu's daughter-in-law, she could walk all over everyone in the hospital.
"I said, out of my way. Did you not hear me?" Seeing that she hadn't moved, Ye Qiu's voice turned icy.
Zhang Lili forced down her anger and sighed. "Ye Qiu, why are you being like this? We were together for a long time. Even if we broke up, can't we just be normal friends?"
"I don't want to be your friend." Ye Qiu glanced at her. "You disgust me."
"You —" Zhang Lili was fuming. She stared at Ye Qiu, wanting to attack him.
But reason told her to hold back. She had to find out where Guo Shaocong was.
Zhang Lili took a deep breath. "I admit what happened between us was my fault. I betrayed you. But do you know why?"
"I do," Ye Qiu said. "You thought I was a poor nobody with no background, no power. I couldn't give you the life you wanted. Am I right?"
"Exactly."
Ye Qiu sneered. "All your excuses boil down to eight words: despising the poor, admiring the rich, and chasing vanity."
Zhang Lili shot back: "What girl in this world doesn't care about vanity? Is it a crime to want a better life? Even if it is, I only made the mistake every girl makes."
"There's no point talking about this. I have work to do. Move."
His attitude was still cold, but his tone had softened slightly. He thought Zhang Lili had come to apologize.
To his surprise, Zhang Lili didn't apologize at all. Instead, she asked: "Ye Qiu, when you went looking for Shaocong this morning… did you find him?"
So she only came for Guo Shaocong. I actually thought she was here to say sorry. How stupid of me.
A bitter feeling rose in Ye Qiu's chest. He said nothing.
"It's so hot in here, isn't it, Ye Qiu?" As she spoke, Zhang Lili unbuttoned her white coat, revealing a low-cut camisole underneath, exposing a patch of fair skin.
But Ye Qiu acted as if he hadn't seen a thing, his eyes clear and unwavering.
Zhang Lili seethed inwardly. What a pretentious prick. What man wasn't ruled by his lower half?
She had no idea the more she acted this way, the more she disgusted him.
"Is this how you operate?" Ye Qiu asked.
"What are you talking about?" Zhang Lili was confused for a moment.
"I mean, is this how you seduced Guo Shaocong? Don't you find it cheap?"
Zhang Lili flew into a rage. "Can't you just talk normally? So I dumped you. Big deal. Must you act like a bitter loser, nitpicking over everything? Are you even a man?"
Ye Qiu stared at her in disbelief. He was genuinely shocked. Who could cheat and still act so self-righteous?
"Now I realize it wasn't you who was blind back then. It was me."
"How could I ever have fallen for someone like you?"
"Get lost!"
Ye Qiu shoved her aside and walked away.