Chapter 8: Cruel Reality, The Cool Older Sister and Her Puppy
Shen Jiang had just locked the main door and was preparing to head to the hospital when she was unexpectedly blocked at her doorstep before she could even finish.
“See? What did I tell you? There’s someone inside!”
Shen Jiang turned her head to look and saw a young man and woman standing together. They were youthful and fashionably dressed, both pairs of eyes staring at her, filled with excitement.
The young man was still holding a half-eaten breakfast in his hand and mumbled, “Thank God. We’ve come so many times, and there’s finally someone here.”
“What do you want?” Shen Jiang’s guard went up.
The stunningly beautiful girl smiled. “Hello, my name is Zi Ning. A video interviewing a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner recently went viral online. We’re content creators too. This whole incident has caused a huge controversy online, it’s a really hot topic, you know?”
Her male companion, who had thick brows and large eyes, grinned brightly, revealing a set of white teeth. “My name is Chen Quan. I’m her cameraman.”
Shen Jiang knew, of course. Her impression of content creators was not a good one. After her grandmother’s accident, it was precisely those minor social media influencers who had found their way to the hospital, trying to leech off the hype from her…
She hadn’t expected to run into this type of person again, right at her own doorstep.
These two looked young and naive, but Shen Jiang would never mistake them for guileless blank slates.
Shen Jiang’s expression turned slightly cold. After experiencing it once, she had developed a deep loathing for social media influencers who profited from others’ tragedies. The beautiful girl in front of her certainly had the looks to be an influencer, but right now, that beauty was merely grating to her eyes.
“I don’t know anything. I’m here to see a doctor,” Shen Jiang said, and started to walk away.
The cute young lady’s expression suddenly changed. Zi Ning was a bit surprised. She had clearly seen this young woman walk out of the door from a distance just now. After exchanging a glance with her equally bewildered companion, Zi Ning suddenly understood.
“This incident has caused a huge controversy online. Public opinion is already biased against traditional Chinese medicine, and many people are just following the crowd. I’m a fan of TCM, and I want to know if there might be another side to this story.”
Shen Jiang’s steps faltered, and she stopped, though the wariness in her eyes remained.
“A fan of TCM? There aren’t many young people who believe in traditional Chinese medicine these days.”
Zi Ning smiled. “We’re actually video creators who specialize in educational content about traditional Chinese medicine. Our goal is to let everyone see what truly good TCM is. Right now, the internet is full of irresponsible speculation. The troublemaker has run off, and the doctor is in the hospital. Neither side has a voice, so it’s all marketing accounts and TCM trolls driving the narrative. We came here because we want to know what really happened.”
This was truly like someone handing you a pillow when you’re sleepy. Shen Jiang was just worrying about how to resolve Mingxin Hall’s reputation crisis, and now people, drawn by the hype, had come to her.
That morning, she had inquired with several marketing accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers. The prices they quoted were far beyond what she could afford now, not to mention her ambition to clear her grandmother’s name across the entire internet. In the face of reality, this grand ambition seemed somewhat sad and laughable.
Compared to clarification, marketing accounts preferred sensational, explosive material. For that, they would be willing to post for her even without payment.
However, could she rely on this ragtag operation of two people who looked like university students?
Shen Jiang’s expression had softened by now. “Why do you make educational videos about TCM? Isn’t that too much of a niche? Why not do food or something else?”
The young man immediately cast a furtive, approving glance her way.
Zi Ning, however, looked as if she had found someone to share her passion with, her eyes shining. “A few years ago, my face was covered in acne. I saw so many doctors, but nothing worked. In the end, an old TCM doctor prescribed an ointment and herbal medicine that finally cleared it up. Look.”
She pointed to her face. All Shen Jiang saw was a fair complexion as smooth as a peeled egg. Zi Ning said with great relief, “I really thought my face was going to look like the surface of the moon for the rest of my life. I almost fell into depression. You know, for a girl, having a face full of pits and bumps is truly devastating. I’m so lucky I met a reliable TCM doctor who cured me.”
Zi Ning took out her phone to show Shen Jiang. Shen Jiang glanced at the photo of the girl on the screen—a shockingly ravaged face, though the facial features bore some resemblance to Zi Ning.
The girl in the photo had a somewhat gloomy look in her eyes, appearing unhappy.
The young man named Chen Quan scratched his head. “I rarely see a doctor, but I know TCM is pretty amazing. Anyway, if she believes in it, I believe in it.”
He looked at his companion, his eyes filled with an unconcealable passion.
The two had a strong student-like air about them, and their sincere self-introduction lessened Shen Jiang’s wariness.
Shen Jiang thought of a crucial question: “Do you have a lot of followers on your account?”
Chen Quan hadn’t expected her to be so direct. A hint of embarrassment crept into his smile, and he scratched his face. “We have less than ten thousand right now. We have to balance it with our coursework. But don’t worry, our followers are all active, and they’re particularly interested in TCM. We’ll post on all platforms, so the exposure will definitely be significant.”
As he spoke, he chuckled a little sheepishly, looking somewhat simple and honest.
Just over a thousand is, indeed, less than ten thousand.
Shen Jiang’s phone rang. The call was from an unknown number. Thinking of the recent calls that were either abusive or personal attacks, Shen Jiang blacklisted it without a second thought, the action smooth and seamless.
Many neighbors were using the pretense of buying breakfast to cast subtle glances in their direction. Shen Jiang turned, unlocked the door, and pushed it open, making space for them to enter.
“Let’s talk inside.”
Shen Jiang had been staying at the hospital these past few days. If she hadn’t planned to come here yesterday to sign the contract to sell Mingxin Hall, and if a series of other events hadn’t kept her here until this morning, the two of them would likely have come up empty-handed again.
In fact, after waiting for several days, Chen Quan and Zi Ning had already given up hope of visiting this clinic. They hadn’t expected that their last-ditch effort, made without much hope, would result in them actually meeting someone.
And after entering, the chaotic and messy state of the clinic was exactly the same as in the viral videos online. This left the two of them feeling quite down. They had thought the place would have been cleaned up long ago.
What surprised them even more was that the kind-faced and friendly young woman in front of them was also a student of traditional Chinese medicine!
Zi Ning stepped around the broken glass on the floor and asked as a matter of course, “So what year are you in?”
Shen Jiang said, “I’ve already graduated and been working for several years.”
Now Zi Ning was genuinely surprised. “You look about the same age as me. You’ve already graduated? As such a young TCM doctor, it must be hard to gain patients’ trust, right?”
Shen Jiang smiled. Indeed, young TCM doctors all go through several years of sitting on the “cold bench,” a difficult period to endure. But she was fortunate. Being by her grandmother’s side, her heart was full of passion.
Zi Ning continued to chat idly. “The TCM program at Nanze University is quite good. It takes five years to graduate. It’s a pity I missed the cutoff score by a few points. You’re a Nanze local, so you wouldn’t happen to be our senior, would you?”
Shen Jiang didn’t emphasize her own academic background. She said humbly, “Nanze University is very good, but I’m not a student from Nanze.”
Shen Jiang looked like the type of student who was the most obedient and diligent in her school days. Zi Ning felt a little sorry for her. If she had gotten into the TCM program at Nanze University, she could have worked at the municipal Chinese medicine hospital, where the development opportunities would be much better than here.
Looking at the numerous banners on the ground that read “Saving Lives and Healing the Wounded” and “Boundless Merit,” Zi Ning’s intuition told her that the old TCM doctor was genuinely skilled. Otherwise, this clinic couldn’t have been open for over forty years.
Chen Quan set up the first fixed camera position. He mounted a phone on a tripod, adjusted the height and distance, and then held another phone with a gimbal in his hand, giving Zi Ning an “OK” gesture.
Shen Jiang thought their setup looked quite professional. Two people with two phones, creating the feel of a small team.
Zi Ning had already prepared her interview questions. She had come prepared this time, so she got straight to the point, asking about the medical dispute that netizens were most concerned about.
“Dr. Shen, not long ago, a patient’s family member came to cause trouble. Was it really your doctor who harmed the patient?”