Chapter Two: Hospital Disturbance, Stepping Up Bravely

What if they locked her up in a mental asylum?

What if she was dragged off to some lab to be dissected?

Heaven help her, what was happening to her? Why could she "see" those images?

"Alright, you can sit up now," Dr. Yang said softly as he packed up his instruments. "Avoid spicy or irritating foods for the next week, and try to stick to a light diet. Also, make sure to protect your left eye. No screens. It sustained some trauma, and if you don't take care of it, your vision might be permanently affected..."

Lin Xiaoyan listened to the doctor's instructions, her mind in a chaotic whirl, utterly at a loss.

Suddenly, a clamor erupted outside, growing louder as it approached.

*Is it... happening?* Lin Xiaoyan's body went rigid again. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Was there really going to be a violent medical dispute?

"What was that?" Dr. Yang asked, pausing his pen mid-prescription.

"No... nothing."

Lin Xiaoyan looked at the doctor. She felt a pang of pity, mixed with fear. What should she do? What could she do?

"Wang Linlin! Where is Wang Linlin? Get out here! You bastard! You gave my mother an IV and made her hand bleed! You couldn't even find a vein all morning! Do you even deserve to be called a doctor? Get the hell out here!"

A man's roaring voice echoed clearly into the room.

Hearing this, Dr. Yang stopped writing, frowned, and stood up to investigate.

"D-doctor, my... my eye hurts so much!" Lin Xiaoyan blurted out, desperately trying to keep him there.

"Ah! Help!..."

"Run! He has a knife!"

"Ah!—"

Chaos erupted outside. Dr. Yang rushed toward the door, yet still paused to offer a gentle word of reassurance. "Just sit here for a moment and lock the door from the inside. I'll be right back to check your eye."

With that, he dashed out.

Watching the door close behind him, Lin Xiaoyan felt a bitter ache in her chest. Such a kind doctor did not deserve to be treated this way!

But how could she stop it?

With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone to dial the emergency line, only to hear someone outside already reporting the incident to the police.

"Sir, please calm down. Let's sit down and talk this through. Don't do anything rash..." Dr. Yang's voice drifted in, still gentle and composed.

"I can't just sit here!" Lin Xiaoyan stood up and scanned the office.

Finally, her eyes landed on a mop propped behind the door.

Listening to the commotion outside, she grabbed the mop and hurried out.

Stepping into the corridor, she saw a middle-aged man, his face flushed red with rage, wildly brandishing a knife at Dr. Yang.

"You doctors are all crooks! My mother only had a mild cold, and you forced her to be hospitalized! It's only been three days and it's already cost me five hundred yuan! And when I wanted to check her out, you wouldn't let us!"

Another doctor, the one responsible for the man's mother, arrived panting. "That's because we found a tumor in your mother's stomach. We need to run further tests."

"Bullshit! My mother is fine! She just has a cold, that's why she can't eat! You failed to treat her, so you're making up this tumor story just to squeeze more money out of me!"

It was obvious to everyone present that the man was mentally unstable.

Dr. Yang shot a look at the newly arrived doctor, signaling her to call security immediately. Then, he coaxed in a soothing voice, "Alright. If you want to discharge her, we'll arrange it right now. Put the knife down, and we'll go process the paperwork, okay?"

"No!" Hearing this, the man grew even more agitated. "What about the money I already spent? You have to refund me! If you don't, I'll kill you all!" He violently swung the knife at the doctors.

"Ah!" The onlookers—patients and their families—gasped in terror.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoyan crept forward, clutching the mop. Fear gripped her; the only sound she could hear was the frantic thumping of her own heart. She silently willed herself to be brave.

"You're lying to me! You're all lying! Ah! I'll kill you!"

Suddenly, the man snapped. He lunged at Dr. Yang, knife raised.

"Aaaah! He's going to kill him!"

"Help!"

The crowd scattered in panic, screaming.

Faced with the oncoming blade, Dr. Yang gasped in shock, instinctively raising his arm to shield himself.

Lin Xiaoyan watched the scene unfold. It was exactly like the vision she had just "seen."

Summoning an unknown surge of strength, she raised the mop and charged.

"Aaah!" she shrieked, swinging the mop head straight at the man's face.

*Thwack!*

Caught off guard, the man was knocked off balance by the impact of the mop and fell hard onto his backside.

"You bitch! I'll kill you!" Red-eyed with fury, the man scrambled to his feet, aiming his blade at Lin Xiaoyan.

By now, Lin Xiaoyan's limbs had gone entirely weak with fear, and the mop was slipping from her grasp.

Suddenly, another pair of hands gripped the handle, driving the mop down hard against the man's wrist.

The knife clattered to the floor. Without his weapon, the onlookers surged forward, pinning the man to the ground.

"Ah! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all!" the man shrieked, thrashing uselessly against the weight of the crowd pinning him down.

Lin Xiaoyan leaned heavily against the wall, panting for breath, her ears ringing loudly.

"Are you alright?" Seeing how pale and weak she looked, Dr. Yang rushed over to support her.

"Sit down first. Deep breaths. Yes, follow me. Inhale... exhale... inhale... Better?"

Following Dr. Yang's lead, Lin Xiaoyan took deep breaths. Slowly, the tension drained from her body, and the ringing in her ears subsided.

By then, security guards had arrived and dragged the man away, while the crowd continued to whisper and gossip about the incident.

"Dr. Yang, are you alright?" a nurse asked, running up to him in a panic.

Dr. Yang shook his head. "Thanks to this young lady. Otherwise, my arm... would have been history."

He looked shaken, a lingering sense of dread in his eyes. It had been a close call. He had already resigned himself to losing his arm, and in that split second, his only thought had been that he would never be able to hold a scalpel again...

Thank goodness! A mop had swung out from behind him, keeping the blade away from his arm.

Dr. Yang looked at Lin Xiaoyan with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Miss Lin. If you hadn't stepped in, I'd probably be lying on a gurney right now."

Lin Xiaoyan shook her head weakly. "Don't mention it. It was the right thing to do." She couldn't just stand by and watch a good doctor get hurt.

"Thank you, thank you! Thank you so much, young lady!"

The hospital director hurried over. Upon hearing that Lin Xiaoyan had intervened, he immediately expressed his gratitude.

"Yang Lin, you were far too reckless! If something like this happens again, do not get involved! Don't you know how precious your hands are?" the director scolded, still visibly shaken.

"No, you're not doing outpatient consultations anymore. From now on, you only perform surgeries. When you don't have surgeries scheduled, you stay in the inpatient ward office or go home and rest. Good grief, how could something like this happen..."