Chapter 263: Cover-up

Li Sihai looked at Su Ruo in surprise; she didn't expect this little lass to be so tough, daring to openly challenge him.

But he only hesitated for a moment, then returned to normal: "Doctor Su, right? You just arrived, maybe you don't yet understand the Unit well; this is the safest place, absolutely no loss of items."

Su Ruo looked at Li Sihai and countered: "If that's the case, how do you explain these things of mine? Or do you, Department Head Li, not think these are something I did myself?"

Li Sihai greatly disliked Su Ruo's aggressive manner, but he still composed himself, smiling and saying: "There might be some misunderstanding here; rest assured about this matter, I will definitely investigate thoroughly and give you an explanation."

Li Sihai's words had gone this far; if it were an ordinary person, even if they were dissatisfied inside, they would give him some face and not pursue it further.

After all, Li Sihai, as the head of the Logistics Department, oversees the distribution of all supplies and welfare; if you offend him, he might make things difficult for you, which would be quite unpleasant.

However, others fear Li Sihai's abuse of power, but Su Ruo is not afraid of her; she has only been here for half a year, basically doesn't care about those distributed items, and Li Sihai poses no threat to her.

Su Ruo said coldly: "If I remember correctly, such matters should be handled by Security, right? When did the Logistics Department's reach become so long that it even starts managing public security incidents?"

Li Sihai's expression instantly turned cold; he didn't expect Su Ruo to be so sharp-tongued, really giving him no face at all.

Since Li Sihai became this department head, whoever sees him is not greeted with a smiling face; never has anyone so embarrassed him that his face turned cold at that moment.

"Doctor Su is right; this matter indeed falls under Security Section's jurisdiction, but the camp has so many things happening in a day—you merely damaged a few items, such a small matter, really needs to mobilize Security Section?"

Su Ruo sneered: "My belongings were damaged for no reason; to you, Department Head Li, it may be a small matter, but to me it is a major issue concerning my very survival."

After all, someone who dares to damage my belongings today might do who knows what tomorrow!

If Department Head Li cannot resolve this matter, please do not obstruct me; find someone who can solve the problem to help.

Or perhaps Department Head Li already knows who damaged my belongings, and is deliberately delaying time to shield that person.

Faced with Su Ruo's question that gave him no face at all, the veins on Li Sihai's forehead all bulged out.

"Are you questioning my fairness?" This sentence was practically squeezed out from between Li Sihai's teeth.

Faced with the enraged Li Sihai, Su Ruo's facial expression showed no change; she still said coldly:

"I am merely stating my reasonable suspicion. After all, I share a dorm with Hao Manru; she has ample opportunity to commit the act, and everyone knows that Hao Manru had a conflict with me today, so it is normal for her to retaliate against me."

Moreover, Hao Manru is so close to you, addressing you as 'uncle' at first sight; I have reason to suspect that you will therefore shield her.

Li Sihai never imagined that he merely wanted to use the opportunity to get closer to Hao Manru, only to have Su Ruo catch him on this.

Hao Manru angrily looked at Su Ruo; she had thought that with Li Sihai's arrival, the matter could be resolved smoothly, but she didn't expect Su Ruo to not even give Li Sihai any face.

The onlookers also turned their gazes toward Su Ruo and her companions; although no one spoke out due to Li Sihai's status, everyone felt in their hearts that Li Sihai was deliberately using his power to suppress people, intentionally bullying that young lady.

Thus, the looks the crowd directed at Li Sihai also carried a hint of disgust and dissatisfaction.

Li Sihai originally thought this was an extremely simple matter, but he didn't expect it to become so thorny.

Seeing the gazes of those around him, Li Sihai knew that today's affair, if he continued to intervene, would also implicate himself.

"I was acting out of good intentions, thinking this was merely a minor issue, with no need to escalate it to Security Section."

After all, most of the residents here are hospital medical staff; you all work in the same place, and it's not good to let things blow up when you see each other every day.

I never expected to cause such a big misunderstanding on your part; well, I, Li, have been meddling.

But I still want to advise you, young lady, don't be so hot-headed despite your young age.

There's a saying: 'Be lenient where you can be lenient'; the sharp edges of youth will sooner or later hurt oneself.

Su Ruo did not take Li Sihai's threatening words to heart; she had come to help, after all—if she felt uncomfortable, she could simply leave.

"Thank you for the reminder, Department Head Li, but my principle has always been: if others do not offend me, I will not offend them; if they offend me, I will surely retaliate."

Now that the other side has already bullied me, I will certainly not let it go easily.

After Su Ruo finished speaking, she no longer paid attention to Department Head Li's increasingly grim expression, looking at the crowd and saying: "I don't know who among you could help me make a trip to Security Section."

It's not that Su Ruo doesn't want to go herself; rather, she fears that if she leaves, Hao Manru will take the opportunity to tamper with the scene.

After all, if they can openly engage in cover‑ups, what else couldn't they do?

But after Su Ruo finished speaking, the scene fell into an eerie silence, with no one moving.

Letting these people watch the spectacle is fine, but if they were to openly step forward and offend Department Head Li, they would be unwilling.

After all, they have no close ties with Su Ruo; if she becomes unhappy and leaves, they would still have to continue living here.

Su Ruo can understand their thoughts, but she still cannot help feeling disappointed.

Su Ruo has always believed that the people here are like Song Jingyu—upright, kind-hearted, and unable to tolerate even a speck of sand in their eyes.

Even if there are one or two corrupt individuals, they are a minority; yet reality tells Su Ruo that they are merely a bunch of ordinary people.

At this moment, an elderly woman stepped forward to advise: "Young lady, I know your belongings were destroyed and you're angry, but this trivial matter really isn't worth alerting Security Section."

In that case, I still have a spare blanket and sheets; you can make do with them for now.

This elderly woman stepped forward for two reasons: first, to curry favor with Li Sihai; second, seeing that Su Ruo is young and inexperienced, she fears Su Ruo will suffer a loss and does not want her to confront Li Sihai.

Once someone took the lead, others also began to urge in turn.

Listening to those moral coercions, Su Ruo's face grew colder and colder, while Hao Manru and Li Sihai became increasingly pleased.