Chapter 2218: 2141 Dragged Back to Wait for Death

"Don't, I think he's fine." Zhou Litao cautiously defended himself.

If you didn't know, if he weren't wearing the white coat, you'd think he was the patient's family.

"How dare you talk like that!" the middle-aged man snapped, "Did you take money from the responsible party to help mediate?"

""

"Don't bully us for not understanding—his pupils are totally dilated, you even shined a penlight, no light reflex, a classic sign of brain hemorrhage, possibly brainstem bleed, and you're telling me he's fine?" The middle-aged man's words left Zhou Litao speechless.

Zheng Ren found it strange.

If a doctor said that, it would still be normal. The wording isn't quite standard, but it makes things clear.

Loss of pupillary light reflex could indicate brainstem hemorrhage; that's correct.

But the patient's family's attitude is very strange. They don't look like relatives—who would have their own family not even pretend, just say take them home to wait for death, and then cremate them right away?

Such things…

Zheng Ren has seen plenty of that; back in Hai Cheng, some patients who could still be saved had their families refuse treatment, sign the forms, and take them away.

Some involve money; others just don't want to bother with caregiving.

Zheng Ren has seen it all, but whatever the case, basic decency is still needed.

But this situation before him feels unfamiliar.

When refusing treatment, you ought to at least feign utter despair.

Looking at the middle-aged man's nonchalant attitude, Zheng Ren got the impression he was a medical troublemaker.

But they weren't bothering Zhou Litao; they just surrounded him, refusing further tests and insisting on going home.

If they'd run into a doctor who wasn't firm, or a timid one, they'd likely have already signed and gone home.

Zheng Ren grew curious and looked around.

From the resuscitation room came a dry wail of anguish, but Zheng Ren's experience told him it was just crying without real grief.

Outside the resuscitation room, a 28- or 29-year-old woman in a red windcoat, her face pale, looked bewildered and fearful as she crouched against the wall.

She couldn't even cry, just blankly listening to a man nearby speaking. Two others—a man and a woman—stood beside him, coldly eyeing the red windcoat without threatening or scolding.

This must be the driver who caused the accident, Zheng Ren thought.

"He's already beyond help. The doctor just saw— you know that." The man stated flatly.

His voice wasn't rushed, but Zheng Ren always sensed he was urgent.

Just a feeling, inexplicable.

"We're only thinking of you; nobody meant for this to happen." The man said steadily, "You can see the person—hospitalizing them for a day costs at least eighty thousand, and they still can't be saved."

"Not treating... that's a human life!" the woman, already frightened senseless, said with a trembling voice.

"Fine, then admit him." The man said impatiently, "What kind of people are you, treating good intentions like dog's lungs and liver?"

"Hospitalizing him, even a day costs at least eighty thousand, right, big brother?"

"Eighty thousand? Putting him in the ICU costs at least thirty thousand a day." The man sneered, "Don't even think about running—if you don't hand over your ID, you think I wouldn't know who you are?"

"I... I..." the woman in the red windcoat, scared stupid, stammered meaningless words.

"What's with you? First pay the thirty-thousand hospitalization fee." The man beside her said, "If you're broke, I'll come after you later. If the person is saved, what about medical fees, nursing fees, lost wages—what would the lawyers say?"

"I don't know yet, but I've contacted them. The lawyer said, not counting hospitalization costs, you'd still have to pay around one million."

The two men traded remarks, lightly sketching out a hellish future for the woman.

Oddly, what they said was half-true, half-false; though not detailed, given the woman in the red windcoat's understanding of society, what they said was correct.

Upon hearing talk of huge compensation, the woman's face turned purple.

"I... I... have insurance."

"Oh, you really think insurance will fully cover you? What an idiot." The man said contemptuously.

"What are you saying!" another middle-aged woman stepped forward, "She looks like an honest person—are you trying to screw her over?"

"It's her own fault." The man sneered, "She insists on giving the money to the hospital."

"Get lost!" the middle-aged woman drove the two men away, then crouched beside the woman in the red windcoat, softly explaining the pros and cons.

Zheng Ren was dumbfounded.

"How can they bully people like that!" Lin Yuan's adolescent edginess exploded.

As she just moved, Zheng Ren's finger snapped, hitting the radial styloid of Lin Yuan's right hand.

"Ah, why did you hit me?" Lin Yuan winced in pain.

"Keep it down, you'll make things complicated." Zheng Ren said softly.

"..." Lin Yuan felt somewhat wronged, pressing her lips shut and staying silent.

Zheng Lao Ban is always right, always right—Lin Yuan muttered that to herself. But no matter how she repeated it, she still felt wronged.

Are we just supposed to watch a gang bully a woman!

Zheng Lao Ban isn't that kind of cold person—why is he like this!

Countless questions and shouts welled up inside her, but Lin Yuan swallowed them back. She glared at Zheng Ren, puffed-cheeked, glanced at him once, then turned her gaze to the woman in the red windcoat.

"Who's right or wrong, you don't even know—why get involved?" Zheng Ren also had a headache, truly so adolescent.

If Su Yun were here, she definitely wouldn't rush out to state her stance before clarifying the matter.

Lin Yuan doing that makes it too easy for others to prove her wrong.

"But..." Lin Yuan felt Zheng Lao Ban was both right and wrong, but as she opened her mouth to rebut, she saw Zheng Lao Ban stride over to Zhou Litao.

"What's the situation?" Zheng Ren asked solemnly.

"Um, Zheng Lao Ban, they were in a car accident together."

"Who are you!" the people surrounding Zhou Litao scoffed.

"I'm a senior doctor, here to examine the patient." Zheng Ren said.

The few people around were just thinking about what to say, when Zheng Ren lightly tapped his hand on the banner hanging on the wall.

The words 'Crackdown on Crime and Evil' were especially conspicuous.

Several people were momentarily speechless, some feeling fearful. Seeing this, Zheng Ren realized even more clearly that his guess was correct.

Zhou Litao was 'rescued' out, and he brought Zheng Ren into the emergency room. As they walked, he habitually reported the medical history.

"Zheng Lao Ban, a patient injured in a traffic accident was brought in 30 Minute ago. He has a history of Shou Bing; family said two days ago they underwent left eye cyst excision, and now the left eye has a dressing."

Zheng Ren nodded slightly, and Zhou Litao's reported medical history grew ever closer to his guess.