Chapter 97

After the hangover, my head hurt terribly, as if someone were poking it with a needle, over and over.

Lu Mingyuan woke up, rubbed his forehead, opened his eyes, wondering when he had fallen asleep in the bedroom.

He glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table—damn, it was eight o'clock!

He was going to be late for work!

He hurriedly got dressed and rushed downstairs.

"Mingyuan, you're awake? Eat something quick before going to work."

Zhang Xuemei was radiant, exuding the charm of a mature woman.

She wore an apron, the very picture of a virtuous wife and mother.

"No, I'm going to be late."

Lu Mingyuan had a vague recollection of last night's madness.

His chest felt awful, like he had swallowed a fly—unsettled and uneasy.

At this moment, he had no appetite whatsoever.

Saying that, he grabbed his briefcase, put on his leather shoes, and hurried out of the house.

Zhang Xuemei's smile froze on her face; she set her bowl and chopsticks down heavily on the table, making a crisp clack.

If you won't drink the toast, you'll drink the penalty!

He thought, without him, she'd have no one who wanted or cared for her, right?

Fine, fine, Lu Mingyuan, this is all your fault for pushing me!

A revenge that would bring endless calamity thus began.......

At the same time, the Capital's First People's Hospital.

Pei Yao wrote a long letter to her sister last night, accusing their grandfather of bullying her and calling her stupid.

She also told her sister about what had happened at the hospital, as well as the good news that she would soon be going to the Jinling hospital for an exchange program......

In short, every character in a telegram costs money.

She might as well just write a letter; although it's slower, it can hold more words, allowing her to say what she wants and miss her sister.

Inside the changing room——

The night-shift nurse rubbed her eyes while filling out the handover chart, attending to work handover matters.

After Pei Yao entered, the several nurses who had previously ignored her now greeted her warmly.

"Good morning, Doctor Pei."

"Mm, good morning."

"Doctor Pei, you're going to Jinling tomorrow for an exchange program; I heard their baked buns are delicious—could you bring me one when you return? I'll pay you."

"Yeah, yeah, Doctor Pei, I want some too—I've seen those buns on TV—please, please bring me one as well."

"Okay, okay, sure—when I come back I'll definitely bring a baked bun for everyone, and you can pay me then."

Pei Yao had never before been surrounded by coworkers like this; it turned out that when they weren't being sarcastic, they were actually quite cute—a bunch of little foodies.

The others also felt a bit embarrassed; they had previously misunderstood Doctor Pei, thinking she had connections, so they usually stuck together and excluded her.

But now they realize they were the ones who had misunderstood Doctor Pei!

The real person with connections is Lu Manman—that impostor!

So their apologies are sincere; they genuinely want to mend their relationship with Doctor Pei.

Pei Yao is easygoing and holds no grudges, so she accepts her coworkers' kindness and changes wholeheartedly.

While speaking, she took a key from her desk drawer, preparing to open the metal cabinet to get her white coat.

"Click."

Just as she inserted the key into the metal cabinet, suddenly she heard a hissing sound.

Instantly, she stopped what she was doing.

"What's wrong, Doctor Pei?"

The little nurse was puzzled—why had Doctor Pei's expression turned so stern?

"Everyone, be quiet—shh."

Pei Yao made a shushing sound, and then the surroundings fell silent.

Only the hissing sound remained, as if it were striking the cabinet door......

Now everyone heard that strange sound; the timid ones had already burst into tears.

The braver ones' faces grew solemn: 'Don't move, don't touch the cabinet, don't open it—I'll go get Captain You.'

Captain You was the hospital's newly arrived security chief, a veteran soldier, skilled and upright; whenever there was a medical disturbance or a fight in the hospital, he was the one to call.

Pei Yao nodded, signaling everyone to step back and wait for that security chief to arrive......

After a moment, about six or seven minutes later.

Captain You arrived, wearing his uniform, full of righteous bearing, his eyes sharp as an eagle's; his cold gaze swept over everyone in the room and finally settled on the cabinet.

"Whose cabinet is this?"

"Mine."

Pei Yao stared, having expected the security chief to be a middle-aged uncle, but instead he was a young, handsome face.

Well, no wonder everyone said to call Captain You—turns out......

Captain You nodded, thinking, 'So it's her.'

His face remained expressionless as he gave orders:

"From the sound inside, it sounds like a snake—you all need to get out first."

"A snake?"

Pei Yao got goosebumps all over her body; she is terrified of snakes.

"Ah? A snake? Good grief, who played a prank and locked a snake in Doctor Pei's cabinet?"

"This is no prank; this is clearly......"

Everyone looked at Doctor Pei with sympathy, then without further ado, they escorted her out of the changing room.

They're not stupid; it's obvious—someone is jealous that Doctor Pei got the opportunity to study in Jinling.

Pei Yao was already frightened by the snake, so she obediently cooperated with her colleagues as they escorted her out of the changing room.

Her—is this a blessing in disguise?

She's broken the ice with her colleagues!

Moments later, a ping-pong sound echoed in the changing room, then it quickly fell silent.

Then the door was pulled open, and everyone saw Captain You holding a pitch-black snake in his hand; as the snake opened its mouth, its forked tongue flicked out and its fangs were visible, making people's hearts race.

It's a black-banded krait, highly venomous.

Captain You's face darkened; just now, when he opened the cabinet, the snake lunged straight at his face.

Any ordinary person, especially a female doctor or nurse, would have no chance to react.

If bitten, one could experience severe pain, swelling, breathing difficulty, bleeding, etc., and in serious cases it could lead to death.

This snake is generally found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, with its type locality in the eastern Himalayas of India, in Tindaria.

Put simply, this snake is not native; it was introduced from abroad.

Ordinary people have no access to it; only special channels can obtain one.

If it were an ordinary rat snake, he could guess someone just wanted to give Doctor Pei a lesson, to scare her.

But placing this black-banded krait shows the person's malicious intent—they are out to take her life!

Doctor Pei, have you offended anyone recently?

Ah?

After seeing the snake, Pei Yao felt completely unwell.

Who put the snake in her locker?

Recalling what her grandfather told her last night, she had originally not taken it to heart, thinking he was overreacting.

Now she has to admire her grandfather—old ginger is still spicy!

I don't know, but could you please move the snake farther away? I'm afraid of snakes.

Pei Yao's face turned pale; she was obviously frightened badly.

The other female nurses were no better; after such a big incident, they worried whether their own lockers had snakes, couldn't focus on work, were terrified to death, and someone had already gone to report to the department head......