I Conquer the Entertainment Industry with My Medical Skills - Chapter 26

An Ningqing gazed steadily at the girl before her. Xie Anran, with her exceptional qualities, would be considered a rare gem in any world. Yet this extraordinary person was eagerly presenting her with the fruits of an hour’s digging on the beach.

It felt as if someone were offering her their own crimson heart.

Her fingers twitched slightly.

“You found all of these yourself, Third Miss. I didn’t do anything, so I can’t possibly take credit for your hard work. Ahem, ahem.”

Xie Anran simply hung the small red bucket on An Ningqing’s right arm. “I wanted to give it to you, so I did.”

The small red bucket felt surprisingly heavy in An Ningqing’s hand, almost too heavy to lift.

Xie Anran, having finished playing, pulled An Ningqing back to the manor on the sightseeing cart. She then pushed An Ningqing into her room. “Go lie down and rest for a while. When you wake up, I’ll show you a magic trick.”

An Ningqing was surprised. “Third Miss, you know magic?”

Xie Anran lifted her chin proudly. “Of course! Who do you think I am?”

With that, she took the small red bucket to the bathroom, where the sound of rushing water soon filled the air.

An Ningqing examined her bite wound. The swelling and redness were less alarming than before, and the pain had subsided significantly. The painkiller was working better than she’d expected. She lay down on the bed, listening to the steady rush of water, and drifted off to sleep. Just before falling asleep, she wondered if she could learn a thing or two by observing.

When An Ningqing woke up, it was dark outside.

Xie Anran wasn’t in the room either. She sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought for a while.

In terms of wealth, Li Xianzong’s name would undoubtedly be prominent on any rich list. Even as he neared death, he was surrounded only by a medical team, proving that the medical facilities and equipment at his disposal were world-class, even more advanced than those in hospitals.

An Ningqing realized that the best way to understand these cutting-edge medical devices was to infiltrate the inner circle.

Having clarified her plan, she sat up straight and lifted the bed curtains. Just then, she heard a delicate tinkling sound. Looking up, she noticed a wind chime had been hung above the bed, seemingly out of nowhere. The chime was crafted entirely from seashells of varying sizes. With the slightest breeze, it began to spin, its clinking sounds crisp and melodious.

An Ningqing reached out to touch it gently. The shells felt cool to the touch, and she could detect a faint scent of seawater. Could this be the “magic trick” the Third Miss had mentioned earlier?

She went downstairs and found Xie Anran watching a drama on the sofa. There were fewer bodyguards and maids around than usual.

“You’re awake! Did you see the surprise I prepared for you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like it?”

Xie Anran’s face was filled with anticipation.

An Ningqing couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t something a wealthy heiress would typically do. Yet Xie Anran always managed to surprise her with unexpected gestures, leaving her no room to refuse. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

“I knew you’d like it.”

“……”

The two women took their seats as the Filipino maids began serving their meal. While waiting, An Ningqing noticed a fresh cut on Xie Anran’s finger. The wound stood out against her long, pale fingers like a flaw. “How did you hurt your hand?”

Xie Anran blew on the cut. “An Ningqing, aren’t you good at medicine? Wrap it up for me later.”

Talk about perfect timing!

This is exactly what I needed.

Still, An Ningqing leaned closer to examine the centimeter-long cut on Xie Anran’s fingertip. The clean, sharp wound immediately made her think of a seashell.

Xie Anran propped her head on her hand, watching An Ningqing. “It hurts.”

She nearly gagged after saying that. How did I become such a drama queen? A simple bandage would have sufficed, but after applying one, she tore it off.

After all, she had made that wind chime specifically for An Ningqing.

Yet An Ningqing remained as stubbornly closed as a clam, no matter how hard Xie Anran tried to pry her open.

“Looks like you’ll need a tetanus shot.”

“What?! A shot? What kind of shot?”

Xie Anran was startled by An Ningqing’s abrupt remark. It was just a small cut; why was An Ningqing making such a fuss, even more than her own brother? “No, no, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Lately, she couldn’t stand the word “shot,” let alone the actual thing.

When she looked up, she saw An Ningqing smiling, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“An Ningqing, you did that on purpose!”

“The wound is healing quickly.”

This time, An Ningqing couldn’t suppress a soft laugh, making Xie Anran’s cheeks flush red. “You woman! How can you be so mean?”

Her hand was injured, and An Ningqing hadn’t even offered a word of comfort.

This is too much!

The “excessive” An Ningqing used this incident as an excuse to seek out Li Xianzong after dinner, but he was nowhere to be found. She learned that Mr. Li was dining with his young lover. In the end, Dr. Jiang arrived with his medical kit.

Dr. Jiang had always been curious about An Ningqing. “Miss An, is your wound acting up again?”

An Ningqing smiled. “My wound is healing perfectly, thank you for your concern, Dr. Jiang. However, I have a rather unusual request: I’d like to use your medical equipment.”

Dr. Jiang’s first reaction was, “Of course, no problem at all. But Miss An, are you feeling unwell anywhere? I can examine you first.”

An Ningqing hesitated, finding it difficult to voice her request. In the past, those seeking to learn from masters had to formally become their disciples. But she had no intention of becoming anyone’s disciple. “Dr. Jiang, I’m somewhat familiar with Dr. Li’s condition. What I mean is, I’d like to join his medical team to help alleviate some of his suffering.”

Dr. Jiang was speechless.

What audacity!

As he left, Dr. Jiang remained dazed. Any initial goodwill he’d felt toward An Ningqing had vanished, replaced by astonishment at her audacious request. Now, he simply saw her as a naive young woman with wildly unrealistic ambitions.

He had no authority to grant such a request and could only relay her words to Li Xianzong.

Li Xianzong’s medical team comprised renowned physicians from around the world, recruited at great expense. It wasn’t the kind of group anyone could simply join on a whim. Moreover, Dr. Jiang knew An Ningqing was a minor celebrity.

No wonder such a frivolous young woman would make such an absurd demand.

What a pity.

Yet, to his utter astonishment, Li Xianzong nodded immediately after hearing the request. “Agree to it.”

Dr. Jiang stared in disbelief at the elderly man behind the desk, his mind flashing back to Li Xianzong’s past exploits: showering beautiful women with lavish gifts to win their favor, or feigning shared interests to seduce them. But these affairs rarely lasted long, as Li Xianzong would soon embark on another “spiritual journey.”

Surely he’s not planning some grand, undying romance on his deathbed, is he?

That can’t be possible, right?

As far as Dr. Jiang knew, An Ningqing already had a fiancée, and she was even staying here.

But asking a man who’d had over a dozen lovers to restrain his carnal urges was a tall order. Not even death could stop him, let alone instill in him the shame and morality of an ordinary person. Sigh.

Li Xianzong noticed Dr. Jiang’s obvious distraction. “Is there anything else?”

Dr. Jiang shook his head, feeling a pang of sympathy for the two young women.

An Ningqing, oblivious to Dr. Jiang’s mental gymnastics, heard that Li Xianzong had agreed to let her join his exclusive medical team. Her eyes lit up with excitement, a radiance Xie Anran had never seen before.

“Is it really that big a deal?” Xie Anran asked. “It’s just a medical team.”

You don’t understand, An Ningqing thought. This is the perfect opportunity to learn from the best. Besides, without spending a fortune, I’d never get my hands on these advanced medical instruments—the kind of cutting-edge technology my world lacks.

If these instruments could truly save time and lives in critical moments, wouldn’t she need to master them?

Xie Anran watched An Ningqing pace back and forth across the floor, her face beaming with joy. “If you’re so interested in medicine, why did you choose to become an entertainer in the first place?”

An Ningqing’s footsteps froze.

This memory had been buried deep within the original owner’s memories. Xie Anran’s question involuntarily brought it to the surface. The original An Ningqing was an orphan, raised in a welfare home. She had only a few years of formal education before being forced to find work in her early teens. As a child laborer, she could only find undignified jobs. Even finding work was more difficult for uneducated children, especially for someone as strikingly attractive as An Ningqing.

“Studying medicine… I wish I could.”

I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance.

The thought of the original owner’s oppressive ten-year contract made her shake her head, suppressing the inappropriate idea. “Let’s not talk about the past, Third Miss. I’d rather not dwell on it.”

Xie Anran suddenly remembered An Ningqing’s personal information—her pitiful backstory as an orphan with no parents. She had only skimmed the file at the time, but now a strange discomfort settled in her heart.

“Alright, then we won’t.”

“It’s just a medical team. If you want to go, go. It’s not a big deal.”

Xie Anran, perched on the sofa with her legs crossed, paused before saying, “Why don’t I go with you? Li Xianzong’s private medical team is bound to have a lot of foreign doctors. They always seem to look down on everyone.”

She might as well have tattooed “You can’t communicate without me” on her forehead.

An Ningqing, aware of the teasing, smiled faintly. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I won’t understand a word they say anyway.”

Her logic was irrefutable, leaving Xie Anran deflated. Had she shot herself in the foot with her own cleverness?

The next morning, An Ningqing woke up and followed her usual routine: breakfast, a stroll through the garden to digest, and then, noticing it was nearly nine o’clock, she asked to be taken to a building behind the manor. This five-story structure housed the medical team, and access required a swipe card.

“Hey, who are you? Outsiders aren’t allowed in here.”

“Mr. Li sent me.”

An Ningqing showed the guard the card Dr. Jiang had given her the day before, instructing her to go to the third floor.

The assistant, upon seeing the card’s level, immediately stopped questioning her.

An Ningqing found everything fascinating and spent a considerable amount of time exploring the first-floor laboratory. Dr. Jiang, who had already gone upstairs, doubled back. “Miss An, what are you doing here?”

An Ningqing asked questions whenever she didn’t understand something, but each question made the veins on Dr. Jiang’s forehead throb.

“Can viruses in the bl00d really be detected using this equipment?”

“Even if someone has only been lightly poisoned, can it still be detected?”

“Probably not.”

She was already answering her own questions.

Then why bother asking me?!

Dr. Jiang took a deep breath, his mustache twitching several times. He had overestimated her. He had thought her emergency response yesterday showed some basic medical knowledge, but she turned out to be a complete novice, utterly clueless about medical matters and lacking even the most basic common sense. “Miss An, what exactly are you here for?”

An Ningqing blinked innocently, nearly blurting out her intention to learn by observation. The words reached the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them back down. “I’m here to help.”

Despite her words, Dr. Jiang never actually expected her to help. If she just stayed out of the way, that would be good enough.