Kicked Back to a Rich Family by the Real Eldest Daughter - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
“I’ve already eaten.”
Xie Xiangyi’s tone held a hint of helplessness. She took a few more steps toward Tang Jinzhi, wanting to go into the ward to talk to her.
Facing Xie Xiangyi as she approached, Tang Jinzhi blinked and blinked, her eyes radiating with excitement. She couldn’t help but glance at her face, her gaze burning.
Xie Xiangyi’s face was a perfect match for her picky aesthetic.
Xie Xiangyi’s throat bobbed. She took half a step back.
She just felt weird. Why was Tang Jinzhi staring at her without saying anything?
Thankfully, Tang Jinzhi had a strong sense of self-control and didn’t completely fall into a daze.
Honestly, it wasn’t like she had never seen Xie Xiangyi before.
She just hadn’t stood face to face with her like this. It was fine, it was fine.
Tang Jinzhi let out a soft “ahem,” and her gaze unconsciously fell to the top of Xie Xiangyi’s head. She measured their height difference with her eyes. It didn’t seem to be much, and she wasn’t even standing up straight.
So why did the introduction say she was one centimeter shorter than Xie Xiangyi?
Seeing Tang Jinzhi suddenly stand up straight, Xie Xiangyi was taken aback. She seemed to understand the meaning behind the other person’s glances and mercilessly pointed it out: “You’re still not as tall as me even when you stand up straight.”
Tang Jinzhi: !?
Was this something you, Xie Xiangyi, would say?
Would the cool and detached Xie Xiangyi childishly compare heights with someone?
Xie Xiangyi dodged Tang Jinzhi’s disapproving glare and fast-forwarded the conversation to the main point of why she had been called over. “You want to be discharged? Does your hand still hurt?”
Tang Jinzhi nonchalantly waved her arm for Xie Xiangyi to see and retorted, “Isn’t your topic-changing skill a little too blunt?”
Xie Xiangyi lowered her eyes and remained silent. What she said was true.
Tang Jinzhi let out a soft huff, not bothering to argue with Xie Xiangyi, and asked directly, “Can I be discharged today?”
Xie Xiangyi: “Did you ask Dr. Qiu? If she says it’s okay, then it’s okay.”
She had come with her just now and didn’t have time to ask.
Tang Jinzhi shook her head. “Not yet. I was planning to get your opinion first.”
Xie Xiangyi was speechless. She turned to the side, avoiding Tang Jinzhi’s gaze, and said uncomfortably, “You don’t need my permission to be discharged.”
Tang Jinzhi’s tone was casual. “You’re a family member, after all.”
If anyone else had said this, Xie Xiangyi wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but because Tang Jinzhi herself admitted it, Xie Xiangyi went from being uncomfortable to extremely uncomfortable.
She gave a low “mhm” and quickly looked toward the ward. “Let’s go into the ward and wait for Dr. Qiu. She’ll be doing her rounds soon, and you can ask her then.”
Tang Jinzhi waved her hand. “No, the grandma is taking a nap. I don’t want to go in. I still want to chat with you for a bit.”
Xie Xiangyi nodded hesitantly, even though she didn’t think she and Tang Jinzhi had anything to talk about.
But Tang Jinzhi didn’t think so. There was so much she wanted to talk about with Xie Xiangyi.
“If I can be discharged, can I leave today?” Tang Jinzhi very familiarly led Xie Xiangyi toward a chair on the side, still asking hopefully, “Will you not have time to go back with me?”
When she sat down, she muttered softly, “You look so busy.”
She then turned to Xie Xiangyi, who had just sat down next to her, and asked, “I heard your colleagues say you’re in dermatology. Is that a tiring specialty? You don’t look like you have it easy.”
“And Zhang Yueqi said you’re taking your doctoral exam this year. You must be working so hard.”
She rattled off a series of questions, not giving Xie Xiangyi a chance to answer.
Xie Xiangyi suspected that the messages Tang Jinzhi sent her every day were pure complaints, while all her real questions were saved for this moment.
Tang Jinzhi looked puzzled. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Could it be that Xie Xiangyi didn’t like to talk?
Was that why she seemed so cold?
Xie Xiangyi choked. She turned her head and met Tang Jinzhi’s gaze. She didn’t hide her helplessness and said bluntly, “You didn’t give me a chance to speak.”
Her faint voice carried a sense of innocence.
Tang Jinzhi: “…”
Okay, her mistake. She had definitely overthought things.
Xie Xiangyi was kind enough to not let Tang Jinzhi continue to feel awkward. She picked out a few of Tang Jinzhi’s questions and answered them slowly. “I’ve been busy with school the past few days, but I’m basically done. If you can be discharged, I can go back with you.”
Tang Jinzhi’s eyes lit up, and she was in a much better mood.
This completely unfamiliar place gave her no sense of security. Tang Jinzhi had a faint dependence on Xie Xiangyi, who had saved her life.
The outside world currently only made her feel uneasy, and she had no interest in exploring it.
If she weren’t worried about making money, Tang Jinzhi felt she might not have been so quick to understand this world, especially since she was a homebody to begin with.
Tang Jinzhi suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, “You’re probably not so busy that you have to stay at the hospital at night, are you?”
How busy would that be!
Tang Jinzhi’s simple question was misinterpreted by Xie Xiangyi, who thought she was trying to preemptively stop her from using busyness as an excuse to stay at the hospital.
Xie Xiangyi guiltily averted her gaze. To be honest, she had thought about it, but the idea was immediately rejected by herself.
The hospital lounge wasn’t as comfortable as home; she wouldn’t abuse herself just to avoid sharing a room with Tang Jinzhi.
Xie Xiangyi closed her eyes, her voice muffled. “It’s not far from home. It’s about a ten-minute walk.”
Her only problem was whether she could get a separate room from Tang Jinzhi.
But she then thought that she would have to adapt to this sooner or later, so there was no need to dwell on it.
And Tang Jinzhi clearly hadn’t even thought about whether they would be sharing a room.
Tang Jinzhi calculated the approximate distance between the hospital and the house in her head, then nodded. “It is very close.”
It would be convenient for her to come back for check-ups in the future.
“By the way, did you… chat with the hospital staff?” Xie Xiangyi asked, finding it a bit difficult to say. Her eyes were on Tang Jinzhi’s face, a hint of worry in them.
Tang Jinzhi’s emotions were so unstable; she was genuinely afraid the rumors would cause her psychological problems.
Tang Jinzhi, whose emotions were usually very stable, nodded. “Yeah, why?”
Xie Xiangyi scrutinized Tang Jinzhi’s expression, a little unsure. She asked tentatively, “You didn’t hear anything unpleasant, did you?”
Seeing Xie Xiangyi’s strange expression, Tang Jinzhi understood. She had guessed why Xie Xiangyi was asking.
“I did hear something, but…”
But she joined in…
When Xie Xiangyi heard that Tang Jinzhi had used the identity of a certain doctor’s family member to go gossip with the doctors and nurses, she fell completely silent.
After hearing Tang Jinzhi’s account, Xie Xiangyi’s heart sank heavily. The doctors and nurses in the hospital mostly sided with her, and the person who was being gossiped about the most was basically Tang Jinzhi.
But Tang Jinzhi’s excited demeanor made it impossible for her to feel any self-blame.
“But what they said was very nasty. Why did you join them…” Xie Xiangyi wanted to ask why she would join in on slandering herself, but she couldn’t find the motivation. Her voice was low.
“I’m sorry. I only noticed this today. I wasn’t clear about our relationship back then.”
Tang Jinzhi reached out and poked Xie Xiangyi’s arm. “Why are you apologizing when it’s not your fault? You’re a victim too.”
Just because she had to endure more nasty words, it didn’t mean Xie Xiangyi should ignore herself!
Xie Xiangyi pursed her lips and said nothing.
Tang Jinzhi smiled. “I can’t stop other people from talking, but I also don’t want to jump out and prove myself. People would just watch the show.”
She added, “Actually, I already got my revenge in my own way.”
Xie Xiangyi’s long eyelashes fluttered. She turned her head to look at Tang Jinzhi, the question in her eyes obvious.
Tang Jinzhi’s smile was sly. She looked left and right with a secretive air, then leaned in close to Xie Xiangyi’s ear and whispered, “The gossip they were talking about wasn’t just about the two of us. I also heard them talking about other patients’ family members.”
Then…
With her intentional or unintentional mentions during her walks, the number of victims who knew they were being gossiped about went from just the two of them to a whole group of people.
Xie Xiangyi’s mouth fell open. She quickly realized what Tang Jinzhi had done, and her expression was one of shock.
Lately, the hospital had been reported several times for a poor atmosphere. She had been at school at the time and hadn’t paid much attention.
Now, it seemed the truth was out.
Xie Xiangyi didn’t dare to think further. She quickly asked Tang Jinzhi, “You weren’t discovered, were you?”
Tang Jinzhi blinked. “Of course not. But I thought you would blame me for deliberately inciting conflict between doctors and patients.”
Since realizing she wasn’t a good person, Tang Jinzhi had no moral qualms about doing things like this.
Only good people would try to reason. She wasn’t some high-minded person; she sought revenge for the smallest grievance. If someone made her unhappy, she would definitely get back at them.
Xie Xiangyi saw the triumphant look on her face and finally relaxed.
She replied grumpily, “I heard something about it. The patients and family members who reported were either discharged after being cured or had minor conditions, so it didn’t escalate into a doctor-patient dispute. And the reports were only about the attitude of the staff.”
Xie Xiangyi’s tone was helpless. She knew this was the result of Tang Jinzhi carefully managing the situation.
But she couldn’t help but want to warn her.
“But what you did was too risky. What if you had run into a patient or a family member who couldn’t handle any negativity and lost control of their emotions?”
Knowing that Xie Xiangyi wasn’t scolding her but was worried about her, Tang Jinzhi raised her eyebrows. She shook her head and said, “I only targeted people who are emotionally stable, just like me.”
Xie Xiangyi couldn’t help but laugh. She gave Tang Jinzhi an unapologetic look up and down. “You’re emotionally stable?”
How could she say that with a straight face?
Tang Jinzhi lifted her chin, extremely confident. “Of course!”
Xie Xiangyi: “…”
Tang Jinzhi couldn’t help but feel smug again. She gloated, “So don’t worry. I found those loudmouths, and now that they’ve been punished, I feel so much better.”
“Using self-deprecation to join the game…” Xie Xiangyi paused as she said this. She sighed, her voice full of helplessness. “The loudmouths got their comeuppance, but the rumors are still spreading. Don’t you care?”
Tang Jinzhi smiled. “Of course I care, but I trust that you wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”
Xie Xiangyi was a little choked up by her trust. She turned her head and muttered uncomfortably, “But you never told me about this.”
Tang Jinzhi sent her a pile of complaint messages every day, but she never mentioned this.
“Because…” Tang Jinzhi’s words were interrupted just a few syllables in.
“Because she was afraid it would affect your mental state for your preliminary exam.” Zhang Yueqi’s voice drifted over from the side, with a hint of inexplicable excitement.
Xie Xiangyi and Tang Jinzhi both turned their heads. Their expressions toward Zhang Yueqi were different.
Xie Xiangyi’s impassive face showed a clear hint of surprise. “What?”
Zhang Yueqi was no longer curious about why they hadn’t gone into the ward. She grinned at Xie Xiangyi and shared what she had been holding in for days. “The first thing Tang Jinzhi did when she found out about this was to ask me what your advisor thought of you.”
Tang Jinzhi narrowed her eyes, glaring at Zhang Yueqi.
Zhang Yueqi touched her neck, deciding to ignore Tang Jinzhi’s death glare.
Today, she would successfully be the supportive character who knew the truth, just like in a novel!
Zhang Yueqi didn’t need Xie Xiangyi to ask; she continued talking on her own.
“After our analysis, you must have offended someone. They wanted to mess with you, the workaholic who only knows about work and school.”
“And the clever, witty, and brave Ms. Tang Jinzhi said that since she couldn’t stop the rumors from spreading, she would reluctantly control the direction of the gossip. And then, the great her turned the target onto herself.”
Xie Xiangyi was shocked by this answer. She stared at Tang Jinzhi, speechless for a moment.
Meanwhile, Tang Jinzhi’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter, her ten toes curling in embarrassment.
She turned her head and glared at the annoying Zhang Yueqi, gritting her teeth and saying, “What would happen if you didn’t add those adjectives?!”
Tang Jinzhi was filled with regret. Why did she ever let her join in?!
Zhang Yueqi snorted and threw out a confusing answer.
“I’m the one who’s going to sit at the head table!”