Scumbag A's Plan to Save the Heroine - Chapter 44

The girl leaned against the pillar, stunned for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

Meng Yuan, dressed in a white silk gown, leaned against the pillar, giggling foolishly for ages. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes from laughing so hard. She cupped her cheeks, her expression blooming like a sunflower, her eyes filled with admiration as she exclaimed, “How could I have never realized you were such an interesting person before?”

For Meng Yuan, the word “interesting” might have been her highest praise for a stranger, though only she knew it.

Ruan Ye’s hand, which had been clutching the hem of her gown, froze. She turned with a graceful smile, a smile as alluring and beautiful as a poppy nourished by bl00d in hell. Her crimson lips parted and closed, her voice melodious and captivating, yet her eyes radiated an icy chill.

“Get lost.”

Li Te received the news the night before the ball.

For the past month, he had worn the same set of clothes day and night, the fabric as soft as rags salvaged from a trash heap. Despite the late hour, he couldn’t sleep, scratching his head anxiously as he paced around his small stall.

Ever since the Boss assigned him the task, Li Te had been slacking off whenever possible. Honestly, with no surveillance and no chance of promotion, who’d want to work hard?

But now the truth had come out. The plot had jumped ahead to the Ball, which was starting tomorrow. How am I supposed to explain this to the Boss?

After agonizing over it, Li Te sighed deeply and silently drafted his resignation agreement in his mind. He hesitated between his Jade Token and Light Brain, ultimately choosing the former. He decided to contact Dr. Chen first to explain the situation and see if there was any way to salvage it.

Private Hospital.

Recent serious medical incidents in other wards had kept the VIP ward bustling with nurses. The patients here experienced drastic fluctuations in their vital signs, requiring round-the-clock monitoring.

As Li Te tapped his Jade Token, Chen Ru was frantically working at his instruments. Even after delegating the trivial tasks to the intern nurses, analyzing a week’s worth of patient data alone was still an overwhelming workload.

Knock-knock! Knock— Two short knocks followed by a long one echoed from the door. Chen Ru’s heart jolted, and the pen in his hand clattered to the floor.

Since the last incident, Chen Ru had entrusted the task of monitoring the Jade Token to Li Hui. If any anomalies occurred, she would signal him with a specific knock pattern, allowing him to stay informed discreetly without attracting attention.

The data on the screen flickered rapidly. Chen Ru’s hand trembled as he picked up his pen. He removed his glasses, ostensibly to wipe them, and breathed on the lenses before casually taking the cleaning cloth from the nurse beside him. “Meng Li, could you fetch a bottle of testing solution from the first floor? We need to re-measure the patient’s data.”

“Of course, Dr. Chen,” Meng Li replied promptly, eager to impress the visiting evaluator. She turned and hurried toward the elevator.

As the nurse in her uniform passed the door, she glared at Li Hui, who had knocked. With her head held high and eyes fixed straight ahead, she pressed the elevator button with an air of haughty disdain.

Retention policies at private hospitals were notoriously strict, with many applicants failing to even secure internships.

Therefore, those who managed to pass the interviews and secure internships were considered the cream of the crop. Though the nurses maintained a facade of harmony, they secretly competed fiercely, meticulously tracking their attendance scores—a critical factor in determining whether they would be retained.

Li Hui, with her keen intuition, naturally sensed the hostility from her fellow competitors. But now was not the time for petty grievances; what mattered most was making the most of the time Dr. Chen had secured for her.

The woman standing at the door cast a dark glance at the surveillance camera overhead.

Every corner of the VIP ward was equipped with cameras, reportedly installed at the insistence of the patient’s spouse.

The hospital had initially resisted, viewing it as both a sign of distrust and an insult to the doctors’ integrity.

However, under pressure from the Zhi Family’s influence, the hospital ultimately relented to this dehumanizing demand.

After the nurses were dismissed from the ward, Li Hui entered with composed grace and a natural tone. “Dr. Chen, I’m here to submit the report. This is today’s urine analysis data for the patient.”

A jade token was clipped beneath the report. Chen Ru carefully accepted it, readjusting his reading glasses, which slid down his nose.

“Understood. Wait here while I double-check this report. I’ll take it to the analysis lab.”

On the other side of the jade token…

Since Dr. Chen had witnessed Li Te’s disheveled state last time, Li Te had grown remarkably calm. Dressed in rags that made him look like a beggar, he sat on the dusty steps, his long legs splayed wide. The once-elite professional now resembled a street thug. Learning from his previous experience, he now tapped the Jade Token lightly every five minutes.

The first tap yielded no response, nor did the second. But after the third tap, the Jade Token suddenly began to vibrate faintly, and an aged, mature male voice from another world came through.

“Is there a problem with the game?”

Li Te, who had been waiting anxiously, straightened up abruptly at the sound of the voice. His body reacted violently, but his mind remained unusually clear. His voice calm and measured, he laid out the facts plainly: “The private investigator I hired told me that President Zhi and the Boss in the game are still in the ambiguous stage, not officially together yet. But now the Ball is being held earlier than expected. After the last Ball, the Boss entered the game at the next plot point. With the Ball starting early, should we notify… President Ruan?”

“No.”

Li Te was speechless, his legs pressed together, his expression solemn.

“Zhi Qiu’s vital signs are extremely unstable right now. We absolutely cannot allow Ruan… Ning to enter the simulation and cause chaos before her condition stabilizes!” Chen Ru declared, covering the analysis chamber’s camera with his white coat.

The usually carefree man suddenly smiled bitterly, his grip tightening on his Light Brain. Li Te’s emotions were conflicted. To be honest, he had only agreed to assist the Boss with Zhi Qiu’s treatment for the high salary.

From a rational standpoint, his only obligation was to Ruan Ning, his sole employer, with whom he had signed a formal special employment contract.

The contract was clear: if he failed to report any critical information and it came to light, he would not only forfeit his pay but also risk losing his job.

Chen Ru, unaware of the specifics, sensed Li Te’s hesitation through the monitoring equipment. If Li Te insisted on notifying Ruan Ning, Chen Ru had no grounds to fault him. Before today, they were just ordinary doctors with no connection, while Ruan Ning was Li Te’s Boss, bound by a formal employment contract.

The man sat stiffly on the steps, his gaze fixed on the various glass and crystal trinkets displayed on the roadside stall. His unkempt hair had grown long enough to obscure his eyes, the dark pupils hidden beneath the tangled strands, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Chen Ru watched the scene unfolding within the Jade Token and sighed silently. He began to offer comfort, “Ruan…”

“Notify me immediately once the data stabilizes,” Li Te interrupted, as if afraid he might suddenly change his mind. He tapped the Jade Token to end the communication.

In the dimly lit roadside stall, the silent man curled the bangs obscuring his eyes with his fingers, lifting them and letting them fall, repeating the motion over and over, fidgeting with his disheveled hair.

After the Jade Token disconnected, Chen Ru sat silently in his chair for over ten minutes. He leaned back against the chair, closing his bloodshot eyes.

He hadn’t managed to finish his sentence.

Ruan Ye has always been a good child…

She won’t blame you.