After all this time since the incident, the child’s parents finally arrive, and judging by the commotion, they seem to be arguing over medical expenses again...

Guo Yong sighed. In his many years at the hospital, this was hardly the first time he’d encountered such a situation. He waved his hand toward the nurse and said, “Go tell them their child is fine. Just have them go to the cashier’s office to settle the hospitalization fees. Once the burns on the child’s body have healed considerably, he can be discharged.”

The young nurse hesitated, a troubled expression crossing her face as she glanced at Zhang Yang, who stood beside Director Guo Yong. She had already heard from colleagues that Director Guo Yong had brought in a young man with extraordinary medical skills, even dismissing Director Wang Feng because of him. This must be that young man.

“What complicated situation?” Guo Yong, not noticing the nurse’s gaze, frowned and asked.

“Oh, it’s like this,” the nurse quickly snapped back to attention when Director Guo Yong spoke, answering seriously. “That child’s parents appear to be divorced, so neither is willing to pay for the child’s treatment. The argument seems to have escalated to demanding the elderly person—that is, the child’s grandmother—pay for her grandson’s medical expenses herself. But the old woman is dressed in rags; it seems she can’t afford the hospitalization fees at all... That’s why they’re arguing downstairs in the hospital lobby. In fact, those two—the man and the woman—initially refused to even enter the hospital building.”

Guo Yong’s eyes widened in disbelief. Such a thing could happen? These parents were truly outlandish; how could they have the nerve to let an elderly woman pay?

Zhang Yang found it equally incredible and said to Guo Yong, “The internship can wait. Let’s go take a look.”

Guo Yong and Zhu Daoqi had the same thought. Seeing that Zhang Yang agreed, they naturally had no objections. They asked the nurse to lead the way, and the three descended the hospital building.

In the ground floor lobby, near the service desk, a crowd had gathered, watching the spectacle. The shouting was so loud that it could be heard from the emergency room upstairs—a clear testament to the lack of manners among people in such a bustling area.

“Quiet down, all of you!” Guo Yong strode forward and roared, “This is a hospital, not a marketplace! If you want to cause a scene, go home and do it!”

Seeing Guo Yong, clad in his white coat, approach, the crowd naturally parted to let him pass. Zhang Yang followed quietly behind Guo Yong. This was Jinghe Hospital, Guo Yong’s territory, and he wasn’t inclined to take the lead right away; he decided to let Guo Yong handle the situation first.

In the midst of the crowd, standing nose-to-nose at the service desk, were two pairs of people.

The man looked nearly forty, dressed in a fine suit, sporting a noticeable beer belly—the picture of a successful man. The woman clinging almost desperately to his side looked barely twenty, heavily made up, clearly not someone respectable.

The woman standing opposite him made the greatest impression with her ostentatious jewelry. Sparkling ornaments adorned her ears, neck, and hands—nothing that looked like cheap, street-stall merchandise. Though she was past thirty, her excellent upkeep, combined with the display of jewels, added a certain allure, suggesting her charm had not entirely faded. As for the man beside her, he was even more arrogant. A thick, dazzling gold chain hung around his neck like a shackle. His hands, held behind his back, displayed at least three gold rings, showing no awareness of keeping wealth low-key. Puffing on a cigar, he stood there with a dissolute air, radiating the aura of a nouveau riche.

In stark contrast, the elderly woman gripping the arm of the service desk nurse was painfully shabby. Her clothes were thin, with patches visible at the cuffs. Her aged face was a roadmap of wrinkles, stained with flowing tears.

These two pairs of people were engaged in a fierce argument, while the old woman kept weeping and crying out while clinging to the nurse, until Guo Yong’s sudden roar silenced them all simultaneously.

Seeing Guo Yong approach, both pairs of adults snorted, making no effort to conceal their disdain for the other side, but they ceased their shouting. The old woman, upon seeing Guo Yong, finally released her grip on the service desk nurse and shuffled forward with trembling steps, nearly collapsing into Guo Yong’s arms, attempting to kneel down!

“Oh, dear elder, don't do that!” Guo Yong would never allow an elderly woman to kneel before him. He quickly reached out with both hands to steady her.

Half the old woman’s weight pressed down on Guo Yong’s hands as she cried out, snot and tears mixing: “Doctor, Doctor, you must save my grandson! He is my only grandson; nothing must happen to him!”

Now Guo Yong finally understood why that nurse had called the situation complicated. This old woman looked nothing like the other two couples in any discernible way!

“Elderly lady, please don't worry. Your grandson is completely out of danger. It’s just a burn. He only needs a few days of IV fluids, and once his condition stabilizes and the burn heals well, he can go home,” Guo Yong said, first calming the old woman’s emotions while secretly observing the other two couples, trying to deduce their relationship.

“Ah, he’s fine? That’s a relief, that’s a relief. Bless the prayer beads, bless the Bodhisattva... Xiao Man is alright, that’s wonderful, truly wonderful...”

Perhaps due to the authority of his white coat, the old woman’s agitation clearly subsided after Guo Yong spoke, and the weight pressing on his hands lessened considerably. She seemed steady enough to stand on her own, muttering her relief about Xiao Man and paying no attention to anything else.

“Come here, Xiao Sun,” Guo Yong beckoned to the nurse at the service desk.

Xiao Sun, the nurse the old woman had been holding onto, quickly approached.

“Help this elderly lady upstairs to see her grandson. He’s the child who was just brought out of the emergency room,” Guo Yong instructed Xiao Sun.

Xiao Sun immediately agreed, supporting the old woman. “This way, ma’am, I’ll take you to see your grandson.”

“Good, good…” The old woman beamed, repeatedly agreeing.

“You can’t leave!”

At that moment, the middle-aged man resembling a successful businessman suddenly spoke up, sharply halting the old woman. Hearing his voice, the old woman’s legs trembled; she would have collapsed had Xiao Sun not been holding her up.

“Listen here, Auntie, if you leave now, how is this matter going to be resolved?” the middle-aged man said, deliberately emphasizing the word Auntie while glaring at the jewel-laden woman beside him.

“Right, you can’t leave, or this issue won’t be settled clearly,” chimed in the man with the nouveau riche vibe, speaking sarcastically.

Guo Yong immediately felt a headache coming on, while Zhu Daoqi and Zhang Yang behind him frowned, unsure of what these two men were trying to achieve.

“That wild child will likely need to stay hospitalized for quite some time. This issue of the hospitalization fees needs to be settled first before leaving is an option,” the successful man retorted to the nouveau riche man, unwilling to back down.

“Oh, so your own son is a wild child now? As for the medical fees, I repeat what I said earlier: your own son, you pay for him!” The nouveau riche man stood there, hands behind his back, looking smug, cocking his head sideways.

“We don’t even know whose son he is, do we?” The young woman beside the successful man spoke up. She rolled her eyes at the jewel-laden woman and snapped, “Maybe he’s the seed you two have been sleeping together for a long time!”

“You wicked fox, who are you calling names?!” Hearing the young woman speak, the middle-aged woman loaded with jewelry immediately yelled at her. “You’re so young, you should learn some manners! What right do you have to speak here?!”

“Tsk, old and faded,” the young woman spat, then cooed sweetly, “Putting on airs just because you’re old～～”

She deliberately elongated the word old and drew out the final syllable!

The middle-aged woman instantly exploded, like a monkey throwing a tantrum, lunging toward the young woman and raising a hand to strike!

However, that slap was intercepted by the hand of the man standing beside the young woman. He blocked it with a sinister smile and snarled, “Vixen!”

Then, he swung his hand back and delivered a slap of his own!

Slap!

The middle-aged woman clutched half her face and collapsed onto the floor!

“You dare hit my wife, damn you!” The nouveau riche man roared when he saw his woman struck!

“Stop, stop fighting!” Seeing the situation devolve, the old woman shed another pair of tears, trembling as she pleaded, “Daughter, daughter…”

“Get lost! Who’s your daughter!” The woman lying on the floor, clutching her face, instantly found a scapegoat and screamed viciously at the old woman!

And the successful man poured fuel on the fire, saying, “Auntie, look! This is the daughter you raised!”

“Enough!”

Guo Yong’s own anger ignited. This man was despicable, and this woman was even worse, speaking to her own mother in such a disrespectful manner!

“Have you argued enough? If you continue, I’ll call the police directly and let the authorities sort this out!”

“Fine, call the police then!” The successful man’s eyes lit up, and he said triumphantly, “Let the police resolve this matter! I’d like to see how the police will handle it!”

“Oh my, so you’re just a secretary running errands for some small leader in the government? You really think you can act like you cover the entire sky?” Hearing about calling the police, the nouveau riche man actually laughed. He shook his hand, making the gold rings gleam. “I might not have much else, but I have money. But money shouldn't be spent on someone else's son! Go ahead and call the police; I want to see what authority the police have to make me pay for your son’s hospitalization. Furthermore, I want justice served for my wife being hit. Heh, we won’t let this go!”

“It happened in your warehouse; if your dilapidated warehouse hadn't been careless with fire safety, how would a fire have broken out!” The successful man was even more scornful. “Don’t think I don’t know about your shady dealings!”

“Don’t, don’t call the police…” The old woman panicked when she heard Guo Yong mention the police and quickly said, “The hospitalization fees, I’ll pay, I’ll pay!”

Guo Yong was now utterly helpless. He had to admit that in all his years of practicing medicine, this was the first time he had encountered such utterly extreme family members.

Behind Guo Yong, Zhang Yang glanced at the patched clothing of the old woman, then looked at the two couples, his brow deeply furrowed.