Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Benevolent-Hearted Mr. Tu, Is This Old Man Putting on an Act?

"Huh?"

Ruan Chunxiang was startled by the eccentric doctor’s shout, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

She glanced over at him, puzzled.

She saw the eccentric doctor slumped in his chair.

He looked as if he’d had a terrible shock.

’This old man... don’t tell me he’s having a heart attack?’

’Or is he getting ready to punish Yun Zhenyue himself?’

Just as Ruan Chunxiang was hesitating, wondering whether she should proceed with the punishment,

The eccentric doctor took a few ragged breaths and then shot to his feet.

"Stop!" he yelled, sucking in a sharp breath.

In that instant, the eccentric doctor seemed to have become a completely different person.

His earlier expression of greed and coldness had vanished.

In its place,

was the image of a dignified, righteous doctor with unimpeachable integrity.

His expression was one of heartache and bitter disappointment.

"How dare you go so far! I truly misjudged you!"

Hearing this, Ruan Chunxiang assumed he was talking about Yun Zhenyue and nodded in agreement. "She certainly is. I suggest a small punishment, and she still hesitates and refuses!"

"She’s showing you absolutely no respect."

But to her surprise,

the eccentric doctor immediately cut her off.

Instead, he pointed a trembling finger at her, his voice shaking with anger. "I’m talking about you!"

"To think that my own disciple could be so cruel!"

"Making her lick your shoes? Isn’t that a complete humiliation of her dignity? You brute! With a heart as venomous as a snake, you think you’re fit to be a doctor?"

Ruan Chunxiang was completely floored.

’Licking the shoes... hadn’t the eccentric doctor just tacitly approved of that?’

’I was just doing what he seemed to want.’

’It was a way to please him and get my own revenge.’

’And now he’s turning around and blaming me?’

’Did this old man take the wrong medicine or something?!’

’So I guess that scalpel was a gift for a dog?!’

Ruan Chunxiang had absolutely no idea what was going through the eccentric doctor’s mind.

Her expression was a mixture of utter confusion and grievance.

Yun Zhenyue blinked, equally confused by the scene.

’A moment ago, I thought this eccentric doctor was cut from the same cloth as Ruan Chunxiang.’

’But now it seems I’ve misjudged him?’

Not only that,

but after stopping Ruan Chunxiang,

his expression turned kind and benevolent; he all but had the words "I’m a good guy" written on his face.

He sighed. "A healer must have a benevolent heart. It is our sacred duty to save lives and heal the wounded. Refusing any and all gifts is our professional baseline."

"I merely wanted to test you."

"I never imagined you would so brazenly try to bribe me with a gift."

"I truly misjudged you. If I were to teach you medicine, who knows how many ’red envelopes’ you’d demand from patients. That’s their life-saving money, you know!"

"Aren’t you afraid that money will burn your hands?"

The eccentric doctor snorted coldly.

His disgust for Ruan Chunxiang was plain to see.

Seeing this,

Ruan Chunxiang nearly blacked out from rage.

Her lips parted, but no rebuttal came out. A thin sheen of moisture filmed her eyes; she had never felt so wronged in her life!

’Refuse gifts? How could he even say that with a straight face?’

’Was that greedy expression just an act?’

’And a "test"?’

’Besides, I haven’t even started learning medicine yet! When have I ever demanded red envelopes from patients?’

’This eccentric doctor... his ability to change faces is master-level, at least!’

"It’s not... I—"

Ruan Chunxiang took a moment to compose herself, swallowing her frustration.

But before she could explain,

the eccentric doctor shook his head. "No need to explain. You didn’t pass the test."

"Take that chair away. From now on, you’ll sit in the corner."

"I won’t make things difficult for you. How much you learn will depend on your own ability."

Ruan Chunxiang: "..."

Left with no choice, she could only accept her fate meekly.

On the other side,

seeing Yun Zhenyue’s bewildered expression,

the eccentric doctor broke into a kind, amiable smile. "Child, you weren’t frightened, were you?"

"Actually, I was deliberately putting on an act just now. Please don’t misunderstand."

"I’m not some villain blinded by greed. That was all for show."

"You haven’t had anything to drink for a while. I have a new cup right here. Congratulations on passing my test. You’ll definitely be a fine doctor one day. Why don’t you sit down and rest for a moment? I’ll pour you some water..."

As he spoke,

he secretly watched Yun Zhenyue’s expression.

And the panda doll in her hand.

It wasn’t until Yun Zhenyue snapped out of her daze and seemed to believe him,

that the cold sweat on the eccentric doctor’s brow finally stopped trickling down. His back was drenched.

’That nearly scared the piss out of me!’

’Thank goodness for my quick thinking!’

’I came up with the perfect excuse!’

’And thank goodness I took that extra glance!’

’Otherwise, if Ruan Chunxiang had actually gone through with the punishment, it would have been too late. Nothing I said would have mattered, no matter how righteous I pretended to be!’

’This girl is untouchable!’

’Fail to treat her right?’

’Forget the director showing up, that panda doll of hers alone could dismantle my old bones!’

As Yun Zhenyue sat on the eccentric doctor’s chair,

sipping the tea the eccentric doctor had prepared,

her mind was still a complete blank.

’What just happened?’

A giant question mark seemed to pop up over Yun Zhenyue’s head.

Seeing this, 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

the eccentric doctor assumed she was still upset. He sidled up to her, bowing slightly, and whispered obsequiously, "Right, about how she treated you... why don’t you punish her?"

"She wanted you to lick her shoes, right? I’ll make her lick yours!"

"Not just the uppers, she’ll lick the soles clean too!"

Yun Zhenyue: "..."

Hearing this,

Ruan Chunxiang, who was huddled in the corner, bit her lower lip.

She was afraid she would burst into tears.

’Could it be that this eccentric doctor is actually a good person?’

’Did I completely misjudge him?’

’Otherwise, why would he treat us so differently!’

Yun Zhenyue glanced over at Ruan Chunxiang.

Then she looked down at her own white sneakers.

Finally, she said flatly, "Forget it. There’s no need."

’Is this shoe-licking thing some kind of weird fetish?’

’Weird!’

’It’s just too weird!’

’I’m not into that kind of thing!’

...

「Meanwhile.」

The audience from Monkey Country was dumbfounded!

They were all utterly bewildered.

’Wait, what?’

’Is this for real? Is this that same greedy quack, Mr. Tu?’

’Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was some famous, virtuous physician!’

’A "test"?’

’He was grinning from ear to ear when he took that scalpel.’

’And now he’s criticizing Ruan Chunxiang for giving him a gift?’

No matter how they looked at it,

it seemed like the eccentric doctor was deliberately targeting Ruan Chunxiang to suck up to Yun Zhenyue!

[Did I sleep through something, or am I going blind? How is this possible?]

[Something’s not right. Something is VERY not right!!]

[So giving a gift was the wrong move? The one who gave nothing gets preferential treatment, while the one who gave a gift gets sent to the corner?]

[That woman from Dragon Country must know some secret!]

[That damn eccentric doctor! Who’s he putting on this act for? He’s nuts!]

...

In contrast,

seeing Yun Zhenyue get preferential treatment,

the Dragon Country audience went wild!

[Damn, this doctor is amazing! Now that’s a REAL doctor!]

[Who called him a quack? This doctor is the best!]

[I think all doctors in Dragon Country need to learn from Mr. Tu!]

[What he just said nearly brought me to tears. I once had a doctor at a crooked hospital insist on a ’red envelope’ for my mom’s surgery.]

[May every doctor in the world be just like him!]