Cheng Jun refused to get up, continuing to bow and say, “Doctor, if you don’t agree, I’ll stay here kneeling. You don’t value me; with Chu Xia around, wouldn’t it be a win-win if you let me leave?”

Chu Xia wasn’t expecting to be dragged into this.

She had no intention of using Cheng Jun’s departure as an excuse. “The doctor treats us both equally. Cheng Jun wants to leave on his own; don’t blame me or the doctor.”

Dr. Yan stopped Chu Xia from speaking further and looked at Cheng Jun with a deep gaze. “Are you really determined to leave the TCM department?”

Cheng Jun nodded firmly.

“Fine, I agree.”

Cheng Jun’s face lit up with joy. “Thank you, Doctor! Thank you!”

Chu Xia frowned.

Dr. Yan was not someone who changed his mind easily.

Watching Cheng Jun leave with the approved transfer application, Chu Xia looked at Dr. Yan in confusion. “Doctor, are you really sure about letting him go to another department?”

Dr. Yan said, “He’s not committed here, so it’s useless to keep him. Even if he goes to another department, it will be the same.”

What Dr. Yan didn’t mention was that Cheng Jun’s troublemaking would make other departments wary of him.

He wasn’t sure whom Cheng Jun had connections with, but Dr. Yan planned to speak with the hospital director.

The affiliated hospital couldn’t have harmful elements.

Doctors who treat patients must have upright hearts.

The affiliated hospital was quite large, with many departments and floors, making it impossible to meet everyone regularly.

Chu Xia wasn’t concerned about Cheng Jun’s future after he left.

However, seeing Cen Huai’an at home gave Chu Xia a great surprise.

---

As the weather grew hotter, the constant chirping of cicadas outside made people increasingly irritable.

In the afternoon, Chu Xia walked into the hospital with an umbrella when a friendly nurse came over to talk. “Is Cheng Jun from your department?”

Chu Xia was putting on her white coat and nodded. “Yes, why? I haven’t seen him since he left.”

The nurse glanced around and whispered, “He’s in big trouble. He prescribed the wrong medication to a patient. If the medication hadn’t been noticed by the pharmacist, it could have been fatal!”

Chu Xia’s hands froze, a wave of fear rising from her heart.

She grabbed the nurse’s hand tightly. “But he’s just an intern. How could he have the authority to prescribe medication?”

Interns don’t have the authority to independently treat patients; they can only learn from doctors and not prescribe medication alone.

The nurse, who was well-informed, told her, “It was his supervising doctor who asked Cheng Jun to write the prescription, but he made a mistake.”

Chu Xia sighed with relief.

She thought the affiliated hospital’s doctors wouldn’t be so irresponsible.

Cheng Jun wouldn’t dare to prescribe medication on his own, as he still wanted a future.

“How could Cheng Jun, a medical school graduate, make such a mistake?”

The nurse was puzzled, saying, “He was supposed to be knowledgeable; I can’t understand how he made a mistake.”

Chu Xia hadn’t seen the specifics but learned later that Cheng Jun had spaced out while the doctor was discussing the prescription.

Afraid of being scolded, he had listened to part of the patient’s condition and the doctor’s instructions and then made up the prescription on his own.

However, he only half-listened, resulting in a nearly disastrous error.

Since Cheng Jun had not yet been confirmed as a staff member, this incident led to his immediate dismissal from the hospital.

The affiliated hospital would not keep him.

The reason for his dismissal was recorded in his file, effectively ending his medical career.

When Chu Xia got home and told Cen Zhengnian about this, she looked at his face, moved closer, and smiled, “You were right. I didn’t need to do anything. Cheng Jun brought about his own downfall.”

Cen Zhengnian looked at Chu Xia’s face close to his, swallowing.

His eyes held a smile as he slightly lowered his gaze to meet hers. “People like Cheng Jun aren’t worth your concern.”

Chu Xia leaned in to look at him. Cen Zhengnian’s face was flawless, looking the same as a few years ago, as handsome as ever, making people just want to gaze at him.

Unable to resist, Chu Xia cupped his face and, smiling with squinted eyes, asked, “Then what should I focus on?”

Cen Zhengnian lifted her up gently, his voice deep and hoarse as he said, “Me and An’an.”

With the lights off, the summer breeze from the fan couldn’t cool the warmth emanating from the bed.

Without Cheng Jun, Chuxia was more comfortable at the hospital. Learning from Dr. Yan, she picked up a lot of new knowledge.

Dr. Yan was a different style of traditional Chinese medicine practitioner compared to Elder Tang.

Both were strict in treating diseases, but their treatment approaches differed.

Dr. Yan focused on nurturing the body, aiming for gradual recovery and overall health improvement.

Elder Tang, on the other hand, prioritized curing the disease first and then focusing on recovery.

Chuxia absorbed the essence of both practitioners’ methods to develop her own approach to medicine.

Regardless of the treatment style, their goal was the same: helping patients.

On Sundays, Chuxia continued to take Cen Huai’an to Grandpa Jiang’s home as usual.

The alley here had many trees, making it seem a bit cooler, though it was still midsummer, so it wasn’t very cool.

At this time, Jiang Zhida wasn’t at his partially constructed entertainment venue but was at Grandpa Jiang’s house, lounging by the fan and asking Chuxia a few questions.

Luo Peng was listening nearby, remaining silent.

Cen Huai’an and the other three children each had half a small watermelon, eating and digging into it.

Jiang Weixi was covered in watermelon juice on his face and clothes but was happily smiling.

While they were talking, Jiang Erjiu and Zhou Huaying burst in, looking flustered and angry. “Dad, Zhiyi is so reckless! She left just a letter and secretly ran off to Yangcheng by herself!”

Zhou Huaying handed the letter to Grandpa Jiang, her chest heaving with anger. “I told you to manage her properly, but you insisted on consulting her and not making decisions unilaterally. Now look, you’ve made her more rebellious, and she just ran away!”

Her words seemed to blame Grandpa Jiang for meddling, and Jiang Erjiu, unable to let Zhou Huaying speak this way about his father, interjected angrily, “Huaying! Keep quiet. We both need to reflect on why Zhi Yi ran away.”

After reading the letter, Grandpa Jiang slammed the table and glared at Jiang Erjiu and Zhou Huaying. “I told you not to pressure Zhiyi, and this is how you treat her? Instead of letting her find a good job, you locked her in the house and forced her to study for exams. Zhou Huaying, why don’t you lock yourself in a room and try it? Honestly, Zhiyi did the right thing by running away!”

“Dad!” Jiang Erjiu and Zhou Huaying shouted.

One was trying to stop him, while the other was expressing anger. “I’m raising my own daughter with her best interests in mind. What’s wrong with that? The place she’s going to is in the countryside, with poor conditions and potential dangers. How could I agree to her going there?”

Grandpa Jiang retorted, “But you can’t lock Zhiyi in a room. She’s a person, not a puppet!”

Chuxia stood next to Grandpa Jiang, keeping an eye on his condition.

He was old and shouldn’t be exposed to such intense emotions.

Jiang Erjiu, worried about Grandpa Jiang’s health, quickly grabbed Zhou Huaying’s arm. “Alright, stop arguing. Dad, we know we were wrong. The priority now is to find Zhiyi. It’s dangerous for her to be alone in Yangcheng, a place she’s unfamiliar with.”

Zhou Huaying suddenly looked at Jiang Zhida, suspicion in her eyes. “Dazi, do you know anything about Zhi Yi going to Yangcheng?”

The Jiang family only had Jiang Zhida traveling back and forth to Yangcheng for business.

Zhou Huaying, seeing Yangcheng mentioned in Zhi Yi’s letter, immediately thought of him.

Jiang Zhida smirked, his demeanor nonchalant and unruly. “Second Aunt, you know I’m busy with the store in Xidan and living there. I haven’t seen Zhiyi, so how would I know she’s going to Yangcheng?”

Zhou Huaying despised his casual attitude, frowning. “Are you sure you don’t know?”

Jiang Zhida shrugged. “I really don’t. If I had known, I wouldn’t let you and Second Uncle be so anxious.”

However, Chuxia didn’t see any concern from Jiang Zhida.

She also didn’t like his attitude toward Jiang Erjiu and Zhou Huaying.

Zhou Huaying then turned to Chuxia. “Chuxia, you’re close to Zhi Yi. Did she mention anything about going to Yangcheng?”

Chuxia shook her head. “Second Aunt, I’ve been very busy at the hospital too.”

Zhou Huaying looked between Jiang Zhida and Chuxia, her distrust evident.

Grandpa Jiang saw her expression and slammed the table again. “Enough! Zhi Yi running away is the result of you two parents’ actions. Huaying, stop blaming others.”

Zhou Huaying wanted to argue but was stopped by Jiang Erjiu. “Dad, we need to focus on finding Zhi Yi now. Yangcheng is so far away, and there are all sorts of people on the train. We’re really worried.”

They didn’t know the exact train schedule, and although Zhou Huaying’s suspicion about Zhi Yi and Chuxia made them unhappy, none of them wanted Zhi Yi to get into trouble.

Jiang Zhida stood up. “I’ll call Xiao Ran and have him send people to the train station to look for her.”

However, there was no guarantee he would find her, and since Zhi Yi didn’t have a fixed destination, she might have gotten off the train midway.

Chuxia, with no friends in Yangcheng, asked Cen Zhengnian if he knew anyone there.

No matter what Zhi Yi was planning to do, they needed to find her first and ensure her safety.

For now, everyone had no choice but to wait for news.

Chuxia took Grandpa Jiang’s pulse and advised him, “Grandpa, you mustn’t get angry anymore. Your health can’t handle such intense emotional fluctuations.”

As she said this, Chuxia’s gaze fell on Jiang Erjiu and Zhou Huaying, clearly indicating they were the ones causing trouble for Grandpa Jiang.

No one else had angered Grandpa Jiang as much as they did, and it was always about Zhi Yi’s issues.

Jiang Erjiu’s face showed shame as he lowered his head and said to Grandpa Jiang, “Dad, I’m sorry. I’ll listen to you from now on and won’t make you worry about our family’s problems anymore.”

Grandpa Jiang waved his hand, clearly not believing him. “The way you forced Zhi Yi makes it hard for me to trust you.”

Zhou Huaying remained silent, while Jiang Erjiu scratched his head, looking distressed. “We only want what’s best for her.”

Grandpa Jiang snorted. “Enough. You’re just using ‘for her own good’ as an excuse, but in reality, you’re making her life more painful.”

Jiang Erjiu fell silent.

Jiang Weixi suddenly ran up to Grandpa Jiang, looking up at him. “Great-grandpa, have some candy and don’t be angry.”

Grandpa Jiang looked at Jiang Weixi’s sweet and innocent smile.

His anger finally dissipated, and his face softened into a smile as he took the candy from Jiang Weixi. “Thank you, Xi xi. Great-Grandpa isn’t angry anymore.”

By evening, there was still no news from Yangcheng regarding whether Jiang Zhida had found Zhi Yi.