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Su Ying quickly pulled her hand out of the icy water, turned around, and grabbed the thermos from the windowsill, pouring some hot water into the basin.
“What are you doing? That’s my drinking water! Who told you to wash the rag?”
The woman snapped angrily.
Su Ying wrung out the rag and placed it back on the sill, then calmly looked at the woman.
“Cold water stimulates the nerves. It damages my hand. As for the hot water—if you need it, I can fetch more from the water room later. But right now, shouldn’t you take a look at my recommendation letter?”
Su Ying’s calm and firm tone made Yang Tianjiao feel slightly unsettled.
She picked up the letter and glanced over it, then sneered with disdain.
So what? Just a recommendation from a minor department head at a state-owned factory—nothing impressive. She must not have any real connections. Yang Tianjiao couldn’t understand why Director Zhao had taken notice of her.
“You’re Su Ying?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t get into college?”
“I did. But I was replaced by someone else.”
Yang Tianjiao looked up at her and noticed how calm her expression was, as if she were telling someone else’s story.
She must be mentally off, Yang thought. How could she be so calm when her chance at college was stolen?
“Our hospital requires doctors to have proper medical qualifications. You haven’t studied this field, so you’ll be assigned to the logistics department.”
Su Ying frowned. The logistics department—let’s be real—meant janitorial work. Sure, it included some procurement roles, but those were cushy jobs likely already taken. No way she’d get one.
Su Ying had come to the hospital hoping to work her way into a surgical or medical role. Even starting as a nurse or nursing aide would be fine—at least she’d be around patients. But now they were sending her to logistics?
“I came to the hospital because I’m genuinely interested in medicine. Is there another role I could be assigned to?”
Yang Tianjiao sized her up and smiled coldly.
“There is one. The hospital morgue needs someone to carry corpses. You can go there if you’d like.”
Su Ying’s face stiffened. She didn’t mind the task itself, but there was no future in that role. After a moment’s thought, she reluctantly accepted the logistics assignment.
After Su Ying left, Yang Tianjiao put down her tea mug and rushed upstairs.
“Director Zhao, I’ve placed her in logistics. I’ve already arranged for her to clean the toilets.”
Director Zhao, dressed in a blue professional suit and wearing glasses, was quite satisfied and praised her.
“Good job, Tianjiao. Keep this up, and you’ll definitely have a chance to transfer to a better unit in the future.”
Yang Tianjiao was overjoyed and smiled broadly.
“Thank you, Director. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure to take good care of her.”
Su Ying didn’t expect her situation to get even more humiliating. The job she was assigned? Cleaning bathrooms on all five floors of the hospital. Each floor had two restrooms, which meant she had to clean ten toilets every day.
It didn’t seem like much on paper, but nobody wanted to do such dirty, exhausting work—so it all fell on Su Ying.
But to keep the job, she gritted her teeth and accepted it.
When Su Xiaohan heard Su Ying had been assigned to work at the hospital, she was so upset she didn’t even want to go to school that morning. Not until Su Jianshe left for work did she drag Zhao Yumei aside, furious.
“Mom, what is going on? Why is Su Ying working at the hospital? What did Dad mean earlier? Did he help arrange it? He still loves his own daughter best!”
Zhao Yumei was fuming too.
“I didn’t expect it either. But it wasn’t your father—he doesn’t have that kind of pull. I bet it was that crippled veteran of hers who begged someone for help. Otherwise, how could a bumpkin like her end up with a hospital job?”
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Su Xiaohan grabbed her mother’s arm tightly.
“Mom, no. We can’t let her become a doctor—she can’t go into medicine! Didn’t she marry that cripple? Why isn’t she at home taking care of him instead of working?”
Zhao Yumei looked at her, puzzled.
Why did Xiaohan seem unusually panicked and anxious?
“Xiaohan, why are you so worried? Even if she’s working, it doesn’t affect us. Your dad’s already decided to divorce her mom. Once that’s done, we’ll have nothing to do with them. Who cares what she does?”
“No! That’s not okay!”
Su Xiaohan suddenly shouted, shocking Zhao Yumei.
“What’s wrong with you? Why not?”
Su Xiaohan clung to her mom’s arm, nearly frantic.
“Mom, we can’t let her work—especially not as a doctor. She’ll become a threat to us. She’s just a girl from the countryside—she should be back home taking care of that crippled veteran!”
Zhao Yumei was taken aback. Threat? That serious?
Though she and Su Jianshe didn’t have the power to send Gu Jinghong back to the countryside, it was clear they’d have to pull some strings now.
“Okay, I get it. I’ll figure something out. Now go to school.”
—
That noon, when Su Ying got home, the first thing she did was head to the bathroom for a hot shower. Afterward, feeling refreshed, she went into the kitchen to cook.
Gu Jinghong had heard her come in, but waited and waited—no one came to his room. Then he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.
He sighed, closed his eyes, but then blushed as some thought crossed his mind. Quickly, he opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling.
While washing vegetables in the kitchen, Su Ying suddenly remembered she hadn’t checked on Gu Jinghong. He was paralyzed—he probably wet himself again. And he must be thirsty, too.
She quickly poured some warm water and brought it to his room.
“Not asleep? You must be thirsty. Here, have some water.”
She fed him with a straw—it was easier that way—and then went to check on his condition.
Though this wasn’t her first time, Gu Jinghong still tightly shut his eyes. He was no longer resisting like yesterday, but he was clearly still uncomfortable.
When she pulled off his damp underwear, he felt utterly humiliated. In a low, hoarse voice, he muttered,
“You should only need to do this for a couple more days…”
Su Ying gently wiped him down as she replied with a bitter smile,
“It’s fine. I seem to have a knack for these kinds of jobs. One more chore won’t make a difference.”
Gu Jinghong’s eyes flickered, quietly watching her.
Su Ying shook her head and said no more. The job had been arranged for her—there was no point burdening him with complaints.
At least now she had official employment. By next month, she’d finally have some money in hand.
After wiping his thighs, Su Ying continued down to his calves. Finally, when cleaning the groin area, she noticed his underwear had risen noticeably—and she quickly turned her head away.
He might not be able to stand, but he was still… well-endowed. It felt like a waste. He had the kind of looks that would normally attract many women, yet now people only avoided him.
Once she was done cleaning, Su Ying pulled the blanket over his stomach, leaving the lower half uncovered.
“Let it air dry. I’m going to finish cooking. After lunch, I’ll give you a massage.”