Chapter 5: You Are Not Worthy

After parting with a kiss from Li Bixian, Zeng Xiaofan felt sweetness lingering in both his heart and mouth.

He had only just stepped onto the village road when, from a distance, he saw someone lying collapsed beside the village committee building, her companion desperately calling for help.

As Zeng Xiaofan drew closer and got a clear look at the woman, he couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

The woman was strikingly beautiful—her features full and alluring, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the glamorous film star Fan Bing.

But at this moment, her eyes were tightly shut, her lips were blue, and foamy saliva trickled from her mouth. She lay completely unconscious.

“What happened?” Zeng Xiaofan immediately noticed from the woman’s attire that she wasn’t a local and turned to her companion for answers.

The other woman, dressed in secretary’s attire, was almost stomping in panic. “I... I have no idea what’s wrong... I was accompanying President Fan on a large hiking event, and one of the routes just happened to pass through your village. When we reached here, President Fan suddenly collapsed, frothing at the mouth and fainted. Please, you must help save her! She’s Fan Bing, President of Bihui Group! If you can save her, she’ll reward you handsomely!”

The secretary clutched at Zeng Xiaofan, her tears smudging her makeup as she pleaded.

Zeng Xiaofan was inwardly amazed. Not only did this woman look almost identical to that famous actress, but even her name was so similar.

He didn’t dwell on it, though. Squatting down, he felt for Fan Bing’s carotid artery and then placed his fingers on her pulse. His brow quickly furrowed.

“She’s been poisoned. We must detoxify her at once, or her life will be in danger.”

As he spoke, Zeng Xiaofan reached out to loosen Fan Bing’s clothing to administer first aid, but a cold voice rang out behind him.

“Zeng Xiaofan, stop what you’re doing!”

He turned and saw that the speaker was none other than his ex-girlfriend, Zhou Tingting.

He had once lost his sight saving her, and the very next day, after he went blind, Zhou Tingting broke up with him. Ever since, to prove she’d made the right decision, she’d gone out of her way to belittle and suppress him.

Now, seeing Zeng Xiaofan attempting to help, Zhou Tingting immediately crossed her arms and sneered in contempt. “Zeng Xiaofan, who do you think you are? You think you’re qualified to save people? Are you a doctor? Do you have a medical license?”

Zeng Xiaofan’s sword-like brows knitted together as he replied in a deep voice, “Does it matter? She’s severely poisoned and in critical condition—her life is at stake! Saving her comes first!”

“Tch, how do you know she’s poisoned? Oh my, your eyes are healed, huh? And now you can just tell she’s been poisoned?” Zhou Tingting rolled her eyes and snorted. “Other people might not know you, but I do.”

“Zeng Xiaofan, you didn’t even finish university, let alone qualify as an amateur practitioner of traditional medicine. What makes you think you can treat anyone? Don’t think I don’t know—you heard President Fan is a big boss and you’re just desperate to curry favor! Playing with someone’s life like this is disgusting!”

After Zhou Tingting’s tirade, the secretary was at a loss, and villagers began to gather, pointing and gossiping.

“Hey, that blind guy’s eyes are healed now?”

“So what if he can see? He’s still worthless…”

“His ex-girlfriend already graduated college and became the resident doctor at the health station. Now he’s just barely gotten his sight back—what good is that?”

Zeng Xiaofan didn’t bother arguing with Zhou Tingting. He simply took out his silver needles and prepared to treat Fan Bing.

But Zhou Tingting shoved him aside with a cold snort. “Get lost! Who’s the doctor—you or me? Is it your place to save anyone? Shameless, just watch and learn!”

She pushed Zeng Xiaofan away, crouched down, and placed her stethoscope on Fan Bing’s chest to listen.

After a careful examination, she also rolled up Fan Bing’s trouser leg to check for wounds but found none. For the moment, she couldn’t diagnose the cause. After all, her training was in modern medicine, which relied on instruments and tests—none of which were available out in the countryside. No CT scans, no blood tests; without lab reports, her knowledge was practically useless. In a way, she was more blind now than Zeng Xiaofan had ever been.

She understood this, but refused to admit it aloud. Since Zeng Xiaofan said it was poisoning, she was determined not to agree.

“I’ve got it—President Fan is suffering from acute heatstroke! On such a hot day, someone like her, a corporate executive who rarely exercises, suddenly hiking under the blazing sun for hours—of course she’d get heatstroke!”

The villagers all nodded in agreement, giving Zhou Tingting a thumbs up.

“That’s right! That must be it!”

“City folks are delicate and don’t exercise enough!”

“Exactly. If you’re not used to exercise, you shouldn’t go running around! Know your own limits!”

The secretary frowned, clearly unconvinced. “But… President Fan works out regularly. She’s in great shape…”

“That’s indoors in the city! This is the countryside—it’s different,” Zhou Tingting scoffed. “Our rural air is fresher, and the sun is fiercer! City people have no idea how powerful rural sunshine is!”

“Then… what should we do? The ambulance won’t arrive any time soon…” the secretary asked anxiously.

“Heatstroke is easy to treat! Just watch,” Zhou Tingting declared proudly.

She unbuttoned Fan Bing’s collar and slathered medicated oil on her skin, rubbing it in vigorously.

Fan Bing looked every bit as stunning as that famous actress; as soon as her collar was undone and her cleavage revealed, the men in the crowd stared, entranced.

Only Zeng Xiaofan’s frown deepened. He warned in a grave tone, “Zhou Tingting, you’ll kill her like this! She’s been poisoned, not heat-stricken. Rubbing her like that will only speed up her blood flow and drive the poison deeper…”

“Stop right there! Who’s the doctor—you or me?” Zhou Tingting shot him a contemptuous glare. “Who has the medical license—you or me?”

“You’ll kill her if you keep this up,” Zeng Xiaofan said quietly.

“Shut up! This is none of your business,” Zhou Tingting snapped, jabbing a finger at his nose.

Zeng Xiaofan could only shake his head and said in a low voice, “Watch closely. If you keep this up, in ten seconds she’ll start convulsing, then cough up black blood, then her breathing will become rapid, and finally she’ll suffocate and die.”

“Pfft!” Zhou Tingting rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh please, you make it sound so real! Even professors at top hospitals wouldn’t dare count down seconds for a diagnosis. Who do you think you are—diagnosing so precisely? Stop pretending! You’re just trying to scare people into giving you money—shameless…”

Zhou Tingting’s scolding grew ever harsher, but Zeng Xiaofan calmly began to count down.

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One!”

Everyone stared at Zeng Xiaofan in surprise, then looked toward the patient.

Fan Bing remained motionless, eyes closed and unresponsive.

Zhou Tingting smirked. “See? I knew it! If you’re right, I’ll eat my words—no, I’ll stand on my head and eat—”

Before she could finish, Fan Bing suddenly convulsed violently. In the next instant, she vomited a mouthful of black blood all over Zhou Tingting’s pristine white coat.

“Ah!” Zhou Tingting shrieked, just as Fan Bing’s breath turned rapid and shallow.

“Convulsing.”

“Vomiting blood.”

“Rapid breathing…”

“He predicted it all…” The entire crowd was stunned. Zhou Tingting’s jaw dropped so wide it could have fit a whole banana.