Chapter 980 - 945: A Taste of Sweetness

Chen Yuan said with a tearful face, "If I hadn’t seen the little bugs biting me with my own eyes, I’d suspect he was poisoning me."

He felt an unbearable itch down there, and although he was embarrassed to scratch in front of Zhao Yongsheng, he couldn’t help it. He reached down and scratched twice, producing a small black bug. Looking at the sesame seed-sized black bug, Chen Yuan’s soul flew out in fear: "Bug, bug!"

Zhao Yongsheng instinctively took a step back. His first reaction was pubic lice—is it possible this outwardly polished senior counsel had contracted a filthy disease? He desperately hoped it wouldn’t jump onto him; this illness isn’t terribly damaging, but it’s highly insulting.

Zhao Yongsheng knew Xu Chunliang’s temperament well. He understood if he stated the reason directly, Xu Chunliang would definitely not give him the cooling ointment. With a hopeful mindset, he proactively contacted Xu Chunliang, claiming his skin was itchy and asking Xu Chunliang for some cooling ointment.

Xu Chunliang had been following Chen Yuan’s recent situation, knowing that Chen Yuan was currently hospitalized at Changxing Hospital, but he didn’t know the relationship between Zhao Yongsheng and Chen Yuan.

In spite of this, Xu Chunliang quickly deduced the mystery, bluntly refusing Zhao Yongsheng. His reason was simple: his grandfather had already retired, and Huichun Hall was out of business, so how would he have cooling ointment for him?

Having hit a wall with Zhao Yongsheng, he could only consider an indirect approach. Wasn’t Zheng Peian Xu Changshan’s disciple? Zhao Yongsheng then went to find Zheng Peian.

Zheng Peian was unaware of the situation. Though Huichun Hall was closed, it didn’t mean there was no stock left. Some of Huichun Hall’s past inventory was temporarily stored in the Changshan Hospital storeroom. Cooling ointment wasn’t valuable, and the old man had stated previously that if anyone could use it, they should, as it would eventually expire.

Out of colleague etiquette, Zheng Peian found a few boxes of cooling ointment for Zhao Yongsheng. Zhao Yongsheng treated them like treasures and immediately sent them to Chen Yuan.

Now, Chen Yuan had shaved off all his hair, except his eyebrows, to completely remove the bugs from his body. Experts were unclear; the bugs on him weren’t pubic lice, but the damage was more severe than pubic lice. The dermatologist had no good solutions, administering allergenic treatment, advising Chen Yuan to shave his hair and apply sulfur ointment, and telling him to maintain good personal hygiene.

Chen Yuan’s greatest embarrassment was when the director repeatedly asked if he had a history of unclean living. Chen Yuan steadfastly denied this, feeling insulted, to the point where even the way the responsible nurse looked at him seemed strange. Although they didn’t directly mock him, Chen Yuan had studied psychology and understood those looks. In the eyes of these nurses, he was a morally questionable old rascal, a civilized disgrace.

The patient in the neighboring bed, having heard something, firmly requested to move, fearing infection. No one could guarantee that the lice on him wouldn’t hop onto them.

After several thorough cleanings, Chen Yuan eventually had no more bugs on him, yet the allergic symptoms hadn’t improved.

After Zhao Yongsheng struggled to obtain the cooling ointment, Chen Yuan hurriedly applied it to himself, and it indeed relieved the itching temporarily. But before long, the agonizing itch returned with even greater intensity.

Now, Chen Yuan was unrecognizable, looking just like a monster.

His assistant came to visit him and consult on how to handle the lawsuit against Xu Chunliang, but even Chen Yuan’s voice had changed. Hoarsely, he pointed to the door: "Get out... get out of here, I don’t have the energy to deal with work matters!"

For the first time, Chen Yuan thought about death; if this situation continued, he would be better off dead.

Changxing Hospital’s experts were at a loss, and Chen Yuan decided he needed to transfer hospitals.

Just as Chen Yuan requested the transfer paperwork, Xu Chunliang appeared, looking at the pig-headed Chen Yuan with undisguised schadenfreude. Xu Chunliang grinned at Chen Yuan and said, "Yo, Senior Counsel Chen, how did you end up like this?"

Chen Yuan’s fierce glare shot out from the swollen slit of his eyelids, which instead of intimidating, only seemed comically absurd.

Xu Chunliang sat down boldly in the chair.

The chair had been there for a long time, but no one dared to sit. Regardless of how close one was, they came in a hurry and left just as fast, making Chen Yuan feel abandoned by the world.

He secretly thought how great it would be if the bugs crawled onto him, making him just like me—no, even worse off than me. People generally have this mindset: when they’re down, they hope someone else suffers too. Seeing others worse off makes one feel a little better.

Xu Chunliang said, "Do you remember what I told you before?"

Chen Yuan definitely remembered. Xu threatened him, advising not to mess up in his hands. His current condition was caused by Xu Chunliang, Chen Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "You harmed me!"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "You lawyers are so full of nonsense. If there’s no evidence, you can’t just say anything, or I’ll sue you for slander."

Chen Yuan looked at Xu Chunliang: "Why are you here? To laugh at me? You got what you wanted, so hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave."

Xu Chunliang sighed and said, "A doctor’s heart is like that of a parent. The day before yesterday Zhao Yongsheng asked me for some cooling ointment, I didn’t give it to him. Later I heard it was for you. If you need it, you should come directly to me. Considering you had the courage to sue me, I would surely give you a box. I admire people with courage the most."

Chen Yuan’s gaze turned resentful, but unfortunately, his eyes were so narrow that no matter how his expression changed, he couldn’t clearly convey it: "Stop with the sarcasm." He thought to himself, the cooling ointment from your Huichun Hall is just mediocre; I used up several bottles and it still didn’t work.

Xu Chunliang said, "I heard you’re going to transfer hospitals?"

"Hmph!" Chen Yuan held onto the last remnants of his dignity.

Xu Chunliang said, "Transferring hospitals won’t help, a common hospital can’t treat your unusual illness. I’ll point you in the right direction: why not go to Huang Youlong? You did so many unethical things for him, maybe he has the ability to help you."

Chen Yuan had tried going to Huang Youlong, explained his symptoms, even sent photos, but Huang Youlong sent back a prescription, and after taking the medicine, it had no effect. He tried contacting Huang Youlong again, hoping he could come and check, but Huang Youlong made excuses and ignored him. In Huang Youlong’s eyes, Chen Yuan was just an insignificant person.

Recently, Mingde Group hasn’t been peaceful either, several cases related to Mingde Group occurred consecutively, and the police are investigating. Huang Youlong returned to the Peninsula partly to avoid trouble; he wouldn’t make a special trip for a lawyer.

Chen Yuan said, "Was it you? Was it you?"

Judging from Chen Yuan’s behavior, Xu Chunliang realized he was about to crumble. He shook his head: "Desperate times call for desperate measures, you chose the wrong doctor. If you had come to me from the start, it wouldn’t have become so serious. I truly sympathize with your current situation—choice is essential. Choosing the wrong person might cost you your life."

Chen Yuan thought Xu Chunliang was threatening him, but just based on his words alone, it didn’t constitute the crime of intimidation.

Before leaving, Xu Chunliang gave Chen Yuan a box of cooling ointment, emphasizing this box was specially made, telling Chen Yuan to use it sparingly and to treasure it.

Chen Yuan grabbed the box of cooling ointment and threw it into the trash can but quickly reconsidered Xu Chunliang’s words and retrieved it from the trash. Specially made! It should be different from what Zhao Yongsheng brought.

Chen Yuan opened the bottle and found it wasn’t much different from the last cooling ointment, and even smelled similar. Given his current state, how much worse could it get? He decided to try it.

Right now the itchiest part of his body was his crotch, but what if Xu Chunliang intended harm? Chen Yuan decided to test a little on his hand first. The ointment was too little, barely enough for one hand, so using it sparingly would just fit for below.

Chen Yuan applied the cooling ointment to his left hand, and the itching vanished almost instantly after applying it. In less than five minutes, his left hand was no longer swollen and had returned to normal.

Chen Yuan could hardly believe his eyes, followed by endless regret; he shouldn’t have applied it to his left hand. I should have taken care of my little buddy first. Now the size could compete with that of the donkey in the story, so painful and itchy, he wished he could cut it off.

Chen Yuan could now conclude his current state was thanks to Xu Chunliang. I’m going to sue him. He used wicked tricks against me. Why did I fall ill after Xu Chunliang visited my office? Why didn’t anyone else in the law firm get infected? Why are hospitals helpless, yet fellow patients in the ward are fine? Why did I recover immediately after using his specially made ointment?

Chen Yuan is, after all, a legal professional; he knows everything requires evidence. If he sued Xu Chunliang merely based on speculation, it would end in defeat, and people might say he’s the dog biting Lv Dongbin, not recognizing a good person.

With his left hand swelling down and itchiness gone, the improvement in localized symptoms only highlighted the suffering of other areas, making Chen Yuan realize Xu Chunliang’s insidiousness. This bastard has evil intentions, deliberately bringing me a bottle of ointment with just enough to treat localized symptoms.

This guy simply wants me in a position of yearning after a taste of relief, forcing me to abandon all my dignity to beg him.

Chen Yuan’s mind was plunged into a fierce internal struggle.

After multiple investigations, Cao Bingyi realized the seriousness of the issue and proactively went to Qiaocheng to meet Xiahou Mulan.

Xiahou Mulan considered for a moment and agreed to meet him, given he’s a veteran in the field, she understood Cao Bingyi’s predicament well; Xu Chunliang could help Mulan Group get on the key support list for traditional Chinese medicine, and he has the ability to kick Cao Bingyi’s Shennong Group out.

This wasn’t Xu Chunliang’s fault; Cao Bingyi overstepped boundaries first. She had warned Cao Bingyi against getting involved. Xu Chunliang also called Cao Bingyi, offering authorized usage conditions, but Cao Bingyi deliberately played dumb, believing from the beginning that Xu Chunliang would inevitably lose the lawsuit, putting all his bets on the Zhou Brothers’ side.

Individuals who are short-sighted usually don’t know to leave themselves with fallback options, realizing only when it’s too late.