Chapter 132: False Accusation

This is just despicable. Would anyone with a shred of humanity do something like this?

"Zhang Chunlei, are you even human!"

"You did it but you don't dare admit it? How do you usually lecture us? Have you forgotten all that now?"

These accusations left Zhang Chunlei completely humiliated.

Everyone was talking about him as if he were already a convicted criminal.

"Say whatever you want. I'm done with this! Goodbye!"

With that, Zhang Chunlei stood up to leave, but the other doctors pursued him with insults.

"So you admit it?"

"If you admit it, then take off that white coat and get out! And don't you dare call yourself a doctor ever again. You're a disgrace to the profession!"

"Dean, please discipline him!"

The other vice dean, Zhu Nian, stepped forward, his presence as imposing as ever.

Zhu Nian and Zhang Chunlei were the hospital's two executive vice deans. If Zhang Chunlei were to leave, all his responsibilities would fall to Zhu Nian.

He was more eager than anyone to see Zhang Chunlei fired.

But the Dean said, "We'll discuss this later! First, we need to investigate this matter thoroughly!"

After all, Zhang Chunlei was one of their top performers. If he left, the hospital's business would be cut in half.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

Zhu Nian sneered and turned to the young nurse. "You need to be more careful in the future. Don't give scoundrels any opportunities!"

"I've said everything I can to help you. The Dean has his own considerations, so my hands are tied!"

It was a not-so-subtle insinuation that the Dean planned to cover for Zhang Chunlei.

'All the doctors in the hospital are here,' the Dean thought. 'If this accusation is confirmed, I'm screwed.'

Dean Zhu mulled it over for a moment before saying, "Vice Dean Zhu, I know what you're thinking. I have no intention of covering for Zhang Chunlei, but the hospital needs Vice Dean Zhang…"

Before he could finish, Zhu Nian cut in, "So you're saying you don't need the rest of us? Fine! From now on, he can see all the patients. I'm washing my hands of this!"

"Yeah, Dean! What do you mean by that? Spit it out!"

The Dean couldn't take it anymore. Seeing how things were going, if he didn't fire Zhang Chunlei immediately, the entire hospital was going to fracture.

The only thing he could do was make a quick decision and fire Zhang Chunlei.

"My decision is to suspend Zhang Chunlei from all his duties and remove him from his current post. Once this matter has been thoroughly investigated, we will decide on his final disciplinary action."

This was the Dean's final compromise.

If they pushed him any further, the situation would become untenable.

He thought, 'The doctors still have some sense. They won't let things get completely out of hand.'

"Do what you will!"

Zhang Chunlei stormed to the door of the conference room. He had just pulled it open when he saw Mu Lin standing right outside.

"Mu Xiaoyou?" Zhang Chunlei was dumbfounded. He never thought Mu Lin would be able to find him here.

Mu Lin gave Vice Dean Zhang a slight bow. "Vice Dean Zhang!"

"Don't call me that anymore. I won't be for much longer!"

"Why is that?!" Mu Lin feigned surprise. He had heard everything clearly from outside the door, but he wanted the people in the room to repeat the story themselves.

A doctor next to Zhu Nian pointed smugly at the weeping young nurse. "Zhang Chunlei showed no respect for his age and bullied an intern nurse. He was caught red-handed! The evidence is irrefutable. After discussing it, we've decided to expel this bad apple!"

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes and chuckled. "Is that so? Elder Zhang has been at this hospital for more than a day or two. If he had such inclinations, he would have acted on them long ago. Why now?"

The doctor sneered. "That's why we say he has no respect for his age! He's been bottling it up for years, waiting until he was old so he wouldn't be so easily found out!"

"As for Old Dog Zhang's culpability, we've already passed judgment. He is to be suspended from all his duties as a doctor! This has nothing to do with you!"

The doctor pointed at Mu Lin. "Go back where you came from!"

Mu Lin gave a contemptuous smile. "A member of my family is a patient in this hospital and requires Dr. Zhang's care. If he stops working, it will put me in a very difficult position!"

"Then just find another doctor! If the hospital keeps Zhang Chunlei, its reputation will be dragged through the mud!"

Mu Lin chuckled. "How interesting! Could I hear the full story, then? Miss, would you be willing to tell me what happened?"

"Hey, are you crazy? Are you trying to rub salt in her wound? What happened was already horrible, and you want to make her relive it?"

Mu Lin responded calmly, "It's not as if retelling the story will harm her again, is it? She must have just told it a moment ago. By that logic, were you all harming her then, too?"

That shut them up. It was a heavy accusation to bear.

The hospital might look peaceful on the surface, but the underlying rivalries were fierce. Get a label like that pinned on you, and you might be the next one to face public denunciation.

Seeing no further objections, Mu Lin turned to the young nurse.

"Miss, I am deeply sympathetic to what you've been through. Could you tell me how Vice Dean Zhang harassed you?"

The young nurse hadn't anticipated Mu Lin's intervention, and a look of confusion crossed her face.

Her gaze darted around the room before she finally spoke.

"It was like this… Today, I went to deliver a document. I was about to leave after dropping it off, but suddenly, Vice Dean Zhang stopped me. He complimented my nail polish and asked what color I was using."

"I'd never been in a situation like that, so I told him the color. But then he grabbed my hand and leaned in to sniff my neck. I froze and didn't know what to do."

"He's a vice dean, and I'm just an intern. What could I do? All I could do was push his hand away and try to leave, hoping to never bring it up again."

"But then… he wrapped his arms around my waist, started unbuttoning my uniform, and touched my leg…"

"I had to use all my strength to push him off and run out crying for help!"

After finishing her story, the young nurse covered her face and began to cry again.

"Look what you've done! You made her cry again! Won't you be satisfied until you've scarred her for life?"

Zhang Chunlei sighed. It didn't matter; the outcome was the same. These people had conspired together to take him down.

There was no one left in the world who would listen to him.

Mu Lin quickly raised a hand, gesturing for calm. "I am very sympathetic to this young lady's plight. I agree that any scumbag who would force themselves on another person should be thrown out."

"However, I'm confused as to why her story is so inconsistent."

A doctor slammed his hand on the table. "You just got here! How could you possibly know what she said earlier?"

Mu Lin smiled, raised his phone, and tapped the screen.

"Right, I just went into Vice Dean Zhang's office to deliver some files, and while he was looking at them, he told me to sit on his lap. I didn't want to, and then he… he…"

As the voice recording played, the color drained from the young nurse's face.

She hadn't expected this.

Mu Lin said, "See? Is her story the same? Don't tell me she delivered two separate documents and was harassed in two different ways. Isn't that a bit of a stretch?"

"That can be explained. Her account was given under extreme duress. She was describing her perception of events, which may not be the objective reality, but it's enough to prove that Vice Dean Zhang did something that terrified her!"

A doctor from the psychology department stood up and argued, quite reasonably, "She's just a young woman, facing a powerful vice dean. Of course she would feel helpless!"

Mu Lin chuckled. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you have a point. Then how do you explain this video?"

Mu Lin raised his phone again and played a video. In it, the young nurse was clutching Zhang Chunlei's wrist, shouting loudly.

This was the video that Li Xue had received.

"Isn't she supposed to be terrified? If she were terrified, shouldn't she be running as far away as possible? Why is she holding onto Vice Dean Zhang's hand?"

"Furthermore, her uniform is perfectly neat. Where are the signs of any unbuttoning?"

"So, I'd just like to ask, is there a single shred of truth left in her story?"

The room fell silent. Now that Mu Lin had laid out so much evidence, everyone knew they had to watch what they said.

One wrong word could mean walking right into his trap.

Suddenly, the young nurse had become a hot potato no one wanted to hold.

Mu Lin smiled, walked up to the young nurse, and said calmly:

"Miss, let me give you a piece of advice. Tell the truth, and you might still have a way out. If you insist on this path, you'll likely be discarded as someone's pawn, and your fate will be tragic. The choice is yours."

"Explain everything within five minutes, and perhaps I can still protect you."