Chapter 216: Wearing a Tiger’s Skin Doesn’t Make You a Tiger
Gu Jiaojiao finished placing the silver needles in the patient. Seeing she had a free moment, the hospital director himself stepped forward to wipe the sweat from her brow.
The gesture made his students’ and protégés’ jaws hit the floor. Every one of them stared at Gu Jiaojiao in terror.
The director was a refined-looking gentleman of nearly seventy, dressed in a white coat and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
He had studied abroad in many countries in his twenties. Today, he was not only the general director of the military region’s main hospital but also held several other posts, overseeing the treatment and emergency medical care for various important departments of the Empire.
He usually appeared very stern, treating every doctor the same way. In the surgical community, he was a highly respected senior figure.
For a long time, he was unsurpassed. It was only in the last two years that Professor Xia had surpassed him in certain aspects.
This brought him great comfort, and he sighed with relief that the surgical arts of the Empire had found a worthy successor. Now, he had even met a young woman more formidable than Professor Xia.
’How could I not wipe her sweat! What are these little brats so horrified about?’
He swept a stern glare over his students and protégés, but his tone was gentle as he spoke to Gu Jiaojiao.
"No wonder everyone calls you Divine Doctor. Not only are your surgical skills superb, but your use of silver needles even surpasses Senior Xu’s."
"My name is Rong Changsong. I’m the director of the general hospital and also serve as the vice principal at Imperial Capital Medical University."
"If you... ah! Someone as skilled as you probably wouldn’t even consider it!"
Rong Changsong had wanted to tell Gu Jiaojiao that if she ever wanted to study at the medical university or work in a major hospital, she could come to him.
But then he thought it was impossible. ’She has already made a great name for herself at such a young age. Why would Divine Doctor Su Gu need to go to university!’
"Elder Rong, I understand what you mean. We will meet again. It’s really late now, and I need to go rest."
Gu Jiaojiao glanced at Rong Changsong. ’I’ll be accepted into Imperial Capital Medical University soon enough, but I won’t say that out loud.’
’That name belongs to Gu Jiaojiao. Right now, I am the mysterious Divine Doctor Su Gu.’ With nimble movements, she removed the silver needles.
She hadn’t pulled an all-nighter since coming to this world, and staying up so suddenly was really taking its toll.
"Professor Xia, please take the Little Divine Doctor to rest first." Rong Changsong wanted to personally watch over Mr. Han.
"Elder Rong, you should go rest too. I can keep watch here," Xia Qiuming said, confident that his youth would allow him to stay up.
It was already two in the morning. He was worried that Elder Rong, given his age, wouldn’t be able to handle it.
"Alright then. Little Divine Doctor, let me take you to rest." Elder Rong was very confident in Professor Xia’s medical skills.
"Professor Xia, you can also sleep for a while on the companion cot next to the bed. This patient won’t wake up for about another five hours."
With that said, Gu Jiaojiao left. Rong Changsong and Xu Qingxu followed closely, hurrying to catch up and flanking her protectively on either side.
The other young surgeons and medical interns began cleaning up the area of their own accord.
Only Jiang Ruyan remained seated on an empty companion cot, her gaze fixed sullenly on Gu Jiaojiao’s back.
"Jiang Ruyan, what are you doing just sitting there, glaring daggers at Divine Doctor Su Gu’s back?"
A sixth-year surgical intern patted her chest as she spoke; the ferocious look on Jiang Ruyan’s face had given her a real fright.
"Isn’t it obvious? She’s just jealous that the doctor is prettier than her, and more importantly, that Divine Doctor Su Gu is more skilled than her, haha..."
one of Jiang Ruyan’s classmates said with schadenfreude. He came from a poor family, so unlike the rich young masters, he didn’t fawn over her.
He knew his place and so focused all his energy on his studies. As they say, hard work pays off.
His academic performance was top-notch, and he had been selected by Principal Rong to come to the front lines to learn how to treat the wounded.
He and Jiang Ruyan were the only fourth-year students in the group, which was why Jiang Ruyan relentlessly bullied him.
"So, does Jiang always act like this, bullying you guys because her family is rich and powerful?"
a fifth-year male student said sourly. He had once pursued Jiang Ruyan, only for her to mock him, saying a toad was trying to eat a swan.
"It’s not like we’re living off her family. Why should we be afraid of her?" a male student said with disdain.
He had a crush on the sixth-year female student whom Jiang Ruyan had scared. They were classmates, both excellent students of good character.
"All of you, shut your mouths! How dare you slander me? Are you trying to get expelled?"
Jiang Ruyan roared. She was already so furious with Gu Jiaojiao she could have coughed up blood, and now her classmates were all gossiping about her.
"Oh, really? And why should we listen to you? Are you some kind of government official?"
"You guys don’t know, do you? Her family members are all officials. That’s why she’s so arrogant."
"Damn, and here I thought *she* was the official! She should take a look at herself. Just because you wear a tiger skin doesn’t make you a tiger."
a male surgeon remarked without looking up. He didn’t mean anything by it; he was just a talkative person.
"Thinking she’s a queen when there’s something wrong with her head. If you’re sick, get treatment. Don’t just start yelling at everyone you see."
"Is there something wrong with that student’s brain? She even dared to glare at Divine Doctor Su Gu. The pigs in the pen next door are smarter than her!"
"Uncle~ Look, they’re all bullying me~" Jiang Ruyan whined, running up to a hospital bed in a cutesy, affected voice.
There were two other important patients in the ward. One was Jiang Ruihao, and the other was an injured man whose rank was even higher than Jiang Ruihao’s.
Their external injuries had been stitched up, but they still felt weak all over, and their wounds were healing incredibly slowly.
Jiang Ruihao had previously taken medicine given to him by Sheng Shijing, so he was much more lucid than the other patient, but he was still completely drained of strength.
The other patient had been unconscious the whole time but was now woken up by the students’ chattering.
They must have been poisoned as well, just a less severe case compared to Mr. Han.
Lying in his hospital bed, Jiang Ruihao had been fully conscious and had watched Divine Doctor Su Gu perform the entire surgery.
The young woman’s medical skill was so astounding that he had completely forgotten Jiang Ruyan was even in the room.
When he heard Jiang Ruyan arguing with her classmates earlier, Jiang Ruihao’s scalp tingled with cringe. ’This is so humiliating.’ He wanted to pretend he didn’t know her.
But who would have thought that the idiot would actually run to his bedside to tattle.
Jiang Ruihao’s eyes were sharp and piercing. He looked at his niece, his gaze filled with a warning, silently telling her to get lost.
’He had previously imagined Divine Doctor Su Gu to be a white-haired old man. His medicine had been so miraculous, after all.’
’Only after seeing her did he realize she was a young woman in her twenties. Su Gu, Su Gu... could she be Su Shuochi’s wife?’
’If that were true, how wonderful it would be. A perfect match between a talented man and a beautiful woman.’
Jiang Ruyan was his niece, the biological granddaughter of Divine Doctor Jiang, and the daughter of his own second brother.
Ru Yan had been very fond of Su Shuochi before and had wanted to marry him, a match he would have been happy to see.
Later, after Su Shuochi was injured and became paralyzed, his second brother had refused to agree to the marriage, and he couldn’t force the issue.
’Of course, if Su Shuochi were still able-bodied, he might not have agreed to the marriage in the first place. Not to mention Su Shuochi was a God of War with countless achievements over the years.’
’Even just based on his looks, he was the prize flower of the military. If he had really married my niece, it would have been a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.’
Jiang Ruihao closed his eyes, mulling over these thoughts, assuming his niece would be smart enough to take the hint from his glare and leave.
"Uncle~ You were clearly awake just now, why are you pretending to be asleep~ You have to help me~"