Chapter 6 I Am Not Useless

• After about 10 seconds of silence, Su Qi raised his head, “Let him go.”
• “What?” Liang Hongguo was startled.
• “I’ll do as she say. Just let him go,” repeated Su Qi.
• “Are you sure?”
• “Yes,” nodded Su Qi helplessly.
• “Okay…” Liang Hongguo shook his head as he beckoned the bodyguards to release Xue Hanhai.
• Xue Hanhai was feeling smug thinking that Liu Nian had his back as he pranced towards Liu Nian, “Nian, I knew you wouldn’t bear to see me in a difficult position. He he…”
• Liang Hongguo facepalmed at the sight while Su Qi remained expressionless. Perhaps he had been numbed by the preceding incidents to even react to the scene before him.
• The crowd was starting to sympathize with the man’s predicament. His wife was publicly standing up for a man who constantly humiliated him at every chance he got. Was he too weak to fight back or did he love his wife to such an extent as to allow himself to be cuckolded?
• Su Qi clenched his fist tightly as he took and deep breath and pulled himself together. He had come this far to prepare himself for the day of his comeback, enduring all sorts of insults, criticism and harsh treatments in the past few years. So, there was really no point dwelling on the current matter. Besides, the five years deadline was approaching, he could settle the scores with Xue Hanhai by then once and for all.
• With that in mind, he reverted to his usual demeanor. Meanwhile, Liang Hongguo was relieved that his son had completely recovered from the skin disease. The family then thanked Su Qi earnestly before heading home happily as the crowd dispersed and got back to their own workstations.
• “Nian, I bought two movie tickets for the latest Marvel movie. Let’s watch it together after work, shall we?” When it was almost time to knock off, Xue Hanhai popped up in Liu Nian’s office with a wide grin on his face.
• “Chief Xue, I’m a married woman and I don’t want to be the subject of gossip. We should minimize our contact and our interactions should be strictly limited to work matters only,” replied Liu Nian coldy.
• The man was taken aback by her response but soon regained his composure as he told her confidently, “What is there to be afraid of? Everyone in the hospital knows about our relationship.”
• “There must be a misunderstanding. To reiterate, I’m a married woman and my husband is Su Qi. You and I; We are merely superior and subordinate and nothing more than that. So, please show professionalism in the work place,” said Liu Nian gravely, “Also, when we are at the hospital, please call me Dr. Liu.”
• Her reply got him anxious as he pleaded, “Nian, why are you behaving this way? Is it because of the incident earlier or did Su Qi talk bad about me? Damn that loser! Nian, don’t get deceived by him. I truly love you with all my heard.”
• Liu Nian was sorting her documents and she couldn’t be bothered with his pleas, “That’s my husband you are talking about. No matter he’s a loser or not, it’s not up to you to judge,” with a frosty look on her face, she retorted at him.
• Surprisingly, Xue Hanhai was not affected by her statement but instead, he put on a grin as he said, “Nian, are you kidding me? Su Qi is the infamous loser husband. I know for a fact that you both are only married in name. Not only do you have no feelings for him at all, you even hated him. I was wrong today for humiliating him in public but that was because I want you to make you see the loser he really is. He is not worthy of you. He has been nothing but a burden to you for all these years. Why won’t you set yourself free by ending this meaningless marriage with Su Qi? Nian, believe me, I love you with all my heart and I am willing to accept you as who you are wholly. Please accept me…”
• “That’s enough!” Liu Nian interrupted Xue Hanhai impatiently, “I’ll never be with you. Please stop harassing me!”
• After that, Liu Nian took her bag and left.
• Watching Liu Nian’s figure disappeared in sight, Xue Hanhai’s face sank with his fist clenched tightly. His eyes were frighteningly gloomy as resentment and fury flashed across them, “Liu Nian, you won’t be able to break free from me! One day, I will make you mine. As for that loser, Su Qi, you will be sorry for what you did today.”
• When Liu Nian exited the hospital, she caught sight of Su Qi sitting at a corner with his head lowered down. His shirt appeared threadbare and the leather shoes on his feet had started to peel off. On the whole, it was heart wrenching to watch him in such a seemingly piteous state.
• After all, they have spent every single day of their life in the past five years together and Su Qi felt like a family to her somehow. Despite having no romantic feelings for one another, they shared an unusual tacit agreement in cohabit living. While Liu Nian had contemplated to file a divorce from him on several occasions, she would eventually drop the matter.
• “Let’s go,” Liu Nian walked over and nudged him coldly.
• Nodding his head, Su Qi stood up and trailed behind Liu Nian.
• “When did you read those journals about rare diseases?” asked Liu Nian suddenly after getting into the car.
• “Just recently,” replied Su Qi nonchalantly.
• “Did you really come across it by accident?” Liu Nian voice seemed to softened.
• A thought struck Su Qi’s mind immediately after that, Is she going to thank me for getting her out of a difficult situation earlier?
• “Yup,” Su Qi’s heart fluttered at the thought.
• But to his dismay, Liu Nian scoffed, “I knew it! I did not expect you to have the ability anyway. It was out of sheer luck that you managed to bluff your way through. Even then you had the audacity to demand Chief Xue to fulfill his part of the deal. Do you realize what trouble will you get us into if you fail to pull this off? Su Qi, am I your mother or your wife? Do I really have to guide you in every step of the way?”
• Su Qi gritted his teeth in displeasure, “Has it never cross your mind that I was actually capable of curing someone? In this case for instance, didn’t I cure him? Your worries of me getting us all into trouble is invalid because ironically, I was the one who got you out of the mess you started!”
• “How dare you talk back?! You are still oblivious to the gravity of the matter, aren’t you? If there was any mishap earlier on, not only myself, the entire Hua Hai will perish along with you! It was a long shot and you know it! Don’t you know where you stand in terms of medical expertise? You are simply delusional to think that you are capable of curing someone just by reading some journals from unknown sources.”
• Liu Nian was agitated in her speech as she continued furiously, “Or did you expect I’d clean up your mess just like I always do? Tell me this, what have you done for me in the past 5 years?”
• Hearing from her, Su Qi was extremely frustrated and had the impulse to tell her that his medical skills were far superior to hers. But before he could spit out the words, he managed to get a grip of himself as he said after some deliberations, “Even if I slipped up, I did it on my own accord and it has nothing to do with your hospital.”
• “Did you honestly think the hospital could escape accountability if you screw up? How old are you again? Three? Why can’t you behave like how a 20 years old man should be? Just take a look at Chief Xue and the way he carries himself!” sneered Liu Nian.
• Su Qi felt a knife stabbing his heart and it was so dreadful that the corners of his lips twitched.
• “So, are you on his side?” although there was no expression on his face, his fists were already clenched into a ball.
• Without replying to his question, Liu Nian continued their conversation in a blunt manner, “Xue Hanhai is our departmental chief. It won’t do you any good in offending him, given his wealth and connections. I know he will not hold up his end of the deal, hence I thought there was no point in you forcing him to do so. By saving him from the embarrassment this time, perhaps he would let you off the hook too.”
• She was clear in her statement that she felt Su Qi was inferior to Xue Hanhai. It seemed like she was actually worried of him getting into trouble by offending Xue Hanhai.
• When she saw Su Qi lowering his head in silence, Liu Nian seemed to realize she had gone a little overboard with her words. She toned down her voice, “My words are a little harsh but I’m doing this for your own good. You must not pretend to be someone that you are not. Xue Hanhai was not an ordinary guy you could afford to mess around with.”
• “Then let me ask you. Would you believe it if I told you I’m not a good-for-nothing and I am a million times better than Xue Hanhai in reality?” Suddenly, Su Qi raised his head to gaze at Liu Nian intently.