This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

What do doctors fear the most?

Actually, it’s not illness, but people.

Take the two who just walked in; they were obviously a mother and daughter.

The girl was a little on the plump side, walked slowly, and seemed somewhat timid.

The woman next to her, with drooping eyes and fleshy jowls, started cursing and grumbling incessantly the moment she stepped through the door, even shoving the girl walking in front of her from behind.

”Doctor, please see to this wretched girl of mine. I don’t know what’s gotten into her; she hasn’t been eating properly these past two days, and she dozes off whenever she’s asked to write or read.”

Before she even approached the desk, the woman started rattling on at Du Heng.

She had no courtesy at all.

Even while speaking to Du Heng, she found a moment to shove the girl again, snapping, ”Hurry up! I’ve had enough of you.”

It’s not difficult cases that Du Heng dreads, but family members like these.

The woman, half-pushing, half-shoving, forced the girl onto the stool in front of Du Heng, then said to him, ”Her Teacher called me yesterday. He said that lately, this brat even falls asleep during early morning classes. And when asked a question, she’s always slow to answer.

The Teacher told me to get her a check-up, suspecting something might be wrong with her brain.”

While saying this, she glared fiercely at her daughter on the stool. ”So embarrassing!”

As for the girl, she kept her head hung so low that Du Heng could only see the back of her head.

Du Heng didn’t dare provoke this woman. He took the medical card from her and handed it to the resident doctor nearby. Then he gently asked, ”Oh, the Teacher is also looking out for the Child’s well-being, worried something might be wrong. Early diagnosis and treatment are beneficial for everyone. Parent, wouldn’t you agree?

Besides, the Child might just be tired from studying and hasn’t had a chance to recover properly. You shouldn’t be so quick to get angry and scold her, or put pressure on her. Maybe she just needs to rest for a couple of days.”

But the woman seemed ungrateful. She continued to glare at the girl and said, ”She’s not resting well? What a joke!

She eats more than I do, goes to bed earlier than I do every day, and her grades are still at the bottom of her class. What pressure could she possibly have?”

As she spoke, her eyes kept rolling towards the girl.

Du Heng was afraid her eyeballs might pop out at any moment.

Seeing the woman pause, Du Heng wanted to start his examination quickly, but the woman was just catching her breath and continued, ”What you’re saying, the doctor from the Neurology Department said the same thing this morning.

He also said there’s nothing serious with the Child, just that she needs to rest, and that some Chinese herbal medicine for conditioning would be enough.

I really don’t know how I’ve failed her. She doesn’t lack food or clothing. She’s so lazy day in and day out that she doesn’t even fold her quilt. How can she not be resting well?

In my opinion, she’s just deliberately tormenting me.”

”You’ve already had a consultation?”

”Yes, we have. They said there’s nothing wrong with her.”

”In that case, it’s probably just stress, psychological anxiety, and poor sleep. It’s alright. I’ll examine her and prescribe some medicine to help regulate her system.”

Having said this, Du Heng reached for the girl’s hand to begin the pulse diagnosis.

However, the moment he touched her, Du Heng stiffened all over, and his eyes involuntarily flicked towards the girl.

But the girl’s head was hung so low that, aside from her hair and scalp, he couldn’t see anything else.

After feeling her pulse for a few more seconds, Du Heng’s heart sank. Unwilling to give up, he took the girl’s other hand.

Yet, the result still left him completely astonished.

Seeing Du Heng silent for a long time, the woman urged, ”Doctor, please hurry. After I get her medicine, I need to go to my beauty salon appointment.

I’ve already booked it. If I miss my slot, I won’t be able to get it done.”

Du Heng hesitated for a moment. ”Parent, perhaps it would be better if the Child stepped out first, so I can speak with you privately?”

The woman shot Du Heng a disdainful look. ”Hey, Doctor, just say what you need to say. There’s nothing wrong with this girl of mine, why are you being so secretive?

Besides, this girl can take a lot. Just say what you have to say, don’t beat around the bush.”

Du Heng took a deep breath, looked at the woman and the girl, and said tentatively, ”The Child is under a lot of pressure. She might have... other issues. You should go home and have a good talk with her.”

The woman furrowed her brows. ”Aiya, Doctor, if you have something to say, just say it outright. I don’t understand all this beating around the bush.”

Du Heng pursed his lips. ”Perhaps I should refer you to the Gynecology Department for an examination? As a male doctor, it’s not very convenient for me.”

This immediately displeased the woman. ”What do you mean, Doctor? Are you trying to swindle money from me? This morning, we went to your Neurology Department, and the doctor there referred us to traditional Chinese medicine.

Now, the traditional Chinese medicine doctor is telling us to go to Gynecology!

So, when we get to the Gynecology Department, are they going to send us to yet another department?

Are you trying to make me visit every single department in the hospital?

You can’t just fleece me like this!”

Seeing the woman’s aggressive stance, Du Heng couldn’t help but lean back slightly, instinctively wanting to distance himself from her.

”Parent, you’ve really misunderstood. If I refer you, they won’t charge you a single cent over there.”

”It’s not about the money anymore! Just tell me what’s wrong with my daughter.”

After thinking for a moment, Du Heng said tactfully, ”If you don’t want to be referred to another department, then you should go home and talk with your Child. I suspect your daughter might be under a lot of stress because she’s found a boyfriend, and it’s affecting her studies.”

The woman rolled her eyes. ”You’re quite something, Doctor. I brought her for a medical check-up, and now you’re meddling in my daughter’s love life? Ridiculous!”

Slightly angered, she continued, ”Although my daughter’s grades are a bit poor, she’s very obedient.

She goes to school every morning and comes straight home afterward. On weekends, I even accompany her to tutoring sessions. How could she possibly do something so shameful?”

The woman pointed at Du Heng. ”I thought you were a quack the moment I walked in! When I saw you were just a young man, I already felt you weren’t reliable. I didn’t expect you to slander my daughter like this!

I’m telling you, you’re ruining my daughter’s reputation, and I’m going to file a complaint against you!

You call yourself a doctor? A Deputy Director? You’re probably so incompetent you can’t even get a hot meal!

And let me tell you, if what you said affects my daughter’s college entrance examination, I won’t let you off the hook!”

It was here. What Du Heng had sensed was coming had finally happened.

Even though he had spoken sincerely and honestly, the outcome was still the same.

Moreover, while Du Heng had been confronted by patients before, he had never been berated so fiercely to his face.

For a moment, he was genuinely taken aback.

The woman, as if her tirade wasn’t over, pointed at Du Heng with an index finger adorned with bright red nail polish and yelled, ”I’m telling you, saying such things is an insult to my daughter’s character and a trampling of her dignity! You must apologize to my daughter!”

Du Heng didn’t retort; he didn’t dare to.

He knew that if he dared to interrupt her while she was speaking, he would undoubtedly face an even more ferocious tempest.

Conversely, if he waited for her to finish venting this bout of anger before he spoke again, these problems wouldn’t arise.

And indeed, when Du Heng began to speak next, the woman actually didn’t interrupt; she truly waited until Du Heng had finished.

”Parent,” Du Heng spoke slowly and calmly, ”my judgment is based on my professional expertise and experience. Moreover, the facts are as they are, and I take full responsibility for what I’ve said.

If I am wrong, you can file your complaint, and I will apologize as I should. But your current shouting and yelling is disrespectful to your Child, to yourself, and to me. I can, in turn, ask you to apologize to me.”

Du Heng paused briefly, and before the woman could speak, he continued, ”Everything you’re saying is based on your own perspective, your own feelings.

You don’t believe a doctor’s words, that’s fine. After all, everyone tends to believe their own parenting methods are flawless and their own children are the best.

But your daughter is right here beside you. Why don’t you ask her? Perhaps then this matter can be resolved.”

The woman’s glare faltered for a moment. Then, she slowly turned her gaze to the girl on the stool.

But even now, the girl kept her head down, showing no intention of looking up.

The doctor had said such things, and her mother was on the verge of exploding like a lioness, yet the girl herself remained with her head bowed. This wasn’t normal.

And this very abnormality, in fact, highlighted the problem.

Du Heng’s calm and composed demeanor had significantly suppressed the woman’s rage. Even though she still felt like she was about to explode, she could no longer act as outrageously as before.

After licking her lips, the woman turned and gave the girl a shove. ”Speak up! Tell me, is what the doctor said true?”

The girl remained silent, her head still bowed.

Such behavior, however, was tantamount to lighting the fuse of the already enraged woman, pushing her to the breaking point.

The woman fiercely yanked the girl and screamed hoarsely, ”Tell me, why did you do this?!”

The girl, by now looking utterly exasperated herself, retorted, ”I didn’t have a ’why’! I just felt stressed and wanted to try those things you always scoff at!”

”You... you...” The woman was so startled by the girl’s sudden defiance that she couldn’t even speak clearly.

”You’ve always said I’m an embarrassment to you, haven’t you? Well, this time I’m going to give you a real taste of embarrassment! I’m going back to our residential complex, and I’m going to shout it out so everyone who knows you will know how I’ve embarrassed you!”

The girl forcefully smacked the woman’s gripping hand away and ran out as if she’d gone mad.

The girl ran off, but her mother was left dumbfounded.

Staring at the few strands of hair left clinging to her fingers, the woman stood frozen, utterly at a loss.

Du Heng and the resident doctor were also dumbfounded. Every turn of events had been completely beyond their expectations.

Du Heng’s dry throat bobbed. He carefully began, ”Parent, your Child...”

But before he could finish, the woman suddenly flung her hand and cried out, ”This is turning everything upside down! This is complete chaos!”

Muttering to herself, she then chased out of the office as if she too had gone mad.