Chapter 29: When Masters Clash, Restraint Prevails

Seeing that Xu Wenyao did not take the envelope she offered, Li Yan grew anxious.

She knew that Xu Wenyao had always been very polite to her family, even going so far as to treat them to dinner in the past. Now that she was proactively offering a gesture of goodwill, she felt she had given him more than enough face. Why was he suddenly acting so difficult?

Finding Xu Wenyao unyielding, Li Yan turned to Li Guotai. "Dean Li, you have seen for yourself that I am only visiting student Wu Bin out of humanitarian concern. Since Xu Wenyao won't accept this money, why don't you take it?" She added, "I’ve made some inquiries, and it seems Wu Bin is an orphan from a poor background. This is just a small token of my sincerity."

Li Yan was dropping a hint to Li Guotai: Wu Bin was just an orphan; there was no need for them to fall out with her over someone so insignificant.

Li Guotai understood her implication perfectly well. However, instead of taking the red envelope, he said coldly, "Mrs. Li, you needn't worry about that. Student Wu Bin is a priority patient at our hospital, so we will cover his medical expenses ourselves. As for your son, he really needs a proper education."

In a battle between masters, a subtle point is enough. Li Guotai was not a judge; he could not pass a legal verdict on Zhao Hao. But as an elder, he had every right to critique the boy’s character.

Li Yan had not expected that neither Li Guotai nor Xu Wenyao would show her any respect. It was truly bizarre! Was it really necessary to place such importance on a mere orphan student?

Just as Li Yan was fuming, her husband, Zhao Han, called. "I heard that Xiao Hao caused trouble at school? What’s going on?"

Zhao Han was a renowned entrepreneur with extensive connections and a wide social circle. This was why Li Yan knew people like Li Guotai and Xu Wenyao; she often accompanied Zhao Han to various social events. Knowing her husband’s temperament, Li Yan replied calmly, "Oh, it’s nothing. Just some children arguing, and one of them was a bit too sensitive and ended up in the hospital."

"He ended up in the hospital because of an argument?" Zhao Han frowned, feeling suspicious. Was there really someone so fragile in this world? "Did Xiao Hao curse at him?"

Li Yan glanced at Zhao Hao, who immediately turned his head away, not daring to meet her eyes. Li Yan was frustrated by his lack of backbone. Seeing his reaction, she knew he must have insulted the boy. Taking a deep breath, she changed her tone.

"Kids quarrel, and it’s normal to trade a few insults. Are we supposed to be held legally responsible just for that?" she said. "Don't worry about it, I can handle it." Without waiting for further questions, she hung up the phone.

Back at his office, Zhao Han felt increasingly unsettled. If it were truly a trivial matter, Li Yan wouldn't have needed to go there in person. He decided he had to see for himself. Grabbing his car keys, he hurried out of his office.

...

Two hours later, the operating room doors opened. A group of specialists emerged, seemingly still in deep discussion. Li Guotai and He Bingbing were already accustomed to this; to them, Wu Bin was essentially a "natural-born lab rat," so finding something new during his surgeries was standard.

Li Guotai asked, "How did the surgery go? Was it successful?"

An elderly professor with graying hair shook his head. "Wu Bin’s cerebral infarction is much more severe than we anticipated. Although we did our utmost to address the blockage, the prolonged lack of blood supply to his brain means that multiple regions have undoubtedly been affected." He paused, then added, "It is possible... he may become a vegetative patient."

The entire room fell into stunned silence. The online audience was equally bewildered.

"No way, my Brother Wu has supernatural protection—is he really finished?"
"He’s been lucky enough already. Heart attack, poisoning, blindness, and now a stroke. Honestly, it’s a miracle he’s still alive."
"It feels like the King of Hell is desperate to take him, but just can't get the job done."
"Being a vegetable is the worst fate; appearing alive while already being gone."
"This ending is too tragic! I refuse to accept it! Can't you rewind and redo the surgery?"
"Brother, do you think the hospital is your family business? You can't just 'redo' a surgery!"
"If Wu Bin really becomes a vegetable because he was angered, Zhao Hao is definitely not getting away with this."

Hearing that Wu Bin might become a vegetable, Zhao Hao turned pale with terror. The "father-son" wager had been his idea from the start, and he was the one who had bribed the two moles! Everything stemmed from him! If the other side decided to pursue this seriously, he would never be able to clear his name. What started as a common, trivial gaming bet had suddenly escalated into a major crisis.

Xu Wenyao’s expression was grim. He had never expected that Wu Bin would fail to pull through this time. He had hoped to use Wu Bin’s popularity to push for a grand reform, but with Wu Bin now a vegetable, how could that reform proceed?

Li Guotai’s face was even darker. Their hospital’s "natural-born lab rat" had been angered into a vegetative state by Zhao Hao! He was so furious he felt like committing murder. "Take Wu Bin back to the ward. We will see that justice is served for him."

The experts nodded and wheeled Wu Bin back to his room. Sensing the hostile atmosphere, Li Yan grabbed Zhao Hao’s arm, intending to leave. But just then, Zhao Han, having learned the news, rushed in.

"You unfilial brat! You are going to be the death of me!" Before Zhao Hao could react, Zhao Han struck him hard across the face.

Seeing Zhao Hao hit, Li Yan immediately shielded him, shouting angrily, "Zhao Han, are you crazy? What does this have to do with Xiao Hao? Why are you hitting him?"

Zhao Han looked like a raging lion. "Our company’s flagship online store is being flooded with hate and has crashed! You still say it has nothing to do with him? Get out of the way, or I’ll hit you too!"

Only then did Li Yan realize the severity of the situation. When netizens discovered that Zhao Hao had used his status as a rich second-generation heir to intentionally bully others, they had begun digging into his family’s background. They quickly uncovered Zhao Han’s personal information.

He ran an import-export business with a large online store and a private brand. The netizens were relentless; while they couldn't pass a legal verdict on Zhao Hao, they could certainly leave negative reviews on Zhao Han’s shop and curse him in the comments section. Zhao Han had never faced such a situation before, and his company’s reputation was plummeting as his store was overrun by the public backlash.