Yu He watched Qiao Qiao run out, her beautiful face expressionless, but her heart felt a pang of sadness.
In the afternoon, she had already seen two prescriptions from Liu Xi in the drawer where the prescriptions were kept. Moreover, a surveillance camera in the west wing faced this direction and had also captured Xiao Qing handing the prescriptions to Qiao Qiao.
Her questioning Qiao Qiao in person was simply to give her a chance.
If Qiao Qiao had admitted her mistake then and promised to be more careful in the future, it would have been forgotten.
But Qiao Qiao chose to lie.
So Yu He felt disappointed and sad. After all, they had known each other for over ten years. She thought that although Qiao Qiao might have some petty thoughts, she was at least a reliable person. Now, it seemed she was mistaken.
"Qiao Qiao..." Qiao Wei tried to stop Qiao Qiao, but failed.
He was a little worried and said to Yu He, "Yu He, I'll go out and check."
After speaking, he chased after her.
Seeing this, Xiao Qing was furious. She was the one who was wronged, yet it was made to seem as if she had bullied Qiao Qiao.
"Yu He, I really gave her the prescription! You have to believe me..." she explained anxiously.
"I know," Yu He said.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing was so happy she almost cried, "Thank you for believing me. I will definitely work hard from now on and repay you."
She had thought Yu He wouldn't believe her and had even prepared for the worst, like being fired. She never expected this...
"I'll tell you what I told you when I hired you: work hard, and I will give you the treatment you deserve and teach you what you need to know," Yu He said. "If you can't do it, leave on your own."
Xiao Qing nodded vigorously, "Yes. I understand, I will definitely work hard."
"It's already our greatest fortune that you're willing to take us in. We will definitely work hard and follow you forever. Even if you chase me away with a bamboo pole, I won't leave. I'm sticking with you," Xiao Ya chimed in.
After she finished speaking, everyone laughed.
Yu He nodded with relief and stood up, "It's getting late, go back and rest early."
"Okay, you rest early too."
Not long after Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya left, Qin Beiting returned.
He saw Yu He tinkering with something in the north wing. He walked over and saw her organizing the medicinal herbs in a cabinet. He came forward and hugged her from behind.
"Are you tired? Do you want to rest first and organize tomorrow?"
Yu He turned around, hugged the man's strong waist, and buried her face in his chest. "I'm not tired. Once I finish, Xiao Ya can directly make the medicine for patients tomorrow."
Qin Beiting felt that Yu He seemed a little strange today. Usually, if he disturbed her work, she would immediately give him a silver needle warning. Now, she had suddenly become a bit clingy.
"What's wrong?" he asked, holding Yu He.
Yu He briefly recounted what had happened that day. Qin Beiting, hearing that Qiao Qiao had run out in the end, said with schadenfreude:
"Great, baby, you've finally gotten rid of that white lotus."
Yu He: "..."
The next day, as Yu He expected, Qiao Qiao did not come to work.
Old Mrs. Yu said she hadn't returned to the apartment all night. Qiao Wei, who had chased after her, hadn't found her either. Her phone was off, and no one answered. It wasn't until late at night that he received a text message from Qiao Qiao saying she needed to be alone and that Qiao Wei shouldn't look for her. Afterward, her phone remained switched off.
Qiao Wei was a little angry, thinking that Qiao Qiao couldn't be like this. She had made a mistake but refused to apologize and was hiding. He couldn't find her.
So, he stopped looking for her, waiting for her to throw her tantrum and come back to apologize.
However, a day passed, and on the second day, Qiao Qiao still hadn't returned, nor did she come to the clinic for work.
Old Mrs. Yu was very worried. After all, she had watched the child grow up, and their feelings were deep.
She asked Yu He, "Nannan, Qiao Qiao has been gone for two days and a night. Could something have happened? She doesn't have many friends in the capital..."
Speaking of friends, she suddenly remembered the friends Qiao Qiao often mentioned visiting. She turned to Qiao Wei and asked, "Weizai, do you know who the friends Qiao Qiao used to talk about were?"
"Qiao Qiao never told me who they were," Qiao Wei shook his head.
Immediately, the scene of Qiao Qiao getting out of Qi Suilin's car flashed in his mind. He wondered if Qiao Qiao had gone to find him.
"Her phone is still unreachable, and she's not replying to messages. Did something really happen? Should we call the police?" Old Mrs. Yu hung up the phone and looked at Yu He.
"She's an adult and has her own choices. If she doesn't want to come back, even if you tie her back, she'll still leave," Yu He said plainly, then turned to interview the applicants for the medicinal chef position.
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Yu knew that Qiao Qiao had hurt her, so she didn't mention it again.
Qiao Wei, thinking that Qiao Qiao might have gone to Qi Suilin, became even more angry. But since he wasn't sure if it was true, he didn't mention it to Yu He.
From then on, Qiao Qiao seemed to have disappeared, not returning to the clinic.
***
Qiao Qiao thought her departure would have a significant impact on Yu Yi's Medical Clinic.
Because she normally managed the medicinal meals at the clinic, without her, patients couldn't take their medicine as usual. Within three days, Yu He would personally ask her to return, and then the matter of prescribing the wrong prescription would be forgotten.
However, she never expected that she had underestimated Yu He's cold-bloodedness.
Yu He and the others didn't look for her at all, and the clinic was not affected in the slightest. Instead, it was bustling with people, and there was a long line of applicants for the medicinal chef position!
Even Xiang Tianrui, the director of Beijing Municipal Central Hospital, and Qi Nan, from a branch of the Qi family, as well as many other renowned figures in the medical field, had come. Anyone of them could easily replace her.
Qiao Qiao stood by the window of the hotel, looking at the lively clinic entrance opposite from afar. She was both angry and relieved.
As Qi Suilin had said, she was not irreplaceable at Yu He's place. Fortunately, she had already chosen the Qi family!
Yu He, you've wanted to replace me for a long time, haven't you? I once followed you wholeheartedly, but you were disloyal first, so don't blame me for being unrighteous.
Thinking this, Qiao Qiao's eyes turned cold.
***
In the blink of an eye, it was the 30th.
Yu He, unusually, got up early. After checking that the medicines prepared by the two newly hired medicinal chefs were correct, she told Old Mrs. Yu that she was going out. Just as she had arranged for a car and was about to leave, Qin Beiting stopped her at the door.
"Where are you going?"
The little girl was always early for a reason. Her unusual behavior today must mean something.
He hadn't forgotten the note Yu He had brought back last time. He had even sent people to stake out the koi pond in Shijing Park every day, but he hadn't seen the little girl go. It seemed like today was the day.
Yu He didn't want him to follow, so she casually made up an excuse, "Tianxin asked me to go shopping."
Qin Xinyao's note only mentioned the 30th, not a specific time. It was estimated that she would be there all day, so it didn't matter when she went.
"I'll go with you. I'll pay for your purchases and carry your bags," Qin Beiting said, opening the car door and getting in.
Yu He: "..."
What was going on? Why had this man suddenly become so clingy?