The thick white paper stamped with the law firm's seal on her desk seemed to burn Lin Qingyan's eyes. Her hands trembled as she crumpled the medical malpractice lawsuit into a rough fold, crushing its edges.
"My fault? What part of this is my fault?!" she whispered, her voice choked. Her throat burned as she held back the flood of tears threatening to burst free.
The patient had deliberately violated the herbal dosage restrictions and taken chemical medication without her knowledge. Then, when drug-interaction poisoning triggered complications, the hospital and the patient's family instead blamed her needles and traditional medicine preparations. Every medical procedure she had performed was one hundred percent compliant with scientific standards and the medical code of ethics. But who cared about the facts once the media had already whipped the story into a frenzy?
Ringgg! Ringgg!
Her phone on the table rang loudly, shattering the silence of her apartment. Professor Zhang's name appeared on the screen. With a heavy breath, Qingyan answered the call.
"Qingyan," her senior professor's voice sounded grave on the other end. "I've read the lawsuit."
"Professor, I didn't do anything wrong! I have the prescription records and the patient's medical recordings—"
"Qingyan, listen to me," the professor interrupted, his tone concerned yet pragmatic. "The hospital doesn't want its reputation destroyed. The patient's family has powerful media connections. My advice... prepare yourself for tomorrow's press conference. Just apologize publicly. Let this matter end quickly before it drags on any longer. Your career can still be saved if you're willing to give in."
"Give in?" Qingyan's voice shook violently. "Apologize for a mistake I never made? Professor, that's the same as trampling on my dignity as a doctor!"
"This world doesn't always take the side of those who are right, Qingyan. Think it over calmly."
The call ended. Qingyan threw her phone onto the sofa. Her tears finally broke free, dripping through her pajamas. The injustice pressed against her chest until she could barely breathe. Why was her sincerity in healing people repaid with such a sharp betrayal?
In the corner of the room, the fifty-five-inch television, playing without sound, displayed a blazing-red news ticker.
>TOP STORY: Extreme Wind and Lightning Storm Predicted to Hit the City Tonight. Residents Urged to Stay Indoors...
Outside the window, the night sky had already turned black as soot. Powerful winds twisted and battered the glass of her apartment, punctuated by distant, muted rumbles of thunder.
To distract herself from the frustration burning inside her, Qingyan reached for her tablet. She opened an e-novel app and randomly tapped one of the popular epic fantasy web novel titles. She needed some kind of entertainment, anything at all, as long as it had nothing to do with the real world.
However, the more Qingyan read, the more inflamed her emotions became instead of calming down.
In the novel, there was a supporting character whose name was exactly the same as hers: Lin Qingyan. She was a legitimate daughter of the Lin Prime Minister's Residence who had been exiled to the borderlands after being framed by her father's concubine. The character was portrayed as incredibly weak and tearful, meekly surrendering as she was slowly poisoned before ultimately dying a ridiculous death without ever fighting back.
"This is so damn annoying!" Qingyan cursed, breathing hard. She threw her tablet onto the bed. "The name's the only thing you have in common with Lin Qingyan, but you're so weak! Why does every girl named Lin Qingyan always end up oppressed and powerless?! One gets framed in the real world, and the other meekly lets herself be killed in a novel! Idiot!"
BOOM!
A flash of white light tore through the darkness of the room, followed by a thunderclap that roared directly above the building's roof. The sound was so loud that it shook the windows and made Qingyan's ears ring violently.
"Aaghh!" Qingyan cried out in shock, reflexively squeezing her eyes shut and covering her ears.
An overwhelming dizziness suddenly slammed into her head as if it were being crushed beneath tons of stone. Black stars filled her vision before her body finally collapsed and her consciousness was pulled into a cold abyss of darkness.
A bone-deep chill made Qingyan slowly open her eyes. The smells of wet earth and rotting wood, along with the faint bitter scent of wild plants, immediately stung her nose.
"Ungh..." Qingyan grimaced, clutching her head, which still felt as though it were spinning.
But wait.
This wasn't the smooth white-painted ceiling of her apartment. Above her was a wooden roof with old rafters, some of which had already rotted through. Cold night air blew in through the gaps.
Where am I? Qingyan wondered, blinking slowly.
"Miss! Miss, you're finally awake! Good heavens, I thought you had stopped breathing!"
A shrill voice brimming with fear broke the silence. Qingyan blinked several times, trying to bring her vision into focus. A young girl with swollen, tearful eyes knelt beside her bed. She wore a layered dress made of coarse fabric, her hair styled in a strange bun tied with a dull strip of cloth.
Qingyan furrowed her brow deeply. Her doctor's cool, analytical mind responded to the situation with utter confusion.
She looked the girl beside her up and down, then turned her gaze to her own clothes, which had now changed into a loose, shabby dress made of lotus fabric.
"You..." Qingyan pointed at the girl, her expression a mixture of bewilderment and irritation. "Who are you? And... why are you dressed like that? It's so tacky, like something an ancient person would wear."
The girl before her suddenly froze. Her eyes widened in horror, as though Qingyan had just uttered a cursed spell.
"Mi-Miss..." The girl's voice trembled violently as her tears began to fall again. "Miss... you don't recognize A-Man anymore? Could it be... could the poison in your body have damaged your mind?"
Qingyan stared at her. Poison? A-Man?