Life Plan

Chapter 17, Maintenance

Liu Chichi subconsciously lowered her head. Her mother rarely defended her in front of others, and she was prepared to be scolded for "talking back" or "disrespecting elders."

The next second, she heard Liu Chunhong's voice: "I think Chi Chi is right, you really should explain yourself."

Liu Chichi looked up at her mother with surprise.

My aunt blushed instantly with embarrassment. She tapped the edge of her bowl twice with her chopsticks and saw that both mother and daughter were looking at her with a look of shared hatred.

My aunt was truly humiliated. She put down her chopsticks, her head held high as if trying to maintain a dignified air, looking down at everyone: "Look at how badly people have insulted you, and you still have the nerve to talk about healing and saving lives? You're more like a murderer..."

Liu Chunhong slammed her chopsticks on the table: "What's it to you? Did I kill your son?"

"Who are you cursing? That mother has been causing trouble at the hospital for days, Liu Chunhong, what are you and your son pretending for? Don't you know how long your daughter hasn't been to work?"

"Chichi took the day off because she was in a bad mood." Liu Chunhong was known for her fiery temper. She threw her aunt's things out the door and knocked on the door to see her out.

My aunt, blushing, carried her son out the door. The old apartment building had poor soundproofing, and some curious onlookers peered in. She retorted sharply, "With your daughter's reputation, I doubt she'll ever marry into a good family. Pah! You devil!"

Liu Chunhong pointed at her back, her voice booming, "If you're ever sick in this life, stay home and pray, whatever you do, don't go to the hospital. If you're destined to become the King of Hell, you'll be the first one he calls!"

Liu Chichi propped her chin on her hand, smiling as she watched her mother's protective back. It felt like she had truly returned to many years ago, when her mother held her face and said that she was the person she loved most in this life.

With a loud bang, Liu Chunhong slammed the door shut, looked at her grinning daughter, and poked her head hard: "You're so useless, skipping work over something so trivial. If you went to work, she wouldn't have anything to say!"

Liu Chichi felt her mind explode like a popped balloon, her vision blurred, and the warmth that had welled up inside her from being protected gradually turned cold. She instinctively looked up at her mother: "Mom, do you know that so many people are cursing me?"

"Swearing a few times won't hurt you. It's shameful to skip work over something so trivial."

Liu Chunhong sat down and continued eating.

The food, which had just been delicious, suddenly smelled greasy, making Liu Chichi feel nauseous. Her expression was blank as she asked, "What if the hospital wants to fire me?"

"Then why don't you hurry up and beg them? Don't you know how important this job is? Getting scolded and fired is so embarrassing, I can't afford to lose face like that." Liu Chunhong suddenly became anxious. "Is it because you haven't been to work lately that they fired you? What are you standing there for? Go to work at the hospital!"

Everything before her eyes seemed to slow down. Looking at her mother's anxious face, Liu Chichi's voice became even calmer: "Mom, it's no longer working hours."

"Then I'll wake you up tomorrow morning."

"it is good."

She had another dream. In her dream, she was nestled in a warm embrace, someone kissed her forehead, and said to her—

No matter what happens, Mom will always love you.

A blinding white light suddenly pierced through her dream, and she struggled to wake up. Sunlight pierced her eyelids, and she squinted as she sat up.

Liu Chunhong had just drawn back the curtains when she saw that she was awake and raised an eyebrow: "You've had enough of your sleep, haven't you?"

"Um."

Liu Chichi held her phone, turning it on for the first time in three days. After entering the password and opening WeChat, the phone was briefly sluggish for a minute before a flood of messages popped up.

Even former classmates whose names were unfamiliar sent messages to inquire about her. Before Liu Chichi could process this, Shen Shuyi suddenly called, and she subconsciously answered.

"Liu Chichi, there's a press conference today!"

Has things gotten this bad? She thought listlessly. If this is the case, she'll probably lose her job. Is this an early announcement of her departure?

Liu responded hesitantly, "Oh."

"The main character is Hao Jia!"

!

Liu Chichi suddenly snapped out of her daze: "Why? What's your relationship with Hao Jia?"

"The locations of the first phase wards in various hospitals were published, and many people staked out the hospitals to take photos. Some even pretended to participate in recruitment to gain traffic. The photos of the participants were spread everywhere, affecting most trials. The recruitment efforts of many other projects also faced some behind-the-scenes resistance. There were many people constantly reporting these incidents."

Pharmaceutical regulation is strict, and once a report is accepted, it needs to be investigated. Regardless of whether the report is true or illegal, the reported project has to spend a lot of time dealing with the investigation, or even suspend it.

Clinical trial participants are already vulnerable to prejudice, and in the public eye, their activities remain considered unethical and borderline. Healthy volunteers, in particular, are almost never willing to disclose their participation to friends and family, let alone be filmed and uploaded online for public scrutiny.

"Hao Jia's information has been leaked?"

"There was no leak, but she proactively contacted the committee and requested to disclose her identity as a participant in an interview."

Liu Chichi instinctively blurted out, "No!"

"The meeting starts at 9:30, you have one hour left."

Liu Chichi glanced down at her phone, quickly put on her clothes, rushed out the door, and took a taxi to the reception venue.

Motion sickness made her nauseous and gave her a headache. The tiny words on her phone screen crawled like ants as she focused on sending a message to Hao Jia: "Hao Jia, don't reveal yourself."

It's okay, I did this for more than just you.

Please don't publish it!

Subsequent messages were sent, but no replies were received.

Liu Chichi was very anxious, constantly pressing the screen to check the time. Releasing the medical records would certainly dispel public doubts, but everyone would know Hao Jia's name.

Those words used to criticize Yang An might be directed at Hao Jia, and fabricated accusations could become ammunition for her attacks. The truth doesn't matter; it will only make Hao Jia the next target of slander.

As the press conference gained momentum, internet celebrities who hadn't secured a spot were camping out outside the office building. Liu Chichi looked at the scrolling comments and wished she could jump into the screen and shout to everyone: Clinical trials aren't like this!

Hospitals are places with extremely high traffic, and at this moment, a large crowd had gathered outside the building. Patients seeking medical treatment were pushed aside by the crowd of onlookers, and security guards struggled to maintain order.

Liu Chichi was stopped at the door by security guards. She shouted at them, "I am Liu Chichi!"

In this scene, her name was more useful than a celebrity's; not only did the security guards loosen their grip, but even the onlookers silently kept a two-meter distance from her.

Liu Chichi met Shen Shuyi in the lobby. There was still half an hour before the press conference started, and Hao Jia was backstage. Shen Shuyi handed her a stack of documents: "You probably haven't been online for a long time. This is the latest update."