Chapter 371: Superficial People
Liang Yuan smiled politely.
"Thank you."
Coming here to find Doctor Lin took a lot of courage. She hadn't received a letter from him since that day. At first, she thought... maybe he was just busy.
But as she waited and waited, she felt something wasn't right.
It had been a long time. Why hadn't he replied?
Lost in her thoughts, she asked her colleagues for their analysis.
What could a group of people who had never experienced this sort of thing possibly come up with? Their ideas were all over the place.
Some idealists said that Doctor Lin was probably just very busy.
Others were more pessimistic, cautiously suggesting, "I heard that patients in psychiatric hospitals are dangerous and violent. Could it be that Doctor Lin..."
Nonsense!
Liang Yuan told them to stop thinking such negative thoughts. How could such a thing happen?
Yet, these thoughts made her even more worried. In her heart, she knew it was unlikely, but what if it were true?
Therefore, she came here to see Doctor Lin with her own eyes.
Even though mystery was the most important aspect of being pen pals, she was truly worried. Even if meeting him shattered that sense of mystery, she was undeterred.
Her colleagues had teased her, asking what she would do if Doctor Lin turned out to be a grumpy old man.
Of course, Liang Yuan had considered this.
She kept reassuring herself.
We are just pen pals, nothing more. Being pen pals means not meeting; it's a spiritual connection and exchange.
Xiao Qi chattered like a machine gun, his shyness manifesting as excitement.
"Miss Liang, could I take a picture with you?"
He wanted to show off on his social media.
Let those who said being a security guard at a psychiatric hospital was a dead-end job see. Look at me, a security guard, and the famous host has come here, and I'm the one receiving her!
Liang Yuan came to find Lin Fan, not to take pictures with others.
However, she was a public figure, and the request wasn't unreasonable. She nodded in agreement, giving a professional smile as she posed with Xiao Qi.
Afterwards, she watched as Xiao Qi fiddled with his phone, delighted.
He seemed to treat her as if she were air.
For Xiao Qi, the most important thing now was to post the picture on his social media and get likes and praise from his friends.
"Excuse me..." Liang Yuan said, seeing the security guard engrossed in his phone. She felt a little helpless. The overall professional quality of security guards these days was truly poor. She had come here with a purpose, and after just a few words, he was ignoring her. If she weren't so even-tempered, she would definitely expose this behavior on television.
Beep beep!
A black luxury car drove up.
The rear window slowly rolled down, and Director Hao poked his head out.
"Is there something I can help with?"
A familiar voice reached them.
Startled, Xiao Qi quickly put away his phone and jogged to the car door, saluting respectfully. "Good day, Director."
Director Hao asked curiously, "What's going on?"
"Reporting to the Director, this is Liang Yuan, the famous host from Yanhai City Television. She's here looking for a doctor," Xiao Qi explained, eager to make a good impression. Though the ultimate fate of a security guard was to remain a security guard, those who got raises were rare.
Director Hao nowadays lacked nothing.
His entire aura had elevated.
If an ordinary young woman came to the Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital, as the director, he would definitely put on a show of authority to give her the impression of, So this is the director of Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital! So imposing, so full of authority.
And now...
Director Hao got out of the car, showing a professional smile. "So it's the renowned Miss Liang! I thought you looked familiar. We watch your news program every night at the hospital."
"It's my honor to be enjoyed by the patients of the psychiatric hospital," Liang Yuan smiled.
However, she felt something was odd about that statement.
Director Hao said, "Miss Liang, please get in the car. Let's discuss this in my office."
"Thank you for the trouble," Liang Yuan replied. She wasn't being polite; she had come with a purpose, and this matter was indeed quite important to her.
Xiao Qi wanted to impress the director, but seeing the director's lack of interest in him, he obediently returned to the security room.
In the office, Director Hao offered Liang Yuan some tea.
"Try this. It's excellent tea." Director Hao was very enthusiastic, his face full of smiles.
"Thank you."
Liang Yuan smiled politely.
Director Hao pushed a folder towards Liang Yuan. "Miss Liang, please take a look at this."
Sipping her tea, Liang Yuan quickly put down the cup and picked up the folder with a smile, opening the first page...
'The History of Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital.'
Confusion filled her mind.
What was all this?
Director Hao said, "Miss Liang, as a host, you can take a look at the local industries. Our Qing Shan has been established for a long time, and we are self-sufficient with excellent facilities. We have cured many psychiatric patients. I wouldn't dare to boast too much, but we are among the top three in the country."
"It's just a pity... all the money goes to the patients, and we haven't done much publicity, so many patients don't know about Qing Shan and miss out on the best treatment opportunities."
As he spoke, Director Hao showed a look of regret, as if he felt the pain of not being able to save more patients.
The reason he was so courteous to Liang Yuan was because she was a host. If she could help promote Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital, the effect would be tremendous.
Perhaps the patients would line up in long queues to see them.
Liang Yuan didn't understand Director Hao's intentions at first, but now she completely understood the situation. He wanted her to do free advertising.
"Director Hao, it's against station regulations for hosts to take on private work. And to advertise on television requires payment. These are not things I can decide."
A straightforward refusal.
She made it clear that it would cost money.
Director Hao asked, "How much would it cost?"
"It's hard to say. It depends on the time slot you want, Director Hao. A cheaper slot would be a few million, and a more expensive one could be tens of millions," Liang Yuan replied.
Hearing this, Director Hao calculated in his mind and immediately felt that this was faster than robbing a bank.
"A bit expensive. It's better to use that money to improve the patients' living standards."
His initial idea was free advertising. Now... he wouldn't even consider it. It wasn't worth giving away that much money. It would be better to improve Qing Shan.
"Director Hao, can I ask you about someone?" Liang Yuan asked.
Director Hao replied, "Certainly. Who do you want to know about? I've been at Qing Shan for decades, and I'm familiar with everyone from the directors to the cleaners."
Liang Yuan said, "I'm looking for Doctor Lin."
Director Hao was puzzled.
Doctor Lin?
If he remembered correctly, there was no one called Doctor Lin at Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital.
However, the wily Director Hao wouldn't say there wasn't such a person. He felt there must be a misunderstanding.
"Miss Liang, do you happen to know Doctor Lin's full name?" Director Hao asked.
Liang Yuan replied, "Yes, we've been exchanging letters. His name is Lin Fan."
Upon hearing these words, Director Hao's mind was thrown into turmoil.
He was completely dumbfounded by Liang Yuan's words.
Doctor Lin was Lin Fan?
Did you know he's a psychiatric patient? What makes you think he's a doctor?
"Oh, I see. Are you very familiar with him?" Director Hao asked.
Liang Yuan said, "We've been exchanging letters, but he hasn't replied recently. I'm worried something might have happened to him, so I came to see."
She was subtly probing.
The astute Director Hao grasped the key point.
He knew Lin Fan had a pen pal, but he never knew who it was.
He hadn't expected it to be the famous host from Yanhai City Television.
He was envious and impressed.
If those with inflated egos knew that a psychiatric patient could have such a beautiful pen pal, would they still have the face to live in this world?
"Director, do you know about his situation?" Liang Yuan asked curiously.
Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital's two VIP clients were undoubtedly Lin Fan and Old Zhang.
"Yes, Doctor Lin is an outstanding young doctor here. He's handsome, works diligently, and is very popular at Qing Shan. However, you've come at a bad time. I've arranged for him to go elsewhere for further training," Director Hao lied without blinking an eye.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be known as one of Yanhai City's two scoundrels, alongside One-Eyed Man.
If the requirements were lowered and another person were added, Li Laifu, that scoundrel, would secure a spot.
"So Doctor Lin is so outstanding," Liang Yuan said with admiration.
Director Hao stared, dumbfounded. This woman is definitely infatuated; otherwise, she wouldn't have that expression.
"Yes, he's a very outstanding young man. Should I give him a call and tell him you're here?" Director Hao asked.
Liang Yuan quickly waved her hand. "No, no need. I just wanted to know he's alright. We're pen pals, and the most important thing between pen pals is the sense of mystery. If we meet, that feeling will be gone."
Director Hao hadn't actually intended to call.
He saw right through Liang Yuan.
He knew she wouldn't want him to.
He was just being polite. Did she really think he was serious?
He thought to himself, Lin Fan, I, Hao Ren, have treated you well. You can't let me down in the future. No matter what, you have to bring Xiao Bao to visit more often, so Xiao Bao can...
Not long after, Liang Yuan left, satisfied.
Her steps were light, a stark contrast to when she had arrived.
Director Hao stood by the window, watching her receding figure.
He smiled.
He hadn't expected Lin Fan to be such a charming young man, rivaling his own younger self. However, when he was young, he devoted himself to his studies, and several girls pined for him, but he never gave up on learning.
They were just superficial distractions.
Superficial.