29: A Lunatic

A Lunatic

3

All the onlookers were staring at Qiao Nian. They were all smiling disdainfully.1

"How can a lunatic be a doctor?"

"Keep your voice down. She must be hallucinating as a doctor."

"Ugh, that's truly pitiful. She's so pretty. Too bad there's something wrong with her brain."

…

Sensing the skepticism aimed at her from all directions, Qiao Nian said, "Teacher Wang, I've published theses in multiple universities. If you don't believe me, you can check!"

Doctor Wang glanced at Qiao Nian suspiciously. She was clearly a young lass in her twenties, but her aura was no less strong than that of a man in his forties or fifties.

Could Qiao Nian be telling the truth?

Doctor Wang was starting to have doubts. Sizing Qiao Nian up, he was about to speak when he heard Zhou Xue's voice.

"Qiao Nian, you must really have an exaggerated opinion of yourself. Your name is so ordinary—there are tons of people with the exact same name. Your mental illness must be getting worse and worse. Now, you're even starting to make up falsehoods!" Zhou Xue clicked her tongue twice and shook her head, her face full of disdain.

The surrounding onlookers also began to laugh at Qiao Nian mockingly.

Qiao Nian turned to look at Zhou Xue and smiled. "Zhou Xue, you're not a medical student, are you?"

The smile on Zhou Xue's face froze.

"Teacher Sun, do your legs ache often?" Qiao Nian asked indifferently, glancing at Teacher Sun, who was standing a distance away.

Teacher Sun nodded in confusion. His legs had only started aching in the past two days. They had never ached before that. How did Qiao Nian know?

Seeing Teacher Sun nod, everyone glanced toward Qiao Nian in disbelief.

"Teacher Feng, do you frequently have headaches?" Qiao Nian spoke with certainty.

Everyone turned to look at Teacher Feng. Seeing Teacher Feng nod as well, they looked at Qiao Nian strangely.

"Teacher Zhang, has your liver been unwell?" Qiao Nian asked.

Everyone thought that there was no way Qiao Nian could have guessed correctly this time. One by one, they looked toward Teacher Zhang expectantly. When they saw Teacher Zhang nod, they were all so shocked that their jaws nearly dropped to the ground.

Doctor Wang looked at Qiao Nian in disbelief. He had thought that Qiao Nian was a lunatic with no medical training at all. But now that didn't seem to be the case!

How was Qiao Nian aware of each teacher's health problems?

Zhou Xue sensed that everyone's opinion of Qiao Nian had shifted. She said disdainfully, "Qiao Nian, you're really good at spouting nonsense. I was wondering why you didn't talk to anyone after you arrived. So you've just been eavesdropping!"

Zhou Xue's words were ingenious. What she implied was that Qiao Nian was only able to identify which teachers were feeling unwell because she had eavesdropped on their conversations.

When Doctor Wang heard Zhou Xue's words, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He knew it. How could a mentally ill patient possess medical skills?

Doctor Wang's gaze fell on Qiao Nian's face. He said, "Qiao Nian, you don't have to explain anymore. I understand now. I know that your illness is very serious. There should be a psychiatrist present. I'll get them to take a look at you."

At that moment, a loud voice resounded from the doorway.

"Who dares to bully my disciple!"

Teacher Liu had been preparing to return home, but he soon realized that he had forgotten to pass Qiao Nian's doctoral diploma to her, so he returned to the banquet. When he saw everyone talking about Qiao Nian's illness, his expression darkened.

"Teacher!" Qiao Nian called when she saw Teacher Liu enter.

Teacher Liu looked at Qiao Nian with heartache. Out of all his disciples, he was the proudest of her. Yet, she was rumored to be a mentally ill patient!

This had gone too far!

When Doctor Wang saw Teacher Liu, he hurriedly said, "Teacher Liu, that's not what I meant. Why don't you treat your disciple's illness first?"

"What exactly is her illness?" Mr. Liu looked toward Dr. Wang with a sour expression.

Upon seeing Teacher Liu's displeased expression, Doctor Wang began to bristle as well. He had trusted Teacher Liu so much, but he never expected Teacher Liu to foist a lunatic upon him!

The more Doctor Wang thought about it, the angrier he became!

"She just came out of the mental hospital!" Doctor Wang spoke, forcibly suppressing his anger. He turned to look at Qiao Nian. "Tell your teacher yourself! Did you, or did you not, just come out of the mental hospital!"

Qiao Nian gave Doctor Wang an indifferent glance. Doctor Wang felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and turned his head to the side.

"Where would she go to study psychiatry, if not a mental hospital?" Mr. Liu was so angry that his face and neck were flushed red. He glared at Doctor Wang coldly. He had never expected Doctor Wang to say that his disciple was a lunatic, especially when he had just entrusted his best disciple to Dr. Wang. "She has already graduated with a doctorate. Which of you here said that my disciple has never studied medicine?"

Zhou Xue was surprised by Teacher Liu's words. "Qiao Nian is only 24 years old this year! How is that possible?"

"Why not? Do you think she'll only graduate with a doctorate at the age of 30 like you idiots?" Teacher Liu questioned, his expression dark.

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