Chen Yu strode forward with resolve, like a lone general charging into enemy ranks, projecting an air of heroic sacrifice.
It wasn’t that Chen Yu was putting on a show.
The media was a terrifying thing.
In the new millennium, right after the dot-com bubble burst, when most Americans didn’t even know what the internet was for, the average person’s sources of information were newspapers and television.
Whatever the media said, they believed.
Those media moguls in their high-rises, dressed to the nines and styling themselves as pioneers of liberty, cared nothing for the truth. They only cared about buzz and trending topics, thriving on unchecked, savage growth.
Chen Yu had seen a perfect example firsthand.
Back during his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital, there had been a British international student from Stanford in his cohort. Unlike the typically reserved British, he was not only an excellent student but also witty and humorous. He and Chen Yu got along very well.
Then, during his first-year rotation in the emergency room, something happened.
ERs in the United States are incredibly busy, and Jackson Memorial Hospital’s emergency department was also Miami’s primary trauma center. Countless trauma patients were brought in every day.
On one occasion, he was treating a Black woman whose instep had been crushed. But the ER was short-staffed and in the middle of a critical resuscitation, so he was pulled away to assist. As a result, the woman had to wait for over half an hour.
Afterward, she filed a complaint directly with the hospital, accusing him of discrimination and unfair treatment.
The story was picked up by a sensationalist media outlet, which embellished the details for the Miami morning news, sparking huge protests from the local Black community.
For a while, everyone at the hospital was on edge, and no one dared to speak up.
And with the media’s one-sided reporting, nobody cared about the truth. In the end, the guy was fired and dejectedly returned to the United Kingdom.
At the time, because Chen Yu was of Chinese descent, the hospital feared he might use the opportunity to voice his own opinions. They scheduled him for a full week of non-stop shifts, forcing him to live at the hospital. They even had Matthew watch him constantly. The whole ordeal truly exhausted him.
That was the first time Chen Yu had witnessed firsthand just how powerful the media was with its weapon of public opinion.
And to think, even a nationally famous star like Hill was wary of the media, telling Chen Yu to hide out in a hotel.
’But I’m going to be a renowned doctor. How can I avoid dealing with the media?’
’I’ll just treat today as a dress rehearsal.’
As he reached the front of the crowd, he saw a large group of fans gathered together. In the center, a slightly overweight, middle-aged white man in a number 33 jersey was passionately analyzing the team’s lineup. "Hill is the best small forward in the league," he declared. "His return isn’t just about scoring. He’s also a playmaker. To use the media’s term, he’s an outstanding point forward."
"He even averages five or six rebounds a game. If he comes back, he won’t just take the offensive pressure off Tracy McGrady; he’ll also energize our offense and improve our defense. Why have we been losing so many games lately? It’s because our forwards are getting destroyed."
He waved his arms, his voice filled with passion.
The surrounding fans listened intently, nodding along.
Chen Yu pursed his lips, his gaze falling upon the reporters.
All the reporters were busy with their coverage, occasionally directing their cameras toward the surging crowd and Hill’s house.
As Chen Yu walked over, only one young assistant holding a cue card turned to glance at him before quickly looking away.
Chen Yu frowned slightly.
’This isn’t quite what I had in mind.’
After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu turned and walked toward the gate. Hill’s house had a remote-controlled electronic lock that could be opened with a keypad.
Chen Yu keyed in the passcode, pausing just before entering the last digit, and turned his head to look back.
Behind him, there was dead silence.
Reporters and fans alike had all turned in unison, staring at him without blinking.
"Who’s that? How does he know the gate code?"
"Shit, look at his face! That’s the private doctor who’s scamming Hill!"
The next moment, someone shrieked, and with a great RUSH, the entire crowd surged forward.
The reporters were the fastest, each one like a sprinter. In an instant, a dense cluster of microphones was thrust in Chen Yu’s face.
"Chen, did you deceive Hill?"
"The Magic’s team doctor claims Hill has fully recovered and is only refusing to return to the court because you’ve misled him. What’s your motive? Is it money?"
"We heard you were fired from the hospital for medical malpractice and that your medical license was revoked. Is that true?"
"Joe Billings is a respected surgeon with many years of practice. You, on the other hand, are just a rookie doctor who just finished his residency. Your medical experience is far inferior to Billings’s. How can you be so sure your diagnosis isn’t a misdiagnosis?"
A barrage of chaotic questions was thrown at him.
Chen Yu’s gaze landed on a white reporter in a red tie. He was pretty sure that was the one who’d claimed he committed malpractice and had his license revoked.
Chen Yu smiled.
’This is more like it. This is the scene I was expecting.’
Chen Yu looked over at the fans again.
They were no match for the professional reporters and had all been pushed to the edge of the crowd.
However, that didn’t stop them from shouting insults.
"Scammer! Rookie!" It seemed they couldn’t think of anything else to yell, just repeating the same two words over and over.
Hm?
Chen Yu’s brow furrowed sharply.
’I think I just heard a word.’
Chinaman!
That word, just like the N-word, was extremely insulting and a severe provocation.
"shut up!"
Chen Yu slammed a fist against Hill’s iron gate, roaring.
The thunderous BOOM from the iron gate silenced the entire scene in an instant.
"Move!"
His face grim, Chen Yu forced his way through the reporters and stopped in front of a fan.
It was the same white fan who had been passionately analyzing the benefits of Hill’s return. Seeing Chen Yu march right up to him, his expression faltered.
"Wh-what do you want?"
He looked up at Chen Yu, who was a good half a head taller than him.
It wasn’t just the height; after years of wielding surgical mallets and chisels, the muscles beneath Chen Yu’s shirt were clearly defined.
Chen Yu jabbed a finger at the white man’s chest. "Chinaman? What do you do for a living that gives you the nerve to publicly discriminate against a doctor? Do you think we doctors are easy targets, or do you think our medical union doesn’t exist?"
As a specialist, Chen Yu was not only a member of the American Medical Association but also a registered member of the Florida medical union.
Unions in the United States are powerful.
While the medical union couldn’t compare to the United Auto Workers or the United Steelworkers, its influence was still formidable.
After all, "doctor" was one of the most respected professions in the United States. Every doctor was an elite member of society with high social standing.
Take the incident with that British guy, for example. The Florida medical union had tucked its head in its shell, but that was because they were afraid of a doctor discriminating against others, not others discriminating against a doctor.
They were probably itching for an excuse to stir up trouble and improve doctors’ benefits.
Not to mention, discrimination itself was an extremely serious matter.
So, after Chen Yu finished confronting him, the man’s face instantly went deathly pale.
The surrounding reporters, like sharks that had smelled blood, all swiveled their cameras to focus on him.
"I... I didn’t say that to you! You must have misheard! You guys can vouch for me!" His voice trembled as he cast a pleading look at the other fans around him.
The other fans hastily averted their eyes.
"Please, I really didn’t say it." He grabbed Chen Yu’s hand, begging, his voice on the verge of tears.
Chen Yu shook his hand off and said coldly, "I’ll deal with you later."
His gaze swept over the crowd of fans.
The once-aggressive fans were now completely deflated.
Chen Yu then turned his attention to the reporters.
Their reaction was much the same. Their previous arrogance had vanished. If they were tied to accusations of racism, their careers would be over.
Chen Yu snorted. "I know what you want. You just want a big story, right? You want to see why a rookie doctor would insist on questioning a famous one, and how, for his own selfish gain, he deliberately deceived and misdiagnosed a superstar."
"Fine, you’ll get what you want. That respected Dr. Billings called me a fraud, didn’t he? Alright, I’ll give him his chance. Let’s go on television. In front of everyone, he can expose me for the fraud I supposedly am."
"So? You want to produce that show or not?"
Chen Yu looked at the assembled reporters.
The reporters exchanged glances, their excitement palpable, as if they’d all hit the jackpot.
A superstar, misdiagnosis, deception, a public feud... The story had it all.
This was the kind of show they dreamed of producing.

Comments

Loading...