DSMIS CH63

Chapter 63: Director Shen Is Cyberbullied?

Sure enough, with Captain Jiang’s alluring visual appeal on display right before his eyes, Shen Xing instantly forgot what he had been about to say. Staring unblinkingly at the “fan service,” he swallowed slightly.

“Captain Jiang, have you ever considered taking up a side hustle? Like becoming an edgy thirst-trap livestreamer or something?”

Jiang Lin smiled:

“And hand easy arrest quotas to Old Shen in the anti-vice squad next door?”

“Forget it, forget it. I couldn’t bear to share you. Just let me feast my eyes in private.”

They didn’t chat for too long. Having just stepped out of surgery, Shen Xing finished his dinner, got home, and hung up the video call.

Jiang Lin and the massive packages mailed from Yunnan arrived in Tianjin at practically the same time. He unboxed them carton by carton, every single item bearing Director Shen’s distinct touch. He spent the better part of the day “scattering” these knick-knacks throughout his apartment, and when evening came, he checked the time and placed a video call to Director Shen.

Shen Xing had just stepped out of the shower and was lounging on the sofa cuddling the white furball. Seeing a newly opened can of food sitting in front of the dog, Jiang Lin chuckled:

“Is today a special holiday? You’re actually letting our Qianjin indulge in meat?”

“I feel like Qianjin hasn’t been as energetic lately. On camera during the day, he looks completely wilted. Just coaxing him a bit.”

Hearing the keyword “Qianjin” in the call, Heibao immediately sprinted out from the inner room. He let out a couple of low barks. The Samoyed, who had been burying his snout in the canned food, looked up instantly, bringing his massive head right to the screen. Shen Xing hurriedly stopped him before he could lick the glass:

“Do you miss your Bao-ge?”

Jiang Lin laughed:

“Heibao has been a bit listless these past couple of days too. Back then, they kept each other company at home during the day, but now that he’s alone, he’s moping around like a little kid.”

With each man holding his dog in his arms before the camera as they chatted, Jiang Lin suddenly spoke up:

“Want me to show you around the apartment?”

For some reason, the phrase gave Shen Xing an indescribably cozy, warm feeling:

“Sure.”

Holding his phone, Jiang Lin gave Shen Xing a tour starting from the entryway. Shen Xing leaned in close to the screen. By eye, Captain Jiang’s apartment was quite spacious, with an interior design matching the man himself: clean, minimalist furnishings, and an expansive living room spanning nearly seven meters that looked mostly vacant. Yet within this sparse living room, several elements looked amusingly out of place.

For instance, in a living room styled entirely in a monochrome palette of black, white, and grey, a red-and-blue Tibetan carpet was spread out beneath the black sofa. On the sleek, ultra-modern rectangular coffee table in front of it lay a Tibetan-style runner, accompanied by vibrant accent throw pillows whose bright splashes of color practically jumped out at the eye.

Taking it in, Shen Xing laughed:

“Placing these things in your apartment really creates quite an eclectic mix.”

Looking at the items Shen Xing had picked out, Jiang Lin felt deeply satisfied:

“I think it fits nicely. Feels lived-in now.”

“Hero, so you actually realize your place lacked the breath of life? If it weren’t for those knick-knacks, I would’ve thought you were filming a staged model showroom.”

“I used to be swamped with cases, only coming back to sleep at night—sometimes not even that. So the place stayed a bit too pristine.”

“Hey, I only come home to sleep at night too, but my place is anything but neat! Just wait till I get back, I’ll take you to see my apartment.”

“Deal.”

Shen Xing rubbed the Samoyed’s ears, asking in a seemingly casual tone:

“By the way, have you reported to your new unit? Are there any changes to your assignment?”

He recalled Jiang Lin mentioning that he might no longer be an anti-narcotics officer upon returning. He knew how much Jiang Lin loved that line of work and worried that the new placement might leave him unfulfilled.

“I went today. Lateral transfer to Criminal Investigation as Deputy Detachment Leader, acting as chief.”

Shen Xing’s eyes brightened:

“Wow, Criminal Investigation! So you’re still Captain Jiang after all.”

Jiang Lin smiled softly and nodded. This transfer was an unexpected yet logical outcome, and a very favorable assignment for him.

“It’s just that the criminal division is burdened with heavy caseloads. Overtime might become routine. Don’t dump me when the time comes, Director Shen.”

“When it comes to being busy, it’s anyone’s guess who might end up neglecting whom.”

Having just taken charge of operations, Jiang Lin was desperate to fly down to Baoshan on weekends to see Shen Xing, but simply couldn’t carve out the time. Fortunately, Shen Xing was swamped as well. Total knee arthroplasty had rolled out smoothly at the county hospital, with surgical volume steadily climbing. Most candidates for joint replacements were elderly patients with varying underlying comorbidities, demanding extra post-operative vigilance from Shen Xing.

With the procedures gaining traction, the county hospital’s public relations office naturally couldn’t stay idle. The hospital’s website and WeChat official account began showcasing successful surgical cases, and group photos of the orthopedics department were organized.

Nowadays, many institutions maintained official accounts across major short-video platforms, and these channels were fully mobilized. Since Shen Xing was a visiting aid surgeon and the lead operator, the PR office produced a dedicated short video spotlighting him.

Yet nobody anticipated that this very video would trigger a storm of trouble. A netizen claiming to be the younger brother of a patient allegedly killed by Shen Xing posted an exposé naming him directly, alleging that Shen Xing was using this Yunnan mission to whitewash his record. According to the post, he hadn’t volunteered out of benevolence at all; rather, he had caused a fatal medical malpractice incident at Yuetan Hospital, had been shielded by leadership, and had fled to Yunnan solely to lie low.

The accuser spun a vivid, detailed narrative, claiming his brother had suffered merely a simple leg fracture, but because the family didn’t slip Shen Xing a red envelope, his brother died due to negligent malpractice. Furthermore, he smeared Shen Xing’s character, alleging he was entangled in inappropriate affairs with a married resident doctor at the hospital and indulged in workplace misconduct. He accused Yuetan Hospital of inaction, claiming they refused to discipline the physician, denied malpractice, paid out a measly 50,000-yuan “humanitarian settlement,” and finally sent the doctor off to a Yunnan county hospital to pad his resume with golden credentials.

The post went viral out of nowhere. As a result, the previously obscure short-video account of Fulan County Hospital was swarmed by an angry mob. Netizens flooded in: some blindly chimed in to curse Shen Xing, others used the chance to denounce hospital corruption, spectators came for the drama, and a cautious minority called to “let the bullet fly for a bit” before passing judgment.

Soon enough, someone dug up a scandal from last year at Yuetan Hospital where an orthopedic deputy director had been confronted by an angry husband over an affair. Instigators quickly hijacked the narrative, and the comment sections turned venomous. As if manipulated by astroturfing bot armies, the top comments were uniform demands for the doctor to be severely punished.

“This hospital is filthy. If I had to guess, this deputy director definitely has powerful connections. Killing a patient and still getting sent on a prestigious aid mission? With that shiny bullet point on his CV, he’ll be promoted to department head within a couple of years back home, won’t he?”

“Dying from a broken leg? Could this get any more absurd? I sprained my ankle today, and now I’m too terrified to even see a doctor.”

“I don’t think it was just a simple fracture. The family might not be telling the whole story. I think we should let the bullet fly for a bit.”

The massive public outcry caught the county hospital entirely off guard, to the point where the hospital president personally summoned Shen Xing.

Shen Xing had just stepped out of surgery that day. Seeing the post, he laughed out of sheer fury:

“This family is talking about the exact surgery I performed right before coming here! A simple fracture?! How dare he claim that—since when is a severe lower-extremity degloving injury considered an ordinary fracture?!”

He wanted to log on and refute the claims directly, but the hospital president stopped him:

“Look at the share count. I suspect this wasn’t on a whim—they deliberately want to blow this out of proportion to extort higher compensation. I’ve already contacted your home hospital. In situations like this, don’t wade into the mud yourself. Not only will you fail to clear your name in the chaos, but you’ll only end up splashing filth all over yourself.”

Shen Xing originally intended to let the matter cool down quietly. However, somehow, his personal phone number leaked online. Calls poured in incessantly from numbers across the country cursing him out. Just like that, he became the target of a vicious cyberbullying campaign. Although transmitted across radio waves and incapable of causing physical harm, the psychological toll was immense. For days, he was so infuriated that he wished he could reach through the phone lines and throttle those brainless trolls.

Yet knowing that Jiang Lin was newly appointed to Criminal Investigation with a mountain of duties on his plate, Shen Xing forced himself to act as if nothing were wrong during their nightly video calls, chatting away as usual.

Yet when he returned from working overtime on Saturday evening, the moment he walked into his apartment complex, he spotted two intensely familiar silhouettes beneath his building—one man, one dog. For a second, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Jiang Lin turned and caught sight of him. Letting go of the leash, Heibao sprinted straight for Shen Xing. Shen Xing was caught in a full-body dog tackle. Skillfully ruffling Heibao’s head, he looked up in surprised delight:

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? What’s with the ambush?”

Jiang Lin walked over without a word. Careless of the gazes from passersby, he pulled Shen Xing firmly into his embrace:

“You suffered such horrific slander online, and didn’t you keep it from me too?”

Shen Xing instantly understood why he had come. The emotional fortitude that had carried him through the past several days suddenly crumbled in an instant. Burying his face into Jiang Lin’s shoulder, his eyes welled with tears.

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Author’s Note:

Something came up today, so the chapter is a bit short. I’ll make up for it in the upcoming chapters!