Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting

Chapter 209: Turning Black into White

But now, seeing her outwardly calm yet murderous expression, Ye Yuan’s heart sank.

’This is bad. She’s not trying to find the truth at all.’

’She set a trap a long time ago and was just waiting for them to walk right into it.’

’And now, the trouble has really started.’

He strode forward a few steps and, without hesitation, stood ramrod straight in front of them.

"Brother Xiao Yu, Ya’er, wait! Don’t be so quick to act!"

"Comrade Yang Meiling, the origin of this medicine is unknown. We don’t have any evidence right now, so it would be too rash to jump to conclusions."

"What if there’s a misunderstanding, or a hidden story behind all this? We have to follow procedure and rely on evidence, not act on our feelings."

"The most important thing right now is to secure everything at the scene, protect the physical evidence, and prevent any confusion."

"I need to head back to the hospital first to report the situation to Dean Song in person and ask her to make a decision. Once we have clear instructions from her, we can decide on our next move."

The moment this Ye fellow opened his mouth, Yang Meiling understood immediately.

’This man must be Song Qingya’s confidant!’

’And he must hold a high position in the hospital. He’s decisive and knows how to handle things.’

"Comrade Ye Yuan! What exactly are you trying to say? Are you implying something about me?"

"Are you suggesting I knocked over that box on purpose just so everyone would see this medicine? Is that what you mean?"

"Or are you saying you think I’m the one who secretly brought this medicine here? That I’m trying to frame someone?"

"Let me tell you something, I, Yang Meiling, have always acted with integrity and have nothing to hide! I’ve never done anything to be ashamed of!"

"I know you’re one of Dean Song’s people and you listen to her on everything, but you can’t just protect her so indiscriminately, ignoring right and wrong, can you?"

"The evidence is right here in front of our eyes, clear as day. But instead of investigating, you want to send a message back first?"

"Are you trying to sweep this under the rug and cover for her to the very end?"

Her words immediately thrust Ye Yuan into the eye of the storm.

He had only been acting out of a sense of duty, trying to follow procedure.

But after her accusations, it seemed like he was deliberately covering up the truth, making him look like Song Qingya’s accomplice.

Hearing this, expressions of doubt couldn’t help but creep onto the faces of Doctor Xiao Yu and Ya’er.

’Is Ye Yuan really trying to sweep this under the rug?’

’Is he really a spy planted here by Song Qingya?’

When Ye Yuan saw the change in their expressions, his heart sank. He immediately realized the situation was bad.

’Yang Meiling’s words are venomous. She twisted the truth in just a few sentences.’

’She’s completely muddied what was a clear situation.’

’Arguing with her any further will only make things worse and impossible to explain.’

’It would just confirm her accusation that I have a guilty conscience.’

He took a deep breath, forcing down his anger.

"Fine! You want to go, is that it? You want to investigate?"

"Alright, go! I won’t stop you!"

"But I must return to the hospital first and report the situation to Dean Song in person. That is my duty, and it’s standard procedure!"

"You can continue your investigation, but I must report this matter exactly as it happened and let my superiors make the decision!"

Without another glance at anyone, his face cold and stern, he turned and strode toward the green military truck.

Yang Meiling stared at his back, a mocking sneer slowly forming on her lips.

"See that? A guilty conscience if I ever saw one! He doesn’t even dare to face us, just turns and runs to report back!"

"I’m telling you, Song Qingya orchestrated this whole thing from start to finish! It’s all a show for our benefit!"

"Even Ye Yuan is just a pawn she placed long ago, meant to jump out at this exact moment to cause trouble and throw us off!"

"For all we know, he’s the one who secretly planted the medicine and then intentionally let me ’discover’ it, just to give Song Qingya a reason to get involved in the investigation!"

"This whole thing is a setup they designed!"

Ya’er’s face was flushed red with anger, her chest heaving.

"Yang Meiling! Stop making such vicious and baseless accusations! Comrade Ye Yuan was just trying to follow official procedure, and you turn around and attack him!"

"Yang Meiling! Stop making things up! We know perfectly well what kind of person Comrade Ye Yuan is! He’s an upright man who always acts with integrity. How could he possibly do something like that? What you’re saying is completely baseless, pure provocation meant to sow discord!"

"You’re the one with something to hide, which is why you’re just wildly accusing people! The guiltier someone is, the more they like to use others as a shield. You think you can just say a few words and sling mud on someone else? It’s not that easy!"

"Fine! We’ll go to the hospital with you right now! I want to see if you actually dare to confront them face-to-face! Don’t get there and then just hem and haw, putting on some pitiful act!"

"But let’s get one thing straight! When we get there, if it turns out to be a misunderstanding, or if it’s discovered that you were playing tricks behind the scenes..."

"...you will apologize to me and Brother Xiao Yu in front of everyone! A full, sincere apology! And you’ll have to kneel before Dean Song, admit your mistake, and kowtow to beg for forgiveness! That’s the bare minimum!"

"Do you dare to agree? Do you dare to prove with your actions that you’re not lying? If you don’t even have the guts for that, then you should just shut up now and stop wasting everyone’s time!"

Yang Meiling watched her, face red with fury, a vein throbbing on her temple.

She nearly burst out laughing and had to struggle to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.

’Such a perfect opportunity, one that others couldn’t even hope for, had just fallen right into her lap.’

"No problem!"

She agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Inside the hospital pharmacy, the light was a sterile white, and the faint smell of disinfectant hung in the air.

Lu Mei stood before rows of neat shelves, holding a logbook and checking the medicines item by item.

The spot where a newly arrived box of potent anti-inflammatories was supposed to be.

But now, it was completely empty. Not even the shadow of a box remained.

The color drained from her face, and her lips trembled slightly.

’Something’s not right. A box is missing!’

’I’m sure I counted them when they were checked into storage yesterday afternoon. How could one just vanish into thin air?’

She quickly flipped open the ledger to check again, her fingertips flying through the pages.

The ledger clearly showed there was still stock, and the check-in and check-out records were all in order.

But the physical inventory didn’t match!

"Sister Lu Mei, you look so pale. What’s wrong?"

Qi Yuanyuan had sidled up to her at some point.

But her eyes were shifty, darting glances toward the door every now and then.

Lu Mei’s mind was in turmoil, a buzzing in her ears. Without thinking, she blurted out, "This is bad! One box from the new batch of potent anti-inflammatories is missing! The ledger doesn’t match! If this gets discovered, I’ll be in so much trouble!"

Qi Yuanyuan feigned a look of surprise, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Oh my god! Medicine is missing? And that kind, the one that’s in such short supply? You can’t even get it on the outside, and we don’t have enough to meet our own demand. How could a whole box be missing?"

She lowered her voice and leaned in closer, offering a seemingly casual reminder.

"Sister Lu Mei... didn’t Dean Song come to the pharmacy yesterday? She’s new to the position and might not be familiar with the rules yet. Could she have taken the medicine and forgotten to sign it out? Or... maybe she doesn’t even know there’s a procedure for it?"

Lu Mei’s heart clenched.

She recalled seeing Song Qingya enter the pharmacy alone late yesterday afternoon. She had only stayed for a few minutes before leaving in a hurry.

At the time, she hadn’t thought anything of it, assuming it was just a routine inspection.