After Prison, She Shocks the World-Chapter 73: First Defeat

Qin Jinhai noticed Hu Yao’s change and glanced at the jumbotron; the corners of his mouth, hidden behind his mask, couldn’t help but curve upward.

She was just too cute.

Provocative in a direct and open way.

She could play dirty, but she preferred to plot in the open.

A face-to-face challenge was her style; she considered it a loss if she resorted to backhanded tactics.

As ten o’clock approached, the announcer’s voice came over the broadcast system.

"The competition will start promptly in ten minutes. The rules are the same as in previous competitions. After multiple discussions, the organizing committee has decided that this competition will be broadcast live globally. The host country will have two filming teams; other countries are permitted only one filming team in the arena. Please take note."

The announcer repeated the message in ten languages.

After her announcement, the competition officially began.

The first event was a theoretical knowledge contest. All questions, covering general medical knowledge, resuscitation techniques, and Q&A scenarios, appeared randomly for the five participating team members. In an international competition, it was crucial not only to be correct but also to answer without hesitation or stumbling. The competition lasted three hours without intermission.

China’s team members took their seats: Mo Qiang, Bai Zhirui, Xin Xin, Liang Renhui, and Liang Chuan.

R-country was represented by five veterans, led by their team captain, Renchuan Choji. This order of appearance was consistent with their country’s typically meticulous approach; sending the captain out first was acceptable as long as it secured a win.

The entire competition was broadcast live, but the viewership was not large. Most of the audience consisted of professionals in the field. Due to its highly specialized nature, ordinary viewers found it difficult to watch such a dry and tedious professional competition for an extended period. Other viewers had tuned in after seeing Fu Bing mentioned on the organizers’ official Weibo page. However, she only appeared in occasional, brief shots and was not featured prominently.

Fu Bing watched the competition with intense focus. Her medical knowledge was relatively limited compared to the other participants. They had been immersed in medicine since childhood; their entire upbringing had been steeped in the medical field, making such knowledge second nature to them. But the grueling three-hour competition was exhausting. As the competition progressed into its latter half, the teams began to make more mistakes. Ultimately, it came down to which team made fewer mistakes.

As the time on the jumbotron dwindled, everyone held their breath. The R-country team had made 15 mistakes, while China had made 11. However, Bai Zhirui grew increasingly nervous, and due to her errors, China’s mistake count rapidly rose from 11 to 14. Her teammates on the field looked at her encouragingly; no one showed even a hint of blame.

When the timer reached the final ten-second countdown, China’s mistakes had climbed to 17, equaling R-country’s total. When time expired, the scores were finalized.

The announcer’s voice rang out, "China and R-country have the same number of mistakes. The specific scores are pending verification by the judges." Since each mistake carried a different point deduction, the scores would not necessarily be identical even if the number of mistakes was the same.

A long wait followed.

The detailed scores were displayed on the jumbotron.

China: 534 points.

R-country: 536 points.

China had suffered its first-ever loss in an opening round of this competition!

After three seconds of silence, the R-country team and their supporters erupted in loud cheers.

Qin Jinhai’s gaze was deep and inscrutable as he stared at Bai Zhirui. Bai Zhirui’s pale face was covered in sweat, her eyes filled with guilt and an unwillingness to accept defeat.

As the players from both countries left the field, reporters from their respective nations waited for them in the interview area.

A reporter commented, "Although the outcome of this match wasn’t what you hoped for, you all performed exceptionally well. Bai Zhirui, participating for the first time, was also quite remarkable."

Mo Qiang replied, "Thank you. I should have been more careful with the score calculations. If we had been able to make adjustments on the field, we might not have lost."

Bai Zhirui interjected, "If Fu Bing hadn’t been added to the team at the last minute, affecting everyone’s morale, how could we possibly have lost the first match?!"

Viewers watching the live broadcast were dumbfounded.

Could this also be blamed on Fu Bing?

Fu Bing didn’t even play! How could she be so readily blamed?

Online sentiment shifted immediately.

"Now I get why doctor-patient relationships are so strained. With practitioners like Bai Zhirui, it’s a wonder they aren’t worse!"

"Losing a match isn’t infuriating, just disappointing. But for the player who made the most mistakes to immediately diss a teammate who didn’t even play? That’s just low."

"..."

Online criticism of Bai Zhirui mounted. But gradually, another narrative began to emerge.

Fu Bing hasn’t worked a single day as a doctor. How can she represent China in the competition?

The voices questioning Fu Bing’s qualification grew louder. Fu Bing’s fans flooded her Weibo page with messages.

「Back at the hotel」

Xiaomei saw the Weibo posts and felt her spirits sink. "Bai Zhirui is unbelievable! She couldn’t handle the pressure and performed poorly, yet she has the nerve to blame you!"

Fu Bing glanced at a clip of Bai Zhirui’s interview. "Don’t pay any attention to it."

"But this online backlash is affecting you."

"I’m not shooting any commercials or dramas anytime soon, so even if there’s an impact, it’ll be limited. Let this situation continue to unfold. Tell President Yang and Shuangqing not to waste energy or time on damage control or trying to manage the comments."

"But, Sister, you didn’t do anything wrong! Why are they attacking you?" Xiaomei felt aggrieved.

"Because of conflicting interests. Because someone is deliberately muddying the waters."

"Are you talking about Bai Zhirui?" freewёbnoνel-com

"Not just her, but also the powers supporting her."

Fu Bing knew her foundational knowledge wasn’t as solid as the other team members’. However, she had been able to follow the entire competition process without making any mistakes herself.

For Bai Zhirui, with all her training, to make so many mistakes—some of them particularly elementary—is suspicious.

Her immediate blame-shifting after leaving the field only deepened that suspicion.

The team captain and Elder Jiang must have noticed it too.

And sure enough...

As soon as Qin Jinhai returned to the team’s hotel, he was summoned to Elder Jiang’s room. President Han was also there. This time, his usual colleague was not with him.

Elder Jiang gestured to the sofa. "Sit down."

Qin Jinhai sat.

President Han spoke first, "Why didn’t you mention Bai Zhirui’s animosity towards Fu Bing earlier? If we had known, we could have made adjustments."

Qin Jinhai countered, "What kind of adjustments? Remove Fu Bing from the team?"

"We could have substituted Bai Zhirui, preventing her from causing our loss in the first match." President Han knew the team captain and Elder Jiang fully supported Fu Bing and wouldn’t allow anything to jeopardize her position.

Qin Jinhai said, "I understand the pressure you’re under, President Han, but I needed a justifiable reason to address the issues with Bai Zhirui and the Bai Family."

President Han was taken aback. "This involves the Bai Family as well?"

"Bai Zhirui is no fool," Qin Jinhai stated. "She’s a 28-year-old adult with years of training and extensive competition experience. Do you really think she would suddenly underperform so drastically without a reason?"

Qin Jinhai’s words made President Han pause and collect himself. "Are you saying the Bai Family instructed her to lose deliberately? Just to drag Fu Bing down?"

"This morning, Fu Bing confronted Hu Yao’s assistant. Within a few hours, the Bai Family had already set a plan in motion," Qin Jinhai continued.

President Han was no fool; on the contrary, he was an astute politician. He immediately declared, "I’ll investigate this thoroughly right away."

The Bai Family has such a close relationship with Hu Yao that they would throw a match over a single word from her...?

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