Chapter 455: Hearts United: The Uprising in Tuyu Hospital

Even though it was after work, word traveled fast through the Hospital. The Emergency Department’s unrest had already reached the higher-ups.

There’s never a shortage of people eager to curry favor with the leadership.

With so many doctors and nurses in Emergency, someone was bound to seize the chance to impress and climb the ladder.

It’s likely that the moment Zhou Can posted in the group chat, someone screenshotted it and sent it straight to the hospital leaders.

Of course, they’d need to have those leaders’ WeChat contacts first.

Normally, everyday doctors and nurses would never get the chance to add a hospital director as a WeChat friend. But snitching like this? That’s the perfect excuse.

They could prove their loyalty and score a new connection—two birds with one stone. That’s all the motivation needed.

Not twenty minutes later, Xin Wanshan from the Medical Department was the first to show up to ‘put out the fire’.

The Medical Department was responsible for supervising the clinical wards—no small duty.

With things blown up this big, over ninety percent of Emergency’s staff were gathered together, protesting with strikes and banners against the Security Department’s inaction and lack of protection. This was officially a mass incident.

If you want to put it harshly, Director Zhu’s position as hospital director wasn’t secure anymore.

The Medical Department chief? Even shakier.

Xin Wanshan rushed in to douse the flames, but he just didn’t have the weight to pull it off.

With Director Lou refusing to come out, all Xin could do was try to placate Zhou Can, Deputy Director Han, and the others, asking them to disperse. He promised to report things up the chain and promised it would be handled properly and all that.

No matter how much Xin Wanshan pleaded, Zhou Can and the others weren’t having it.

Just as Xin was ready to beg on his knees if it’d stop the chaos, Deputy Director Ye—who handled the hospital’s clinical affairs—arrived.

Deputy Director Ye was one of the power players in the hospital, but his abilities were limited.

When it came to the Security Department, he had no say at all.

For now, Zhou Can and the others kept things disciplined—they were simply staging a sit-in, gathering with banners, making their voices heard without crossing into anything radical.

Still, a demonstration of this scale sent shockwaves throughout the hospital.

Enough to put hospital leaders—and even government health officials above them—on high alert.

As the standoff dragged on, reinforcements arrived.

Director Zhu, Assistant Pang, and Vice Director Ye from General Affairs all showed up.

“Everyone, as Director, it’s my responsibility to keep you safe. I failed to protect our Emergency staff, and a family member attacked one of you. I apologize. Whatever demands you have, please express them calmly. Abandoning patients with a strike or mass protest isn’t the answer. It won’t help us solve anything.”

Director Zhu was sweating bullets—he was genuinely anxious.

He was up for promotion when this exploded, and the fallout could be disastrous for him.

“Director Zhu, fellow leaders, our demands are simple. All we want is for the hospital and upper management to make sure our clinical staff are safe. We don’t want a broken arm from an angry family today or stabbed tomorrow. Security has been asleep on the job, standing by while our people are attacked and hacked with knives, only to watch in silence as tragedy repeats itself. Over a month ago, we reported safety concerns to the Administration Office—but nothing happened.”

Zhou Can couldn’t hold it back anymore. He faced all the leaders, expression grave, and spoke up.

Just because Security has powerful backers doesn’t mean you can turn a blind eye.

No one’s too important for scrutiny—not even a tiger can’t be touched.

These days, going against the people basically means digging your own grave. Whether it’s a private company or a hospital, you can’t escape the rule—whoever wins people’s hearts wins everything.

“If the hospital can’t even guarantee our lives, we refuse to return to work. We’ll keep protesting until this is dealt with.”

Deputy Director Han worried Zhou Can would get singled out by the leaders. He quickly stepped forward to share the heat.

“Nurse Ye Tingting from our Emergency nurse station is still in intensive care. Nurse He Juan was stabbed eight times—every wound could’ve been fatal, and she’s still not out of danger. These women studied hard for years to save lives, not to become targets for violent patients or family members. The hospital has ignored our safety again and again. Today, we need an answer.”

Head Nurse Niu Lan stood up for them too—right when it mattered most.

Sometimes, fighting back takes guts.

If everyone hangs back, there’s no fight to be had.

They stood together, fierce and unflinching, building unstoppable momentum.

“What’s all this fuss? Family members going berserk with knives is extremely rare. Yes, you came into medicine to save lives, but you should also understand the risks and complexities of this job. Under Director Zhu, we’ve done our part. Last time you ran to Admin with complaints and had your pay docked, the Medical Department backed off a lot. What happened next? In just a few days, a family member attacks with a knife! You shouldn’t meddle in hospital management if you can’t see the bigger picture.”

Assistant Pang scowled and tried to squash the protest with sheer authority.

Tuyu Hospital hadn’t seen this kind of mass incident in decades.

Usually, the most he’d dealt with was protests from three or five people.

A little pressure and a mix of hard and soft tactics usually did the trick.

But this time, with Zhou Can leading, none of it worked. Today’s tragedy had woken up all the clinical staff.

No one wanted to end up as the next victim.

“Sorry, Assistant Pang, but I can’t agree. When the Medical Department stopped punishing us for every single patient complaint, the frontline doctors and nurses cheered. That has nothing to do with what happened today. Let me put it this way—say a man usually beats his wife, and then the authorities step in and give her a restraining order. He stops hitting her. Later, his wife has an affair. Can you blame that on him not beating her anymore?”

Admittedly, it was a clumsy comparison from Zhou Can.

Because the moment Assistant Pang heard it, his face went from red to pale, then dark as a storm cloud.

Zhou Can’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that his random metaphor actually lined up with Pang’s real home situation?

Swear on anything, he’d never even asked about Pang’s family, let alone known those details.

“Full of lies and nonsense!”

Assistant Pang ground his teeth, staring like he’d eat someone alive.

“Maybe that example wasn’t the best. Here’s another. A man is strict with his son. One day he realizes that constant beatings only fuel his kid’s rebellion, so he stops. Later, his son gets in trouble with the law. Do those two things have to be connected?”

Zhou Can tried to make his point again—removing the blanket punishments from the Medical Department wasn’t the cause of today’s violence.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

Now Assistant Pang was shaking, fists clenched, veins standing out on the back of his hands.

“On purpose?”

Zhou Can looked blank, genuinely lost by Pang’s accusation.

Even Head Nurse Niu Lan, standing next to him, couldn’t take it and whispered, “Both those things actually happened to Assistant Pang.”

“Ah… sorry, I honestly had no idea. I wasn’t trying to insult you, Assistant Pang. I just wanted to illustrate that the two things aren’t really connected.”

Zhou Can was speechless. What were the odds—two random metaphors, both fitting Pang’s life to a tee. Seemed like Pang’s home life wasn’t so great after all!

In a way, the universe really did have a sense of justice.

“Enough! Not another word from you!”

Assistant Pang wasn’t buying it for a second. Furious, he cut Zhou Can off mid-sentence.

“Everyone, listen up! This is a hospital, not some street for protests. Pick two or three reps to talk to us leaders directly. The rest of you, go do your jobs. The hospital won’t pursue this further. But if anyone keeps causing trouble, I’ll take down names.”

Get high enough in management and you’ve got to be ruthless.

Working under the director meant handling everything with finesse, but you also had to play the bad cop when it mattered.

Like now—crushing the Emergency staff’s protest as fast as possible.

Director Zhu worked the gentle, conciliatory approach. Assistant Pang was going full-on intimidation.

“Unless this is resolved, I’m not backing down. If Assistant Pang thinks writing down our names will scare us into submission, then he seriously underestimates us. Everyone standing up here tonight already knew the risks but still stepped forward. That’s proof of our resolve.”

Zhou Can spoke up again, unyielding in front of Pang.

There was no chance he would cave.

“Ignoring us, are you? Fine!”

With a dark expression, Assistant Pang pulled out a notepad and started making a list.

The nurses and doctors in the protest line saw him going so far, and suddenly wavered. After all, they wanted a safer workplace—not to lose their jobs.

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“Who else is refusing to back down?”

Assistant Pang read the room and saw morale wavering. He knew his tactic was working.

For every inch of pressure, there’d always be someone ready to push back.

He turned up the heat, looking even fiercer now.

“I am!”

The words weren’t loud but rang with determination.

Qiao Yu spoke up at the perfect moment, stepping up for Zhou Can.

She could’ve hung back safely—nurses have less bargaining power than doctors. If Zhou Can left Tuyu Hospital, someone with his talent could work anywhere.

For Qiao Yu, as great as she was, she was still a nurse. Finding a new job wasn’t hard. Finding a good platform, or a place where her work was valued—that was tough.

“Count me in!”

Deputy Director Han stepped up, showing the steadiness of a veteran. No hesitation.

“Me too!” Head Nurse Niu Lan sounded every bit the heroine, totally unafraid to go up against Assistant Pang.

…

“Fine. All of you! I’ll write down every name.”

Assistant Pang’s hands shook, and his body trembled as he wrote. He couldn’t believe it—the Emergency Department was one of the smallest, weakest wards, yet every single one of them was standing firm. Absolutely wild.

Maybe it was true what they said—hard places turn out the toughest people.

“Be sure to get us down too, Assistant Pang!”

Director Xueyan showed up with a big group from Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Coming in person, as department director and with her entire team, she proved herself a true leader.

Once things erupt like this, it’s easy to lose control.

Zhou Can had torn open a gap—and now the rift was widening fast.

Cardiothoracic Surgery outweighed Emergency in influence by far.

It was still one of the hospital’s core departments, and under Director Xueyan’s leadership, it held its own against the top external hospitals. The leadership already held her work in high regard.

Even Director Zhu had personally praised her.

“The safety of clinical staff cannot be ignored—every last one of them is a brother or sister. I ask the leaders to take our demands seriously and protect us.”

Director Xueyan radiated confidence, her authority unmistakable.

Every gesture, every word showed the poise of a true leader.

“If Assistant Pang thinks he can bury this, he might regret it. There are still more staff rushing over as we speak.”

Director Le raised an eyebrow, speaking with a calm edge.

At those words, Assistant Pang’s expression changed for the worse.

From the moment Director Xueyan and her crew arrived, his intimidation fizzled out.

And that was just Cardiothoracic Surgery. If more departments joined, forget Assistant Pang—Director Zhu himself would have to yield.

A hospital was never a one-man show.

If the director lost the support of ordinary staff, his authority meant nothing. You can’t run anything solo.

Director Xueyan nodded at Zhou Can, giving him encouragement just with her eyes.

He managed a bitter smile—Sis Yan could’ve kept clear, yet she jumped right in.

Even the always self-serving Associate Director He turned up too.

What was happening to this world?

Was everything turning on its head?

At that moment, Zhou Can began to feel something—a sense of truth, justice, and conscience.

Maybe his courage to lead the charge came from caring about He Juan, Ye Tingting, and the pain and anger over what happened to them. He wanted justice, and he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

He never expected to start a wave that shook the whole hospital.

“I hear the Emergency Department staff took the lead, protesting for the safety of all clinical workers. Public or private, right or wrong, I’ve got every reason to support this. Let this old chief from Internal Medicine join the young ones for once. Sorry, Director Zhu, fellow leaders.”

Director Tan had always kept a low profile.

But in this moment, he exuded a quiet, commanding strength.

Behind him came a surge of medical staff from every Internal Medicine ward—including top doctors, experts, and chief nurses.

Every single one of them was a force to be reckoned with.

So many people stepping forward—unimaginable.

To the hospital brass, it felt like being steamrolled.

Who says ants don’t matter? When enough stand together, the power of management is nothing—barely worth a fart.

Director Zhu saw he’d totally lost control. He looked like he was ready to keel over.

“What, you’re all rebelling now?”

By then, Assistant Pang wasn’t angry anymore—he was terrified.

“Shut up!”

Director Zhu turned on him with a snarl, publicly dressing him down. Not a shred of face left.

You could bet that normally, Director Zhu treated Assistant Pang with nothing but respect.