Du Heng nodded, curiously looking at Kang Zhirong and said, "Yes, that’s what happened. What about it?"

"I want to make a video of this incident and put it on our short video platform," Kang Zhirong said with a hint of excitement. "This way, we can promote our hospital and colleagues while raising social awareness about these issues. What do you think?"

Kang Zhirong grinned at the prospect of killing two birds with one stone; he could already imagine Du Heng nodding in agreement.

However, Du Heng’s reaction puzzled him. Instead of nodding directly, Du Heng slightly furrowed his brows, and Kang Zhirong’s smile slowly faded.

After a long moment, Du Heng finally said, "Let’s not make a video of this. Just leave it be."

Kang Zhirong couldn’t understand. "Dean, this is a good thing. Why not promote it?"

With a calm expression, Du Heng looked at Kang Zhirong and asked, "Who are we? Where is this place?"

"The hospital. We are doctors."

"That’s right. Isn’t what we’re doing now our job? Since it’s our job, there’s no need to promote it," Du Heng said softly. "The country has its policies, and the hospital has its policies. We just need to follow the procedures. If we do it well, it means we’ve fulfilled our professional duty. If we do it poorly, that’s what warrants discussion."

Kang Zhirong fell silent, struggling to respond. After a while, he tried to explain, "But if we report on this, more people will..."

Du Heng’s gaze turned cold as he interrupted, "Let more people know that a father abandoned his own child?"

Kang Zhirong was taken aback, opening his mouth but finding no words came out.

Du Heng continued, "Should we let everyone know that a child was abandoned because they couldn’t afford treatment? Or do we need to use others’ suffering to build up our own ’greatness’?"

Kang Zhirong hurriedly shook his head. "Dean, you misunderstood me. I didn’t mean it like that."

Pausing, Du Heng looked seriously at Kang Zhirong and said, "I know you didn’t mean it that way, and I know you must have the hospital’s and the child’s best interests at heart. However, even if you don’t think that way, some people invariably will. They will undoubtedly display their ’compassionate’ side, using it to denounce the parent, question the social relief system, and amplify the child’s pain. What’s the point? We have a comprehensive relief system, responsible healthcare workers, and we haven’t abandoned, nor will we abandon, this child. That’s enough, isn’t it? Releasing such a video would only stir up antagonism, magnify the child’s suffering, and expose the parent and family to cyberbullying. Their lives are hard enough already; this is unnecessary."

Rendered speechless by Du Heng’s words, Kang Zhirong realized that what Du Heng described was truly not his intention. So, after a moment of slight astonishment, he still wanted to explain himself a little. "Dean, my idea is to include everything, including the various forms of aid. Also, we would only report on the child themself. As for their family’s detailed information, apart from the illness itself, we wouldn’t report it. So, cyberbullying is impossible."

Du Heng chuckled. "You have to believe there are many bored people in this society, and many who love to dig into things. At the same time, you also need to know that our current number of followers is already very large. The dissemination and influence might exceed our expectations, especially for this kind of social issue; there will definitely be many people paying attention. Moreover, have you considered this? We are now in an era where everyone is online. Just during my break these past two days, I saw a news report stating that our country’s internet video users have surpassed 900 million, and the average daily time spent on short videos exceeds two hours. With such a vast user base, can you be sure that no one knows this child? Can you be sure that these people who know the child will evaluate this matter objectively and fairly? Can you guarantee that they won’t expose the child’s parent and family online?"

Kang Zhirong dazedly shook his head. Netizen behavior is the most unpredictable; who can guarantee anything?

Looking at Kang Zhirong shaking his head, Du Heng spoke again, "Since you can’t guarantee these things, if any consequences arise, can you bear them? If it’s a good outcome, that’s something we’d all love to see. But what if it’s an outcome that you and I least want to see or hear? Do you think you could bear such news?"

Instantly, several bloody images flashed through Kang Zhirong’s mind, along with some news stories that made his hair stand on end. He sobered up immediately. He knew very well that whether it was the smile of the Leshan Giant Buddha or the gaze of a dark force, these were not things he could bear.

"I..." But after stammering "I" for a long moment, Kang Zhirong still couldn’t utter a complete sentence. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Alright, don’t consider this matter anymore. Let’s just focus on making our popular science videos. We shouldn’t get involved in other things," Du Heng concluded. "We just need to follow procedures and act according to our conscience."

Kang Zhirong said no more. After a quiet nod, he left Du Heng’s office.

Meanwhile, Du Heng rested his chin on his hands, silently lost in thought. Only after a good while did he come back to his senses and continue with his unfinished work.