Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
From the X-ray, there was obvious displacement of the posterior spine. This meant the damage was very serious. After carefully going over several X-ray films, Chen Lie wiped sweat from his forehead nervously and stammered to Gu Ninzhi, “T-Thankfully Huo Shaoheng had secured you tightly with the seatbelt, otherwise you’d be paralyzed today.” The best way to treat spinal injury was to avoid movement. Huo Shaoheng tying her up completely to prevent any rough movement on her body had deflected any pressure to her spine and further deterioration of her condition. Chen Lie would have made the same decision if he had been present at the site of accident.
“It’s that serious?” Gu Nianzhi couldn’t believe it. “I’d only hit my back against the shopping cart and I don’t feel anything wrong at all. It just hurt like stabbing needles when you patted me just now.”
“Spinal injuries are always like that; it would have deteriorated to a certain extent by the time you felt anything.” Chen Lie shrugged and looked down, picking up a medical record. “I’m still worried. I’d better do an MRI on you to see how serious it is.”
Gu Nianzhi shut her eyes and helplessly collapsed on the round sofa in the corner, muttering, “Can we keep this from Huo Shao?”
Chen Lie grinned.”Of course…not.”
Gu Nianzhi no longer wanted to speak and laid on the sofa motionlessly. Thoughts tossed around in her mind as she thought about ways to quell Huo Shaoheng’s anger.
…
Most people couldn’t tell if Huo Shaoheng was angry, not even his personal secretaries and orderlies. It had always been difficult for them to detect any changes in his expression and gaze. Gu Nianzhi was an exception, and that was in part, perhaps, due to how she was more keen than others; it was largely because she was more familiar with Huo Shaoheng than anyone, since she grown up in his care. Maybe it was also because she spent more time than anyone else to study Huo Shaoheng. Evidently, Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong didn’t have the same opportunity as Gu Nianzhi. They stood before Huo Shaoheng’s desk and looked at him, puzzled, asking uncertainly, “Mr. Huo, Nianzhi’s injury wasn’t serious. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Huo Shaoheng looked up at them, his entire body cloaked in the shadow cast by the desk lamp. His expression was chilling in the darkness. Voice rich and firm, he spoke slowly and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk.
“This has nothing to do with Nianzhi’s injury. Xu Piaohong broke the law as a member of law enforcement and we are just fulfilling our duties as citizens and filing a complaint against her according to procedure.”
Yin Shixiong glanced at Zhao Liangze, who only rubbed his nose and muttered, “You have all the right as the Chief. This Xu Piaohong girl was really asking for it. Just the last time—” He retold how she had forcibly stopped Huo Shaoheng’s car without reason.
“We will complain about both this time and the last incident,” Huo Shaoheng said calmly. “We’d warned her last time that if she broke the law again, she would have to assume responsibility for both incidents.”
Yin Shixiong understood and instantly replied, “Chief, I’ll go take care of it.”
Of course, Huo Shaoheng or even the Special Operations Forces couldn’t officially get involved in such matters. He had no choice but to get help from the personnel in local departments. After finishing up with the matter, he received a call from Chen Lie.
Chen Lie sounded very ashamed. “Huo Shao, I shouldn’t have blamed you. I’m afraid Nianzhi’s injury isn’t that simple.”
Huo Shaoheng grit his teeth as he asked, “What. Is. It.?” His voice was dangerously low.
Chen Lie gripped the phone tightly and composed himself before saying, “You’d better come quick—we have to talk in person.”
Huo Shaoheng’s heart grew cold as he readied the pen in his hand to make a record. “What is it?” He repeated.
“I just gave Nianzhi an MRI.” Chen Lie looked at the results. “Nearly every joint in her back spinal column…looks like it’s had a slight shift.”
A snap was heard on Chen Lie’s end when Huo Shaoheng suddenly applied force and snapped the pen in half. He stood up from behind his desk. “It just knocked into her once! Is it really that serious?”
Chen Lie’s voice lowered. “You’d better come over so we can speak in person.”
Huo Shaoheng quickly hung up the phone and left his office. After about 15 minutes, he arrived at Chen Lie’s office.
Gu Nianzhi had already returned to the bed in her room so she wasn’t in Chen Lie’s office. Huo Shaoheng walked up to Chen Lie; he tapped the desk with one hand. He urged him quietly, “Hurry up and tell me. Stop going around in circles.”
Chen Lie stood up and led Huo Shaoheng to the lab to have a talk. It was a more private area with upgraded equipment. Placing the MRI results in front of Huo Shaoheng, he whispered, “These are not new injuries, the shifts on her spinal joints.”
“What do you mean?” Huo Shaoheng raised his brows. “It’s not from this accident? Nianzhi hasn’t been injured like this before.”
“I know, so I infer that it happened in the years she’s lost her memories of.” He looked around to make sure Gu Nianzhi was out of earshot. “Have you ever seen someone abuse kittens?”
“What does that have to do with Nianzhi?”
“I’ve heard about instances where a kitten has its legs and tail tied up, then thrown down from a high building. It’s spine was shattered into pieces. Nianzhi’s condition is very similar to that kitten, but of course it’s not as serious. It can also be said that this was the result of being repeatedly thrown down with controlled force. All the bones in her body appear to have been compressed and misaligned, and of course, her healing ability is phenomenal. If these were old injuries, then they have all healed and if we hadn’t done this MRI, we would’ve never known. That’s why we never noticed anything before. Tell me, who would be so cruel to do such things to Nianzhi before she turned 12?” Chen Lie whispered angrily.
Huo Shaoheng also never wanted the military to find this out about Gu Nianzhi. He tried to clear his head through the cold anger surging through him at the thought of Gu Nianzhi enduring such disgusting abuse. “Does it have something to do with her family?” Huo Shaoheng asked. He was actively seeking Gu Nianzhi’s family, but it there was even the slightest chance that Gu Nianzhi’s family were not the loving people he’d thought they were, then looking for them meant sending Gu Nianzhi directly into danger. But if they didn’t find them, the military would never approve of her. For the first time in a long time, Huo Shaoheng was lost. He took out a cigarette and asked Chen Lie before lighting it, “Can I smoke?”
Chen Lie waved nonchalantly—he actually wanted one for himself as well. He understood more than anyone else, Huo Shaoheng’s determination to find Gu Nianzhi’s family. But if the results were worse than never finding them, then how should they face such an outcome? After finishing a cigarette, Huo Shaoheng came to a decision. He threw the butt into the garbage and said to Chen Lie, “Treat her first and I’ll deal with the people that need to be dealt with. After that, we still have to find her family but we can’t let anyone know it has anything to do with Nianzhi.”
They would find her family first then decide what to do. If they had abused her in the past and Gu Nianzhi had actually escaped, then Huo Shaoheng would never let off the people who hurt her. Not even her own family.
