Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He Zhichu stepped aside, opened the car door, and reached in to carry Gu Nianzhi out. Chen Lie froze for a moment, then turned his head around and gestured for the stretcher. He Zhichu then carefully placed Gu Nianzhi on the stretcher as he ignored Chen Lie’s scrutinization. His eyes were gentle, and he handled her like she was his most precious treasure.
On the side, Chen Lie pursed his lips as he thought to himself how fortunate it was that he was the one to see this. Had it been Master Huo… He shuddered at the thought of it.
Huo Shaoheng had always been someone who kept his own counsel. He was very experienced with it now that he didn’t let any external factors affect his emotions. Unlike He Zhichu, who always wore a cold expression on his face, a ghost of a smile always graced Huo’s lips, a smile so slight that it was almost indiscernible. He was able to let himself be a positive influence on others, and he made others admire him from the bottom of their hearts. Some even ended up pledging their allegiance to him, following only his commands.
He did not seem to be wary of others, and his calm and composed manner made it difficult for others to know what was on his mind.
These are the qualities of a true leader…
Even Chen Lie, his friend and comrade of many years, found it hard to figure out what was on his mind. This was the reason why Huo Shaoheng had been rising through the ranks while he remained stuck at the rank of Colonel Commandant and probably wouldn’t progress further.
Chen Lie shook his head and thought to himself that he must have too much time on his hands for him to be thinking of nonsensical musings like this at this critical moment. He knew that no matter how quiet and restrained Huo Shaoheng might usually be, Gu Nianzhi was still someone special to him. There was no doubt about that.
Chen Lie followed the stretcher and returned to the ambulance. He waved at He Zhichu and said, “Professor He, thank you for notifying us in time. I will keep you updated on Nianzhi’s condition after her examination at the hospital.”
He Zhichu looked back into the ambulance. Gu Nianzhi, who was lying on the stretcher, had already been securely strapped onto it. A bumpy ride would not aggravate her injuries. He nodded and said, “All right then. Please excuse me. I’m not sure if you know my number, but Colonel Commandant Yin has it.”
“All right, I’ll ask,” Chen Lie replied politely as he pulled the rear door of the ambulance shut.
The ambulance left B University hastily as its lights flashed and sirens wailed. The surrounding students only scattered at this point in time because it became apparent that the girl was seriously injured.
No wonder Professor He had carried her in his arms…
Most of the students, a little embarrassed of what they had done, deleted from their phones the pictures they had secretly taken of them. Some of them, however, refused to do the same and secretly left the pictures they took of them in their phones, especially the image of He Zhichu lifting Gu Nianzhi onto the stretcher. Anyone with eyes would be able to tell with one look that he was deeply in love with her.
…
The ambulance flashed its light as it traveled along the clear road that was devoid of obstacles. It reached the entrance of the medical building of the headquarter of Special Operation Forces’ encampment ground very quickly.
Chen Lie pushed opened the doors and got off. He saw Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong already at the entrance of the medical building waiting for them.
He was still dressed in the military uniform he had worn at the meeting. The meeting must have just ended. His military cap was pushed down so that it was just above his eyebrows. His eyes were deep and very dark but also exceptionally bright, just like a lighted torch on a dark night. On the surface, they appeared calm and peaceful, but they were raging flames underneath.
He stood calmly. Underneath the military uniform was his tall and strong body. The seams of his trousers were straight, and the hooks at his collar were neatly secured. There wasn’t a single crease on his outfit.
The stretcher was pushed out from the ambulance with Gu Nianzhi firmly secured onto the stretcher.
It was only then that Huo Shaoheng strode toward the stretcher. He gave Gu Nianzhi a quick scan. “Where did you hurt yourself?” Huo Shaoheng asked as he touched Gu Nianzhi’s forehead out of habit.
When Gu Nianzhi was younger, Huo Shaoheng would invariably touch her forehead to check for a fever whenever she felt any discomfort. This habit of his was so ingrained that it remained with him till this day. This time, however, it was not just headache and fever, but an injury to her tailbone!
The corners of Gu Nianzhi’s lips turned upward, and she felt like laughing. However, the instant she felt his warm palm touch her forehead, she didn’t feel like laughing anymore.
This is the tenderness that a stoic man occasionally lets escape. No matter how strong Gu Nianzhi’s defences were, they would still be defeated by his gentle touch, which brought back memories from the past.
Gu Nianzhi smiled at Huo Shaoheng as she lay on the stretcher. She soon realized, as she smiled, that tears had rolled down her face.
Thinking that Gu Nianzhi was crying tears of pain, Huo Shaoheng became anxious. Despite what he felt, he didn’t let it show. He simply took out some tissue paper for her to wipe her tears, then he said to Chen Lie composedly, “Don’t let this drag on. Send her to the operating room.”
Chen Lie shuddered and did not dare joke around with Huo Shaoheng anymore. He turned around hastily and gestured for his medical team. “Hurry into the elevator, send her to my special infirmary.”
His medical team consisted of highly-trained professionals. They were well-coordinated and sent Gu Nianzhi into Chen Lie’s special infirmary immediately without requiring further directions from Chen Lie.
To err on the side of caution, Chen Lie performed a full body CT scan on Gu Nianzhi once she got to the infirmary to see if she had injured any other parts of her body aside from her tailbone. However, Gu Nianzhi’s body composition was just too good. Although the fall this time had injured her tailbone and had caused her much pain, the severe tailbone fracture was her only injury. There were no issues in other areas of her body.
Chen Lie checked the CT results twice to make sure nothing else was wrong before letting her return to the hospital bed. As her bone was the issue, the bed was specially customized for her this time around. It was made to be like a human mold, such that she would be able to maintain her position as she lay inside it. This was to prevent her from moving about.
Under usual circumstances, a serious bone fracture injury like Gu Nianzhi’s would require at least a three-month stay at the hospital in order for the bone to heal and recover. However, in view of her special body composition, Chen Lie was of the opinion that two weeks at the hospital would be enough for Gu Nianzhi to recover.
Huo Shaoheng had been waiting outside the ward the whole time. He stood outside the corridor, facing the window without speaking, a stick of cigarette wedged between his fingers.
It was still snowing outside, and the weather was getting colder. Huo Shaoheng wore only a woolen military uniform with a regular shirt on underneath. Despite that, he felt extremely warm.
The cigarette he was smoking didn’t calm him down. From the outside, no one would have been able to tell how anxious and worried he was.
A gush of cold wind, and the snowflakes that were carried along with it, entered as the windows were pushed opened.
He was listening to the work report that the member of the Secret Service relayed to him with his Bluetooth earpiece.
“Master Huo, what happened was this: the situation was chaotic when it happened, but thankfully there were four of us, so we were able to cover her from four different directions. So, when I realized that she would fall back and hit the protruding rock on the rockery, I threw a stone at her knee in a moment of panic so that she would only fall sitting on the ground due to the shift in the center of gravity.”
After a pause, the person continued carefully, “…Master Huo, are Miss Gu’s injuries very serious? I made a mistake, didn’t I?”
The four of them were responsible for protecting Gu Nianzhi behind the scenes. In the past, they were able to easily resolve matters that cropped up. However, things had become more intense the latest two occurrences. In order to prevent her from suffering an even more serious injury, they had had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils. Nevertheless, he had still allowed her get hurt.
Had she hit the back of her head, she could have been killed or could have become mentally challenged. On the other hand, she could have been paralyzed from the fall that she had suffered. Between the two, perhaps neither was worse than the other.
The member from the Secret Service felt that he had made a mistake and was terribly frustrated. “Master Huo, I did not do my task well. Please punish me for that. Had I appeared at an earlier time and sent her straight back to her dormitory, none of this would have happened.”
Huo Shaoheng didn’t blame him at all. In a warm and calm voice, he said, “It’s all right. You did well. Why would I punish you when you did nothing wrong? Am I supposed to punish you for having saved Miss Gu’s life? Did you really think that I would be such a foolish boss?”
The member from the Secret Service hadn’t expected Huo Shaoheng to not put any blame on him. The tough man, who had been anxious about it, was so moved that he cried. He wiped his tears with the back of his hands in a rush as he said as naturally as he could, “Yes, I understand. Thank you for understanding, Master Hu. I will be even more careful and vigilant in the future.”
“You did well. Don’t blame yourself for it.” Huo Shaoheng changed the subject and said, “From your report, it seems that recently Nianzhi has been encountering many of such situations. Did you compare the frequency of the current situations with the past occurrences?”
The member added hastily, “The four of us planned on convening a meeting, as things have indeed been strange recently. We will write you a report once the situation has been summarized.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “All right. Send it to my email when you’re done with the report.” He paused and reminded them again, “The faster, the better.”
He had just hung up when Chen Lie called, “Master Huo, the situation has been assessed. You may now come in.”
Huo Shaoheng tossed his cigarette immediately and headed to Chen Lie’s special infirmary. He took a glance at Gu Nianzhi, who was lying on the hospital bed, but did not enter her ward directly. Instead, he visited Chen Lie’s office first.
“How’s her injury?” Huo Shaoheng sat in front of Chen Lie’s work desk, took the CT report that was on it, and started perusing it.
Chen Lie printed out the CT image and explained it to him. “Her tailbone is severely fractured. To be frank with you, ordinarily, the mobility of a person with this type of injury would be permanently impaired.”
Huo Shaoheng wordlessly raised his head with a grave look in his eyes. Chen Lie felt suffocated by his gaze. He had no choice but to say, “Except for Nianzhi, of course. Her body constitution, aren’t you already aware of that?”
Huo Shaoheng lowered his head. “Okay, then what will happen to her?”
“She’ll have to stay at the hospital for two weeks. That should give her enough time to recover,” Chen Lie said tentatively. In reality, he was not sure if two weeks would be enough for a full recovery. After all, this was the first time Gu Nianzhi had suffered such a severe fracture. It was just like her old scars from when she was younger. Although the injuries may have healed, traces of it inevitably remained.
Huo Shaoheng unknowingly tightened his grasp on the CT report, almost tearing the report apart.
The corner of Chen Lie’s mouth twitched. He stared at his data report, as he couldn’t bear to witness how his CT report was being handled. He really felt like snatching his precious report away from Huo Shaoheng.
Huo Shaoheng put the report back on the desk after sitting around for a while. He then stood up and neatened his attire. “…The report must be destroyed when she recovers from her injury.”
“Yes, Senior Official.” Chen Lie nodded respectfully without making any jokes about it.
Huo Shaoheng nodded, turned around, and left Chen Lie’s office. On his way out, he closed the door shut, putting himself out of his sight.
Chen Lie:”…”
Touching his nose, Chen Lie silently turned off the surveillance camera in the ward.
…
Huo Shaoheng sat down at the foot of Gu Nianzhi’s bed and held her hands. His voice was deep and a little hoarse as he said, “…Where does it hurt? Hmm?”
