When Yang Li was almost suffocating herself, she secretly moved her hands away and saw the unconscious Liu Jun with blood foam still trickling from the corner of his mouth. She looked at Liu Jun with infinite guilt, not even daring to reach out and wipe the blood foam for him. She gathered courage to ask the doctor, “Doctor, how is he? Is it serious?”
“The surgery department needs to make a definitive diagnosis. The situation isn’t good. The finger can be reattached, but it won’t be able to exert force. Currently we can see fractures of the sixth and seventh ribs – don’t know if they’ve punctured the pleural alveoli. From his breathing, the alveoli seem fine.”
“Will he recover? Will there be lasting effects?”
“The key is the next day or two – hospitalization to observe for hemothorax or pneumothorax. Recovery needs a month. Can’t rush it.” The doctor saw Yang Li’s bewildered eyes and added, “Simple rib fractures aren’t a big problem – he’ll recover completely after a month.”
“Will his finger still be able to play piano?”
“Basically… integrity can be restored.” The emergency doctor looked troubled.
“They severed his spirit.” Yang Li caught the implication, her eyes not daring to look at Liu Jun. She stared at a box beside them – this box was refrigerating Liu Jun’s half-finger.
When Qian Hongming received the police call, he was at a business dinner. The police repeated Liu Jun’s instructions word for word, then described Liu Jun’s situation concisely. During the call, Qian Hongming unconsciously stood up, drawing surprised looks from the table. After hearing the call, he bid farewell to everyone, not caring that the table included his potential future clients. Walking outside, he thought about Liu Jun still facing finger reattachment surgery – how well this surgery was performed would directly affect Liu Jun’s future. Qian Hongming searched his mind and could only think of a few doctor friends, none of whom were surgeons. But time was urgent. Qian Hongming bit his lip and called his sister, asking for Liu Shitang’s mobile number.
Qian Hongying was very surprised and gave him the number, but immediately instructed, “Watch your attitude – what’s past is past.”
“I know.” Using the car’s overhead light, Qian Hongming dialed the string of numbers on his hand. Liu Shitang took a long time to answer. “This is Qian Hongming. Liu Jun was attacked and had a finger severed. You need to quickly find the best finger reattachment surgeon. The ambulance is heading to First Hospital. Must be fast. I’m on my way – meet at the hospital.” He hung up after speaking.
Liu Jun had told Qian Hongming not to notify his father, but he notified him anyway. He believed Liu Shitang’s years of modest wealth must have accumulated connections, and with his son in crisis, only a father would exhaust every possibility to find the best doctor for his son. For Liu Jun’s sake, he could only abandon his vow and set aside love and hate. He called doctor friends all the way, consulting for information, and stopped at an ATM to withdraw money for medical expenses. At this moment, he couldn’t think about much else and didn’t want to waste time on irrelevant thoughts – he focused single-mindedly on reaching his destination.
Just arriving at First Hospital’s entrance, his sister called, saying she’d contacted the best surgeon, Dr. Bao, through her boss. Dr. Bao was already on his way, and she told Qian Hongming to prepare a red envelope. Qian Hongming was slightly surprised and initially wanted his sister to notify Liu Shitang that he didn’t need to contact other doctors, but after a moment’s thought, he decided against it. He’d rather contact Liu Shitang himself. When he reached Liu Shitang, Liu Shitang immediately said, “I just contacted Dr. Bao…”
Hearing this, Qian Hongming said, “I contacted him too – he’s already left. I’m at the hospital and will handle things here first. You bring enough money and Liu Jun’s hospital supplies.”
“Thank you.”
Qian Hongming was startled, didn’t respond, and unceremoniously hung up. He rushed to the emergency room but didn’t see Liu Jun – a nurse directed him to radiology. In radiology, Qian Hongming unexpectedly saw Yang Li continuously wiping tears. “What happened? How is Liu Jun?”
Seeing a male arrive, the police bid farewell to Yang Li. The police had asked Yang Li many questions, repeatedly asking about how the incident occurred and developed. Yang Li told them everything except which region the attackers’ hometown accent was from. Now with Qian Hongming asking again, Yang Li said irritably, “The car had just left the residential complex when someone on a bicycle crashed into us, then many people surrounded Liu Jun and beat him. After I called the police and they arrived, the attackers scattered.”
Qian Hongming felt that Yang Li was somewhat strange, but just looked at her, thanked her, and then remained silent. The radiology room door soon opened, and a nurse wheeled Liu Jun out, heading straight to the operating room. Qian Hongming rushed into the adjacent doctor’s office, roughly asked about the situation, and then hurried to follow. Though years of his parents’ illness had made him knowledgeable about medicine, he knew nothing about surgery and was confused by what he heard, only keeping a general understanding in mind. After Liu Jun entered the operating room, he saw an authoritative-looking doctor walking over with a frown and quickly asked, “Dr. Bao? I’m Mr. Qian. My good friend entrusts you with this – please let me drive you home after surgery.”
Dr. Bao looked at him, “You’re signing the surgical consent? That won’t work.”
“His father will arrive soon – he’s driving himself. Can my friend’s finger recover?”
“I’ll know after I see it. Young people, what can’t be explained clearly – why resort to fighting and brawling…”
“My friend is different – he’s more refined than I, just returned from studying in Germany, a very rare German mechanical engineering PhD. Dr. Bao, please save him. For a mechanical engineer, fingers are too important. I don’t know what gods he offended today.” Qian Hongming quickly spoke well of Liu Jun, leaving the best impression in the doctor’s mind to prevent the doctor from entering surgery with a bad mood.
Dr. Bao nodded and went in, his expression much gentler than when he arrived. Qian Hongming felt slightly relieved – he’d just conveyed everything that needed saying in one breath: his promise to the doctor would be honored, the Liu family had substantial means, Liu Jun was a good person deserving the best treatment… He exhaled deeply and turned to see Yang Li still looking dazed. Qian Hongming’s suspicions grew stronger. “Miss Yang? You don’t look well – you’re shocked. Go home and rest quickly. I’ll notify you immediately if there’s news.”
Yang Li asked dumbly, “Did the doctor say how many hours the surgery would take?”
Qian Hongming thought she’d been listening too. “He didn’t say, but I estimate it won’t be short.”
“I’ll be right back.” After saying this, Yang Li ran off without looking back. Qian Hongming wanted to stop her because with Yang Li gone, he’d have to face Liu Shitang alone shortly. Today, he couldn’t just walk away upon seeing Liu Shitang. Speak of the devil – Yang Li hadn’t even turned the corner when Liu Shitang arrived in a hurry.
Both men felt awkward meeting, but Liu Shitang was adaptable and spoke first, “Jun was just wheeled in? What exactly happened?”
“The doctor just went in. Here’s the contact card for the police officer handling this case – that’s all I know.” After speaking, Qian Hongming walked away several steps, found a chair to sit down, and ignored Liu Shitang.
The police officer, receiving Liu Shitang’s call, returned to ask questions on the spot. The police said security guards reported those assailants had been loitering around since 4 PM, clearly not a random incident. They asked Liu Shitang who the victim had recently offended. Liu Shitang immediately thought of Yang Xun and explained the background. Qian Hongming added that the woman in Liu Jun’s car was Yang Xun’s sister, Yang Li. Not only Liu Shitang but even the police looked at Qian Hongming in surprise. Qian Hongming added that he felt Yang Li’s reactions today were somewhat strange. He told the police his suspicions in detail.
The police came and went, but the operating room door still hadn’t opened. Liu Shitang paced like an ant on a hot pan, repeatedly measuring the corridor beneath his feet. His precious son was inside, and he desperately wanted someone to talk to and discuss with, but only Qian Hongming, who treated him like a stranger, was present. After a few minutes, he couldn’t bear it anymore and sat across from Qian Hongming, asking bluntly, “Xiao Qian, what do you think will happen to Jun?”
Qian Hongming just shook his head. Liu Shitang became anxious, “Whatever grievances we had before, I apologize to you. Please tell me what Jun was like before entering surgery, how badly he was beaten, how much he bled, what the doctor said. Don’t be emotional today – whatever you want to pursue, you can come find me later, I won’t hide. Today, Jun is in there, and he’s your good friend.”
Qian Hongming still shook his head but finally spoke. “I don’t know much, and the doctor didn’t know much before entering surgery. I only saw Liu Jun for a moment… you’d better not hear it.” Qian Hongming turned but saw Liu Shitang’s tearful eyes. His feelings were complex – how much he’d enjoyed seeing Liu Shitang in tears and pain, but today was different; today he couldn’t enjoy it. He felt only disgust.
“Tell me, tell me. Please. You must understand my position today – if not for Jun, I wouldn’t trouble you. Name your price – what do you want in exchange for telling me?”
Qian Hongming hadn’t intended to hide anything, but hearing Liu Shitang say this made him angry. “Do you think everything can be bought and sold? I’m Liu Jun’s friend, I’m here caring about Liu Jun, but I don’t know you.”
Liu Shitang slapped his chair, “Damn it!” but stopped asking questions, keeping all his questions bottled up inside until his face turned red. Facing the operating room, he couldn’t help wiping a tear from his eye. Qian Hongming watched coldly, and only when Liu Shitang wiped his second tear did he tell Liu Shitang everything he’d glimpsed, including the X-ray results.
Liu Shitang listened silently, and only after Qian Hongming finished did he reply, “Thank you,” saying not one more word after that.
Afterward, both men remained silent, sometimes Qian Hongming standing and pacing anxiously, sometimes Liu Shitang taking turns. Finally when Liu Jun was wheeled out, the two men almost synchronously and tacitly protected Liu Jun, following Dr. Bao to the ward, then very tacitly worked together to carry Liu Jun onto the bed, without needing to say even one word to each other or even make eye contact. If they had anything to say, they only spoke to Dr. Bao.
Only when Dr. Bao was leaving did Qian Hongming say, “I’ll drive Dr. Bao home.” Liu Shitang replied, “Much obliged.” After everyone left, Liu Shitang alone wiped tears, facing his still-unconscious son. In his heart, he cursed Yang Xun’s ancestors eighteen generations back – he was already certain Yang Xun had injured his son. Liu Shitang now began to regret not keeping his son from returning from Germany.
Yang Li rushed out of the hospital, jumped into a taxi, and headed straight to her big brother’s house. Finding the main door tightly closed, she pulled out her fist and pounded the security door thunderously. The shocked nanny immediately opened the door. She charged in, pointing at Yang Xun and angrily said, “You! You did this! Didn’t you?”
Yang Xun’s wife, Ren Xia’er, saw trouble brewing and quickly instructed the nanny to take the two children upstairs. But Yang Xun saw his sister’s haggard appearance and disheveled hair and asked strangely, “What’s wrong with you? You… ah…”
“Right, you’re thinking of something, aren’t you? You did it, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” Yang Li stepped forward aggressively, forcing her big brother to retreat. Seeing him remain silent, she pointed to heaven and said, “Mom is listening from above. You tell me – did you or didn’t you order thugs to beat us, me and Liu Jun? Yes or no – one word.”
Ren Xia’er, beside them, was shocked. Looking at the siblings, she silently went upstairs too.