Chapter 40 — If He Says So, You Believe It?

The surgeon hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Since Wei Zhao insisted on it, he had no choice but to comply. There was no danger to life in this kind of operation at all, so he would not press the matter.

"Young man, then you had better hold out." With that, the surgeon instructed the nurse to prepare for the operation.

Wei Zhao's not being afraid of pain did not mean he felt none, but pain of this degree was within what he could endure. Back then, falling from the summit of West Star Mountain had hurt far worse than this — the pain of it had jolted his organs out of place...

"Young man, how did you get hurt?" The surgeon, Sun Weimin, was an experienced surgeon. His medical skill was excellent, but his ability to read people was just as good. Although Wei Zhao had a gunshot wound, he did not seem like one of the criminal suspects the police brought in, so Sun Weimin took the initiative to chat with him a little, to distract him and ease his pain.

"At the bank. Shot by the robbers." Wei Zhao understood Sun Weimin's intent perfectly well. In truth, how could Wei Zhao's attention be so easily diverted? The training he had received since childhood had taught him never to let his guard down under any circumstances, never to let his attention wander.

"So that's how it was." At this, Sun Weimin saw that things were just as he had guessed — the young man was no suspect but a victim — and so he spoke more freely: "It must have been a tense situation at the time?"

"Not too bad," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "Actually, I could have dodged it. But there was a girl right behind me. If I had dodged, she would have been the one to suffer, so I had no choice but to take the bullet head-on. Pretty foolish, wouldn't you say?"

Wei Zhao had seen similar news reports before, back in the mountains — people who did good deeds were called fools, while cold, selfish people were called clever. So as he said this, there was a touch of self-mockery in his tone.

"What?" Hearing that Wei Zhao had actually been wounded in such a way, Sun Weimin was filled with admiration for the young man. "Young man, you're a great one! That's not foolish at all — that's a hero saving a beauty! So tell me, did the girl fall in love with you at first sight?"

"After that I was taken hostage by the robbers, so who knows what she was thinking?" Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. "At the time, she probably wouldn't have thought I was taking the bullet for her — after all, the thug was shooting at me."

"That's still quite something, young man — knowing how to sacrifice yourself for others." Sun Weimin regarded Wei Zhao with real appreciation. "What's your name?"

"Wei Zhao. It's on the medical record." Wei Zhao smiled.

"Ha ha, sorry about that. I see far too many patients every day, and I rarely pay attention to these details," Sun Weimin said, a little embarrassed.

The operation went smoothly, and Wei Zhao neither shouted nor moved his leg about, which let Sun Weimin finish this minor surgery very quickly. Wei Zhao's reaction astonished him — without any anesthetic at all, Wei Zhao had cooperated and held out the whole way through. This young man's willpower was truly extraordinary.

After the operation, Qiu Lingshan came to the ward to take Wei Zhao's statement, and ran into the surgeon, Sun Weimin, who naturally praised Wei Zhao effusively: "Officer Song, this young man is truly a rare find — sacrificing himself for others, he ought to be a model held up by society! You people should give him an Outstanding Citizen Award for Courageous Action!"

"What do you mean?" Though Qiu Lingshan admired Wei Zhao somewhat for his calm in the face of the robbers, she could hardly call it sacrificing himself for others. When Gu Mengyao had given her statement, she had not described the details of Wei Zhao blocking the bullet at the bank so thoroughly — she had only said that Wei Zhao had been shot by the robbers, so Qiu Lingshan did not know what lay behind it.

"Oh? You didn't know? At the time, young Wei Zhao could clearly have dodged that bullet, but he saw there was a girl behind him, and if he had dodged, that girl would have been the one to suffer. So he stood his ground and took the bullet," Sun Weimin said with great admiration. "A young man with such a sense of justice and compassion — I've never met his like."

Qiu Lingshan frowned. Was this for real? Why did it sound like a story? Besides, did Wei Zhao think a bullet would just dodge if he wanted it to? You should know I trained special forces, and even I wouldn't dare guarantee I can dodge a bullet whenever I please. Was this Wei Zhao more capable than me? Qiu Lingshan simply could not bring herself to believe it: "Doctor Sun, who told you this?"

"Young Wei Zhao told me himself," Sun Weimin said.

"He said it himself?" Qiu Lingshan was taken aback. And you believe what he says himself? He's stringing you along, isn't he? I could say I can kill an elephant with one punch too — see who believes that.

Sun Weimin could see that Qiu Lingshan was skeptical, so he smiled and said: "When this young man had the bullet removed, he didn't use any anesthetic at all, and he didn't make a single sound of pain. On the strength of that fortitude alone, I believe what he says."

Sun Weimin had plenty of other things to attend to, after all, so he could not stand there chatting with Qiu Lingshan indefinitely. After a few words he went on his way, and Qiu Lingshan pushed open the door and walked into Wei Zhao's ward.

Wei Zhao had wanted to swing his legs off the bed and leave straight away, but that would have been a bit too shocking and eye-catching — the injured part was his leg, after all, not his arm. So he put on an act and lay there on the hospital bed.

"Wei Zhao, can we take your statement now?" For some reason, seeing Wei Zhao lying on the bed with one leg crossed, Qiu Lingshan felt an urge to punch him.

"Go ahead." Lying on the bed, Wei Zhao looked up at Qiu Lingshan from below, and only then did he notice that from this angle, that figure... really could hold its own against the actress he had seen this morning. And on closer look, Qiu Lingshan was quite pretty overall. Mm... a uniform fetish indeed...

Perhaps sensing that something in Wei Zhao's gaze was off, Qiu Lingshan instinctively followed his eyes and looked down at herself, and her face flushed red on the spot.

Years of high-intensity training had made Qiu Lingshan's breasts develop exceptionally well, to the point that they were almost a burden; without a bra, they bounced with every step she took, which she found deeply inconvenient. She had even considered getting liposuction, but on reflection it seemed too humiliating, so she dropped the idea.

Back in the special forces it had been fine; under iron discipline, no one paid any attention to Qiu Lingshan's chest, so she had not minded much herself. But after she entered civilian work, there were frequent plainclothes assignments, and she often had to go in and out of places where all sorts ran together, which left her somewhat uncomfortable. There were always men sizing her up with lecherous looks, and Qiu Lingshan sincerely wanted to kick them to death.

But what Qiu Lingshan had not expected was that she was in uniform, and this Wei Zhao still dared to stare at her like that. That was truly unforgivable. Qiu Lingshan gave a cold snort, sat down in the chair beside Wei Zhao's bed, and began turning over in her mind how she might give this young man a little punishment...

Then she suddenly remembered the wound on his leg, and a scheme took shape in her mind...