Chapter 652 — A Place in His Heart

So there were this many advantages to playing the brainless girl? Qiu Lingshan clenched her fist. She had made up her mind—she would keep up the act from now on. With such a capable helper at her side, wouldn't everything she did go smoothly?

Watching Wei Zhao's receding figure, Qiu Lingshan felt a tangle of emotions. She did not know what exactly her relationship with Wei Zhao amounted to, and the complexity of it gave her a headache. In all her years, this was the first time she had ever been so intimate with a man. And Wei Zhao was also the first man to have seen her private parts. She ought to have been furious, yet deep down she felt no anger at all—only shyness, and, when she recalled what had happened, a faint, thrilling pleasure.

The feeling of that instant had truly been wondrous. In the future, should she perhaps try it again at regular intervals? The boldness of the thought startled her badly. She clutched the pinhole camera tightly—this thing absolutely must not get out, or she would be finished.

As for Wei Zhao having seen her, Qiu Lingshan no longer bore such a heavy psychological burden. She had already been a brainless girl before him, already coquettish and simpering; now it was merely that he had watched her do one shameful thing. Losing face once was losing face; ten times or eight times made no difference. In a flash she put the matter behind her and began pondering the mastermind behind the kidney-harvesting ring...

In her view, having Wei Zhao go and seize the ringleader here should have been an easy matter, yet Wei Zhao had not done it. Wei Zhao had come here, most likely, solely to save her! Qiu Lingshan knew Wei Zhao too well—he was the classic type who hung the matter on a high shelf if it was none of his concern. Anything unrelated to him, he would not bother with. Still, that he was willing to bother with her affairs gave Qiu Lingshan considerable comfort. At the very least, playing the brainless girl had not been in vain!

She still occupied a little place in Wei Zhao's heart. He had not simply left her to her fate!

At that thought, Qiu Lingshan shook her head again! She cursed herself inwardly: Qiu Lingshan, oh Qiu Lingshan, have you played the brainless girl so long that you have truly gone a little brainless? Just a little place in his heart, and you are this smug? Why are you so much like a concubine from the old society?

No, that is wrong. I need his help, so I must keep on good terms with him! Qiu Lingshan turned the thought over and began to console herself...

……………………

Zhong Yongliang had not expected today to be his lucky day. Not only had the poisoning gone off without a hitch, but before long he had received a call from his father: a kidney source matching his own had been found—and it was actually Wei Zhao's kidney!

Right up until he entered the operating room and was given the anesthetic, Zhong Yongliang remained in a state of extreme exhilaration. He had assumed that getting revenge on Wei Zhao would have to wait at least until Zhang Naipao came down from the mountain, but never had he imagined that retribution would fall upon Wei Zhao so quickly.

To be safe, Zhong Yongliang had blood drawn and once more subjected to a matching test against the blood sample previously collected from Wei Zhao. Only after everything checked out normally was Zhong Yongliang wheeled into the operating room.

Zhong Yongliang glanced at a spot not far from his own surgical stretcher, where another stretcher trolley stood. A person lay upon it, dressed in a hospital gown with a disposable surgical cap on his head. Under the glare of the surgical lamps, it was impossible to make out who it was, but presumably it could only be Wei Zhao!

"Mr. Zhong, you had better not enter the operating room. The operating room is a critical area—even I cannot go in and out freely. If bacteria were brought in and Wei Zhao were infected, that would be nothing, but it would not do for your son to be infected!" The tattooed man stopped Zhong Fabai at the door of the operating room.

"Very well, then I shall wait here!" Zhong Fabai nodded. "This time I truly must thank Young Master An and you. Only because of you could Pinliang find a suitable kidney source so quickly!"

"It was merely a fortunate coincidence!" The tattooed man waved a hand as he spoke.

Zhong Yongliang was given the anesthetic, and over there "Wei Zhao"—that is, An Liwen—was likewise injected with anesthetic. As for why An Liwen was in a comatose state, Dr. Wang, who was performing the surgery, had no desire whatsoever to find out. His task was simply to transplant this person's kidney into Zhong Yongliang.

Ever since joining An Liwen's organization, Dr. Wang had dealt with kidneys every day, so he was more familiar with kidney transplant surgery than words could say. Frankly speaking, he could have done it with his eyes closed.

"Swish..."

A flash of the sharp scalpel, and An Liwen's belly was slit open. Dr. Wang deftly carved out his kidney.

"This really is a fine kidney!" Dr. Wang could not help saying when he saw An Liwen's kidney. "If this kidney were sold, it should fetch a very good price."

Although there was a partition between the operating room and the preparation room, sound carried through. Dr. Wang's words were clearly meant for the tattooed man.

"Ha, but this surgery was specially ordered by Young Master Wen. The kidney is to be transplanted to Zhong Yongliang free of charge. No matter how fine the kidney, it cannot be sold!" The tattooed man laughed. In saying so, he was merely doing Zhong Fabai a favor, so that Zhong Fabai would remember his kindness.

"Brother Tattoo, rest assured, I, Zhong Fabai, am not one who fails to appreciate kindness. After this matter is settled, I will certainly call on Young Master An to express my thanks in person!" How could Zhong Fabai fail to catch the tattooed man's meaning? Still, if his son truly received a successful kidney transplant, spending a few hundred thousand would be no problem at all.

"Haha, that will not be necessary! Dr. Wang, this surgery must be done well!" The tattooed man smiled and instructed Dr. Wang.

"Rest easy!" Though Dr. Wang was more or less a core member of the organization, he had never had the chance to speak with An Liwen directly; most of the time, the tattooed man relayed An Liwen's wishes to him. As for what An Liwen looked like, he had only caught a few vague glimpses, so he had never realized that the man lying on the operating table was in fact his boss, An Liwen!

The operation went smoothly. Dr. Wang quickly stitched up Zhong Yongliang's wound, then said to the tattooed man, "Brother Tattoo, the surgery was a success—Young Master Zhong is perfectly fine. But what should we do with the kidney donor?"

Dr. Wang was of course referring to Wei Zhao.

The tattooed man was taken aback; he truly had no idea what to do with Wei Zhao. An Liwen had given no instructions beforehand, and the tattooed man did not dare act on his own authority, so he said, "Let me make a call and ask Young Master Wen for instructions."