Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 37:
Chapter 37: Zhan Qionglou
Lu Jie was fiddling with his phone, utterly bored.
Fu Jia’an had declared he was going to pursue him, making a big show of it at the time, but what followed? Not much action.
After the class reunion, Fu Jia’an didn’t even go home; he rushed back to the hospital for his shift. As a resident physician, continuous night shifts were required, so Fu Jia’an wasn’t returning to the apartment daily. When he did go back, it was during the daytime. He would take a shower, grab a nap, and head back to the hospital.
Logically, after Fu Jia’an’s one-sided confession, not seeing him should have been the most comfortable scenario. Yet, the first thing Lu Jie did every day when he got home was check if the light was on upstairs. The apartment, which was usually perfectly comfortable for one person, suddenly felt bigger and emptier.
But he couldn’t possibly initiate contact with Fu Jia’an; it would look like he couldn’t wait.
In truth, Lu Jie just found life too dull. He was somewhat anticipating how Fu Jia’an would go about pursuing someone. Back in school, they were rivals, but eight out of ten times, Lu Jie was bested by Fu Jia’an. Now, Fu Jia’an was reversing the roles to woo him—this was like becoming an emperor after a sudden change of fortune!
Lu Jie spent all night at home figuring this out. Why hadn’t he outright rejected Fu Jia’an? Of course, because of one word: satisfaction! His former arch-nemesis was now kneeling at his feet; from now on, Lu Jie would be the one in absolute control.
This afternoon, Lu Jie, who was in absolute control, finally received a message from Fu Jia’an. He opened it to find a string of unintelligible gibberish.
Lu Jie: [?]
Expiration Date Canned Food: [Do you have PDD? Help me click on a link.]
Lu Jie: […]
Lu Jie gritted his teeth, his face clouded over with gloom. Beside him, Jiang Yan was chairing a meeting, and the circle of employees at the table were too scared to even breathe, thinking that Xun Zhuo, who was giving the report, had said something wrong to anger CEO Lu.
Lu Jie continued to be distracted, opening the app store with a dark expression to download the app. Three minutes later, he replied to Fu Jia’an: [Clicked]
Expiration Date Canned Food: [OK]
Lu Jie slammed his phone onto the table, but it vibrated again shortly. He immediately picked it up and saw another message from Fu Jia’an.
It was an animated GIF of a kitten blowing a kiss towards the screen.
Lu Jie inwardly scoffed, feeling a pang of inner pride, and didn’t reply again. This time, however, his expression softened slightly, and he put his phone down much more gently. He looked back at the presentation on the screen, smoothly rejoining the meeting atmosphere. He nodded at Research Fellow Xiao Xun, “Xun Zhuo, this report is well done.”
After the meeting, the employees’ small group chat exploded. Someone suggested that CEO Lu seemed to be in love. However, this speculation was quickly refuted. An insider revealed that CEO Lu hadn’t had a legitimate girlfriend for years because he didn’t like women. Another insider claimed that CEO Lu was suffering from unrequited love; the person he liked was already married.
Eventually, the rumour versions proliferated. Some said CEO Lu had lost money in the stock market, others said he had argued with CEO Jiang, and some even speculated that both CEO Lu and CEO Jiang liked the same person, leading to a falling out between the long-time friends for love.
Just as the entire company was busy fabricating fanfiction, Lu Jie received a call from Shen Rufei in the evening.
“Lu Jie, I have a favour to ask of you.”
“A favour from me?”
“Yes. Do you know what Jia’an has been busy with recently?”
“No, he hasn’t told me much about hospital matters.” Hearing it was about Fu Jia’an, Lu Jie stood up and went to the door, closing his office door to avoid external noise.
Shen Rufei’s voice was clearer now. “Jia’an took over the medical parole for Zhan Qionglou. That person was admitted last week. The situation is very urgent, and the surgery is scheduled for this Sunday… with Jia’an as the lead surgeon.”
“Zhan Qionglou?” Lu Jie’s heart dropped. He placed the phone flat on the desk, put it on speaker, and simultaneously opened Google to search for the familiar name. The series of search results that popped up were shocking, making him frown. “Is that killer?”
The top search result on the page fully published Zhan Qionglou’s personal information.
24 years old, currently incarcerated at Beiyue Prison. One year ago, he maliciously retaliated after provoking trouble, killing three young adults his age in one night. He was arrested and imprisoned last winter and is currently in the second trial phase.
To the right of the summary was a black and white passport photo of Zhan Qionglou. It is often said that heinous death row inmates don’t necessarily have a sinister or fierce appearance, and this was proof. Zhan Qionglou exuded only one word: cold. His gaze towards the camera was indifferent and direct, practically writing contempt for the world on his face.
The subsequent reports were flagged with warnings like “Content may cause discomfort; view with caution,” featuring images of the crime scenes. The murder methods were reportedly quite brutal, and when the three bodies were discovered, they were soaked in bl00d.
Lu Jie couldn’t help but grip the mouse tightly and click on the most trending Weibo interface, quickly scanning the netizens’ comments.
[This is too terrifying!! Why hasn’t he been sentenced to death yet?]
[The methods are so cruel. I heard one person was dismembered… how much hatred must that take?]
[Is the chain of evidence in this case really complete? I see in the police report that the specific details of the crime weren’t entirely reconstructed, only the weapon and fingerprints matched.]
[Can I say this? From his face, he doesn’t look like someone who could kill (I’ll look at faces for two people for free, first come first serve).]
[Putting everything else aside, this is the most handsome murderer I’ve ever seen.]
[Can the person above please stop with the s3x-brained comments… Does being handsome mean everything can be forgiven?]
[Don’t worry, it’s 100% a death sentence. Two of the three people who died have influential backgrounds: one from the government and one is a rich second generation. You can check my homepage for details.]
[Inside gossip: this death row inmate has a brain tumour and has been secretly sent to a top-tier hospital.]
[Why save him? Isn’t that a waste of medical resources? A heinous criminal like this doesn’t deserve to be saved even once.]
Lu Jie didn’t even need Shen Rufei to continue; he understood how complicated this matter was. He couldn’t help but sigh. “So, how can I help?”
“Persuade him to give up. Before the surgery, there’s still a chance for things to change.”
Lu Jie instinctively rubbed the area where his stomach was. He felt uncomfortable again. “Fu Jia’an is just a chief resident physician. Why would they entrust such a nationally scrutinized patient to him?”
The danger involved with Zhan Qionglou, who had taken lives, was obvious, but that was secondary; security in the ward would certainly be tight. However, the current situation was a difficult dilemma: if the treatment failed, Fu Jia’an’s reputation as a doctor would suffer. If the treatment succeeded, he would face public outrage and pressure from the victims’ families.
Not to mention the victims’ families had influence. If the normal judicial process couldn’t secure the death penalty for Zhan Qionglou, they would definitely intervene with the hospital treatment, determined to ensure Zhan Qionglou’s death.
What choice would Fu Jia’an make then? Any choice seemed wrong. This difficulty was a multi-layered trap.
Shen Rufei said, “It was directly assigned by Director Jin Shaoqian of the Neurosurgery Department. Jia’an previously saved a patient Jin Shaoqian didn’t want to take—an accident victim with almost no chance of survival. After the successful rescue, the patient’s family took out a large section in the newspaper to thank Jia’an. Jia’an gained more fame in the industry because of it, you know, titles like ‘genius doctor.’ Since then, Jin Shaoqian has been looking for ways to undermine him.”
“Can’t he refuse? He’s so smart; doesn’t he understand the risks?”
Shen Rufei said, “I talked to him, and he doesn’t want to refuse. That’s why I had to come to you.”
Lu Jie felt something was wrong. Human nature is to seek benefit and avoid harm. If there was no advantage to be gained, why do it? Fu Jia’an wasn’t an idiot. He said, “Shen Rufei, are you holding something back from me?”
There was silence from Shen Rufei’s end for a few seconds. “It seems Jia’an hasn’t told you.”
“….”
Shen Rufei hesitated, then fully disclosed the information. “Simply put, Jin Shaoqian is the one who framed our mother with medical malpractice twelve years ago. Jia’an hasn’t explicitly discussed it with me, but I feel some of his decisions are related to his desire to bring down Jin Shaoqian. It’s my fault; I should have stopped him earlier, or even never agreed to let him study medicine from the start.”
A buzzing sound went through Lu Jie’s mind. He seemed to understand everything now. Paradoxically, he was much calmer than he had been in his frantic, confused state earlier. Lu Jie hung up Shen Rufei’s call, intending to message Fu Jia’an to ask when he was coming home, or at least drive to the hospital to find him.
Thinking this, he was already getting up to look for his car keys. A knock sounded on the glass door—it was Xun Zhuo.
Lu Jie waved him in. “Xiao Xun? What is it?” he asked while taking off his lab coat.
“Dr. Fu is here, on the second-floor office area.”
Lu Jie paused in his movement. “Got it.”
He almost forgot that Fu Jia’an had a clinical consultant contract with their company. But was this the time to be clocking in for such a shift? He was being far too dedicated.
Lu Jie hurried downstairs, scanned the second-floor office area, and saw Fu Jia’an standing in the middle of a small group of people who were gathered together.
Seeing CEO Lu appear, the employees chatting with Fu Jia’an immediately dispersed, retreating to their cubicles like little quails, though quickly exchanging glances.
Since he was at the company, Lu Jie walked over with a steady pace. He lowered his voice. “Why did you suddenly come over?”
“I had a break this afternoon, so I came,” Fu Jia’an said. “And I brought some snacks to share with everyone.”
Lu Jie’s expression was complicated. There were dark circles under Fu Jia’an’s eyes, clearly from constant late nights. He looked thinner after a few days apart. Yet, despite his fatigue, Fu Jia’an was still very attractive, like the final few subtle strokes in an ink painting, making one want to look again and again.
“You’ve been answering their questions online anyway. Just sending emails is enough; you don’t need to come in person. If you have time, you should go back and rest,” the CEO said, completely unaware of how unprincipled he was being now, with all the harsh words he’d used on Jiang Yan completely forgotten.
Fu Jia’an’s eyes held a slight smile. He leaned in close to Lu Jie’s ear and whispered, “I came specifically to pick you up from work.”
The voice sparked like a match, hot and ticklish against his ear. Lu Jie wanted to say more but finally decided to just go along with Fu Jia’an. He had things on his mind, and with Fu Jia’an here, they could finally talk properly.
Lu Jie grabbed Fu Jia’an’s wrist, his tone urgent. “Are you going home tonight?”
The sentence was spoken openly, at a volume just loud enough for the nearest employees to hear. Thus, the news spread in circles from Lu Jie and Fu Jia’an outwards, like a cloud fiercely rolling outwards after a nuclear explosion.
Lu Jie’s imagination: Reversal of fortune, becoming an emperor… my wife will obey my every command… hehe
Lu Jie in reality: Where did my wife go, sob sob sob? Why isn’t my wife pursuing me yet, sob sob sob?
(P.S. Happy Qixi Festival, everyone!)