Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 46:

Chapter 46: Exposure

“Overturn the case?” Lu Jie said. “That won’t be easy.”

The Han Group’s influence in the city is considerable. Perhaps the only one that could compete… would be Jiang Yan’s Jiang Group. But if it were that simple, it would be fine. When an enterprise reaches this level, every decision concerns the fate of the entire group. They would never get involved in such sensitive cases unless absolutely necessary, and even Jiang Yan stepping in wouldn’t suffice.

Moreover, Jiang Yan’s father has always treated Jiang Yan like a child. Although Jiang Yan has lived a life of comfort since childhood, he has virtually no voice in the entire Jiang family. Jiang Yan’s older brother and two sisters each have successful careers; in comparison, the market value of the Jiang Family Pharmaceuticals run by Jiang Yan and Lu Jie is only one ten-thousandth of the Jiang Group.

However, Lu Jie quickly reviewed the case in his mind and immediately grasped a key point, “But if the Han Group bought off everything, this case should have been quietly resolved. Why is Zhan Qionglou trending so many times?”

“That’s the crux of the matter,” Fu Jia’an said. “Zhan Qingluan studied journalism and communications abroad. She’s good at finding a breakthrough point to guide public opinion. To make this case attract more attention, she specifically amplified the point about the ‘cruelty of the murder methods.’ Due to curiosity and the public’s thirst for gossip, the public discussion heat rose on its own. The Han family couldn’t control this. Precisely because the case is being watched by hundreds of millions of eyes, the lack of sufficient evidence is very obvious, which makes it difficult for the prosecutor to issue a death sentence.”

“Plus, the two victims were also rich kids. The forces behind their two families also wanted Zhan Qionglou to be publicly condemned, so they fueled the fire behind the scenes, right?” Lu Jie guessed.

“Exactly. This matter has now completely spun out of the Han Group’s control. The Han family desperately wants Zhan Qionglou to die soon so he can be silenced for good, and the case will be dropped,” Fu Jia’an said. “On the other side, the victims’ families also want Zhan Qionglou to die soon. Now that I’ve cured Zhan Qionglou, this is the most fundamental condition for overturning the case.”

“Then I have a question for you,” Lu Jie looked more relaxed now. “The overwhelming attacks against you online were also orchestrated by you and Zhan Qingluan, weren’t they?”

Fu Jia’an smiled. “That’s right. When did you figure it out?”

“I had a feeling when you handed me your phone,” Lu Jie said. “Now it’s confirmed.”

“Yes, I’ll be sending Jin Shaoqian a big gift soon.”

After speaking, Fu Jia’an looked at Lu Jie, who was leaning against the wall by the desk. Lu Jie was watching him with his arms crossed, his eyes smiling, bright, and seemingly shimmering with stars.

Fu Jia’an was rarely stared at so directly by Lu Jie and felt a little uneasy. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that our Jia’an is so smart.”

Fu Jia’an lowered his head and smiled. “You’re no less clever.”

“But I wish I could help more. Jiang Yan could send more bodyguards to the hospital to protect you, but I feel like I’m doing nothing…”

“Just being with me is enough.”

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Fu Jia’an poured out what was on his mind. “Lu Jie, you know my brother doesn’t support me entering neurosurgery with a heart bent on revenge. He wants me to let go of my resentment and live my own life well. But before that, I had nothing that could be called a goal. Having such an obsession appear in my life, I actually feel very grounded. It’s like I used to be a kite flying aimlessly, but now a strong wind has come and forced me towards one place. I dive headlong into it, free of any distracting thoughts.”

“…But that doesn’t mean I don’t suffer. I get very tired, sometimes even desperate, but as soon as I see you or think of you, I immediately feel extremely happy. That feeling is something no one else can replace.”

After hearing Fu Jia’an’s words, Lu Jie couldn’t help but step forward and hug him tightly. In that instant, Lu Jie felt he completely understood Fu Jia’an.

To meet one thing you love, one person you love, is incredibly lucky in a lifetime.

Lu Jie never felt he had anything to complain about in his life. He believed everything he had experienced was ordinary. There were no devastating pains and no meteoric rises. The achievements he gained were based on his own efforts, and the hardships he endured were commonplace.

Even so, Lu Jie still felt that he had been experiencing loss and learning to give up since childhood, which gave him a certain fear of “possession.” It was as if a predator existed outside the world, and once he felt happy, the thing he cherished would be taken away.

So Lu Jie hid and suppressed his desires, locking them deep inside his heart. After a long time, even he forgot that he, too, could have a surging heart.

“I want to tell you something,” Lu Jie released Fu Jia’an, feeling this was the perfect moment. “It’s not a big deal, just a very… unimportant thing.”

“Anything about you is important.”

Being watched so intently by Fu Jia’an made Lu Jie feel a sense of shyness, but since he had already said it, there was no turning back.

He rummaged through the desk in the study and pulled out a small, square sketchpad, opening it for Fu Jia’an to see. At first glance, the first page looked like an abstract painting with no rules, colorful, mysterious, and vast, but Fu Jia’an recognized it instantly.

“Is this… glial cells?”

Lu Jie wasn’t surprised; this was something Fu Jia’an, as a neurosurgeon, would know by heart, but he couldn’t help but elaborate: “This is the result of using channel electroporation to introduce the EGFP gene into the opossum cerebral cortex, marking the glial cells.”

Fu Jia’an’s eyes lit up. He flipped to the next page, his fingertip gently tracing the paper. “Pyramidal neurons.”

“It kind of looks like lightning exploding, doesn’t it?”

“Mhm. It’s beautiful. Is this stained with Golgi Staining?”

“That’s right.”

Fu Jia’an flipped a few more pages. One drawing showed tissue composed of scattered light spots. Despite being a static drawing, it gave a faint, shimmering impression. These light spots connected to form a shape similar to a slanting tree branch, but at first glance, it looked like a brilliant pink and purple galaxy.

Lu Jie also loved this page. Without waiting for Fu Jia’an to speak, he eagerly pointed to the center of the image. “This is the primary dendrite shaft, and these white and pink bright spots are the dendritic spines… Is this a little boring?”

Fu Jia’an didn’t speak. He seemed absorbed, and this reaction already answered Lu Jie’s question. It wasn’t boring; on the contrary, Fu Jia’an was very interested. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen microscopic images of cells, but they couldn’t compare to those hand-drawn by Lu Jie. These were enhanced and interpreted by Lu Jie, more romantic, and seemed to offer a glimpse into the vast starry expanse deep within Lu Jie’s heart.

Fu Jia’an said, “Before this, I never thought those cellular structures were beautiful.”

“There are more beautiful things,” Lu Jie sighed in relief, a smile returning to his handsome face. “Next time you come to the lab, I’ll take you to see them through the quantum microscope.”

Fu Jia’an took Lu Jie’s hand and said, “Thank you for telling me. You really love what you’re doing right now.”

Lu Jie hadn’t expected Fu Jia’an to understand without him saying anything. He rarely felt so at a loss, realizing that opening up his heart was truly difficult. With a hint of timidity and a touch of anticipation, he feared that his hard-earned disclosure would be met with cold indifference but also hoped that the things he loved would be affirmed by the person he loved.

Lu Jie unconsciously opened his heart a little more. “When I was a freshman, I first saw the cytoplasmic streaming in Chara cells in the lab, and I had a surge of inexplicable excitement. Later, I realized I had accidentally stumbled upon my own universe.”

Lu Jie loved the lab, biological research, the papers and data that others found tedious, but as an adult, these affections felt somewhat embarrassing to share with others. Dai Mengshu always thought Lu Jie had chosen a career arbitrarily and could switch to a more “presentable” job whenever he made up his mind.

But that wasn’t true. Lu Jie was certain he would never generate such immense, lasting passion in any other field. These feelings, he would never tell Dai Mengshu because passion for life was just a child’s naive joke in her eyes.

Lu Jie hadn’t forgotten how Dai Mengshu had scorned Lu He’s paintings.

“Why don’t you look at the other sketchbooks,” Lu Jie ultimately wasn’t comfortable discussing his inner ideals too much. He changed the subject, inviting Fu Jia’an to look at his other hand-drawn books, which were just things he drew casually to pass the time and relax.

Fu Jia’an sat by the desk and looked through them carefully. “I didn’t realize you were so good at drawing.”

“My dad paints, so I picked up a few superficial skills by osmosis.”

“Do you draw whatever comes to mind?”

“Mhm… It’s like a mood journal.”

Fu Jia’an turned to a page, looked up interestedly, and pointed to the black-pencil sketch. “And what’s this about?”

Lu Jie was speechless. He hadn’t meant to get carried away and bring out this one too!

The drawing was a sketch of a pair of hands—long and beautiful fingers, clean and rounded nails, every joint vivid and strong. The two hands were cupping a round egg, with scattered bits of shell stuck to the palm. The fingertips were damp, and you could see water marks between the fingers.

Lu Jie gritted his teeth, wanting to say he drew it just for practice, although it was a weak excuse… Who would draw a pair of hands peeling an egg for no reason? But as Fu Jia’an continued to flip through, Lu Jie couldn’t stop him and just gave up.

A hand holding a spoon, a hand holding a lollipop, a hand gripping a tennis racket, a hand holding the steering wheel, a hand tying a bow, a hand soaking in a basin of water washing lychees, a hand holding a liquor bottle, a hand holding a piece of paper with a name on it, a hand holding a hemostat, and a slightly smaller hand being massaged and rubbed by two large hands…

It wasn’t hard to tell that these drawings were a mix of realism and imagination, essentially revealing all the scenes that had caused a ripple in Lu Jie’s heart since his reunion with Fu Jia’an.

Lu Jie felt annoyed. He couldn’t help but blame all his current embarrassment on Fu Jia’an in his heart. Why did this guy have to talk about how “flexible his hands are” or something similar?

On the second-to-last page, Lu Jie pressed down on Fu Jia’an’s hand, stopping him from turning the page.

Fu Jia’an looked up at Lu Jie’s expression. The previous images had already stimulated the imagination, so what could the final page contain if he wasn’t allowed to see it?

“If you don’t want me to look, I won’t.” Fu Jia’an smiled and released his hand.

Lu Jie felt a surge of relief. He wanted to immediately throw the sketchbook into a fire and leave no evidence behind.

Before Lu Jie could fully exhale, Fu Jia’an stood up and moved closer to him.

His heart, which had just begun to calm down, instantly lost control, surging back with a vengeance.

Fu Jia’an said, “What you’re thinking about, let’s do it now.”