Lei Jing looked at his watch and helped Cheng Ji stand up.
"Family members are not allowed to enter the ICU. The earliest you can visit is tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock, and you can only visit for a few minutes. Haiping and I are here to guard the place. The old and young people in the Qi family will come one after another, and we have to greet them. You can go back and have a sleep first. I'll ask Chen Chuan to pick you up at the appointed time tomorrow."
Cheng Ji smiled bitterly: "How can I sleep?"
Lei Jing said, "You need to sleep. Beisong's injury is likely to be a long-term battle, so you need to conserve your energy."
Cheng Ji obeyed and decided to rest first, but he didn't want to go too far away from the hospital. Instead, he booked a room in a nearby hotel, leaned against the head of the bed and took a nap, not even daring to take off his clothes.
He rushed to the hospital early the next morning and found Qi Beisong's parents, sister, brother-in-law, as well as the old man, old lady, uncles and aunts of the Qi family were all there, and the hospital's senior executives were accompanying them with their heads down.
He felt that his identity was rather embarrassing, so he did not show up.
Instead, Zheng Haiping and Lei Jing boasted about him in front of the whole family, praising him as if he were the best in the world, like a fairy from heaven.
If Qi Beisong had not been still lying in the ICU and in critical condition, and if their great revenge had not been taken, the family would probably have dragged the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau over, forced him to hold his neck and stamp the marriage certificate of Qi and Cheng on the spot, and they would have been forced to get married even though the Marriage Law did not allow it.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the ICU opened for visiting, but only a few close relatives were allowed in, and only for five minutes.
Cheng Ji naturally would not grab this opportunity. Qi Beisong's mother and grandmother put on sterile suits and went in. When they came out, they were crying loudly. It was obvious that Qi Beisong was in a miserable condition.
In a blink of an eye, it was the third day and Qi Beisong had not gotten better. Cheng Ji was still clinging to the corner of the wall and looking around.
Chen Chuan became a little more lively, mocking his ugly daughter-in-law for not daring to meet her parents-in-law. He rolled his eyes and said, "It's the son-in-law!"
"Go ahead, your mother-in-law likes you very much!" Chen Chuan urged.
Cheng Ji was thin-skinned and refused.
Later, Zheng Haiping betrayed his family and brought the eldest sister of the Qi family to arrest him.
Qi Beijie, the eldest sister of the Qi family, is in her early thirties. She is a natural beauty. Growing up in a compound, she has a bright and cheerful personality, is capable and loves to laugh, and walks with a breeze. She is much more likable than Qi Beisong.
When Sister Qi caught Cheng Ji, the first thing she said was, "Oh my god, is this kid twenty?"
Zheng Haiping smiled and said, "I got it."
Sister Qi said, "Hey little brother, why are you so desperate to be with Qi Beisong? You are young and pretty, why can't you find anyone else? Why do you have to pick up a junky thing..."
Zheng Haiping stamped his feet: "Big sister!"
Sister Qi then gave Cheng Ji a huge pigeon egg diamond ring.
"..." Cheng Ji asked, "What is this?"
"This was left by my great-grandmother to the daughter-in-law of the old Qi family. My mother originally thought it was too much of a burden for me to keep it, but I'm not one to put on makeup, so I was bothered by it. Now it finally has an owner!" Sister Qi said with a smile, "It was made in Europe in 1888. The big diamond is 10 carats, and the small diamonds are negligible."
"I am not ..."
Sister Qi must have practiced grappling techniques before, as Cheng Ji was held down by her and couldn't escape!
"This small gift is not enough to show my respect. When Beisong gets better, I will get you a 20-carat one."
Cheng Ji thought, why would a man like me need a 20-carat ring? Is it for brass knuckles
"I'm really not..."
Sister Qi pulled his hand and forced him to wear it. Zheng Haiping stood aside and watched the two of them arm wrestling silently, not taking sides.
Finally, Sister Qi won. She proudly punched Cheng Ji in the chest, then walked away shaking her hair.
"..." Cheng Ji was nearly beaten to death by her.
Zheng Haiping whispered to Cheng Ji: "Back then, our courtyard had quarrels with the courtyard next door every other day. Although your eldest sister-in-law was a woman, she was a capable general and was known as Commander Qi."
"..." Cheng Ji said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier..."
He took off the ring and gave it back to Zheng Haiping, who asked in surprise, "Why did you give it to me?"
"Why would I want this?"
"If you don't want it, just sell it and buy some candy!"
Cheng Ji said, "Didn't the eldest sister say that this thing was passed down to the Qi family's daughter-in-law? You are also considered their son, so why don't you give it to Brother Lei?"
The two of them shuddered at the same time when they thought of Lei Jing, a muscular, burly man with a stubbled face, wearing a 10-carat lace diamond ring.
"… You should keep it." Zheng Haiping said, "If he really has that hobby, I'll buy it for him."
"… Um."
It was still not Cheng Ji's turn to visit Qi Beisong that day. Qi's father and old man Qi were waiting outside the ICU.
Qi's father is a busy man. After seeing his son, he has to go back to Lan Province. Even if he is reluctant, he has to leave him behind temporarily. Old man Qi is very capable. After walking out of the ICU, he said nothing and did not shed a single tear. He looked very tough.
Qi Beisong still hadn't woken up. When questioned, the hospital said it was because he was sedated with drugs. Besides, he had undergone a major surgery and would suffer pain if he woke up too early.
On the fourth day, Cheng Ji got up in the morning and tripped over the anti-slip mat before he even walked out of the hotel. Although it was just an accident, he had a bad feeling.
Later, Lei Jing called again, saying that the ICU had begun to reduce the dosage of sedatives or even stopped using them completely yesterday afternoon. Logically, Qi Beisong should have been able to be awakened by this morning and follow simple instructions, but he is still in a deep sleep and cannot be awakened when called. No one knows what went wrong.
This is terrible. First of all, it makes people worry about Qi Beisong's physical condition; secondly, he is the only one who knows who the shooter is, and the police, who have insufficient clues so far, are anxiously waiting for him to identify the murderer.
Cheng Ji walked towards the hospital worriedly. Just as he reached the gate, a man rushed out from the side and hugged him.
That was Lao Geng. He had probably just heard from somewhere that Qi Beisong was in trouble, so he hurried over, sweating profusely.
"Cheng'er! Why didn't you tell me what happened? If I hadn't asked Chen Chuan, I would still be kept in the dark!" Old Geng shouted, "How is Master Qi?"
Despite his bad mood, Cheng Ji still felt friendly and happy to see him, and explained: "I was afraid you would worry, so I didn't tell you."
He was embarrassed to admit that he had forgotten about Lao Geng in the past few days. He really was like forgetting his father after getting married. How unfilial!
Lao Geng asked, "I heard that Master Qi is in the ICU?"
"Well, it's not a big deal. At least my life is saved."
"That's good, that's good!" Lao Geng said repeatedly, "Do you know which bastard shot him with a gun?"
"We are checking."
Lao Geng looked around, pulled him aside and said, "I know who it is!"
Cheng Ji was startled.
"But I'm not sure." Lao Geng said, "Cheng'er, wasn't there a guy named Shen who cried and wanted to be friends with you a while ago, and even poisoned you? The last time I went to the SWAT team, I saw them put that guy's photo on the wall, together with the drug lords who had not yet been arrested. The police said he had fled abroad, but I clearly saw that guy a few days ago!"
"What??"
Old Geng said, "Well! Didn't the Living Buddha tell me that the victims of the case were all in the water? I thought that the body of Officer Wu from the special case team had not been found yet, how could I be worthy of the old hero and his family? So whenever I had time, I would wander around the bay and look for anything I thought looked like him. That day, I was looking through a pile of debris that had been washed ashore, and suddenly I saw a person standing under a rock by the sea."
"I was not far from him. I looked at him for a while and thought he looked familiar, but I didn't take it too seriously. Later I remembered that he was the guy named Shen. At that time, I had heard that he had escaped. How could he still be in Hongcheng?"
Cheng Ji lowered his head, his mind racing.
Lao Geng asked: "Do you think he was the one who shot Mr. Qi? Those two were rivals in love!"
Cheng Ji asked: "Did he find you?"
"No!" Lao Geng said, "I hid very well. Even if he saw me, he wouldn't recognize me. Besides, I was rummaging through the garbage, like a scavenger."
"Are you sure it was him?"
"Tsk, not sure." Lao Geng said, "I've only seen his photo."
He added: "And he may have help."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw him making a phone call," Lao Geng said, "and the call lasted quite a long time."
"When did you meet him?" Cheng Ji asked.
Old Geng counted on his fingers and found that it was the day Qi Beisong was shot. Qi Beisong was shot at around 5 or 6 in the afternoon, and Old Geng saw a man who looked like Shen Zimo at noon.
Cheng Ji hesitated and said, "Don't tell anyone else about this. In case you just recognized the wrong person, it might mislead the police investigation. I'll go ask Boss Lei."
Lao Geng agreed, and the two went into the ward building to look for Lei Jing, but he had already gone home to sleep after his shift, and only Chen Chuan and Zhao Jiarui were there.
Chen Chuan was talking to someone, and after a moment he hung up and said, "Something strange is going on!"
"What's wrong?" Cheng Ji asked.
Chen Chuan said, "I just asked Captain Xu for information. I heard that the police found a suspect through numerous surveillance comparisons. The experts also think that the physical features are very similar, but that person is definitely impossible because he escaped a while ago!"
Lao Geng and Cheng Ji looked at each other.
Chen Chuan added: "But ignoring the fact that he has already escaped, that man has the strongest motive for committing the crime. Old Qi has a grudge against him for stealing his wife!"
"… Stealing a husband." Cheng Ji was annoyed, "Is it Shen Zimo?"
"How do you know?" Chen Chuan asked.
Lao Geng said, “I saw it.”
Chen Chuan and Zhao Jiarui both gasped.
Everything went smoothly afterwards. Lao Geng was quickly taken to the police and began to recall over and over again the scene of seeing Shen Zimo on the beach.
But first of all, Lao Geng had never met Shen Zimo before, he had only seen his photo, so the reliability of his testimony was discounted.
Secondly, Lao Geng had a serious criminal record and was the target of a severe crackdown back then, so the police did not dare to trust him completely.
So the technicians found many more photos for him to choose from, and he was actually able to pick out all the few photos of Shen Zimo, which indirectly proved that he was not mistaken at the time.
Things became complicated, and everyone was wondering if Shen Zimo had the ability to create clones.
Since this person was able to stay in the country and shoot Qi Beisong, then who was the one who fled to country K a few days ago and then went to country R
No matter who it is, there is no evidence to support it: Country K's economy lags behind its own by 40 to 50 years, and it is still an agricultural country without a sound investigative system; Country R has been in civil war for years, and everyone is worried about their safety, making it a huge mess.
However, domestic surveillance showed that this person clearly passed security and border inspection.
Someone raised the question of whether it was possible that the person who boarded the plane last time was someone who looked similar to Shen Zimo, and not Shen Zimo himself.
This speculation should be very close to the facts. There is always a loophole to find at any level as long as you are determined to break through, and sometimes all it takes is a thin fingerprint film.
Moreover, Hongcheng International Airport has an annual passenger throughput of 80 million and a monthly throughput of more than 6 million. Even if the error rate is only one in a million, it will be shared by six people in a month.
The police needed to work overtime, so Cheng Ji and his team returned to the hospital.
After waiting for another day, we got even worse news—Qi Beisong still hadn't woken up. Even the doctor was panicked.
They began to use various methods to wake him up, but he fell into a deep sleep like Ms. Cheng, and no matter how strong the wind blew, he remained motionless.
Cheng Ji was very anxious but didn't dare show it. He spent most of his time biting his nails and shaking his legs. The more he shook, the more anxious he became.
He had been deliberately avoiding the Qi family, and now he even dared not see the eldest sister, Commander Qi, because if it was really Shen Zimo who shot Qi Beisong, it would be a murder of passion, and he would be to blame.
Day after day passed, until the seventh day, when Qi Beisong's surgical wounds had healed, but he was still not conscious. Everyone had a worried look on their faces, even Chen Chuan and the others who usually loved to make noises and talkativeness dared not say a word.
No matter how much Cheng Ji could bear it, he almost had a mental breakdown at this moment.
He had never agreed to go to the ICU to visit Qi Beisong. It was not because he didn't want to see him, but he was afraid that he would not be able to control his emotions and would cry in front of the bed.
Finally, the police received confirmed news: the person who shot Qi Beisong was Shen Zimo.
They did not make a breakthrough from the vast amount of surveillance videos, but instead captured a person involved in the case who admitted to providing Shen Zimo with a gun the day before Qi Beisong was attacked.
In addition, news came from the intelligence line of country R that a new guy had just defected to the main culprit of the group. It was said that this guy was smart and vicious. He first played a trick to make others think that he had gone abroad, but in fact he secretly stayed in the country and killed his rival, and then escaped using a fake identity. His trick was flawless.
It's true that you have a thousand tricks and I have a ladder to climb over the wall. The police cooperation is indeed powerful, and the criminal gangs are also deeply rooted in Hongcheng. It is easy to help one or two people escape abroad.
Cheng Ji was so angry that his face turned pale and he couldn't utter a word.
Thanks to his brothers' help, except for a limited number of people, no one in the Qi family knew about his relationship with Shen Zimo, thus avoiding some embarrassment.
On the tenth day, the hospital finally admitted that they were unable to wake Qi Beisong up.
Qi Beisong's coma was not a medical accident, and the rescue procedures were flawless. He was probably just unlucky, and the long time of suffocation in the sea led to such serious complications.
This conclusion almost drove Old Lady Qi crazy on the spot. Fortunately, Zheng Haiping and others were well prepared. That afternoon they began preparing to send Qi Beisong to Country M, which has the best hospitals in the world and the most advanced patient awakening technology.
They did not admit that Qi Beisong had fallen into a vegetative state and simply assumed that he was asleep.
Before leaving, Zheng Haiping talked to Cheng Ji in detail and wanted to take him with him.
Cheng Ji asked: "When is the flight?"
"Tomorrow morning," Zheng Haiping said. "We have chartered a private plane. Beisong and we have already completed the formalities. Yours is in the process."
Cheng Ji asked: "Me?"
Zheng Haiping said earnestly: "You have to come with us. With you around, Beisong might get better faster. Don't underestimate his feelings for you."
Cheng Ji lowered his eyelashes.
During the days Qi Beisong was hospitalized, he was basically insomniac. His face was pale and dark under his eyes. He licked his dry and cracked lips and suddenly asked, "Is it okay if I don't go?"
Zheng Haiping didn't expect him to answer like this. He was stunned for a moment and asked, "... Then where are you going?"
Cheng Ji said: "I want to go to country R."
Zheng Haiping suddenly stood up: "What?"
Cheng Ji repeated: "I'm going to country R to hunt down Shen Zimo."
Zheng Haiping asked: "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy." Cheng Ji said, "I'm going to arrest someone."
"You're crazy, you're crazy." Zheng Haiping scolded softly, "How am I going to explain to Qi Beisong if anything happens to you? You're not a policeman, nor a soldier, why are you going to Country R?!"
"It is precisely because I am not a police officer or a soldier that I can go. I am an adult, an ordinary college student. As long as my passport allows, I can go wherever I want." Cheng Ji said, "I want to go to Country R."
"I won't allow it!" Zheng Haiping asked through gritted teeth, "Who gave you the idea? Lao Lei?"
"No." Cheng Ji shook his head, "I myself."
"Don't even think about it!"
Cheng Ji raised his head, his eyes full of pleading: "Brother Hai, I told you this because I trust you. If I turn around and leave without saying a word, you can't control me, right?"
Zheng Haiping was extremely angry, without his usual calm and composure: "You are my family, you are my baby Qi! As long as you stay in my house for one day, you will be under my control!"
Cheng Ji smiled gently, took out the 10-carat diamond ring from his pocket and gently placed it in Zheng Haiping's hand.
"Brother Hai, I know you are doing this for my own good, but I have made up my mind." Cheng Ji said, "Please help me return the ring to my elder sister. From now on, I am not Qi Baobei, I am not your family, I am just your brother. I want to pursue the murderer as a brother, I can't tolerate the person who shot Qi Beisong to go unpunished!"
"Bah!" Zheng Haiping spat, "You and Qi Beisong are not brothers at all! Do you feel guilty for saying this? If he is a brother, he will get excited when he sees you? If he is a brother, he will follow you like a dog? He just likes you, loves you, and treats you as his sweetheart! Even if he dies immediately, he doesn't want you to brave the hail of bullets for him or seek justice!"
Cheng Ji said: "I'm not just doing this for him. There are several more lives lost in the hands of those drug dealers."
Zheng Haiping interrupted: "Are you willing to leave Beisong alone in Country M? Do you know how serious his condition is? If he can't be awakened within six months, the chances of him waking up will be slim!"
He shouted in a rare manner: "Of course we have the ability to keep him breathing and his heartbeat going for ten, twenty, or thirty years! But in fact, there is no such person as Qi Beisong in this world. He is alive lying in bed, but he is not him, not my brother, not your wife. He will never play with you, smile at you, or say those stupid things to you again. Can you bear to let him go, Cheng Ji?!"
Cheng Ji lowered his head, tears streaming down his face.
Zheng Haiping knew that his words had been too harsh.
"Xiao...Xiao Cheng," he said to make amends, "Beisong will definitely wake up, and it will definitely not take six months! The hospital we are going to is the best in the world. They have even awakened people who have been in a coma for fifteen years. After Beisong goes there, maybe it will only take six weeks, no, six days, for him to wake up!"
Cheng Ji raised his face, his eyes were full of tears, but there was blood on his pale lips, which was caused by his biting just now.
"... Brother Hai," he spoke with a heavy nasal tone, but his logic was still clear, "In fact, you know in your heart that I can't help with any treatment. Of course, I can call him in Qi Beisong's ear, shouting twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, until my throat bleeds. I can do it! But it's useless..."
"The other day, the doctors were chatting and I heard that waking up a vegetative patient is a world-class problem and countless top experts have failed. Those who can wake up from a deep sleep are all determined by fate, chance, and metaphysics. It is not enough to just rely on the calls of relatives. What relatives can do is to take good care of the patient, keep the patient's body active, maintain hope, and wait for a miracle to happen."
Cheng Ji raised his head, his red eyes were watery: "Brother Hai, please let me go somewhere useful. Whether Qi Beisong can wake up or not, what I do is meaningful to him. My master used to say that if the road is uneven, someone will shovel it. I want to shovel the road and fight those bastards to the end. Please let me go!"
Zheng Haiping looked at him in a daze.
"… No… "
"Let him go." Someone interrupted at the door.
Zheng Haiping and Cheng Ji turned their heads together and saw that it was Lei Jing.
"Let him go. They have tacitly agreed." Lei Jing said, "Form a small team. Hire two or three professionals from abroad and three from China who are willing to go. They will have no identities or affiliations. They will have a single line of contact and will be exempt from mutual liability. They will not be made public. They will have only one goal, which is to track down the main criminals until the higher-ups agree to send combatants to attack them."
Zheng Haiping asked: "Who will pay for it?"
"It will be deducted from the reward money, and..." Lei Jing said, "I will pay."
"you?"
Lei Jing touched his pocket and said, "I saved some private money. I'm sorry I kept it from you for several years. It's all from not smoking..."
"Old Lei!" Zheng Haiping roared.
Lei Jing's hands froze.
He said slowly, "… Haiping, let Xiao Cheng go. He will collapse if he follows us. He is almost collapsed now. Can't you see that he is blaming himself? Do you want him to guard the unconscious Beisong every day and want to cut his wrists twice a day to relieve his guilt? He did nothing wrong and he shouldn't have to endure this."
"Then he deserves to be buried in that powder keg of Country R?" Zheng Haiping said, "He will die!"
"I can't do it!" Cheng Ji shouted, "I'm a professional! I'm awesome!"
Ever since he heard Lei Jing say that he was forming a team, he felt like he had been given a shot of chicken blood. He wanted to jump up immediately, and the bright smile that he hadn't seen for a long time also returned.
"Brother Lei, I'm signing up!" He raised his hand high like a primary school student, "I want to be the captain!"
"Fuck you!" Zheng Haiping cursed.
"Who else is going? Do you need me to find my teammates?" he asked Lei Jing excitedly.
Lei Jing was happy to see that he finally had some spirit, and said, "Someone has already signed up, and that's your godfather Geng Chunbiao."
"Huh?" Cheng Ji was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Great! My godfather was also the best fighter in Hongcheng!"
"What a thug!" Zheng Haiping continued to curse.
Lei Jing turned to Zheng Haiping, but the latter ignored him angrily.
"Haiping," Lei Jing said, "I promise you that I won't go anywhere. I will stay with you and won't leave you even for a moment. Okay?"
"I want you to promise?!" Zheng Haiping was still fierce.
Cheng Ji said excitedly: "Brother Hai, Brother Hai, I promise that I can catch the Shen guy in less than half a year, and then we will go to Country M to join you in victory!"
"I don't want to see you!!" Zheng Haiping roared.
He slammed the door and left.
"… "
Lei Jing said to Cheng Ji: "It's okay, he is not an unreasonable person, he will come back when he thinks it through. He is just worried about you. After all, Country R is a war zone, and there will be casualties in war."
Cheng Ji said I know, and then asked: "What do I need to prepare?"
Lei Jing smiled and said, "I am going to meet Captain Xu from the Special Police Detachment."