Shen Ruozhen completely lost consciousness.
On the rescue helicopter, emergency personnel surrounded Shen Ruozhen to check him and quickly put a blood bag on him. Xiang Mingzhang stood by and held one of Shen Ruozhen's hands the whole time.
He wanted to trick himself into thinking he couldn't feel it, but his hand was losing temperature and getting colder and colder, and he couldn't warm it up no matter what he did.
Xiang Mingzhang asked anxiously: "How is he?"
The two paramedics exchanged glances, and one of them hesitantly said, "The bullet hit the heart, which is very dangerous."
"So?" Xiang Mingzhang asked, "How is he now?"
The emergency personnel said politely: "The vital signs are weak."
Xiang Mingzhang pretended not to understand: "Save him, please save him, I will give you anything, please can you please save him?"
The paramedic said, "Don't get excited, sir. We are telling you this so that you can be mentally prepared."
"What preparations?" Xiang Mingzhang said, "How should I prepare? You guys try again, he... he is different, he won't die easily."
The emergency personnel had no choice but to say reluctantly: "The situation is indeed not optimistic. I'm afraid it's more likely to be fatal."
With a loud "bang", Xiang Mingzhang looked sideways at the sky below and saw a terrifying ball of fire rising from the blue sea. The yacht exploded.
The deafening sound hit everyone's eardrums, except Shen Ruozhen, who was unaware of it. He was silent and motionless, but the warm blood was more frightening than the erupting red flames.
Shen Ruozhen was still bleeding, and his pure white shirt was stained red, spreading from his chest to his lapel, corners of his clothes, and ribs. It was bright red everywhere, as if it flowed into Xiang Mingzhang's eyes, causing stinging if he blinked.
So Xiang Mingzhang didn't dare to blink. He kept his eyes open, staring at Shen Ruozhen without moving away.
Xiang Mingzhang had no idea how he had gotten through all this bumpy journey by land, sea and air. There were many people following him and someone was talking all the time, but he couldn't hear them. However, he had hallucinations several times and thought Shen Ruozhen had woken up and was calling him.
After arriving at the hospital, Shen Ruozhen was immediately sent to the operating room for emergency treatment.
Because the accident was serious, many medical staff were alarmed. Xiang Mingzhang was blocked outside the operating room and was at a loss facing the closed door.
After a while, someone called him anxiously: "Mr. Xiang!"
Xiang Mingzhang turned around with a numb face and saw Xu Liao running towards him from the corridor, followed by several uniformed policemen.
Yesterday evening, Xu Liao accompanied Bai Yongti to New Zealand. He sent a message to Xiang Mingzhang while waiting for the flight. When they were about to board the plane, Bai Yongti suddenly felt uneasy.
Mrs. Chu was timid and became nervous as well. In order to appease them and also for fear of flight information leakage, Xu Liao temporarily changed the route to another one that required a transfer.
During the midnight transfer, Bai Yongti became increasingly uneasy. Xu Liao thought it was because she hadn't been out for too long, but Bai Yongti denied it. Perhaps it was a special feeling between mother and son, so she wanted to call Xiang Mingzhang.
Xu Liao then realized that he could not contact Xiang Mingzhang. He called Chu Shichen again, but no one answered.
Xu Liao immediately went to ask the security chief of the party and learned that Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen were taken back to Jingpu Mansion together and were drunk.
The party must be strictly guarded, Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen would not be drunk, Xu Liao immediately became suspicious, Bai Yongti asked him to rush back to confirm it personally.
Xu Liao took the last flight back, but still couldn't contact Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen. Fearing of wasting time, he called the police directly.
When Xu Liao discovered that the Panamera had been to the beach, his alarm bells rang and he guessed it was almost right.
Police mobilized the maritime rescue team and found the yacht at dawn.
On the way to the hospital, Xu Liao heard that someone was shot and the mastermind behind the incident was Xiang Xingzhao. He thought Xiang Mingzhang was in danger, but unexpectedly, Xiang Mingzhang was wandering at the door of the operating room in a daze.
Xu Liao asked worriedly, "Is Mr. Chu injured?"
Xiang Mingzhang's eyes flashed back to the scene of Shen Ruozhen being shot, and then he shuddered. He came to his senses in a cold sweat and wiped his face. Dust, blood and tears covered the lines on his palms stickily.
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Find the best experts and get the best doctors from all hospitals."
Xu Liao said: "This hospital is top-notch. If necessary, resources will be mobilized. Don't worry."
The police needed to talk to the person involved to understand what happened, but Xiang Mingzhang was in such a bad condition that the police stopped a passing nurse and said, "He's injured, help him take care of it."
The nurse responded, "Okay, sir, please follow me."
Xiang Mingzhang didn't want to go anywhere: "No, I have to wait for someone."
Xu Liao said: "The operation will take a long time, you can bandage it and come back later."
Xiang Mingzhang simply couldn't listen: "No matter how long it takes, I won't leave. I'll wait here."
"Mr. Xiang, don't act on impulse." Xu Liao advised, "You are bleeding. If the wound is not treated in time, it will become infected."
Xiang Mingzhang stubbornly refuted: "This little bit of blood is nothing compared to the blood he shed. It's just an infection. How painful can it be?"
He asked himself and answered: "The bullet shot into his chest and injured his heart. He lay in my arms dying and said it hurt. I could do nothing."
This was the first time Xu Liao saw Xiang Mingzhang like this. He asked the police to take a break and the area in front of the operating room was empty.
In less than half an hour, two more medical staff hurried past and entered the operating center.
Xiang Mingzhang's heart was pounding. He wished he could pass through the wall to check on Shen Ruozhen. How was the situation? Had the bleeding stopped
Was the bullet removed
He hoped that the operation would be completed smoothly and the indicator light on the door would go out, but he was afraid that if it went out unexpectedly, he would receive bad news.
Should he kneel down and beg the gods and Buddhas? But after so many years of bad attitude, will the gods and Buddhas be moved or will they take the opportunity to punish him
He was afraid to think about it, but he kept thinking... Will Shen Ruozhen die
Or will it disappear to another place
His confused thoughts came to an abrupt end. Xiang Mingzhang froze for half a minute. He turned around and saw Xu Liao standing in the corridor a few meters away waiting with him.
Xiang Mingzhang walked towards Xu Liao with big, heavy steps. He showed a calmness on the verge of an explosion and asked, "Where is Xiang Long now?"
Xu Liao said: "Still in California."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Tell someone to get ready."
Xu Liao saw that he looked gloomy and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to kill him." Xiang Mingzhang raised his hand and pointed at the operating room, his voice was very light, "If anything happens in there, let Xiang Long die immediately. I want him to pay with his life, and let Xiang Xingzhao have a taste of what it feels like."
Xu Liao was stunned and said, "Mr. Xiang, don't be impulsive."
Xiang Mingzhang then instructed: "Notify Xiang Huan and Xiang Kun, tell the board of directors and all Xiang Yue shareholders, as well as the journalists and news agencies, to spread the news—Xiang Xingzhao kidnapped his grandson, and he wants to murder me."
Xu Liao tried to grab Xiang Mingzhang's shoulders and said, "All accounts will be settled. You need to calm down now."
Xiang Mingzhang turned a deaf ear to him and counted the items: "Xiang Long died in a foreign country, Xiang Yue was embroiled in scandal. Xiang Xingzhao's son, property, and his life..."
Xu Liao could hardly catch him: "Mr. Xiang!"
Xiang Mingzhang raised his hands to break free, furious and desperate: "If Shen Ruozhen dies, then everything will be of no use!"
Xu Liao had no time to worry about the name "Shen Ruozhen". He took a step back and said, "You are crazy."
"I'm crazy," Xiang Mingzhang said. "He actually took a bullet to save me. I should be the one to be shot, and I should be the one lying in the hole suffering."
Xu Liao was not good at speaking, so he could only say, "He cares about you and hopes that you will be safe."
"Don't try to trick me." Xiang Mingzhang said, "It's just that the beneficiaries are trying to make themselves feel at ease."
Xu Liao asked: "Will you feel at ease? You won't. So wake up and you still have to deal with the things that will happen next."
Xiang Mingzhang asked back, "What are you dealing with? If there's bad news after the operation, I'll go in and use the scalpel he used to cut myself, and maybe I'll still have time to catch up with him."
Xu Liao was speechless. Bai Yongti was already worried, and he had to make sure that nothing happened to Xiang Mingzhang again.
The police who were waiting in the distance came to help, as did two doctors. A group of three or five people used brute force to control Xiang Mingzhang and injected him with a sedative.
His whole body was in pain, and the needle pricks felt like insect bites. Xiang Mingzhang could not feel the medicine being injected into his body. Instead, he felt that the remaining bit of energy was being sucked away.
Xiang Mingzhang sat down on the bench dejectedly, with his back hunched, head lowered, and his arms resting on his knees.
He opened his right palm, which had been holding Shen Ruozhen's hand all the way, and slowly covered his face with it.
Hot tears overflowed from between her fingers, falling drop by drop at his feet.
There is always a "ticking" sound in the hospital. Tears, infusion bottles, monitoring equipment, and the clock come last.
I lost count of how many times the minute hand moved around before the surgery indicator light went out.
Xiang Mingzhang stood up, rushed to the door and stopped two meters away, waiting anxiously but not daring to get closer.
The door of the operating room slowly opened, and two doctors walked out tiredly and asked: "The patient's family—"
"I am." Xiang Mingzhang took another step forward, his face full of spots, unable to hide his timidity, "How is he...?"
The doctor held a sterilized tray and said, "It was a very thrilling and lucky situation. The bullet hit a pocket watch and missed the fatal position of the heart."
Xiang Mingzhang was startled and asked, "... pocket watch?"
The doctor handed it to him and said, "It's a hair's breadth of difference. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous."
On the tray, Shen Ruozhen's silver pocket watch was soaked in blood. The cover and dial were shattered by bullets, revealing the red-stained steel movement.
The “卍” pattern disappeared, saving his life.
(End of this chapter)