Chapter 413 — Changing Tactics

Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Qiu Lingshan was instantly overjoyed. Wei Zhao, it seemed, could be coaxed but not coerced; clearly, when asking him for a favor, she would have to change her tactics a little and give him no room to refuse.

"That man—the one the lunatic killer stabbed the other day—is there any way you can wake him up?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"Which one? The one in Guan Xin's hospital room, the one who was taken hostage?" Wei Zhao thought it over. The only lunatic killer he knew of was that fellow from the other day.

"That's the one. He's comatose now, kept alive on a ventilator. Can you do anything?" Qiu Lingshan asked, full of hope.

"Oh..." In fact, Wei Zhao had examined Liu Bojia's condition that day. It was serious—very serious.

"Well? Can you or can't you?" Seeing Wei Zhao fall silent, Qiu Lingshan pressed him.

"Is there any benefit in it for me?" Wei Zhao thought a moment, then asked.

"Benefit..." Qiu Lingshan was about to say no, but then she reconsidered—Wei Zhao wasn't with the police; he had no obligation to help her day in and day out. "I can apply to make you an honorary officer. You'd draw a salary each month—not much, though..."

"Not interested." Wei Zhao refused outright. What kind of benefit was that? For a pittance of a salary, he'd probably end up being dragooned by Qiu Lingshan into doing hard labor every day of his life.

"Then what benefit do you want?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"Put it on the tab for now—I can't think of anything offhand." Wei Zhao hadn't actually wanted any benefit; it was just something to say. Helping Song Xiaoniuer was, in truth, the same as helping Yang Huaijun. Surely it was Yang Huaijun who had put Qiu Lingshan up to this. Even if he wouldn't help Qiu Lingshan, he owed Yang Huaijun some face. So he said, "Where's the patient? I'll go take a look."

"The critical care ward on the twelfth floor. You'll see it the moment you step off the elevator; our people are at the door." Qiu Lingshan had still been wondering what benefit Wei Zhao would demand, never expecting him to agree so offhandedly.

"All right, wait for me." Wei Zhao hung up and said to Tang Zhi, "Want to come up with me?"

"You go take care of business—I won't get in the way... I'll stay down here with Dad." Tang Zhi hesitated. Qiu Lingshan was beautiful, and that gave her a certain sense of urgency—but from the look of things, Wei Zhao didn't like Qiu Lingshan at all. Otherwise he couldn't have called her a brain-dead girl every other sentence. Besides, Wei Zhao wasn't going off to play; he was going to attend to serious business.

"All right then. I'll come find you in a bit and we'll head back to school together." Wei Zhao nodded, pushed open the door, and walked out of the ward.

Wei Zhao took the elevator to the twelfth floor. Sure enough, the moment he stepped out, he spotted two ** seated at the door of one of the wards. Wei Zhao walked over briskly.

"Mr. Wei Zhao, is it? Captain Song is waiting for you inside." The ** at the door, having received Qiu Lingshan's instructions, nodded to Wei Zhao, signaling that he could go in.

Wei Zhao entered the ward and saw a large ventilator, and beneath it lay a man—Liu Bojia, from that day. He had grown thin and haggard, while Qiu Lingshan stood beside the ventilator at her wit's end. Seeing Wei Zhao come in, she quickly asked, "Wei Zhao, is there anything you can do?"

Wei Zhao said nothing. He walked over and carefully examined Liu Bojia's condition. After quite a while, he slowly shook his head and uttered three words: "Very troublesome."

Troublesome—but Wei Zhao hadn't said it was impossible! That meant there was a way! Her taut nerves instantly relaxed. Qiu Lingshan said, "You have a way?"

"I do, but I don't think it's worth it—a waste of effort." Wei Zhao shook his head.

Qiu Lingshan gritted her teeth. She didn't think Wei Zhao was putting on airs on purpose; Doctor Yang had already described the situation, and the hospital had no solution at present. If Wei Zhao had a way, it certainly wouldn't be simple.

"I—I'm begging you, brain-dead girl and all—won't that do?" Qiu Lingshan clenched her jaw and forced the words out. She had Wei Zhao pegged now: coax him, don't coerce him. The nickname "brain-dead girl" made her want to die—and to drag Wei Zhao down with her—but to get him to act, Qiu Lingshan endured it. In her heart she swore an oath: one day, if Wei Zhao ever fell into her hands, she would absolutely not let him off easy!

"Heh. I'll give it a try." Wei Zhao was somewhat helpless; with Qiu Lingshan putting it that way, he really couldn't refuse. "But my medical skills aren't up to much right now. I can only wake him up—how long he'll live after that, I can't guarantee. There are too many things wrong with his body."

"You mean you can still hope to cure him—not just wake him briefly?" Qiu Lingshan had caught the implication in Wei Zhao's words.

"I can't—but my old man can, more or less," Wei Zhao said. "Only he won't be coming. So if you want him dead, I'll wake him up for you right now. If you want him alive, then don't touch him for the time being. Let him lie there."

"That..." Qiu Lingshan was caught in a dilemma. It was true that she wanted to find a lead as quickly as possible, but if Wei Zhao had a hope of healing Liu Bojia's injuries, she would rather forgo that lead for now.

Before, there had been no way around it—getting Liu Bojia to say a few words had already been quite good. But now that Wei Zhao had a way, she could not let an innocent person be sacrificed for nothing.

"Think it over, then call me. I need to get back." Wei Zhao knew what Qiu Lingshan was thinking, and smiled. "The lunch break won't last forever."

"No need to think it over. Treat him once you've found a way." Qiu Lingshan shook her head.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was rather surprised. He had not expected Qiu Lingshan to be so decisive; he had underestimated her before. Her sense of justice and responsibility was quite strong. "All right, I'll do my best and get back to you as soon as I can."

Now it was Qiu Lingshan's turn to be surprised. She had not expected Wei Zhao to say such a thing. Whenever she had sought him out before, he had either made excuses or found every reason to refuse. But this time, he had volunteered to do his best—and as soon as possible, no less!

For a moment Qiu Lingshan could not adjust. Wasn't this change too sudden? Could it be the effect of her own soft approach earlier? It must be—so he really did respond to softness and not force!

"Then the brain-dead girl will wait for your call..." Though Qiu Lingshan found the words awkward and humiliating to say, it was just as well that her subordinates were all outside and no one had seen or heard; she could treat it as a private whisper between herself and Wei Zhao. So long as the boy really was willing to help, a little brainlessness on her part did not matter. Who told him to actually be more capable than she was?

Wei Zhao looked at Qiu Lingshan as though he did not recognize her. In that short while she had called herself a brain-dead girl three times already. To beg someone for help, she was even willing to insult herself?

Still, it would do her some good to have her pride taken down a notch, so Wei Zhao made no effort to correct her. "All right, I'm off."