Chapter 697 — The Urge to Die

"The ringleader, a man known only by the code name Tattooed Man, has been arrested. But the surgeon who performed the operations took his own life rather than face the charges," Qiu Lingshan said flatly. "Whether there's still some hidden chain of interests behind this criminal syndicate, no one knows. The police are digging deeper..."

Everything Qiu Lingshan said could be learned through official channels, but An Liwen lay shut up in his hospital room, cut off from the news, and naturally knew little of it. When he heard that the Tattooed Man had been caught and the chief surgeon had killed himself, a wave of dizziness swept over him. His kidney-harvesting ring! If even the surgeon was dead, what would become of him? He had pinned all his hopes on that man swapping his kidney back!

Now it was all over. Even if he found Zhong Yongliang, he could never find the man who would transplant the kidney back. What legitimate hospital would perform such an operation? And he certainly could not tell the police, or they would ask: how do you know the kidney inside Zhong Yongliang is yours?

Noticing the unnatural look on An Liwen's face, Chen Yuxuan assumed he was brooding over old wounds again and hurried to console him: "Brother Jianwen, bear up. It's a mercy you've only lost one kidney and your life is no longer in danger. When you've found a way, you can always have a transplant."

An Liwen could only answer with a bitter smile. Losing a kidney was not the worst of it; the worst was knowing exactly where his kidney was and being powerless to take it back. That was the true torment. And then there was his kidney-harvesting ring, the fruit of all his labor!

When An Liwen returned to Songshan from overseas, part of his purpose had been to pursue Gu Mengyao, but he had also meant to build a career of his own. And his career had flourished, his results climbing year on year, surpassing by several times the business his elder brother oversaw in Songshan. The An family and the Fire Wolf Gang had praised him alike. Precisely because of all this, he had been dreaming of grander plans—only for a bucket of cold water to come down on his head, snuffing out his great ambitions in an instant...

"An Liwen, rest assured, the police will see that justice is done for you. The criminals have been brought to book. We hope you will appear in court and testify when the trial begins," said Qiu Lingshan, who had come on behalf of the police. Though she had little liking for An Liwen, he was, after all, the victim, and there were things she still had to say.

"All right..." An Liwen's heart was bleeding. He, of all people, testifying against his own criminal ring? Was there anyone else in the world who had ever been reduced to this? But he had no choice. Afraid that Qiu Lingshan might grow suspicious, he swallowed the pain and nodded. "I'll testify..."

"Brother Jianwen, how about this—I'll call Xiaoshu and see if she's with Yaoyao. I'll have them come over and see you too!" Seeing how pitiful An Liwen looked, Chen Yuxuan was moved to sympathy. If Gu Mengyao came to visit, he thought, An Liwen might feel a little better...

An Liwen was elated. So Chen Yuxuan truly knows my heart! he thought. No wonder we were once two of the Four Young Masters of Songshan—he really does care about me! Seeing me in such a wretched state, Gu Mengyao will surely pity me. With a girl's maternal instincts aroused, I may yet have my chance!

An Liwen knew that Gu Mengyao, though cold on the surface, was kind at heart. Otherwise, back at the amusement park, she would never have let Wei Zhao save him. So he wholeheartedly approved of Gu Mengyao coming to visit—it was only Shen Yushu he was wary of. That girl was a pure troublemaker who thrived on chaos; seeing him in this miserable state, she would most likely clap her hands and wish him dead!

But what Shen Yushu thought was no concern of An Liwen's—he did not like her anyway. A girl like that he wouldn't take even if she threw herself at him; he could never handle her. Bring her into the house and how could a man live? She might even castrate him in the middle of the night!

So An Liwen had always kept Shen Yushu at arm's length, never wanting to provoke her, yet never daring to offend her either. Who made her Gu Mengyao's closest friend?

"Then I'll trouble you! Brother Yutian, true friends show themselves in adversity!" An Liwen was deeply touched. That Chen Yuxuan could show him such care while he lay injured made him feel quite comforted.

Chen Yuxuan dialed his sister Shen Yushu's number.

Shen Yushu had just returned to the ward with Gu Mengyao. Holding Gu Mengyao's hand and looking at her stern expression, she said with a grin, "Yaoyao, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy? You cheated death—you should be happy, you got your life back! Look at me: every time I play Super Mario Bros. II with you and I hit a B and don't die, I cheer!"

"..." Gu Mengyao glared at Shen Yushu. "How is that anything like a game? Besides, Wei Zhao has seen you—would you be happy about that?"

"Oh, but I'm not unhappy either. He saw me, so what? I'm going to marry him someday anyway, and then he'll see everything, won't he? When we have a threesome, he'll see it all!" Shen Yushu said, ticking off her fingers. "So he just saw it a little early. What does it matter?"

"..." Gu Mengyao rolled her eyes. She found she simply could not get through to Shen Yushu. Who knew whether there was even such a thing as chastity in that girl's head? Wei Zhao had seen her, and it seemed to bother her not at all; she lived happily every day, merrier than anyone.

Fools truly had the luck of fools—with a head that simple, one never fretted over gains and losses.

"When did I ever say I'd marry him?" Gu Mengyao snorted. "No—you and Wei Zhao must keep this a secret for me, or I'll never be able to marry anyone!"

"Oh, don't worry, only the three of us will ever know. Family business doesn't get shown or told to outsiders!" Shen Yushu nodded.

Gu Mengyao was speechless. She found that Shen Yushu either had not understood a word she said, or was pretending not to. Gu Mengyao suddenly realized what a formidable mind her friend had: when she wanted to understand something, she caught on faster than anyone; when she did not, nothing you said made any difference...

"You are not to mention this again!" Gu Mengyao had to settle for a lower demand, warning Shen Yushu.

"All right, I won't say a word!" Shen Yushu nodded. "Yaoyao, so what do we do now? It's so boring in the hospital, I don't want to stay here anymore—the smell of disinfectant is making me dizzy!"

Gu Mengyao did not really want to stay in the hospital either. Though she had only just recovered from her coma, her whole body was brimming with inexhaustible strength, and she had no idea what Wei Zhao had done to her. Even as she felt grateful, the thought that he had seen her body - and worse still, that it had happened in front of him - made her want to die of shame.