The three of them entered the First Inpatient Building, climbed to the second floor, and arrived at the door of Room 218, only to find police officers patrolling nearby. Seeing the three about to enter the ward, someone immediately stepped up to block them. "May I ask who the three of you have come to see?"

Chen Yutian had come with Qiu Lingshan earlier, so the officers on guard here naturally waved him through. But Wei Zhao, Gu Mengyao, and Shen Yushu—harmless as they might look—could not be taken lightly either.

"We're here to see An Jianwen," Wei Zhao said. He had not expected An Jianwen to be under police protection.

"An Jianwen is one of the victims under our protection. May I have your names? I need to check with the party concerned and with my supervising officer first..." the officer on guard asked.

"Who's your supervising officer? Qiu Lingshan? Or Liu Wangli?" Wei Zhao had not expected that visiting An Jianwen would be such a nuisance.

"You... know Captain Qiu and Squad Leader Liu?" The guard was momentarily stunned. "Captain Qiu is inside. Wait a moment—I'll go call her."

Hearing that Wei Zhao knew not only his own squad leader, Liu Wangli, but the captain, Qiu Lingshan, as well, he did not dare be negligent. Having said this to Wei Zhao, he went into the ward.

"Captain Qiu, there are people at the door who want to visit An Jianwen, and they say they know you..." the guard reported.

"They know me?" Qiu Lingshan was slightly taken aback. "I'll go out and take a look."

When Qiu Lingshan came out of the ward, she saw Wei Zhao, Gu Mengyao, and Shen Yushu. That Wei Zhao had come to see An Jianwen struck her as strange—did Wei Zhao know An Jianwen?

"Wei Zhao?" Qiu Lingshan glanced at him, her expression a little unnatural, because Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were standing right there. But she quickly recovered her composure. What was she afraid of? They were not Wei Zhao's girlfriends. Whatever relationship she had with Wei Zhao was none of their business.

"Why is An Jianwen under protection?" Wei Zhao asked.

"He's one of the victims of the kidney-harvesting syndicate. We need him to testify in court," Qiu Lingshan said. "You know him?"

"I know him. Not well." Wei Zhao shrugged, finding it a little funny—An Jianwen testifying against his own criminal gang? An Jianwen might be the mastermind of the case, but by now he had likely destroyed every scrap of evidence. Wei Zhao could not be bothered to say any of this to Qiu Lingshan.

Qiu Lingshan nodded and followed behind Wei Zhao into the room, like a browbeaten little wife, not daring to walk ahead of him.

No one else noticed this detail. Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu paid it no mind, and Chen Yutian thought nothing of it—he simply could not believe that Qiu Lingshan had ever been browbeaten by anyone.

"Xiaoshu, Yaoyao... Wei Zhao, you've come." Chen Yutian was a little unnatural when he said Wei Zhao's name. Deep in his heart he held Wei Zhao in the utmost respect, calling him Instructor Eagle; to call Wei Zhao by name felt disrespectful to him.

When Shen Yushu saw her brother, and then Qiu Lingshan behind him, her face fell. She simply could not understand why her big brother was so pigheaded. Qiu Lingshan obviously did not like him, yet he kept doggedly pursuing her—it was utterly humiliating!

And that vixen Qiu Lingshan was a menace too; she really deserved a good lesson... Hm? Shen Yushu's eyes suddenly lit up. She had thought of a way.

When An Jianwen saw Gu Mengyao arrive, he was instantly delighted, while Shen Yushu beside her he automatically ignored. But when An Jianwen saw Wei Zhao behind Shen Yushu, his face went rigid!

Wei Zhao knew he was the head of the kidney-harvesting syndicate! That very morning he had been going to cut out Wei Zhao's kidney, and instead it had turned out to be his own... Still, Wei Zhao surely hated him. Could it be that Wei Zhao had saved Qiu Lingshan?

At this thought, An Jianwen's hatred for Wei Zhao deepened, and so did his fear! He was afraid Wei Zhao would inform Qiu Lingshan of his identity, and furious that Wei Zhao had destroyed in an instant the work of his heart. Only, he never stopped to consider: if he had not seized Wei Zhao and Qiu Lingshan, his kidney-harvesting syndicate would never have collapsed so quickly.

An Jianwen thought it over carefully and actually felt somewhat relieved, because even if Wei Zhao told Qiu Lingshan, so what? There was no evidence! Tattoo Man would surely hold out and never betray him, and Dr. Wang, the only other person who knew his identity, had killed himself. So who else could prove he was the head of the kidney-harvesting syndicate?

When the time came, he would simply deny everything to the death, and Qiu Lingshan could not do a thing to him! The An family was not to be trifled with; he trusted that Qiu Lingshan would not dare touch him without evidence. At this, An Jianwen felt much reassured, and said with a show of false warmth, "Brother Wei Zhao, you've come too? To think that even at a time like this you remember your elder brother—once I'm well, I'll certainly treat you to a meal!"

To preserve his image in Gu Mengyao's eyes, An Jianwen had no choice but to say this; otherwise, if Gu Mengyao thought him petty and small-minded, that would be terrible.

"Oh, Brother Jianwen, you're missing a kidney—can you really get well? You won't die, will you?" Shen Yushu spoke up before Wei Zhao could.

"Gah?" An Jianwen was stunned, his face instantly flushing red from Shen Yushu's words. He cursed inwardly: Damn it all, does losing a kidney kill you? Can't you go one minute without needling people? But An Jianwen truly did not dare curse Shen Yushu. He dared not offend the Chen family, especially with Chen Yutian right there in the ward! And more than that, Shen Yushu was Gu Mengyao's best friend—if he cursed her, did he still want things to go well for him?

"Xiaoshu, don't talk nonsense. Losing a kidney only affects your health somewhat; it won't kill you," Chen Yutian said, having no way with his little sister but to explain it to her.

"Oh, I see. I thought so!" Shen Yushu nodded. "I've heard that when a man loses a kidney, he's no longer a whole man. Brother Jianwen, your dream with Sister Yaoyao is shattered, and you certainly won't be able to enjoy a threesome anymore either!"

"Gah?" An Jianwen's face turned purple. He had not expected Shen Yushu to be so vicious, poking at the very sorest spot. He really should not have let her come along—was she here just to humiliate him in front of Gu Mengyao?

"Xiaoshu, don't talk nonsense. Even if he were a man, I wouldn't go to bed with him," Gu Mengyao said with a frown. She felt Shen Yushu had gone a bit too far, as if she had agreed to be with An Jianwen!

But Gu Mengyao's words were ambiguous, and hearing them, An Jianwen felt a chill run through him. Even if he were a man? Did that mean he was not one now?

The more An Jianwen thought, the more aggrieved he felt. Why was he so unlucky? Was there anyone in the world more unlucky than he was? As he thought and thought, his pent-up rage surged, and he fainted dead away.

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