Chapter 24: The Fake Report

Li Jingshen choked on his own breath, gasping for air like a fish out of water, when Qin Mo dropped that bomb on him. He almost didn't catch his breath.

Qin Mo's nose was like a bloodhound's. He could smell the stench of smoke on Li Jingshen before he even got close. He warned him, "Zhichu can't stand the smell of smoke, her health is fragile. If you don't know how to take care of someone, just scram. I've already arranged for a nurse and given her the lowdown."

In a nutshell, he was telling him to buzz off. But Li Jingshen had a thick skin and didn't give a hoot about what Qin Mo said. What really got under his skin was how Qin Mo was on a first-name basis with Shen Zhichu. It felt like someone was eyeing his toy - a toy he didn't care much for, but it was still his, and he didn't like others getting grabby.

This was a public space, a hospital where patients were resting, so it wasn't the place for a showdown. Qin Mo, with an icy tone, turned and walked away.

Li Jingshen stood there and sniffed himself. He hadn't showered in two days and reeked. The smell of smoke was actually doing him a favor by masking the stench. But Qin Mo was right, Shen Zhichu couldn't handle the smell of smoke. Reluctantly, he stood near an air vent to air himself out before heading back to the room.

After walking a bit, Qin Mo told a nurse beside him, "Give him the fake medical report."

He had promised to keep Shen Zhichu's secret, so he had prepared this fake report a day earlier.

The nurse asked, "Will he buy it?" After all, the patient had been spewing blood and was in critical condition.

She couldn't fathom how gullible someone would have to be to fall for it.

"If he really cares about Zhichu, he'll dig deeper. But if he doesn't, he'll believe anything and won't give it a second thought," Qin Mo explained.

The nurse nodded, not fully grasping it, and headed to the office to grab the report before going to the ICU.

...

Li Jingshen, now aired out, was about to enter the room when a nurse called out to him.

"Sir, wait up!"

Li Jingshen turned to see a nurse panting as she caught up to him. His gaze dropped to the file in her hands.

"Sir, this is your wife's medical report."

Li Jingshen's hand froze for a moment before he took it. He flipped through a couple of pages and then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the diagnosis: "Gastric bleeding" and nothing else.

The nurse was sneaking glances at his face, trying to gauge his reaction. Seeing his eyes fixed on the "Gastric bleeding" part, she suddenly felt like making a run for it.

"She doesn't have stomach cancer? Why isn't it on here?"

The nurse gave an awkward smile and explained, "Your wife doesn't actually have stomach cancer…"

"You're saying she doesn't have stomach cancer? She's been playing me!" Li Jingshen's face didn't change, but his eyes turned icy cold, like a blizzard was raging inside them, sending shivers down her spine.

Facing Li Jingshen's interrogation, the nurse felt like she was being stared down by a ferocious beast. Her legs turned to jelly, but she forced herself to stay put, her knees knocking together. She hurriedly nodded.

"That's what your wife wanted. If you have any questions, take it up with her," she blurted out. Then, glancing at the door beside her, she thought of Shen Zhichu's pale face and compared it to Li Jingshen's current menacing glare that looked like he could eat someone alive. She couldn't help but add, "But she was in really bad shape at the time, that's why they had you sign the critical condition notice."

Li Jingshen didn't even register what she said. His mind was racing with the thought that Shen Zhichu and the hospital had pulled a fast one on him, and she didn't have stomach cancer at all.

The report in his hand crumpled as he clenched his fist, and in no time, it was just a ball of scrap paper.