Chapter 15

120 arrived, and they used a stretcher to lift Lin Dongfan to the hospital, where they conducted a series of examinations.

Waiting for the test results to come out.

The attending physician held Lin Dongfan's abdominal CT scan, looking left and right, growing more puzzled, and asked Lin Dongfan in bewilderment: 'Looking at the CT, there seems to be nothing wrong; does it still hurt?'

'It hurts, in waves, like a cramp.'

Lin Dongfan solemnly clutched his abdomen, putting on a pained expression.

The attending physician regretfully shook his head: 'Then your problem is serious; you need further examinations, and we must notify your family to come.'

'Doctor, will I die?' Lin Dongfan anxiously grabbed the doctor.

The attending physician patted Lin Dongfan's hand and comforted: 'Don't panic; the specific situation can only be concluded after we find out the problem, so stay optimistic and don't think the worst.'

'Doctor, do I need to be hospitalized?' Lin Dongfan asked again.

The attending physician replied without hesitation: 'Given your current condition, you definitely need to be hospitalized for observation, so we must notify your family to come and handle the admission procedures.'

'Then I can relax.' Lin Dongfan instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

The attending physician exclaimed in surprise: 'Relax?'

'What I mean is, with you here, I feel at ease.' Lin Dongfan again tightly gripped his abdomen, putting on an appearance of agony.

The attending physician comforted: 'Rest assured, we will do our best.'

Less than half an hour later, Chu Lingxi, who had received the call, rushed to the hospital, but she was not worried, because Lin Dongfan had privately messaged her simply wanting to be hospitalized.

Being hospitalized meant he wouldn't have to clean toilets, a simple and clear reason.

To prevent the truth from leaking, Chu Lingxi deliberately asked an acquaintance to transfer Lin Dongfan from the crowded ordinary ward to a private room, so they wouldn't have to worry about slipping up.

'Husband, if they find out you're faking illness, will you resign?'

Chu Lingxi asked with a smile.

She actually did not want Lin Dongfan to struggle within the system; she preferred him to resign. Because her father had been framed, she worried Lin Dongfan would repeat the same fate.

Lin Dongfan also understood her thoughts, and calmly replied: 'Don't be afraid; a petty Li Hengbo is nowhere near enough for me to toy with. He schemed against me, but each time I ended up playing him like a top.'

'Mm, my husband is the smartest person; I'll go peel you an apple.'

Chu Lingxi washed the apple, then belatedly realized she seemed to have forgotten to bring a fruit knife, so she used her two neat front teeth to scrape and nibble the apple peel.

After cleaning it, she first took a bite herself: 'So sweet.'

Then she stuffed it into Lin Dongfan's mouth.

Su Yuhong, who had come to visit and uncover the truth, saw the room filled with the smell of dog food, stood glumly at the ward door, hesitating whether to enter or retreat.

But Lin Dongfan had already seen her.

Lin Dongfan shouted: 'Why are you standing stupidly at the door? Earlier I told you to go get a breast cancer check—did you?'

'Wherever you two go, you scatter dog food, all sticky and icky—I can't stand you.' Su Yuhong steeled herself and entered the room, then shut the ward door behind her.

'Do you have breast cancer?' Chu Lingxi's face showed sympathy.

Su Yuhong replied dismissively: 'Don't listen to his nonsense; I went for a checkup, and the doctor said it's just breast tissue thickening, no cancer.'

'See, I said early checkup and prevention are best; breast tissue thickening can develop into breast cancer over time.' Lin Dongfan reminded: 'Pay attention; if it needs treatment, treat it.'

Chu Lingxi nodded in agreement: 'My husband is right; even a small problem is still a problem, we can't be careless.'

'You two really are a couple, breathing from the same nostril.' Su Yuhong laughed through tears, then her lingering sadness continued as she said: 'Let's get to the point. Today Li Hengbo was scolded by Section Chief Wang until he looked embarrassed, his face drooping all afternoon like a donkey's, as if attending a funeral. How long do you plan to fake this stomachache?'

'At least ten days to half a month, lying here playing with my phone and trading stocks—isn't that better than cleaning toilets?' Lin Dongfan said with full justification.

Su Yuhong laughed: 'You really are something; with your slacking, they truly can't do anything about you.'

'No power, no influence, no background—of course you have to slack off.'

Lin Dongfan happily took a bite of the apple, thinking: 'I'm not just ordinary slacking; it's tactical slacking—temporarily avoiding the edge, quietly waiting for my father-in-law to return.'

Su Yuhong added: 'By the way, the stock you told me to buy last time has surged these past two days. Did you guess it, or do you have insider information?'

'Just a guess.' Lin Dongfan laughed.

Su Yuhong wore a look of disdain: 'Never mind, as long as I make money.' She then shifted her gaze to Chu Lingxi: 'How could you marry such a scoundrel? I really can't understand.'

'You think he's a scoundrel, but I don't see him that way.'

Chu Lingxi gave a shallow smile, revealing two sweet little dimples.

In an instant, Su Yuhong resembled a defeated little bunny girl, her face drooping with dejection, she rose to say goodbye: 'All right, I wish you a hundred years of harmony and early sons.'

'This… haven't you already wished that?'

Chu Lingxi looked puzzled, feeling Su Yuhong was a bit nervy.

Head down, spirits low, Su Yuhong turned and walked away, saying: 'The law doesn't forbid me from wishing twice; when you divorce, remember to notify me, and then I'll offer a fresh blessing.'

She went out, closed the door, and vanished in an instant.

Chu Lingxi chuckled and commented: 'Really a weird person.'

'Women who've lost love are all like that, lifeless and loveless—nothing strange about it.'

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Lin Dongfan had already aimed at the trash can, and with the determination of a three-point basketball shot, he tossed the leftover fruit core—*crack*—it hit the trash can precisely.

The days of slacking flew by quickly.

Lin Dongfan lay in the hospital each day trading stocks; his eight-thousand-yuan principal kept climbing, and by the end of October it had accumulated to over fifty thousand.

He withdrew not a single cent, kept the full fifty thousand invested, and continued.

November 6, 2009.

A major piece of news shocked the entire officialdom of Nanzhou—Chu JingSong had returned, reinstated to his original post.

On the same day, Lin Dongfan completed his discharge procedures.

After being detained for over a month, Chu JingSong had become noticeably thinner.

Upon returning home, he discovered his daughter had already obtained her marriage certificate, and her spouse was an insignificant nobody; Chu JingSong was not angry, but rather felt relieved.

Section Chief Leng of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission's special task force had told him all these things: that Lin Dongfan had shouted injustice on his behalf, that Lin Dongfan had delivered medicine to him, and he kept them in mind.

In the evening, a family banquet was set up.

Chu Jinsong and Lin Dongfan drank three cups in a row, feeling a myriad of emotions, he laughed and said: "You little brat, you were ordinary and unremarkable at work before, but I never expected you to have something that makes people look at you anew."

"Dad, I just did what I was supposed to do; it's not a big deal."

Lin Dongfan got up and poured Chu Jinsong some more wine.

Chu Jinsong was gratified beyond himself: "Understanding to avoid arrogance and impatience is good; keep it up. Since you've become my Chu family's son-in-law, you can't act impulsively as before."

"My husband isn't impulsive, Dad, you can't wrongfully accuse him." Chu Lingxi pouted in defense: "Those people at your unit sent him to clean toilets, all kinds of retaliation and revenge, but he has endured it all."

"Now that you have a husband, you don't even regard your father—indeed, a married daughter is not to be kept." Chu Jinsong laughed and remarked.

Shen Kunlan sighed: "Old Chu, during the days you were placed under double designation, this kid Dongfan ran around for our family's affairs and indeed suffered quite a bit of grievance."

"I know all about these matters."

Chu Jinsong picked up his wine cup and drank half of it.

He then asked Lin Dongfan, who was seated to his left: "Do those people at your unit know that you and Lingxi have gotten married?"

"Su Yuhong knows. Besides, when Li Hengbo transferred me to clean toilets, I also mentioned it to him—this is no longer a secret. Some just believe it, others don't." Lin Dongfan said frankly.

Chu Jinsong frowned angrily: "How dare they... I, Chu Jinsong, am not dead yet, and they dare to bully my Chu family like this! It's utterly outrageous..."