Chapter 756: Feigning Amnesia

The nurse made the call swiftly and neatly; Lin Dongfan didn't even get a chance to stop it.

"Hello, is this 110? Inpatient department, third floor ICU ward of the People's Hospital, someone attempted arson… yes, the suspect is still at the scene… okay, we'll wait for you to arrive."

After hanging up, the nurse stood with hands on hips, staring at Lin Dongfan like he was a criminal.

Running into such a conscientious little nurse.

A moment of speechlessness.

Lin Dongfan turned his head to look at the hospital bed; Yang Qing was still "unconscious" there, but the corner of his mouth twitched faintly, probably suppressing a laugh in secret.

Lin Dongfan's temples throbbed.

Should he rush over and shake Yang Qing awake? No, that would waste this dead end. Not wake him? Does he really have to go to the police station for tea?

As he hesitated, footsteps and voices came from outside the ward—the police response speed was astonishingly fast.

Two police officers pushed the door open, one old and one young, with solemn expressions.

"Who called the police?" the young officer asked.

"Me!" the nurse immediately pointed at Lin Dongfan, then at the burnt blanket on the floor with a black scorch hole: "He was smoking in the ward and hid the lit cigarette butt in the patient's blanket, almost causing a fire. There's still a hole in the blanket now; I strongly suspect he intended to harm the patient!"

The older officer's gaze lingered on Lin Dongfan for a moment, then shifted to the "unconscious" Yang Qing on the bed, his brows furrowing.

"Comrade, care to explain?" the older officer said in a relatively calm tone.

Lin Dongfan's mind raced, still unsure what to say, when a feeble groan suddenly came from the hospital bed.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn there.

Only see Yang Qing slowly and painfully open his eyes, his gaze unfocused on the ceiling, then slowly moving his eyeballs, blankly scanning everyone in the ward.

"Water…" his lips moved, voice as thin as a silk thread: "Thirsty…"

He's acting damn convincingly!

The nurse also forgot to accuse Lin Dongfan; her professional instinct kicked in, she promptly poured a cup of warm water, carefully helped Yang Qing up, and brought the straw to his lips.

Yang Qing sipped slowly, his eyelashes trembling, looking like a severely wounded person just awakened, utterly weak.

Lin Dongfan watched from the side, his mouth twitching—this acting, not becoming an actor is a real shame. If he didn't know the truth, he would really be fooled.

After drinking a little over half a cup of water, Yang Qing seemed to regain a bit of strength.

His gaze slowly shifted, first to the nurse, then to the two officers, and finally landed on Lin Dongfan.

He stared at Lin Dongfan for several seconds, his eyes going from blank, slowly turning to confusion, then to an expression of trying to recall.

"You…" his voice hoarse and dry: "You are…"

"I'm your brother—Lin Dongfan." Lin Dongfan immediately interjected, his tone just right—excited and heavy: "Old Yang, you've finally woken up."

Yang Qing's eyes flickered for a moment, as if he were trying to digest that information.

Then he slowly, tentatively asked: "Lin Dongfan? You… who are you? My head hurts…" while rubbing his head and muttering: "What the hell happened to me…"

"You don't recognize me?"

Lin Dongfan followed the "amnesia script," explaining to Yang Qing: "Someone set fire to your home; you rushed into the blaze to save your wife and kids, got hit in the head by a falling chandelier, and forgot everything?"

"Put out the fire…? Wife…? Children…?"

Yang Qing murmured those words over and over, his eyes suddenly turning empty and anguished, as if he truly couldn't recall anything.

He suddenly raised his hand to clutch his head, but that tugged at his wound.

He let out a muffled groan from the pain.

The nurse quickly pressed him down: "Director Yang, don't get agitated—you're injured on the head!"

But Yang Qing seemed not to hear, just staring straight at the ceiling; tears welled up without warning, sliding down the corners of his eyes into the bandages.

That silent tearful bewilderment packed more punch than any loud wailing.

For a moment the ward fell silent, save for the ticking of the instruments.

The older officer sighed, lightly patted the young officer's shoulder, signaling him to put away his notebook. Lin Dongfan's reputation was well known; there was no reason to doubt his motive for stuffing a cigarette butt into the blanket.

But out of work requirements.

The older officer still reminded Lin Dongfan: "Mr. Lin, the hospital has its rules. Smoking is absolutely prohibited in the ward, especially with Director Yang in this condition. Please bear with it, just endure."

"Sorry, I was wrong just now; I'll pay attention next time."

Lin Dongfan also adopted a sincere attitude, giving full face.

But inside he wondered whether Yang Qing's tears, coming and going like that, were because he remembered the villa being burned and felt a bit sad, or just pure acting erupting.

The two officers then explained to the nurse: "The burnt blanket thing is a misunderstanding. This Mr. Lin is the son-in-law of the former Municipal Party Committee Secretary of Wuzhou, and also a friend of Director Yang—he could hardly harm Director Yang. Let's drop this; please change Director Yang's blanket."

"The former secretary's son-in-law?"

The nurse looked at Lin Dongfan in disbelief, then immediately dared not question anything further.

But she still harbored resentment inside.

While she tidied the blanket on the floor, she lectured Lin Dongfan: "Mr. Lin, it's not me saying this. Director Yang is like this; as his good friend, you should take even better care of him. Smoking here and stuffing a cigarette butt into his blanket—this is truly not something a person would do…"

"Right, right, you're absolutely right."

To shut the little nurse up, Lin Dongfan promptly went along with her.

The nurse, who hadn't finished her scolding, glanced resentfully at Lin Dongfan, then helplessly rolled up the burnt blanket, and before leaving glanced again at Yang Qing on the bed.

Yang Qing had already "wearily" closed his eyes, but the tear tracks lingered at the corners, making one's heart ache to see.

"Director Yang just woke up; he needs absolute rest." The nurse lowered her voice to warn Lin Dongfan: "Visiting time is almost over, please leave."

This little nurse really doesn't give face.

Lin Dongfan turned to look at the "amnesiac" Yang Qing and shouted: "Old Yang, rest well; I'll come see you tomorrow."

Yang Qing's eyelid twitched imperceptibly.

Lin Dongfan turned and left the ward.

Before closing the door, he glanced back at Yang Qing once more—damn it!

He couldn't help but admit that Yang Qing portrayed the confusion of waking from serious injury, the devastation upon hearing the bad news, and that deep‑bone sorrow to perfection.

No wonder he could fool so many people.

Walking to the hospital entrance, a night breeze blew, and Lin Dongfan couldn't help but laugh. He took out his phone and sent Chu Lingxi a message: "Yang Qing is out of danger, no need to worry about him—get some rest early."

The message had just been sent when his phone vibrated.

Chu Lingxi replied instantly: "Glad he's awake, husband, you've worked hard too—hurry back to the hotel to rest."

Lin Dongfan looked at the screen and smiled.

At least, at home there's still a sweet simpleton who doesn't require him to put effort into acting.

The next morning, Lin Dongfan showed up at the ward door at nine sharp, carrying the light porridge and side dishes he had specially brought from the hotel.

The moment he pushed the door open, he saw Yang Qing conversing with the attending physician: "... Doctor, what do you mean by the retrograde amnesia you just mentioned?"

Director Qi of the Provincial Public Security Department and others were also present.