DSMIS CH58

Chapter 58: Heading to Beijing Together

In reality, there was naturally no second round. Director Shen lay in bed like a pampered cat, his fingers absently tracing lines across Captain Jiang’s lower abdomen. Heart aching with tenderness for him, Jiang Lin quietly endured this tantalizing test of his willpower, pulling him closer to pat him gently on the back.

Seeing him like this made the “retaliating” Director Shen feel a twinge of guilt. Worried he might actually frustrate his Captain Jiang to bursting, he finally pulled his hand away.

Jiang Lin stroked his hair:

“Go to sleep.”

Before closing his eyes, Shen Xing suddenly caught sight of the Samoyed lying right beside his hand. He bolted upright in an instant:

“Wait… have the two of them been in the room the entire time?!”

Jiang Lin looked at Qianjin’s chubby face, then down at Heibao lying on the floor. He paused for a second before nodding:

“It seems so.”

In the heat of the moment, neither of them had remembered that there were two “spectators” in the room.

Shen Xing yanked the blanket completely over his head:

“Turn off the lights. Sleep.”

Jiang Lin couldn’t hold back a chuckle. He switched off the lamp, plunging the room into peaceful silence.

The next morning, Director Shen worked the outpatient clinic. With the New Year just having passed, there weren’t many patients, and he wrapped up before 11:00 AM. His phone chimed with a message from Jiang Lin:

Should I bring lunch over to you?

That single sentence instantly brought the events of last night flooding back to Shen Xing’s mind. He replied with two crisp, blunt words:

No need.

Director Shen’s messages were almost always accompanied by an emoji; Jiang Lin never quite understood where he found so many spot-on memes. Seeing only those two plain words now, Jiang Lin could easily picture Director Shen puffing up his fur in indignation.

By late March, Vice Director Xu Fulai, who had been sent from the county hospital to Yuetan Hospital for fellowship training, finally returned. With that, introducing total knee replacement surgeries at the county hospital was officially placed on the agenda.

However, this wasn’t something that could be rushed. At this stage, the county hospital still needed to organize the centralized procurement of consumables and surgical kits, along with wading through a mountain of administrative procedures. Fortunately, none of that required Shen Xing’s direct involvement.

All he did was organize the medical records of the patients he had met during the pre-holiday village clinic tour who needed knee replacements, calculating how to get the surgeries done for them at the lowest possible out-of-pocket cost.

With the arrival of April, Yunnan entered arguably its most gorgeous season of the year. Outside the hospital flowed a river, its banks lined with sprawling clusters of bougainvillea blooming in fierce, passionate magenta under the blazing sun.

Along the streets, vast hedges of Chinese monthly roses burst into lavish bloom. The flowers here seemed to require no deliberate cultivation; when their season arrived, their sheer, untamed vitality pushed them to compete in brilliant splendor.

At noon that day, Shen Xing texted Jiang Lin:

Hero, how about malatang for lunch?

(Kitten pushing open door.jpg)

Sure. Meet at the hospital entrance at noon.

Director Shen always had a day or two every week where he craved street snacks like malatang; Jiang Lin was long accustomed to it.

When they met at noon, Shen Xing raised his hand to hail a cab. Jiang Lin asked:

“Aren’t we eating at the one across the street?”

Their usual spot was obliquely across from the hospital, an easy walk:

“Not today. I saw an old-fashioned malatang place opened on Fuxing Street that doesn’t use bone broth. Let’s try it. I’m utterly sick of bone broth malatang. Saying bone broth is nutritious—what a joke. I’m already eating malatang, do I look like I care about nutrition?”

Jiang Lin laughed. It sounded surprisingly reasonable:

“Then let me go get the car.”

“No need. I have to buy something after eating, driving isn’t convenient.”

Jiang Lin couldn’t imagine what kind of purchase would be inconvenient by car yet convenient by taxi, but he didn’t ask further. Following Director Shen was always the right choice.

After stepping out of the malatang shop, Shen Xing dragged Jiang Lin straight to an electric scooter showroom, waving his hand with grand generosity:

“Pick one! My treat.”

Jiang Lin was taken aback:

“You want to buy an electric scooter?”

“Yeah! For walking the dogs in the morning: you ride the scooter, I run.”

Ever since the flowers began blooming, Shen Xing no longer dreaded morning dog walks like he had in the winter, simply because the scenery along the streets was so breathtaking. Since Qianjin desperately needed to lose weight, they had to cover at least three kilometers every morning.

Shen Xing planned to jog while walking the dogs. Jiang Lin had offered to run alongside him, but Shen Xing had shut him down with unyielding sternness. What a joke—with that leg of his, running three or four kilometers every single day would land him straight in the orthopedics ward by next month.

Shen Xing pointed toward a baby-pink scooter, nudging the man beside him:

“Go test that one out. I think it suits you.”

Jiang Lin actually obediently walked over and tried out the pink scooter. Shen Xing strapped a matching pink helmet onto his head. Still wearing his police trousers, Captain Jiang sat atop the tiny pink electric scooter with his long legs folded—looking adorably incongruous no matter which angle you looked from.

“Haha! That’s the one! I think it suits you best.”

Jiang Lin patted the handlebars of the little pink scooter:

“Sure. Let’s buy two. You pick another one, my treat.”

Shen Xing pointed at the rear seat:

“Can’t your backseat carry me?”

Captain Jiang solemnly delivered a traffic safety lecture:

“Under the new national standard, an electric bicycle can only carry one child under the age of twelve. Director Shen is overage.”

Shen Xing’s mouth fell open:

“Ah… is that so?”

He had completely forgotten that Captain Jiang occasionally moonlighted as traffic police. He stepped closer, tugging at Jiang Lin’s sleeve and blinking innocently:

“Isn’t there any electric ride that can carry me?”

Looking at him, Jiang Lin felt the man was so cute you could practically squeeze water out of him. Even if none existed, he would have custom-built one just to carry Director Shen.

To carry an adult passenger, it had to be a motorized electric moped. In the end, Shen Xing set his sights on a pink electric moped. The shop owner reminded him that this type required a Class F driver’s license to legally hit the road. Shen Xing looked up at Captain Jiang.

Jiang Lin spoke up:

“I have a Class D license. I can ride it.”

Director Shen was thoroughly pleased. Captain Jiang was undeniably reliable. Since the moped came with a matching pink helmet for Jiang Lin, Shen Xing picked out a sleek, glossy black helmet for himself. Pay, register the plates, take delivery.

Stepping outside, Shen Xing hopped onto the rear seat, wrapped his arms securely around Captain Jiang’s waist, tapped on Jiang Lin’s pink helmet, and proclaimed:

“Giddyup!”

Both exasperated and amused, Jiang Lin rode the little pink moped to drop Director Shen off at the hospital before riding it back to the county bureau himself.

Ever since they acquired the new ride, both the Land Cruiser and the little A6 fell thoroughly out of favor. Every morning, Shen Xing jogged out leading the two dogs, while Jiang Lin cruised leisurely alongside on the pink moped.

After their walk, they would grab rice noodles and head off to work. Xiao Niu had already been discharged from the hospital. At his age, fractures healed significantly faster than in adults. Whenever the boy was helping out around the shop, Shen Xing would take the opportunity to check up on his recovery.

That afternoon, Shen Xing had just stepped out of a surgery for a fractured femur. The operation had begun at 10:00 AM, and he was ravenously hungry. Remembering that Jiang Lin had just restocked his office snack stash yesterday with boneless chicken feet, he quickened his pace back to the office.

The moment he walked through the door, Lobsang, sitting across from him, pointed to his desk:

“Director Shen, Captain Jiang’s checkup reports have been placed on your desk.”

Shen Xing flashed an “OK” gesture. After the New Year, he had dragged Jiang Lin to the hospital to run a comprehensive panel of tests. Sure enough, just as he had anticipated, the results were far from ideal.

Persistent anemia, impaired clotting factor activity, and even several elevated cardiac enzymes—classic sequelae resulting from the massive acute hemorrhage during his past injury. Yesterday, Shen Xing had dragged him back for a follow-up panel, having the results sent directly to his desk.

He pulled a pack of chicken feet from the snack box, tossed one across to Lobsang, and tore open a pack for himself. Just as he was about to review the lab sheets while snacking, his phone buzzed. A glance at the screen revealed the caller ID: Xu Huai. He immediately set down the chicken feet and answered:

“Senior Brother.”

Without even realizing it, Shen Xing’s voice tightened with anxiety. For Xu Huai to call him at this hour usually meant a shift in Liu Xiaohu’s condition—whether for better or worse remained unknown.

“Has there been a development with Liu Xiaohu?”

“Yes. Starting the day before yesterday, Liu Xiaohu began exhibiting early signs of emergence. His swallowing reflex has returned, his fingers and toes show withdrawal responses to pain stimuli, and yesterday he had brief, spontaneous eye-opening episodes. These are all positive indicators.”

“So… is he close to waking up?!”

“This is only the preliminary phase. We cannot rule out the possibility of a patient plateauing at this stage. That is why my recommendation is to introduce sustained emotional stimulation right now. Having family members or close friends present can be immensely beneficial to recovery. I recall his only immediate family is his mother, whose health isn’t great, so I refrained from contacting her directly and wanted to notify you first.”

The news sent an exhilarating jolt straight through Shen Xing, so much so that the ravenous hunger gnawing at his stomach was completely swept away by the adrenaline:

“Understood! I’ll make the arrangements. Thank you so much, Senior Brother.”

“No need to be polite. I sent over a copy of his latest test reports; you can take a look.”

Hanging up, Shen Xing dialed Jiang Lin without a second’s delay. Dropping everything at hand, Jiang Lin rushed straight to the hospital. By the time his figure appeared in Shen Xing’s doorway, Shen Xing had just printed out the medical files.

Shen Xing had rarely seen Jiang Lin look this visibly agitated. Shen Xing tapped the papers in his hand:

“This is Liu Xiaohu’s latest progress report from my Senior Brother.”

Jiang Lin’s breathing was slightly ragged, having evidently sprinted all the way up. Shen Xing patted the stool beside him. Jiang Lin sat down, looking down at the stack of papers. Knowing he couldn’t decipher the medical jargon, Shen Xing explained:

“While I’m not a neurosurgeon, the baseline indicators show clear, undeniable improvement. He’s entered the early emergence stage, though there’s still a distance to go before full consciousness. My Senior Brother believes that sustained emotional stimulation from close figures could aid a complete awakening. You mentioned last month that Auntie Shulan was staying with her brother—should we notify her?”

He paused, then added:

“Also, under these circumstances, I believe Heibao might be able to help him as well.”

The bond between a handler and his service dog defied verbal description. Otherwise, Heibao would never have risked his life in that lethal firefight to shield Liu Xiaohu.

Jiang Lin looked up at Shen Xing:

“Shen Xing, I want to—”

Shen Xing held up his phone, displaying the confirmation screen for flight tickets directly before Jiang Lin’s eyes. Unbuttoning his white coat, he spoke swiftly:

“I know what you want to do. I’m going with you. Our department isn’t short-staffed right now, so taking leave is easy. Let’s go home and pack right now, grab Heibao, drive to Baoshan, and we can still catch the midnight flight to Beijing.”

Today was Thursday. With the vice director back from his fellowship, the ward was well-covered. Taking one day off on Friday would bridge right into the weekend. While Jiang Lin was en route, Shen Xing had already booked tickets for the 11:50 PM flight from Baoshan to Beijing.

The two rushed home. Jiang Lin pulled Heibao into a tight embrace, rubbing the dog’s head with fierce affection:

“We’re taking you to see Xiaohu. You miss him too, don’t you?”

At the name “Xiaohu,” Heibao’s tail whipped into rapid motion. The massive white furball nudged its way over too. Jiang Lin pulled Qianjin close, ruffling his fur as well, then looked up at Shen Xing:

“What about Qianjin while we’re in Beijing?”

“Bringing him along. I booked pet transport for both of them. I don’t feel comfortable leaving this silly dog in boarding.”

Shen Xing and Jiang Lin packed a few changes of clothes into a single suitcase in record time. Jiang Lin grabbed the bag of snacks they had bought the previous night, gathered their IDs, and leashed the two dogs. In less than twenty minutes, the black Land Cruiser roared out of the apartment complex gates.

Shen Xing volunteered to take the wheel while Jiang Lin sat in the passenger seat, dialing Cao Shulan.

Only after Jiang Lin hung up did Shen Xing turn slightly:

“How is it?”

“Auntie Shulan’s nephew will escort her to Beijing tomorrow. We should arrive a step ahead of them.”

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Lin murmured:

“I really hope Xiaohu wakes up this time.”

Shen Xing smiled warmly:

“He will. I have a feeling there will be a good outcome this time. Relax. Who knows? The moment Heibao and Auntie Shulan walk in, he might wake up completely.”

Jiang Lin glanced into the rear seat, and Shen Xing checked the rearview mirror as well. In the back, Heibao sat as dignified, regal, and composed as the very first time Shen Xing had laid eyes on him. The only difference now was the clingy white furball glued to his side.

Qianjin was still full of boundless energy, buckled securely into his harness yet stubbornly resting his chin on Heibao’s flank, nuzzling against him affectionately.

“My silly dog gets carsick. Let’s hope he doesn’t throw up in the car.”

Jiang Lin chuckled:

“He’ll probably vomit directly onto Heibao.”

Because the mountain highway was prone to unexpected hazards, neither of them dared linger at rest stops, taking turns at the wheel to ensure they wouldn’t miss the flight. They finally pulled into the airport before 9:00 PM.

Jiang Lin parked the car in the airport long-term lot. By the time they stepped out, although Qianjin hadn’t thrown up, his initial excitement had completely evaporated. The entire fluffy lump looked wilted and miserable. Heart aching for him, Shen Xing carried the dog straight into the terminal to complete the pet transport check-in, stroking his ears gently:

“Be a good boy. This trip is for Heibao’s biological dad, okay? When we land, I’ll give you two whole cans, alright?”

Only when hearing “Heibao” did the Samoyed’s pink ears perk up briefly before drooping right back down, looking utterly pitiful. Shen Xing coddled, kissed, and petted him repeatedly before finally handing him over to the cargo handlers.

Turning around, he caught Jiang Lin watching him intently:

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m Heibao’s stepdad.”

For no apparent reason, Jiang Lin’s slightly aggrieved, jealous tone reminded Shen Xing entirely of the Samoyed whining for affection in his arms moments ago. Shen Xing stepped over, wrapped his arms around Jiang Lin, and laughed:

“I was just coaxing the kid! You’re his real dad too. Be good, okay?”

By this hour, Shen Xing’s stomach was practically glued to his spine. Once through security, he dragged Jiang Lin straight to the nearest McDonald’s. Downing a burger, two orders of wings, and two boxes of fries, he finally felt human again. With his stomach satisfied, Director Shen’s bubbly energy returned in full force. His eyes sparkled as he looked at the man beside him:

“This is our very first time flying together, isn’t it?”

Jiang Lin smiled, picking up their boarding passes:

“It is. And in business class, no less.”

Director Shen was never one to shortchange himself, and he certainly refused to shortchange Captain Jiang.

After a three-and-a-half-hour flight, touching down in Beijing, clearing the terminal, and retrieving the crated dogs, it was nearly 5:00 AM.

They headed straight to their pre-booked pet-friendly hotel. Having endured both motion sickness and a pressurized flight, Qianjin was now completely limp, resembling a frosted vegetable. Shen Xing had no choice but to carry him. Heartbroken as he was, he didn’t forget to swat the dog’s rear:

“You need to go on a diet, understand? Your baths already cost extra for the ‘super-sized chonker’ tier! No more canned food for you.”

At the phrase “canned food,” the Samoyed experienced a brief resurgence of vitality, its perked-up ears brushing against Shen Xing’s cheek. Jiang Lin couldn’t stop grinning:

“Didn’t you promise him two cans once we arrived? The poor kid has suffered enough.”

“Captain Jiang, doting fathers make fat dogs.”

Jiang Lin gave Heibao’s leash a light tug, as if silently saying, Look, our Heibao isn’t fat.

Shen Xing looked at the majestic, handsome German Shepherd, then down at his own goofy furball:

“Truly, comparison is the thief of joy.”

Neither of them was in the mood to sleep after checking in. A quick shower and a fresh change of clothes, and it was almost morning.

Shen Xing had coordinated with Xu Huai in advance; bringing Heibao into the ward was permitted, but Qianjin certainly couldn’t enter. He had to leave Qianjin at the hotel’s pet daycare—complete with his promised canned food—before accompanying Jiang Lin and Heibao to Capital Hospital.

Shen Xing met Xu Huai in the inpatient neurology wing:

“Senior Brother.”

Xu Huai pushed up his glasses and smiled:

“You two certainly move fast. Head to the room first; I’ll join you right after rounds.”

Liu Xiaohu was staying in a private room. Shen Xing followed Jiang Lin inside. Nearly four months had passed since Xiaohu was transferred to Beijing before the New Year. With every passing day, the statistical probability of emergence had grown slimmer.

There were times when Shen Xing had consciously avoided the topic while speaking with Jiang Lin. He never imagined that four months later, a ray of dawn would break through the dark.

The moment Heibao crossed the threshold, his tail began whipping through the air. He dashed straight to the bedside, circling the mattress with eager whimpers, stretching his muzzle forward to nudge the limp hand resting on the bedsheet.

Jiang Lin’s eyes never left the figure in the bed. Suddenly, his voice broke with uncertainty:

“Did… did his eyelids just move?”

Shen Xing leaned in for a closer look. Heibao licked Liu Xiaohu’s fingers once more. Shen Xing saw the index finger twitch ever so slightly:

“His hand moved, and his eyelids are fluttering! He is reacting to Heibao!”

Though Shen Xing was not a neurosurgeon and had never witnessed a comatose patient awakening, he could acutely feel the raw, profound surge of hope flooding the room.

If Liu Xiaohu could truly wake up, the boulder crushing Jiang Lin’s heart would finally be lifted.

Jiang Lin sat down on the edge of the chair, his voice trembling with barely suppressed emotion:

“You’re finally willing to wake up, are you? You’ve been sleeping for an entire year. People who took a gap year have already finished interviewing and found jobs. That’s enough slack. Can you open your eyes for me?

I paid for business class tickets and flew three thousand kilometers just to see you! Hurry up—open your eyes and look at me, and look at the hero dog who saved your life.”

Shen Xing monitored the vitals screen beside the bed:

“His heart rate is responding. Keep talking.”

Jiang Lin continued:

“If you wake up, I’ll let you in on a secret. None of the other guys at the department know it yet. It’s about my partner. Don’t you want to know?”

Shen Xing: “…”

Just as Shen Xing was mentally concluding that Captain Jiang had become so overcome with emotion that he was rambling nonsense, the fluttering of the patient’s eyelids quickened. The tightly closed eyes slowly began to part, a sliver of light breaking through the seam as if he were fighting to open them.

Shen Xing was thoroughly dumbfounded.

Wait a minute… are the People’s Police really this gossipy?! Can my existence as his partner actually serve as a clinical stimulus to wake a comatose cop?!