DSMIS CH78

Chapter 78: Extra 8—The Stubborn Captain Jiang

This was the very first time Jiang Lin had fallen victim to “entrapment” coupled with an “induced confession,” and he had been lured into the trap hook, line, and sinker.

Meeting Director Shen’s gaze—which clearly signaled that a reckoning was due—he was just about to say something when a wave of coughing surged up from his chest. Terrified that coughing aloud would make this trial even harder to pass, he forced himself to hold it in. Shen Xing spotted the change in his expression in an instant, hurriedly setting down the jelly orange in his hand:

“Where does it hurt? Do you need to cough?”

He supported Jiang Lin upright. Unable to suppress it any longer, Jiang Lin let out the muffled, hacking cough. Shen Xing smoothed his back as he chided him:

“Why are you holding it in? If you need to cough, just cough! You have pulmonary emphysema and inflammation right now; coughing is completely normal.”

The violent coughing rattled his chest with pain, and even the dull ache in his stomach began to flare up again. Once the breathless coughing finally subsided, Shen Xing felt that the hospital gown over Jiang Lin’s back was damp with cold sweat. He stood up to fetch a clean one.

Thinking he had driven Shen Xing away in anger, Jiang Lin panicked and caught his arm. Their gazes locked, and Shen Xing instantly caught the anxiety and cautious vulnerability swimming in his eyes.

That look pierced Shen Xing’s heart with an ache. He leaned down, sat on the edge of the mattress, wrapped his arms around the man in bed, and pressed a tender kiss to the corner of his lips:

“Am I really that terrifying? Scaring you so badly you didn’t even dare to cough?”

Jiang Lin used his unencumbered arm—the one without the IV line—to circle Shen Xing’s waist:

“No. I did something wrong and got caught red-handed; I was just scared you’d be mad.”

Shen Xing was indeed angry that Jiang Lin had kept his agony to himself, but he was even angrier with himself for failing to notice. Besides, he had known all along that this man’s personality was never one to make a fuss over minor aches and pains:

“I am angry, but it’s not like I’m going to abandon you! Why act so timid and walk on eggshells, deliberately making my heart hurt?”

Jiang Lin smiled:

“Naturally. Doesn’t acting like this make it easier to pass the trial? I won’t do it next time. Please don’t be mad, okay?”

The hands circling Shen Xing’s waist swayed him ever so slightly. Captain Jiang rarely acted spoiled; doing it out of the blue like this while clad in a hospital gown and wearing a pale, wan face sent a rush of tenderness straight to Shen Xing’s head, prompting him to grudgingly accept the truce.

Although Jiang Lin was conscious now, the severe blood loss and relentless pain had drained his physical reserves, leaving his vitality far below baseline. Shen Xing placed a palm over Jiang Lin’s eyes, initiating a forced shutdown:

“Get a good nap right now, and I won’t be angry anymore.”

In the next breath, he felt a faint, brush-like flutter against his palm—Captain Jiang’s eyelashes, obediently fluttering shut.

The private room at the Armed Police General Hospital was comfortable and bright. Sunlight was streaming in at this hour, half of it spilling across the bed, lending a healthier tint to Jiang Lin’s pale complexion.

Shen Xing sat quietly by the bedside watching over him. Seeing his chest rise and fall rhythmically and his breathing even out, Shen Xing knew he was sound asleep.

At noon, Jiang Lin’s mother dropped by with stomach-soothing broth and porridge, along with several dishes Shen Xing loved, before heading back with Jiang Lin’s father.

In the afternoon, leaders from the Municipal Bureau came to pay their respects, and Shen Xing received them in his capacity as family. That evening, colleagues from the criminal investigation team dropped by. Shen Xing seized the opportunity to pull aside one of the officers he knew relatively well and asked under his breath:

“Was this car crash purely an accident, or was it…?”

He had kept this question bottled up in his chest for days. Given Jiang Lin’s background in narcotics, he was terrified this hadn’t been an ordinary collision, but targeted retaliation. With Jiang Lin only freshly out of the ICU, it hadn’t been appropriate to interrogate him, and Shen Xing hadn’t found the right moment to dig—until today.

The officer understood what Shen Xing was anxious about:

“Rest assured, this was investigated immediately. The truck driver’s background has been screened through multiple rounds. This time, it genuinely was an accident.”

Because of Jiang Lin’s sensitive profile, traffic authorities weren’t the only ones involved; the investigation had adhered to the highest standards of scrutiny.

Hearing this, Shen Xing finally felt a weight lift from his mind. As long as it was a genuine accident, he could breathe easier.

Jiang Lin was transferred to Shen Xing’s hospital on Sunday. In the end, he was settled into a private room in the orthopedics department—leaving everyone to wonder whether Director Shen had genuinely pulled strings through the back door.

Although he was housed in Orthopedics, physicians from Gastroenterology and Thoracic Surgery arrived for consultations. Throughout the process, Jiang Lin never learned the exact clinical specifics of his condition, because Director Shen handled every medical handoff personally.

The orthopedics department group chat, however, completely exploded. The news that Director Shen’s partner had been admitted spread through the department in a heartbeat. When it came time to place the intravenous cannula, the head nurse went personally. Naturally, this wasn’t special treatment, but for teaching purposes.

A new cohort of trainee nurses had just arrived for their rotation, and when Shen Xing walked into the room, he was greeted by the sight of his Captain Jiang being circled in bed like a giant panda on display.

Peeking in from behind, Shen Xing caught Captain Jiang’s polite, genial, yet thoroughly awkward smile. Shen Xing pressed his lips together in an amused smirk just as the head nurse said:

“Exemplary veins like these aren’t something you’ll encounter every day. Don’t celebrate too early.”

Spotting Shen Xing’s arrival, the head nurse greeted him with a smile before marching the flock of young nurses out in grand fashion.

Clad in his white coat, Shen Xing crossed his arms and looked down:

“Come on, let me see what ‘exemplary veins’ look like.”

Jiang Lin raised his arm with a chuckle. Shen Xing leaned in with exaggerated professional seriousness, then sat on the edge of the bed, lifting Jiang Lin’s left arm and rolling up his sleeve. A patch of bruising on Jiang Lin’s elbow had spread and turned a deep purple—a souvenir from slamming against the interior of the car during the crash.

Shen Xing massaged his forearm and palm with practiced ease:

“Even though the X-rays showed no structural fractures in this arm, don’t drop your guard. This is a damaged chassis to begin with. If you feel any discomfort, tell me immediately, understand?”

The man on the bed lowered his head slightly:

“It was already a damaged chassis; now it’s even more banged up.”

His gaze drifted subtly toward his leg. Shen Xing hadn’t given him many specifics over the past few days, only mentioning that a joint replacement surgery would be required down the line. But as to what level of functional mobility he would regain, Shen Xing had remained silent.

Shen Xing’s massaging hands paused. He reached out and hooked Captain Jiang’s chin, tilting that model-like face upward.

“Why the pitiful look? Even if you’re permanently crippled, I’ll still want you.”

The words sent a sharp thump through Jiang Lin’s chest. Could it be that I won’t be able to walk in the future?

“Tell me the truth. Is it that from now on, I…”

His voice hesitated, laced with a faint tremor of dread. Shen Xing raised an eyebrow:

“What about you from now on?”

Jiang Lin closed his eyes, his gaze darting toward the wheelchair parked in the corner. In an instant, Shen Xing grasped what he was brooding over. He burst into laughter, cupping that sculpted face with both hands:

“You didn’t actually think you were going to be crippled for life, did you? What on earth are you imagining, Captain Jiang? Have some faith in my professional competence! This time, your leg sustained a hairline fracture combined with severe trauma to the left knee cartilage. The fracture is already immobilized; while your recovery will be slower than an ordinary person’s, it will heal.

As for the knee, replacing it with an artificial joint will solve the problem completely. Rest assured, we’ll use the absolute top-tier prosthesis on the market, and I’ll have the head of our department personally hold the scalpel. There won’t be any complications. You will be able to walk again, I promise.”

Jiang Lin leaned into his touch, looking up:

“You aren’t performing the surgery on me?”

Being stared at with such earnest longing, Shen Xing leaned down with heartfelt emotion and planted a kiss squarely on his lips, laughing:

“Captain Jiang, aren’t you overestimating my professional detachment? Even though it’s just a total knee arthroplasty, looking at that face of yours on the operating table, I don’t think I could maintain my clinical objectivity.”

Regardless of the procedure, operating on one’s own family or partner carried immense psychological pressure.

Jiang Lin understood his concern instantly:

“Alright. As long as Director Shen arranges it, I can rest easy.”

Due to the pulmonary contusion and emphysema, he was still somewhat short of breath when speaking. Shen Xing helped him lie back down:

“Breathe some more oxygen and rest for a bit.”

Although Shen Xing promised a full recovery, Jiang Lin’s mobility was undeniably impaired for the time being. Over the past few days, Shen Xing had taken leave to care for him personally. But by Monday, Shen Xing had to resume his hospital duties. In Jiang Lin’s current state, even getting to the bathroom was an ordeal.

Shen Xing hired a one-on-one professional nursing orderly from the hospital. While Jiang Lin hadn’t voiced any objections, he inwardly resisted having an orderly care for his basic personal needs. On Monday, during the orderly’s first day on shift, Jiang Lin would only accept a brief supporting hand when getting out of bed; beyond that, he wheeled his own chair and refused to let the orderly follow him into the bathroom.

The orderly had worked in orthopedics for years, was exceptionally skilled, and knew Shen Xing well. When Shen Xing dropped by at noon, the orderly found an opening to speak with him:

“Director Shen, Mr. Jiang seems rather resistant to having an orderly assist him. This morning, he only let me steady him when standing up; he wheeled the chair everywhere himself, and I noticed he was breathing quite heavily.

Perhaps you should have a word with him? Going to the bathroom completely on his own is still somewhat hazardous.”

Shen Xing knew Jiang Lin’s temper inside and out. The man seemed easygoing on the surface, but he was fiercely proud. When it came to having an orderly watch him use the toilet, unless he was completely paralyzed, he would never yield an inch.

Shen Xing pushed open the door to the room. The figure on the bed looked up immediately, his eyes softening into warmth the second he saw who it was:

“Your timing is impeccable. I ordered the boiled beef and dry-pot king oyster mushrooms from your favorite spot. Come.”

Having suffered a recent GI bleed, Jiang Lin couldn’t eat much beyond postpartum-style liquid meals like broths and porridges. Shen Xing had offered to eat the same bland diet with him over the past few days, but whenever mealtime rolled around, Captain Jiang would inevitably conjure up Shen Xing’s favorite takeout spreads.

Shen Xing had spent the entire morning in outpatient clinic and was starving. Setting up the bed table, his side was lavish and colorful, while Jiang Lin’s side held only a bowl of Chinese yam and millet porridge.

“Look at you, looking so pitiful.”

Jiang Lin blinked:

“How about I taste a bite of yours?”

“Forget it. Keep being pitiful.”

Shen Xing had roughly two hours of downtime at noon, and he had no desire to return to the staff lounge. Worried he would wear himself out, Jiang Lin offered:

“Go sleep in the on-call room for a bit. Or… do you want to climb up here and lie down?”

Though the hospital bed wasn’t huge, it could manage two people if they squeezed together. Shen Xing cleared the empty takeout boxes, folded away the bed tray, and rested his hand over Jiang Lin’s lower abdomen, deliberately applying a teasing downward pressure.

Jiang Lin shuddered slightly, only to be met with Director Shen’s roguish, mischievous grin:

“Holding in your urine is bad for your prostate, you know. Want me to take you to the bathroom?”

Jiang Lin’s ears flushed a faint pink. Grasping the bedrail with one hand, he moved to sit up. Shen Xing hooked an arm around his waist, not missing the chance to poke fun at him:

“My, my, look at that stubborn streak! What are you, a stubborn Bronze player?”

Jiang Lin had no idea what a ‘stubborn Bronze’ in gaming was, but that didn’t stop him from grasping what ‘stubborn’ meant. Healing from pulmonary emphysema took time; the mere exertion of sitting upright left him winded, his hand pressed against his sternum as he lowered his head to catch his breath.

The sight made Director Shen’s heart melt into absolute mush, and he gathered the man straight into his embrace.

“Why do you have to act so tough? It’s just a little injury, isn’t it?”

Jiang Lin was truly unaccustomed to being dependent on others for every little thing, but he couldn’t bear to push Shen Xing away. Leaning against him with closed eyes, he rested a hand over Shen Xing’s forearm:

“I’ll have to trouble Director Shen.”

Shen Xing parked the wheelchair by the bedside, circled his waist, supported his arm, and half-lifted, half-guided him into the chair. He wheeled him straight to the bathroom door, stopped, leaned down, and whispered against his ear:

“Are you letting me in?”

His tone was gentle and mild, sounding endlessly considerate at first listen. Yet Jiang Lin knew that if he answered ‘no’ right now, this gentle Director Shen would vanish into thin air.

He nodded with exceptional tact:

“I’m letting you in.”

Shen Xing was thoroughly satisfied with this answer, wheeling him inside.

Once they returned, Shen Xing helped him back onto the bed, then slid under the covers himself, lying on his side. His hand automatically slipped into Captain Jiang’s hospital gown to rest against his waist, and he fell asleep almost the moment his eyes closed.

Jiang Lin lay on his side as well. Having slept on and off all day, he had zero drowsiness right now, content simply to gaze upon Director Shen’s sleeping face.

Doctors seemed to possess an invisible biological clock; before Jiang Lin could even check the time to wake him, Shen Xing stirred, instinctively burrowing his face into Jiang Lin’s chest.

Jiang Lin wrapped an arm around him with a chuckle, dipping his head to plant a kiss on his forehead:

“Time to go move bricks.”

Shen Xing nuzzled his shoulder:

“Mm. I have two surgeries this afternoon; you’ll have to eat dinner on your own.”

With that, his hand did a little playful dance across Captain Jiang’s lower abdomen before he murmured:

“Don’t make me worry, alright?”

He didn’t specify what he meant, but Jiang Lin understood completely:

“Alright.”

That afternoon, Jiang Lin abandoned his stubborn resistance from the morning, finally allowing the orderly to massage his limbs and assist with his routine needs.

It was nearly ten o’clock at night when Shen Xing returned. In the ward, Jiang Lin was freshly washed and propped up against the pillows. He wasn’t asleep yet, but his exhaustion was obvious—he was clearly forcing his eyes open just to wait up for him.

The orderly offered a warm smile upon Shen Xing’s arrival, signaling that Jiang Lin had been cooperative all afternoon. Shen Xing exchanged a few words with the orderly and sent him home for the night.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shen Xing asked:

“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Not tired. Waiting for you.”

“Liar. You’re practically propping your eyelids up with toothpicks, aren’t you?”

Jiang Lin smiled:

“It’s fine. I ordered takeout for you—it arrived barely fifteen minutes ago, just the right temperature to eat.”

“Oho, how did you time the delivery so precisely?”

“A little investigative intelligence work isn’t that hard. Eat up, quickly.”

That night, Shen Xing moved to set up the folding cot, but Jiang Lin pulled him onto the mattress instead. Shen Xing lay down beside him:

“Lying with you for a bit is fine, but sleeping the whole night is off the table, okay?”

He was an unruly sleeper, and this hospital bed was far too narrow; he was terrified of accidentally kicking Jiang Lin’s fragile leg in the middle of the night.

Jiang Lin said nothing, merely patting his back with slow, soothing rhythms. Within two or three pats, he had successfully lulled Director Shen beside him straight to sleep.