DSMIS CH16

Chapter 16: Leg Pain? Leg Pain at His Age?

In the airport, two tall, long-legged figures—one dressed in black, the other in orange—stood out as they walked through the hall. Jiang Lin pointed to a sign in the distance.

“Cargo Department… Is it over there?”

“Ah, yes. According to the process, pets are claimed at the Cargo Department.”

After a wait of over twenty minutes, pet crates began coming out on the conveyor belt one by one. Holding a small can of treat paste to soothe the dog, Shen Xing bent low and checked each crate. There were puppies and kittens, and soon a fluffy white snowball that practically filled its entire crate appeared in his line of sight.

“Qianjin?”

The Samoyed’s pink ears immediately perked up. It pinpointed Shen Xing out of the crowd instantly and slammed its head against the crate, trying desperately to break free. Whimpering and whining in distress, its pitiful little display melted Shen Xing’s heart. He quickly completed the paperwork, had the worker unlock the crate, and pulled the poor big baby out.

“Awoo… Ooo…”

The ball of fluff buried its head straight into Shen Xing’s chest, leaving only its round rear and dandelion-like tail wiggling back and forth. Shen Xing nuzzled his face against his furry child. He had read online that pets were prone to stress during transport, let alone his useless little softie. He cradled the big snowball in his arms, petting and comforting it repeatedly.

Standing to the side, Jiang Lin watched the affectionate interaction between man and dog. He actually didn’t know much about dogs—his only familiarity was with the few breeds commonly used for drug enforcement. He had rarely interacted with pet dogs like Samoyeds. Looking at that massive white ball of fluff, he couldn’t resist reaching out to secretly pat its head.

The fine, soft fur slipped through his fingers. Its fluffy texture felt quite different from petting Heibao, and it was rather addictive.

This picture of parental devotion lasted about ten minutes or so. Ten minutes later, Jiang Lin witnessed a completely different scene.

In the hall of the Cargo Department, Dr. Shen, clad in an orange windbreaker, was tugging on a leash. On the other end of the leash lay the Samoyed, sprawled flat on the floor and refusing to move no matter what.

“Hey! Did you eat that treat paste for nothing? Get up, hurry!”

Shen Xing tugged, but on the other end, the Samoyed pig remained completely unmoved.

Dr. Shen adopted a stern tone: “If you don’t move, I’ll have the police arrest you!”

Jiang Lin, the police officer standing nearby: “…”

“If you won’t walk, I’m leaving.”

With that, Shen Xing dropped the leash and made a move as if he were really leaving. In response, the white snowball’s pink ears twitched slightly, but it simply buried its big head into its front paws and began whimpering again, showing no intention of moving an inch.

The tug-of-war dragged on for another ten minutes, ultimately ending in Shen Xing’s defeat.

Shen Xing picked up the sixty-plus-pound dog and flashed an embarrassed smile at the man beside him. “Sorry about that.”

Jiang Lin turned his head and chuckled softly. “It’s fine. It’s probably just tired from the flight.”

“You sure know how to make excuses for this lazy bum.”

By the time they drove out of the airport, it was already past five o’clock. It was naturally dark on rainy days, and driving four hours back in these conditions didn’t seem safe.

“Hero, if you don’t have anything urgent, why don’t we stay overnight in Baoshan and drive back tomorrow? It’s not safe to drive on wet roads at night.”

Actually, Shen Xing had originally planned to stay the night anyway. Jiang Lin agreed without objection. Carrying the dog, Shen Xing smiled and said, “Tonight, I’m treating you to a nice place.”

That evening, after enjoying a local Baoshan specialty—a wild mushroom hot pot—Shen Xing pulled up the navigation app. It was a five-star chain hotel. Hearing the GPS directions, Jiang Lin glanced over.

“There’s no need to spend so much money.”

Shen Xing blinked. “Don’t be polite, Hero. I redeemed it using my mom’s Diamond Card for a 25% discount, plus they’re pet-friendly.”

Only when they arrived at the hotel front desk did Shen Xing suddenly realize a problem. He had booked it on Wednesday and only reserved one room. When he tried to get another, the receptionist told him they were fully booked. Shen Xing stole a glance at Jiang Lin.

“Hero, is one room okay? I forgot to add a second room earlier, and now they’re all out.”

Jiang Lin pulled out his ID card. “It’s fine. When we go on business trips, two of us always share a twin room. This is already very high-end.”

This five-star hotel was far more comfortable than the small inn from before. There were no damp bedsheets, and the temperature was perfectly pleasant. Shen Xing went in to shower first and changed into the hotel-provided pajamas. When he came out, he saw Jiang Lin sitting on the sofa by the window. Dressed in a black T-shirt and black casual pants, he looked very stylish. However, Shen Xing wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but Jiang Lin’s complexion looked somewhat off, showing clear signs of fatigue. Meanwhile, his own good-for-nothing dog was curled up on Jiang Lin’s lap, squinting its eyes and enjoying a head rub.

“Hey, you sure know how to pick a spot, don’t you?”

Qianjin’s pink ears twitched, and it scampered over to Shen Xing. Jiang Lin leaned back against the sofa cushions with a weary expression, discreetly rubbing one of his knees. The hotel’s warm lights fell upon his face, masking a hint of paleness. He sat there waiting for the painkiller he had just taken to kick in, his gaze naturally falling on Dr. Shen, who was playing with the white snowball.

“Its name is Qianjin [Spoiled Princess / Treasure]?”

“Yeah, does it sound nice?”

The moment the Samoyed got in front of Shen Xing, it flipped over, exposing its belly to act spoiled and kicking its legs wildly in the air. Jiang Lin accidentally caught a glimpse of the dog’s private parts. Stunned, he thought he had misseen and narrowed his eyes for a closer look.

“Is… did I see wrong? Qianjin seems to be a male?”

Shen Xing grabbed the dog’s thrashing paws, showing zero regard for his son’s privacy, and exposed its bottom. “Come on, show Uncle. We are a little boy dog.”

Once Jiang Lin saw clearly, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why give a boy dog a name like that?”

“He was so hard to raise when he was little! Huge temper, but such a delicate body. Drinking milk either caused diarrhea or vomiting. He was so faint-hearted that even opening a door scared him—far more delicate than a spoiled wealthy lady. So, isn’t he a true Qianjin?”

Jiang Lin waited until the painkiller took effect before going to take a shower. When he came out, Shen Xing caught a faint whiff of medicine, like the scent of a pain-relief patch.

“Did you put on a medicated patch?”

“Yeah. My leg was hurting a bit, so I put one on.”

Leg pain? Leg pain at his age?

“Could it be a calcium deficiency? Come to our hospital later for a blood test.”

“It’s nothing. Probably just caught a chill from the rain the past few days.”

Since Jiang Lin wasn’t old and usually looked very healthy, Shen Xing didn’t think much further of it. “Yeah, that’s possible. The damp cold here is different from the North; it can easily cause joint discomfort. If you run out of patches, just ask me to write a prescription.”

“Will do, Dr. Shen.”

When it came time to sleep, Shen Xing hadn’t brought a crate. Fortunately, Qianjin was timid and didn’t dare run around in unfamiliar surroundings. As soon as the lights went out, it snuggled up against the bed next to Shen Xing, keeping things relatively hassle-free.

The next day, the temperature dropped again. As Shen Xing stepped out of the hotel, he shivered from the damp, icy wind blowing against his face, instinctively shrinking his neck into his collar.

The two got into the car. Since Qianjin was prone to motion sickness and might get restless, Shen Xing didn’t sit in the passenger seat this time. Instead, he sat in the back to keep an eye on the dog.

Jiang Lin actually hadn’t slept well last night. That dull, aching pain in his left leg had clung to him like a shadow. By the time he woke up in the morning, his leg was somewhat swollen. After driving for over an hour, he felt the nerve pain—which had been suppressed by medicine yesterday—showing signs of flaring up again. He pulled into the next service area and turned around.

“Dr. Shen, can you drive for a bit? I’m feeling a little sleepy.”

Shen Xing immediately responded, “No problem at all! I’ll drive, you get some rest.”

Shen Xing stepped out of the car, held down the dog who tried to follow him, and looked at the man in front. “Hero, why don’t you sit in the back to watch him? He gets car sick, and I’m worried he might throw up on your car.”

Jiang Lin nodded. The two swapped places, and Jiang Lin sat in the back row. The massive lump beside him indeed seemed carsick; the Samoyed, which had been energetic when first boarding, was now lying listlessly on the back seat, its pink ears drooping pitifully. Looking at its miserable appearance, let alone Shen Xing, even Jiang Lin felt a bit sorry for it.

He rubbed the dog’s head and gestured to it. As if familiar with his scent, the big snowball slowly crawled over. Jiang Lin patted its ears, rested Qianjin’s head on his lap, and closed his eyes while keeping one hand protectively over it, looking truly exhausted.

Shen Xing glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Jiang Lin seemed to have fallen asleep. He reached out to turn off the car music and turned the air conditioner up by one degree.

In reality, Jiang Lin wasn’t asleep; he was merely closing his eyes and enduring the pain through sheer willpower.

The silence in the car was broken by a ringtone. Jiang Lin fished out his phone, saw the caller ID, and answered immediately. The voice on the other end was frantic, and after listening to a couple of sentences, he grew anxious.

“Is Aunty at your place right now? How is she? Is she conscious?”

“She’s conscious. She said she’s fine and just needs to apply some herbal poultices, but looking at her waist and legs, it looks like a severe fall.”

“Don’t move her! Call 120 for an ambulance to pick her up. I’m heading over right now.”

Hanging up the phone, Jiang Lin met Shen Xing’s eyes looking back in the rearview mirror.

“What’s wrong, Hero?”

Their gazes locked through the mirror.

“A colleague’s mother just fell down a hillside while herding sheep outside. A neighbor brought her back home. We need to go check on her first.”

“Where is her house? Is it in the county? Set the navigation for me.”

“No, her house is in a village, and the roads are bad. Pull over—I’ll drive.”

Shen Xing recalled the mountain roads from when they first arrived and didn’t try to be brave. He pulled over to give the driver’s seat to Jiang Lin. Looking back at Qianjin, who seemed to have fallen asleep, he sat directly in the passenger seat. As he turned his head, he clearly felt that Jiang Lin was somewhat tense. Ever since he met him, this man had seemed composed and capable in everything he did; this was the first time Shen Xing had seen such obvious tension in him.

He vaguely felt that something wasn’t quite right. If a colleague’s mother fell, why didn’t they call her child first instead of calling Jiang Lin? And why was Jiang Lin so nervous?

“The nearest village calling an ambulance… that would be under our hospital, right?”

“Yes, that village falls under a town in Fulan County.”

“Don’t panic first. In a bit, I’ll ride along with the ambulance to take her to the hospital.”

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Author’s Note:

Officer Jiang, don’t avoid seeing a doctor out of embarrassment, or Director Shen will catch you next time!