Chapter 413 — Changing Tactics

The moment Qiu Lingshan heard Wei Zhao's tone, she was overjoyed. Wei Zhao yielded to soft words and defied hard ones; plainly, when she asked him for a favor, she would have to change her tactics a little so that he could not refuse.

"That day — the man the madman killer stabbed — is there any way you can wake him up?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"Which one? The one in the ward where Guan Xin was taken hostage?" Wei Zhao thought it over. The only madman killer he knew of was that one from that day.

"That's right. He's in a coma now, kept alive by a ventilator. Do you have a way?" Qiu Lingshan asked hopefully.

"Oh..." Wei Zhao had in fact examined Liu Bojia's condition that day. It was serious.

"Well? Can you or can't you?" Seeing Wei Zhao fall silent, Qiu Lingshan pressed him.

"Is there anything in it for me?" Wei Zhao thought for a moment and asked.

"In it for you..." Qiu Lingshan was about to say no, but then she reconsidered — Wei Zhao was not a member of the police force; he had no obligation to help her day in and day out. "I can apply for an honorary officer's post for you. You'd draw a salary every month, though not a very large one..."

"Not interested." Wei Zhao refused outright. What kind of benefit was that? For the sake of that pittance, he would probably end up being dragged off by Qiu Lingshan to do hard labor every day of his life.

"Then what do you want?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"Put it on the tab for now. I can't think of anything offhand." Wei Zhao did not really want anything; he had only said it in passing. Helping the Qiu girl was, in fact, the same as helping Yang Huaijun. And this was surely Yang Huaijun's doing, pointing Qiu Lingshan his way; if he would not help Qiu Lingshan, he at least owed Yang Huaijun the courtesy. So he said, "Where's the patient? I'll come take a look."

"In the intensive care ward on the twelfth floor. You'll see it the moment you come up; my people are at the door." Qiu Lingshan had still been wondering what favor Wei Zhao would demand, and had not expected him to agree so offhandedly.

"All right, wait for me." Wei Zhao hung up and said to Tang Yun, "Coming up with me?"

"You go do your proper business; I won't tag along... I'll keep my father company down here." Tang Yun hesitated. Qiu Lingshan was beautiful, and that gave her a sense of urgency, but from the look of things Wei Zhao did not like Qiu Lingshan at all — otherwise he could not have called her brain-dead at every turn. And besides, Wei Zhao was not going off to play; he was going to attend to real business.

"Fine. I'll come down to find you in a bit, and we'll go back to school together." Wei Zhao nodded, pushed the door open, and left the ward.

Wei Zhao took the elevator to the twelfth floor, and sure enough, the moment the doors opened he saw two police officers sitting outside a ward. He walked over quickly.

"Mr. Wei Zhao? Captain Qiu is waiting for you inside." The officers at the door had their orders from Qiu Lingshan; one nodded to Wei Zhao, signaling that he could go in.

Wei Zhao entered the ward and saw a large ventilator, and beneath it lay a man — Liu Bojia, from that day. He had grown very thin and haggard. Qiu Lingshan stood beside the ventilator at a complete loss. Seeing Wei Zhao come in, she asked hurriedly, "Wei Zhao, do you have a way?"

Wei Zhao said nothing. He walked over and carefully examined Liu Bojia's condition. After quite a while, he slowly shook his head and said three words: "Very troublesome."

Troublesome — but Wei Zhao had not said it was impossible! Which meant there was a way! Her taut nerves suddenly slackened. "You have a way?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"I do, but I don't think it's worth it. A waste of energy." Wei Zhao shook his head.

Qiu Lingshan gritted her teeth. She did not think Wei Zhao was putting on airs on purpose — Doctor Yang had already described the situation, and the hospital had no solution at present. If Wei Zhao had a way, it certainly would not be simple.

"The... the brain-dead girl is begging you — isn't that enough?" Qiu Lingshan clenched her jaw and forced the words out. She had Wei Zhao figured out now: he yielded to soft words and defied hard ones. The nickname "brain-dead girl" made her want to die — and to drag Wei Zhao down with her — but to get him to act, Qiu Lingshan endured it. Inwardly she swore that if one day Wei Zhao fell into her hands, she would never let him off easy.

"Heh. I'll give it a try." Wei Zhao was a little resigned. With Qiu Lingshan putting it that way, he really could not refuse. "But my medical skill isn't up to much right now. I can only wake him, and I can't guarantee how long he'll live. There are too many things wrong with him."

"You mean you still have hope of curing him, rather than just waking him briefly?" Qiu Lingshan caught the implication in his words.

"I can't. But my old man back home more or less could," Wei Zhao said. "Only my old man won't come. So if you want him dead, I'll wake him up for you right now; if you want to save his life, then leave him alone for the time being and let him lie there."

"That..." Qiu Lingshan was caught in a dilemma. It was true she wanted to find a lead as quickly as possible, but if Wei Zhao had hope of healing Liu Bojia's injuries, she would rather forgo the lead for now.

Before, there had been no way; getting Liu Bojia to say a few words had been good enough. But now that Wei Zhao did have a way, she could not let an innocent man be sacrificed for nothing.

"Call me when you've made up your mind. I have to get back." Wei Zhao knew what she was thinking and smiled. "The lunch break is limited."

"No need to think it over. Treat him when you have a way." Qiu Lingshan shook her head.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was rather surprised. He had not expected Qiu Lingshan to be so decisive; he had underestimated her before. Her sense of justice and responsibility were stronger than he had thought. "All right, I'll do my best. I'll get you an answer as soon as I can."

This time it was Qiu Lingshan's turn to be surprised. She had not expected Wei Zhao to say such a thing. In the past, whenever she went to him, he either put her off or found one reason or another; but this time, he had volunteered to do his best, and soon!

Qiu Lingshan could not adjust all at once. Wasn't this change too sudden? Could it be the effect of her soft approach earlier? It must be — sure enough, he yielded to soft words and defied hard ones!

"Then the brain-dead girl will wait for your call..." Though saying it felt awkward and humiliating, at least her subordinates were all outside and no one could see; she might as well treat it as a private word between the two of them. As long as the boy really agreed to help, she did not mind being a little brain-dead. Who told him to be genuinely better than her?

Wei Zhao looked at her as though he did not recognize her. In that short span she had called herself the brain-dead girl three times. To beg a favor, she was even willing to curse herself?

Still, it would not hurt to take her pride down a notch, so Wei Zhao did not bother to correct her. "All right, I'm off."

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