Chapter 58: The Surgery Wasn’t Exactly a Success
“I’m betting on Phantom Horse. For this race, besides the championship, people are placing side bets.”
Jiang Chuzhou chattered incessantly beside Qin Lou, confidently holding up five fingers. “I’m betting Phantom Horse wins. My stake is this much.”
Qin Lou glanced at him with zero interest and continued walking toward the operating room, his mind preoccupied with the Black Panther matter. He was feeling restless.
“Do you know how much that is? Five million.”
Jiang Chuzhou said nonchalantly. Since there was no one around to flatter him, he lost interest in teasing and pulled on the man’s sleeve.
“Don’t you want to know why I’m betting so much?”
Qin Lou wasn’t in the mood to guess. As he reached the hallway of the emergency room, his pace slowed. Seeing that the red light of the operating room was still on—it had been nearly eight hours—he feared that Liang Sheng’s chances were slim.
“You brat! Are you looking for death?!”
A loud roar sounded from behind.
Jiang Chuzhou’s body shook. He turned his head tremblingly and saw his father glaring at him with a fierce expression. He immediately felt guilty but still acted spoiled. “What’s the matter? Who’s looking for death? Saying ‘death’ all day… how unlucky!”
“I only feel unlucky because I have a spendthrift son like you!”
Jiang Tianyang grabbed his son’s ear and pulled him close.
“Ow! Ow! Let go! Be gentle!”
Jiang Chuzhou cried out in pain, clutching his ear.
Jiang Tianyang was furious and kept pulling. Jiang Chuzhou winced and tried to pry the hand away, but his father only pulled harder, scolding him:
“Doing nothing all day! Do you know how much tourism revenue I have to earn to make five million? You went and bet it all on some stupid racing without a word! You’re trying to kill me! You scoundrel!”
“It’s not stupid racing! It’s my dream! What do you know?! All you care about is your stupid tourism business!”
Jiang Chuzhou refused to back down. He was the only son of the Jiang family and was used to being pampered. Being dragged by the ear in public was humiliating. He didn’t even dare to look at Qin Lou’s face!
Qin Lou had no expression; he just felt the playboy young master truly needed a lesson. He ignored them and walked directly toward Shen Xingyu, who was still waiting on the bench.
Jiang Chuzhou clearly saw Shen Xingyu too and shouted for help: “Brother Yu! Save me! My dad’s going to kill me!”
Shen Xingyu looked up from his frustration. Seeing Jiang Chuzhou waving at him, he had no mood to respond and turned his gaze back to the operating room, his heart hanging in suspense.
Too busy scolding his son, Jiang Tianyang hadn’t noticed Shen Xingyu nearby. He finally let go of his son, gave him a stern look to make him follow, and changed to an elegant expression as he approached. “Xiao Yu, why are you here?”
As he spoke, he looked toward the operating room, his expression becoming serious. “Is the person in there…”
Jiang Chuzhou rubbed his red ear, walking behind his father with a look of resentment, wishing he could kick the old man.
Shen Xingyu slowly stood up and rubbed his face. He hoarsely called out “Uncle Jiang” and then went silent. The thought of Liang Sheng still being in surgery made him miserable.
Qin Lou answered for him: “It is our Young Madam.”
“What? My sister-in-law?!”
Jiang Chuzhou was surprised. He knew about the indecent photos from the gala and immediately said: “Is it because of those photos that she couldn’t take it and…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Jiang Tianyang interrupted him angrily, then turned and patted Shen Xingyu’s shoulder, comforting him like an elder: “Xiao Yu, don’t worry too much. I’ve also sent people to investigate and suppress the trending searches regarding the photos. The rumors will fade in a few days. I believe Shengsheng would never do anything to disgrace the Shen family’s reputation; someone must have done it intentionally!”
“Yes. Thank you, Uncle Jiang.”
Shen Xingyu nodded, his face showing unprecedented exhaustion. In the face of life and death, he no longer cared if Liang Sheng had cheated or betrayed him. He didn’t care about any of it; he was only afraid of losing the man.
“How is Shengsheng now? What did the doctor say?”
Jiang Tianyang cared a lot about the Shen family’s affairs. However, hearing the person in the operating room wasn’t the Old Master, he was somewhat disappointed.
“I don’t know yet.”
Shen Xingyu shook his head. He didn’t want to tell Jiang Tianyang about Liang Sheng’s stomach cancer. He was afraid the man would tell the Old Master; his grandfather was old and probably couldn’t handle such tragic news. Besides, he still couldn’t accept the fact that Liang Sheng was sick.
“Sigh, truly unfortunate.”
Jiang Tianyang thought Liang Sheng had tried to take his own life. He continued to comfort Shen Xingyu: “Xiao Yu, it’s fine. When Shengsheng comes out, spend more time with him. Help him look on the bright side. I’ll make an appointment with Nanshi’s most famous psychologist later to help him move past this shadow.”
“Okay. Thank you, Uncle Jiang.”
Shen Xingyu let out a long breath. He no longer had the energy to maintain his composure.
If Liang Sheng were just depressed, it would be one thing—he wouldn’t be in so much pain. But it had to be agonizing stomach cancer.
Jiang Chuzhou sat directly beside him, threw an arm over his shoulder, and said heartlessly: “Brother Yu, why are you so listless? Don’t you dislike the sister-in-law? What are you worried about?”
Shen Xingyu frowned but didn’t push him away, nor did he argue. He seemed to have fallen into that very question himself.
That’s right, do I like Liang Sheng?
If I like him, why did I treat him like that?
If I don’t, why do I get so crazy angry just because he smiles at other men?
He was a master of strategy in the business world, yet he couldn’t see through his own heart this time.
Jiang Chuzhou continued to whisper in his ear: “If the sister-in-law dies, won’t you be able to remarry naturally? I see you like that Secretary Su quite a bit. Have you considered…”
“Get lost.”
Shen Xingyu spit out the word coldly, his fists clenched so hard they trembled. He couldn’t stand hearing Liang Sheng being associated with death!
Seeing the sudden change in expression, Jiang Tianyang immediately knew his son had said something wrong again. He angrily grabbed Jiang Chuzhou, scolding him:
“What nonsense are you saying now? Get home right now. I brought you for a check-up and couldn’t find you for half the day. If I, Jiang Tianyang, ever let you out to fool around again, I won’t take the name Jiang!”
“If you don’t take the name Jiang, what will you take? The name Dog?”
Jiang Chuzhou was still adding fuel to the fire. He raised an eyebrow, his head tilted with a punchable, provocative expression.
Jiang Tianyang was truly about to die of anger. He cursed “Bastard” and, ignoring the onlookers, raised his hand to slap him hard.
Jiang Chuzhou had already seen through his father. He nimbly dodged to the side. Over years of being beaten, he had developed sharp eyes and quick reflexes.
Jiang Tianyang missed and almost stumbled. Fortunately, he was caught by Qin Lou.
“Director Jiang, be careful.”
“I’m fine.”
Jiang Tianyang waved his hand, grit his teeth.
“Oh, Qin Lou, why help him? He’s sturdy; he won’t die from a fall. It would be better if he did.”
Jiang Chuzhou looked on gleefully.
Jiang Tianyang felt like he was about to vomit blood. His finger trembled as he pointed at his son. “What sin did I commit in my past life to have a degenerate like you!”
Hearing this, Jiang Chuzhou’s smile faded, and his face darkened. He kept his hands in his pockets and said coldly: “Yeah, I’m a degenerate. But compared to what you did to Mom, what are my little tricks?”
The moment those words were spoken, everything went silent.
Jiang Tianyang looked at him in disbelief, his anger vanishing. Did this kid find out something?
Shen Xingyu’s ears were aching from the noise. He forced himself to stay alert and looked at Jiang Tianyang coldly. “Uncle Jiang, please leave. Shengsheng is still in surgery, and he doesn’t like noise. Don’t discuss family matters in public.”
Jiang Tianyang exhaled and gave a forced smile. “Alright. Xiao Yu, if you need anything from Uncle Jiang, just call. We are family.”
“Yes.”
Shen Xingyu didn’t take the “we are family” comment to heart. Although Jiang Tianyang had helped the Old Master manage the Nanshi branch and had helped the Shen family a lot, the Old Master had warned him that Jiang Tianyang wanted to merge the Jiang and Shen enterprises. This kept him on guard against this “Uncle Jiang,” unable to trust him fully.
“Then we’ll be taking our leave.”
After saying that, Jiang Tianyang dragged the “pitiful” Jiang Chuzhou away without looking back.
“Let go! If you want to go, go yourself!”
Jiang Chuzhou struggled hard, but his father was a black belt in martial arts and he was out of practice, so he couldn’t win.
Qin Lou watched the Jiang Chuzhou, who was half a head shorter than Jiang Tianyang. He couldn’t help but think about what the other had just said.
So Jiang Chuzhou resents Jiang Tianyang because of his mother? He had never met the Jiang Madam. Rumors said she died of illness, but was the truth different?
Forget it, what did that have to do with him?
Qin Lou withdrew his gaze.
As soon as they left, the operating room doors opened.
Shen Xingyu acted as if he had found a lifeline, nervously stepping forward to ask, “How is he, Doctor?”
The doctor said solemnly: “The surgery was completed successfully, but it wasn’t exactly a success. The cancer cells in the patient’s stomach have spread quite significantly. He might face a second emergency. Let’s move him to the ICU for observation first. Remember, do not let the patient have large emotional fluctuations to avoid worsening the condition.”
“I understand…”
Shen Xingyu’s heart was heavy. He asked again, “When will he wake up?”
“The situation is stable for now. He should wake up within 24 hours. Don’t let him eat once he’s awake.”
The doctor instructed: “As for the treatment for the stomach cancer, I and the other doctors will make arrangements. The family shouldn’t worry too much. The patient is only in the middle stage; with active treatment, there will be improvement.”
“Okay. Thank you, Doctor!”
Shen Xingyu nodded and then couldn’t wait to rush into the operating room to see Liang Sheng.
Liang Sheng lay there quietly, with various tubes connected to him. The blood on his clothes had dried.
He was so small and thin, surrounded by those cold instruments like a fragile porcelain doll.
Shen Xingyu’s eyes grew hot. He walked over and carefully held Liang Sheng’s cold fingers.
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