"Hagiwara, how are you feeling?"
Jinpei Matsuda watched the fingers of the person on the bed twitch, his whole body instantly looking much more alert.
"Am I... still alive?"
Kenji Hagiwara stared somewhat blankly at the white ceiling. He remembered being caught in the blast wave of the bomb; by all rights, it should have been impossible to survive, yet the pain racking his entire body was unmistakably real.
Jinpei Matsuda snapped irritably, "Yes! You're still alive. If you'd died, the squad leader and I would have been stuck shouldering five million yuan for nothing!"
At the mention of "five million," Kenji Hagiwara's pupils contracted violently, and he tried to bolt upright, but his battered body wouldn't obey. Stuttering, he asked, "How... how much did you just say?"
"Five million, what about it?"
"What comes after the five million?"
"Yuan, renminbi! Did your brain turn to mush after a nap? Could I possibly have made it any clearer?"
Jinpei Matsuda rolled his eyes. Why was his childhood friend such an idiot? Had his brain been addled by the shockwave of the bomb?
"Five million yuan?! Why is it so expensive? Are they trying to rob me? Will I ever be able to pay this off in my lifetime?"
Jinpei Matsuda was already fuming, so he blurted out everything that had happened before the surgery.
"Tell me about it! When we first carried you in, the doctor refused to treat you until we paid one million US dollars upfront."
All the doctors at the hospital had claimed he was beyond saving, except for one male doctor who could operate, but that man insisted on payment first, dropping a final harsh warning that Hagiwara only had a breath left in him anyway and couldn't be saved.
"As luck would have it, a nurse told the squad leader about a doctor whose fees were astronomical, but who would at least operate immediately and do everything possible to save your life."
"We caught him just as he was getting off work. The moment he saw us, he pulled out a pre-surgery consent form without a word. The second we signed it, he called back every single off-duty medical staff member to operate on you."
Kenji Hagiwara stared in shock as he munched on a freshly peeled apple. To hear his short-tempered best friend speak so admiringly of someone meant that doctor must genuinely be exceptional.
"Who would've thought he actually dragged you back from the gates of hell? That five million was well spent."
"So when can I be discharged?"
"Who knows? The squad leader went to ask."
Just as the words left his mouth, Wataru Date walked in holding a clipboard. Jinpei Matsuda stepped forward and asked, "Squad leader, what did the doctor say?"
"He said that considering our special circumstances, he'll give us a discount: half a million, covering the surgery, medical supplies, and his overtime pay. He wants it paid by the end of the year at the latest, otherwise, interest will accrue starting next year."
Wataru Date reported truthfully, and a second later Kenji Hagiwara struggled to sit up, utter shock written all over his face. "There's interest?!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Hagiwara! Lie back down! Your injuries haven't healed yet!"
Kenji Hagiwara's face was a picture of reluctance. Even though the five million had dropped to half a million, that was still a mountain of money. His salary for the past few months combined came to only three hundred thousand, and this was in renminbi!
His heart was bleeding. One million US dollars and five million yuan—the former was beyond his reach, while the latter would require him to spend his entire life paying off the debt. Would the government compensation payout even be enough?
"The doctor said if you actually listen, you'll need to stay in bed for at least a month; if you don't listen, it'll be three months. Take your pick, but either way, that half-million isn't going anywhere."
Looking at the strange concoction on the table, Kenji Hagiwara felt his scalp tingle. Could a bowl of pitch-black soup giving off such a heavy medicinal stench really be drunk? And why was there a centipede in it?!
"Can I refuse?"
Kenji Hagiwara looked utterly resistant. Jinpei Matsuda pinched his nose and stood by the window; medicinal brew or not, the stench was overpowering, and he didn't need to taste it to know what it was like.
"Hagiwara, bitter medicine is good for the illness. You'd better follow doctor's orders. This is the consequence of not wearing your bomb suit. Remember it this time so there won't be a next time."
Wataru Date urged him earnestly, hoping he would learn his lesson. Hagiwara took a sip, his eyebrows instantly knitting together into a mask of pure agony. He declared righteously, "I swear this is the first time and the absolute last time. I never want to see this thing again for the rest of my life."
"You brought this on yourself."
"Hang in there, Hagiwara. Once you finish this bowl, you're free."
Kenji Hagiwara pressed his lips tightly together, looking at the large, full bowl of black medicinal soup in his hand. Remembering the bitterness lingering in his mouth, he simply couldn't summon the resolve to gulp it all down in one go.
He looked at his respected squad leader and couldn't help asking, "Is there really no other way?"
Wataru Date sighed. "Fine, I'll go ask the doctor and see if he can show some flexibility."
Before he could finish speaking, Wataru Date spotted Geng Jing standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back and his head lowered. The other man looked at them with a detached, strictly professional expression. "Is there a problem?"
"It's just that this medicine is too bitter. Can he drink a little less of it?"
"Sorry, no."
The simple, blunt answer plunged Kenji Hagiwara's world into total darkness. He'd rather die than drink this medicine.
"But this medicine is so bitter, beautiful lady, is there any room for negotiation?"
Kenji Hagiwara cast a soulful gaze at the heterochromic, long white-haired "beauty" standing at the door with his alluring violet eyes, adding a wink for good measure.
Geng Jing: *...This guy is seriously ill, he needs treatment.*
Jinpei Matsuda covered his face, signaling that he didn't know this man. Goosebumps broke out all over Wataru Date's body, and he awkwardly looked at Geng Jing to apologize.
"I'm sorry, my friend's eyesight is a bit poor. Please forgive him, Mr. Geng Jing."
Wataru Date deliberately emphasized the word "Mr." as a warning to Hagiwara not to play the fool. After all, Geng Jing was indeed very pretty, and it was hard to tell his gender from his voice alone.
"I apologize if my friend caused any unfortunate misunderstandings. If the medicine's bitterness is causing your friend to hallucinate, you can have him hold this box of medicinal candies in his mouth while drinking it."
Geng Jing handed a box of soft candies to Wataru Date. The tin featured a cluster of gold-and-white flowers; it looked like soft candy made from medicinal herbs.
"If you run out, you can pick up more at the front desk." With that, Geng Jing glanced at his phone and said, "I'm off work. If you need anything, find the receptionist; they'll answer your questions. Thank you."
Without looking back, Geng Jing walked away with absolute decisiveness. Kenji Hagiwara looked at the squad leader in bewilderment. "Why is he in such a hurry? Did I scare him?"
Wataru Date shook his head and sighed. "He has to rush off to pick up his kid. Yesterday, when he should have gotten off work, we stopped him and made him perform a three-hour surgery on you."
"The office phone was ringing off the hook, and he had to rush off to pick up his child. It turns out he's a single dad, so he tacked an extra thirty thousand onto your medical bill."
"Never mind the thirty thousand in overtime pay! He actually has a kid?! He looks practically our age!"
Jinpei Matsuda blurted out in shock. It would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous; among the five of them from the police academy, only Wataru Date had a girlfriend while the other four were total bachelors, yet this streak-haired doctor who had just walked out the door already had a kid.