Chapter 75 Surgery

Chapter 75 Surgery

Silence stretched on both ends of the line.

Finally, Li Wangyue spoke, starting with a simple description. Ting Zhenxi listened quietly, and this quiet setting gave Li Wangyue the illusion that he could say whatever was on his mind without caring how anyone felt.

If Ting Zhenxi wanted to mock him, talk in riddles, or whatever, he'd take it.

After listening, Ting Zhenxi paused, then asked, "Who's the assistant they assigned you?"

Li Wangyue didn't really have an assistant per se, since he remembered Jiang Teng had his own boss and wasn't totally under him.

But he answered anyway.

"His name's Jiang Teng, but he's not really my assistant."

That name left Ting Zhenxi speechless too.

"What's up?" Li Wangyue pressed.

Ting Zhenxi said, "If it's under him, that's normal."

"...What do you mean?"

Ting Zhenxi didn't answer, instead asking, "What do you think of Jiang Teng?"

Li Wangyue answered without missing a beat: "He's great. He handles everything in my department, reports to me, and carries out my ideas. We've had meetings, and he's really capable."

"So with his help, how many things have you actually gotten done?"

That question caught Li Wangyue off guard. After thinking it over, he admitted, "None."

Ting Zhenxi laughed, then said in a soothing tone, "Don't sweat it. I've dealt with him before, and it was the same for me."

"You too?"

"A few years back, before he joined SDA, he was assigned to me as a secretary. Back then, I was rotating as union chairman in Financial City, and just like you now, I couldn't get a thing done."

"But is he doing it on purpose? What's his angle?" Li Wangyue didn't understand.

"He's not one of us to begin with. He only answers to his direct boss. He's not under us, and we don't pay him. So he doesn't get anything from our wins, but if we screw up, he takes the heat."

"But the stuff I want to do is all good, with great potential. The odds of screwing up are really low..."

"Yeah, it seems that way. But what I mean by screwing up might be different from what you think. You think getting results is a good thing, but Jiang Teng doesn't see it that way. He thinks you wanting to do stuff outside the plan is itself a screw-up."

Li Wangyue suddenly remembered what Jiang Teng said today—that the priority cooperation rights were already set, but Li Wangyue had no clue about any of it.

That meant the whole thing was already decided, and Li Wangyue wasn't in the decision-making loop.

"So, those projects I wanted to push—they've already been handed off to others early on, so there's no way I can get them, huh?"

"Yeah."

"...How pointless."

Li Wangyue felt genuinely pointless, but thinking that his own entry into SDA was also because of a power trade—having stumbled onto the scandal Peng Jiancheng had rigged—he felt he had no room to complain.

It was very pointless, but this circle was just like that. All the perks, interests, and power were hard currency, existing only to be traded for other perks, interests, and power.

For people's livelihoods? For city development? These reasons got pushed to the bottom of the list, a throwaway bonus.

"Feeling down?" Ting Zhenxi's voice came through the phone.

Li Wangyue wasn't exactly sad, just felt really empty.

He shook his head, then remembered the other person couldn't see him, and said, "Not really. But you've been through this too?"

"Of course. Can't I?"

"With your personality, you shouldn't be someone who's controlled by others." Li Wangyue meant it sincerely; he had never seen Ting Zhenxi so willingly led around by the nose.

Ting Zhenxi's voice inexplicably softened a lot: "Nothing is impossible. Every position has someone who can restrain others, and someone who can restrain you."

Li Wangyue didn't agree, but inwardly admitted he was right.

"And you're okay with that?" He still didn't believe it.

"So concerned about me? Brother is still kind-hearted." Ting Zhenxi rarely had the energy to joke around: "I'm so unwilling, so sad, they're all so mean bullying me, I need brother to comfort me—want to hear that?"

Li Wangyue didn't want to have his mind disturbed by his words, and asked, "Then what should I do? This matter is stuck from both ends."

"Want to know?" Ting Zhenxi teased, bargaining with him: "What do you give me in return?"

"Forget it if you won't say."

Li Wangyue said that, but didn't hang up. He still wanted to solve the problem. He was confused now, and he knew Ting Zhenxi understood the intricacies of human relationships better than him.

"See what they want. I guess the Ruihai people don't really want this land, but heard some rumors and want to use it as leverage. You can first do some digging—don't let Jiang Teng do it for you—then switch to a different design company to cooperate with Ruihai, and give them some benefits to appease them."

"Which design company should I switch to?" Li Wangyue was also troubled; he didn't know any design company heads.

"Pick whichever one from your own list." Ting Zhenxi found it amusing: "It's still up to you to decide."

"...Oh."

True.

A faint cough came from the other end of the phone.

"You should rest." Li Wangyue felt his voice had been a bit soft and off since earlier, and remembering his surgery tomorrow, urged: "Thanks for helping me with ideas. Get some rest early."

"Use me and throw me away? Brother has such a cruel heart."

"..." Li Wangyue didn't want to respond to his offhand remarks, but still said, "It'll be fine. After your surgery tomorrow, I'll update you on my situation here."

Ting Zhenxi hummed in acknowledgment and hung up.

Li Wangyue let out a long breath.

His gaze scattered as he sat in the empty living room, raised his hand, and touched his own heart.

It was still beating, steadily beating.

He thought, if he used a scalpel to cut it open, how deep would he have to probe to extract the bullet buried inside?

Li Wangyue returned to Yunling.

-

He got off the plane at eight in the morning, having bought the ticket last minute, and when he arrived in Yunling, it was drizzling.

A fine, persistent drizzle, damp, like willow catkins or tiny needles, hitting his face like a mist. It felt like he didn't need an umbrella, but without one, you'd end up all damp and uncomfortable.

He took a taxi to the hospital.

The last message from Ting Zhenxi was sent half an hour ago, probably about the first surgery of the morning.

Li Wangyue had heard that with the first surgery of the morning, the surgeon would be sharper, and the results would be better. He had no idea if that was true.

Even in the morning, the hospital was crowded. Most people were expressionless, their eyes hollow and dull, clutching fresh CT scans or holding payment slips to scan and pay outside at the kiosks.

“Hey, man, can you front me another half-year's salary? My kid really needs the cash urgently. I'll work hard, swear…”

Hunched over, even though the person on the other end couldn't see him, he still groveled, pleading for money in a desperate tone. The call either ended or got hung up on him. The bony ridge of his hunched back trembled. He quickly wiped his eye with the back of his hand, then dialed the next number with a trembling hand.

He remembered that saying: hospital walls have seen more heartfelt prayers than any church.

He walked up the stairs, one step at a time, heading toward the operating room.

From a distance, he saw two people sitting in chairs, playing cards.

Zhao Bing had a lollipop in his mouth, mumbling as he laid down a pair of threes, then scratched his head, probably not happy with his hand.

Shang Wendu played a pair of queens to beat it.

Li Wangyue didn't show himself, just watched from a distance. The red light over the operating room was on, and he couldn't see what was happening inside.

Zhao Bing reached behind his back, seemed to fish out a card, and in the blink of an eye, slipped it into his own hand of cards.

Shang Wendu had only three cards left. He dropped a four, then smiled at Zhao Bing.

Zhao Bing still had four cards. Seeing that, he immediately slapped down a pair of jokers, then smiled back at Shang Wendu.

Shang Wendu's smile froze, and his eyes slowly turned cold.

“Zhao Bing, nice. A pair of jokers, huh?”

Zhao Bing didn't bat an eye. “Yeah, you want 'em? Play 'em if you can.”

Shang Wendu let out an angry laugh and slammed a single joker onto the table. “Does your deck have three jokers? Playing Landlord and you still cheat. I really should cut your hand off.”

Zhao Bing was very calm. “You're talking nonsense! Maybe you're the one cheating. I drew a pair of jokers fair and square. That joker in your hand—who knows where it came from.”

Shang Wendu was about to curse him some more when his gaze swept over a figure by the fire escape in the distance. He fell silent.

Zhao Bing thought he couldn't take losing and quickly grabbed his hand to beg for mercy. “Alright, alright, I cheated. Don't be mad. Let's keep playing, keep playing…”

Shang Wendu gave him a look.

Zhao Bing turned around, startled at first, then shot over like a rocket, crashing straight into Li Wangyue's arms and hugging him tightly.

“Wuwuwu, Brother Wangyue, you're here! Are you here for me? I missed you so much. Did you miss me? You've been ignoring me lately, and I'm so sad. I found this amazing noodle shop and wanted to take you there for a ride, but then he said I wasn't honest and had my ID revoked, so my brother came back to watch the trees, and they're all bare and ugly…”

By the end, Li Wangyue had no idea what he was talking about. It was like he was saying whatever came to mind in a dream.

Being hugged so tightly, Li Wangyue felt a bit uncomfortable, but he couldn't bear to push him away. He gently patted his back. “Alright, stop crying. I was… too busy before.”

“Don't make excuses for him. I know everything.” Zhao Bing wiped his tears, sobbing in fits. “Tingting was mean to you, wasn't he? I already scolded him. He went too far. What his dad did isn't something you guys could control…”

Li Wangyue clenched his fist for a moment, then let it go. He didn't say much.

He glanced at Shang Wendu, who gave a slight shake of his head. Li Wangyue understood: Zhao Bing only knew that he and Ting Zhenxi had been on bad terms lately, not the specifics of what happened.

Zhao Bing finally stopped crying and let him go, pulling him to play cards. Shang Wendu told him not to, saying Zhao Bing played dirty and kept cheating, so he shouldn't play with him.

“Tingting cheats too, and you still play with him,” Zhao Bing muttered.

Shang Wendu was expressionless. “Quietly swapping a three and outright adding an extra joker are a bit different. If you're going to cheat, at least be subtle about it, okay?”

Zhao Bing shook his head and mimicked in a singsong voice, “Meow meow meow meow…”

Not far away, the light in the operating room went out.

Li Wangyue shot to his feet.