Chapter 155 Take a Bullet for You (1/2)

Ignoring the man, Ying Qingcang picked up Xin Qing and caressed her cheeks. When he confirmed that Xin Qing was indeed only asleep, he finally felt relieved.

A loud boom sounded from afar, followed by a series of human cries and sobs.

Ah Che rushed outside. Several moments later, he returned in a state of panic. ”Young master, explosives.”

”Hahaha! I already told you. None of you people will be able to leave here alive today!” Yelled the black kidnapper, whose face now held a savage look. Young Master Shen instantly knew what was wrong. ”You guys never planned to let us leave here with the hostage! You've been planning to blow us up from the start!” He shouted.

More explosions sounded from afar, which became louder and louder as the source of the explosions approached them. Ying Qingcang and the rest rushed out the door. The kidnappers fired their guns at them. That was when Xin Qing suddenly woke up.

”Don't move!” Ying Qingcang covered her ears. ”Hang on to me.”

Slack-jawed, Xin Qing stared at the people firing at them. She instantly recognized those men as her kidnappers. Turning her head, she noticed the rising black smoke some distance away as well as the wooden planks which were flying through the air haphazardly. She decided to listen to Ying Qingcang and took cover in his arms, hugging him tightly without moving a single inch; she wanted to at least try to avoid becoming a liability to him.

”Dammit to hell!” Young Master Shen cursed. Then, to Ying Qingcang, he shouted, ”Go! Take Xin Qing and get the hell out of here first! We'll cover you!”

Ying Qingcang fired his gun without looking at Young Master Shen; the bullet hit the blonde kidnapper in the thigh. ”We'll leave together,” Ying Qingcang said.

”Don't even think about leaving here today,” said the black kidnapper as he tossed a massive suitcase onto the floor. Dragging Ying Qingcang with him, Ah Che took several steps backwards. ”Young master, come on! Hurry up!” Ah Nan stepped forward to shield Ying Qingcang with his own body. ”Young master, those are rocket launchers!” Ah Nan yelled furiously.

Young Master Shen instantly saw red and readied himself to make a dive for the suitcase. Just then, he saw a helicopter in the sky, flying towards them. With a sniper rifle, Boss Wan took out the kidnappers with clean headshots. The black kidnapper was the first to crumple to the ground. The two other kidnappers followed suit.

”Move it! The whole place is about to blow!” Boss Wan yelled and released the ladder from the chopper. Ying Qingcang told Xin Qing to make the climb first. As she climbed the ladder, she glanced backward at Ying Qingcang. All of a sudden, her face paled. She jumped down from the ladder and pushed Ying Qingcang to the ground. After that, the only thing Ying Qingcang saw was Xin Qing's bloodied face as she crumpled into his arms.

It was as if that image had stopped the flow of time. Ying Qingcang saw the weak smile on Xin Qing's lips as she slowly collapsed. Her eyes had held his own image, which was crystal clear at first, but was now tinted with the color of melancholic beauty as blood spilled over them.

”Argh! Argh! Argh!” Ying Qingcang screamed at the top of his lungs as if he had gone mad. At the sight, the alarms went off in Young Master Shen's head; he rushed over and struck Ying Qingcang at the back of the head. ”Ah Che, carry him onto the helicopter. Ah Nan, contact the hospital. Come on! Move it!” Young Master Shen barked out orders.

That night, the large-scale bombings in the southern suburb were all over the news. There were a lot of casualties, and there was an ongoing police investigation into the incident.

In the hospital, Xin Qing was still in surgery. Ying Qingcang stood guard outside the operating theatre without moving a muscle.

”Xin Qing's kidnappers have nothing to do with the arms dealer. I can't seem to find out who they're working for.” There was a pause, and Boss Wan stared at Ying Qingcang. ”Sister-in-law will be fine.”

Ying Qingcang waved his hand without saying a word. Boss Wan nodded. ”I'll take my leave first, then.”

Both Ah Che and Ah Nan had both sustained injuries. After they had dealt with their wounds, they quickly came over. Meanwhile, Young Master Shen was on the phone, speaking in an inaudible tone. The indicator outside the surgical theatre turned off after seven hours. Ying Qingcang had maintained the same posture through the entire time. When the door of the operating theatre slid open, Ying Qingcang's body swayed a little as he moved. Ah Che and Ah Nan rushed over to steady him before he could crash into the floor.

”Mr. Ying, we've removed the bullet. But...” The surgeon trailed off, staring at Ying Qingcang, not daring to finish the sentence.

Ying Qingcang's gaze was fixed upon Xin Qing, whose head was covered with bandages as she lay there, barely breathing. He was afraid to even reach out to touch her, fearing that she would vanish into thin air if he was not careful.

”You can tell me,” Ying Qingcang said and returned the surgeon's gaze. ”And I want to hear the truth.”

The surgeon sighed. ”The bullet went through Mrs. Ying's cerebellum, causing damage to her brain tissues. We can guarantee that she'll wake up, but we don't know what side-effects she might suffer after waking up.”

”Thank you,” Ying Qingcang said, reaching out slowly to hold Xin Qing's hand. ”It's fine as long as she can wake up.”

The surgeon also told him something else; although Xin Qing could, in theory, wake up, it was still uncertain how long it might take her to do so. It might take her a few days, or more than ten days. After that, Xin Qing was admitted into the best ICU the hospital had to offer. Ying Qingcang spent every waking hour watching over her. He had requested for a bed to be set up beside Xin Qing's bed just so he could stay there overnight. Every night, he fell asleep with Xin Qing in his arms. During the day, he and Aunt Tian learned how to wipe Xin Qing's body to ensure that her skin remained dry and comfortable. Young Master Shen spent his day handling all of Ying Enterprises affairs on Ying Qingcang's behalf. At night, he would drop by the hospital to update Ying Qingcang on things at Ying Enterprises. Xin Qing's room was a three-bedroom suite, so Ah Che stayed at the hospital too; his job was to take care of their daily meals.

Shi Qianqian and Ding Lei visited them the same night Xin Qing was admitted into the hospital. At the sight of Xin Qing's unmoving form on the hospital bed, Shi Qianqian cried until she passed out in Ding Lei's arms. With Shi Qianqian being pregnant, Ding Lei was concerned about her well-being, so he brought Shi Qianqian home after exchanging a brief greeting with Ying Qingcang. Zhang Mi came the third day. She glanced at Xin Qing first, and then she slapped Ying Qingcang right across his cheek.

”Are you nuts?!” Young Master Shen held her back when he saw that Zhang Mi was thinking about sinking her teeth into Ying Qingcang.