Forgiveness Part 2

"Yes," Shi Jin nodded and couldn't help but smile when he mentioned it, "After the toxin's active period is over, Lian Jun won't feel any more leg pain when walking. He's in a wheelchair now only because his body is still very weak. After a while, when his body gets better, he should be able to walk normally again."

Number Two shouted in excitement and couldn't help but hit Number One hard. As Number One was hit, his face turned black. He frowned and rubbed his shoulder, then retaliated by hitting back. He looked at Shi Jin with a smile and said, "Thank you, it's all thanks to you."

"It's nothing," Shi Jin replied, suddenly feeling a sense of relief. "It's thanks to everyone."

......

After Number One and Number Two returned, there was less work for Lian Jun to handle, and he could finally rest.

Shi Jin was overjoyed and became even more attached to Lian Jun, trying to coax him into eating more and carefully watching over every aspect of his treatment.

In late April, after various parties had played their games, the results of the handling of the sea battle incident were announced - all organizations suspected of attacking were disbanded and entered into a cleanup program.

For the next six months, a state of alert was in effect. If any organization was found to be disregarding the treaty and firing in inappropriate places, the authorities would deal with them directly using force.

This was the first time since the easing of tensions between the government and criminal organisations that the government had taken such a strong stance in handling the issue. All the leaders of the organizations could sense that something was not right - the sea battle incident had almost caused a diplomatic problem, and the government probably had more tricks up their sleeve.

As expected, not long after the announcement of the handling results, Zhang Zhuoyuan used this incident as an excuse to demand that all legitimate listing organizations accept official inspections in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The leaders of various organizations were complaining and cursing, but no one dared to take the lead. They hated the troublemaking organizations and their backers to the core.

As a person related to the sea battle incident, Annihilation naturally received the "attention" of the authorities. Number Two flipped through the "apology" note sent by Zhang Zhuoyuan and sneered, "Zhang Zhuoyuan really doesn't learn from his mistakes. He actually wants to use this opportunity to figure out Annihilation's asset movements. How naive."

Shi Jin furrowed his brows and asked, "Can it be handled?"

"It can be handled," Number Two replied with a mocking smile. "Zhang Zhuoyuan seems to have forgotten his current position."

......

After dinner, Number Two reported to Lian Jun about Zhang Zhuoyuan's attempt to send someone to "inspect" the internal affairs of Annihilation.

Lian Jun's expression turned cold as he listened, and he immediately took out his phone and dialed Zhang Zhuoyuan's number. He got straight to the point and said, "I'm sorry, but I won't accept this 'inspection'."

Zhang Zhuoyuan knew it was bad news when he saw Lian Jun's call. He nervously explained, "This is a task from above, requiring all organizations to accept inspection. I can't make an exception for Annihilation."

"I don't want to hear your excuses," said Lian Jun in a cold tone, each sentence probing at the edge of tearing their relationship apart. "Director Zhang, this time Shi Jin has fought for such a big advantage for you. I don't expect you to be grateful, but I hope you won't bite the hand that feeds you.

"I can tell you the truth, Annihilation has indeed been using Ruihang to transfer and whiten some of its industries recently. Those are the guarantees I gave to Shi Jin for the future. I don't want you to touch them. If you insist on playing this little game, and don't give me a way out, then I can only go down with Annihilation." With that, he hung up the phone.

Zhang Zhuoyuan was left with a face full of embarrassment, looking at his phone with a headache and rubbing his forehead.

......

Three days later, Zhang Zhuoyuan delivered the news that the inspection against Annihilation had been cancelled. Finally relieved, Lian Jun took the initiative to call Zhang Zhuoyuan and said some comforting words.

At the end of April, Uncle Long and Shao Jianping found Lian Jun and said, "The treatment is about to enter the next stage, and there is no suitable equipment on the island. We must leave."

Lian Jun turned his head and looked at Shi Jin, who was sitting in the corner of the study, painfully studying with Mr. Feng. He nodded and said, "Then arrange it as soon as possible, don't worry about me."

In early May, everyone boarded a plane back to B city.

Upon arrival in B city, they did not return to the club, but went straight to the sanatorium in the university town - if nothing unexpected happened, Lian Jun's next treatment would be completed here.

After a long flight, Lian Jun fell asleep as soon as he arrived at the sanatorium. Once Shi Jin had settled him in, he walked out of the building and sat on a flower bed outside. He gazed at the brilliant, nameless flowers and without turning his head, asked, "Fifth Brother, do you have something to tell me?"

Li Jiuzheng emerged from behind the flower bed and sat beside him. "Xiao Jin, I have to go back to the hospital. A critically ill patient has arrived and I need to attend to them."

Shi Jin turned his head to look at him and asked, "Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, my car is parked at the nearby university," Li Jiuzheng replied, tightening his grip.

Summoning his courage, he turned his head to meet Shi Jin's gaze and asked, "After I'm done, can I come back to see you?"

Shi Jin carefully studied his expression, then looked deeply into his eyes until he was sure that he could no longer see any trace of the "Dr. Li" he used to know. Only then did he nod and say with a smile, "Of course, next time you come to see me, remember to bring me some special products from Rong City."

Li Jiuzheng's expression visibly brightened, he smiled slightly, and happily replied, "Can I hug you?"

Shi Jin took the initiative to hug him, gently patting his back.

Li Jiuzheng immediately hugged him back, savoring his breath, then reluctantly let go, stood up with restraint, took his luggage from behind the flower bed, and said, "Well...I'm leaving."

"Goodbye, Fifth Brother," Shi Jin waved with a smile.

Li Jiuzheng's eyes dimmed for a moment when he realized that Shi Jin didn't offer to see him off like he did for Fei Yujing earlier. But he quickly regained his composure, smiled, and waved back at Shi Jin. He picked up his luggage and turned to leave - at least he had to maintain the image of a big brother when leaving, he couldn't afford to lose face.

"Fifth Brother," Shi Jin suddenly called out to him.

Li Jiuzheng immediately turned around, his eyes filled with anticipation. "What's up?"

"When we were on the ship, why did you rush over?" Shi Jin asked seriously.

Li Jiuzheng was taken aback, his mouth opened but no words came out.

"Fifth Brother, I want to know why," Shi Jin emphasized.

Li Jiuzheng met his gaze and remained silent for a while before saying, "I am a doctor. If...perhaps I can save you. No, I can definitely save you. I must save you."

[I won't let you die. You must never think of dying.]

Suddenly, Shi Jin remembered the sentence Li Jiuzheng had said in the original owner's memory. From another perspective, isn't this what Li Jiuzheng is saying now - "I can definitely save you"?

I will save you, will give everything to save you. So please don't die, I beg you.

He seemed to hear the plea of Li Jiuzheng from his past life, who had been trapped in the agony of his soul.

......Forget it. Whether it's self-deception or excessive imagination, it doesn't matter anymore.

"Fifth Brother, I forgive you." He smiled at Li Jiuzheng, finally saying these words without any grudges. "I forgive you for wanting to kill me. I'm not afraid of you anymore, and I don't blame you either. So let's spend next year's Chinese New Year together. You don't have a mother, and I don't have a mother, so it's just nice that we can spend it together."

Li Jiuzheng stared at him, his eyes gradually turning red. He suddenly lowered his head and rubbed his eyes hard, saying, "Thank you... thank you, Xiao Jin. I'm sorry... I will come find you next year... not just for Chinese New Year, but also for your birthday. I will come to celebrate with you for many years to come... I'm sorry..."

He suddenly stopped talking, turned around in embarrassment, and quickly left the place.

Shi Jin didn't go after him. He sat there and watched as he disappeared into the trees and flowers. He looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and exhaled softly. Then he stood up, dusted off his pants, and turned to run back to the hospital room where Lian Jun was. He made sure Lian Jun was still asleep before taking off his jacket and shoes, carefully lifting the blanket and crawling in next to him.

"Where did you go wandering off to? You smell like pollen," Lian Jun suddenly opened his eyes and reached out to hold him.

Shi Jin stiffened, lowered his head and buried his face in Lian Jun's chest, not letting him see his face.

"You only know how to act cute with me at times like this," Lian Jun held the back of his head, gently rubbing it and kissing the top of his head. "Go to sleep. If you don't want him to leave, we can invite him out to play next time."

Shi Jin hugged his waist tightly, smelling his scent and not saying a word.

Xiao Si suddenly spoke up: "Jin Jin, your progress bar has dropped, it's at 40 now."

Shi Jin's heart skipped a beat and he quickly closed her eyes, feeling the warmth emanating from Lian Jun's body. He allowed herself to sink into a deep slumber on this warm afternoon.