Chapter 226: Dalang Has Awoken

Liu Weichen slowly opened his eyes. They shone like stars from another constellation, so far away, but so deep that other people could not help but want to go near them.

Liu Weichen exhaled softly and opened his mouth with great difficulty, “I don’t want to take medication…”

“Mister Liu, hold my hand and take large breaths.” The anesthetist held Liu Weichen’s downturned hand while pressing lightly onto Liu Weichen’s shoulder with another hand. He then repeated, “Take large breaths, large breaths…”

Sounds came out of Liu Weichen’s mouth, but they were only sounds of inhalation. He was not exhaling any air at all. At the same time, he flashed a strange smile, “Doctor Pan, your drug wore off so quickly. Has the surgery started yet?”

“It is already done.” The anesthetist twitched his lips. He had gone through the same conversation many times before.

Liu Weichen suddenly fixed his gaze on the anesthetist’s face for a few seconds without breathing. He asked vigilantly, “Is your family name really Pan?”

“Eh, Mister Liu, your train of thought is actually quite clear. Ordinary people would ask me why the surgery was completed so quickly. Hm, do you feel awake yet?”

Liu Weichen fixed his gaze on the other party. “Is your family name really Pan?”

“Do you remember that you asked me this question just now? If you don’t, we’ll be in quite a fix here.”

Liu Weichen latched onto the anesthetist’s wrist tightly in a reversed grip. “What is your name?”

“Oh wow, you’re quite energetic. Alright, you’ll be fine.” The anesthetist rose with a smile and tapped Liu Weichen’s hand before he freed his wrist from Liu Weichen’s grasp. “Alright, you can sleep for a while longer. I’ll inform the others first.”

Liu Weichen did not see the anesthetist again, even up until he was pushed back to his room. He even had suspicions that there was something wrong with his memory…

…..

Outside the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center was a spontaneous gathering of fans. There was an even larger gathering of reporters from the media, and they were armed with large cameras that had telescopic lenses.

There were indeed very few famous track and field athletes in China. Liu Weichen was already popular to begin with, and coupled with the pity he received due to his injury, he was getting a lot of attention.

Zhu Tongyi tried his best to allocate as many people as possible to handle the reporters. However, the reporters who failed to get any information inside the research center would rather wait outside the door to see if they could get any extra clues.

A motorcade consisting of three Volkswagen Passats drove slowly around the roundabout before heading towards the main door of the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center.

Some of the cleverer reporters immediately noticed that something was up. They pointed their digital cameras at the Volkswagen Passats and started taking pictures. They had ample storage space in their cameras, anyway.

“Go straight inside.” The leader of the Sports Bureau frowned. He neither wanted to see the reporters’ faces nor chase them away.

Inside the center, Doctor Qu, the vice director, and the others who received news about this were already waiting downstairs. Very soon after they were opened, the automatic gates snapped shut again, not giving the reporters much chance to gather anything.

The bureau’s leader glanced at the gate that separated them from the reporters outside before he let out a soft cough and adjusted his collar. He then slowly exited the car.

“Director-General Wang, Chief Su, Chief Ma,” Doctor Qu greeted the leaders of the Sports Bureau with familiarity.

The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center was located near Fuyuan Stadium, and the center’s staff members often dealt with the cadres and athletes of the Sports Bureau. Compared to other clients, the leaders of the bureau were considered major clients, and some of the doctors—such as Doctor Qu—were very careful around them.

“Young Qu.” Director-General Wang also recognized Doctor Qu. He flashed a kindly smile and took the initiative to shake hands with Doctor Qu. “We have troubled you so many times when it came to Liu Weichen, and we’re extremely grateful…”

“Ah, you’re too courteous.” Doctor Qu’s expression changed a little. Even though he knew that Director-General Wang was faking it in front of other people, this time, the director was even more polite than usual.

Director-General Wang waved his hand in dismissal, and said, “This is not about being courteous, this is about respect. We must have respect for the field of science and medicine. When athletes get injured, they need to be treated. And at that time, they would need to rely on doctors for support, right?”

“It is indeed rare for someone in your position to be able to think like this. Erm, thank you so much for understanding,” Doctor Qu answered, even though his answer was unconvincing. He felt like he was facing someone far more superior than his own self.

Director-General Wang chuckled and said, “People like us who are in managerial positions and work with an organization must do everything we can to understand other people. This is especially true when we deal with athletes. Because they are all very young, they have minds of their own and are not willing to be controlled. Even though we understand this, when it comes to certain important issues and major problems, an athlete is more than an individual, he is also part of the Sports Bureau. By respecting science and our athletes, we, correspondingly, also expect the same type of respect from the athletes.”

Doctor Qu did not even dare to reply to this. He saw now that Director-General Wang was obviously here to interrogate them.

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Chief Ma who was in charge of the track and field team asked, “Where is Liu Weichen?”

“He is inside.” Doctor Qu did not bother to stop them from going in. Liu Weichen refused to listen to him anyway, and turned to rely on Ling Ran instead. It would be meaningless for Doctor Qu to stop the bureau’s leaders now.

Doctor Qu led the way as the leaders of the bureau walked behind him. The leaders of the bureau did not even pay much attention to the vice director of the research center who was walking beside Doctor Qu.

The vice director could not care less. When he saw that they had walked away, he pulled out his mobile phone and called Zhu Tongyi.

Soon, the two parties met in Liu Weichen’s luxurious room

The most important room in the large four-bedroom suite was, naturally, Liu Weichen’s room. It took up about one-fourth of the suite, and came with a full set of life support equipment. The ward had ample sunlight, and was quiet and comfortable.

Liu Weichen was leaning against the elevated hospital bed. There was a cast on his injured leg, and it was hung at an elevated position. He was sleeping in a daze.

Director-General Wang was horrified when he saw this. He immediately became furious. “What’s going on?”

“The surgery went really well,” Academician Zhu Tongyi said with a smile on his face, “We expect Weichen to be able to start getting used to training after resting for three or four months.”

Because it was not appropriate for Director-General Wang to shout at an academician, he could only speak impatiently to the people beside him. “Wake Liu Weichen up and see what he has to say.”

Zhu Tongyi immediately stopped the people from waking Liu Weichen. “The patient still needs to rest. Let’s go outside first.”

Chief Ma ignored Zhu Tongyi and pushed Liu Weichen hard twice. But no matter how hard one pushed, one would not be able to wake a person who was only pretending to be asleep.

Zhu Tongyi said, “The anesthetic drugs in Liu Weichen’s body has not worn off yet. He won’t be able to communicate normally with you right now.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Even though Director-General Wang did not really feel like respecting the field of science anymore, he did not express that in front of Academician Zhu.

Chief Ma only came forward and spoke begrudgingly when they arrived at the reception hall. “Academician Zhu, why did you operate on Liu Weichen without telling us anything?”

“Liu Weichen has been staying in our hospital for so many days. There are reports by the media, and the bureau knows about it, too. How can you say that we did it without telling you anything?”

“This is a major issue. You should have at least waited for the bureau to approve the surgery before operating on him.” Chief Ma looked extremely displeased. “Now that the surgery has been carried out like this, all our follow-up plans are messed up.”

Zhu Tongyi smiled and said nothing, letting the other party vent to his heart’s content.

Even though there were differences between medical disputes with government bodies, and medical disputes with ordinary people, one thing remained unchanged—explanations were futile.

After letting out a long-winded rant, Chief Ma finally got tired. He then asked, “Where’s the chief surgeon? How was the situation during the surgery? Can he explain things to us?”

“Sure, please wait for a while, let me ask him.” Zhu Tongyi looked towards Ji Tianlu.

The latter shrugged and said, “He’s in the middle of a surgery”

“Another surgery?”

“He wants to finish operating on all the patients by today.”

“We can’t help it, then. Should we wait for a while?” Zhu Tongyi said to the bureau’s leaders. He looked a little apologetic.

“We’ll wait for a while.” After Director-General Wang said that, he asked someone to call for some reporters and a specialist from the bureau to come over. He then said, “Those are the reporters we know, and they won’t spread false rumors. I hope that you do not mind.”

Zhu Tongyi smiled. “Of course, it is not a problem.”

Soon, two reporters and a rehabilitation specialist arrived at the reception hall.

They waited for a little longer before Ling Ran walked into the reception hall in scrubs.

The two reporters’ eyes immediately brightened, and they lifted the camera in their hands without being aware of their actions.

When the rehabilitation specialist saw this, he could not help but adjust his collar. There was a hint of contempt in the corners of his lips, and it was the type of contempt a person had when he stood superior to someone else, like a king to his subjects.