Chapter 21: Injured

When Tian Yanjun kicked out, Tang Xiaohe knew it was bad. She took the full force of the kick, and the sudden pain made her break out in a cold sweat.

Before she could even recover, Ji Yanli had already rushed over and fiercely kicked Tian Yanjun’s leg. Crack! Hearing that sound, Tian Yanjun knew his leg was broken by Ji Yanli and began to wail, “The police are beating me! The police are beating me!”

Ignoring Tian Yanjun’s trembling lips and sweaty brow, Ji Yanli grabbed him by the collar, dragged him onto the balcony, and handcuffed him to the railing.

Ji Yanli quickly went to Tang Xiaohe, his brow furrowed with deep concern as he gently helped her up. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Tang Xiaohe shook her head, signaling she was fine, and looked at Zhang Wan. Zhang Wan’s condition seemed more serious than hers.

Ji Yanli dialed 120, then asked Zhang Wan if she wanted to call the police.

Zhang Wan was surprised by the question, so Tang Xiaohe explained, “Because I was worried you might not want people to know about this, and Officer Ji was nearby, I only asked him for help.”

A tear glistened in Zhang Wan’s eye. She was so grateful that Tang Xiaohe had been so considerate.

But now, she had come to a realization. By trying to hide things and pretend everything was fine, she had only emboldened Tian Yanjun, making him more reckless and vicious. She couldn’t continue living with this scumbag. She wanted a divorce, and she was determined to make sure Tian Yanjun was punished for what he’d done!

Zhang Wan’s voice was weak but firm. “Call the police,” she said. “He has to be punished.”

With Zhang Wan’s confirmation, Ji Yanli immediately called Xu Yang, telling him to bring a few officers to the scene.

“Yes, I’ve temporarily cuffed him to the balcony. The ambulance is on its way. I’ll take the injured to the hospital first; you can handle the rest,” Ji Yanli said in a cold voice, occasionally glancing at Tian Yanjun.

Meeting Ji Yanli’s intense gaze, Tian Yanjun shivered. Maybe this time he’d truly messed with the wrong person. What should he do?

Tian Yanjun’s eyes darted around, and an idea came to him. “Officer, I’m a scum, I hit my wife, I deserve to die. But at the end of the day, this is a family matter—a disagreement between my wife and me. It’ll be over, and we’ll still be a family,” he said. He paused and smiled. “But you… you beat a civilian.”

Tian Yanjun gently patted his leg. It was probably broken. “You’ll have a lot of explaining to do to your superior, won’t you?”

He smirked maliciously.

Tang Xiaohe grabbed Ji Yanli’s hand. She didn’t want this scoundrel to cause trouble for Ji Yanli.

Ji Yanli squeezed her warm hand in his, as if to comfort her and tell her not to worry. “Go ahead and report me,” he said flatly.

Then, Zhang Wan shakily got to her feet and slowly walked to Tian Yanjun. Using the balcony railing for support, she fiercely stomped on his injured leg.

“Ah! Are you crazy?!” Tian Yanjun screamed.
Zhang Wan’s face was devoid of emotion. She pressed her foot down on his wound and ground her toes into it. “Yes, Officer Ji did accidentally touch your leg while subduing you when you tried to harm me and Xiaohe. But who actually broke your leg? Who can say for sure now?”

Tian Yanjun groaned in pain, his hands clutching his leg. He looked at Zhang Wan, so cold and emotionless, as if he were truly seeing her for the first time.

At the hospital, Zhang Wan had a minor rib fracture that didn’t require surgery but needed a bandage and medication. A CT scan of her head showed she had a mild concussion, so she needed to stay in bed. She also had many soft tissue contusions on her body and was taken for further tests.

Tang Xiaohe had an X-ray, which showed no major issues, but she’d instinctively put her hand out to break her fall, causing a scrape on the inside of her palm, and her wrist was now swollen.

Tang Xiaohe sat obediently while Ji Yanli stood by her side. As the nurse used alcohol to disinfect her hand, Tang Xiaohe winced in pain. She felt too embarrassed for Ji Yanli to see her expressions, so she buried her face against his waist.

Ji Yanli thought she was scared and gently held her head, stroking her hair like he was comforting a small animal.

The nurse was a little heavy-handed, and Tang Xiaohe flinched with pain. She had always been sensitive to pain; when she was sick, she’d rather drink traditional Chinese medicine than get a shot. Now that she had an open wound, there was nothing she could do.

“Let me do it,” a familiar voice said beside them.

Tang Xiaohe looked up to see Lin Xiang.

The nurse was a bit surprised. “You know each other?”

Lin Xiang nodded. “She’s my sister.”

The young nurse’s face quickly flushed red. She handed the alcohol to Lin Xiang. “I’m so sorry, miss. I’m a new intern, and I don’t have much experience yet! I’m sorry I hurt you!”

Tang Xiaohe quickly shook her head. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I was just overreacting a little to get some sympathy from my boyfriend.”

Lin Xiang raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

After the nurse left to tend to other patients, Tang Xiaohe looked at Lin Xiang. His chestnut-brown hair was now dyed black and cut into a clean, short crew cut. The earring was gone, revealing a sharp jawline. He wore large, black-framed glasses, giving him a trustworthy look that a patient would appreciate.

“What are you doing here?! I almost didn’t recognize you!” Tang Xiaohe said, delighted.

“This is the hospital where I work now. I was about to ask you the same thing! What happened?”

Lin Xiang looked through Tang Xiaohe’s CT scan report. After a moment, he put down the alcohol and picked up some iodine from the medical cart. “It’s not serious. Your bones are fine; it’s likely a soft tissue contusion. Let’s disinfect it first.”

Tang Xiaohe teased him. “Wow, look at you. With that new haircut, you’ve got the demeanor of a chief physician!”

Lin Xiang gave her a cool look. “Want me to switch back to the alcohol? Or maybe hydrogen peroxide would work even better?”

Tang Xiaohe didn’t dare to joke anymore. She held out her hand, watching as Lin Xiang carefully disinfected her wound. He was very thorough and gentle, and perhaps because of the different disinfectant, it didn’t hurt as much as before.
“How did you end up in the hospital?” he asked.

“It was a total accident,” she replied. “We came across a domestic violence case.”

Lin Xiang’s hand froze. He looked up at Ji Yanli, his voice sharp. “Did you hit her?”

Tang Xiaohe playfully slapped Lin Xiang’s shoulder with her good hand. “What are you thinking?! Of course not.”

Ji Yanli, however, felt a pang of guilt. “It’s my fault for not protecting her better.” He then briefly explained the general course of events to Lin Xiang.

“It was just an accident, I told you. Besides, it’s better that I got hurt than if Nini had, she’s so young. And anyway, I’m fine now—ow, ow, ow!”

“It’s good that it hurts,” Lin Xiang retorted. “Maybe it’ll teach you a lesson. Will you still be so reckless next time?”

Tang Xiaohe looked at Lin Xiang and mouthed, “You’re so dead.”

Lin Xiang ignored her threat and asked Ji Yanli bluntly, “She’s so feisty; what did you see in her?”