This was a temporarily converted hospital room. Ma Liu lay listlessly on the hospital bed, his face pale and his eye sockets sunken. There was not a trace of the ferocity he had shown days earlier.
Seeing someone enter, he did not open his eyes. Instead, he groaned weakly:
“Stop wasting your effort on me. At this rate, I’m dead anyway…”
“You people talk so grandly, but you can’t even fix a simple problem like mine. I’ve been in this pain for days for nothing…”
Su Tong examined his face and pressed directly on his lower right abdomen.
“Aah—!” Ma Liu almost jumped up from the bed in pain.
When he opened his eyes and saw it was Su Tong, panic immediately filled his expression. Trembling, he pointed at her:
“You—y-you… you vicious woman! You’re trying to murder me!”
Su Tong looked confused.
“Weren’t you just saying you were going to die anyway? Why would I need to murder you?”
Without another word, she shifted her hand and pressed again.
Another scream burst out of Ma Liu. He looked desperately at Qin Yi beside him and shouted:
“Hey! Hey! Is this how the police handle cases? Are you just going to watch her do whatever she wants? Where’s your system? Your discipline?!”
Lin Li had been reluctantly sent outside to keep watch. Only Qin Yi remained in the room.
He stood silently with his arms crossed, expression cold and indifferent, clearly with no intention of stopping Su Tong.
Meanwhile, Su Tong’s other hand had casually rested on Ma Liu’s wrist. She was quietly taking his pulse.
Within minutes, she said nothing more. After finishing, she simply nodded at Qin Yi and left the room with him.
They left Ma Liu behind, his face full of fear and confusion, completely unsure what they had done to him or what they planned next.
Lin Li quickly came up to them as they exited, eager for answers. He had clearly heard Ma Liu’s screams and wanted to know if anything useful had been extracted.
But the two of them said nothing and walked straight toward the main building.
“Hey—hey—”
Qin Yi shot him a warning glance, and Lin Li immediately shut his mouth.
Su Tong, however, was not unwilling to speak—she was simply conflicted.
Ma Liu’s condition was actually very simple: acute appendicitis, a minor surgical case. The difficulty lay in his coagulation disorder; he would bleed heavily during surgery.
In modern times, laparoscopic surgery would easily solve it—small incision, quick recovery, up and walking in two to three days.
But in the 1970s, it was a completely different story. Medical technology was limited, surgical skill uneven, and no one could guarantee the outcome once the incision was made.
Yet if they did not operate, a ruptured appendix and abdominal infection would also lead to death.
Still, to her, this was all a small problem.
Before modern medicine reached its peak, surgeons had to open large incisions just to see internal organs clearly, which meant bigger wounds, more bleeding, and slower recovery.
But she had used the most advanced medical equipment, performed countless surgeries of all sizes, and had seen almost every human organ through micro-cameras. She knew their structure and position intimately.
She could locate the appendix precisely, minimize the incision, and perform the operation as quickly as possible.
Ma Liu’s pulse was steady and strong. Though slightly weak, he had no underlying diseases. Even if blood loss was somewhat higher, he could withstand it.
More importantly, she had her own method of stopping bleeding…
For her, the surgery itself was not a problem.
The real question was—should she do it?
Would Qin Yi believe her?
This was not catching criminals, where luck could be used as an excuse. Helping would mean fully exposing her medical abilities…
But if she did not help, Ma Liu would most likely die. Even if not on the operating table, he would die from infection. And he was also an important suspect; the police still needed him for clues.
Although the case had nothing to do with her…
She had said she would help and that she would be grateful.
Qin Yi followed behind her. Seeing her continue walking in silence, almost out of the hospital, he finally called out:
“Wu Tong, where are you going?”
Su Tong snapped back to reality and stopped.
She turned around and looked at him.
Qin Yi walked up to her. Noticing her conflicted expression, he couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly.
“Why do you look like that after seeing Ma Liu? Regretting catching him?”
His face was extremely handsome—especially when he smiled. But since he usually kept a cold expression, people often only felt fear and overlooked everything else.
Seeing his relaxed expression made Su Tong’s heart ease slightly.
She met his gaze.
“Comrade Qin, do you trust me?”
In her mind, she told herself this would be the only time she asked.
If he did not trust her, she would turn around and walk away—she would not interfere any further.
“I trust you.”
Qin Yi answered without hesitation.
…
Tch. He actually trusts me? If he didn’t, maybe I wouldn’t have to get involved in this mess…
“Why?” she couldn’t help asking.
“I investigated you,” he said calmly. “From the day you were born until now.”
“You… investigated me?”
“Yes. A hostage who suddenly appeared during an arrest and helped capture two fugitives—I needed to know what kind of person she was.”
“And what did you find?” Su Tong’s tone turned slightly cold.
“I found everything.”
“Your background is simple. You had a difficult and harsh life, but you are also intelligent and self-reliant. Your academic performance was good. You dropped out before finishing middle school because your grandmother, who supported you, became paralyzed and lost influence at home.”
“But you never gave up learning. You said your greatest hobby is reading.”
Su Tong was slightly stunned.
In the original Wu Tong’s life, her labels had always been “curse,” “bad omen,” “jinxed,” “ill-fated”—never anything about intelligence or hobbies. No one had ever cared about her studies or interests.
This perspective felt… unfamiliar.
Although his investigation was understandable, she still felt a bit uncomfortable. Instead of investigating the major case, he had thoroughly examined her instead.
“By investigating me, you proved I’m not a bad person, so you chose to trust me.”
“No,” Qin Yi replied. “By investigating you, I confirmed you are an ordinary girl—perhaps even an unlucky one. Yet such a girl helped us solve a major problem and made a contribution far beyond your usual abilities. That can only mean you have a side no one knows about—you have your own secret.”
His eyes were dark and sharp.
“You were willing to risk exposing that secret to help us catch fugitives. Why wouldn’t I trust you?”
Su Tong was slightly taken aback, her thoughts momentarily not catching up.
He had investigated the former Wu Tong, yet chose to believe the present her—the one with secrets. Even though his idea of her “secret” might not match reality, that understanding still felt… unexpectedly reassuring.
Not only was he meticulous in reasoning, his ability to accept the unusual seemed far beyond ordinary people.
The weather was good today. There was sunlight.
Behind Qin Yi stood a tall holly tree. Above his head, the treetops held traces of snow, sparkling under the sunlight.
He stood there steadily and said:
“Wu Tong, I believe you, and I won’t pry into your secrets. I hope you can trust me as well.”
“Now, can you tell me what you were struggling with just now?”