Danger
"Glug... glug glug..." The sound of water surrounded his ears. He struggled to open his eyes, but his vision was blurry.
He couldn't see the scene before him, but he could feel a warm ocean current surrounding him.
What is this? It feels so good.
Through his blurred vision, he could see the sunlight reflecting off the water, creating shimmering spots of light that shone brightly like crystal. He wanted to reach out and grasp that ray of warm sunlight, but he couldn't feel the weight of his own body.
The water seemed to bind him, preventing him from moving an inch.
Clouds drifted by and blocked the sunlight. Without the sunlight, the water temperature began to drop, and he began to feel cold.
"No, no! He doesn't want to stay in the water anymore, he wants to get out."
However, his heavy brain couldn't control his body, and he could only sink straight down in the water.
His vision was gradually engulfed by darkness, and he could no longer see the sunlight. He tried desperately to hold onto the last bit of warmth on the water's surface, but all he felt was a bone-chilling cold seeping into his very marrow.
"Sudden ventricular fibrillation!" The nurse's voice was tinged with panic.
"Adrenaline, prepare autologous blood transfusion. Charge the defibrillator." The doctor's instructions were calm, but anxiety was evident in his eyes.
"Minister, news from the hospital!" Trot burst into Chen Chao's office, her usually calm voice trembling slightly.
"Didn't they say that at most, a little weakness wouldn't be dangerous?" Chen Chao strode quickly from the secret passage toward the hospital, his brows furrowed the whole way.
“That’s how it is in theory, but there are always unexpected things. He signed the pre-operative risk disclosure form himself,” Trott recalled the documents sent by the hospital.
Chen Chao took a deep breath, barely suppressing his anger that was on the verge of exploding, and turned to Trot, saying, "You don't need to come with me. You haven't been home for two days either. Go back and rest. I'll go up by myself. I'll contact you if I need anything."
Trot was taken aback. Chen Chao hadn't rested for even longer than her. It wouldn't be appropriate for her to go back like this.
“Go back. I need a high-energy, efficient secretary, not a tired, dazed machine.” Seeing Trott’s hesitation, Chen Chao explained, “Besides, I will also rest in the ward for a while and keep him company. There won’t be anything you need to do.”
“Yes, Minister.” Trott finally agreed. “But Minister, if you need anything, feel free to contact me. After all, I am your secretary, and there are many documents that only I can help you find.”
"good."
When Chen Chao arrived, the resuscitation was already over, and Steve lay quietly on the bed, pale-faced. The doctor told Chen Chao that because Steve's immune system was extremely weak, he would have to stay in the intensive care unit for the next week and refuse all visits. Any minor infection could pose a fatal threat to him.
Chen Chao stood quietly outside the window, watching the monitor's curves, which were regular and stable, but Steve's chest was not rising and falling much.
Chen Chao had never seen Steve so vulnerable. Steve had always been full of energy.
Steve's skin is usually very fair, but it's a blood-red kind of fair. Paired with his blond hair and blue eyes, he looks exactly like a teenager dancing in the sunlight.
Now, his pale face was completely bloodless, showing no sign of life.
Chen Chao couldn't connect the person lying there now with the Steve he knew.
"Minister Chen, he won't wake up for a while. Why don't you go back and rest?" Chen Chao had been standing outside the window for two hours, and the doctor couldn't help but come over to kindly remind him.
"The observation room next door was cleared out for me to use. He can call me anytime he wakes up."
"Okay, but it's not convenient for you to go in now that he's awake. He needs to be isolated."
"I know, but please tell me anyway."
I just wanted to see him.
Chen Chao slept for a while in the observation room next to the intensive care unit. He didn't sleep very soundly, and in his half-awake state, he kept having bizarre dreams.
He dreamt that Steve fell off a cliff in front of him, and he tried to reach out to save him but couldn't grab him. He wanted to jump down with him, but someone held him back from jumping.
He looked back and saw that it was the agents who had already sacrificed their lives, one by one grabbing his clothes and pulling him to the edge of the cliff, preventing him from jumping off.
His heart suddenly tightened, and he woke up in a cold sweat.
He was panting heavily in the darkness when he suddenly raised his hand and punched the wall.
He hasn't had nightmares in a long time since he got together with Steve.
He turned on the light and peered through the glass of the observation room into the intensive care unit. Steve was still sleeping peacefully. But whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that Steve's complexion seemed a little better than before.
Get well soon, you promised to be my exporter, you can't abandon me.
Chen Chao took out his phone and saw the latest trending topic: Latest developments in the university theft case: The teaching assistant, unable to bear the PUA of the project leader, stole from the university and then committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
He chuckled softly, knowing that Trott had done a good job, and that it wasn't exactly deceiving the public; they had simply selectively revealed only parts of the truth.
It's true that the leaders and professors used their teaching positions to manipulate students and teaching assistants, but this isn't exactly news in academia, and the Special Security Bureau wouldn't intervene for this reason alone.
However, it is a serious problem if accomplished leaders and professors leak sensitive data from national-level experimental projects abroad for the sake of foreign citizenship and positions, deliberately delay the experimental progress, and falsify experimental results.
The key point is that this kind of thing isn't an isolated case in academia. So he had no choice but to make an example of them.
Chen Chao scrolled through the screen and saw that the second trending topic below this one was:
The missing leader and professor were found at the dock, attempting to illegally cross the border.
Yes, this one was fabricated by the police.
These individuals were apprehended long ago, so there was no possibility of them fleeing. However, the police still need to give the public an explanation; they have to smear this accusation whether they want to or not.
After reading the news online, Chen Chao glanced at the time, rubbed his temples, and sent a message to Trot to ask him to send him a change of clothes, a computer, and relevant documents. He would not be leaving the hospital for the time being.
When Steve woke up, he had a terrible headache and his whole body felt heavy. The light from the hospital room initially created an unsettling, overlapping effect in his vision. He blinked hard and it took him a while to focus.
He felt himself wearing an oxygen mask, and heard the regular beeping of the monitor in his ears. He turned his head with some difficulty, trying to find that familiar figure.
Lying flat on his back, his line of sight was too low; his eyes darted around but he couldn't spot that familiar, crisp suit fabric. A slight disappointment involuntarily welled up from the bottom of his heart, but he quickly forced himself to ignore the unpleasant feeling. Reason told him that Chen Chao was busy and couldn't be with him all the time.
"What are you looking for?" Chen Chao's voice suddenly came from above. Steve's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to find the source of the voice.
"Don't move around, and don't knock off your oxygen mask. I'm in the observation room next to yours. You're in isolation, so I can't come in."
Chen Chao's words calmed Steve for a moment, but after a while, he stuck his fingers out from under the covers and began tapping them rhythmically on the bed. Chen Chao recognized that Steve was using Tean's code, meaning "meet."
"I'll call the doctor to come and check on me first," Chen Chao said with a smile.
The doctor quickly entered the ward wearing protective clothing, and after a thorough examination, he showed a satisfied expression.
"The situation has stabilized, and now it's just a matter of waiting for recovery. The oxygen mask will need to be worn for a while longer, but it should be able to be removed tomorrow," the doctor said in the ward.
"Could you help him lift the headboard?" Chen Chao's eyes already showed joy.
"Okay, but I'll have the nurse lay the bed flat again in two hours. He still needs a lot of sleep at this stage."
"OK, thanks."
After the head of the bed was lifted, the doctor left the ward. He could finally see him.
The glass of the observation room was directly in front of the hospital bed. Steve saw his boss standing in front of the window, dressed in a sharp suit, smiling at him.
He immediately felt his headache go away.
"Boss, I'm fine."
He used his fingers to type out a code.
"You're already like this, and you still say you're fine." Chen Chao said helplessly, "I'll give you half a month to recover to the standard for discharge."
"OK."
Steve paused for a moment while typing the code, then asked, "Has the killer been found?"
"I have a lead. I'll tell you when you're feeling better."
"good."
Steve was still very weak, and the range of their coded communication was extremely limited. They talked for a while and then stopped, simply looking at each other quietly through the window, letting time flow by.
Two hours later, the nurse came in and laid the bed flat, Steve fell asleep again, and Chen Chao returned to his work.
Chen Chao practically moved his office to the observation room, seemingly unconcerned about the curious stares he received from others.
The heir of the Chen family, the future supreme leader of the Special Security Forces, has had his work affected by a field agent—this has never happened before.
Those who knew Chenchao couldn't help but wonder what was so special about this agent.
"The investigation on Soka's side is almost complete, and the public opinion has gradually calmed down," Trott reported to Chen Chao in the observation room.
"Haven't you found any evidence that directly points to Song Zifeng?"
"No, he was very careful. All we got were indirect evidence and inferences. But after this battle, his control over the academic circles in the East has been broken."
"Understood, that's all for now. Have the relevant person in charge finish up and archive it."
"clear."
Trott received the order and left the room, taking with him the document that Chen Chao had just approved.
Over the past few days, Steve has been in and out of sleep, mostly feeling exhausted. After his oxygen mask was removed, he asked the nurse for a remote control so he could control the raising and lowering of the head of his bed himself.
Chen Chao couldn't come in, and there was no microphone by his bedside, so he could only communicate with Chen Chao using coded signals. But that was alright; he didn't actually need to say much to Chen Chao. Just watching him silently was enough.
He would raise the headboard when he woke up and silently watch Chen Chao wearing headphones, holding a meeting in the observation room, or diligently working on documents with his head down.
After finishing a period of work, Chen Chao would subconsciously look up at him. When he saw that Chen Chao was awake, he would stand up, smile and greet him, and carefully look him over with gentle eyes before continuing to work.
He just stared at Chen Chao, not feeling bored at all in the hospital room where he couldn't do anything.
When he got tired, he would put the headboard back down and go to sleep, not doing anything that forced him to do anything. He knew he needed to recover as soon as possible and get back to his boss's side.
Finally, a week later, given Steve's encouraging recovery progress, Chen Chao was allowed to visit him in the ward.
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