43 – I Never Knew Such a Truth Was Hidden

Episode 43: To Think Such a Truth Was Hidden

“…….”

In the dimness of midnight, Xie Qingcheng stood with the light behind him. Because of this, He Yu could not discern the expression on Xie Qingcheng’s face. Instead, he felt the hand supporting him tremble slightly.

“Xie Qingcheng, why did you leave like that?”

He Yu asked once more. Even in this situation, he remained calm. It was as if the more terrifying and urgent the situation became, the more trivial it felt to him.

“…….”

“……It was a lie, wasn’t it? You didn’t actually leave because the contract expired, did you?”

The gaze of that child back then.

The gaze of this boy now.

It was so calm, childish, stubborn… and coldly, singularly focused only on Xie Qingcheng.

A gaze that desperately dug into the earth, seeking an answer.

Suddenly, Xie Qingcheng felt a sense of pressure from He Yu’s eyes; he squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.

“……Let’s talk once we’re outside.”

There wasn’t much time left. Supporting He Yu, he rushed out of the archives. The two of them escaped from the silent, dark interior into the noisy outdoors. Warning lights flashed before their eyes, and the sound of sirens vibrated in their ears. For a moment, it felt as if he had fallen into the world of a kaleidoscope.

Zheng Jingfeng’s team members had just realized the hidden meaning behind ‘L’ and had deduced the location. Red and blue warning lights surged in from all directions like a tide.

As Xie Qingcheng descended the stairs, still [visit our site]supporting He Read on Read BL NovelsYu, who was stolen contentbleeding heavily, Zheng Jingfeng frantically pulled open the car door and stepped out.

Frost had settled on the face of the detective team leader in charge of this mission. Worry and anger intersected in his leopard-like eyes. These two contradictory emotions flickered across his face, performing a shadow play.

“Xie Qingcheng…….”

“The archives are going to explode. No one should go inside.”

Those were the first words Xie Qingcheng uttered as soon as he approached Zheng Jingfeng.

Zheng Jingfeng felt like strangling the two of them and slapping on handcuffs right then and there. However, the moment he met Xie Qingcheng’s eyes—which looked so much like Zhou Muying’s—he ultimately looked away.

There was blood on Xie Qingcheng’s cheek. Regardless of whose blood it was, the moment Zheng Jingfeng saw that bloodstain, he was seized by an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Yes, he had pushed Xie Qingcheng away. Someone who wasn’t a police officer had no right to be so deeply involved in this case.

Even if this was a case related to the death of stolen contenthis parents nineteen years ago, it was best unauthorized copyto tell him that visit our sitethis matter was classified and to leave it to them.

However, the operational capacity of an organization is bound to lag behind that of an individual. Even more so if it is a formal organization. Moreover, they were currently in a situation where an internal spy was suspected, and the opposing organization was presumed to be a massive criminal syndicate utilizing advanced technology and crossing borders. Despite being in charge of the investigation for nineteen years, they had yet to provide Xie Qingcheng with an answer. At the very least, blocked by numerous obstacles, they had arrived at the archives one step slower than Xie Qingcheng.

“Withdraw immediately.”

Without surprise or hesitation, Zheng Jingfeng turned his attention to the radio.

“The archives are exploding. Everyone withdraw!”

After giving the short command, he helped Xie Qingcheng and He Yu into the police car first, climbed in last, and slammed the door shut.

Once the three were in the car, the officers inside looked at Xie Qingcheng with strange expressions.

The control tower visible nearby seemed to have regained its original lighting. On the control tower caught in Xie Qingcheng’s gaze, there was no longer a screen showing a handkerchief being thrown, but the silhouette of a real person flickering. It looked like an advertisement. Before he could look closer, the police van started with a loud roar and departed.

There were almost no people on the main road cutting through the campus. The police car visit our sitesped for several hundred meters as [stolen content]if fleeing, its red and blue lights flashing. And then—.

A vibration resembling thunder and a monstrous roar erupted from behind. People witnessing this screamed in all directions.

The archives had finally exploded.

The building debris, collapsing like a landslide, buried the past in an instant.

Xie Qingcheng leaned his back against the car seat. Beyond the rear window, flames soared from the direction of the archives. A sandstorm enveloped the crimes and punishments, crumbling them into fragments that could never be pieced back together.

Xie Qingcheng closed his eyes. He did not turn his head until the end.

Since the clues had already been shattered to pieces… he could not look back.

Only after a long time did the ominous explosion, which had felt as if it would burst his eardrums, cease.

Silence flowed through the police car. Everyone was focused on the [stolen content]scene of the incident. The police car stopped, and the officers stepped out one by one. The sound of a chilly wind, visit our sitethe distant popping of flames, and then…….

In the very next moment.

-What is your complaint?

A man’s voice rang out.

The loud, echoing sound was flowing from the mobile phones everyone possessed.

-If you have a complaint, tell it to the hospital.

Xie Qingcheng paused and opened his eyes. Did he have auditory hallucinations because of the shockwave just now? Why do I hear my own voice?

-Don’t argue with me here.

No, it wasn’t a hallucination.

He suddenly realized something and widened his eyes.

A video.

The mobile phone video that had been transmitted throughout Huzhou University was playing again.

The same video as the phones was being broadcast on the control tower.

The moment he saw the video projected on the control tower, Xie Qingcheng realized why the police had looked at him with subtle expressions earlier.

The control tower had started broadcasting the video even before He Yu and Xie Qingcheng came outside.

Xie Qingcheng turned on his phone, which had been off. In an instant, the hacker’s program hacked the phone and played the video synchronized in real-time with the control tower.

It was Xie Qingcheng from a few years ago.

He was wearing a gown from the Huzhou First People’s Hospital. A plastic name tag and two pens hung over the pocket embroidered with a light blue logo. In the presence of hospital patients, a woman with disheveled hair was seen standing in front of his consultation room.

“…….”

Xie Qingcheng immediately realized when this video had been filmed.

His expression stiffened slightly as he shifted his gaze to He Yu.

He Yu frowned, seemingly unable to grasp the situation. Of course, he also knew that this was the video the opposing hacker had tried to lure him into clicking.

Beside him, a doctor from the police force held He Yu’s bleeding shoulder and helped with emergency treatment.

“I’m going to stop the bleeding. It’ll hurt, but please bear with it for a moment.”

He Yu answered indifferently.

“Thank you.”

Pain, blood, and even death were nothing to He Yu right now.

He was preoccupied with staring at the control tower broadcasting the flickering screen.

The video continued.

The woman with disheveled hair in the video wailed.

-Who do you think you are to tell me whether to present documents or not? Who do you think you are to call security to investigate me? Do you think it’s easy to get a consultation? The specialists at your hospital sell queue numbers to brokers, making it as hard as plucking a star from the sky to make an appointment! I have to pay five hundred yuan more just to get a slot! Who do you think you are? Are you saying if you’re poor, you should just die? Not only do I have to fawn over doctors like you, but I have to be discriminated against too? Do you think I wanted to come here looking shabby and smelling like this? I’m busy closing my street stall at 4 AM and lining up in front of the hospital; where would I have time to be prim and proper like you? I’m really not a bad person!

Regardless, the young Xie Qingcheng looked at the woman wailing while hugging her knees with a cold expression, his hands shoved in his gown pockets.

-Are you unaware of the Yi Beihai incident? Someone who isn’t [Read on Read BL Novels]even my patient is sitting in front of my consultation room; visit our sitehow am I supposed to know what they are thinking by doing this.

-I’m just saying I’ll get the consultation and leave!

Then, Xie Qingcheng spoke with an expressionless face.

-Just as the patient desires a consultation, I desire to be safe. I’m sorry, but please move away from the front of my consultation room. Internal medicine consultations should be had in internal medicine, and neurosurgery consultations in neurosurgery. My specialty is different from the appointment slip the patient brought.

-There are no chairs left. Your hospital doesn’t even let people sit on the floor. I saw a vacant spot here, so I just wanted to rest for a bit. I’ve really been standing all day, Jin Zongyi…

-Please tell those circumstances to the security guard. I am a salaried employee who provides treatment for money. I would like to avoid the risk of dying in the line of duty.

The surrounding patients, who were desperately suppressing their anger because they didn’t want to fight with a doctor, felt suffocated when the woman burst into tears at Xie Qingcheng’s callous words and attitude. Unable to endure it, someone shouted at Xie Qingcheng.

-What do you think you’re doing! Don’t you have a mother? Don’t pin everything Yi Beihai did alone on every patient! How can a human be this selfish? You’re incomparable to Professor Qin Ciyan! Are you even a doctor?

Xie Qingcheng lifted his eyelids, revealing his peach blossom eyes that looked heartless.

-Regardless of what the patient thinks, I am a doctor. Dying for a patient is not particularly meaningful. And being murdered by a mentally ill person would be ridiculously unfair. Being a doctor is a simple profession. Please stop forcing morality on me by telling me to sacrifice myself.

His lips opened and closed.

-In any case, a doctor’s life is more important than that of an uncontrolled mentally ill person. Do you understand?

-…….

Soon, chaos ensued. Whether the enraged people were pushing the person filming, the screen shook violently and only the fierce curses of the patients could be heard.

Countless mobile phones flashed simultaneously, broadcasting the same video. This video spread to every corner of the internet in an instant.

The phones of Xie Qingcheng and the police, who had turned off mute mode, began to vibrate one after another. From group chats to individuals, messages poured in from all directions.

He Yu sat in the police car seat, receiving treatment for the gunshot wound in his shoulder from the stolen contentmedical staff. Throughout it [visit our site]all, he [visit our site]leaned his forehead against the window and quietly watched the video on the control tower.

The video that the opposing hacker had sent targeting He Yu, but which he had ultimately not clicked.

Xie Qingcheng felt his heart sink heavily.

It was this.

The opponent had exposed this past to provoke He Yu.

Suddenly, he wanted to say something to He Yu, but the words wouldn’t come. In truth, an explanation wouldn’t work. Xie Qingcheng looked away from the video. He knew well what he had done.

A sin for which there was no room for explanation, a secret that had to be kept—at this moment, it was unfolded without concealment before everyone’s eyes.

That much was fine. He knew even then that if this fact were revealed, he would be treated unfairly in the future and that criticism would follow him for the rest of his life. Everything comes with a corresponding price. That was why he vowed to keep this secret for the rest of his life. Even while knowing exactly what kind of future he would face.

In that moment, Xie Qingcheng’s gaze turned toward the young man sitting calmly beside him.

He Yu’s shoulder, which had been bleeding incessantly, was now treated with a hemostatic bandage. Yet, the metallic scent of blood vibrated within the enclosed police command vehicle.

Suddenly, the moment from a few hours ago, when he had looked at this young man from the same eye level for the first time in his life, surfaced in his mind.

He Yu had reached out his hand to him. At the moment when everyone turned away from him. The moment when even Chen Man chose to follow police internal regulations.

And He Yu had said this.

-I’ll help you.

The hand stretched out was slender, large, clean, and fair. Just by looking at the neatly trimmed nails, one could tell he was a young master with disciplined living habits.

A hand without blood or wounds.

Though a faint, old [Read on Read BL Novels]scar remained on stolen contentthe wrist, even that was Read on Read BL Novelsa wound that had already fully healed.

-……Why are you…… helping me.

-Because you did the same for me.

-…….

-I’ve never…… forgotten you, Teacher.

The blood, vivid enough to make the eyes ache, pierced Xie Qingcheng’s vision.

The unstoppable video also pierced He Yu’s field of vision.

The screen changed once more.

This time, it was a hospital conference room.

Xie Qingcheng appeared to have just finished some academic report. Hospital officials were conducting a job performance evaluation with pleased faces.

However, the colleagues clapping below had a very chilly atmosphere. The timing seemed to be immediately after Xie Qingcheng had clashed with the patient.

When the hospital director asked him for his thoughts, Xie Qingcheng stood up and calmly scanned everyone sitting below the podium.

Then, instead of thoughts, he announced a piece of news like a bolt from the blue.

-This is the last time I will be reporting from this institution. I have already decided to resign.

-…….

Meanwhile, a few interns who failed to read the room continued to clap mechanically.

Only after clapping a couple more times did [unauthorized copy]the interns snap [visit our site]out of it, their eyes widening and mouths agape. Then, [unauthorized copy]like everyone else sitting below the podium, they stared blankly at Xie Qingcheng.

Xie Qingcheng was the youngest and most capable doctor in the hospital, a formidable talent. He was the first to become such a young deputy chief physician at Huzhou First People’s Hospital. Although he had made some somewhat inappropriate remarks recently, it could have been overlooked quietly. What doctor in the world never has a clash with a patient in their lifetime?

And yet, he was mentioning resignation.

The hospital director’s expression suddenly stiffened, and he gave an awkward laugh.

-……Dr. Xie, please step down first. We’ll discuss work matters after the meeting.

The chief of medical affairs also tried to smile as he took the microphone.

-Dr. Xie, I know you’ve been feeling down lately. We’re all struggling because Professor Qin suffered a misfortune. Dr. Xie and Professor Qin had offices close to each other and must have been on good terms when they were colleagues. Since you even witnessed the scene where Professor Qin passed away, we understand your feelings…….

-I’m sorry, but I wasn’t particularly close with Professor Qin.

Xie Qingcheng cut off the chief of medical affairs.

-It’s not that I’m in a bad mood because of Professor Qin’s matter. I simply don’t want to become a second Qin Ciyan.

At these words, Qin Ciyan’s disciple stood up.

-Xie Qingcheng, what did you just say? You don’t want to become a second Qin Ciyan? Our teacher devoted his entire life to the medical business, how could you…….

-I have no intention of doing that.

-…….

-The doctor I envision is a simple profession. One should properly do what must be done. On the other hand, I believe it is abnormal to sacrifice one’s life just because one is a doctor. Honestly, I don’t know why most of the doctors gathered here are moved by and proud of Professor Qin’s death. Professor Qin was certainly someone worthy of respect. But wasn’t the accident ultimately a result of his own actions? He let the mother of a mentally ill person into the operating room, and that too, before the procedures were properly completed.

Unable to listen further, Qin Ciyan’s disciples bolted from their seats.

-Xie Qingcheng, you—!

-I’m sorry, but no matter how I think about it, I can’t understand.

The conference room became a mess. The young doctors, unable to suppress their indignation, raised their voices.

-That’s too far!

-A result of his own actions? Are you saying Professor Qin’s death was his own fault?

-Xie Qingcheng, what did you say about mentally ill people before? You claimed they should be allowed to live in society, and that we should embrace them by treating them as ordinary people. But what are you doing now? Are you scared because an accident happened? Are you frightened because you saw with your own eyes how Professor Qin was sacrificed?

-You’re scared because you saw the professor fall from the window covered in blood, and saw the blood splattered in the professor’s office, right? You’re afraid the same thing will happen to you! Since your patients are all psychopaths, they’ll be even more dangerous than the professor! If you’re scared, just say you’re scared! Who’s laughing at you? Why are you belittling the deceased Professor Qin!

Xie Qingcheng spoke coldly.

-Yes, I’m scared.

The young doctor grit his teeth.

-And yet you claim mentally ill people should be treated like ordinary people—.

-Then what about the cancer patients you are in charge of? Are you going to say it’s just a pity they are destined to die anyway?

On Xie Qingcheng’s expressionless face, only his pupils shone as cold as frost.

-You wouldn’t say that either.

He continued coldly.

-Truth is truth, and language is language. As a psychiatrist, my job is to give hope and encourage patients so they can be treated as normal people. But is there not a single dangerous psychopath in the world? Would you want to be alone with such a patient? While willingly offering your own life to that patient.

-…….

-You couldn’t do that either.

-So…… you were just spouting fancy words back then……? This bastard… he’s just a petty man who pretends to be clean in front of others while having a black heart!

Xie Qingcheng completely ignored the doctor who was screaming, having lost his reason. He remained cold. He felt like a cold-blooded person, devoid of both blood and tears.

-Professor Qin might be a saint. But I’m just an ordinary person. When I go to work and put on my gown, I’m a doctor who examines patients; when I go home and take it off, I’m a head of a household with a wife and sister to support. I’m not as prepared as he is.

-…….

-If you want to be the second Qin Ciyan that badly, go ahead and do it yourselves.

Xie Qingcheng tore off the name tag of the rank he had just been promoted to and placed it back into the box lined with red satin. His gaze was exceptionally clear and cold.

-I’ll just stay an ordinary person.

By the time the video reached this point, the screen suddenly flickered.

Then, a blackout.

The countdown for the wzl death game had already ended. This was thanks to the police, who could no longer stand the opponent’s arrogant behavior and managed to regain control of the transmissions. However, because of the terror threats involving innocent citizens, they couldn’t move rashly even as the opponent raged.

After enduring for a long time, an order finally came from the top to shut down the video. The control tower of the ‘blood sword,’ which had been broadcasting the video loudly all night, finally closed its valves as if waking from a demonic trance.

A loud pop echoed as the power was cut.

As if a curtain were falling on a stage, the lights of the control tower were extinguished entirely. The tower, which had been ‘rampaging’ since nightfall, fell silent and lost its vitality, like a beast collapsed in the middle of the campus.

Behind the control tower, the fire was still raging. The flames leaping toward the sky dyed the air above the archives red. Police officers stood surrounding the century-old building that had been swallowed by the fierce blaze. Someone called 119.

The campus was buzzing with noise. It was a night when no one could sleep.

Only the police car carrying two people remained deathly silent.

The video had turned off.

The screen had ended.

Yet, He Yu continued to stare steadfastly at the control tower. With eyes that were somehow terrifyingly peaceful, he simply gazed at the darkened tower without moving an inch.

-Most mental illnesses are a kind of feedback that manifests when a normal person is placed in an abnormal environment.

-An abnormal atmosphere, like unequal social relationships. Ironically, the main culprits that deal psychological blows to ‘them’ are usually ‘us’—family, workplace, society.

-Whether it’s fast or slow, you have to rely on yourself to escape the shadows of your heart. Do you understand what I’m saying?

-You must rebuild the bridge to society so that you don’t become isolated.

-…I hope you get healthy as soon as possible.

-Hey, kid.

-Does it hurt?

“…….”

The words Xie Qingcheng had spoken back then. The encouragement he had accepted after unlocking the shackles of his heart. The comfort he felt when he was pushed to the edge of a mental cliff. Everything surfaced in his mind like a distant memory. An indescribable, cold emptiness followed.

He Yu looked at the control tower.

The lightless tower was dark. He Yu’s pupils were also terrifyingly pitch-black.

Judging by the date, this video must have been filmed in the same year. At least, it seemed like everything happened within a single month. Xie Qingcheng, who stopped being He Yu’s attending physician, had stepped down from [stolen content]his unauthorized copymedical post as if escaping a tiger’s den, as if fleeing from patients with a malignant infectious disease.

The doctor wrapped his wound in a clean bandage once more. For some reason, he felt a sudden surge of pain from the gunshot wound in his arm.

The reason his whole body felt cold must be because of this pain.

The reason his complexion turned pale must also be because it hurt so much.

“……He Yu.”

“…….”

“That just now….”

Xie Qingcheng’s voice came from beside him.

He Yu waited patiently for Xie Qingcheng to continue.

One second, and then another.

But Xie Qingcheng could not find the words.

Those words had indeed come from his own mouth. Regardless of the cause, the purpose, or whatever secret was hidden within, those were words he had actually uttered. It was also true that he had distanced himself from He Yu because of the Qin Ciyan incident.

Even with ten mouths, there was no room to explain himself to this boy.

At the same time, He Yu fell into a sudden void. He had originally hated doctors. At first, he had hated Xie Qingcheng too. But how had Xie Qingcheng gained his trust? By what method had he managed to open the door to his heart, even just a little?

The so-called equal treatment Xie Qingcheng had spoken of. He had accepted him as a member of a normal society. He had cheered him on so that he could leave the dark cave and touch the beautiful light outside.

But in a place where he couldn’t see, in a place he didn’t know, what words had Xie Qingcheng spoken? After Qin Ciyan’s accident, before resigning from the hospital, what on earth had he said?

He Yu slowly closed his eyes. He felt as if he had been suddenly slapped across the face.

The palm that had leaped across the heavy years had already lost half its strength. Perhaps that was why He Yu thought the impact wasn’t as great as he expected.

Of course, he couldn’t stop the stinging pain that lingered on his skin.

“Alright. The treatment is finished for now. I’ll call another officer to take you to the hospital.”

The police doctor in charge of medical duties spoke to He Yu.

“We need to hurry. Let’s move to another car.”

“…….”

“Student?”

Only then did He Yu open his eyes.

He was too calm. To a point that was frightening to anyone watching.

Meanwhile, Xie Qingcheng’s phone rang incessantly. Interest, worry, curiosity… calls with various motives flooded in like crazy.

Of course, Xie Qingcheng didn’t answer a single one.

He only stared blankly at He Yu’s profile.

Ignoring Xie Qingcheng, He Yu spoke to the doctor with an elegant and poised face.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

Then, stretching his long legs, he stepped out of the car with composure.

After walking a few steps forward, He Yu finally stopped and visit our siteslightly [unauthorized copy]turned [visit our site]his head. The red and blue lights of the police sirens dyed his clean profile capriciously.

Soon, a low chuckle escaped. The flickering lights were reflected in He Yu’s dark eyes.

“Mr. Xie, I had no idea such a truth was hidden.”

“…….”

“You must have suffered quite a bit, pretending to be a sacrifice all this time.”

“…….”

As he said this, He Yu thought how ironic it was.

What he had feared most all this time was being treated as a freak.

And Xie Qingcheng had entered He Yu’s lonely cave and given him a beautiful conviction. He had provided the first stolen contentset of armor in his life and made him believe that he [unauthorized copy]could one day find a bridge to a normal society.

He Yu had firmly believed Xie Qingcheng’s words. Even though he was someone he disliked, someone who had drawn a line and left him coldly, he had understood him until the end. Like a fool, he had been swayed by a few words of encouragement, wearing the armor Xie Qingcheng gave him and clinging to it for all those years.

But who knew there were thorns inside that armor?

The armor he believed would block the ridicule from the outside had instead raised pitch-black blades within, wounding He Yu from head to toe.

The creed Xie Qingcheng had engraved in him was all a lie.

The man himself, everything, was a lie.

“Xie Qingcheng. If I was that scary, why didn’t you just tell me honestly from the start? You didn’t need to spend so much time and effort to approach me. You didn’t need to comfort me with plausible words. If you had, at least….”

He Yu ultimately stopped and fell silent.

Contrary to his lonely-looking back, his voice was infinitely visit our sitecalm. Just as Xie Qingcheng had once hoped, Read on Read BL Novelsjust as Xie stolen contentQingcheng had taught him. To always remain calm.

What followed finally was a laugh. Unlike the hot blood remaining on Xie Qingcheng’s palm, He Yu’s cold laughter scattered into the wind.

Then, turning away completely, he headed toward the other car with the police officers without looking back once.