Chapter 487: Bulletproof Evidence and a Dangerous Test

Now that Zhou Can had hard evidence, he didn’t hesitate. First, he reported to Director Lou that someone had tried to kill him.

Yesterday, since the case was still under investigation, Zhou Can hadn’t informed the hospital leadership.

As a hospital employee, something this serious definitely couldn’t be kept from the leaders.

Reporting it this morning was just right.

Not too early, not too late.

He found Director Lou in the office and laid out everything that had happened.

Director Lou was so shocked he couldn’t hide it. He urged Zhou Can to be extremely careful.

If it was really bad, he suggested Zhou Can take a few days off to lay low.

Everyone knew that if Zhou Can took leave, the Emergency Department’s surgery numbers would nosedive, which would seriously affect its revenue. Director Lou had always cared the most about the Emergency Department’s income and development.

But now, for Zhou Can’s safety, Director Lou was the one telling him to take time off. That genuine concern really warmed Zhou Can’s heart.

Adults talk a big game, calling each other brothers and making empty promises, but when money’s involved, everyone looks out for themselves.

Director Lou was willing to risk the department’s profits just to keep Zhou Can safe. That was true care.

After reporting everything, Zhou Can took the opportunity to mention Dr. Pu’s wish to transfer to the Emergency Department. Director Lou, hearing that an excellent doctor wanted to join, agreed eagerly.

“As long as Cardiothoracic Surgery agrees to release him, we’re happy to have him here,” he said.

Director Xueyan and Zhou Can were as close as siblings. He hadn’t told her yet, but he figured she’d probably agree.

No matter how talented Dr. Pu was, he was still just a new doctor in Cardiothoracic Surgery.

But someone like him was rare talent for the Emergency Department.

For Cardiothoracic Surgery, it wasn’t really a big deal.

Even if Zhou Can hadn’t asked, Dr. Pu himself would probably get approval if he applied.

Leaving Director Lou’s office, Zhou Can called Officer Hu and shared the new lead: someone might’ve tampered with his car yesterday.

It was better to leave specialized work to professionals.

Letting the police investigate was best.

Officer Hu told him not to touch the car. Forensics would come check it soon.

—

After finishing surgery at noon, Zhou Can got a message from Officer Hu.

“Please contact me as soon as you see this.”

Figuring Zhou Can was likely in surgery, nobody disturbed him.

“Qiao Yu, could you get lunch for me? I’ll be there soon.”

“Sure thing!”

She agreed happily.

Zhou Can walked down to the deserted end of the hallway. Other than the occasional smoker, hardly anyone ever came here.

He dialed Officer Hu’s number.

“Officer Hu, sorry—just finished surgery. Is there a new breakthrough in my case?”

“That’s right. After we got the hospital surveillance video you provided, we’ve already preliminarily identified the suspect. We’re closing in—the arrest should go down today. Examining your car, we did find tampering. Not just the brakes—someone also messed with the steering. A hard brake or slamming the gas would cause the wheel to lock entirely. Worse, there was a small device installed to make the car burst into flames once the steering locked up.”

A cold sweat broke out on Zhou Can’s back.

This professional killer was terrifying.

If he’d driven home last night, odds were he wouldn’t have made it back. The killer didn’t even need to create an accident. Zhou Can would’ve ended up killing himself behind the wheel.

“That’s horrifying. Please do everything you can to catch the killer as quickly as possible.”

He couldn’t stop the chill running down his spine.

A killer this skilled was way out of his league. The guy didn’t even have to confront him directly.

Even if he died, everyone would just assume it was an accident.

He had no idea when he’d managed to offend someone so dangerous.

Being a doctor really was a risky job.

—

Two days later, Zhou Can got some good news—the suspect had been caught.

For days, he’d been living under the shadow of death. Su Qianqian was scared right along with him.

His life and mood had been turned upside down.

He was doing fewer surgeries, too.

With so much stress and poor sleep, he just couldn’t handle his usual heavy workload.

Even in Cardiothoracic Surgery, he’d only done one operation in those two days.

And he wasn’t leading—it was just assisting.

He called it assisting, but if something had gone wrong, he didn’t feel at all confident about handling any emergencies.

Getting the call from Officer Hu about the suspect’s arrest, Zhou Can finally felt that weight lift off his shoulders. It was like a mountain had disappeared.

After that, the good news kept coming. The suspect confessed in the face of overwhelming evidence.

During questioning, it turned out the killer had no personal grudge against Zhou Can.

He’d simply been hired by an internet user named “Poisonous Look,” who agreed to pay fifteen thousand upfront and fifteen thousand more upon completion—a total of thirty thousand.

Human life was really cheap these days.

Thirty thousand for a life.

The killer didn’t even know his employer’s real name. They’d never met or had any direct contact.

Zhou Can understood the nightmare wasn’t over.

Unless the mastermind was caught, someone else could easily be hired to try again.

He immediately sent a thank-you banner to the police station.

Then, generously, he donated two police cars to the station.

If he’d just tried to give them money directly, they’d have refused.

About five days later, Officer Hu called again. Major progress—the case had led them to bust a whole online group dedicated to contract killings. Eleven hitmen arrested.

With so much involved, the investigation was digging deeper.

They’d also identified the mastermind who hired the killer for Zhou Can. By four that afternoon, the culprit was brought in.

The mastermind, Wu Chuan, was unemployed and lived off stock trading. After a recent divorce, he sold his house and made a windfall in the market. Then he got the idea to pay someone to kill.

That mastermind was none other than Director Xueyan’s ex-husband.

Back when Zhou Can was nearly hit by a falling flower pot, he’d suspected Wu Chuan, but the police described the suspect as a man in his thirties, so Zhou Can had dropped the idea.

But the net of justice misses nothing. With the killer in custody, Wu Chuan soon followed.

Now Zhou Can could finally get a good night’s sleep.

Wu Chuan and the hired killer would face the full weight of the law.

Attempted murder was a serious crime.

Even though it’d failed, it would be prosecuted as attempted homicide.

At last, this ordeal was over.

—

Zhou Can soon got back to his normal life and work.

Dr. Pu transferred to the Emergency Department just as he’d hoped.

But Zhou Can didn’t rush to put him on the surgery team. Instead, he assigned Dr. Pu to help manage the inpatient ward—a trial of sorts.

Exceptional people often come with a sense of pride.

A little tempering never hurt anyone.

Meanwhile, the postgraduate entrance exams were approaching fast. After the killer incident, Zhou Can’s work and study had both suffered, and his surgery numbers had dropped sharply—he’d barely touched any exam practice questions.

Now that things were back to normal, he cut back hours in Cardiothoracic Surgery, focusing on prep.

Director Xueyan already knew her ex-husband had hired a killer.

She apologized right away, but there was still an awkwardness between them every time they met.

Seeing less of her for a while was probably for the best.

In a blink, more than half a month had passed.

Zhou Can poured himself into both exam prep and work. He’d consulted Chief Resident Shen and others in Orthopedics, going through all sorts of related exam questions.

Finally, the annual exam season arrived.

It was nearly the end of the year.

Zhou Can took two days off to take the exam. It turned out to be much easier than he’d expected. Maybe his skills were that solid, or maybe it was thanks to Orthopedics chiefs giving him pointers on important topics, but he found it a breeze.

Even before results came out, he felt sure he’d pass.

Now it was December and he’d have to wait till around February for the initial scores.

This gave him time to prepare for the interview phase.

And with clinical practice, he could build up his medical experience even further—maybe even gain more chief-level skills.

Dr. Pu’s trial period soon came to an end.

For over half a month, he worked tirelessly in the ward, often volunteering for extra shifts just to make sure post-op patients got the attention they needed.

When he saw any patient at risk for complications or death, he’d proactively apply to stay late.

That work ethic won over not just Zhou Can, but Director Lou, Dr. Xu, Deputy Director Han, and everyone else paying attention to this promising newcomer.

The Emergency Department had plenty of doctors who’d washed out of other departments—‘problem doctors’.

Everyone was used to lazy veterans, slackers, and all kinds of drama.

For anyone with a bad attitude or poor ethics, Director Lou would rather run short-handed than keep them on staff.

That iron-fisted management kept the Emergency Department resilient and free of major medical mishaps.

When Zhou Can first brought in Dr. Pu, he already had high hopes.

Now, after more than two weeks of hard work, he decided it was time. Dr. Pu officially joined the surgery team in the Operating Room.

Inside the OR, Zhou Can was deep into a difficult surgery.

Dr. Yang Zhi assisted him, while Dr. Pu mostly observed and learned.

This time, Zhou Can was performing a level-two operation.

The patient’s right hand had been badly injured in an accident. Despite treatment, it was still badly deformed. It looked a little better than a chicken claw, but the fingers were useless.

After consultation with Dr. Xu, Zhou Can determined the main problem was with the index finger.

The tendon was badly damaged and had stuck to the blood vessels and nerves, making it impossible to bend or straighten.

So the finger just hung in a half-curled hook.

The patient was only twenty-four, just out of college and about to start his career. But his hand disability meant rejection after rejection in every interview.

His family had taken him all over, but every hospital said surgery wasn’t possible.

Even if they tried, the outcome would be poor.

Doctors’ skills vary. Some didn’t even realize the real cause of the hand’s dysfunction.

It was true the condition was tough to treat. The patient had already had one corrective surgery at a major hospital out of province with only mediocre results.

Earlier, he’d posted videos on Douyin sharing his story and looking for support.

In real life, he was so self-conscious and introverted that he barely spoke to anyone.

He didn’t even have anyone he could open up to.

But on Douyin, he found many compassionate followers, and their encouragement meant a lot.

Not long ago, a kind-hearted fan told him he should try the Emergency Department at Tuyu Hospital and see Dr. Zhou Can. The fan’s mother had a serious hand deformity too, and after three surgeries by Zhou Can, she regained eighty percent of function.

Sometimes, a good doctor really can save someone from despair.

The twenty-four-year-old man was moved by this story.

After a few days of thinking and getting ready, he decided to come find Dr. Zhou Can.

When he got to the Emergency Department, he learned Zhou Can only saw patients for half a day a week.

So he and his father had no choice but to stay in a cheap nearby hotel and wait four days. When Zhou Can finally had clinic hours, they bought his appointment slot through a ticket scalper.

Because Zhou Can’s popularity had soared—and his consultation fee was low—there were tons of people who came just for him.

Many patients heard about him through word of mouth—friends, family, acquaintances, all recommending him.

A doctor’s reputation really boiled down to skill and ethics.

But most important of all was expertise.

Zhou Can was always honest: if he could heal someone, he would. If not, he never made promises.

He was great at both surgery and diagnosis, always building on his experience. No wonder his name kept rising.

According to Tuyu Hospital’s stats, Zhou Can’s appointment numbers in both Pediatrics and Emergency had landed him in the hospital’s top 100 most sought-after doctors.

And to think he was only a resident with little seniority. No fancy credentials or honors. His rising reputation was pure skill—earned operation by operation.

That’s also why the hospital worked hard to help him advance his education.

With a talent like him, if leadership didn’t nurture him, they’d be out of their minds.

When Zhou Can saw this young college grad’s badly deformed hand—and learned he’d already had two failed surgeries at top hospitals—he couldn’t help but feel a bit deflated.