Crimson Instinct

*Xin Lei*

I froze. For a moment, all of my senses became numb. I was unable to think anything.

As if in slow motion, I saw Bai Li collapsing on the ground, and a small trail of blood splattered outside as the bullet stabbed his shoulder. He and Zhang Ning fell together on the ground.

Bai Li!!!!

I turned and looked at a man who was holding his gun, aiming at thin air.

Panic ensued instantly after that resounding shot, and I snapped out as the whole crowd started screaming and shouting.

"Ahh!!! Gun! He has a gun!"

"Get away!"

People started running away in any direction from the rally. The man seemed frozen with the turn of events.

Damn you!

I saw the army officers rushing to surround him, but even before they could do that, I raised my leg and kicked the gun out of his hand.

"Ow!" He groaned.

I took a huge step and already stood in front of him. Before he could fight back, I clutched the back of his head, pushed his face down, and jabbed a straight knee uppercut right at his nose.

I heard the crushing sound of his bone breaking, which still didn't satisfy me.

"Ahhhh!!! My nose!!!"

That man clutched his nose. Blood trickled through his fingers.

But that wasn't enough. Something triggered inside me when I saw Bai Li fell. That scene etched into my mind. I knew I should rush to tend to him, but I felt my mind cloud in rage, wanting to beat the shit out of that man.

Staggering, he got up again to land a fist at me. I shifted a step sideways, and his arm was now fully stretched before my eyes.

I hooked and locked his wrist around my right arm, and with my left, I jabbed his elbow hard, channeling all my fury in that hit and broke his two forearm bones.

*Crack*

"AAAAHHH!!!"

His eyes rolled backward in his sockets, and he fell with a thud.

Now I felt a bit better seeing him in that pathetic state with his broken nose and a broken arm.

I felt my temper calm down.

Bai Li…

I snapped my head in his way. He was lying on the ground beside Zhang Ning.

Zhang Ning looked fine, but he...

I ran towards him. I bent and examined his shoulder. Liao Huifang seemed worried as well.

"Ugghh…" Bai Li slightly groaned, and his brows knitted.

There was no exit wound, so the bullet was still inside. It was just hit below the clavicle.

"Ning! Are you alright?"

Zhang Chao came rushing towards her. I didn't bother to hide my distaste.

"Dad...I-I am fine but this man…he got hurt to save me."

I saw her extending her arms and trying to help him in panic, but I raised my hand.

She stopped. "But h-he needs help."

I snapped. I found my phone and furiously typed. "Do you think I don't know that!"

I held Bai Li's face and rubbed his cheek.

"Ah, Xin Lei...I am fine. It's just a bullet."

Just a bullet, you say!

"Bai Li!"

Suddenly the middle-aged man who was in place of General Song came. "Bai Li."

"Major General Shi?" Bai Li furrowed his brows.

Was he Major General Shi Jianguo?

"Yes. Ask about that later. First, look after yourself." He helped me to make Bai Li sit in a comfortable position.

I had no time. I immediately covered his wound to stop his blood flow and elevated it above his heart level.

I saw sweat trickling down his forehead.

"Xin Lei. I can sense your anxiety. I am fine. Thankfully it's just the shoulder."

Can I kill you sometime later?

Zhang Chao from his side yelled. "Take this man away! I will personally meet him to get my answers."

He was grinding his jaw, and his eyes looked fierce.

I typed. "We have to take out the bullet. Call the ambulance!"

---

A politician's connections have advantages, so we already reached the hospital ten minutes later. They vacated the whole fifth floor for our use.

There were Liao Huifang and Major Shi with three officers, along with Zhang Chao and Zhang Ning and their assistants.

Zhang Ning quickly said, "Don't worry. I have called the best surgeon on board."

I was already taking Bai Li's stretcher inside the ward.

"Huh? Where are you going inside?" She asked me.

Liao Huifang said, "Xin Lei is a doctor herself. She knows surgery. So obviously, she would be doing it."

I nodded.

Zhang Ning looked surprised. "Oh…"

I looked at the nurses. I typed. "Prepare for Shoulder Arthroscopy. Ready the cannula and the arthroscope."

"Yes!"

One of them asked me, "You are Dr. Xin Lei, right?"

I nodded.

She smiled and nodded. I sensed her excitement in her expression. "It's my honor to work with you, Dr. Xin Lei."

"Wow, you are famous." Liao Huifang said.

I changed into the surgeon's uniform.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

Operating on your loved ones was a difficult thing to do. There is an emotional attachment with them, which is hard to tear off from yourself to get into the professional mode.

But I had to do this. I had confidence in my skills.

I went inside, and everything was already ready.

"I am in your capable hands...Dr. Xin Lei." Bai Li grinned. Even if he was sweating and panting because of the shot, he had the mood to joke.

I rolled my eyes.

It wasn't necessary to sedate Bai Li completely into unconsciousness. Just numbing the shoulder and arm with anesthesia was good enough.

Shoulder Arthroscopy was a procedure where I would insert a small camera called the arthroscope through two to three small incisions in his shoulder. It would be connected to the video monitor in the operating theatre. I can see the damage to the tissues like cartilages, tendons, ligaments, and bones surrounding the wound and find the location of the bullet.

I can then extract the bullet inserting the cannula, and stitch the wound back. It was effective, had fewer scars, quick recovery time, improved motion, and was less than an hour procedure.

It got over quickly and without any complications. The bullet laid in the dish. I cleaned the wound and wrapped his shoulder with the bandage.

I removed my mask. I typed. "It's done. Thank you for your help."

The nurses nodded. "It was our pleasure, Dr. Xin. We feel lucky to get a chance to work with you. I have read a lot about you."

I smiled.

"And I feel lucky to get to date her." Bai Li smiled.

I raised my eyebrow. I was going to ask if he felt alright, but guess I didn't need to now.

Finally, the ordeal was over. I felt as if my heart had stopped beating that time on the rally stage.

The nurses, as if got the cue, left the ward.

"Don't send anybody in for ten minutes." Bai Li said.

I helped him lean on the bed.

"See? I am fine, don't I? You were unnecessarily worrying. I have seen worse than this."

I pouted.

I typed. "A wound is a wound. My breath was stuck in my throat when I saw you hit with the bullet."

Bai Li gravely nodded. "I should take responsibility."

He raised his hand towards me and held my face. I tilted my head to feel his warmth. He slowly pulled me towards him and pressed my lips on his.

I shut my eyes and leaned, even more, feeling the warm sensation on his lips. I felt him wrap his left arm around my waist. I held his face in between my hands and deepened the kiss further. My panic, my stress, and all my anxiety until now...I let it all out and took solace in his lips and in the fact that Bai Li was fine now.

Before we knew it, we had already delved in each other's mouths, tasting the bliss of love. Our breaths turned a bit raspy, and I felt the heat rising in my cheeks.

Ah, I will never get enough of this.

We parted after a minute. Taking short breaths, I leaned my head on his chest.

I couldn't imagine what would have happened if the bullet had hit his throat or any one of the life-threatening nerves.

I typed. "I like your way of taking responsibility."

"I don't mind taking the responsibility once again."

I chuckled.

A while later, everybody entered.

Major General Shi snorted. "You are a hard head. I already knew you were going to be just fine. You have survived worse."

Then he stared at me. "I am impressed with your skills. You fought beautifully. The sound when the bones of those shitty men break is so satisfying indeed."

Well, I did feel nice.

Zhang Chao stared at me for a moment.

Then he looked at Bai Li, grim.

"You...Thank you so much, Bai Li. I...I couldn't even imagine if anything happened to Ning, I would have…"

Bai Li shrugged. "Don't mention it. Who was the man?"

"That bastard was a mole! He confessed. He belonged to Yi Xiaosi's party, who planned to kill Ming today in the rally."