Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 46: You Can Miss A Wedding

Chapter 46: You Can Miss A Wedding

Cheng Bo Jing watched the child in front of him, trying to pull herself together. Everything in him demanded that he try and make this better for her, but how was that possible? He couldn’t bring back the dead.

But he could take their place.

Still on his knees he studied the girl. Her eyes were swollen from crying just now, but she had more poise than most of the adults in this room.

"Tell me," he asked, staring at her. "What do you need?" What he really wanted to ask was what he could do for her. He assumed that the older gentleman behind her was looking after her basic needs, but there was more to looking after someone than just looking after their basic needs.

She seemed to be studying him just as intently as he was studying her.

"Emancipation," she answered suddenly, her little spin becoming stiffer as if she was expecting him to reject her.

He nodded his head. His brain started to go through the long list of people who owed him a favor. There should be at least one family lawyer in there who could do what she wanted.

It took him longer than it should have to realize that she was still talking to him. "I know I am only 12, and most people need to be 16 before they can go through the process. But I am interning as a doctor. I have the means to support myself financially—"

"Relax," chuckled Cheng Bo Jing as he gripped her hands. "You don’t have to explain. If that is what you want, I will do my best to make sure that happens. If not, I’ll see what I can do about being your foster parent for the next four years."

"No!" she shouted, startling both of them. She blushed at her outburst as she noticed everyone’s eyes on her. "I don’t want you to be my foster parent."

Cheng Bo Jing cocked his head to the side. He wanted to be insulted by her words, or, in the very least, rejected. But that wasn’t what he felt. Instead, he was almost... relieved.

Strange. He had never said anything he didn’t mean... but there was definite relief that he would not be her parent... no matter how short the time period.

"If I can’t be emancipated, then I can talk to the Director of Mercy Hospital and see if he could foster me for my internship. I am living with him and his wife anyway. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal," continued Wang Tian Mu, the blush never leaving her cheeks. The contrast against her ghostly white skin was nice.

She was much too pale.

Cheng Bo Jing nodded his head and noticed the line forming behind him. "I’ll get started. Don’t worry. I’m not leaving any time soon."

He felt her sigh at his words, and after getting her permission, he rose to his feet and went to sit behind the General. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he dialed a number.

"I need you to do something for me. I don’t care what it takes; just get it done."

------

Six months after the funeral and there hadn’t been a day that Cheng Bo Jing hadn’t texted Wang Tian Mu. He had learned everything about her life in that time, and his respect for the little girl grew with each interaction.

Smiling at the latest meme she had sent him, he set his phone to the side when he heard a knock on his office door.

"Enter," he called out, not surprised that someone was seeking him out. Information was his currency, and everyone needed something.

"Sir," said a young man as he walked in. He looked to be in his early twenties, his forge cap under his arm and a file folder in the other as he saluted Cheng Bo Jing. Cheng Bo Jing quickly looked at the other man’s epaulets.

"Captain," he replied, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk, offering him a seat.

"Thank you, Sir," said the man, quickly taking a seat and pushing the folder he was holding closer to Cheng Bo Jing.

The other man didn’t even look at it.

A few minutes of silence passed, neither man wanting to be the first to flinch. But Cheng Bo Jing was as patient as a snake waiting for his prey. It would take a lot for him to crack. And this young captain didn’t have what it took to do it.

"My name is Captain Bai Long Qiang," said the younger man, cracking first.

"So your uniform told me," answered Cheng Bo Jing, nodding toward the captain’s name tag on his right breast pocket.

"I have received permission to build my own special forces team, and I would like you to be on it," continued the other man after a brief pause. "You are the best in your field, and I want the best on my team."

Cheng Bo Jing nodded his head at Bai Long Qiang’s statement. He was the best in his field... and he was not the first person to try and recruit him. Too bad he had already formed an opinion about the General’s son. And it wasn’t all that good.

Bai Long Qiang pushed the folder closer to Cheng Bo Jing, reminding him that it was there. But the man didn’t so much as glance at it.

"What do you want," asked the Major.

"To add you to my team," replied Bai Long Qiang, confused. If he would just open the folder and read what was in it, he wouldn’t have to ask any questions.

"I’ll think about it," dismissed Cheng Bo Jing as his phone dinged with an incoming text message. He couldn’t hold back the smirk on his face when he heard it.

Bai Long Qiang stood up and saluted the other man but didn’t take the folder with him. Wang Tian Mu said that he needed the best on his team to make sure he returned to her, and Cheng Bo Jing was the best.

Turning to the door, Cheng Bo Jing opened his mouth.

"My father once told me you could miss a wedding, but you could never miss a funeral."