Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 433 Hero
A few days later, in the hospital ward, early morning.

Knowing he was alright, Chen Shu felt much more at ease. Apart from silently reminding himself every morning, "This is the last time," "I only have one life," and "I haven't gotten married, had kids, or taken care of my parents yet," he lived a relatively leisurely life.

At this moment, he was lying in the hospital bed, enjoying the fresh apples that his mother had brought him yesterday while scrolling through Douyin on his phone.

"Captain Chen." Pu Shu, dressed in civilian clothes, pushed open the door and walked in, greeting him as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

This thoughtful and sensitive young man had been persuaded by Chen Shu for a long time during his visits. Judging from his current demeanor, he must have emerged from the shadow of the previous fire accident.

Chen Shu took an apple from a bag on the bedside table and tossed it over, laughing, "I washed it, eat it. What brings you here today? Aren't you at work?"

Pu Shu took the apple, took a bite, and calmly said, "Captain Chen, I have already resigned."

Resign?

Chen Shu paused, his teeth barely touching half an apple, then took a big bite and crunched away for a long time.

"Yeah, that's good. Being a police auxiliary officer isn't a long-term solution."

"That's not the reason."

Chen Shu took a few more bites of the apple: "Hmm, there's always a reason."

Pu Shu asked, "Captain Chen, didn't you ever think about asking me why I resigned?"

Chen Shu wrapped the leftover apple core in a tissue and placed it on the bedside table, then smiled and said, "Everyone has their own ambitions. You're already in your twenties, do you still need to ask others for advice when you do things? But if you're willing to chat with me, I think I'll be a good listener."

Pu Shu chuckled, then took a few bites of the apple and quickly finished it. He wrapped the remaining apple core in a tissue, just like Chen Shu had done, and gently placed it on the bedside table.

He looked out at the bright sunshine, as if reminiscing: "Captain Chen, actually, I've admired heroes since I was a child, and I dreamed of becoming one myself when I grew up. But my grades weren't good, and I didn't pass the police exam when I grew up, so I could only come here to be an auxiliary police officer to experience life."

"Although I wear a police uniform, I sometimes naively think that I have really become a policeman who fights against evil and protects the innocent. But in reality, I am just a fake policeman in a police uniform."

Chen Shu wanted to explain, but he held back.

Pu Shu stopped, tilted his ear to listen to the clear birdsong outside the window, and after a moment, spoke again: "Later, my family pressured me to quit this dead-end job. Everyone tried to stop me, but you coldly agreed to let me go."

On the eve of the competition, Pu Shu's mother came to his workplace and forced him to resign. However, he withstood the pressure and delayed for a while, trying to achieve excellent results in the competition in order to silence his family's opposition.

"Cold and aloof?" Chen Shu was taken aback, but still laughed. "Am I that cold and heartless?"

"Hmm." Pu Shu responded honestly, pulling his gaze back from the window to look at his respected captain. "Afterwards, I was quite resentful of you. I felt that you had no sense of camaraderie. No wonder you're a leader who came from the police station."

Chen Shu touched his nose and didn't say anything.

Pu Shu lowered his head, fidgeted with his hands for a long time, and then said, "Until last week when I went with you and everyone else to put out the fire. You know that day, I was the one who wanted to rush upstairs to save people."

Chen Shu nodded and said, "Yes, I can sense that you are quite determined."

Pu Shu, head bowed, curled the corners of his lips into a smile, concealing his expression from Chen Shu: "Captain Chen, you stopped me. Yes, good job stopping me. Afterwards, I stood downstairs and watched you jump off the fourth-floor balcony. Do you know what I was thinking then?"

Chen Shu squinted, recalling the scene when he decided to jump off the fourth-floor balcony.

He held the little boy in his arms, pressed his back against the wall on the exterior of the balcony, facing thick smoke, with flames constantly shooting out from the adjacent balcony two meters away, and gusts of cold wind blowing behind him.

I closed my eyes, and in a daze, it felt as if I had returned to that time.

He held the little boy in his right arm and looked down at the road below.

The old building is very, very tall, and the limbs are very, very weak.

That feeling was fear.

“It was fear.” Pu Shu swallowed hard and said firmly, “At that time, I put myself in your shoes and was filled with fear. Standing downstairs, I was so glad that I had obeyed your orders and hadn’t impulsively run upstairs to save people.”

Unlike young people who care about saving face, Pu Shu confides in his elders as if he were speaking his mind, even though it is full of shameful fear and desire to escape.

Chen Shu opened his eyes and stared at the former SWAT team member in front of him, whose tone carried a sense of vicissitude that was completely inconsistent with his youthful appearance.

He tried to comfort her, but didn't know how to begin. His first reaction, too, was fear. Even a week later, he still wakes up in terror at night from nightmares. He touches the blankets and bedding beneath him—they're all wet.

People call Chen Shu a "workaholic," but only he knows that his reverence for life makes him prefer to be a coward.

At this point, Pu Shu's tone shifted, becoming more relaxed: "Captain Chen, I've thought it through. I can't be a real, heroic cop. If I had another chance to encounter this fire, I'd definitely chicken out again. Haha, definitely chicken out." Actually, you weren't a coward. The fact that you volunteered to go upstairs to rescue people showed you were already much braver than most people. Chen Shu looked regretful, but he still didn't intend to persuade him to stay with the team.

Pu Shu's presence today must have been preordained. Chen Shu could sense that Pu Shu was not only saying goodbye to Chen Shu, the team leader, but also bidding farewell to his own past and fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a policeman.

Chen Shu nodded: "Although you have left the police force, I believe that the image of the police will always remain in your heart in your future work and life. Pu Shu, a policeman is not necessarily a hero, and a hero is not necessarily a policeman."

"When you get married and start your own family, you will be a great hero in the eyes of your wife and children. The same goes for your parents, who are getting old and will gradually rely on you to take care of them. In their eyes, no hero is as reliable and family-oriented as you."

Pu Shu nodded as if he understood, then patted his chest with relief and said, "Captain Chen, I don't regret it."

Yes, Pu Shu certainly won't regret his years as a policeman, nor will he regret resigning today. As long as he continues to walk firmly on the path he has chosen.

Chen Shu thought for a moment, then turned over and pulled out a police training uniform from under the bed, tearing off the adhesive armband that had the word "Police" written on it.

Holding Pu Shu's hand with his left and pressing the armband firmly into his palm with his right, he said earnestly, "Once a policeman, always a policeman. I wish you all the best in the future, and come back to visit us often when you have time."

Pu Shu nodded heavily, tears streaming down his face.

Rise and salute.

Not long after Pu Shu left the ward, Zhang Yang walked in.

During the week Chen Shu was hospitalized, Zhang Yang visited him every day, no matter how busy she was or how late it was. Her style of dress always amazed Chen Shu, this straight-laced man.

Today she wore a long, fitted dress, a ribbon outlining her slender waist, which accentuated her slim figure and highlighted her full breasts. Even the usually composed Chen Shu found it hard to resist her charms.

Zhang Yang, with his hands behind his back, lightly skipped to Chen Shu's bedside and leaned close, his clear eyes curving into crescents: "Brother Shu, do you know what I brought you today?"

Chen Shu snapped out of his daze and said somewhat awkwardly, "You really don't need to give me any food. I have everything I need here."

"What are you thinking! I'm a top reporter in Dongzhou. I'm not bringing you little things like food and drinks. Hehe, the gift I'm giving you is something every man in Dongzhou dreams of. Want to guess?"

"It can't be you, can it?" For some reason, this inappropriate thought suddenly popped into Chen Shu's mind. He quickly blinked and focused his attention back on Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang smiled mysteriously and moved even closer to Chen Shu. The unique fragrance of a mature woman emanating from her made Chen Shu, who had no way to escape, feel a slight flutter in his heart.

"Brother Shu, didn't you used to be nicknamed 'Desperate Saburo'? You'll have to change it now." Zhang Yang whispered in Chen Shu's ear, his breath brushing against Chen Shu's sensitive earlobe, his tone playful and teasing.

After saying that, he took a step back and looked outside the room.

Zhang Yang's near and far presence made Chen Shuchang, who was almost succumbed to temptation, breathe a sigh of relief and follow her gaze to the door.

The door was opened from the outside, and a large portrait that looked like an oil painting, framed on all four sides, was carried in from the outside.

The oil painting was very large, and it took the people outside a long time to slowly bring it into the ward.

Chen Shu stared at the portrait and couldn't help but sit up straight.

In the painting, which clearly shows a road surface in the background, a special police officer in a black training uniform lies quietly among several quilts with his arms crossed in front of his chest, as if he were holding some precious treasure.

His face, blackened by the fireworks, was as resolute as a sculpture, yet his gaze towards the little boy in his arms was incredibly gentle, filled with a sense of relief and contentment. Meanwhile, the other police officers and bystanders wiped their eyes, weeping like children.

"This is... me? Why do I look like I'm dead?" Chen Shu pointed to his nose with his right hand and asked in surprise.

"It's not over yet!"

Zhang Yang skipped and hopped to the door, asking Xiao Zhao, who was carrying the painting, to move a little further into the ward. He then took the painting from outside the door and walked in holding a gold-background, red-lettered banner.

The banner had only two large red characters, as if it were cast in blood.

Only two words, not many.

Yet it resonated deeply.

-

"hero."

(End of this chapter)