S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 2: Chapter 10

The Killer Training Camp 10: Infatuation 

On a desolate road under the cover of night, a black Mercedes had almost blended completely into the surrounding darkness.

Bai Jintang restarted the car and headed toward a villa in the suburbs. It was a property he had purchased recently, originally intending to bring Gongsun there for his birthday, but he hadn't expected to end up here two months early...

The crab and rice porridge was on the stove, simmering slowly.

The crispy, small fried fish, slightly sweet and crunchy, were just perfect to go with the porridge.

There were also crab roe buns, steamed until they were white and fluffy...

The delicious, savory aroma wafted out of the kitchen, swirling around and eventually drifting into the bedroom.

Zhan Zhao’s nose woke up before his brain did. He climbed up in a daze, sat on the bed, and sniffed—it smelled so good.

In the kitchen, Bai Yutang, guessing that the cat had likely been "smoked" awake by now, walked over and pushed open the bedroom door—he was right.

Seeing Zhan Zhao sitting on the bed, hugging his quilt with a blank expression, Bai Yutang smiled and pulled open the curtains.

The bright sunlight was a bit dazzling. Zhan Zhao blinked, adjusting to the light and waking up a little more.

Bai Yutang walked to the bedside, sat down, leaned over, and kissed Zhan Zhao on the forehead. "Morning, Cat."

Zhan Zhao seemed unable to process what was happening. After two seconds of staring blankly, he flushed red, pushed the rat away, and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"Damn cat! Don't you dare wipe it off!" Bai Yutang glared at him.

"What? We agreed on this last night!" Bai Yutang said with righteous indignation. "You're not going to go back on your word, are you?!"

Zhan Zhao shot him a sidelong glance and suddenly pointed toward the door. "Ah!!"

Bai Yutang instinctively looked back. There was nothing at the door. Just as he was puzzled, he felt a warmth on his cheek. By the time he reacted, Zhan Zhao had already hopped off the bed and was sprinting into the bathroom like a bolt of lightning.

The white rat was so overjoyed in the bedroom that he scratched his ears and cheeks; his rat tail was practically pointing at the sky, still shaking rhythmically—

Zhan Zhao rushed into the bathroom and turned on the tap to wash his face and brush his teeth... Wait, why did this white rat smell like lemon??

He looked up and saw Bai Yutang’s toothbrush cup sitting next to his own... His toothpaste was—lemon-flavored?? Sure enough!

Zhan Zhao realized what kind of wild thoughts were running through his head. Pink bubbles were practically erupting before his eyes, so he hurriedly cupped some cold water and splashed it on his face. "Zhan Zhao!! You need to pull yourself together!!"

He lifted his head, yet his hand reached out as if possessed to pick up that tube of toothpaste—it’s lemon-flavored, maybe I should try it.

"Cat."

Startled by the sudden sound, he jumped. Zhan Zhao turned to see Bai Yutang standing in the doorway, looking puzzled. "Uh, I wanted to ask..."

Zhan Zhao immediately threw the toothpaste back onto the vanity. "Ask what? I was just looking at it, I wasn't going to use it! Who would want to use your toothpaste! I hate lemon flavor more than anything!!"

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao with surprise, and then, a sly smile appeared on his face. "Cat, I wanted to ask if you prefer your eggs fried on one side or both."

After ten seconds of silence, Zhan Zhao grabbed the toothpaste and threw it at the smug-looking Bai Yutang! "Damn rat! Get out!"

Bang! He slammed the bathroom door shut.

Zhan Zhao inside was practically steaming, while Bai Yutang outside held the toothpaste and laughed until his mouth was crooked... Heh heh, lemon flavor, huh...

The delicious seafood breakfast managed to wipe away Zhan Zhao's foul mood from the early morning! As for cats, as long as there is fish to eat, they are naturally happy.

"Meow~~~" Bai Yutang's phone rang. He picked it up to check the caller ID.

"My brother??" Bai Yutang was shocked.

Zhan Zhao looked at him strangely. "What's so strange about that? Didn't you give him the phone?"

"Uh... that's not the point." Bai Yutang said with a helpless sigh. "I thought he only knew how to make calls. I didn't think he’d know how to send text messages."

"Why do you talk about your brother like he's an idiot??" Zhan Zhao sipped his porridge.

"In fact..." Bai Yutang opened the message, "he is a complete electronic idiot~~~"

...

Bai Yutang fell silent after reading the content of the message.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked curiously.

"Ah~~~" Bai Yutang had a complicated expression. "This—what does this mean?" He handed the phone to Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao took it and looked. The text message from Bai Jintang read: "G.S.QINGJIASANTIAN!......>__,☆@@@@@".

Zhan Zhao frowned and stared at it for a long time, then shook his head... He didn't understand.

Bai Yutang scratched his head. "What does G.S. stand for? Is it an abbreviation for some organization??"

Zhan Zhao stroked his chin. "Hmm... Ah!"

"What is it?" Seeing that Zhan Zhao seemed to have figured it out, Bai Yutang hurriedly looked at him.

"The German G.S. Ohm discovered Ohm's Law!!" Zhan Zhao said, nodding.

"Huh??" Bai Yutang looked at him with admiration. "Do you think my brother would know what 'Ohm's Law' is?"

"............" Zhan Zhao was dejected. "Probably not............"

"What about this QINGJIASANTIAN? Is it a word??" Bai Yutang continued to ask.

"It doesn't look like it. It's definitely not an English word... not French either... it’s not Spanish, either..." Zhan Zhao tried hard to think. Bai Yutang ruffled his hair, feeling a bit of pity for him. "Cat, don't worry about it. My brother only speaks Chinese."

"Hasn't he always been abroad?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

"Yeah, he speaks Chinese even when he's abroad." Bai Yutang nodded.

"Then what happens if other people don't understand him?"

"He doesn't care whether others understand him or not."

...

...A day's work is best begun in the morning...

Chaotic rhythms and loud, noisy music accompanied the almost hysterical shouting and swaying of the people on stage.

Zhao Hu felt his temples throbbing, and his head felt like it was going to split—what kind of band was this anyway??

The music agent next to him, Zhang Hua, smiled and said, "Young people these days just love this kind of loud music."

Zhao Hu nodded noncommittally, focusing his attention on Qi Le, who was nearby. His job was simply to ensure her safety.

For some reason, Qi Le still decided to go through with the music company audition. Because of Qi Lei's death, the "Boiling Point" band had suddenly become famous, and since Qi Le and her group were directly recommended by the music agency, they attracted a lot of attention in the audition hall.

Chen Yu patted Qi Le lightly and pointed at Zhao Hu standing not far away. "Your guardian angel?"

"Tch..." Qi Le rolled her eyes.

"Not bad, though." Chen Yu smiled. "And he's a cop. He saved your life last time, right?"

Qi Le glanced at her. "What are you thinking about? Even if he is 'not bad,' what does it matter? The two guys from last time were even better."

"Oh, that's true!" Chen Yu became instantly interested. "I like that guy surnamed Bai! He’s ridiculously handsome!!"

"Heh..." Qi Le sneered. "Stop being so cheap. Those are decent, serious men."

"So what if they're serious..." Chen Yu pouted and shrugged. "Once we get famous, we can have anything we want!"

"Sigh... let’s wait until we're famous first." Qi Le sighed, leaned over, and whispered, "Xiao Yu, do you have any..."

"...?" Chen Yu looked at Qi Le. "You want some?"

"Mm." Qi Le nodded. "I'm in a lot of pain, and I'm afraid I won't be able to hold up during the performance later."

Chen Yu pulled her along and said, "Let's go."

The two walked toward the corridor cautiously. When Zhao Hu turned and saw them, he followed.

"Where are you going?" He blocked Qi Le’s path.

"None of your business!" Qi Le glared at him.

Zhao Hu gave an amused smile. "Why are you such an ungrateful little brat? Someone is trying to take your life, and I am here protecting you."

"I don't need it!" Qi Le rolled her eyes. "I’m tough. Even if everyone in the world died, I’d still be here."

"You!"

"Alright, alright!!" Chen Yu hurriedly tried to mediate. "We're just going to the restroom. What’s wrong, handsome, want to come along too?!" After finishing, she grabbed Qi Le and ran off.

"Heh..." Zhao Hu was so angry he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm either undercover or on guard duty, and here I am, babysitting a bratty little girl...

He walked angrily to the door of the women's restroom and waited. Angry as he was, the mission had to be completed.

Because the performance shed had excellent soundproofing, none of the noisy music could be heard. The entire corridor was dead silent.

Zhao Hu faintly heard voices coming from inside the restroom... he frowned.

Qi Le leaned against the vanity and urged Chen Yu. "Hurry up!"

"Don't be in such a rush." Chen Yu flipped through her pockets, pulled out a small medicine bottle, and poured out a colorful pill. "Here."

"Just one? Give me another one." Qi Le took the pill.

"Are you trying to kill yourself? Too much of this stuff will kill you." Chen Yu put the bottle away.

"One isn't enough to do anything!!" Qi Le reached out and snatched the bottle away, then took another one.

Just as she was about to shove the medicine into her mouth, the door was kicked open with a bang.

Zhao Hu rushed in, his face full of rage, and slapped the medicine out of Qi Le’s hand. "Didn't you promise you wouldn't take them anymore?!"

Qi Le and Chen Yu were both stunned, but immediately afterward, they exchanged glances and burst into laughter at the same time.

Zhao Hu was baffled by their laughter. Then he saw Chen Yu shaking the bottle. "Did you think it was drugs? It’s just painkillers!"

"Painkillers?" Zhao Hu was puzzled. "Why would you take painkillers?"

Qi Le laughed until she was gasping for air. She patted Zhao Hu and said, "Have you never had a girlfriend before?"

"...?..."

Seeing that Zhao Hu still looked utterly confused, Qi Le and Chen Yu laughed even harder.

"Don't you know?" Chen Yu said. "Women have pain every month~~~" After saying that, they left the restroom, leaving behind a red-faced Zhao Hu while laughing loudly.

Zhao Hu sighed, silently mourning his own misfortune once more. Then, he took out a tissue, carefully picked up the two colorful pills from the floor, put them in his pocket, and left.

Outside a public restroom at the M University faculty apartment complex.

Wang Chao threw his cigarette butt onto the ground and stepped on it to extinguish it.

Zhang Long checked his watch. "What’s wrong with this Jia Zhengyan? He’s been in there for over ten minutes—why isn't he coming out?"

Wang Chao shrugged. "We’ve been following him all day. He's either in class or wandering around aimlessly. There’s nothing unusual about him."

"...Fifteen minutes now." Zhang Long checked his watch again.

Wang Chao frowned. "Something's not right."

The two exchanged a look and quickly walked into the restroom...

Inside, they found Jia Zhengyan slumped on the floor tiles in front of the sink.

"Jia Zhengyan!" They called out, but there was no response.

Zhang Long stepped forward to check his pulse and pressed his carotid artery... then he turned to Wang Chao and shook his head.

Wang Chao said nothing, frowning as he looked at the colorful pills scattered beside Jia Zhengyan's body.