S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 3: Chapter 7

The Magic Killer 07 - Mist  

When Bai Yutang started the car to drive Zhan Zhao back to his apartment, it was already close to three in the morning.

"Hehe~~" Zhan Zhao suddenly burst into laughter, seemingly recalling something amusing, which prompted Bai Yutang beside him to chuckle along. "What is it, Cat? So happy?"

Zhan Zhao turned his head to look at him. "I was just thinking about what happened between Bai Chi and Zhao Zhen when they were kids."

"Heh~~~" Bai Yutang couldn't help laughing either. "It really is quite interesting. Who would have thought they'd share such a tangled web of fate."

"That Zhao Zhen is even more wicked than you were as a kid!" Zhan Zhao said, holding back a laugh.

"Dead cat, how was I bad when I was a kid?!" Bai Yutang protested.

"You weren't bad? Don't you remember..." Zhan Zhao reminisced with a smile, "That time you tossed those two brothers from next door right into the dirt pile of the flower bed, watered them down, and told them to grow up fast."

"Haha~~~" Bai Yutang burst into hearty laughter as well. "I remember, I remember. That must have been when we were eight... Those two brothers ruined the flower seedlings you planted, so I just taught them a lesson."

"That teacher who taught middle school history..." Zhan Zhao said, "You glued him to the toilet seat!"

"Pfft~~~~" Bai Yutang laughed even harder. "He ended up being hoisted away along with the toilet bowl and sent to the hospital..."

Zhan Zhao laughed so hard he clutched his stomach. "He had a toilet bowl stuck to his backside... and couldn't pull his pants up, so he just walked right out of the restroom like that for everyone to see..."

Bai Yutang nodded. "Who told him to frame you for cheating and make you stand facing the wall as punishment... getting glued to a toilet bowl was getting off easy."

"Later on, that mysterious homemade bomb in his office, was that your doing?" Zhan Zhao asked. "That incident still seems to be an unsolved school mystery to this day."

"Heh heh... I also locked his door, so he had to jump out the window right above the stinky drainage ditch..." Bai Yutang wore a triumphant expression. "Ever since then, he never dared to spare you another glance, steering clear of you like you were a plague ghost... Haha..."

"And you still say you weren't bad?!" Zhan Zhao glared at him. "When you graduated, the teachers were practically dying to set off firecrackers in celebration, all agreeing that the school was finally at peace~"

"Who told them to mess with you?!" Bai Yutang chuckled, blurting out, "You're mine, nobody is allowed to touch you except me!"

………………

Only after the words left his mouth did he realize how awkward it felt... Bai Yutang shook his head and laughed. "Thinking about it now, I was pretty much like a flyswatter back then, swatting fiercely at anyone who got too close to you!"

Noticing the apartment building drawing closer, Zhan Zhao turned to him with a sudden, serious expression. "Xiaobai, let's not go back just yet."

……?……

Bai Yutang looked at him in bewilderment. "Not go back? It's almost dawn. Aren't you going to get some sleep?"

"Don't you remember that beach we used to visit all the time when we were kids?" Zhan Zhao said with high spirits. "Let's go there, shall we?"

"Right now?" Bai Yutang asked. "It's pretty far!"

"I want to go..." Zhan Zhao said. "We used to go there all the time when we were studying."

"That's right, whenever you had something on your mind, you'd go sit on the embankment. Anyone could always find you there." Bai Yutang said. "You really want to go?"

"Mmm!" Zhan Zhao nodded.

Bai Yutang made a U-turn and drove toward the beaches of S City.

The beach here wasn't the fine, sandy sort, but rather a rocky shore. One side of the massive breakwater was lined with round concrete pillars used to stabilize the dam, and people could walk out onto them. Enjoying the sea view from there while watching the waves crash against the shallow reefs carried a uniquely evocative atmosphere.

Parking the car on the highway by the roadside, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao climbed down the embankment together, stepped onto the concrete pillars, and headed toward the shoreline.

The boundary where the sky met the sea was already tinged with a faint glow of light. The sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp tang coupled with the crisp morning chill, rushed into their lungs, instantly leaving them feeling refreshed and serene...

Bai Yutang gently wrapped his arms around Zhan Zhao from behind, leaning in close to his ear. "Cat, is something on your mind?"

"...You figured it out again..." Zhan Zhao leaned back slightly, basking in the warmth radiating from Bai Yutang's chest.

"Didn't I tell you? You're the expert who studies people... and I'm the expert who studies you." As he spoke, he kissed Zhan Zhao's nape and hair. "Cat, tell me, what are you feeling uneasy about?"

"I... I can sense it... a kind of evil..." Zhan Zhao pressed closer to Bai Yutang. "This case is different from all the previous ones... This killer... gives me a very strange feeling—evil, ruthless, and unsettling..."

Bai Yutang tightened his grip, pulling Zhan Zhao closer as he asked, "You got that feeling from Sun Qian's crime scene, didn't you?"

Zhan Zhao turned his head to look at him. "You noticed it too?"

Shaking his head, Bai Yutang smiled and pinched his chin. "I don't have that power of yours to sense human hearts... but I can sense changes in your emotions... Cat, whether you're happy, sad, or frightened... I can feel every single emotion of yours."

Zhan Zhao gently shook his head. "I feel like... someone else is going to be harmed... and it might still be an innocent little child like Sun Qian... Yet we don't have a single clue..."

Bai Yutang lowered his head and kissed Zhan Zhao's parting lips, gradually soothing him into quietness.

"Cat, there's something I want to give you... You aren't allowed to laugh." Bai Yutang released Zhan Zhao and said gently.

"Something?" Zhan Zhao looked up at him in confusion. "What is it?"

Bai Yutang reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a white velvet box. Opening it, he revealed a pair of silver rings... minimalist and elegant in design...

"You?" Zhan Zhao looked at him in mild surprise, then lowered his head and chuckled.

"You're not allowed to laugh!" It was a rare sight to see Bai Yutang blushing slightly. "I know it's a bit silly, but I happened to see them the other day and thought they looked nice, so I bought them..."

With that, he took one of the rings out of the box and handed it to Zhan Zhao. "I... I also bought a chain... If you don't want to wear it on your hand, you can hang it around your..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhan Zhao had already reached out and taken the ring, asking, "Are the two of them identical?"

"Mmm, identical." Bai Yutang nodded, only to see Zhan Zhao pick up his hand, slip the ring onto the middle finger of his left hand, and then take the other ring and slide it onto the middle finger of his own left hand.

Bai Yutang stared at Zhan Zhao's actions in stunned amazement. "Cat... the chain..."

Zhan Zhao took the chain, held it in his hand, and asked, "Did you think I'd mind other people knowing about us... and therefore be unwilling to wear this ring on my hand, even though you wanted me to carry it with me everywhere... even if it meant hanging it around my neck?"

Nodding, Bai Yutang gazed at Zhan Zhao as the latter turned around with a smile, flicking his wrist toward the distance. The silver chain traced a graceful arc through the air and vanished into the sea below.

"Cat... uh..." Bai Yutang watched the chain fly away in astonishment, but before he could react, Zhan Zhao had already cupped his face, leaned in, and kissed him...

When the passionate kiss came to an end, Zhan Zhao smiled, ruffled the hair of the thoroughly dazed and pleasantly surprised Bai Yutang, and said, "Yutang, you're so cute..."

After freezing for a long moment, Bai Yutang let out a helpless chuckle. "Cat, you played with my feelings..."

Reaching out to pull Zhan Zhao into his arms, he hugged him tight. "Cat, let's take it step by step, just like every time before... We'll find the clues first, analyze them layer by layer, unspooling the silk from the cocoon, and no matter how vicious the criminal is, we'll drag them out into the light!"

Zhan Zhao looked up at him.

A faint gleam flickered in Bai Yutang's eyes. "Cat, we are the central nervous system of S.C.I.! Do you understand?"

"Mmm." Zhan Zhao nodded. "We can't panic... we need to stay confident and calm."

"Right..." Bai Yutang looked straight into Zhan Zhao's eyes. "Especially you, Cat. You're the pillar of support for all of us, and conversely, all of us are your pillar... No evil can ever get close to you... especially with me standing right here as your flyswatter."

Zhan Zhao smiled and nodded.

Bai Yutang pulled his arms tighter, holding Zhan Zhao even closer. "You must believe in yourself... No evil can ever triumph over your justice, and I will always guard you."

Zhan Zhao wrapped his arms around Bai Yutang's neck, feeling the warmth, strength, and vibrant life force he was offering, and nodded earnestly, "Mmm!"

A few wisps of sunlight broke past the horizon, preceding the sun itself in arriving upon the human world... The blue of the ocean and the red of the morning glow painted the skyline in a somewhat fantastical shade of purple... The early dawn felt like an ensemble of light, its blended colors resembling an interwoven movement of music, hard to distinguish one from the other ~~ We can only feel either sorrow or moving grace.

However, when the sun rises... light and shadow part ways, day and night each finding their own destined refuge... unchanging since ancient times.

After steadying their emotions and returning home for a brief rest, the two of them returned to S.C.I. in peak condition.

As soon as they stepped into the office, they were greeted by thunderous snoring. Xu Qing, standing nearby, pointed toward Wang Chao lying fast asleep on the lounge sofa.

It seemed Wang Chao had been busy all night, though it was unclear what results he had harvested from tailing Kong Liping yesterday.

Though reluctant to do so, Bai Yutang gently shook him awake.

"Mng! ...Ah! Chief!" Recognizing that the person standing before him was Bai Yutang, Wang Chao bolted upright. "I made a discovery! A major discovery!"

Turning his head to look around and seeing everyone in S.C.I. smiling at him, he scratched his head in confusion. "What?" He remained completely oblivious to the fact that his hair was as messy as a bird's nest and he still had drool at the corner of his mouth~~~

"Go wash up, and after the meeting, go home and get some sleep before coming back," Bai Yutang instructed concisely.

"Ah... right!" Wang Chao bolted out like a shot, returning in less than half a minute. "Chief, Kong Liping met with someone last night."

"Who?"

"When I followed her to her apartment building last night, a black car was waiting downstairs. She walked over, whispered a few words with the person inside the car, and then carried a small baby out from it."

"A baby?" Zhan Zhao asked, perplexed. "Her son?"

Wang Chao nodded. "I'm certain of it."

"Who was in the car?" Bai Yutang asked.

"I only caught a glimpse, but it was a man, and he looked very familiar... It took me forever to remember, but he was the one who came to our office yesterday!"

……！……

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged glances. The person who came yesterday— "Shen Qian??"

"Right!" Wang Chao nodded. "That's him!"

Bai Yutang pondered for a long moment. "It seems his visit to S.C.I. yesterday wasn't just about Gongsun..."

Zhan Zhao nodded. "Gongsun might have just been a smokescreen; he had another purpose."

"And there's also that Li Xu!" Xu Qing chimed in. "I checked, and she indeed attended classes at that dance academy when she was young."

"...It's the same person?!" Bai Yutang asked.

"Should be." Xu Qing handed over the gathered materials, and the photograph displayed none other than Li Xu.

……

"That's right, where is Bai Chi?" Zhan Zhao asked suddenly.

"Oh~~" Jiang Ping said. "He came early this morning along with Zhao Zhen. Zhao Zhen mentioned he has a performance later... it's the opening ceremony for the Shen Group's jewelry exhibition."

"I secretly tipped little Bai Chi off about Shen Qian from last night, and then he just tagged along with Zhao Zhen, saying he wanted to scout out the situation," Wang Chao added. "Zhao Zhen seemed quite willing to bring him along, though the little guy kept a straight face all morning..."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao could only offer wry smiles. With a situation like Zhao Zhen's, earning forgiveness wasn't going to be easy...

"Did he go alone?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"No, Ma Han went with him," Xu Qing said.

Bai Yutang nodded. After assigning tasks to the team, he and Zhan Zhao left the police station together, deciding to head over to Qile and the others' apartment to find Li Xu first.

Not long after the car pulled out, Bai Yutang's phone received a text message.

The sender was displayed as unknown.

Opening it, he saw four simple words— "Save me, Qile"

Zhan Zhao furrowed his brow. "Yutang..."

"Understood!" Bai Yutang pulled his seatbelt tight, buckled up, and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.