S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 5: Chapter 19

The Doppelganger Killer 19 - Nursery Rhyme

Luo Yang did not fall deeply asleep until late into the night. Bai Yutang carried him into the guest room, tucked him in, turned off the light, and cautiously retreated out the door.

When he finished his shower and returned to the master bedroom, he found Zhan Zhao sitting up in bed, staring blankly at a box in front of him. The moment Bai Yutang caught sight of the box, he nearly choked—it was the so-called "adult novelty box" that Big Ding had gifted him previously.

"Cat... feeling so proactive?" Bai Yutang walked over to the side of the bed while towelling his hair dry.

Zhan Zhao looked up and saw Bai Yutang bare-chested with just a large bath towel wrapped around his waist... "You dead rat, why are you dressed like that?!"

Bai Yutang looked down at himself with a puzzled expression. "I just finished a shower. How else do you want me to be dressed?"

"Yangyang is here right now, so tone it down," Zhan Zhao said, pointing at the box on the bed. "Where are we supposed to hide this?"

Bai Yutang chuckled. "Why hide it?"

"If he sees it, how awful would that be?!" Zhan Zhao muttered, casting a sideways glance at Bai Yutang's bare torso, thinking to himself that this rat had a truly incredible physique—an inverted V-shape, long legs, a narrow waist, along with sculpted chest and abdominal muscles. How annoying!

"Just throwing it away like this would be such a waste, wouldn't it?" Bai Yutang leaned in and kissed Zhan Zhao's ear. "How about we put it to use..."

Zhan Zhao gave him a sideways glare. After a moment of thought, he smiled. "Put it to use? Think you can handle it?"

Bai Yutang froze, only to see Zhan Zhao gazing at him through half-lidded, smiling eyes, the collar of his pajamas slightly parted to reveal his exquisite collarbones.

"Cat, you had better not regret this." As he spoke, Bai Yutang leaned forward to kiss Zhan Zhao's neck.

"Regret what?" Zhan Zhao lifted his chin with a grin, gently rubbing his cheek against Bai Yutang's.

Bai Yutang drew in a sharp breath and pinned Zhan Zhao flat onto the bed, eagerly preparing to devour him, when suddenly two light raps sounded at the door. Before they could react, the door swung open and Yangyang poked his head inside.

A resounding "thud" echoed through the room.

Looking back at the bed, one would see Zhan Zhao wearing a gentle, pleasant smile as he straightened his clothes and asked in a completely serious tone, "Yangyang, what's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Yangyang glanced around the room and noticed that Bai Yutang wasn't on the bed, looking rather perplexed. "I just wanted to see if you guys were here."

Zhan Zhao paused, remembering that Yangyang had fallen asleep before being carried into the room; he must have woken up, discovered that there was no one beside him, and wandered over to check.

"Oh... then I'll go back to sleep. Goodnight." With that, Yangyang closed the bedroom door and went back to bed.

Zhan Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at Bai Yutang lying flat on the floor beside the bed. In his panic, he had kicked him right off.

Bai Yutang lay flat on his back on the carpet with the novelty items from the box scattered all over his body, staring blankly at the ceiling with a thoroughly disgruntled expression.

"Bai," Zhan Zhao nudged Bai Yutang's stomach with his foot. "Turn off the light!" He pulled back his foot and tucked himself into the covers to sleep.

With a resigned sigh, Bai Yutang got up, walked over, and clicked off the light. The room plunged into sudden darkness, and a moment later...

"Agh, you dead rat, what are you doing!"

"You actually kicked me off the bed—let me show you how I handle that."

"Don't touch there!"

"I'm touching there anyway!"

"Hey..."

"Hush... be careful Yangyang hears us."

"Mmph... mmmh~~ Ah"

"Cat."

……………… Early the next morning, Zhan Zhao dragged his lazily aching body out of bed, every muscle sore. "Dead rat, you crazy rodent!"

Pushing open the door, he spotted Bai Yutang seated comfortably by the table with his legs crossed, reading the morning paper while sipping coffee. Breakfast was already laid out on the table, and the sound of clinking dishes echoed from the kitchen.

"You're awake? Why didn't you sleep in a bit longer?" Bai Yutang frowned slightly. They had carried on quite late into the night, and he had deliberately intended to let the cat sleep in. Why was he up so early?

Before Zhan Zhao could answer, he saw Luo Yang wearing the apron Bai Yutang usually wore, stepping out of the kitchen with a plate in hand. The moment Luo Yang spotted Zhan Zhao, his face lit up with a cheerful smile as he happily trotted back inside to fetch another serving of breakfast.

"Breakfast was made by Luo Yang," Bai Yutang folded the newspaper and winked at Zhan Zhao. "This kid is far more capable than you are. This is great—now there's an extra person around to feed you!"

Fuming playfully, Zhan Zhao turned on his heel and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, returning shortly after with a toothbrush still in his mouth. "Bai, is that bearded man having his surgery today?"

"Right," Bai Yutang nodded. "We'll head straight to the hospital shortly. Gongsun went along early this morning to check out how that voice modulator was implanted."

"That bearded man spoke completely normally yesterday, though!" Zhan Zhao finished rinsing, returned to the table, took a sip of the milk Luo Yang handed him, and bit into a sandwich—delicious! He reached out to reward Yangyang with an appreciative pat on the head.

"Which means he must have had the procedure done somewhere," Bai Yutang said, setting aside the paper. "Whether it was at a regular hospital or an underground clinic, it's still a solid lead worth investigating."

"Mhm," Zhan Zhao nodded, asking Bai Yutang, "And what about his 'older and younger brothers' business... I want to question the bearded man further about that."

"We'll go as soon as we finish eating!" Bai Yutang checked his watch. "The surgery should wrap up around ten!"

The three of them dug into their breakfast in silence until Luo Yang suddenly asked, "Was there an earthquake last night? The bed felt like it was shaking."

"Pfft..." Bai Yutang spat his coffee all over the table.

"Cough cough..." Zhan Zhao choked on his milk.

…………

Bai Chi pulled his Beetle to a stop right outside the hospital entrance, killed the engine, and grabbed the documents Gongsun had phoned him to pick up. Eager to hurry inside, his stride was suddenly arrested by the sight of a sleek black sedan parked nearby—the vehicle looked awfully familiar.

Glancing over, he indeed spotted a man standing with one hand in his pocket, leaning casually against the car while smoking a cigarette—it was Bai Jingtang.

Bai Jingtang stood half-turned away from Bai Chi, seemingly lost in thought with a cigarette pinched between his fingers.

From his angle, Bai Chi had a clear view of Bai Jingtang's high, sharp nasal bridge casting a defined shadow across the side of his face under the ambient light—a flawless profile. Bai Jingtang bore a strong resemblance to Bai Yutang, yet the aura he projected was entirely different. If forced to draw a distinction, Bai Yutang was handsome and striking, whereas Bai Jingtang cut an image of rugged manliness... carrying the unmistakable air of a mature man. As Bai Chi stood there appraising him, Bai Jingtang suddenly turned his head and offered an amused, crooked smile.

Bai Chi's face flushed crimson instantly. He had been busted standing there staring like a goofball for ages.

Mustering his courage, Bai Chi walked over with his heart hammering against his ribs. He had grown accustomed to Bai Yutang, losing much of his initial nervousness around him, but he still rarely crossed paths with Bai Jingtang. Given that the eldest Bai brother was practically treated as a taboo subject within the family and rarely spoken of, Bai Chi genuinely harbored a healthy dose of fear toward him.

Stopping right in front of Bai Jingtang, Bai Chi raised his gaze and greeted him in a soft voice, "Big Brother."

Bai Jingtang gave a nod. Without a word, he flicked the ash from his cigarette, reached out, and gave Bai Chi a light tap on the back, as if signaling him to stand up straight and hold his head high.

Bai Chi instinctively straightened his posture and asked cautiously, "Big Brother, are you waiting for Gongsun?"

Bai Jingtang nodded again, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and asked, "How much longer is the surgery?"

"Almost done, I think!" Bai Chi lifted his wrist to check his watch. "It was scheduled to finish at ten, and it's already nine-thirty." As he spoke, Bai Chi noticed a slight furrow in Bai Jingtang's brow, as though something had displeased him.

By nature, Bai Chi was exceptionally sensitive to such nuances. Fearing he was annoying Bai Jingtang, he hurriedly stammered, "Uhm, I'll head on up first..." With that, he pivoted to leave, but before he could take a step, his collar was yanked firmly from behind. Before he could even let out a yelp, he was shoved down into a deep squat, taking cover behind the car.

Bai Chi's mind went blank. The moment he processed what was happening, a sharp crack rang out, followed instantly by a smoking bullet hole appearing on the wall directly across from them... If Bai Jingtang hadn't shoved him down just then, he would have taken the round.

"What's going on?" Bai Chi spun his head around to see Bai Jingtang frowning slightly, his ear cocked to listen to the movement behind the vehicle as he reached out a hand and uttered a single syllable: "Gun!"

Although police regulations strictly forbade handing service weapons to civilians, Bai Chi didn't hesitate for a second to pass his firearm to Bai Jingtang. He understood clearly that having the gun in Bai Jingtang's hands right now was infinitely more useful than holding onto it himself.

Bai Jingtang accepted the pistol, clicked off the safety, and quietly listened to the approaching sounds from behind. Bai Chi felt a wave of astonishment. The fluid precision with which Bai Jingtang handled the weapon clearly indicated extensive familiarity with firearms. He wasn't a police officer—how on earth was he so well-versed in handling guns?

While muddled by doubt, he suddenly caught the faint sound of someone humming a tune.

At first, Bai Chi assumed he was imagining things—how could anyone be humming a song right now? But listening closely, he realized he wasn't mistaken at all; someone was indeed humming, and the melody... sounded like a foreign song, though not in English.

Subconsciously turning to look at Bai Jingtang beside him to gauge his reaction, Bai Chi froze mid-motion. Bai Jingtang stood gripping the gun with wide, staring eyes, his face drained of all color, looking as though his breathing had completely stopped.

Bai Chi reached out and gave him a gentle nudge. Only then did Bai Jingtang snap back to reality, his brow instantly furrowing into a deep, grim scowl. He fished out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and handed the active call over to Bai Chi while gesturing for him to stay silent.

Clutching the phone, Bai Chi glanced at the screen and saw that the outgoing call was connected to Bai Yutang's number.

………………

A buzzing vibration chimed. Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao beside him. "Cat, check whose call this is."

Habitually, Zhan Zhao reached into Bai Yutang's pocket, retrieved the phone, flipped it open, and saw that the incoming call was from Bai Jingtang.

"It's Big Brother." He pressed the answer key. "Hello? Big Brother?"

For a long moment, no one spoke on the other end of the line, but faint background noises bled through—vaguely sounding like someone humming a tune.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang in the car, along with Luo Yang sitting in the back seat, were momentarily stunned.

"What's that sound?" Bai Yutang was completely baffled. Zhan Zhao furrowed his brow. "That's an Italian nursery rhyme."

"I feel like I've heard that tune somewhere before," Luo Yang murmured from the back seat.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged confused glances. Before they could make sense of it, a rapid succession of gunshots—bang, bang—crackled through the phone speaker.

Immediately followed by a long, uninterrupted dial tone.

"Yutang!" Zhan Zhao barely had time to cry out before Bai Yutang cut him off, barking, "Hold on tight!"

Holding the phone, Bai Chi heard the humming tune drifting closer and closer. Suddenly, Bai Jingtang grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him hard toward the rear of the vehicle. At that exact microsecond, a bullet slammed into the exact spot where the two of them had just been crouching. In that fleeting flash, Bai Chi caught a glimpse of the shooter—was it the bearded man? No, it looked somewhat similar, yet entirely different!

Instead of returning fire, Bai Jingtang shielded Bai Chi, ducked behind a concrete pillar in the parking garage, and whispered, "Who is that?"

Bai Chi shook his head. "I don't know."

"You don't recognize him?" Bai Jingtang looked even more perplexed.

Right at that moment, the piercing shriek of skidding tires tore through the air as Bai Yutang's silver-gray sports car careened sideways into the parking garage.