S.C.I. (Volume II) - Case 6: Chapter 3

The Innocent Killer 03 - Undercurrents

After finishing their meal, Bai Chi had two large portions packed to take back and feed Zhao Zhen and Lisbon. Bai Yutang was feeling somewhat over-full and wanted to walk back with Zhan Zhao, so Bai Chi said goodbye to his two older brothers and drove off first.

Leaving the restaurant, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked side by side at a leisurely pace. The weather remained muggy and stifling, but distant, muffled rumbles of thunder rolled across the horizon, signaling that rain was about to fall at any moment.

As they walked, Zhan Zhao's phone rang. Pulling it out to check the screen, Zhan Zhao frowned.

"Another editor?" Bai Yutang chuckled.

Zhan Zhao sighed and answered the call, "Hello..."

Bai Yutang heard a woman speaking at an exceptionally rapid speed from the other end of the line and immediately understood. This was Zhan Zhao's editor, Qian Mingyue—a highly capable person with an extremely impatient temper. Zhan Zhao always got a headache whenever he saw her.

The person on the other end talked for a long time, while Zhan Zhao didn't respond with a single word, simply listening quietly. Finally, when the other side finished, Zhan Zhao said, "I'm not going. I've already said I don't participate in any commercial events." With that, he hung up the phone.

Turning his head, Bai Yutang saw Zhan Zhao's poor complexion and laughed dryly, "What? Has she still not given up on turning you into a celebrity author?"

Zhan Zhao remained silent. After mulling it over for a long moment, he suddenly said, "Bai, I don't want to write books anymore."

Bai Yutang was slightly startled and smiled, "Don't you like writing books? Why give it up?"

Zhan Zhao sighed. "What I write are academic books, yet they're being hyped up like pop fiction. If people don't understand psychology correctly and blindly misuse it based on shallow understandings, it's very dangerous!"

Bai Yutang nodded with a smile, "Just decide whatever you want; I support you all the way."

Zhan Zhao deflated, "No principles, completely lacking in constructive input."

Bai Yutang chuckled helplessly, "I just want you to be happy. Who cares about books or no books?"

Zhan Zhao stopped talking, but the pent-up gloom in his heart had dissipated by more than half.

A cool breeze suddenly swept through the sultry air. A flash lit up the sky, a thunderclap boomed, and the wind picked up with sudden fury.

"It's going to rain!" Bai Yutang grabbed Zhan Zhao's hand and pulled him forward as they broke into a run.

Before they had taken many steps, rain the size of peas began to scatter down. Bai Yutang pulled Zhan Zhao into his embrace, using his hand to shield him from the rain. The two of them sprinted a few more steps and took refuge under the porch of a large building.

Simultaneously, the rain poured down in sheets, and the surrounding air instantly became crisp and cool.

"This is great now." Bai Yutang reached out to wipe the raindrops from Zhan Zhao's face. "It's definitely going to be nice and cool when we head back later."

Having run a short distance and felt the cool breeze, Zhan Zhao felt much better as well. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Bai Yutang suddenly frown for no apparent reason.

"What is it, Bai?" Zhan Zhao asked, puzzled.

Bai Yutang shook his head. "Nothing."

Finding it strange, Zhan Zhao watched as another person hurried over in a rush, dashing into the porch and patting the water off their clothes while smilingly saying to the two of them, "Whew, what a massive downpour."

Zhan Zhao nodded at him, but Bai Yutang remained silent, pulling Zhan Zhao to the other side and standing with his hands in his pockets to wait out the rain.

Although summer rainstorms are brief, the heavens had clearly been holding back all day and seemed intent on venting to their heart's content. It rained for quite a while without showing any signs of stopping.

Bai Yutang didn't say a single word, blocking most of Zhan Zhao's body with his own as he stood in place. Zhan Zhao felt it was odd; Bai Yutang's mood seemed to have suddenly shifted.

Meanwhile, the other waiting person appeared to grow anxious, muttering under their breath, "Why isn't it stopping yet..." As they muttered, they began pacing back and forth behind the two men. Just as they walked over toward Zhan Zhao's side, they suddenly heard Bai Yutang say coldly, "Haven't you filmed enough yet?"

That person was taken aback, and Zhan Zhao was equally mystified.

The person looked at Bai Yutang in blank bewilderment, saw him frowning at them, and gave an awkward, uneasy laugh, "Are you talking to me? Hehe... This is our first time meeting, right? Do we know each other from before?"

Bai Yutang sneered, suddenly reaching out to grab the person's arm and twist it behind their back. With a quick maneuver at the wrist, he unclipped a wristwatch and handed it to Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao took it and saw that the watch was fitted with a pinhole camera.

"Ow... Ouch, ouch, ouch... Easy, my arm's going to break," the person wailed. Bai Yutang paid them no mind, reached out to tear the cross-body bag off their shoulder, and handed it to Zhan Zhao. "Cat, get the camera out!"

Zhan Zhao reached into the bag, pulled out a digital camera, and opened it. Inside were pages of photos, some close up and some distant, all of him—starting right from when they left the restaurant all the way until they ran in to escape the rain.

"Who are you?" Zhan Zhao asked him, perplexed. "Why are you taking pictures of me?"

With his arm pinned behind his back by Bai Yutang, the person winced in pain and stammered, "I... I'm gay, and when I saw how handsome you were... I couldn't help taking a few extra shots... Ouch..."

Before he could finish, Bai Yutang gave his wrist a harsh twist, causing the man to shriek an octave higher and yell, "Pol... Police brutality!"

Bai Yutang sneered, "First time meeting, yet you already knew I was a police officer?" As he spoke, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "You'd better confess honestly today, or I'm not going to let you off."

"Hey, hey... Alright, fine. I... There was a woman who paid me to come take pictures of him." The man's entire arm had gone numb from the pain. "It has nothing to do with me."

"What woman?" Bai Yutang frowned.

"I don't know," the man shook his head repeatedly. "She came to my agency this morning, gave me money, and told me to take pictures of him... If you don't believe me, there's a business card in my pocket."

Bai Yutang reached into the man's jacket pocket and pulled out a business card. The person in front of them belonged to an agency called "Xiang Detective Agency," and his name was Zhang Xiang.

"What did that woman look like?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Tall and thin, good figure, short hair, wearing rimless glasses—looked pretty fashionable." Zhang Xiang hurriedly gave an honest confession.

Bai Yutang's expression turned cold, and Zhan Zhao immediately understood as well. The person Zhang Xiang described was precisely his editor, Qian Mingyue.

The rain outside had stopped at some point. Zhan Zhao watched as Bai Yutang, wearing a cold expression, yanked Zhang Xiang forward and said, "You're coming with me!" With that, he dragged the still-whimpering man outward.

"Bai!" Zhan Zhao hurriedly chased after them, but Bai Yutang had no intention of stopping, only telling Zhan Zhao, "Cat, come along!" As he spoke, he raised a hand to hail a cab, shoved the captive inside, and told the driver, "The publishing house on South Street!"

The driver hurried and stepped on the gas.

The three of them got out of the car in front of the publishing house. Bai Yutang gave Zhang Xiang a shove, hauling him into the publishing house building. When a security guard stepped forward to block them, Bai Yutang flashed his badge and asked, "Is Qian Mingyue in?"

"Uh... Yes, in the office on the third floor." The security guard nodded hastily. Bai Yutang pushed Zhang Xiang into the elevator, rode up to the third floor, pushed open the office door, and tossed the man inside.

Inside the office, Qian Mingyue was holding a meeting with several editors. Startled out of their wits as the door abruptly flew open and a man was thrown in, they stared in shock. When they recognized that the person tossed inside was Zhang Xiang and that the stern-faced man walking in behind him was Bai Yutang, Qian Mingyue's face also turned somewhat pale.

Fortunately, seeing Zhan Zhao walking in right behind Bai Yutang allowed Qian Mingyue to breathe a slight sigh of relief. She quickly stood up and said, "Zhan... Why is Captain Bai here too... What a rare guest."

Bai Yutang didn't care for her pleasantries and asked Zhang Xiang, "Is it her?"

"...Yes." Zhang Xiang had long since been scared witless by Bai Yutang. On one hand, Bai Yutang's "fierce" reputation preceded him—are you kidding, this was the head captain of SI! Even underworld bosses gave him a wide berth, let alone a mere private detective like himself. On the other hand, self-preservation was paramount. Anyway, he had taken money to do someone's bidding, so spilling the beans probably meant he'd be off the hook.

Hearing Zhang Xiang's identification, Bai Yutang placed the camera and the miniature video recorder right in front of Qian Mingyue and said coldly, "Explain."

Qian Mingyue was in her thirties and wasn't a coward, but Bai Yutang's aura was overwhelming, and she was in the wrong to begin with. Her face flushed alternately red and white as she turned to Zhan Zhao for help, "Zhan... why is Captain Bai so fired up?"

Zhan Zhao was actually quite angry as well. He knew why Qian Mingyue had hired someone to tail him; she had brought it up to him many times before, insisting that putting his photo on the book cover would definitely boost sales, but he had firmly refused. That must be why she resorted to having someone secretly snap photos.

Bai Yutang and Qian Mingyue had always kept a polite distance. Zhan Zhao's friends were mostly known to Bai Yutang, though not very closely; when they met, he was always very courteous, but... Bai Yutang had a bottom line, and that bottom line was Zhan Zhao! Once someone provoked him past it, he would completely cast pleasantries aside and show no mercy whatsoever!

"Sigh..." Qian Mingyue sighed helplessly and said, "Zhan, I'm sorry. We were under sales pressure, which is why we resorted to this desperate measure."

After all, she was an editor who had collaborated with him for many years, and Zhan Zhao's heart softened. He tugged on Bai Yutang's sleeve and said, "Bai, let it go."

Bai Yutang removed all the SD cards from the camera and recorder, glanced at Qian Mingyue, and stated, "There won't be a second time!"

"Right, I know." Only then did Qian Mingyue catch her breath, hurriedly apologizing to Zhan Zhao over and over again. Zhan Zhao merely smiled, and left together with Bai Yutang.

Exiting the publishing house, Bai Yutang's expression was still less than stellar. Zhan Zhao stepped up beside him and pinched his cheek, "How majestic you are, Captain Bai~~"

Bai Yutang deflated, looking at Zhan Zhao with helpless exhaustion. "You cat, you're way too easy to talk to!"

"Forget it, she had her difficulties too." Zhan Zhao waved a hand.

"Well? Can you still walk?" Bai Yutang asked. "Should we take a cab back?"

"Let's walk," Zhan Zhao smiled. "It's quite cool out."

Bai Yutang nodded, taking Zhan Zhao's hand as they walked back. Their moods gradually cleared up from overcast to sunny, chatting and laughing all the way, and even sharing a box of ice cream together.

After sending Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang off, Qian Mingyue dismissed Zhang Xiang and collapsed somewhat dejectedly into the swivel chair in her office. Letting out a long breath, she felt grateful that Bai Yutang hadn't truly pushed the issue with her today, and realized Zhan Zhao really was exceptionally easy to deal with.

Just as she thought about packing her things to go home, her phone chimed with a text message notification. Seeing the sender's name, Qian Mingyue's hand trembled. With nervous trepidation, she opened it to read the content. In an instant, Qian Mingyue flung her phone onto the desk, clutched her hair in agony, and muttered to herself, "Let me go... Please, just let me go..."

Inside the hospital building, things quieted down considerably past seven o'clock. Zhao Jing's room was a special ward consisting of two connecting rooms: the back room held Zhao Jing's hospital bed, while the front room served as quarters for the police officers. A Luo was reading a book on the sofa, while another duty officer was reading the newspaper.

At that moment, the door gave three knocks ("thump, thump, thump") and was then slowly pushed open as a head poked in.

"Yangyang?" A Luo quickly put down his book. "Why are you here?"

Luo Yang walked in with a cheeky grin, holding a plastic bag in one hand while the umbrella in his other hand was still dripping water.

"Running out in such heavy rain." A Luo frowned, reaching over to grab a box of tissues to wipe the raindrops off Yangyang's hair.

"Dad, did you eat yet?" Luo Yang lifted the plastic bag in his hand and pulled out a lunchbox.

Actually, A Luo had already eaten, but seeing the lunchbox, he smiled and said, "Not yet, I was just getting hungry."

"How come you don't even have dinner provided?!" Luo Yang glared at the duty officer nearby. "Don't you guys have evening meals on duty?!"

The officer almost couldn't hold back a laugh at Luo Yang's swaggering stance. Seeing A Luo frantically making faces at him, the officer quickly chimed in, "We do, but it didn't suit your old man's taste, so he didn't eat."

"I made good food!" Luo Yang proudly produced a bento box like presenting a treasured artifact and opened it, releasing an immediate wave of appetizing aroma.

A Luo glanced at the lunchbox and smiled, "When did you learn how to make this?"

"When we went to Uncle Bai's house last time, I learned it from Auntie." Luo Yang handed the chopsticks to A Luo.

Seeing Luo Yang blinking his eyes repeatedly, A Luo knew that even if his stomach was stuffed to bursting, he'd have to choke it down.

"Dad... Is she the person you guys are supposed to protect this time?" Luo Yang leaned over his father's knees, peering into the inner room at the girl sitting on the carpet.

"That's right." A Luo glanced back and nodded.

"What is she doing?" Luo Yang asked with curiosity.

"No idea. She just woke up a moment ago and crawled over to sit on the carpet," the duty officer interjected. "She won't talk either. After we carried her back to the bed, she just got right back down again."

"Is that so?" Curious, Luo Yang stood up, poured a cup of water for A Luo, and said, "Dad, I'm going to go keep her company for a bit."

A Luo took the water, nodded, and warned, "Don't go upsetting her."

"I know!" Luo Yang walked into the room.

The officer looked with envy at the food in A Luo's lunchbox and lowered his voice. "My wife gave birth to a son a month ago... If that kid turns out half as obedient as Yangyang in the future, I'll be burning incense in gratitude."

A Luo smiled. Turning his head back, he saw Yangyang sit down right opposite Zhao Jing, extend a hand, and shake hers. "Hello, my name is Luo Yang."

Zhao Jing, who previously hadn't shown the slightest reaction, actually reached out and shook hands with Luo Yang.

A Luo and the officer exchanged a startled look, both watching intently.

"What's your name?" Luo Yang asked.

The girl didn't speak, keeping her head lowered.

Luo Yang tilted his head, looking left and right. Because this was a children's ward, there were some toys scattered around. "This room is so pretty!" Luo Yang reached out to grab a box of building blocks from the side and said, "How about we build a house?"

Zhao Jing still remained silent. Luo Yang took out the blocks and started building them piece by piece, only for Zhao Jing to suddenly reach out and shove the house Luo Yang had built completely over.

...Luo Yang looked at her in bafflement and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Zhao Jing slowly stretched out her hand, pulled over a few blocks, and arranged them on the carpet—piece by piece... When she finally finished laying them out, she stood up, crawled back to her bed, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep.

A Luo put down his lunchbox and walked into the room, only to see Yangyang sitting blankly on the carpet. He leaned in to look, and the blocks on the carpet clearly spelled out an English phrase—I LOVE YOU.

Neither A Luo nor the officer could find the words to speak. Suddenly blushing, Luo Yang tugged on the hem of A Luo's pants and asked in a low voice, "Dad, does she mean she likes me?"

...A Luo was left torn between laughter and tears.