Chapter 19

Lu Shimiao heard the scolding, and her thoughts began to churn slowly.

It was Xue Tong, not her grandmother.

She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was so blurry. Her body was freezing, cold to the bone as if ice crystals were crawling through her veins, her blood vessels condensing into frost.

“Instructor Xue….” Lu Shimiao’s throat felt blocked when she spoke, a searing pain.

Xue Tong heard the weak voice, her heart suspended on a needle’s tip. She wanted to stay angry but couldn’t bear it. She sighed, crouching down to quickly assess Lu Shimiao’s physical condition.

No bruises, no wounds. Her porcelain skin was turning blue all over, yet her face was flushed red.

“I’m sorry.” Lu Shimiao started rambling nonsense.

“Don’t talk.” Xue Tong’s voice was cold as a block of ice. She raised her head to look at the still-running car outside the door, quickly got up, and returned to the vehicle.

Killed the engine, grabbed the keys, and got out.

Running back into the lobby, Xue Tong began stripping off her raincoat. Once the raincoat was off in a few moves, she continued untying her tie and unbuttoning her shirt until only a tactical vest remained.

Cold wind invading the body meant certain sickness. If Lu Shimiao caught a cold now, her physical training scores would be ruined.

The Police Academy didn’t have make-up exams.

Xue Tong quickly draped her shirt over Lu Shimiao’s shoulders, hands reaching around the back of her neck, trying to lift her up.

But the moment her hand pressed against that soft skin, the scalding temperature startled her.

Damn, she really was sick.

Frustrated, Xue Tong’s face darkened. She used her hands to control the swaying body, gently lifting Lu Shimiao’s arm into the sleeve.

Then she slid her own hand through the other cuff, hiding it in the sleeve to pull the girl’s wrist through.

The shirt, well-protected by the raincoat, still held Xue Tong’s body heat, warm to the touch. The scent of Xue Tong from the collar drifted into her nostrils, and miraculously, Lu Shimiao felt her throat wasn’t as painful anymore.

“Can you still walk?” Xue Tong looked at the drenched, puppy-like girl, supporting her as they tried to stand.

Lu Shimiao nodded heavily, her body straining to help.

“Did they lock you out?” Xue Tong’s questions grew colder with each word.

Lu Shimiao nodded honestly again.

Xue Tong hauled the person up from the floor with force. Lu Shimiao tried her best to give some strength back, but her legs were too weak. She collapsed into Xue Tong’s arms.

The water from Lu Shimiao’s hair dripped onto Xue Tong’s shirt, both of their shoulders soaked through.

Xue Tong held the girl, stumbling into the elevator.

Floor 28, on the surveillance feed, half-past midnight.

A girl in a white Police Uniform was being held tightly around the waist.

At first, Xue Tong supported her with one arm around her waist. Halfway through, she couldn’t manage anymore and switched to a full embrace. She pulled the raincoat hood over the kid’s head to block as much wind as possible.

After opening the apartment door, there was no time to change shoes. A trail of water tracked all the way to the bathroom door. Xue Tong placed Lu Shimiao on the toilet seat, commanding, “Sit properly.”

Lu Shimiao obediently braced her hands on her knees. Though the temperature around her was rising, her body was still trembling, her consciousness hazy.

She had never been sick, never had a fever, so Lu Shimiao didn’t know what was happening to her. She only felt the world rapidly expanding and shrinking before her eyes. Countless bizarre images swooped down upon her. She couldn’t open her eyes.

Xue Tong quickly grabbed a towel, her tone still cool. “Lean over.”

Lu Shimiao was like a walking corpse. Her head obediently tilted against Xue Tong’s hip. Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Xue Tong’s uniform belt to keep herself from falling.

The towel covered the top of her head. As Xue Tong dried her hair, she used her hand to feel her neck for a temperature.

Getting hotter, at least 40 degrees. Every piece of clothing on her body had to come off.

Xue Tong loosened the hand clenching her belt, slowly crouched to drape the girl’s arm over her own shoulder, and reached for her waist. “I’m going to help you take your clothes off.”

Lu Shimiao’s head was spinning. When her body was touched, she suddenly panicked.

From the chaos and darkness, An Cheng’s face suddenly surfaced.

“No!”

The violent reaction triggered Xue Tong’s displeasure. Lu Shimiao was completely delirious from the fever.

Wearing these clothes meant certain death.

Ignoring all notions of privacy, Xue Tong took the kid’s hand and directly stripped off the uniform shirt. She then tried to continue with the t-shirt underneath.

Fear assaulted Lu Shimiao. She frantically pushed Xue Tong away, her body struggling and swaying. “No! I don’t want to!”

“Are you crazy?!”

A breath of frustration stuck in her throat. Xue Tong’s tone completely lost its patience. She stood up, grabbing the girl by the collar. “You’re soaked!”

Perhaps Xue Tong was too angry, her voice rising in volume.

Hearing the voice echoing in the bathroom, Lu Shimiao used the last shred of her consciousness to identify the person. “Instructor Xue?”

Xue Tong’s face was a mask of dark lines. She couldn’t be bothered to argue with someone delirious from a fever.

She wrapped a hand around the back of Lu Shimiao’s head, lifted the shirt upwards, and softened her voice. “Take the clothes off. They’re soaked through. Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

How could Xue Tong sound so gentle even when angry?

Not like Qiu Wen, who would only scold her.

Lu Shimiao abandoned 23 years of restraint. Like a childish kid, she wrapped both arms around the other woman, burying her head into Xue Tong’s body, a sudden wave of grievance washing over her.

“Instructor, someone bullied me… they all bully me. I… didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Don’t hate me like they do… just now I felt like I saw my grandmother. I thought I was dead. I was so scared…”

“I feel so awful. My body is so cold.”

Tears and rain soaked into Xue Tong’s vest. Her heart was hammered by each sentence, restless and annoyed.

Fine. If she doesn’t want to undress, don’t.

Silently, Xue Tong picked up the hairdryer and started drying the clothes on the girl’s body.

Hot air hit her skin, alleviating the deadly cold.

Lu Shimiao’s outburst had completely drained her. Warmed and groggy, the buzzing hairdryer sounded like a giant turbine, sweeping her into a dizzying spiral.

The discomfort and dizziness shut her up. Her head remained pressed against the other woman’s body.

She nuzzled like that, even constantly seeking a more stable position, wanting to sink into a deep sleep.

In her dream, Lu Shimiao seemed to fall into cotton, feeling surrounded by warmth, softly cradled.

She felt as if she had returned to her little bed in her Shanghai home. Her grandmother had sunned her quilt for her, and her body was being baked by the warmth.

So fragrant, and so soft.

Lu Shimiao’s hands tightened, hoping to wrap the quilt more snugly around herself, to give her long-tense nerves a moment’s relief.

Xue Tong’s hand holding the hairdryer trembled again and again.

She looked down. Lu Shimiao’s head was buried in her chest, nuzzling against her…

The hairdryer’s hot air bounced back against Xue Tong’s face. A thin layer of fabric clung to her skin. The girl’s soft hands were wrapped tightly around her waist.

Her sensitive body made her heart rise and fall with the nuzzling motion.

An itchy sensation traced across the nerves of her brain, and her waist weakened a couple of degrees.

“Damn…” Xue Tong was driven to breakdown by her own strange reaction, even finding it absurd.

“Stop nuzzling.” Xue Tong froze on the spot, the hairdryer stopping its work. The voice from her lips was neither command nor plea.

But Lu Shimiao no longer knew what was happening or where she was.

Eyes closed, refusing to let go even in death.

Xue Tong had no choice but to pinch the kid’s neck, quickly finish drying her hair, and drag her into the bedroom.

She found two pieces of clothing from the wardrobe. Although the light was off, she still closed her eyes while stripping the wet clothes off and putting the dry ones on.

Lifted the blanket, tucked her into the bed.

Exhaled heavily, checked her watch: 1:30 AM.

Xue Tong found a thermometer, then fever reducer. She put it into Lu Shimiao’s mouth, then lifted her neck and helped her drink some water.

“What’s your room code?”

“101398.” Lu Shimiao answered in the darkness.

“Don’t get out of bed before I get back.” Xue Tong adjusted the room’s air conditioning higher, turned and walked out of the bedroom, took out her cell phone, and made a call.

“Sir Xun, patrol?”

“Come to the Equator.”

“I’ll buy you a drink.”

–

Xun Wei and Xue Tong had been classmates since childhood, same intake at the Police Academy. Only difference, one was in Criminal (Department B), the other in Operations (Department A). They rarely crossed paths professionally for years.

But they were good friends of many years. Xue Tong had never once asked for a favor. Naturally, Xun Wei came as soon as he was called.

The police car drove through the heavy rain, stopping beside the Aston Martin. Opening the car door, Xun Wei saw the sports car and pursed his lips with dissatisfaction.

“Tsk tsk, rich girl.”

Xue Tong waited in the lobby with her arms crossed. Seeing him approach, she didn’t greet him, just entered the elevator and pressed the floor button.

Xun Wei saw her furrowed brows, a look nothing like her usual calm demeanor. He quickly stepped in to keep up. “What’s up?”

“Knock on the door. Routine check.” Xue Tong’s eyes were fixed on the floor display.

“You’re killing me.” Xun Wei recognized the anger simmering in Xue Tong. He quickly turned off his Body Cam. “You’ve got to tell me the reason at least. How am I supposed to knock otherwise?”

“Just say I reported illegal subletting. So much damn nonsense.” Xue Tong fired coldly.

Xun Wei shut his mouth, hands clasped behind his back.

Arriving at the floor, Xun Wei surveyed the chaotic state of Floor 28. He composed himself and reached out to knock.

“Hey, open up. Police. We received a report. Open up for a routine check.”

No one responded, but the music inside was blasting at full volume.

Xun Wei frowned and knocked twice more.

“Police, open up!”

“Damn your mother!” A fierce kick slammed into the door. Xun Wei’s movement was as violent as a thunderclap. The doorframe shook, and the Walkie-talkie on his shoulder nearly rattled off.

The music stopped.

Xun Wei regained his composure, smoothing back his hair-sprayed hair. “Routine check.”

Lin Tingting peered through the peephole. Seeing a man in a Police Uniform, she panicked inwardly.

Did Lu Shimiao really call the police?

“Come on, Sir, do you guys really have to manage people listening to music?” Lin Tingting opened the door, putting on an innocent expression.

Xue Tong ignored her, pushed past her body, and walked inside, starting to search for Lu Shimiao’s room.

“Hey! Search Warrant.”

“We received a noise complaint about loud music.” Xun Wei rested his hands on his belt, his hand touching his baton. “What’s up? Go outside if you’re dancing disco. Isn’t a typhoon even more thrilling?”

Lin Tingting turned her head to look at Xue Tong.

This woman was the same person from the convenience store incident last time. So Lu Shimiao really had run off to call for backup.

But she reconsidered. The police were only here about loud music. It probably wouldn’t blow up. “Hey, trespassing on private property?”

Xue Tong didn’t acknowledge her at all. Pressing the code, she pushed open the room door and turned on the light.

The clean, tidy room was starkly out of place in this rental environment. The discipline was so rigorous even Xue Tong was surprised—not a single wrinkle on the bedspread…

And the girl’s scent was so fragrant, covering up the sour stench of the shared apartment.

Xue Tong picked up the phone from the bed, selected a few clean clothes from the wardrobe, and also took Lu Shimiao’s pillow. She turned, closed the door, and came out.

“Hey, can you police just walk into people’s rooms whenever you want?” Lin Tingting watched Xue Tong walk in and then out, taking Lu Shimiao’s belongings, completely ignoring her.

She couldn’t hold back her anger. “I’m going to the Police Station to file a complaint against you. Police trespassing.”

Xue Tong stopped in her tracks.

She shoved the pillow into Xun Wei’s arms, took out a patrol registration form and a pen from her uniform pocket. Quickly, she wrote down her Police Number on the back of the paper, along with the number for the Police Complaints Division, and shoved it into Lin Tingting’s hand.

“My Police Number for you.”

Lin Tingting looked at the paper, then back at the woman.

Shock covered her face.

“In two days, you will receive a lawsuit from the Hong Kong Police College. Simultaneously, the Hong Kong Mainland Association, the Joint Education Department in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Equal Rights Organization will contact your workplace to discuss the matter of insult and discrimination against a mainland compatriot. Keep your phone line open.”

“On what grounds?” Lin Tingting thought Xue Tong was joking, but hearing the death-sentence-like wording, panic rose in her heart.

Xue Tong smiled thinly. “On the grounds that I am her Instructor. On the grounds that I was present when you insulted her.”

Though very flustered, Lin Tingting remembered Lu Shimiao’s weakness and steeled her heart. “She didn’t say anything herself.”

Xue Tong nodded. “So this lawsuit is filed solely on behalf of our Police College. If Lu Shimiao wishes to file any other charges separately, you will be notified then.”

Finishing her words, she walked out of the shared apartment without looking back.

——

“So, losing your cool over a cadet?” Xun Wei stood at the entrance of Unit 11, watching the lightning and thunder outside, then glanced at Xue Tong’s expression beside him, darker than the rainy sky.

He sighed. “Or is it still about Ah Zi?”

Xue Tong looked out at the rain, unwilling to respond.

“I know you’re still hung up on Ah Zi’s matter, but she’s been gone for ten years…” Xun Wei recalled old memories, words on his lips wanting to come out but afraid to. Finally, he steeled his heart and bit the bullet.

“Arsit, you can’t keep blaming yourself for Ah Zi’s death. After all these years, you—”

“It’s different.”

Xue Tong’s eyes lowered, her arms wrapped around herself, tightening. “They are fundamentally two different kinds of people.”

Xue Tong smiled a forced, hollow smile.

“Ah Zi never needed me. I only found that out today too…”