Chapter 32

“Wearing a condom during sex—that’s the most basic common sense.”

Absurd.

Xue Tong’s eyes narrowed into a line. Her expression was too stiff to fully process the ridiculousness of the sentence. She didn’t even know where this absurdity had come from.

The only air in the room was the cooling draft from the air conditioner, yet it hit the back of her neck like a heavy, sinking wind. In the summer, it felt like scattered snow. Xue Tong took a deep breath, trying to pull her nearly disconnected thoughts back. She opened her mouth from across the distance:

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

Tears still clung to the corners of Lu Shimiao’s eyes. Under the cover of night, the sight wasn’t particularly pitiful. She clenched her fists, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. Stray strands of hair clung to the corner of her mouth, stirred by the air. Her tone was resolute, as if she was mustering the most vicious, most disdainful tone she could possibly find, so that the two of them would never have anything to do with each other again, in life or death.

“Instructor Xue would rather go bare for pleasure. How is that any different from me being willing to use money to buy peace?”

“Instructor Xue has no obligation towards me. You taking care of me for this long is a favor I owe you.”

These words landed in Xue Tong’s ears. In the distance of her field of vision were Lu Shimiao’s lost eyes.

She was crying again.

Her inner double eyelids had cried themselves into outer double eyelids. Viewed through the moonlight, they looked like bubbles of peppermint soda laced with hallucinogens. The bubbles burst, the water spilling everywhere, pouring into Xue Tong’s body. Bubbles formed in her windpipe, and her breath came to an abrupt halt.

“The gift, I chose it carefully. But if you don’t want it, just throw it away.”

“The pillow, throw it away for me too.”

Lu Shimiao finished speaking, turned her head, and walked out the door.

Bang—

After hearing the door slam shut, Xue Tong stood frozen for a long time before her dulled nerves finally reacted.

She turned her head to look out the window. Hong Kong’s neon lights had just started to emerge. The dark night a kilometer away was stained a pale gray by the reflection off the sea. Everything around her was wrinkled fog. The moon had died in that thick, sunken mist.

She turned her head back, her dark eyes frozen on the door frame. Her heart was suddenly wrenched tight, viciously. The warmth inside was squeezed out, and like the moonlight, it could only beat in deathly stillness.

She just left, like that?

Xue Tong reached up and pinched her brow. After snapping out of it, she stumbled towards the door.

Just two simple steps, yet she moved in a flurry. Looking for clothes—she was wearing her police uniform. Looking for her phone—right. She should find her phone first and make a call. She patted herself down frantically, searching for her phone. Then she lowered her head, looking for a familiar number on the patrol roster.

Her movements suddenly became incredibly fast, faster than during a counter-terrorism drill.

“Sir Law, where are you patrolling? I need you to swing by the Equator area and help me look for a girl.”

“Mainland, twenty-three years old, Police Cadet.”

“She’s my student.”

“Thanks.”

She hung up the phone and rushed out the door. Pressing the elevator button, she stood waiting anxiously, arms crossed over her chest.

First floor.

Second floor.

…

The elevator arrived, but Xue Tong suddenly let her arms drop.

Half of the coiled hair on top of her head had come loose, strands falling just to her shoulders. She turned around and walked back inside. She entered the door code again and sat back down on the sofa.

Xue Tong sat on the sofa, dazed. This past week, she had grown accustomed to her thoughts being hijacked. She had zoned out in the walk-in closet, zoned out at the kitchen island, zoned out on the sofa, zoned out at the mall, in the office, in the car, in the classrooms. But every single time, it had been because of Lu Shimiao.

Maybe this was where it should end.

She really should politely conclude this relationship built on “obligation,” shouldn’t she? Hadn’t she made up her mind about it yesterday while drinking?

Lu Shimiao was only twenty-three. She would be gone in a year, wasn’t that right?

Her phone rang again. Xue Tong put it to her ear. “If you can’t find her, just forget it. Thank you for the trouble, Sir Law.”

Hanging up, Xue Tong collapsed wearily onto the sofa. Unconsciously, she pulled up her chat history with Lu Shimiao again. The last message was:

“Be careful! Stay safe!”

Xue Tong followed her memory, recalling that box of emergency contraceptive pills she had thrown in the trash that day. She knew Lu Shimiao was upset about that, but she had no need to explain herself.

Irritated, Xue Tong grabbed the pillow on the sofa.

That was Lu Shimiao’s pillow. It carried the scent of her hair. Xue Tong covered her own head with the pillow and closed her eyes. She remembered the sound of Lu Shimiao’s breathing near her ear last night when she was drunk. Chaotic and drowning.

But why was it that just remembering Lu Shimiao’s touch could provoke a reaction in her body?

She turned over. The ring slipped unnoticed from the pocket of Xue Tong’s uniform, falling from the sofa to the wooden floor. Metal scraped and rolled across the ground, producing a strange sound.

Xue Tong stared at the ceiling. She didn’t need to guess; she knew what it was.

In an instant, she felt her chest hollowed out.

It didn’t hurt. It was just… empty. She knew that in that old dream, a decade distant, the roof tiles that had once fallen had smashed against the ground. The tree she had planted with her own hands had toppled. The decade-old tree, tightly entwined with her nerves, had been uprooted, leaving only a hole.

Beside the hole, a tiny sprout of mint had just begun to grow.

Lu Shimiao, laptop bag on her back and face streaked with tears, burst out of the Equator entrance and immediately started crying. She cried until her head swam before she finally hailed a taxi.

Pointing past the windshield at Hong Kong’s prosperity, she shouted at the driver: “Take me to the most expensive hotel in Hong Kong.”

She couldn’t let herself be branded with that reputation of squandering money for nothing.

The most expensive hotel was in Wan Chai, Central, on Hong Kong Island—very close to Equator.

The driver got there in just about ten minutes.

Lu Shimiao got out, tears still threatening to spill from her eyes. She wiped them dry and ducked into the hotel lobby. Pulling out her Hong Kong Identity Card, she handed it over. “One week.”

The front desk clerk handled the check-in politely. Lu Shimiao took the room key and, the moment she entered the door, broke into loud, uncontrollable sobs. She buried her face in the blanket and gradually cried until she couldn’t breathe.

Wuwu.

She swore, she would never, ever speak another word to Instructor Xue for the rest of her life.

Monday.

Xue Tong had no class, so she went to the Police Station early. In her office, she checked her phone on average every ten minutes. Her anxiety was written all over her face.

Seeing this, Ah Tang didn’t dare say a word at his workstation the entire day, remembering the time Madam Xue had sent him to the Organized Crime Bureau to check files last week. He didn’t want a second taste of the lesson learned from saying the wrong thing.

Tuesday.

It was the third day since Xue Tong had any news of Lu Shimiao.

She went from silent brooding to frantic working.

Early in the morning, she visited every department, rushing through all the fingerprint verification and DNA notarization work their section owed CIB. She even went to the Organized Crime Bureau to find more suspect files for a new round of verification.

Ah Tang sat in the office, groaning. He was preparing to request leave.

Leave until Xue Tong found her next girlfriend.

Wednesday.

After four days of torment, Xue Tong finally began to waver. Before work, she went to the school gate, waiting to see Lu Shimiao arrive for class. The excuse was to confirm her safety.

Xue Tong had Lu Shimiao’s schedule. She knew there was a Firearms Training class at eight that morning. The shooting range was near the school’s West Gate.

But Xue Tong waited at the West Gate until eight-thirty and didn’t see her. So on her way to work, she called the firearms instructor.

The instructor said Lu Shimiao had entered through the East Gate.

Oh. East Gate.

So in the afternoon, she left work early to go to the East Gate, intending to catch a glimpse of Lu Shimiao after school.

…

Again, she didn’t see a trace of her.

Thursday.

The Aston Martin was parked right at the Police Academy’s subway entrance, so blatantly that crowds of people detoured around the car.

A traffic officer walked over, frowning, and knocked on the window. Xue Tong simply flashed her badge, offering a curt: “Police business.”

Seeing it was a Superintendent’s badge, the traffic officer didn’t dare ask further, leaving Xue Tong to wait at the subway entrance until eight-thirty.

Still no one.

Xue Tong drove to the school. She knew Lu Shimiao had Group Combat Training this morning. She’d be very, very hungry after training. She would definitely go to the eastern canteen to eat her favorite fish balls. So Xue Tong sat in the canteen and waited.

She didn’t see Lu Shimiao, but she ran into Chen Feng instead.

Chen Feng was always clinging to Lu Shimiao. Why was he alone today?

She stood up and walked over to Chen Feng. Hand gripping the edge of the cadet’s tray, she said coldly: “Where is Lu Shimiao?”

“Madam Xue.” Chen Feng looked up and saw an icy face. He scrambled up from the table, stood at ease, and spoke loudly:

“Reporting, Madam. She didn’t come to class today.”

…

Xue Tong’s brow furrowed, her face darkening further. “On leave?”

“I don’t know.” Chen Feng shook his head.

Xue Tong released the tray, pulled out a tissue to wipe her fingers, then immediately took out her phone to find the group training instructor.

“Instructor Leng, did Police Cadet 10231 request leave today?”

“Sick?” Xue Tong’s fingertips tightened on her phone. She stopped in her tracks at the canteen entrance. Her suddenly raised voice echoed through the dining hall, causing students around to look over in unison.

“Thank you.” Hanging up, Xue Tong started running towards the parking lot. While running, she called the instructor’s office. “Cover my common lecture for me. Something’s come up this afternoon.”

Getting into the car, Xue Tong sped back to Equator.

Lu Shimiao must be in the penthouse! Her physique was so good. Last week, she had taken such meticulous care of her. If she wasn’t living in the penthouse, how could she possibly be sick?

How dare Lu Shimiao go back? Has she lost her mind?

Entering Equator, Xue Tong had no mood to park properly. She pulled in haphazardly, straddling two lines. Maybe the reason she had impulsively bought three parking spots back then was precisely for this damn moment.

Just as she reached the elevator entrance, she turned and realized her car was still running. She went back and pressed the start button to turn it off.

She leaned her hand against the car door frame, frozen for several seconds.

Right. It was her fault. It was all Lu Shimiao’s fault. She had completely lost all logic because of her.

And to think she dared to run back to Floor 36?

Xue Tong slammed the car door shut, the impact making the Aston Martin shudder three times. With a dark, forbidding face, she entered the elevator and went up to Floor 36.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator, a strange mixture of sweat and alcohol smells hit Xue Tong. Smelling it, irritation flared in her heart again. She reached out and knocked impatiently on the door.

An Xi’er came to open the door.

Seeing Xue Tong, a look of confusion crossed her face. “Why are you here?”

Xue Tong couldn’t be bothered to engage. Her eyes were cold. She brushed past her, sliding through the shared apartment door and heading straight for the room at the end of the corridor.

An Xi’er remembered what Lu Shimiao had asked of her. No one could enter the room. There was a camera inside.

She quickly ran ahead and blocked Xue Tong’s path. “Did Lu Shimiao send you?”

“Don’t get in my way.” Xue Tong’s eyes were icy, her tone carrying not just impatience but a thread of disgust. “I’m telling you, if anything has happened to Lu Shimiao, I will sue you until you’re left with nothing.”

A look of shock appeared on An Xi’er’s face. “What are you saying? Lu Shimiao isn’t here. She… isn’t she living at your place? She hasn’t come back since Saturday. Has something happened to her?”