In the morning, Xue Tong arrived at the police station office and called the Government Laboratory.
Crime scene investigation was one thing. Forensic science was another.
Hong Kong followed the British judicial system. The Evidence Ordinance was extremely complex. At a crime scene, it wasn’t just the Forensic Science Division conducting the investigation—forensic scientists had to be present as well. The Forensic Science Laboratory wasn’t in the police station but under the Department of Health, so she had to call an outside line.
“Sir Zhan, let me sync with you on yesterday’s case.”
“OK.”
After Xue Tong had spoken for a while, she said in a pleading tone, “The victim is my student. I can’t testify in court, Sir Zhan…”
The person on the other end understood her intent. “Don’t worry, Madam. I’ll send the lab director to testify. I’ll let you know when the crime scene reconstruction report is out.”
Xue Tong let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you.”
Ah Tang, as her assistant, sat next to Xue Tong and looked up at Madam Xue, who had returned to normal work today. He recalled the unbearable days of the past two weeks… and secretly prayed, “May all gods and immortals manifest.”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. “Madam, did you make up with your little girlfriend?”
“She’s just a student.”
Xue Tong flipped through two pages of the report, then shot him a dagger-like glare as she looked up. “Are you free?”
Ah Tang shook his head. “I don’t believe she’s just a student. The text you sent me yesterday…”
Midway, Ah Tang’s voice trailed off. He noticed Xue Tong was staring at him with a strange expression. Her hand holding the report paper hovered in midair. Two seconds later, she pressed the dial on the landline.
“This is IB Xue Tong. Transfer to Narcotics Bureau, Sir Zhou.”
Ah Tang’s expression panicked. He quickly waved his hands in front of Xue Tong. “Boss, boss, I was wrong, I was wrong! Don’t send me to the anti-drug unit.”
“Sir Zhou, regarding the Kowloon-wide criminal record checks you requested last week, I’m sending Ah Tang to follow up. Report to the office in ten minutes.”
“You’re welcome.”
Xue Tong hung up and gestured toward the office door. “Go.”
Ah Tang gave a bitter smile. “Boss, I’ll trade you intel! Please, I don’t want to go to NB.”
“Intel?” Xue Tong was busy signing files from various departments overdue from last week, without looking up. “Your intel has always been inaccurate.”
“About your student!! Your student!” Ah Tang said urgently, the pressure evident.
“Speak.”
Xue Tong stopped her pen, placed both hands on the table, and looked up at Ah Tang. “Better say something useful.”
“Her birthday is coming up! October 13th. I saw it on her ID yesterday.” Ah Tang leaned on the table and held up three fingers. “Only three days left!”
Xue Tong already knew this since the day of Typhoon Signal No. 8.
Her expression remained indifferent as she pointed to the door. “Go with confidence.”
…
And she claims she’s not her girlfriend? She even knows her birthday!
Ah Tang grabbed his head in frustration and wailed to the heavens, “God!!”
Once Ah Tang left, Xue Tong tossed her pen aside. She sat in her office chair and checked her phone. Three days left… Lu Shimiao’s birthday. If Ah Tang hadn’t reminded her, she really would have forgotten.
At that moment, Xue Tong’s mind was filled with the image of Lu Shimiao standing before her in loungewear.
The scorching sun outside the high-rise glass window clinked glasses with the smile she had worn the night before.
She missed her a little.
At noon, after work, she had to accompany Lu Shimiao to the hospital for a dressing change. Xue Tong removed her work ID, called the duty office, and drove back to the Equator.
She parked downstairs and sent a message. Less than ten minutes later, Lu Shimiao emerged from the hallway.
Lu Shimiao was wearing a clean white T-shirt and black shorts.
She walked slowly, but it was clear she was trying her best to walk quickly.
Through the frosted glass film, Xue Tong watched Lu Shimiao, and the corners of her lips unconsciously lifted.
She pressed the car lock, and Lu Shimiao pulled the door open, poking her head in and calling out “Instructor” in a voice as sweet and creamy as ice silk.
Xue Tong put on the sunglasses perched on her head, her face calm, and started the car toward the hospital.
“The day after tomorrow is your birthday? Twenty-four years old?” Xue Tong took the initiative to ask on the way.
“Actually it’s 23, but in nominal age I’m 24!” Lu Shimiao turned to look at Instructor Xue in sunglasses.
Xue Tong’s police uniform made her neck look extremely fair… her long hair cascaded over the uniform.
Lu Shimiao stared at Xue Tong’s face in a daze and had a new realization:
So human aesthetics is a visual pursuit of “absolute sense of order” and “extreme synesthesia.”
Lu Shimiao felt that whenever she saw Xue Tong’s face… she instinctively felt that she would taste delicious, smell wonderful, and be pleasant to touch. All her senses seemed to sprout antennae, wholeheartedly experiencing this beauty.
Lu Shimiao’s face flushed red, and she turned back shyly.
“Twenty-four is great, that means I’m only five years younger than Instructor!”
Xue Tong pulled her hand from the car window frame and ran it through her hair, turning to look at Lu Shimiao.
This person didn’t have her home password, only using a sensor card to open the door, so she shouldn’t know the code. “How do you know my age?”
“I knew it the first time I met you at the convenience store! It was written on your file!” Lu Shimiao pointed at her own eyes. “My memory is incredibly strong.”
Xue Tong nodded and smiled. “Then what do you want to eat for your birthday?”
“Let’s just eat at home! What do you want to eat, Instructor?”
“It’s your birthday, not mine.” Xue Tong returned her gaze to the road ahead.
“I’m fine with anything.” As long as I’m with you, anything is fine. Lu Shimiao answered sincerely.
The car reached the hospital entrance. As soon as Xue Tong turned in, she saw a Maybach Pullman parked right at the main entrance, its license plate so conspicuous that every passerby turned to look. White bodyguards in suits surrounded it.
Xue Tong glanced at the license plate in the rearview mirror, and the smile on her face instantly vanished.
She lowered her gaze warily, then turned the car and drove deeper into the hospital.
“Instructor! There’s a parking spot here!” Lu Shimiao pointed at the open space near the outpatient building, shouting to Xue Tong.
Xue Tong pretended not to hear, stepping on the gas and driving farther away.
“There’s a spot here too!” Lu Shimiao acted like a search radar, tapping the window whenever she saw an open space. But after reminding her twice and getting no response from the Instructor, she obediently stayed quiet.
Xue Tong drove to the hospital’s back door, a five-to-six-minute walk from the outpatient department. She certainly knew driving so far would make walking difficult for Lu Shimiao.
But as she watched the escort vehicle following from a distance, her frown deepened.
She placed her sunglasses aside, pressed Lu Shimiao’s shoulder, and instructed, “Wait here for me and don’t get out. I’ll go find a wheelchair for you.”
“Wheelchair?” Lu Shimiao almost wanted to laugh, but seeing Xue Tong’s strange expression, as if she was very tense, she suppressed her smile and nodded.
Xue Tong stroked Lu Shimiao’s hair, then pushed the door open and got out, locking the car deliberately before leaving.
She sprinted toward the hospital building. The car following her stopped after she entered the side entrance of the hospital, and several men in suits with earpieces got out and followed her into the hospital.
“I’m in my police uniform. Say what you need to quickly.”
Xue Tong was escorted by the bodyguards into the Maybach Pullman. As soon as she got in, she started shooting cold barbs.
“I was just leaving and happened to run into you. I have something to tell you, Madam.”
The man speaking had slightly curly hair slicked neatly to his scalp. The Three-Ring Serpent Ring on his index finger emitted an otherworldly gleam, and when he spoke, he was like a swaying black poppy.
Xue Tong could hear the mocking, jesting tone in his voice, and she didn’t want to stay here another second.
“Xue Jiren, if you have something to say, say it directly.”
Xue Jiren slowly twirled the diamond snake head on his ring with his thumb. “Xue Guanchao doesn’t have much time left.”
The mention of that name sent a shiver through Xue Tong’s heart.
She froze for two seconds, then responded as calmly as the man, as if discussing an insignificant matter. “Understood.”
“I’ll have the bodyguards take you up to see him.” Xue Jiren added, “After all, your Third Branch will also have to fight for the inheritance.”
He was still smiling, the black-and-gold paisley tie on his chest perfectly still, its luster revealing golden threads. The driver sat behind the partition in front, listening to their conversation.
He didn’t give Xue Tong any face at all.
Xue Tong placed her hand on the door handle, feeling she might lose control and bolt out at any moment. “Thank you, Crown Prince, for looking highly upon me and informing me the moment you ran into me. Logically, I should only be notified at the funeral.”
“Xue Si has rushed back from Spain. He also hopes you’ll go up in his place to see Father… Don’t forget that your Third Branch is a unit. If you don’t return, the media will gossip wildly, and it’ll be hard to handle then.”
“The media probably won’t have time for the child of the Third Concubine. You’re overthinking it.”
Sometimes, blood ties are truly strange. It must be said, the family’s bearing is very similar.
Xue Jiren always sat with his back ramrod straight, his hands resting on his knees. Xue Tong seemed to see herself in him. A version of herself she detested.
“Xue Tong, won’t you be sad?”
“Sad?” Xue Tong said in surprise, turning to look at Xue Jiren. “Don’t you think asking that is ridiculous?”
After a moment, she said softly, “When he dies, only you as the eldest son have the right to grieve. Aren’t those his own words?”
Xue Tong’s mind was filled with Lu Shimiao’s face. She thought she needed to get back soon; if she stayed too long, Lu Shimiao might get suspicious.
Suspicious. Why would that word pop into her head?
“He misses you. Go back and see him.” Xue Jiren said in a half-joking tone.
Xue Tong’s hand on the door paused for a split second. “No need. Have Xue Si notify me at the funeral.”
After getting out, the G4 bodyguards were already waiting, bowing and handing over her phone and police ID with both hands.
Xue Tong looked back and saw that the Pullman’s window was halfway down. They stared at each other through the small opening.
Taking back her phone, Xue Tong strode toward the hospital, her expression seemingly unchanged from before she got in the car.
As she walked, she opened the news. The headline of Hong Kong media today: “Shipping King Xue Guanchao Hospitalized for Heart Condition, How Will the Family Fortune Be Divided?”
So she had learned of it even later than the media.
She stuffed her phone into her pocket and quickly ran to the hospital’s back door. Lu Shimiao was sitting in the car playing on her phone and waved when she saw Xue Tong return.
Xue Tong stood by the car door, staring at her through the window for a long time.
“You must have pressed on your wound while sleeping. If it’s constantly pressed, it will seriously affect healing.” The doctor spoke Cantonese, very quickly.
Lu Shimiao didn’t understand and looked up helplessly at Xue Tong behind her, blinking as she waited for a translation.
Xue Tong rested a hand on the chair back, lowered her eyes, and also looked at Lu Shimiao. Their gazes met.
Lu Shimiao, waiting for a translation, was like a little dog that couldn’t understand human language—a West Highland White Terrier, the cake-shaped kind.
Suddenly, her heart trembled. The four words “walking right into the trap” flashed before Xue Tong’s eyes.
Xue Tong snapped back to attention and translated into Mandarin: “Did you sleep restlessly last night?”
“…I don’t know.” Lu Shimiao scratched her head.
“She took a shower last night.” Xue Tong looked up and asked the doctor seriously, “Is it inflamed?”
“It’s a little red but not a big deal. The wound is on the side of your waist. When showering, be very careful, and don’t press on it when turning over at night.” The doctor typed on the computer. “Just be mindful.”
“Okay.” Xue Tong pinched the back of Lu Shimiao’s neck and lifted her up as if picking up a small dog.
After changing the dressing, the two of them walked out of the outpatient department.
“You’ll sleep with me tonight.” Xue Tong held the prescription slip and said it so casually, it made one blush.
Lu Shimiao shrank her neck, her mind filled with images of that Typhoon Signal No. 8 night when she had shared a bed with the Instructor. Her ears burned bright red, nowhere to hide, so she could only walk slowly behind Xue Tong, rubbing her earlobes.
But the more she rubbed, the hotter they got. Uncontrollably, chaotic thoughts surfaced before her eyes.
Xue Tong noticed her falling further behind, turned around, and saw Lu Shimiao hanging her head, covering her face with both hands.
She strode over, anxiously grabbed Lu Shimiao by the chin, and forced her head up. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Shimiao removed her hands, revealing a cute face, bit her lip, and shook her head. “Nothing…”
Xue Tong glanced at her own hand pinching Lu Shimiao’s chin and hastily let go. She shifted her focus by taking the hair tie off her wrist and tying up her hair.
Frantically trying to control everything she wanted to control.
So annoying. Every time she saw Xue Jiren, it triggered this strange reaction in her.
After work, Xue Tong went to the Lego flagship store in Central. She pre-ordered a Toy Story series Lego set; the purchase allocation would take two days, arriving just in time for the birthday.
She remembered that Lu Shimiao’s phone case had a Toy Story poster on it; even though the color had almost been rubbed away, Xue Tong could still recognize it.
Just as she swiped her card, Xue Tong’s phone rang. She looked down and saw it was Lu Shimiao. Smiling, she answered.
“Instructor, are you off work?” the other party asked quietly and cautiously.
Xue Tong steadied the phone with one hand while signing the receipt. “Mm.”
Hearing that the Instructor was off work, Lu Shimiao relaxed and said half-jokingly, “Madam, your servant Little Lu is here to ask what cuisine you’d like for dinner.”
“Mm…” Xue Tong, being vegetarian, couldn’t think of anything. She said casually, “Anything’s fine.”
“Then when will Instructor come home?” Lu Shimiao was hauling bags of takeout ingredients into the house, sounding out of breath.
Home. Xue Tong clearly heard Lu Shimiao’s choice of words. She glanced at her wristwatch. “Half an hour.”
“OK! Then servant Little Lu will start cooking!”
“Okay.”
Xue Tong hung up and let out a relieved sigh. She felt like she surrendered to Lu Shimiao countless times a day.
