FY - 16

Si Wen returned to the country yesterday. He had originally intended to call Zhou Yan, but something came up, so he put his phone down.

It was past two in the morning when he finished. He stood by the window, overlooking the city still ablaze with lights, and suddenly Zhou Yan’s graceful figure flashed in his mind. She was doing her best to accommodate the rough movements of the person beneath her, her moans piercing the night sky.

The scene shifted. The person beneath her, eyes glazed over, face contorted in a sneer. But it wasn’t him.

He felt as if something had violently struck his chest. A suffocating feeling balled up inside, blocking his blood flow, leaving his heart under-supplied. He could only steady himself by leaning against the wall.

This taste, it was quite awful.

He took a moment to compose himself, then returned to his room and took his medicine.

Shortly after, he instructed someone to contact Candy and tell them to make Zhou Yan a manager so she wouldn’t have to take more clients.

He thought making this call would make him feel better, but the anxiety didn’t lessen; instead, it seemed to intensify. He clenched his jaw, grabbed his car keys, and drove to Zhou Yan’s apartment complex.

Standing downstairs, he didn’t take a single step inside.

He knew he didn’t love Zhou Yan. His feelings for her were like an addiction, like a drug.

But precisely because of this, he couldn’t let himself be addicted to her like a drug, unable to quit.

He ultimately didn’t go up.

________________________________________

In the morning, when Zhou Yan woke up, Zhou Siyuan was still asleep.

After making breakfast, she went to wake him up, but he wouldn’t stir. When she tried to pull him up, his feverish temperature burned her hand.

She panicked, touching his forehead. It was so hot: “Siyuan? Are you feeling unwell?”

Zhou Siyuan murmured: “Sister. It hurts.”

Zhou Yan picked him up, wrapped him in clothes, and rushed out.

She sped to the hospital, carrying Zhou Siyuan into the emergency room. When she found the doctor, it was like finding a lifeline. She clutched his clothes: “Doctor! Save my child!”

The doctor, whose white coat had been tugged, was initially impatient. But when he turned and saw the child was already unconscious, his brows immediately furrowed. He called for the nearby bed to be pulled over: “Put the child down first.”

Zhou Yan placed Zhou Siyuan on the bed and stood by a pillar, her face pale, completely distraught.

The doctor lifted Zhou Siyuan’s eyelids, shined a light, then reached behind his spine and felt around. He ordered an IV drip, asking as he did so: “No history of allergies, right?”

Zhou Yan shook her head: “No. But he has gonorrhea and a drug addiction. Do these interfere?”

The doctor looked up upon hearing this, only seeing Zhou Yan utterly distraught. What was she so afraid of? How could she be so afraid?

After a moment, he said: “It’s fine, it won’t interfere.”

Zhou Yan nodded vigorously: “Thank you, doctor! Thank you!”

The doctor watched her run towards the pharmacy, her figure slender, standing in the sunlight, perhaps barely casting a shadow. Her long hair was tied into a bun that was coming undone, hanging loosely on her head, swaying up and down as she ran.

He wondered if it was because she was too thin or too pale, but it gave him the morbid illusion that she might faint at any moment.

When she returned, he shook his head and chuckled softly.

Overthinking it. This woman was far stronger than she appeared.

Only after the IV was set up did Zhou Yan finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

She sat by the bed, watching people come and go in the emergency room, feeling like she was standing on the edge of an abyss, yet also like an invincible warrior.

She remembered when she first brought Zhou Siyuan to live with her. He was terrified, his big eyes always darting around. He was too scared to even ask to go to the bathroom and would wet his pants without saying a word.

She would just smile, wrap him in a sheet, and say, “Siyuan, take off your pants inside and put on clean ones.”

Zhou Siyuan didn’t understand and didn’t dare to ask, trembling and motionless.

Zhou Yan, with such patience, would gently say, “Siyuan, don’t be afraid. Sister will protect you.”

Zhou Siyuan’s tears flowed like water from an opened dam, washing away all his tension.

That was the first time the little boy felt he had someone to rely on.

And that was also the first time Zhou Yan felt like an adult.

________________________________________

Zhou Siyuan woke up in the afternoon; his fever had already subsided.

Zhou Yan placed a pillow under his head, but then noticed he wasn’t quite right. He was drenched in sweat, and his limbs were trembling.

She immediately understood. She pulled the curtain, then turned and hugged him: “Siyuan, be good! Sister is here! Sister is here!”

Zhou Siyuan’s teeth were chattering, and he was biting his tongue, drawing blood.

Zhou Yan took a chopstick and pried open his mouth, making him bite down on it to prevent him from biting off his tongue.

Zhou Siyuan’s eyes began to drift, his pupils wide, making sounds like a tormented beast, and he started kicking his legs.

Zhou Yan held him tightly the whole time, waiting for his discomfort to subside.

Perhaps the commotion was too loud, drawing the doctor over. He didn’t say anything, just gave Zhou Siyuan a sedative shot.

Zhou Siyuan finally calmed down and fell into a quiet sleep.

Zhou Yan tucked the blanket around Zhou Siyuan and turned to the doctor, saying, “Thank you.”

Her voice sounded utterly exhausted.

The doctor opened his mouth, wanting to ask her why the child had contracted these things, but facing her haggard, even paler face, he didn’t ask. Sometimes, keeping one’s mouth shut preserves the other person’s crumbling psychological defense.

Zhou Yan stayed at the hospital for two days, keeping her phone off for two days.

Just when everyone thought Zhou Yan had disappeared, following Bubble Tea, she reappeared in their sight.

________________________________________

Returning from the hospital, it was already Friday afternoon. Zhou Yan settled Zhou Siyuan and then went to Candy.

Wei Lian was also there.

Bubble Tea still hadn’t been found.

Sanzi felt sorry for Wei Lian, who hadn’t slept for days and had been investigating tirelessly, unable to find anyone to get information from. Seeing Zhou Yan, his attitude was not good: “Didn’t we tell you to cooperate with the investigation?”

Zhou Yan’s cold tone was annoying: “I had something to do.”

Sanzi grew angry, feeling that Wei Lian’s public service was being taken for granted. He slapped the table and stood up: “What kind of attitude is that! Do you know who you’re talking to!”

Zhou Yan remained unfazed: “Officer, I am not your suspect, and I am not under your control.”

Manager Huang was absent, and Sister Hong was in charge. Seeing the situation about to collapse, she quickly intervened: “Officer, please calm down. Zhou Yan doesn’t mean it that way. Her situation is indeed special; her younger brother is not well and often has to go to the hospital.”

Wei Lian saw Sanzi’s act and raised a hand: “That’s enough. Let’s talk about something serious.”

Sanzi felt it wasn’t fair to him: “They’re the ones who called the police, and now none of them care. They dump everything on us, and then they don’t cooperate.”

Wei Lian stood up, facing Zhou Yan: “The surveillance only traced Bubble Tea to Huan’nan Road intersection. There’s a surveillance blind spot there, next to Fangcaoyuan residential area. You live there, right?”

Zhou Yan had a clear conscience and admitted openly: “Yes.”

Wei Lian nodded: “Take me there; let’s see if there are any clues.”

As the few of them were about to leave, the door opened, and Si Wen walked in.

His eyes swept over the group of people gathered in the lobby, his cold, indifferent gaze showing no hint of confusion: “Not open for business?”

Sister Hong quickly went up to him: “Oh, Mr. Si, long time no see!”

As she spoke, she subconsciously looked at Zhou Yan, wanting to tell her to attend to him, but then Wei Lian, standing nearby, made her bite her tongue.

Zhou Yan stood at the spiral staircase, wearing a floor-length black dress and thin-heeled shoes made of black rope. Her arms were even thinner, her collarbones more prominent. The last bit of collagen on her face seemed to have disappeared in these three months.

Her eyes were dull as she looked at the newcomer.

Si Wen stood at the doorway, not intending to go further inside: “Since you’re not open, I’ll go to another place.”

He ignored Zhou Yan, just like every time before.

Zhou Yan hadn’t expected Si Wen to say a word or greet her. It had just been three months since she last saw him, and his sudden appearance made her want to look at him. No other reason, just to see him.

He hadn’t changed; that face was as annoying as ever.

Yet, she also had to admit that among all the men she had ever seen, he looked the best in a suit.

Truly handsome. And those arrogant eyes, those indifferent lips. Looking at him for too long, she even felt that she would surely kneel at his feet, endure his humiliation, be messed with by him, and still find it sweet, why not?

Even with a drugged expression, she would beg him to just have her once, just once.

Si Wen turned and walked out. Zhou Yan took a step forward.

It was a small step, and the sound it made on the floor was faint; no one even saw it.

Si Wen still turned around: “Forgot something.”

In front of everyone, he walked towards Zhou Yan, took her hand, looked straight ahead, and walked towards the door.

Sanzi was furious.

Wei Lian had been investigating for days without finding anyone, coupled with the previous unclear incident involving Jiang Xiaozhao, which had put pressure on him. He wasn’t feeling well. He had tried to get information from Zhou Yan but couldn’t find her. Now that he finally did, she didn’t even think she was wrong...

And now, she was openly being taken away?

How little did they think of their Criminal Investigation Department?

He walked up: “Stop!”

Si Wen acted as if he hadn’t heard, already pushing open the two ornate, gilded doors.

Sanzi reached out and blocked him: “I told you to stop, didn’t you hear me!”

Si Wen’s free hand grabbed the one on his arm, forcefully prying it off, then turned and delivered a kick, sending Sanzi three meters back.

Fortunately, Sanzi had come from the police academy and was in good physical condition; he managed to stand steady after retreating a few steps.

He knew this man was Si Wen, who held immense power in Qizhou. But from the day he joined the criminal investigation team, he had made a decision to be a hero, not a coward. If the price of being a hero was to succumb to local influence, then he wouldn’t be one.

He gritted his teeth and charged again, his ears seemingly blocking out Wei Lian; he couldn’t hear anything he said.

“This is assaulting an officer!” he glared at Si Wen.

Si Wen’s tone seemed to be preserved three feet underground by frozen earth, and then he brought it out: “What a coincidence, I’m assaulting an officer.”

At the critical moment, it was Wei Lian who pinned Sanzi to the ground, stopping the confrontation.

Wei Lian was much calmer. His height, similar to Si Wen’s, also gave him an imposing presence: “Mr. Si, you should know that if you say that, I’ll have reason to take you to the detention center for two days.”

Si Wen merely lifted his eyes slightly, his thin lips parting: “What are you?”

Wei Lian clearly felt Si Wen’s hostility towards him and Sanzi. This was not normal.

In the end, he let him and Zhou Yan go.