Harsh white light fell on the omega’s makeup-free face. Without the chemical layers of cosmetics, his features looked much cleaner and more pleasant to the eye.
“What’s your name? How old are you?” An Bao sat across from him, his expression stern.
The omega, both hands and feet bound in silver chains, sat trapped in a chair, smiling back at them. “Lily. Probably around twenty-five.” His tone was lazy and relaxed. After speaking, he took a deep breath. “Could you get me a more comfortable chair? Or at least give me a cigarette.”
“Do you think this is some kind of resort?” An Bao’s voice was cold. The air conditioning in the room was already low, and now it was so cold that the officers on either side shivered.
The omega’s voice was no longer as coquettish as when he’d first latched onto An Bao. The passionate energy in his demeanor had been replaced by a languid expression. “Fine.” An Bao let out a breath, closed his eyes, and said to the officer on the other side: “Go get him a stool.”
Lily smiled. “Thank you, Your Honor. Oh—make sure it has a cushion. Something like what you leaders have would be perfect.” He shouted at the retreating officer’s back. An Bao clenched his fist. “Go get him a cushion. No need for the stool.”
“Officer, you’re going back on your word.” Lily was unhappy. “You alphas just love to lie.”
With that, he leaned back against the stool. When the officer returned with a cushion and placed it behind him, he said: “Fine. This’ll do.”
An Bao’s cold gaze fixed on him, his fingertip tapping the table. “Is Lily your real name?”
“Don’t know.”
“Don’t know?” An Bao was on the verge of anger, suppressing his temper. “How can you not know? You don’t even know your own real name?”
Under the fluorescent light, the omega slowly nodded amid the faint echo. “I was kidnapped when I was three or four. I forgot my real name a long time ago.” The air froze. An Bao hadn’t expected that answer. “Sold to this black market?”
Lily: “No. At first I was sold to a brothel. I worked there until I was twenty-one, when the place was raided by the police for prostitution. I was locked up for a few days, and not long after I got out, I was trafficked here. Been working ever since.”
A brothel—in plain terms, a place of prostitution.
An Bao’s fingertip kept tapping the table. “Did that brothel have a name?”
Lily gave some information. An Bao’s brows sharpened: “So after you came to the black market, you kept your old name and continued your old trade—prostitution?”
“Officer, you have such a way with words.” Lily adjusted his position, crossing his legs. He was still wearing the cheongsam he’d had on when An Bao first saw him, though the hem was now stained with mud. “After I was locked up, I reformed. Since then, I’ve only sold my art, not my body.”
An Bao: “What art?”
“Ikebana—flower arranging.” Lily’s tone was frivolous. An Bao couldn’t hold back—he slammed the table and stood up. “You!” It took his fellow officers pulling him back down to calm his breathing.
“Hahahaha, Officer, look at you getting all worked up.” Lily switched which leg was crossed, the slit of the cheongsam opening high up his thigh, revealing most of his pale skin. “Don’t be mad. Let me tell you something useful. I do more than just that.” He stopped abruptly. An Bao glared at him. “Go on.”
“Officer, if I tell you, how many years would I get?”
“How would I know until you tell me?”
Lily raised an eyebrow. “No way. What if it’s a death sentence? I’d rather not say.”
Feeling like he was being played for a fool, An Bao’s temples throbbed. His apprentice beside him spoke up: “Lily, if you assist the police, we’ll consider reducing your sentence. But if someone else beats you to it, you’ll just have to serve your time. I hope you’ll speak up—whether it’s grievances or crimes.”
An Bao glanced at her. The young female officer’s gaze was resolute.
“Really?” Lily’s gaze shifted from the female officer to An Bao. “This senior officer here—is what she said true?” His tone made it sound like An Bao was the one being interrogated.
Officer An nodded, calming himself: “If you provide information beneficial to the police, I can apply to my superiors for a reduced sentence.”
Lily seemed to have gotten the promise he wanted. Though a smile still hung on his lips, something in his eyes had changed. He looked at a spot on the floor, his beautiful eyes once so alluring now tinged with sadness. “I also sell some happy juice—hallucinogenic stuff that makes people feel good. But don’t worry, I know that stuff is toxic and expensive. I never touched a drop.”
At that, all three officers’ eyes showed an expression of “just as expected.”
“Not surprised at all? You’ve got a potential third-class merit sitting right in front of you.” Lily was quite savvy—he even knew about things like that. Of course An Bao wasn’t surprised. The fact that he’d mentioned a death sentence meant he was selling things prohibited by law.
“Who are your buyers?”
“How would I know? They’re all introduced from above.” He slipped back into that infuriating attitude. Even without heavy makeup, a hint of seductiveness remained. “One quick round and I’m gone—no time to exchange business cards.”
An Bao really didn’t want to hear any more of this filth. He rubbed his temples. “Who are the people above you? Or, do you know of someone with the code name ‘Wuchang’—the buzz-cut man with a bandage over his left eye?”
“That guy. Yeah, I know him. He’s a player.”
“What position does he hold in your supply chain?” An Bao stared at his face, not missing a single expression. “For example—’rat, snake, wolf, tiger’—which animal level does he belong to?”
Without hesitation, Lily said: “You’re talking about ranking? He’d be a wolf. As for me, humbly—a rat.”
Finally extracting a key piece of information, An Bao swallowed. “So who is the tiger?”
“Tiger… I’ve never seen him. But I know of two—one called ‘Boss,’ which means just that, and another called ‘Beak.’ No idea what that one means. Actually, I have heard this ‘Beak’—I’ve heard his voice. He’s male, but whether alpha, beta, or omega—I couldn’t tell.”
“What did his voice sound like?” An Bao prompted.
Lily thought for a long time. “Hoarse. I can’t think of any other way to describe it.”
…
The interrogation room door opened and closed. An Bao closed his aching eyes.
“Did anyone else get anything?”
“Captain, under interrogation, most of them confessed. But none of them knew where their accomplices were heading.”
An Bao’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he let out a grunt of acknowledgment.
“But Captain, there’s good news—the satellite tracking system picked up a rough trajectory for them. The destination appears to be near the Imperial Planet.”
·
While making his rounds, Shi Yuxing ran into Jiang Chusheng, who had just arrived. He was already in his white coat and looked visibly pleased to see Shi Yuxing. “Xiao Shi, what a coincidence—making rounds?”
Shi Yuxing nodded. “Director.”
“It’s almost mealtime. I was just about to eat—want to join me?” Jiang Chusheng extended the invitation.
Shi Yuxing was about to decline when Chu Xiaoyun’s voice came from inside the room: “Brother Husband brings him food every day—you probably can’t eat together.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Shi Yuxing’s face turned crimson. Chu Xiaoyun’s mother immediately covered her mouth, endlessly apologizing to the two doctors at the door, then came over awkwardly to close it—but Jiang Chusheng stopped her. “This young lady—her surname is Chu, isn’t it?”
Chu Xiaoyun’s mother paused. “Oh—do you know my Xiaoyun?”
The curve of Jiang Chusheng’s lips was perfectly measured, inspiring trust. “Before she was transferred here, she was originally going to have me perform the surgery. But the equipment wasn’t precise enough, so I passed it on to my student.” He looked at Shi Yuxing.
“Ah?” The mother clearly hadn’t known about this connection. Her cheeks lifted in surprise. “You’re Dr. Shi’s teacher! Dr. Shi is such a good doctor—and so are you. Thanks to you both, Xiaoyun has recovered.”
Jiang Chusheng chatted amiably with her for a while. Shi Yuxing found the atmosphere a bit awkward and made an excuse about needing to continue his rounds, leaving first.
As he turned the corner, he nearly ran into a tall figure.
The man had dark skin. “Dr. Shi.” Tu An sheepishly moved aside.
Seeing his bare wrist, Shi Yuxing was alarmed: “You’re being discharged?” The hospital band was gone. Shi Yuxing furrowed his brow. “You haven’t even been here three full months. That’s very dangerous—and you didn’t even tell me.”
Tu An scratched his head, his lips twitching. “I know. I was planning to sneak out.”
And then I caught you? Shi Yuxing found it amusing. “Come back with me now to redo your admission paperwork. Until your gland is fully healed, I’ll be watching you.” He’d seen patients try to sneak out before—but this was the first time he’d caught one red-handed.
“Where’s your master? Have him come see me.”
Tu An flinched at his outstretched hand, hiding both hands behind his back. “It’s not my master’s fault. I wanted to leave on my own. The hospital fees are too expensive—my master doesn’t have much saved as it is. If he spends it all on me, he won’t have anything for retirement…”
“You fool! What are you saying?!” Master Wang, who had been notified by the front desk, rushed over in a panic. The moment he got off the elevator, he saw his apprentice standing at attention under Shi Yuxing’s scolding.
Tu An’s muscles tensed. He turned his head, stumbling over his words: “M-master.”
“Useless brat! I’m not that broke. Having to make a trip just because you’re in the hospital…” Master Wang was still in his work clothes. He smiled apologetically at Shi Yuxing. “Sorry for the trouble. I’ll make sure he stays in the hospital—don’t worry.” He reached out and twisted his apprentice’s arm. “If you die, then I’ll have no one to support me in my old age. Now, come with me and redo the paperwork.”
“Wait, Master—I have something I want to ask Dr. Shi.”
Shi Yuxing looked up from his phone, which was flooded with messages. “What is it?”
Tu An pressed his lips together, a flush rising on his dark face.
That expression looked familiar. Shi Yuxing thought—he’s probably asking about that officer who’s away on business. He’d long seen that Tu An had designs on An Bao—he just didn’t know how An Bao felt.
Under Master Wang’s urging, Tu An finally spoke: “Um, Dr. Shi—have you seen Officer An lately? I’ve sent him messages, but he hasn’t replied. I’m a little worried… Don’t get the wrong idea—there’s nothing between me and Officer An! It’s just… he saved me, so as someone he helped, I feel like I should check in! …Dr. Shi, why are you laughing?”
“Nothing.” Shi Yuxing looked away and spotted Gu Lingzhou emerging from the elevator, searching for him—looking just like Tu An when he was looking for someone. “Don’t worry about Officer An. He’s away on a business trip. The signal’s bad over there—he probably didn’t get your messages.”
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