Chapter Thirty-Two: The Traitor

The afternoon passed with still no sign of Gu Yan, and Yu Sheng was troubled the whole time. Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly felt someone poke her from behind with a pen. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned around, only to find Chen Ke’an.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Sheng couldn’t hide the disappointment in her eyes.

“I think I saw Gu Yan last night, but I’m not completely sure,” Chen Ke’an whispered softly.

Yu Sheng’s eyes lit up. “Really? Where did he go?”

Her sudden closeness made Chen Ke’an’s heart stutter. The realization that she was like this for another boy brought him a faint ache. He forced a smile. “I’m not sure. I was out buying something and saw someone helping him into a car, but it was just the back of him. I wanted to call out, but since I wasn’t sure it was him, I didn’t.”

Yu Sheng’s gaze dimmed, as if silently blaming him—if only you had called out, maybe he wouldn’t have gone missing.

A strange feeling welled up in Chen Ke’an’s heart, a selfish little wish: if Gu Yan simply never came back, then he would remain the boy closest to Yu Sheng, and maybe he could accompany her for a lifetime.

“I see. Alright,” Yu Sheng turned away slowly.

“Don’t worry, Yu Sheng. He’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

Yu Sheng’s eyelashes trembled as she nodded.

Today, Yu Sheng and Chen Ke’an walked home together, having asked their teacher for permission to skip the evening study session. The walk was quiet; Yu Sheng barely spoke, and the two walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Back home, Yu Sheng knocked on Gu Yan’s door as usual, but no one answered. Listlessly, she returned to her own apartment and found that Yu Dong wasn’t home either.

Liar, she thought. He’d promised he would always wait for Gu Yan to come back.

Yu Sheng dialed her father’s number.

The person on the other end sounded busy. It took so long to answer that Yu Sheng was about to hang up.

“Hello, Shengsheng? What’s wrong? Is something up? Dad’s busy right now.” There was noise in the background.

Hearing how busy he was, all the grievances Yu Sheng had just felt vanished. She never liked troubling anyone, especially her family.

“Dad, if you’re busy, go ahead. I just wanted to tell you that Gu Yan still hasn’t come back. Should we file a missing person’s report at the police station?”

There was a brief silence. “Alright, Shengsheng. Leave this to me. You just stay home and wait—let Dad handle everything to do with Gu Yan.”

Yu Sheng nodded. “Okay.”

Yu Dong sighed. “Shengsheng, do you trust me?”

“I trust you, Dad.”

“Then I promise you, by the time you wake up tomorrow, I’ll have found Gu Yan and brought him home!”

Yu Sheng understood the meaning behind his words, even if Yu Dong hadn’t intended it quite that way.

Her eyes grew red. For her father to say such things, Gu Yan’s situation must be serious. She had asked their homeroom teacher about Gu Yan’s condition earlier, but the teacher dodged the question, insisting Gu Yan was fine. That only made her more suspicious—her father must have called the teacher first.

The secret mission Gu Yan had mentioned before came to mind. He’d promised he would be alright—what a liar. When he came back, she wouldn’t forgive him so easily.

But for now, all Yu Sheng could do was trust her father, believe that Gu Yan was only playing a trick on her, and that tomorrow he would go to school with her as usual.

“Mm, Dad, I believe you. I always have,” she choked out, swallowing back the tears.

Yu Dong ended the call and looked around the bustling office.

“Any news? Have we found out where they went?” he asked Yang Mu anxiously.

“We did. The car left the neighborhood and headed toward the suburbs. They tried to be clever by changing the license plate partway, then left the city. Now we think they’re somewhere here.” Yang Mu pointed at an area on his computer screen.

Yu Dong frowned. There was no surveillance in that area—an old industrial zone full of derelict factories and complicated terrain. If they searched blindly, they might not find anything by morning, or worse, alert the kidnappers and put Gu Yan in greater danger.

“Alright. I need a precise location. If we’re lucky, the boy might still have his phone on him. Try to locate it. I’ll go see the chief now, but keep this quiet—only you and the two others I trust know about this. If anyone asks, say it’s just a routine missing student case, understood?”

Yang Mu nodded, guessing at the truth, and the other two gave solemn nods as well.

The suspicion of a mole in the precinct had become nearly certain.

On his way to the chief’s office, Yu Dong rehearsed what he would say. Ever since Gu Yan had warned him, Yu Dong had been cautious, waiting for a chance to expose the mole—especially during the Liu family’s recent legal troubles. Now the bait was set, the fish had bitten, but Gu Yan had paid the price.

“Was I right, Chief Wang?” Yu Dong burst into the office without knocking.

Chief Wang, startled, nearly dropped his pen. “Still so rude, barging in without knocking.”

“Chief, the situation is critical! Besides, it’s not as if you’re watching something you shouldn’t be.”

Yu Dong had been mentored by Chief Wang during his early days at the station, back before Wang was chief.

“Alright, enough. I was looking through the files you gave me,” Wang said, straightening his expression. “Now, what’s so urgent?”

Yu Dong grew serious. “The case I told you about before—he’s made his move. The kid’s missing, possibly dead or alive. I checked the surveillance—he was definitely kidnapped.”

“Fine. I’ll get tech support involved. Need more people?”

“I do, but for now, don’t use anyone from our precinct. Ask for assistance from another station. Everything we do is probably being watched.”

Chief Wang nodded.

Yu Dong had only handed over part of the evidence Gu Yan had given him, keeping the most vital documents—those that could bring down the Liu family—exclusively for Chief Wang.

He’d made a show of printing out the files in front of everyone, claiming they were from a concerned citizen. That way, the mole would panic, realizing that if the Liu family went down, he would be exposed too—and if someone could hand over such evidence, he probably had even more.

Sooner or later, exposure was inevitable. The only way out for the mole was to access Yu Dong’s computer and see who had sent the files.

“I’ve been deliberately leaving the computer at the station. During the day, no one has time to touch it, and the surveillance shows no one approached it. So, he must be accessing it remotely at night. Have tech comb through the logs after hours—check the IP addresses, and we’ll have our mole.”

Chief Wang’s expression turned grave. “Are you really sure it’s one of us? These men have been our colleagues for years.”

Yu Dong sighed. He didn’t want to believe it either—these were brothers who’d gone through life and death together. But only police station staff knew Gu Yan had given them the evidence, and only a select few knew about the investigation into the Liu family. He didn’t want to suspect them, but what choice did he have?

“That boy’s fate is still uncertain. If anything happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself. We have no other option now.”

Chief Wang was about to reply when Yu Dong’s phone rang.

It was Yang Mu. Yu Dong answered at once. “Did you find him?”

“We found the phone, but the signal places it at his home.”

Yu Dong’s heart sank.

“But Monkey just spotted them near the riverside factories on the highway surveillance. That narrows it down.”

Yu Dong nodded to Chief Wang and headed out. “Alright. You three, grab your gear. We’re leaving now. Tell the others we’ve found the kid and are going to pick him up.”

Yang Mu hesitated. “Just the four of us, boss?”

Yu Dong hung up, knocked Yang Mu lightly on the head. “Of course not. I’ve asked Chief Wang to get help from other precincts. And you—stay here and keep an eye on everyone, especially those involved in the Liu case. If anyone acts suspiciously, find a way to control them. Tech support is already on it; we should have results soon.”

“What? Alone? What if I slip up and he gets away? I’ve only got two eyes, you know.”

Yu Dong shot him a glance as he grabbed his coat. “If you let him get away, you won’t have either.” With that, he left. The other two patted Yang Mu on the shoulder as they passed, giving him sympathetic looks.

Yang Mu rubbed his eyes—strained from staring at screens all day—and wondered if he should request a transfer.

Despite his complaints, as soon as Yu Dong left, Yang Mu began keeping close watch on everyone, just as instructed.

Meanwhile, Gu Yan’s consciousness flickered in and out, sometimes muddled, sometimes clear. His whole body ached, immobilized, as if he might slip into endless sleep at any moment. But the stench of the factory and the metallic tang of blood kept him awake—reminding him that he couldn’t give in, not while others worried for him, not while difficult matters remained.

“So, have you made up your mind?” Liu Yi asked after returning from outside. “Just tell us where the rest of the files are and we’ll let you live.”

What files? Didn’t I already give everything to Yu Sheng’s father? No wonder the Liu family’s business is still running, Gu Yan thought.

He shook his head. “I really don’t know. I already handed over everything. There’s nothing left.”

Liu Yi was losing patience, his tone harsh. “Cut the crap! Our people know you have more. If you could uncover Liu Quan’s secrets, you must have inside information.”

Gu Yan turned away. “You give me too much credit. I’m just a student—how could I possibly have that kind of access?” All he could do now was gamble—gamble that Yu Dong understood his situation and would act in time. For now, he had to stall as long as possible.

Liu Yi sneered, “You’re not just stalling, hoping someone will come save you, are you?”