Chapter Thirty-Seven: Beneath the Same Moonlight

All the way in Dr. Xiao’s car, it was he who spoke most of the time, while Yusheng merely responded with vague murmurs. Though Dr. Xiao was only in his early thirties, Yusheng always felt as if she were sitting with an elder from her family—awkward, with nothing to say, to the point where the silence made her want to curl up her toes.

“Are you feeling better now? Any signs of relapse?” Dr. Xiao asked.

Yusheng paused. “Yes, I’m fine. No relapse.”

Dr. Xiao smiled in relief. “That’s good.”

After escorting Yusheng home, Dr. Xiao declined her invitation to come up for a visit, saying he hadn’t showered in two days. He left promptly.

Once inside, Yusheng’s first instinct was to pick up her phone and send messages to her father and Gu Yan, letting them know she was safe. Yu Chen hadn’t returned yet, probably off with Shen Henyun again.

Meanwhile, in the hospital room—

“Gu Yan, Yusheng mentioned you’d been followed before. Why didn’t you tell me? Do you realize how dangerous that is?” Yu Dong asked sternly.

Gu Yan turned his head away uncomfortably. “I didn’t expect things to get so serious.”

Seeing his discomfort, Yu Dong held back further blame. “Do you know who kidnapped you?” As he spoke, Yu Dong switched on his phone’s voice recorder.

Gu Yan glanced at the phone, and Yu Dong noticed. “It’s just procedure, don’t mind it,” he reassured. “Now, start from the beginning.”

“It was Liu Quan and another man I don’t know. Liu Quan called him ‘Big Brother.’”

“If I show you photos, could you identify him?”

Gu Yan nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright. Can you describe what happened on the day you were kidnapped?”

Gu Yan had no choice but to recall that painful day. “That day, Yusheng and I had just come back from studying at the library. On the way home, I realized someone was following us, so we took a different route. Not long after we got back, someone knocked on the door. I thought it was Yusheng and opened it, but as soon as I did, they covered my mouth and nose. I lost consciousness and woke up in a warehouse.” He finished in one breath, his head throbbing.

“Alright. We’re already tracking Liu Quan. As for the other man you mentioned, he’s likely Liu Quan’s cousin, Liu Yi. The trouble with this case is that we found no evidence at all.”

Gu Yan’s eyes widened. “But isn’t my testimony evidence?”

Yu Dong shook his head. “It’s not enough to convict him. We’ve searched everywhere and haven’t found a single clue linking Liu Yi to the crime. So, we suspect someone is cleaning up behind him.”

Frustration welled up in Gu Yan. Was he not injured enough, and yet nothing could be done to those people?

He leaned his head back against the bed, gazing out the window. Dusk had fallen and the city lights were beginning to twinkle. A sense of emptiness crept into his heart. Normally, at this hour, he’d be at Yusheng’s house, sharing laughter and dinner.

“But Liu Quan will definitely be sentenced. His previous actions are already enough to arrest him.”

At that, Gu Yan frowned, recalling something Liu Yi had said. Something didn’t sit right.

“Uncle, Liu Quan hasn’t been managing the Liu family business for long, right?”

Yu Dong considered. “Correct.”

“But their company has been involved in drug dealing for years. I suspect that some of the documents I found were tampered with, to frame Liu Quan.”

Yu Dong suddenly realized the possibility. “You’re right, that could be the case.”

“By the way, Uncle, when they kidnapped me, they kept demanding the rest of the documents. But hadn’t I already given everything to you?”

Yu Dong could only confess, “Last time you handed me the documents, you mentioned there might be a mole in our department. So I decided to only make half the information public, to bait the mole into revealing himself. Who would have thought they’d get impatient and come after you instead? I’m truly sorry, Gu Yan.”

Seeing how remorseful Yu Dong looked, Gu Yan felt embarrassed. “It’s alright, Uncle. So, have you found the mole?”

Yu Dong’s guilt deepened at the question. “No.” He’d asked the tech department for help, but they found nothing. Even Yang Mu’s team came up empty. The mole hadn’t left a single trace and had fooled all of them—clearly not an ordinary opponent.

“I remember that after I sent you the documents, I asked if you’d received them, and you replied with just a period. I thought you’d found something,” Gu Yan said, trying to ease Yu Dong’s mood, but Yu Dong froze at his words.

“You said I replied with a period? When was this?”

Gu Yan hadn’t expected this reaction. “A few days after I sent the documents.”

“When, exactly?”

Gu Yan thought for a moment. “It was the evening our first monthly exam results came out. I still have the chat record. Let me check… Yes, it was the night of the twentieth.”

Yu Dong checked his phone, his brows knitting together. “That night I was dealing with a disturbance downtown, nowhere near the station, let alone checking my email. And the address I gave you is my private one, which I rarely open.”

Now, Gu Yan too realized something was wrong.

Yu Dong immediately gathered his things. “I’m heading back to the station. Maybe we’ve been looking in the wrong place all along. I’d always assumed the mole would target my work account, since that’s where my files are stored. But now it seems I was mistaken. No wonder the tech team found nothing.”

Gu Yan hadn’t expected his offhand remark to spark a new lead in the case. He nodded, watching Yu Dong hastily leave the ward.

After showering, Yusheng lay in bed. Tomorrow was Saturday. Thinking back to seeing Dr. Xiao today reminded her of the days she’d spent in the hospital years ago—days that were bright and happy because he was around.

Just as she was lost in thought, a message came from Gu Yan.

Gu Yan: Do you have a moment?

Yusheng: What’s up? I have a little time.

Gu Yan’s message left her at a loss, unsure what he wanted. Staring nervously at her phone, she suddenly saw an incoming call from him.

“Hello? What is it?” Yusheng muffled the phone under her covers, inexplicably guilty, not wanting Wei Yabo or Yu Chen to overhear.

On the other end, Gu Yan chuckled softly. “I just feel lonely. No one’s here to keep me company.”

No one?

“Isn’t my dad with you?”

“Uncle just left. Now I’m all alone in this empty hospital room, and it’s a bit scary,” Gu Yan said, feigning a childish tone.

Her father—so unreliable! Yusheng ignored the wheedling in Gu Yan’s voice.

“Then talk to me. That way you won’t be lonely,” she whispered.

Gu Yan lay on the hospital bed, smiling as he stared at the ceiling. Moonlight streamed in, casting a ring of light.

“Yusheng, have you looked outside? Right now we’re both bathed in the same moonlight.”

Yusheng wondered if Gu Yan had been hit on the head too hard. “Are you alright? We’re only a few kilometers apart. Of course it’s the same moon.” She was always so blunt, never understanding romance.

Gu Yan burst out laughing. “Yusheng, even though I haven’t been at school these days, I still feel at ease about you.”

“Why?”

He sat up, switching the phone to his other hand, wincing as his wound ached.

“Because I know you won’t run off with anyone else while I’m away.”

On the other end, Yusheng was silent. Gu Yan was puzzled. “Yusheng? Did you fall asleep?”

“No, I’m awake,” she whispered.

Gu Yan chuckled to himself. How adorable she was, getting flustered so easily.

“Are you blushing, Yusheng?”

“I am not! Stop teasing me! Who would get embarrassed over something so trivial?”

“I wasn’t joking. I meant every word.”

If Gu Yan were beside her, he’d see her face as red as a tomato.

Yusheng poked her head out from under the covers, her eyes bright.

“If you keep this up, I won’t talk to you anymore!”

Gu Yan panicked. “No, please, I won’t say anything, I promise.”

“Have you chatted with that Chen You lately?” he asked cautiously.

“Hmph! Of course we have. Not only do we chat, we talk every day! After all, we’re old classmates,” Yusheng replied with mock vengeance.

Sure enough, Gu Yan protested, “Yusheng, you already know what he’s really like. Don’t keep in touch with him—what if he tries something?”

“That would be perfect. If we rekindled our old flame, it would fulfill my childhood wish!”

“No, Yusheng! If you do, when I’m out of the hospital I’ll block his number from your phone.”

Yusheng stifled a laugh. “Don’t get yourself arrested by the cyber police.”

“Yusheng, you’re just teasing me, aren’t you?”

“Hmph!”

“If you keep this up, when I’m discharged I’ll corner you against the wall.”

At that, Yusheng fell silent and abruptly hung up.

Gu Yan stared at the call screen, a smile tugging at his lips. Flustered as she was, she had the nerve to hang up on him! Never mind, let her sleep—winning her over would take time.

Yusheng pressed the phone to her chest, unsure how to respond, so she hung up instead, saving herself from being unsettled all night.

Outside, snow fell thick and white. Both of them, lost in their thoughts, gazed at the drifting flakes and felt a pang of longing.

Meanwhile, Yu Dong hurried to Director Wang’s office.

“This time, I’m certain—we’ll catch the mole for sure!” Yu Dong burst in, slapping the desk emphatically.

Director Wang patted his heart. “If you keep this up every day, I won’t last much longer as director! Are you trying to take my job?” he joked.

Yu Dong caught his breath. “Of course not, Director Wang. I just got a new lead—let me check the surveillance footage this time.”

Director Wang sipped his tea. “Are you sure? Last time you insisted we’d find someone, and the tech department worked all night for nothing. If we fail again, it’ll only alert the mole.”

“Don’t worry, Director Wang. He won’t get away this time,” Yu Dong replied, eyes flashing with determination.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“I don’t need anyone else. I’ll check the surveillance myself and do a little sleuthing—he’ll show himself.”

Director Wang nodded, a bit puzzled by this approach but said nothing.

As Yu Dong prepared to leave, Director Wang called after him, “By the way, I almost forgot—we’ve found Liu Quan!”