Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Problem Was Done Wrong

The mole was found by Yu Dong—it turned out to be a colleague of his. Because his family was ill and he lacked the money for treatment, he’d come up with the desperate idea of selling police files for cash. Facing such a situation is hard for anyone; Yu Dong smoked outside for an entire afternoon, running through countless possibilities in his mind. But when the truth finally confronted him, he still felt deeply shaken.

Everyone who becomes a police officer does so with the selfless intention of serving their country and society. Yet at times, reality crushes them. Some give up midway, others persevere; one cannot simply judge who is right or wrong, for such choices are often made in helplessness.

To experience the betrayal of a brother-in-arms after years of working side by side, especially for such a reason, left everyone feeling wretched. For days, the atmosphere at the station felt stagnant and lifeless. Yu Dong went home in silence, saying nothing, merely smoking quietly by the windowsill. In such times, the Yu family would usually refrain from interfering; they supported Yu Dong and simply did what they could not to disturb him.

Yu Dong was grateful for Wei Yabo; had she not always supported him from behind, he might not have been able to dedicate himself so fully to his work at the station.

Though that brother had betrayed them out of desperation, he still had to face the law. At the end, he begged that the truth not be revealed to his family, and Yu Dong agreed. The medical expenses for his family were covered by Yu Dong and his other colleagues, who pooled their resources to help. Though the man had made only this one mistake, it was enough to ruin half his life.

Liu Quan was also arrested, but Yu Dong never found evidence that he had kidnapped Gu Yan. Liu Quan himself denied everything and had an alibi. Liu Yi’s tracks were clean—there was not a single trace left behind. The Liu family, by some means, had managed to pin all the evidence in the files on Liu Quan, making him the scapegoat. Yu Dong sensed the scheme, but for now he could only detain Liu Quan and continue investigating.

His cellmates were snoring and tossing in their sleep, one of them mumbling and grinding his teeth before slinging a leg over Liu Quan. Liu Quan didn’t react.

The floodlights outside flickered, their light bouncing off the ceiling and casting strange shadows across Liu Quan’s face. In the gloom, his expression was a tangled knot of disbelief, anger, helplessness, and regret. Yu Dong’s words from earlier circled endlessly in his mind.

Liu Quan scoffed at himself, shrugged off the leg, and sat up, leaning against the wall. The words that man had spoken to him now felt like empty nonsense.

Damn it. He’d been played.

He remembered following Liu Yi’s instructions to destroy the vehicle. Just as he left the secondhand car shop, Liu Yi called.

“It looks like the police are onto you. They’re heading your way now.”

Liu Quan looked around in panic. “Big brother, what do I do?”

“Don’t panic, just listen. I’ve already arranged alibis for us for that night. They won’t be able to find anything. As long as you keep your mouth shut, no one will know we were behind that matter. Even though that student survived last time, his word alone isn’t enough to prove anything.”

The news that Gu Yan had been rescued reached Liu Yi the very next day. Liu Quan had expected regret or anxiety, but Liu Yi was uncannily calm, as if he’d anticipated everything. While Liu Quan was a bundle of nerves, Liu Yi toyed idly with his tie clip, the cool metal soothing his fingertips. Sometimes, Liu Quan truly couldn’t read this "big brother." He never explained his actions—Liu Quan was simply expected to obey.

Liu Quan caught the implication. “Big brother, are you just going to let me get arrested?”

“They have no evidence. They can’t do anything to you, and as long as I’m out here, you’ll be released soon. Don’t worry.”

A hint of unease flickered through Liu Quan, but considering his importance to the Liu Group, he thought perhaps he was just overthinking it.

“All right, but make sure to get me out as soon as possible.”

“Of course. And if the police interrogate you, say as little as possible, or just be glib—don’t let them trick you into giving anything away,” Liu Yi instructed.

Sure enough, not long after Liu Quan hung up, sirens blared all around him. He climbed into his car and watched as police vehicles boxed him in.

At the station.

Liu Quan bantered slickly with Yu Dong for quite a while—after all, he’d spent years on the streets and knew how to be slippery. Unable to get anything from him directly, Yu Dong switched tactics, confronting him with charges of drug-related crimes.

“Tell me how you did it!” Yu Dong tossed the file at him.

Liu Quan sneered, thinking it was just another trick. “Isn’t this just—wait, what is this?” His self-satisfaction gave way to shock, then to anxiety.

Yu Dong watched his shifting expressions in silence, his eyes glinting.

“Officer, I didn’t do any of this! I don’t know about any of it!”

“But your accomplice has already confessed that you were always in charge of these operations. How do you explain that?”

Liu Quan grew frantic, trying to rise from his seat but restrained by his cuffs. He slumped back, agitated.

“I-I didn’t! I haven’t been back with the Liu family for long, you can check—I couldn’t possibly have done these things!” He stammered in his nervousness.

Damn it, Liu Yi never told him about this! What was he supposed to say now? He truly knew nothing about this—was this another of Liu Yi’s schemes? What was he planning?

“And you used to run with gangs, without a proper job. How did you live? Where did all that money come from? We found large sums deposited into your account each month—how do you explain that? Isn’t it dirty money?”

“I—” Liu Quan certainly couldn’t admit the money was tributes from his underlings, and every month he’d noticed those deposits, assumed someone had made a mistake, and greedily let it slide. Never did he imagine that his momentary greed would lead to his downfall.

“I don’t know, I really don’t know. There’s definitely something wrong here. Officer, you must investigate thoroughly! This really has nothing to do with me—I swear I know nothing!” Liu Quan howled in desperation. Yu Dong ignored him and left the interrogation room.

He knew Liu Quan was just the scapegoat. The real mastermind was lurking in the shadows, but to dig deeper, Yu Dong had to play along, lulling his adversary into a false sense of security before closing the net.

The Liu family’s case, Yu Dong felt, was anything but simple.

The next day was an exam, so students could choose to go home or stay in the classroom for self-study during evening prep. Lin Ning lived far away and didn’t attend evening prep, instead going home. Yu Sheng had assumed Chen Ke’an would stay, but to her surprise, he also chose to study at home, saying he had matters to attend to.

Half the class had left, and especially around Yu Sheng, the desks were empty.

If Gu Yan were here, he’d definitely keep me company, Yu Sheng thought.

During evening prep, there was a ten-minute break. Most students either ran to the shop or played outside, but with everyone gone, Yu Sheng felt no urge to leave. She stayed in the classroom, working on problems, so absorbed in her mathematics that she didn’t notice someone approaching from behind.

“You got this problem wrong,” a familiar voice sounded above her. Yu Sheng’s heart skipped—she turned, and sure enough, it was Gu Yan.

Gu Yan was very close—so close that when Yu Sheng turned, his breath brushed her cheek. His eyes were smiling, a gentle light dancing within them. Yu Sheng blinked, her lashes fluttering, and it took a moment for her to react.

“You—you’re out of the hospital?” She thought she must have been missing Gu Yan so much she was hallucinating, so she poked his face, which was right in front of her.

Gu Yan’s smile widened, his brows arching as he caught her hand. “It’s real. I snuck out of the hospital.”

“Really? Then you need to go back—you’re not fully recovered yet.” She tried to stand, wanting to help him.

Gu Yan pressed her back down, trapping her between his arms, lips curving in a teasing smile as he leaned closer. “You really believe that?”

He was so near Yu Sheng could feel his warm breath on her skin, making her cheeks, which had been chilled, flush with warmth.

She tried to push him away, but though his arms looked slender and fair, his grip was surprisingly strong—she was firmly penned in by the desk. Unable to break free, she smacked his arm. “You trickster, let me go! The others will be back any minute.”

Gu Yan didn’t budge. “So what if they come back?” He watched her puffed-up cheeks and angry pout, finding her adorable, and couldn’t help but tease, “I’m not the same as before. Are you planning to pin me down again?”

At the mention of last time, Yu Sheng blushed. “I never meant anything like that—you’re the one with your head full of nonsense, always thinking about… that.”

“That? What do you mean by that?”

What else could she possibly mean!

Before Yu Sheng could come up with a retort, the class bell rang, but Gu Yan remained, still holding her in that ambiguous position. Flustered, Yu Sheng grabbed his sleeve, trying to pull him away.

Gu Yan smiled, finally releasing his iron grip, and slipped into the seat beside hers.

“Why are you sitting here? Why didn’t you go home? Did you bring your bag?” Yu Sheng asked.

Gu Yan shook his head, answering with perfect confidence, “I came to see you the moment I was discharged. Didn’t bring it. I don’t need it anyway.”

When classmates returned and saw Gu Yan, they greeted him, asked about his time off, and went back to their studies, none of them finding it odd that he was sitting next to Yu Sheng. It was only Yu Sheng herself who felt off balance.

Gu Yan picked up one of Yu Sheng’s pens and rested his chin on the desk, watching her as he idly spun the pen between his fingers.

Yu Sheng pretended not to notice his gaze, forcing herself to focus on her revision.

Remembering his earlier comment about her mistake, Yu Sheng turned and met his eyes. “You said I got that problem wrong—where did I go wrong?”