Naturally shed hair might not have follicles, so DNA extraction wasn’t guaranteed. He’d try this first; if it failed, there were other ways to improvise.
With the final identification sample secured, Lai Li went out with Dai Linxuan to see him off to the airport.
It was more like tagging along—Liu Zeng drove, picking up Li Jue and another assistant en route. The business van was spacious enough that even with several people, privacy wasn’t compromised.
Dai Linxuan closed his eyes for a nap as soon as he got in. Lai Li propped his elbow on the window, tilting his body into a comfortable leaning position to stare at his brother. Light and shadow swept across that jade-carved face like movie shots.
Dai Linxuan’s chronic poor sleep left faint red half-circles under his eyes, giving him an oddly alluring look. Lai Li licked a canine tooth, instinctively craving a bite. His lips brushed the bandage, snapping him back.
The car soon merged onto the elevated road straight to the airport. Dai Linxuan opened his eyes helplessly, meeting that inescapable burning gaze. “You have several classes on Monday.”
“Mm.”
“This flight’s sold out.”
Lai Li said calmly, “I’m not going. No need to rush excuses.”
After a moment of eye contact, Dai Linxuan chuckled lowly and turned to the window. The terminal loomed nearby. He called out, “Xiao Li.”
Lai Li: “. . . Mm.”
Dai Linxuan turned to him, backlit as he asked, “Has your brother disappointed you?”
Lai Li furrowed his brows deeply, staring for a long moment.
Just as Dai Linxuan prepared to retract the question, Lai Li suddenly gripped his elbow, leaning in close with an icy tone. “Are you lying to me again? You’re not going for some route—you’re just avoiding me!”
Dai Linxuan winced briefly from the pain but smoothed it out in under a second, imperceptibly.
He denied it. “Of course not—”
Lai Li wouldn’t hear it, his eyes reddening with sudden agitation. “How long are you dodging this time? Half a year? Or two years again?”
Dai Linxuan simply pulled him into an embrace, closing his eyes and self-deceptively masking the disgust in them. In a warm voice, he soothed, “Sorry. Two years ago, your brother was wrong to leave you so insecure.”
In an instant, all the fury and surging darkness subsided, vanishing without a trace.
Lai Li was like a raging fierce dog, suddenly pacified by its master’s pat on the back, turning quiet and docile.
After a while, he buried his face in Dai Linxuan’s neck, inhaling deeply and murmuring lowly, “Bro, if you dodge me again, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost.”
“Don’t worry, just two days.” Dai Linxuan pulled back slightly from the itch, then stroked the little tuft at the back of Lai Li’s head to show affection before changing the subject. “—But if I come back and see any new wounds on your hand, you really won’t need to see me again.”
Lai Li stiffened, suppressing his voice. “Bro, don’t threaten me with that.”
Dai Linxuan said, “Don’t do anything reckless, and it won’t happen.”
The business van stopped at the terminal entrance. Dai Linxuan squeezed the back of Lai Li’s neck, released him, and blocked him as he tried to stand. “Sit tight. No need to fuss.”
Lai Li clenched his fist, tempted to storm the check-in counter, wave a stack of cash in front of fellow passengers, and strong-arm a ticket onto Dai Linxuan’s flight.
Lai Li said, “Call me as soon as you land.”
Dai Linxuan nodded. “Okay.”
Lai Li pushed further. “Video tonight so I can watch you eat.”
Dai Linxuan agreed. “Fine.”
Only then did Lai Li settle. That earlier line—”Has your brother disappointed you?”—had given him the illusion of another long separation. Now that he’d processed it and wanted to respond, the chance was gone.
The two assistants waited behind; they could hear everything.
Lai Li thought for a moment. “Remember to check my messages.”
Dai Linxuan smiled and agreed, then turned to wave. “Bro’s heading out.”
Li Jue, who trailed right behind him, felt a bit of toothache coming on. How is this so similar to the scene with his ex-girlfriend sending him off on a business trip—full of reluctance and sticky sweetness…? Li Jue shuddered and quickly shut down that creepy thought.
Another assistant said, “President Dai, let me carry that for you.”
Dai Linxuan refused. “No need. Don’t you have your own luggage?”
He had just stepped into the terminal when two messages popped up one after another.
[Xiao Li]: No disappointment.
[Xiao Li]: No overnight hookups with anyone.
Dai Linxuan let out a mocking chuckle and murmured lowly, “You little bastard.”
Li Jue didn’t catch it. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” Dai Linxuan recalled Jin Ming’s call from the night before and instructed, “If Lai Li has any unusual itineraries over the next couple of days, report it to me immediately.”
“Got it.”
Lai Li made up an excuse about grabbing a meal near the airport with a friend and sent Liu Zeng home first.
He really did have a meetup.
Jing Zixiao sat in the KFC fast-food restaurant, wearing an expression like he’d eaten shit. “This is it?”
Lai Li crossed his arms and eyed him. “You got time to eat anything else?”
Jing Zixiao checked the time—only an hour left until the flight. He sighed, pulled out the depression certificate Lai Li needed while complaining, “Why does it have to be out of province?”
“Local institutions all have some ties to the He Family. We can’t let them find out.” Lai Li said, “You remember what I told you?”
“Got it. A and E for one test, then C with E and D with E for separate tests.” Jing Zixiao pocketed the five hair samples and asked humbly, “So what’s B for?”
Lai Li stared at him coldly.
“I didn’t curse. It’s labeled B up there.” Jing Zixiao held back a laugh. “It isn’t you, is it?”
Lai Li irritably replied, “B and A for one test.”
Jing Zixiao raised a brow, leaned in, and whispered, “So A is Dai Enhao? Oh~ Judging by your face, no… then A has to be your brother. You think those rumors about you being a bastard son are true? Why not test with Dai Enhao then?”
“The more you know, the faster you die.” Lai Li said coldly. “If even one word of the results leaks, pick an ocean to end it all in.”
Jing Zixiao tsked, grabbed his bag, and stood. “It’s the 21st century—no one’s sinking people at sea anymore.”
Lai Li watched his retreating back, his gaze dark and inscrutable.
He didn’t care if Dai Enhao was his biological father. He only wanted to know if he and Dai Linxuan shared blood ties.
Even reason told Lai Li that he and Dai Linxuan absolutely could not be full brothers.
By Dai San Shu’s logic, if Dai Linxuan knew he was his half-brother from the same father—they’d never have done what they did, even at gunpoint.
The ethics and morals Lai Li scorned were an unbreakable shackle for Dai Linxuan.
He sat there for a bit longer when an unknown number called.
Lai Li expressionlessly swiped to answer. “Who?”
The voice on the other end said, “Not sure if you remember me. I’m the cop who took your statement in the sulfuric acid case—Jin Ming.”
Lai Li replied with an “oh.” “Fresh in my memory. After all, it’s rare for a cut-and-dry case with witnesses, evidence, and suspect to drag on for a full month under a detective captain.”
“Actually just over twenty days.” Jin Ming chuckled, unperturbed by the barb. “Could you come down to the Municipal Public Security Bureau?”
Lai Li narrowed his eyes. “On what grounds?”
Jin Ming said, “For now, assisting with the investigation of a murder and corpse-dumping case.”
Lai Li’s gaze darkened. Temporary assistance… That translated to could turn into suspect if things go south*.
He hadn’t interacted with many people lately. The ones linked to a death could only be He Shuxin, Song Zichu, that psychologist, or the Cloud Summit front desk manager he’d warned… Dai Yi and Jiang Qiujun had been home an hour ago, so not them.
The front desk manager had the highest odds of being dead.
Two hours later, Lai Li arrived at the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Jin Ming handed over a phone sealed in a transparent evidence bag. The screen showed chat logs between the deceased, Chang Fangyi, and a friend. He smiled and asked, “The victim said you threatened him. Did that happen?”
Lai Li lifted his eyelids. “Not a threat. A reminder.”
Jin Ming raised a brow. “You young masters toss out a casual ‘reminder,’ but it kept this powerless regular up all night in fear.”
His tone was mild, not accusatory—just stating facts.
Judging by the message frequency to his friend, Chang Fangyi really hadn’t slept that night. That “threat” had rattled him; he kept feeling watched from outside his window.
Lai Li said indifferently, “He was timid and twisted my words. How’s that on me?”
Jin Ming leaned back, eyeing the unmoved young master. The passing of a life hadn’t stirred even a ripple in Lai Li—no shock, no regret, no annoyance at the hassle.
Utter disregard.
As if Chang Fangyi wasn’t even worth a molecule in the air.
Jin Ming couldn’t help but wonder how the Dai Family’s celebrated young heir had raised such a brother.
Lai Li dropped his gaze back to the screen. “How’d he die?”
