They said they would go catch the scammers right away, but there was still work to do at hand. Jiang Xiaoyu sniffed, then opened the file system.
Shen Qie and the other two were currently detained in the Detention Center and had entered the review and prosecution phase. Ji Wangan was hospitalized due to the car accident and would face judicial trial once his condition stabilized. The drowning suicide case was nearing its end, and Jin Ge had promised to transfer Jiang Xiaoyu to sort files.
“Ah? There’s actually a caterpillar shapeshifter?” Looking at the colorful caterpillar in the file data that looked highly toxic just from appearance, Jiang Xiaoyu couldn’t help but shiver. “How the hell did this turn into a person?”
He spent the morning in a daze. By noon, he felt like he couldn’t hold out just relying on his own resistance anymore, so he ran to a pharmacy in the neighboring street block to buy medicine. Three boxes of medicine cost several dozen yuan, and Jiang Xiaoyu’s heart bled when he swiped his medical insurance card. He planned to return the money Ye Lian had tipped him last night at some point—the amount was too large, and he felt bad taking it. There were also a few girls who had tipped one or two thousand that he needed to return through someone. A few bucks or ten yuan was fine, but anything more, it didn’t make sense to just accept it so matter-of-factly. He still needed to find a place to live; he didn’t know if he could find another flat with a large courtyard like his current one. Half of his monthly salary went to rent, and without his mukbang side gig, he really wouldn’t even be able to afford food…
Lost in random thoughts while stepping on the golden light spots on the ground, just as he was about to reach the agency gate after crossing an intersection, he was bumped by a dog.
—
Abu wagged its tail, slamming the kitchen cabinet door with loud bangs. Its handsome owner fumbled for the can opener on the counter and was opening a can for it. “Good doggy, wait for Daddy to pour you a cup of goat milk.”
Abu barked excitedly once, then tucked its tail into its owner’s hand to carefully guide him and prevent him from bumping into anything. It was a guide dog, picked up by its owner as a puppy, and they had lived together for seven or eight years now.
Abu led its owner to the dining table, stuck out its tongue, and jumped onto the chair so its owner could tie the bib on it.
“Abu is such a good boy.” The owner stroked its head and even kissed it several times. “Eat up.”
Abu obediently dug in, but it was always mindful of its eating manners—its movements couldn’t be too big, or splatters would be hard for its owner to clean! It had just eaten a few bites when the doorbell rang. Abu wiped its mouth, jumped down from the chair, ran to the door, and barked once.
“Luo Xi, it’s me.” A male voice came from outside the door. Abu’s honest face suddenly turned serious as it barked at the door: “Get lost!” It recognized this as the voice of its owner’s ex-boyfriend, a cheating scumbag.
“Abu, you’ll disturb the neighbors.” The owner stopped it, then opened the door and let the man in.
“Luo Xi…” The scumbag held a bouquet of white lilies, gazing at him tenderly as he placed the flowers into Luo Xi’s arms. “I passed by a flower shop and saw this bouquet of white lilies. I thought it really suits you.”
Luo Xi held the flowers, curved his eyes, and smiled politely. “Thank you.”
Light chestnut hair, pale skin, thin lips in a faint crimson, unfocused eyes carrying an obvious sense of flaw and fragility—this bouquet of white lilies indeed suited him well.
Jiang Fei’s gaze roamed unabashedly over Luo Xi’s body, from his delicate brows and eyes to his exquisite collarbone, impure thoughts surfacing in his mind.
Seeing the scumbag looking like a bad dog eyeing a bone, Abu barked furiously at him again in anger.
Jiang Fei snapped back to attention and, taking advantage of Luo Xi’s blindness, raised his palm in the air to scare the mutt, silently threatening: “Bark again and I’ll throw you out.”
Abu barked even more incessantly, baring its teeth as it tried to chase him away. Luo Xi patted Abu’s head. “Bark again and Daddy will have to punish you.” He placed the bouquet on the table, turned to gesture for the man to come in and talk. “Jiang Fei, thank you for the flowers, but I said we’re broken up. There’s no going back.”
Jiang Fei pulled Luo Xi to sit on the sofa, then half-knelt in front of him, pouring out his affections. “That thing was my fault, but we’ve been together for a year. I really can’t bear to let you go. Can’t you give me another chance?”
Abu bared its teeth, growling threats from its throat. Seeing its owner hesitate, it grew even more frantic, circling around: “He’s a scumbag! Owner, don’t believe him!”
Unfortunately, not only could its owner not understand its words, but he also found it noisy and got up to shut it in the room.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it.” Jiang Fei smiled, pressing Luo Xi back onto the sofa. “You sit, I’ll lock Abu up and let it out later.”
“Okay.”
Despite having a thousand—no, ten thousand—reluctances, seeing that its owner meant the same, Abu whimpered aggrievedly twice before being dragged into the bathroom by the collar around its neck.
The bathroom door shut, and through the carved frosted glass, it could only vaguely see the silhouettes in the living room. It pressed its ear to the door to listen carefully, only to hear its owner suddenly snap: “Let go of me!”
Sounds of fighting and grunts followed. Abu jolted in fright, reared up on its hind legs, placed its paws on the door handle, twisted it open, and rushed out. It saw the scumbag holding a knife while its owner lay in a pool of blood. The scumbag looked somewhat panicked, wildly swinging the knife at the Labrador a few times. Seeing the dog only cared about its owner and paid him no mind, he yanked open the front door and fled.
“Owner.” Abu whined, trying to lick the wound to staunch it.
Luo Xi’s face was deathly pale, his breathing faint. He touched Abu, pointing to a police dog keychain on the coffee table. “Baby, be good. Go call the police. It’s on the next street over—Daddy took you for walks that way.”
Abu barked once, not daring to delay. It grabbed the keys from the entryway with its mouth, kicked the door shut forcefully, and rushed out of the house.
—
Jiang Xiaoyu hugged the dog head that crashed into his chest and sat butt-first on the ground with a thud. He hissed in pain and hadn’t even had time to rub his sore butt when he noticed the beige Labrador had sticky blood on its mouth and head.
The dog was extremely panicked, struggling to pull its head free and run into the Police Station. Jiang Xiaoyu grabbed its collar to calm it. “Calm down, let me check if you’re hurt.”
Abu still had the keys in its mouth. It bared its teeth and growled muffled protests for him to let go, but as a mild-tempered guide dog, not harming innocent humans was ingrained in its instincts. So it could only whine anxiously twice: “The dog is fine, let go of the dog. The dog’s owner is injured—the dog needs to call the police.”
“I’m a cop. Is the blood your owner’s? What happened to him?”
“The owner was stabbed by the scumbag with a knife.” It barked that out, then froze. “You can understand dog speech.”
Jiang Xiaoyu hummed in affirmation, took the keys from its mouth, stuffed his medicine into his pocket, and gestured for the Labrador to lead the way. “Did you call 120?”
As they ran, Abu replied, “The dog was too panicked and forgot. Didn’t see the owner’s phone either.”
In just a few exchanges, Jiang Xiaoyu sensed this dog was very smart. He followed it at a sprint into a residential building, already having called for an ambulance on his phone during the run.
Seeing the Labrador stop and squat in front of a door, Jiang Xiaoyu pulled out the keys. The moment he opened the door, a metallic tang of blood hit him. In the middle of the living room lay a person, white shirt soaked in blood.
“Get a towel.” Jiang Xiaoyu coughed a few times, then crouched by the injured man, quickly feeling his neck. The pulse was weak but steady.
As if hearing the sound, the man’s long lashes trembled, and he opened his sightless eyes. “Abu?”
“Don’t move.” Jiang Xiaoyu took the towel the Labrador brought over and pressed it on the wound to stem the bleeding. “Your dog is very smart. It found the Police Station accurately.”
A smile tugged at Luo Xi’s bloodless lips. “He’s the best.”
This area was in the city center, so the ambulance arrived quickly. Jiang Xiaoyu helped the paramedics lift Luo Xi onto the stretcher. Seeing the man struggling to breathe and mumbling “Abu,” he said softly, “I’ll take good care of it.”
The ambulance sped away with its owner, and the Labrador whined twice before trying to chase after the car.
Jiang Xiaoyu felt a bit dizzy and pressed his temple. He grabbed the Labrador’s collar. “I’ll take you.” It wasn’t time for his afternoon shift yet, and the hospital needed registration too. Helping the dog to the end, he hailed a taxi with it.
The driver initially wanted to refuse upon seeing him covered in blood with a dog, but Jiang Xiaoyu coldly flashed his badge, and the driver shut up, driving off with the man and dog.
At the City Hospital entrance, Jiang Xiaoyu explained the guide dog situation. Once the hospital approved entry, he registered with the Labrador and brought it to the ER entrance.
“Does your owner have any relatives or friends here?” He sneezed several times in a row, pulled out a tissue to wipe his nose, and spoke nasally. “I have to get back to work soon. I can’t stay here with you the whole time.”
“It’s just the dog and the owner.” The Labrador rested its head on Jiang Xiaoyu’s knee, barked a soft thank you, then added: “It’s fine, officer. You go back. The dog can manage.”
Jiang Xiaoyu still hesitated. Even though the hospital allowed the dog, other patients might complain, and there were plenty of ways people could hurt a dog. His brain was foggy right now, and his butt hurt like hell. He forced himself to stand. “Surgery will take a while, and even if he wakes up, he might not go to a regular ward right away. Come back with me for now. I’ll bring you over after work.”
The Labrador wanted to refuse. It didn’t want to leave its owner too far away, but when it looked up and saw the little police officer’s current poor condition, it hurriedly ran to his leg and nudged his swaying body. “Are you okay? You look really unwell.” Even through the fabric of his pant leg, it could feel the heat from this person’s body. He was running a high fever.
Jiang Xiaoyu wanted to say he was fine, but his brain was growing more and more muddled, and his limbs were gradually losing strength. He staggered a few steps as if walking on cotton, and finally couldn’t hold on any longer. His body pitched forward.
In the last moment before losing consciousness, Jiang Xiaoyu felt himself fall into someone’s embrace. That person’s chest was solid and broad, carrying a scorching aura and a pleasant scent.
—
Ye Lian originally hadn’t wanted to go back to the hospital. After all, the most anticipated scene in this drama had already come to a close.
He had only recently arrived in Pine City when Shen Qi took notice of him. With three older brothers—two in politics and one in the military—Shen Qi had been raised by the old man amid the fields of fame and fortune since childhood. To Ye Lian, Shen Qi was just a pastime, only slightly more clever than playing against an AI.
But he hadn’t expected Shen Qie to approach Ji Wangan. He had intended to watch from the sidelines, as he enjoyed observing others’ choices. Ji Wangan had chosen the wrong path, so Ye Lian wanted to see what the Ji Family would do next. The result was utterly boring, exactly as he had anticipated. But Ye Lan’s attitude intrigued him somewhat—his mother seemed far from the “love-brained” woman his uncle and Chen Yiqu had described.
With some curiosity piqued, he visited the hospital a few more times, and coincidentally, he ran into Ye Lan every single time.
“Mr. Ye, we’ve arrived.” The driver pulled the car to a steady stop and got out to open the door for Ye Lian.
Ye Lian snapped out of his thoughts and lifted his gaze toward the sycamores lining the roadside. Pine City’s summers were intensely hot, with the sun blazing down fiercely, nibbling at the gaps between the leaves, sucking some of the deep green away and turning it into bright yellow-green.
Somewhat like the color in that little guy’s eyes.
Ye Lian passed through the outpatient area on his way to the inpatient ward. As he walked by the nurse station, he overheard two nurses chatting quietly.
“That police officer who just rushed to the ER with a Labrador on a leash was so handsome.”
“Yeah, pretty handsome. And the patient he brought in was handsome too.”
“They’re different kinds of handsome. The patient is beautiful, while the officer is handsome, and his eyes are such a unique color—green, actually. Too bad he wasn’t in uniform; otherwise, it would’ve been pure uniform temptation…”
“Tsk tsk, wipe your drool. But if we’re talking handsome, the man I saw recently in the VIP ward is the real deal—mature, elegant, and dashing, like a daddy from a manga. Makes your legs go weak just looking at him.”
Ye Lian, who made legs go weak just by being looked at, turned on his heel and asked the two, “Excuse me, which way to the emergency room?”
The little nurse who had been about to refute her colleague’s exaggeration looked up, froze, swallowed hard, and pointed in the direction with one finger.
“Thanks.”
Ye Lian followed the direction and soon spotted Jiang Xiaoyu from afar, holding a beige Labrador’s leash as he stood in front of the ER doors. The little guy had his head down, probably whispering secrets to the animal again, figuring humans couldn’t understand. Ye Lian stood at the corridor entrance and watched silently for a moment, with no intention of approaching. But then he saw the young man’s body stagger a few times as if he were about to collapse. By the time he came back to himself, he had already caught him in his arms.
—
Jiang Xiaoyu’s head throbbed painfully, and his eyelids felt heavy. When he finally opened his eyes, he realized he was lying face-down on the bed.
“Awake?”
The voice was rich like fine liquor, flowing gently into Jiang Xiaoyu’s ears. He instinctively tried to prop himself up on his arms, but Ye Lian pressed down on the back of his head, stopping him. “Sleep a bit more. Severe cold plus contusions—why didn’t Officer Jiang take a day off?” He couldn’t even take care of himself, yet he had the spare time to help a dog find its owner. Ye Lian felt inexplicably displeased.
“Contusions?” Jiang Xiaoyu was first startled by his own hoarse, broken-copper-bell voice, then noticed the pulling pain from his buttocks.
“Soft tissue abrasion.” Ye Lian mischievously patted Jiang Xiaoyu’s butt through the blanket. “All purple and blue, swollen up big. Anyone who didn’t know might think something else happened.”
At this point, Jiang Xiaoyu was still a pure little kitten that hadn’t experienced spring, simply embarrassed and annoyed by the action. His ears flushed as he demanded, “How can you just pat someone’s butt!”
Ye Lian raised both hands to his shoulders in surprise, as if thinking Jiang Xiaoyu was overreacting. “Through the blanket, and Uncle didn’t even use much force.”
“That’s still not okay! How can you show no respect for people!”
“Alright, alright.” Ye Lian sighed in compromise, his tone just like coaxing a child. “It’s Uncle’s fault. Uncle didn’t know you were so sensitive. Next time before patting your butt, Uncle will definitely ask for your permission first.”
How could this person say such rogue words with a straight face! Jiang Xiaoyu buried his head in the pillow, refusing to acknowledge him. But after a moment, he hesitantly lifted himself up again, wanting to get out of bed.
“I said no moving. You’ve still got an IV in your hand.”
“B-But.” His voice was as soft as a mosquito’s hum. “I need to use the bathroom… Could you call the nurse to take the needle out…”
Ye Lian’s eyes curved in amusement as he smiled and refused. “No.”
Jiang Xiaoyu glared at him, actually getting a bit feisty now. He raised his hand, ready to yank it out himself. “Pills are fine for me. I don’t need an IV at all.”
Ye Lian merely smirked noncommittally and leaned in closer.
A cool fragrance pierced into Jiang Xiaoyu’s foggy brain, startling him. The spark of temper he’d just mustered fizzled out, and he shrank back into his shell, asking softly, “What are you doing…”
“Aren’t you trying to go to the bathroom?” Ye Lian pulled back the blanket, gripped him under the armpits with both large hands, and hoisted him up in one go. Their chests pressed together, and Jiang Xiaoyu hurriedly pushed against his shoulders to create distance. “Put me down! I can walk myself!” It was his butt that was injured, not his legs…
“Don’t push yourself.” Ye Lian supported under his thighs with one arm, lifting him higher, while grabbing the IV bag with the other. “Be good. If the blood flows back, Uncle will get mad.”
“He’ll spank the naughty little guy’s butt.”
