Shin-Yue and Jun-Yu had run quite a long distance away from the shopping mall. With his already weakened body, Jun-Yu could no longer keep running. His rapid, labored breathing made it obvious to Shin-Yue that he was exhausted.
She was tired too.
Jun-Yu: "I-I can't run anymore... huff."
Shin-Yue: "Yeah, me neither. Wait here. Do you want some water? I'll buy some from that shop."
From their conversation, it was clear that they had stopped in front of a small shop.
As Shin-Yue was about to go inside to buy water for Jun-Yu, Jun-Yu suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him with force.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden pull, Shin-Yue stumbled forward and collided directly with Jun-Yu's chest.
For a moment, Shin-Yue wanted to stay there quietly, holding onto Jun-Yu.
But Jun-Yu quickly gripped both of her arms and pushed her away from him.
His voice was filled with anger.
Jun-Yu: "Tell me. What are you hiding?"
"You knew everything, didn't you?"
The sudden change in Jun-Yu's tone startled Shin-Yue.
The smile instantly disappeared from her face.
The deep crease between her brows showed that she was desperately trying to figure out what she should say.
Jun-Yu: "You're a Computer Science student at Shanghai University?"
"And you're also my fan."
"Now there's a copyright scandal involving our company."
"Then, all of a sudden, I ended up in front of your car."
"You've been paying so much attention to me."
"Everything about this feels strange!"
"Tell me—who sent you, Tian-Lei? Or was it Zhi-Yuan?"
Shin-Yue had never imagined that Jun-Yu would become this suspicious of her.
For some reason, his harsh attitude made her heart ache so badly that she felt like crying.
She thought to herself,
> "All of it was pointless. Truly, my fate is so helpless."
Shin-Yue: "I'm sorry, Jun-Yu."
"I-I only knew that a copyright complaint had been filed against your company."
The moment Jun-Yu heard her trembling, tear-filled voice, something inside his chest seemed to twist painfully.
He released the arms he had been gripping tightly and let out a long breath.
Shin-Yue: "I'm sorry, Jun-Yu. I-I only knew that a copyright complaint had been filed against your company."
The moment Jun-Yu heard Shin-Yue's trembling, tear-filled voice, something inside his chest seemed to twist painfully. He released her arms, which he had been gripping tightly, and let out a long breath.
Shin-Yue: "I wanted to keep you with me for a few days. I would have told you everything, but you were so sick that I didn't want to involve you in all of this because I was worried about your health."
Jun-Yu: "It's okay. Stop crying."
Shin-Yue: "If you want, I can help you clear your company's name."
The moment Shin-Yue said that, Jun-Yu took her hand and led her toward a flower shop. Stopping near a shop filled with roses, he said,
Jun-Yu: "Thank you. But you've already helped me so much. I was really sick back then. I didn't even have enough strength to walk home."
"But now I have to go."
Hearing Jun-Yu's words, Shin-Yue became upset. She lifted the shopping bags in her hands and said,
Shin-Yue: "I bought all these things for you! What about the false hope you gave me?"
Jun-Yu frowned in irritation at her words.
But after controlling himself, he spoke in a softer voice.
Jun-Yu: "Look, I don't really know you. Besides, you saved my life, so I wanted to spend today with you."
"But now my family is in trouble. I have to go."
"And if you want, you can still give me these clothes."
Shin-Yue stood there in stunned silence after hearing Jun-Yu's words.
She thought to herself,
«"Jun-Yu is actually even ruder than I thought he was. He says one thing with his mouth while his heart seems to say something completely different."»
"I don't think there is any girl in this world who could truly understand what goes on inside his mind."
"But honestly, I shouldn't stop him right now."
"Even so, why does my heart ache this much?"
"It feels as though I'm a fish dying without water. Without him, I'm like a dry desert, completely lifeless."
"He's like the light in my eyes. If he leaves, I'll become blind."
While Shin-Yue was lost in these thoughts, Jun-Yu suddenly tucked a white rose behind her ear.
Then he said,
Jun-Yu: "Now your look matches your outfit."
"You look like a single black rose blooming among a field of white roses."
"Your fragrance is the most distinctive of them all."
Shin-Yue couldn't figure out what Jun-Yu's strange words really meant. But somewhere in her heart, a small voice whispered,
«"Maybe... just maybe, there is still a glimmer of hope."»
Carrying that feeling in her heart, Shin-Yue let out a soft smile.
Her smile eased some of the sadness in Jun-Yu's heart. The worried expression on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by a faint smile.
With a shy expression, Shin-Yue said,
Shin-Yue: "Thank you."
Jun-Yu took the shopping bags from Shin-Yue's hands and said,
Jun-Yu: "Thank you. I'll see you at the university. Bye."
With that, Jun-Yu quickly began walking away from Shin-Yue.
Shin-Yue stretched out her hand toward his retreating figure and called out in a trembling, tearful voice,
Shin-Yue: "Wait! You haven't given me your WeChat profile QR code yet! How am I supposed to know how you're doing?"
"He's already gone..."
"Take care on your way, Jun-Yu. Stay safe."
With those words, Shin-Yue returned home with a gloomy expression.
---
Jing-Hao: "The investigation into the murder of Shin-Yan, the owner of Yu-Sheng Music Group, still hasn't been completed. The incident where you were shot at the bar hasn't been fully investigated either."
The moment Shi-Han heard the name Shin-Yan, the expression on her face became gloomy.
Because of that woman, Shi-Han had been humiliated in front of so many people at the bar. Jun-Yu had even raised his hand against her in public.
She had also been falsely framed in a murder case.
As a result, the club had demoted her from the main gamer rank to the substitute gamer rank.
As Jing-Hao mentioned the matter, the memory of that day came knocking on Shu-Yang's mind.
The helpless image of Xiao-Tong flashed before his eyes.
He remembered seeing several unscrupulous men restraining Xiao-Tong and attempting to inject her with a dangerously high dose of heroin while she screamed desperately for help.
The memory alone sent a shiver through Shu-Yang's body.
Xiao-Tong had also been imagining the same thing.
Shu-Yang: "You weren't able to arrest anyone."
"I had already informed the authorities after saving Xiao-Tong so that they could send a force."
Jing-Hao: "Yes, we managed to arrest them. But two of them escaped. Those two had been following Mr. Jun-Yu."
The moment Shu-Yang heard that two people had been following Jun-Yu, he was startled.
Shu-Yang: "What?! And you let those two get away? You didn't investigate them any further?"
Shi-Han: "Brother, Jun-Yu was wearing a very expensive watch that day. It's possible they were following him because they wanted to steal his watch."
There was some logic to Shi-Han's assumption. However, she wasn't a police officer and had no real understanding of how investigations into major cases worked.
Shu-Yang said anxiously,
Shu-Yang: "Sister, your assumption might be correct. But Jun-Yu is missing now."
"Besides, Jun-Yu isn't just the son of a CEO. He'll become a scientist in the near future."
"On top of that, he's a professional racer."
"If people like them were to kidnap someone as talented as Jun-Yu, someone who is gifted in so many different fields, you have no idea what could happen across the country."
Hearing Shu-Yang's words, it felt as though the entire sky had collapsed over Shi-Han's head.
Ever since Jun-Yu had left home, she had barely been able to eat or sleep properly.
Terrified, Shi-Han asked Shu-Yang,
Shi-Han: "I-If they kidnapped Jun-Yu, then w-what could happen?"
"Would they... would they kill Jun-Yu?"
Shu-Yang: "If they kidnapped Jun-Yu, then no matter what else they did to him, I'm certain they wouldn't kill him. You can be assured of that, Sister."
"Besides, there's no point in making yourself more anxious by imagining everything that could happen. Don't worry too much."
Shu-Yang's words allowed Shi-Han to breathe a little easier. Until that moment, she had felt as though she could barely breathe.
Shu-Yang turned to Jing-Hao and asked,
Shu-Yang: "Uncle Jing-Hao, didn't you interrogate the people you managed to arrest?"
Hearing Shu-Yang's question, Jing-Hao recalled an incident that had happened before this case began.
In his memory, someone was being interrogated about a case. But the criminal sat there arrogantly, refusing to answer any questions, with a strange, contemptuous smile on his face.
Then, all of a sudden, he began vomiting blood and collapsed onto the floor along with his chair.
With that disturbing memory flashing through his mind, Jing-Hao replied,
Jing-Hao: "No. They're being held in a special cell."
"They're searched and their clothes are specially checked and issued every day. They're also being kept under strict security."
"We were waiting for your orders because we knew you wanted to interrogate them yourself."
Shu-Yang: "Good job."
"Tell our Special Crime Unit to check and back up all of writer Lin-Yushin's online profiles and bring her to the police station for questioning."
"Be careful. No one must find out about this, and she must not be arrested."
Jing-Hao: "Sir, your life should come first."
"The people who tried to kill you haven't been dealt with yet, but you're already focusing on the copyright case involving Xin-Shing Company?"
Shu-Yang: "Yes. Because both cases are important to me."
"By the way, is the police force searching for Jun-Yu?"
Shi-Han: "No. Only Uncle Jun-Kai has been using his own sources to search for him."
Shu-Yang: "Oh, I see."
"By the way, Sister, why did Jun-Yu leave home?"
"A smart guy like him wouldn't do something this foolish without a reason."
Shi-Han: "Uncle Jun-Kai destroyed Jun-Yu's research laboratory."
"Besides, he was forcing Jun-Yu to act in a series written by Lin-Yushin."
"But, Brother, there's something that's been bothering me."
Shu-Yang: "What is it?"
Shi-Han: "Jun-Yu isn't an actor, so why was Uncle forcing him to act in the Silent Killer series?"
Shu-Yang: "Because Uncle wants to see Jun-Yu become the CEO of the company."
"I just can't figure out how we're going to find him."
---
Meanwhile, Jun-Yu had gone to Shanghai Public Hospital. But when he arrived and discovered that Shu-Yang wasn't there, he stood outside the hospital, wondering where Shu-Yang could have gone.
After that, Jun-Yu went to Shu-Yang's house, only to find the door locked from the outside.
Jun-Yu thought to himself,
«"Shu-Yang was shot. He's investigating a very dangerous gang whose main business is killing police officers."»
"He isn't at the hospital, and he isn't at home. So where could he have gone?"
"He doesn't have any other friends besides me."
"Could he have gone to Uncle Jing-Hao's house?"
"I should call Officer Jing-Hao and ask him."
"But I don't have his number."
"Should I call Shi-Han now? Or should I just go back home?"
Thinking all this over, Jun-Yu left, trying to figure out where he should go next.
---
Meanwhile, back at Jun-Yu's apartment, Shu-Yang made a phone call.
As soon as the person he wanted to speak to answered, Shu-Yang said,
Shu-Yang: "This is Shu-Yang speaking. Am I speaking with Wan-Qing?"
A voice came from the other end of the phone.
Wan-Qing: "Yes! How are you doing, Officer Policeman?"
Shu-Yang pretended as though he hadn't heard the way Wan-Qing had addressed him as "Officer Policeman."
However, a mixture of irritation and shyness was clearly visible on his face.
For a moment, Shu-Yang composed himself and completely ignored Wan-Qing's teasing remark before replying in a normal voice,
Shu-Yang: "I'm fine. Is Jun-Yu with you?"
Wan-Qing: "No! He hasn't even been coming to the university for several days."
Shu-Yang: "Oh, I see. Then could he be at Professor Lin-Boshi's house?"
Wan-Qing: "I have no idea. Professor Lin-Boshi is extremely angry with Jun-Yu."
"If Jun-Yu were there, Professor Lin-Boshi would have told me."
"And he probably wouldn't still be this angry."
"But why are you asking me all this? What happened to Jun-Yu?"
Jun-Yu hadn't been to the university for three days.
Wan-Qing had noticed it, but she hadn't thought much of it.
From Wan-Qing's words, Shu-Yang realized that she knew nothing about what had happened.
So Shu-Yang told her,
Shu-Yang: "Actually, Jun-Yu had a disagreement with his family, and he left home."
"Anyway, if Jun-Yu goes to your place or Professor Lin-Boshi's house, please inform me immediately."
Wan-Qing: "Oh... then I guess the problem must be pretty serious."
"Alright, I'll let you know."
Shu-Yang: "Thank you."
Shu-Yang said "thank you," then ended the call. He immediately dialed another number.
From their conversation, it became clear that Shu-Yang had called Jin-Yu. Shi-Han, however, understood from the conversation that Jun-Yu had not gone to Beijing.
Shu-Yang ended the call and let out a long, worried sigh, his face filled with sadness and concern.
Suddenly, the doorbell of the apartment rang again.
Shi-Han walked toward the door with small, hesitant steps and opened it.
Standing outside the door, empty-handed, was Jun-Yu.
The moment Shu-Yang saw Jun-Yu, he immediately stood up.
Seeing Shu-Yang standing there in front of him, Jun-Yu's restless eyes finally relaxed.
He stared at Shu-Yang with a strange, almost disbelieving look.
Ignoring Shi-Han completely, Jun-Yu silently walked over to Shu-Yang and wrapped his arms around him.
Shu-Yang put his left arm around Jun-Yu's back and said softly,
Shu-Yang: "Jun-Yu... brother, I may be wounded and broken, but I know you're hurting far more than I am."
"Don't cry. I'm here. Everything will be alright."
The moment Shu-Yang said those words, Jun-Yu suddenly broke down.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
At that moment, it seemed as though he couldn't say a single word. All that escaped him was the sound of a heartbroken sob, as if all the pain in his chest had finally burst out at once.
Jing-Hao: "Sir, I'll take my leave now. I'll inform you if I find any new information."