Chapter 53: Zhong Yi – My Life Is Yours

The moment the call went through, Zhong Yi answered almost instantly.

"Sis, you’re still awake this late?" The boy’s voice was much clearer now, not nearly as rough as it had been before.

"Mm." Shen Qing glanced at her watch, guessing it was about seven in the morning where he was.

Zhong Yi stepped out of the lab, speaking from the corridor.

"Sis, how long has it been since you last contacted me?" Zhong Yi sounded extremely aggrieved, as if he doubted Shen Qing even remembered he existed.

"Didn’t you say you were busy?" Shen Qing raised an eyebrow, her tone indifferent.

Why had he been so careless back then, mentioning that at all?

"I need a medicine for scar repair."

"You got hurt?" Zhong Yi’s heart skipped a beat.

"Not me—a friend."

There was a long pause on the other end, before a quiet question finally came, "Sis, is this friend Gu Ting?"

Who else could Shen Qing have as a friend in Fan City? Besides that shameless Gu Ting, who clung to her endlessly!

"It’s not him."

"That old dog Dongfang?" Zhong Yi was practically on the verge of tears. His sister actually took a liking to Dongfang Cheng, that scoundrel.

"Nie Huan’s sister. Will you give it or not?" Shen Qing’s patience was gone, her voice calm but steely.

Zhong Yi felt a chill down his back—Sister Qing was angry.

"Yes, yes, yes! Even if you wanted my life, I’d give it!" Zhong Yi had heard the name Nie Huan when he was little.

"Alright, I’ll send you the address."

"Okay, Sis, it’s already two in the morning, you should..." Before he could finish the word "sleep," the other end hung up.

Zhong Yi: ...

Soon after, Shen Qing sent the address via WeChat. Zhong Yi didn’t wait a moment; he set his phone down and went to send the package.

Qi Lao watched as Zhong Yi rushed in, rummaged through cabinets, and then rushed out again.

"Little Zhong Yi, where are you off to?"

"Important business!"

Qi Lao clicked his tongue. What important business could this kid have?

He glanced at the cabinet Zhong Yi had just searched, and his heart sank, his legs nearly giving way beneath him.

He shakily pulled out his phone. "Quick! Stop that rascal!"

"Qi Lao, do you mean Zhong Yi? He just left."

"My medicine!"

*

The next morning, Shen Qing was woken by her alarm. The girl opened her reddened eyes, checked the time—it was eight o’clock.

On WeChat, Lin Tai had sent a message: Qing Qing, let’s go to Star Plaza tonight to watch the performance.

Shen Qing replied simply, then went to wash up.

By the time she left for breakfast, half an hour had passed. She found a shop and ate slowly; it was already past nine when she finished.

"Who is this?" she answered a call from an unfamiliar number.

A young man’s voice came through, sounding somewhat familiar.

"Miss Shen, do you remember me? I’m Li Ye."

"Yes, I remember." Shen Qing pulled a twenty from her pocket to pay for breakfast.

The caller said nothing for a while. Shen Qing grew impatient, her tone brisk. "Just tell me what you want."

"Uh... Miss Shen, Lan Ting has gone to the capital for a case and hasn’t come back yet. We’ve run into trouble here in Fan City, and we might not be able to handle it ourselves."

After their last case, Lan Xin Qiao had a good impression of this young Li Ye, and seemed intent on mentoring him.

"What’s happened?" Shen Qing frowned slightly.

"I’m at Star Plaza now—could you come over? I’ll explain everything."

"Alright."

Shen Qing agreed, and Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Lan Ting was right—Miss Shen was always willing to help.

On the way, Li Ye gave Shen Qing a brief rundown of the situation.

At eight this morning, a cardboard box was found outside Fan City Police Station, containing a timed bomb set for eight in the evening. At the same time, the police station’s email received an anonymous letter stating that twelve timed bombs had been planted at Star Plaza, set to go off in twelve hours, promising total destruction.

It was National Day, so the city was crowded and traffic was terrible; a trip that should have taken half an hour stretched to an hour.

As soon as she got out of the car, Shen Qing spotted Li Ye in plain clothes.

"Miss Shen, over here!" Li Ye waved to her.

Shen Qing walked over quickly, and asked in a low voice, "How’s it going?"

Li Ye led Shen Qing toward the technical team, explaining as they went, "We’re short-handed—the criminal investigation team sent a few of us to help. The van’s up ahead."

Shen Qing looked up and saw a white van parked in the open lot.

"So far, we’ve found one bomb under a table in a milk tea shop."

"Do you have a computer? Something fast?"

"In the van—there’s a tech specialist inside." Li Ye said as he opened the door.

A young man in a black t-shirt looked up, oversized black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. "Li Ye, who’s this?"

Deng Ping glanced at Shen Qing behind him, momentarily stunned by her beauty.

Li Ye introduced her with a smile, "This is Miss Shen—our external expert."