CM | Chapter 3

At the same time, in Jiang City.

When Gu Yao woke up, the little tank top on her body was already soaked through.

She had sweated a lot, and her body felt a little hollowed out. Leaning against the headboard and catching her breath, her eyes were not dull at all from just waking up. On the contrary, they were remarkably alert, fixed on a corner at the foot of the bed.

Most of the scene from her dream had already dissolved. Gu Yao could not remember much, only vaguely catching a few images. But when she tried to think harder, even those images slipped away too.

Gu Yao sat quietly for a moment before realizing something on her body felt off. Frowning, she instinctively reached between her legs, and her fingertips came away wet.

What, had she had an erotic dream?

“Fuck.”

Gu Yao got out of bed and quickly showered with hot water. By the time she came out, her phone was ringing.

Gu Yao hit speakerphone, and her colleague Qin Song said, “Gu Yao, we’ve got a case. The chance doesn’t come often, do you want to come with me?”

Gu Yao froze. Her reflexes were much faster than her brain.

“Send me the address.”

Qin Song quickly rattled off a street name. It was not far from Gu Yao’s home, only about ten minutes by car.

Gu Yao said nothing more. She tore off the bath towel, picked up the shirt and trousers she had thrown on the floor the day before, and walked out of the bedroom while getting dressed.

After that, everything was done in the car.

She gave her damp hair a rough rake with her fingers and let it fall over her shoulders to air-dry naturally. Her stomach had already started protesting, luckily she kept a few little bread rolls in the car storage box, so she casually tore one open and stuffed it into her mouth.

Gu Yao drove fast, and her movements were practiced. Halfway there, a call came in.

Gu Yao glanced at the caller ID. It was her mother, Li Huiru.

Li Huiru was a textbook home-loving woman. She had taken a few hard knocks in love in her life, but her days had never been too bitter. She had never lacked for food or clothing. Now that she was middle-aged, her hair was still thick and black at the crown of her head, with none of the thinning that time’s cruelty usually left behind.

Gu Yao pressed the call button, and soon a voice as youthful as a girl’s came through. “Daughter, where are you? Are you coming to see Mom today? Mom learned a few new dishes, and even the teacher praised me. They taste really good! They’re all your favorites!”

For no reason at all, irritation surged up in Gu Yao’s heart, but her reason quickly pushed itself forward and put that inexplicable “disgust” where it belonged.

“Mom, I’ve got something to take care of and need to go out. I’ll contact you later.”

Li Huiru could not hide her disappointment. “Ah… you’re busy? That’s strange, aren’t you on leave these past two days? Why don’t you know how to take care of yourself? You need to rest properly. If there’s nothing going on, come home and see Mom. We don’t live far apart. Your dad asked about you yesterday too…”

Once Li Huiru started talking, she could go on for hours without stopping.

Gu Yao kept her eyes straight ahead. A few hundred meters away, she could already see a crowd gathered, with police tape stretched across the middle. Police cars and fire trucks were both there.

Gu Yao quickly cut in. “I’ll talk to you later, Mom.”

Then, without waiting for Li Huiru’s reaction, she directly ended the call and put her phone on silent.

Gu Yao parked outside the crowd. As soon as she got out of the car, she saw Qin Song.

Qin Song jogged over and handed Gu Yao a badge. The two of them rushed toward the scene.

Gu Yao asked, “What’s the situation?”

Qin Song said, “A Chinese man, about thirty years old, surname Chen, has taken a twenty-five-year-old woman hostage. He’s on the fifth floor at the very top. He says he wants to see his wife and daughter, otherwise he’ll jump with the hostage. The fire truck is over there, the air cushion is ready, and there are police and negotiators upstairs talking to him.”

Gu Yao walked fast, no slower than Qin Song, a man. She was anxious, and excited too. Her palms had already started sweating, but she knew that was not nervousness.

She was already on the stairs, even a step ahead of Qin Song, taking two stairs at a time and climbing nonstop to the fifth floor.

In truth, Gu Yao’s body could hardly support such intense movement. Especially with how fast she was running, before she even caught her breath she was already taking two more stairs. By the time she reached halfway through the fourth floor, Gu Yao was already a little dizzy. She stopped in place for two seconds, then gathered herself and pushed on to the fifth floor in one burst of effort.

This kind of old residential building did not have an elevator. The rooftop door was wide open. The stairwell was cool and damp, with a moldy smell lingering in the air. The light streaming in from the rooftop door was especially blinding. Gu Yao could not help squinting as she was about to step out.

Just then, Qin Song grabbed her hand.

Gu Yao instinctively turned back, only for Qin Song to be startled by the sweat and chill on her palm.

Gu Yao calmly pulled her hand back.

Qin Song took a breath and said quickly and softly, “Gu Yao, listen to me first. Don’t get nervous later, and don’t casually chime in. We’re just here to watch. Don’t forget, you’re here to observe and learn, not to mediate.”

Gu Yao did not bother explaining half a sentence about “actually this is excitement, not nervousness.” She just stared through that small doorway at the police on the rooftop and the so-called negotiator, eyes narrowed.

Only a single door separated them. Outside was white, inside was black. Light and shadow crisscrossed over Gu Yao’s body and face. Her frame was slender, yet her figure still had curves. Her complexion was not quite rosy, but her skin was bright, as if it could give off a faint glow.

Seeing that all her attention was on the doorway and that she seemed unconcerned by what he said, Qin Song grabbed her hand again.

“I know Wang Meng rejected your request, and you’ve got some anger bottled up, but what’s happening today concerns two lives. Don’t bring your personal grudge into this.”

Gu Yao froze, and only then did her attention return from outside.

“The negotiator outside is Wang Meng?”

Qin Song paused for a second. “So you…”

For a moment, Qin Song almost wished he could bite his own tongue off. Only then did he remember that since that accident, Gu Yao had not seen Wang Meng again. Of course she would not know who Wang Meng was, or what grievances they had in the past.

But before Qin Song could say anything else, Gu Yao spoke up, while also using her other hand to cover Qin Song’s palm in reassurance.

“Don’t worry. I’ve always kept work and personal matters separate. And I know that with my current condition, the chances of getting approval to join a special police operation are not high either. An opportunity like today’s is truly rare, and I’ll treasure it.”

Only then did Qin Song let out a breath of relief and go up to the rooftop with Gu Yao.

On the rooftop, negotiator Wang Meng was talking with Chen Feiyu, the hostage-taker. The two had already been talking for more than half an hour. What began as drawn swords and mutual unfamiliarity had, by now, eased into a noticeably lighter atmosphere, and they could even crack a joke or two.

But even with that brief sense of trust established, Chen Feiyu still would not give in on the matter of releasing the hostage. He had tied the Chinese woman named Liu Yu outside the railing.

Liu Yu had severe acrophobia. Standing at the edge of the eaves, she was already in tears, completely at a loss, and had even lost control of her bladder. Her hands were so weak and numb that she could not grip anything. In the half hour while Wang Meng was negotiating with Chen Feiyu, Liu Yu had even fainted once on the spot.

On the ground directly beneath Liu Yu was the safety air cushion inflated by the fire department, but given the current situation, even if Liu Yu landed safely on the cushion, it would still not mean she was one hundred percent fine. She had even been scared so badly that she lost the instinct to protect herself. Gu Yao did not know whether Wang Meng had known this from the start, because from the very beginning he had had Liu Yu hoisted outside the railing and even tied her arm to the railing with a rope.

The rope binding Liu Yu was not thick. It was just an ordinary braided nylon cord, and Chen Feiyu had even tied a slip knot. His hand had stayed on the side of the nylon rope the whole time.

By now, Wang Meng had already been talking to Chen Feiyu about his ex-wife. Qin Song, together with several police officers waiting on scene for the operation, all strained their ears, constantly looking for an opening to save the hostage.

Gu Yao stood at the back with another female police officer responsible for outside communications and record keeping. Gu Yao took the materials the officer had just taken down in shorthand and scanned them quickly.

Chen Feiyu had been divorced for less than a month. He had just lost custody of his daughter, and he had lost badly. On top of that, his business had failed. After the divorce, his ex-wife had already found a new close boyfriend and was preparing to get married.

To have moved on so quickly, in other words, there was a high chance Chen Feiyu’s ex-wife had been cheating during the marriage, but there was no direct evidence.

The notes also said that Chen Feiyu’s childhood had not been pleasant either. The male members of the Chen family all died young, while the female members were the exact opposite. Chen Feiyu grew up with his mother, but because his mother’s own marriage had been miserable and Chen Feiyu’s father had a tendency toward domestic violence, his mother had always believed he had inherited that too. Since he was little, she treated him like a thief she had to guard against, never grew close to him, and even subjected him to emotional cold violence, let alone giving Chen Feiyu the slightest bit of maternal warmth.

Over there, Chen Feiyu was still mumbling on and on about his mother.

Gu Yao pricked up her ears while she finished reading the file, and already had a preliminary judgment in her mind.

Castration, impotence.

Physically, Chen Feiyu was absolutely normal. The excessive inferiority he formed in such an environment as a child had slowly transformed into excessive arrogance as he grew up. His self-esteem was especially fragile and could not take even the slightest touch. If anyone accidentally tripped the switch, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Physically, Chen Feiyu was a normal man, but psychologically, his mother had already performed a castration surgery on him, and then his own marital experience had left him mentally “impotent.”

Gu Yao even wondered whether he could normally derive pleasure from sex and love…

Thinking of this, Gu Yao suddenly came up with a bold hypothesis.

At the same time, Qin Song came over as well and asked in a low voice, “How does it look?”

In a voice only she, Qin Song, and the nearby female officer could hear, Gu Yao said, “I suspect Chen Feiyu doesn’t actually want to die at all.”

Qin Song froze and took the file from Gu Yao to look through it quickly.

Gu Yao said, “Look at Chen Feiyu’s movements.”

Qin Song looked up just in time to see Chen Feiyu fiddling with his hair, as if something dirty had gotten stuck on the ends.

“Look at his clothes too, especially the shoes on his feet. White-edged men’s sneakers like that are not only wide, they get dirty easily. Jiang City’s environment isn’t good, and the wind has been strong these past two days. But look, he’s kept his shoes very clean. That means he really cares about it, or he has a mild case of cleanliness obsession.”

Qin Song frowned. “Maybe they’re brand new.”

Gu Yao smiled. “These shoes came out last year. They were limited edition and sold out ages ago.”

In short, a man who cared so much about his appearance, and had even prepared himself to die, only wanting to see his ex-wife and daughter one last time before death, how could he still care about whether his hair and shoes were dirty?

Qin Song had originally come to observe, and to help Gu Yao get familiar with these surroundings again. Since the accident a year ago, when Gu Yao’s head had been hit and she woke up with many memories gone, even her job as a psychology specialist had only been picked back up in the past few months. She was finally back on track, but people like the frontline work that cooperated with the government and police were not something the current Gu Yao could be exposed to.

Right now, hearing Gu Yao’s analysis, Qin Song could not help tensing up inside. It was as if he saw her from a year ago again. Whenever anything involved her field of expertise, she became like a different person. When she got excited, a faint flush would appear on her face, her eyes bright and full of life, and from the very depths of her being, a soul-stirring brilliance would surface.

If there was any change at all, it was probably that after the accident her constitution was far worse than before. Not only had her skin turned a little pale, her qi and blood were also insufficient. But once she got to the scene, Gu Yao was not limited by her body at all. Her thoughts opened up quickly, her analysis kept pace, and even the breathlessness from earlier had been thrown to the back of her mind by her excitement in this moment.

Qin Song still remembered that back when they were in school, their teacher had once said something like this: “Gu Yao, she’s very talented in criminal psychology. She majors in social psychology and minored in criminal psychology. What a pity.”

Qin Song sighed inwardly. When he came back to himself, he heard Gu Yao talking to herself.

“Could this Chen Feiyu think his daughter isn’t really his?”

Qin Song froze. Just as he was about to speak, Gu Yao beat him to it and turned toward him. “Chen Feiyu’s mother abused him mentally for years. He was still a minor then, so it would have been easy for him to become psychologically warped. If I assume that she was the one who caused the shadow over him, then what role did Chen Feiyu’s ex-wife play? An accomplice, or…”

At that moment, the communicator on the nearby female officer crackled a few times. Gu Yao paused mid-sentence and heard this instead, “Chen Feiyu’s ex-wife has already arrived downstairs? All right, I’ll notify Captain Zhang.”

Gu Yao did not have time to think further. Her legs had already made the first judgment. She ran straight to the nearest railing, braced both hands on it, and leaned down to look below.

Qin Song jumped in alarm and immediately followed, afraid Gu Yao would throw herself down.

But Gu Yao grabbed Qin Song at once and pointed for him to look. “That’s Chen Feiyu’s ex-wife.”

Down below, a brightly dressed woman was walking into the building entrance with two police officers accompanying her, and then her figure disappeared.

Gu Yao had only caught a glimpse, but she still picked out a few key details. A bad feeling rose in her heart as well, and she subconsciously looked toward Chen Feiyu across from her.

Wang Meng was still talking with Chen Feiyu, but Chen Feiyu’s attention had already been pulled partway away by what Gu Yao had just done. He was no longer paying Wang Meng’s words much mind, and his body language had even changed from the relaxed teasing before to something faintly tense.

Maybe Chen Feiyu had seen his ex-wife too.

Gu Yao and Chen Feiyu’s gazes collided across the distance. Gu Yao’s expression did not change, but her eyes gradually narrowed. She was trying to see Chen Feiyu more clearly.

At the same time, some images flashed quickly through her mind. Too fast to catch, yet strangely familiar, as if scenes like this had happened before.

And because of this look, Chen Feiyu completely shut his ears to Wang Meng. He ignored Wang Meng’s words entirely and simply stared fixedly at Gu Yao twenty meters away.

A feeling that was both unfamiliar and familiar suddenly surged in Chen Feiyu’s heart.

It was resonance.

It was strange, but Chen Feiyu could not explain it.

He did not even know what that woman was called. She was standing there with a work badge hanging on her chest, as if she had come to inspect or learn on-site experience. At first glance, there was nothing special about her. But standing among a group of people trying to persuade him to let go of the hostage, she still stood out.

The sun was blazing overhead, yet Chen Feiyu still felt cold, a kind of coldness that could not feel even a thread of warmth even in the middle of a crowded city. And that woman had, in an instant, drawn all his attention.

Her hair was messy and a little damp. She was dressed in a sharp work suit, a silky blue shirt, black suit pants and a blazer. Her clothes were a bit wrinkled. Her skin was a little pale. Even though there was a colleague beside her in similarly formal attire, and both of them gave off an elite air, this woman was completely out of step with the entire environment here, wildly out of harmony.

Chen Feiyu froze for several seconds. Then a thought suddenly drilled into his head, no, she should not be standing over there. She should be over here with him!

Chen Feiyu’s total disregard for Wang Meng quickly threw Wang Meng’s rhythm into chaos. No matter how much Wang Meng said, it would not get through to this person anymore. Several police officers nearby noticed it too and all turned to look behind them.

Gu Yao had already withdrawn her gaze. She pivoted and headed for the rooftop door. Compared with staying here to observe the scene, she had more important things to do.

But just then, Chen Feiyu suddenly shouted, “Let her talk to me!”

Only five words. A little hoarse, but clear. There was barely suppressed excitement in his voice, shocking Wang Meng and the police officers, and successfully stopping Gu Yao in her tracks.

Gu Yao turned her head and glared over there. Everyone over there was looking at her.

Chen Feiyu added excitedly, “I’ll only talk to her!”

Gu Yao only paused for one second before making her decision. She turned back, grabbed Qin Song, and said in a low voice, “No matter what you do, stop Chen Feiyu’s ex-wife from coming up. They cannot meet right now, or the consequences would be too awful to imagine.”

Once she finished speaking, Gu Yao walked straight toward Chen Feiyu.

Author’s note: Okay, the female lead arc is here, and she’s got her profession too.

Once this thread is finished, that’s when the male and female leads’ storylines will converge and snowball!

Charge!

ps. The Li City and Jiang City mentioned in these chapters are fictional.

…

I’ll send out the red packets from the previous chapter this afternoon, muah muah, red packets continue~