Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 408: The Past Year
One year later, Shajing Province.
The summer day blazed with its fiery ardor. The incessant chorus of cicadas weaved through the humid air, blending with the distant laughter of children at play and the hushed chatters of passersby. Under the sweltering embrace of the scorching heat, droplets of sweat trickled down Ye Qiu’s neck and drenched the back of her shirt, relentless despite how many times she wiped them away.
The plastic bags in her hand crinkled with every step she took as she maneuvered her way through the complicated alleys with familiarity, avoiding all the CCTVs along the street with graceful reflex.
Soon after, she arrived at a duplex house nestled within the tapestry of flourishing greenery. After looking left and right and making sure that nobody was around, she pressed her face close to the door where the iris scanner was. In the next second, the door opened with a soft click and she entered, calling out, "Everyone, snack is here!"
Right as her last word settled in the air, a series of noisy footsteps thumped from the ceiling above to head toward the stairs. Then, five children bounded out from the hallway one after another to swarm around her. "Ye-jiejie, Ye-jiejie, what took you so long? We almost died from the heat!"
"Yeah, I have been sweating nonstop. Even the fan can’t cool us down!"
"Xiao Hu even dares to fart so loud! Who knows what he has eaten for his fart to stink like death!"
"Shut up! We are always eating the same food, so if my farts stink, then your farts will too!"
Amidst the loud ruckus, Xiao Gu had already taken a popsicle from the plastic bag, ripped the package open and shoved it into his mouth, smiling quietly in happiness. After one year of manifestation, his height had shot up like a bamboo sprout and now, he was already as tall as Ye Qiu’s chest.
The same went with the others. Without the constant threat of danger and coupled with the solid roof above their heads and three full warm meals a day, they bore no resemblance to the wretched and emaciated state they were in last year. If not for the protective measure they had to take every time they were to take one step out of the house, they might even fool themselves into thinking that they were mere ordinary children. However, none of them had complained – not even once. Because they were all sensible enough to know that this kind of life was a luxury that they could only dream of.
Ye Qiu couldn’t help but smile and pat the reserved Xiao Gu on the head. Seeing that the other children were fighting over the popsicles, she reminded them, "Oh, that’s right. Don’t touch the milk tea and chocolate mint ice cream, okay? They are XIU’s."
"Oh..." They stopped fighting at once and turned docile at the mention of that name. "Then Ye-jiejie, you should take it to him first."
Ye Qiu showed a helpless smile and took out XIU’s portion. "Okay, I will bring it to him. Is he in the office?" she asked, earning her a quick nod from the others.
She told them to enjoy the ice cream slowly as she made her way to the office.
It was unknown whether it was because XIU had made a terrifying first impression on the children or whether there was another reason she was not privy to, but Ye Qiu discovered that everyone would always act a little nervous and timid in front of the man, despite the fact that they had been in close interaction for a year and how he would always buy them expensive and delicious food every once in a while.
Ye Qiu felt a little amused when she recalled how the man would become crestfallen when he saw the children’s uneasy behavior around him. Even then, he would still plaster a smile on his face and say, ’It’s okay. I have gotten used to it.’
Shaking the memory off her mind, she knocked on the door and said, "XIU, it’s me. May I come in?"
When she received a reply from the other side, she pushed open the door and entered.
"There you are, Little Missy!" A bright smile appeared on his face when he caught sight of the girl – or more specifically, the ice cream and milk tea she brought with her. Even in such hot weather, he was still clad in a formal shirt, albeit with the sleeves rolled up to show his toned forearms. His long hair had been tied in a low ponytail as he refused to cut it no matter how much it inconvenienced him, claiming that it would make him look more charismatic this way.
Without wasting any more second, he uncapped the milk tea and drank in a huge mouthful, sighing in bliss when the icy sweetness glided down his throat. "Ah, it’s so good!"
Ye Qiu moved to stand beside him where a full and comprehensive map of China was put up to cover the entire side of the wall. On the surface of the map were a few marks they had made throughout the year that signified the secret facilities they had ransacked upside down. From Hebei to Qingxi, from Qingxi to Guangnan, then lastly, Shajing...
When she recalled everything they had gone through this past year, she could not help but feel a little emotional.
Her mind drifted to the start of their thrilling adventure. At that time, she had led Marius to Hebei, whereas He Juan was immediately sent to a clinic to tend to the bullet wound on his stomach. She could not believe that she would go back again to the place she had run away from, as well as the source of her nightmare. But it was different now, because this time, she was no longer alone but with an ally by her side.
But unfortunately, they were still a step too late.
When they got there, the people who underwent experimentation – whom she had left behind when she fled with only the five others – had vanished without a trace with their fate unknown, and all the important personnels working in the facility had fled, leaving only a few small staff who were none the wiser.
But the good news was, though those people had managed to save their own lives, they had not had the time to secure and get rid of all the crucial documents pertaining to the secret experiment.
It was how she and Marius discovered that there were a few other facilities spread all over the country, all disguised into legal and proper business. Taking advantage of the momentum, they immediately headed to the next facility in Qingxi, where He Juan joined them as soon as his stomach was properly stitched, regardless of his doctor’s furious advice telling him to rest for another two weeks.
There was really no time to waste. They had to move as soon as possible before those people could escape again!
At long last, their effort finally bore bruit because in Qingxi, they ended up catching Blue Lotus – the man whom He Juan had been hunting down for months!
