Chapter 15

Chapter 15 2. Eden Lake-06

This time, Liu Yi truly slept a comfortable, sound sleep.

It wasn’t until past nine o’clock the next morning that he was woken up by the phone ringing again and again, and, like a little caterpillar, he reluctantly wriggled out from under the covers, groping around to reach the still-persistently ringing phone.

He checked himself and felt that, aside from a bit of soreness when swallowing, there was no other discomfort.

As expected, sufficient rest really was the best way to fight a cold!

While silently marveling at this, Liu Yi answered the phone.

It was his student Jiang Xiaoyuan. The young man sounded anxious and clearly troubled. “Boss, the police called. Su Ruirui’s family is coming soon to sign and take the body. What do you want to do?”

“I got it. I’m coming over now.”

Liu Yi cleared his throat and replied.

“Okay, then hurry, boss!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan didn’t notice Liu Yi’s unusually hoarse voice. He was only worried about the body being taken away and couldn’t help reminding him once more before hanging up.

Liu Yi got out of bed, intending to wash up in the bathroom before heading to the institute.

However, the second his feet touched the floor, a strange sticky sensation oozed from somewhere behind him, dripping down along the top of his thighs.

—WTF!!?

Liu Yi’s face went pale. Even the three-character British curse words he had barely used during his study years in the UK flashed involuntarily through his mind.

Suppressing the weird sensation from behind, he rushed into the bathroom.

Before he could check what had happened after taking off his pants, he happened to glance down and saw two torn aluminum-plastic sealed packages and a used finger cot quietly lying in the trash can by the door.

Liu Yi leaned on the sink with both hands, only then managing to steady his suddenly weak body, preventing himself from collapsing on the spot.

At that moment, he finally understood why he had quickly recovered from a fever without taking any medicine yesterday.

—It wasn’t his immune system at all. That bastard Qi Shanyu had actually given him a fever-reducing suppository meant for children who refuse medicine!

—And the sticky, gooey, strange sensation he just felt behind him was because of this!

…

Liu Yi lowered his head and quietly, quietly calmed himself for three minutes, then took a deep breath, slowly, slowly took off his pajamas, and stepped into the shower.

Although his movements seemed composed, the bathroom door, which shook violently with a “bang” when he touched it, betrayed just how far from calm he actually was.

If the culprit were in front of him, Liu Yi felt he might not be able to resist giving them a few suppositories too, and then do something indescribable to Officer Qi’s firm, beautiful butt!

&&& &&& &&&

Half an hour later, fully dressed and looking lively and energetic, showing no sign of having just recovered from a serious illness, Liu Yi strode into the office. Immediately, he saw Qi Shanyu quietly talking to his student. The originally commanding, elite demeanor disappeared entirely; Qi’s expression stiffened, unable to even force a fake smile.

Liu Yi ground his molars in secret.

Although he knew it was just psychological, during the car ride earlier, he had felt uncomfortable back there. He had shifted his legs into several positions, feeling as if there was a walnut pressed under the seat, constantly sore everywhere.

Finally getting out of the car, forcing himself to focus on the case and forget the discomfort behind, the moment he saw Qi Shanyu, all his efforts vanished, and he immediately recalled the sticky, gooey, strange sensation he had experienced when just waking up.

“What are you doing here?”

He tried to control his expression, not wanting his students to notice anything, but his tone still sounded stiff.

Qi Shanyu sensed the displeasure in his voice, lingering a few seconds on Liu Yi’s face. His eyes looked innocent, as if he couldn’t understand why Director Liu, who had been friendly the night before, had changed so quickly after one night’s sleep.

“I brought Su Ruirui’s parents.”

He lowered his eyes and explained to the glaring Liu Yi, “They insist on refusing a judicial autopsy and want to take the girl’s body directly.”

“Why?”

Liu Yi asked, “There are so many obvious bruises on Su Ruirui. It doesn’t look normal, right? Even if the couple didn’t care much for the girl, they shouldn’t completely ignore these suspicious signs, right?”

“According to them, it seems they’ve contacted the school, reached a private settlement and compensation agreement, and don’t intend to pursue the matter of Su Ruirui’s suicide.”

Qi Shanyu replied.

“…”

Liu Yi said nothing, frowning deeply. His right hand clenched into a fist, knuckles pressed against his chin as he fell into thought.

After about a minute of silence, he suddenly reached out and firmly patted Qi Shanyu on the shoulder.

“Hold that couple for an hour.”

Liu Yi locked eyes with Officer Qi, expression serious and earnest. “Just one hour, okay?”

Qi Shanyu, taller than Liu Yi, looked down at Liu Yi’s handsome face from such close distance. He felt Liu Yi’s phoenix eyes sharp and elongated, the pupils dark like ink, staring intensely through long lashes. Despite the awkward situation, he couldn’t help feeling his heart leap violently, struck hard.

“One hour?”

He didn’t answer directly, only asked suspiciously, “What are you going to do?”

“None of your business. Just hold them for an hour.”

Liu Yi smiled faintly, lightly patting Qi Shanyu’s cheek.

This gesture, between adult men, carried a hint of playfulness and mischief, yet Liu Yi did it naturally. Even Qi Shanyu didn’t feel offended, though his ear warmed and reddened slightly from the lingering touch.

To the clueless Jiang Xiaoyuan, it seemed just a normal friendly interaction. But to Li Jin, whose mind was filled with “what’s their relationship,” it felt like a stabbing thorn, glaringly obvious.

However, Li Jin’s sudden pale expression didn’t catch anyone’s attention. Qi Shanyu nodded to Liu Yi. “Okay, I’ll try.”

“Go.”

Liu Yi patted Officer Qi’s shoulder, then turned to Jiang Xiaoyuan and Li Jin. “Prepare the autopsy room. We’re going to examine Su Ruirui’s body.”

“Wait!”

Hearing Liu Yi, Qi Shanyu frowned and called out, “Her parents don’t agree to an autopsy. Don’t act recklessly.”

“I know.”

Liu Yi turned back to assure Qi Shanyu, “I’m only doing an external examination. No knives.”

Then he urged the two students still frozen in place, “Stop standing there. Go prepare!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan and Li Jin exchanged a glance and quickly turned to leave.

“Hey, wait.”

Liu Yi suddenly changed his mind, grabbing Li Jin by the back collar, dragging the practically useless intern back, and pushing him toward Qi Shanyu. “You follow Officer Qi. Serve tea and water to Su Ruirui’s family.”

“W-What?!”

Li Jin’s face went blank, staring at Qi Shanyu. The moment he made eye contact, he jerked his head away like struck by an electric arc, unwillingly.

“You do it!”

Liu Yi had no idea about the two-and-a-half-year feud between this intern and Officer Qi and had no time to care.

He hooked Li Jin’s elbow, dragged him a few steps to the corner, and, shielded by his own back, pulled a small bottle from the drawer, pressed it into the intern’s hand, leaned close, and whispered almost breathlessly, “Half a tablet each. Be smart, don’t let them notice, got it?”

“Ah? Ah ah?”

Li Jin, caught so close to Liu Yi, was dumbfounded.

He only felt the warmth of Liu Yi’s breath on his ear, tingling and hot, sending a shiver through his body, leaving him almost numb. He barely registered what Liu Yi said, only clutching the small bottle, staring blankly at Liu Yi’s face so near.

—Tsk, he used to seem clever, now he looks so dumb!

Suppressing the impulse to smack the intern on the head, Liu Yi reminded him again, “Remember, half a tablet each. Don’t slip up!”

Then he thoughtfully tucked the bottle into the intern’s lab coat pocket, continued guiding him by the shoulder, and brought him in front of Qi Shanyu. “Alright, go on.”

After that, he turned and strode quickly toward the autopsy room without looking back.

Qi Shanyu and Li Jin stared at Liu Yi’s fast-vanishing figure in silence for half a minute. When he disappeared around the corridor corner, Qi Shanyu finally turned to his ex-boyfriend, speaking in an official tone, “Let’s go.”

He said no more to Li Jin and walked ahead straight to the waiting room where Su Ruirui’s parents were.

Li Jin followed, heart pounding. He secretly took the small bottle Liu Yi had given him from his pocket, covering it with his hand, and quickly glanced at the label.

The medicine name was printed in three bold blue characters: “Furosemide.”