The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

When Yu Xia entered, he discovered that the other person was nowhere to be seen.

He surveyed the room and easily guessed that the boy had likely fled again. On the other hand, Yu Yin, who should have been lying in the sick bed, was actually standing and tidying up his clothes in what appeared to be preparation to leave the hospital.

“I want to go find Ye Yi. Do you want to come with me, Uncle?” The scene he had seen yesterday still very much bugged Yu Yin. He put on a jacket, covering the bloodstains on his body. “His mom knows me, so we should be able to ask for them to cooperate with the police…”

“Ah Yin.” Yu Xia interrupted Yu Yin with a sombre face. “Sit down first and listen to me calmly.”

“What’s wrong?” Yu Yin had no idea why Yu Xia now wore a twisted expression after taking the call, and obediently sat back down on the bed.

“After receiving Xiao Yu’s message last night, we already went and contacted the Ye family. However, the colleague responsible said that Ye Yi had continued insisting he hadn’t seen anything and was a bit emotional. His parents requested for us to let the child rest a day since he had also been injured slightly from the car accident. They said we could speak again today after the child’s classes once he had gotten a good night’s sleep.” Yu Xia paused and levelled his gaze onto his nephew, unable to bring himself to open his mouth for a while. However, he ultimately had to inform, “So, we had arranged for it to be today after school…”

“Uncle, say the main point.” Yu Yin raised a hand to stop the other person’s round-about words.

“One of my group members called just now to report that ever since Ye Yi left home this morning to head to school by himself as he usually did, he never appeared again. The school had contacted Ye Yi’s mother before it was realised that something was wrong. She urgently requested for the police to do a search. Just now, the administrative unit received the report that…Ye Yi’s corpse was found in a gutter.” Yu Xia gripped Yu Yin’s shoulder, sensing the trembles coming from the body under his fingertips. “The gutter was in the opposite direction of the school, in a farmland roughly ten kilometres away.”

Yu Yin only saw his vision turn black.

He should have been more alert yesterday; he had already seen Ye Yi at the gateway.

“I…”

“Ah Yin, calm down.” Yu Xia pressed down forcefully. “Listen to me…”

“Can I go to the scene?” Yu Yin met Yu Xia’s gaze as a coldness spread through his body. “Please.” He then tightly clutched Yu Xia’s hand, unable to say anything else.

He really should have been on guard before.

You cannot save everyone.

He clearly should have known last night.

That girl had been reminding him, urging him. He should have sensed something was wrong.

Xiao Yu had just saved the boy. They should have realised that someone had wanted to kill Ye Yi; that was why Ye Yi had said he had been pushed out.

He should have gone last night.

There had been so many signs already, why hadn’t he paid attention?

Why?

What was it that he had grasped at the end [back then]?

Yu Yin’s mind was in complete chaos.

Yu Xia stopped the car near the farmland and let Yu Yin off.

The gutter was already surrounded by yellow tape. While waiting for the forensic investigator and prosecutor, the officers that had arrived first had hung up white cloths to conceal the body that had been pulled out by the first discoverer.

The mother was kneeling next to the body crying her heart out in anguish. The father that had also rushed over was hugging his limp wife, not daring to look at the dead body.

Yu Yin stood outside the white cloths, listening to the heartbroken weeping.

The officer silently turned a blind eye to let Yu Yin slowly reach a hand out and draw the white cloths apart.

This place was a gutter filled with weeds and filth. The area nearby was a private field; the gutter even had plenty of pink snail eggs and some junk floating around. The small body peacefully lay next this gutter, never to move again.

He saw a single shoe that had fallen off to one side. A backpack had been tossed next to the field, its books spilled out all over the ground.

He saw that the bandages on the boy’s cuts from yesterday had already fallen off, the wound now swollen from being soaked in the water. The face was still identical to how it had been while alive. Aside from the extreme paleness, there was nothing different.

He saw the boy standing on the bank nearby, staring at his own body in confusion.

He suddenly really felt like throwing up.

Yu Yin could not bear it anymore and turned to run out of the area surrounded by white cloths. He then raised his head, spotting the husband holding Wang Qiu Xue standing before him.

“How could this happen…how could this happen…” Wang Qiu Xue collapsed against Yu Yin and sobbed, “Mommy didn’t protect you…you were already fine but…how could this happen…it’s all my fault…you two even saved him…it’s all my…”

No, it’s my fault.

Yu Yin opened his mouth, but the words would not leave his mouth. He knelt down to the ground with the woman. “Sorry, I’m sorry…” It was all his fault. “I’m sorry…”

“How could this happen…” Wang Qiu Xue wailed, “It’s all my—”

Tears flowed down the husband’s eyes as he wrapped both arms around his wife and Yu Yin.

They continued crying like this.

The prosecutor and investigation officers arrived later.

Onlookers surrounded the area, chatting among themselves.

Yu Yin was directed to the back seat of the police car. He shut his pained eyes and lay down.

After a while, the door of the police car opened and someone sat down next to him. “Feeling a bit better?” Yu Xia’s voice was concerned.

“Mm.” Yu Yin replied simply, not wanted to open his eyes.

“The people at the station have already finished watching the surveillance footage from the market. It was just as Dong Feng said; the deceased really had bought several items at the market that day, yet none of those items were found at her home.” Yu Xia glanced at the investigation work currently ongoing outside. Quite a lot of media had already raced each other to gather around and report the sensational case of a child drowning to death. “But the camera in the building’s elevator caught her leaving the elevator to enter her home, and she was undoubtedly still carrying her purchases.”

“Where are they then?”

“We’ve already requested for a search warrant. I’m afraid the person that has been sexually assaulting Ya Yun over the past six months was her neighbour.” The young husband and wife. Yu Xia slowly said, “Gē discovered that Tan Ya Yun’s plants on her terrace were neatly arranged, with no signs of having been touched. Aside from the officers that arrived after the incident, not even her family members had entered. So if she really had jumped from her own balcony that day, it would’ve been impossible for her not to have touched anything there.” At the very least, she would have cleared a path for her to step up before jumping.

Yu Yin opened his eyes to look at the youthful face next to him. “She did not jump from her own home.”

“Yeah, she might have fallen from somewhere else.” Yu Xia gave a simple description of the conversation records that Yu Tong had found. “Comprehensively including these chat logs Gē found, it’s very likely she had attempted to assassinate her long-term sexual assaulter.”

“The wife next door had mentioned she had gone out in the afternoon…”

Yu Xia patted Yu Yin on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll catch them.” He then shouted out to the officers outside and left the car.

Yu Yin watched Yu Xia exit the car to walk over while pushing aside the reporters flooding over.

Then, he lowered his head and opened his palms. The scarlet blood began to gush out again, soaking through the layers of bandages, the colour of life instantly pouring out from his body like a person that had fallen from a building.

There is no one that wants to die.

Nobody wants to die.

He lifted his head to see the girl, her face carrying a dimmed sorrow.

There were two children on either side of her. One that was lying in the hospital and one that was lying next to the gutter. They stood there outside the car on the opposite side of the scene where nobody was paying attention to.

Yu Yin unconsciously opened the door and passed through the racket of voices, entering the quiet space that belonged to their side.

If he crossed over, he knew that he would end up getting pushed into further danger like before. It was not a place he should be in. This time, he really might be unable to draw himself out again.

However, he really wanted to save [the boy]. It was so obvious he could do it just by reaching his hand out.

Even if he needed to pay, it was fine. Just grasping their hands now would be enough.

There is no one that wants to die.

“Is Ah Yin alright?”

Xiao Wu asked in a low voice as he saw Yu Xia walk over. Xiao Wu had originally been supposed to bring Ye Yi over today.

“There’s always a way to get through things.” Yu Xia flatly said, “There are many things that are not as simple as one thinks. If he wants to keep dealing with these…” Then he would have to be like them. Witnessing this type of scene would happen sooner or later.

Xiao Wu shot another worried look over at the car before turning his head back to report, “We’ve already interrogated the people nearby, and have also requested the camera footage from the area. We discovered that the person who brought Ye Yi here was likely Xu Zh Gao’s stepfather. The street camera clearly caught him pulling the child in this direction.” The administrative unit’s officers had let the bastard escape yesterday. Nobody had imagined the man would actually turn around to retaliate against his neighbour.

Since they had already greeted Ye Yi’s parents yesterday and had received the relevant information from Yu Yin, Yu Xia and the others naturally knew of the matters regarding Xu Zhi Gao’s stepfather, as well as the threats.

However, they had not expected for that trash to really execute [the threats], making his move on a child at that.

“Capture him immediately. He shouldn’t have gotten far yet.” Yu Xia’s hands clenched into fists. The regret had come as a result of being just a step late. The only thing they could do now was seize the criminal on account for the victim’s family.

“Yessir!” Xiao Wu ran off to carry out the orders.

Yu Xia sighed. Just as he was about to walk over to the prosecutor and give his report, he suddenly heard a loud commotion come from the bank where the body lay. The media trapped outside all wanted to break through the tape when they heard it but were stopped by the officers outside.

He quickly strode over and spotted the prosecutor that had come to check the scene now standing up with an expression of horror…Yu Xia was likely too used to working with Li Zi Hong’s lack of emotions. As a result, Yu Xia found it bizarre to see the prosecutor so terrified in front of him.

The older prosecutor stumbled back several steps. However, he was not the only one; the officer that had been next to him had an astonished look as well and nearly knocked down the white cloths.

Yu Xia shoved aside the people blocking his way and instantly understood what had frightened them.

The boy lying on the ground with the white cloth half torn away now had a large amount of dark fluids pouring out from his nose and mouth. The turbid liquid combined with the snail eggs made an extremely bizarre image.

However, this was not what had shocked Yu Xia. Rather, as he subconsciously shifted his gaze downwards, he saw the boy’s fingers twitch. “…Call an ambulance!”

“What?” The officer next to him was momentarily unable to understand.

“Hurry up and call an ambulance!” Yu Xia repeated the words he had just said as he dropped to the ground and confirmed that the boy’s hands had indeed shifted slightly, then pulled the boy’s mouth open to first clear it of the dark water and organisms before swiftly carrying out CPR. He was unable to understand how the child had suddenly started moving again after dying, but this scene had contained countless unfathomable aspects from the start. He could only hope that it was not a fleeting hope.

The officers around him watched his actions before finally catching onto the situation. Someone immediately requested for an ambulance to support, while others began to help.

Fortunately, the surrounding area was covered by the white cloths. Otherwise, if the media outside had seen their actions, there would definitely be another uproar.

After Yu Xia had carried out several rounds of emergency aid, the boy suddenly choked, and the foul-smelling black liquid spilled out from his mouth. After this, he seemed to actually be breathing again.

Ye Yi’s parents raced in after hearing of this, staring in disbelief at the boy that the officer had just resuscitated.

None of them could comprehend how, but the boy had truly regained his breath.

The ambulance subsequently arrived, charging into the sealed off area as the paramedics ran off the car to take the boy, the group helping the pale-faced child onto the ambulance. The dramatic turn of events caused a large portion of the media to try following onto the car, then chasing after the ambulance like a tail as it headed swiftly towards the hospital.

“What kind of miraculous situation is this…” Xiao Wu, who was just as astonished and amazed as everyone else, scratched his face. The prosecutor next to him was still completely stunned as well, likely having never seen a dead person come back to life at a scene like this either.

“He might have originally been feigning dead. It’s not unexpected.” Yu Xia touched the dark liquid on his hands. Although he said this, he was just as shocked and confused as the others. While pretending to have drowned to death was not an uncommon situation, Ye Yi had already been in the water for a while by the time he had been discovered. When the boy had been dragged up onto the bank, his heartbeat, pulse, and breathing had all stopped. Even a doctor that had passed by out of curiosity had confirmed that the boy was already dead. Since being found, nobody had done any kind of emergency aid on the boy. Logically speaking, the boy truly should have been beyond saving.

Even if he was saved, based on how long the brain had gone without oxygen, he might already…

The people at the scene were still unable to make heads or tails of the situation.

“Anyways, it’s a good thing if the kid can be saved. You guys go check out the area.” Yu Xia clapped his hands together to snap everyone out of their dazes. “Xu Zhi Gao’s stepfather must be seized quickly.” After saying this, he exchanged information with the prosecutor before the prosecutor left the area first to handle other matters.

The crowds of onlookers quickly dispersed as well, noticing that there was nothing else to watch. By the time Yu Xia had finished all his business, there were no longer any citizens there. Little of the media remained at this point.

Yu Xia made sure the site was kept under control before he walked back to the police car to drag Yu Yin back to the hospital. But when he turned his head, he spotted the person that should have been in the car was now instead standing outside a decent distance away, opposite of where the onlookers had circled around. Sensing something was a bit odd, he jogged over and arrived next to Yu Yin. “Let’s go, I’ll bring you over to Xiao Yu’s side first.”

“Ye Yi should be fine, right?”

“Who knows.” Yu Xia looked back to glance at the white cloths now being taken down from the area. “If his body wasn’t collected away, he should be fine. Don’t think too much about it.” He then patted Yu Yin on the shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

***

Li Zi Hong sighed at the door in front of him.

“You’re already here, what’s the sigh for?” Yan Si scratched his head from where he stood next to Li Zi Hong, then pressed down on the doorbell with a palm.

About five minutes passed before they finally heard the door being unlocked.

Then the front door was pulled open a crack, revealing half a face behind it. The instant it spotted Yan Si, the door was slammed back closed.

“Junior, why so unfriendly?” Yan Si quickly blocked the doorway first, raising a hand with a smile to show the other person the large bag he was holding. “My old roommate even brought an amazing meal specifically just to take care of you. It also includes your Senior Yang’s love too.”

“Yang De Cheng is not my senior, nor am I your junior,” Dong Feng bit out through clenched teeth as he pushed against the door with as much strength he could muster.

Yan Si did not feel any [opposing] force at all, cheerfully pushing the door open a bit more to see the mummy behind wasting his grain-sized strength to no avail. Shrugging, Yan Si ignored Li Zi Hong’s censured gaze and said, “Hmph, no need for that big of a reaction. Why be scared of me annoying you if you’ll just die from excessive anger? I’m not trying to enter your territory, you know. The one that wanted to find you was my old roommate. That should be fine, right?”

“Get away from my home.” Dong Feng slowly opened the door, assessing whether he would need to move homes again as his whole body threw up a guard. He glared at Yan Si before shifting to let Li Zi Hong enter.

“Ah Si, you…”

“I’ll just wait at the door.” Yan Si shoved the bag into his friend’s hand then pushed the person inside.

“Don’t step inside!” Dong Feng warned again. When he saw the other person actually remain standing at the door, Dong Feng rubbed off the powder from his hands and tossed a bottle of spring water at the person outside with a foul expression. Then he walked inside without caring if the door was completely closed or not.

“Yes, yes.” Yan Si honestly did not mind. He grabbed the water bottle and got into position at the entrance.

When Li Zi Hong stepped inside, he spotted the powder-covered floor that had not changed from a few days earlier. The shattered plaster, kaolin, and clay were scattered everywhere. Some had already dried completely, and there were lumps here and there even stuck to the walls. A few pieces of paper had fallen off to one side, all sketches of people. “What kind of person are you imitating?”

“Aliens, survivors of the apocalypse…”

“He’s drawing an eight-headed dinosaur!” Yan Si’s voice floated in from outside.

Li Zi Hong flipped through the drawings and did not think they looked like aliens or dinosaurs. These drawings were of children. The sketches were very obviously of Ye Yi and Xu Zhi Gao, the two they had been searching for. The others were outlines of different adults yet were not as clear, still quite vague. “Did you see today’s news?”

“Xu Zhi Gao is now hospitalised because he was severely injured from being beaten by his stepfather; we were the ones that rescued him. Ye Yi’s corpse was discovered in the gutter…not a corpse, the news said he was still alive.” Dong Feng pulled out fresh fruit juice from the large paper bag with a restaurant logo printed on it, then walked into the kitchen to find cups. “Taking drugs, showing violence, acting absent-minded, hiding corpses. He flew into a humiliated rage and had to vent after being discovered. After killing, he put himself at ease by the strong desire to hide and using drugs. If he is not caught nearby, a fight may occur. His tendency towards violence may result in someone getting injured…and retaliation may continue.”

“The police are already tracing his tracks and will quickly arrest him.” Li Zi Hong sat down next to the wooden table that had multiple carving knives stabbed into it. He seized the opportunity to glance at the running computer next to him that was covered in news webpages. Most were articles related to the deceased that had jumped off the building. “One of the preliminary targets was confirmed to be the owner living downstairs from the deceased’s family.”

“He will deny it, he will definitely deny it.” Dong Feng came out carrying the juice and cups and sat down on the floor, pulling out one of the small blades sticking out next to him. “There is no absolute evidence; the children may not be able to testify as witnesses.”

“If the sexual assault occurred in the rented apartment, there should be traces left behind no matter how much they cleaned up.” Yan Si peeked in from where he was leaning against the front door and said, “The guard already said that Boss Luo often went looking for the deceased. At the very least, signs of sexual activity should be found.”

“Sexual activity does not indicate sexual assault. They can say it was mutual consent,” Li Zi Hong reminded his friend. “The deceased is already gone; if Boss Luo stubbornly insists that she did not refuse, there would be no evidence.”

“The troublesome part isn’t him.” Dong Feng bent over to carve the clay on the floor. “The other person was cautious, excessively so.”

“There were no abnormalities in the deceased’s communication records.” Li Zi Hong gave a short description of the information Yu Tong had found in the computer and watched the other person fall silent in contemplation.

After a while, Dong Feng finally spoke again. “The other person is a young adult, someone that can use computers and social media. He uses the computer very frequently and may have two or more cellphones.”

“We suspect the other one to be her neighbour, the husband of the young married couple.” Li Zi Hong paused and subconsciously glanced at the door as he asked, “What is your basis?”

“The deceased’s social media page was hacked into by the other person, which was why there were no abnormalities. The other person is not old, and is someone that probably can approach her easily, an age that is similar to be a friend, allowing them to slowly get to know each other. One would need to use the computer for long periods of time in order to monitor the deceased’s social network activity. The [age] range active on the internet is on the younger side. The deceased did not have any unusual communication records. She was possibly forced to use a cellphone supplied by the other party. They would need to be located extremely closely in order to do all these.” Dong Feng turned his gaze to point directly towards his waiting senior. “The time gap between the deceased entering the elevator and falling from the building? None of her purchases were in her home, meaning they might have already been cleared out. A cautious person would not leave them there.”

“The tapes indicate she fell from the building about fifteen minutes after getting onto the elevator.”

“Then she didn’t go home and directly went somewhere else.”

“The footage showed that the floor she had pressed [in the elevator] was the level she lived on.”

“Then that means…” Dong Feng paused for a few seconds before slowly continuing, “She fell from next-door.”

The air instantly seemed to freeze completely.

In reality, Li Zi Hong had guessed this possibility as well. He had simply wanted to try asking for confirmation. He sighed and said, “As expected…I hope that we can find some useful evidence from today’s search.”

“A warrant?”

“Yes, since there were some delays, Yu Tong and Yu Xia planned to split up to search the Luo home and the place next-door this afternoon.”

“What penalties do you think will come of the prosecution?” Dong Feng kept his eyes locked onto the cup on the floor as he stared at the reflection inside the juice. “Sexual assault and negligent homicide are not severe, and that’s only assuming there is evidence and the person confesses. The lawsuit will fight for many years, and the final result could simply be sitting in prison for one or two years, or maybe just being fined. Going through all this trouble to dig up the truth that nobody knows, only to end like this? The dead is already lost, yet they still remain. How is this any better?”

“Even if that is the case, we must still do this.” Li Zi Hong constantly experienced various instances of helplessness since he had undertaken this occupation, yet he was certain that he had to continue forwards. “If nothing is done, there would not be so many changes. The situations would just grow worse and worse.”

“Despite doing so, there still aren’t any changes…”

Before he could continue what he wanted to say, the urgent ringing of a phone interrupted their conversation. Li Zi Hong pulled out his cellphone somewhat apologetically and answered to find that it was the secretary of the bureau pressing him to quickly turn on a TV and watch the news; it sounded as if something very bad had occurred.

When Li Zi Hong asked Dong Feng to use his computer and access the news through the internet, he felt a headache pound through his head.

The scene was the parents of the Tan household currently holding a press conference. The press and reports crowded around the crying married couple as they announced to everyone that their daughter had not committed suicide at all, but rather had died as a result of someone else. They said that the police were currently helping them investigate this fake-suicide case and that they blamed the true perpetrator for devastating a girl’s life like this. As long as they found out who it was, they would never let the perpetrator go even if he ran to the ends of the earth.

As soon as they said all this, the reporters instantly burst into an uproar, every one of them frantically trying to ask questions about the situation.

The news rapidly appeared on the cover of the news, drawing up various discussions.

Dong Feng, who was sprawled next to the table, knocked a carving knife down.

“Congratulations, you’ve beat the grass to startle the snake.”

***

“What a truly intolerable situation.”

Teng Qi had specially taken a day off from work today and was currently sitting next to the bed, peeling apples. He glanced at Yu Yin, who sported a terrible complexion, and the blank-faced Yu in bed. The TV inside the ward was currently broadcasting the press conference from the Tan family, which was currently playing as the newsflash across several news channels. Nearly everyone in the world now knew the police was searching for the perpetrator. “Hopefully, Officer Yu and the others are able to capture the person soon.”

“Where did a press conference suddenly come from….” Yu Yin flipped through the news channels as he recalled that Yu Xia and the rest had undoubtedly been hoping for the other party not to speak first. However, the family members had evidently forgotten about this matter entirely.

“Perhaps someone from family’s side believes they cannot be surreptitious about it.” Teng Qi placed the rabbit-shaped apple slices in the plate, passing them over to Yu sitting up in bed. “This really does make me think back to Cheng Yong Hao’s case, another involuntary death.” How much time will pass until these perpetrators get equivalent punishments?

“How are his mother and little sister doing now?” Yu Yin turned around to ask as he switched off the TV. Since they were already on the topic, he was suddenly feeling concerned about how Student Chen’s family situation had been afterwards.

“They are doing pretty well. I found a small apartment for her, and the little sister should not need to be too worried about living expenses even before she is ready to work.” Teng Qi smiled and said, “However, the victim’s family will never be able to be doing ‘well’. Although I have agreed with the little sister to bring her mother out and carry out the incomplete dream, I am not Student Chen in the end. Even if we travelled the world, it is impossible to truly fill in for the regret.”

Yu Yin had never seen Chen Yong Hao again after that time. He did not really know whether the deceased was truly resting in peace or not, but he did know without a doubt that Chen Yong Hao would never appear again. Or perhaps the other person was currently standing guard next to his family, even if nobody could see it.

The perpetrator from that incident would be released after several years.

Has the criminal repented?

“I will go down to buy some drinks. Juices for the both of you should be fine, right?” Teng Qi put down his fruit knife and stood up to walk over to the door before thoughtfully glancing at Yu Yin. “Why do you always place the amulet inside your bag? That object is more effective if you wear it.”

“Ah…”

“It is not impossible to properly interact with those things, but if you do not properly protect yourself, anyone would believe it is a mistake.” Teng Qi pondered something to himself for a moment before shrugging. “You should really think it over again. You will not be able to withdraw anymore if you come into contact with yin for too long. No matter how many yang friends you have by your side or how strong they are, they will not be able to always help you.”

“…I know.”

“You should rest for a bit first.” Teng Qi wore his usual smile as he shut the door to the ward.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Yu Yin shifted his gaze over to see Yu eating apples. “I’m really sorry for yesterday. I didn’t know it would take so long either…Once you leave the hospital, we can go wherever you want to eat, and you can order as much as you want until you’re satisfied.”

Yu studied the person in front of him with narrowed eyes, his line of sight landing onto Yu Yin’s bandaged hands. “…Remove them.”

“Huh? These are fine though?” Yu Yin candidly removed the bandages. Honestly speaking, there were no wounds underneath them, and keeping the hands wrapped just made him feel itchy.

Yu felt relief when he saw that the hands underneath the removed bandages showed no injuries or strange marks.

From where Yu Yin was sitting next to the bed, he tidied up the removed bandages and gauze as he smiled at Yu. “Did you think I went off to do something else again? It’s not like I’m always getting myself into messes.”

Yu suspiciously stared at the other person, not at all convinced that Yu Yin had not gotten involved in a mess. Just last night, they had sent a child to the ER, while this morning another one had been fished out from a gutter. Yu was certain there was a major issue there.

“Leaving the hospital.” Yu tugged at the blanket as he resolved to leave the hospital immediately.

“What? What are you doing? The doctor said you still need to be observed. There’s no way you’ll be released so quickly after hitting your head. Lie back down.” Yu Yin frowned as he stopped the other’s movements.

“Need to watch you.” Yu instinctively knew that the other person must have done something reckless. He believed that he could not continue staying here; he had to keep a close eye on Yu Yin.

“You, Dad, and Uncle have all been really weird these past two days.” Yu Yin struggled to force Xiao Yu back down on the bed with the nagging sense that both adults and Yu had been acting a bit odd recently. However, Yu Yin could not quite place where the issue lay. It was as if they were keeping something from him; they had been treating him strangely as well. However, they had been together the entire time recently, so he really had no idea what could be wrong.

“Not weird.”

“It is weird. Are the three of you hiding some kind of secret?” Yu Yin had been feeling something was off starting from that day he had woken up at home from his rest after the first encounter of the incident.

Yu quickly shook his head.

“…Forget it, you’re still injured. We’ll talk about this again once you’re better. For now, just be good and lie down to get some proper rest. I won’t know anything until after Uncle’s group finish their search anyways. I’ll stay over here in the meantime, so you shouldn’t need to worry.” He wrestled Yu into bed in exasperation once more before swiping one of the rabbit-cut apples and biting into it. He had to admit that he had not expected Teng Qi to be skilled enough to cut the rabbits out so perfectly. You really can’t tell from his appearance. “Judging by the time, Uncle’s group should have already started.”

After sending him to the hospital, Yu Xia had said he would be heading directly to Luo Qiang’s place, while Yu Tong would be heading to the next-door neighbour’s. Who knew whether the reporters’ broadcast would have any impact? Hopefully everything would progress smoothly.

Yu Yin had no idea how Ye Yi’s and Xu Zhi Gao’s conditions were now either. He switched the TV back on and flipped through several channels. Unsurprisingly, he found one currently reporting the news of Ye Yi’s delivery to the hospital for emergency treatment. Since the boy had been submerged in the water for a long time, the brain had been oxygen-deficient for a while. While the boy’s breathing and heartbeat had been restored, it was still unknown whether or not he would wake. Even if he did, there were a large number of possible residual effects from the lack of oxygen. The trauma might stay with him for the rest of his life.

Since it was the work of Ye Yi’s stepfather, all three incidents were being broadcasted together. Xu Zhi Gao, who had been barely rescued last night, had been sent to the intensive care unit and was currently under tight observation. Xu Zhi Gao’s limbs had all been broken. By the time he had been found, his skull had already been bleeding in several places, and his skin had been covered in burns, rope marks, bruises, and other wounds, which did not even include his internal injuries. When he had been delivered to the ER, the doctor had already said that the fact that the child had managed to stay alive for several days was a miracle already. Dying from these wounds at any moment would not be strange.

The doctor had already tried their best and performed the necessary surgeries. Now it was just a matter of fate.

In addition to all this, the stepfather that had severely injured both children had just been arrested. When the officers captured him, he had just been about to rob a female worker. Fortunately, the police were a step faster; otherwise, the female might have been attacked for no reason. The reporters had even specifically interviewed the heroic officers while blaming the evil adult that would go as far as harming children.

As Yu Yin watched the TV, he unconsciously opened his mouth. “If it were you, which of those two kids would you save?”

“?”

“Ye Yi and Xu Zhi Gao.” Yu Yin stared down at his wrist that now sported a black line. He dully continued, “One has a very good family with both his parents waiting for him; the other might not be able to experience a good life even after he’s released from the hospital….” But both were just children.

“That’s the doctor’s problem.” Yu interrupted Yu Yin’s words and quietly continued, “Not ours.”

Yu Yin started at this. He turned his head to meet those violet eyes sternly staring at him.

“…That’s true too.”