Chapter 99: Replication Experiment 23
Yi Ke did not answer, nor did he suppress the joy in his heart. He forcibly pulled the person into his arms and then, in a very cheerful tone, said, “You can wear whatever you want.”
Zhuang Ningyu: “…”
Yi Ke: “Kiss kiss kiss. Goodnight, Wife.”
Zhuang Ningyu did not have a good night. Not in the slightest. He suffered from insomnia the entire night. Although, physiologically speaking, an S-class Evolver indeed didn’t need to sleep, not sleeping and insomnia were two completely different matters. In the dead of night, Yi Ke’s steady breathing sounded in his ear. Right now, their bodies were pressed tightly together from top to bottom without any gaps. Zhuang Ningyu felt a bit awkward being poked, so he lightly pressed his hands against Yi Ke’s chest, wanting to retreat. But he had barely arched his back and moved less than five centimeters before he was scooped right back. His silk pajamas were crumpled with force. Amidst a rustling sound, Yi Ke shifted his posture with earth-shattering momentum, pressing down with both hands and feet, burying his entire face into Zhuang Ningyu’s neck again.
He dreamed sweet and soft dreams all night long.
The next day, Zhuang Ningyu was like a frosted eggplant, sitting in the meeting room looking extremely haggard. Neither tea nor coffee worked; he almost went to the research lab across the hall to inject himself with a central nervous system stimulant. After the meeting, He Mo earnestly lectured, “Even if you two don’t think for yourselves, you should think for the baby in the belly. What does it look like to indulge in excessive lust all day?”
Zhuang Ningyu didn’t have the energy to respond to him. He just yawned for the fifth time in three minutes, his eyes glazed over. Thanks to the advanced logistics system in modern society, most online purchases could be delivered on the same day. Zhuang Ningyu had absolutely no desire to face what he was about to face, so after work that day, he resolutely hailed a cab, patted his butt, and slipped away.
“Eh?” In the suburban courtyard, Zhuang Yan put down his gardening hoe and looked at his son who suddenly appeared at the door, asking in surprise, “Why are you back?”
“Bought a box of pastries for you and Mom.” Zhuang Ningyu placed the paper bag on the table. “I’ll go change my clothes first. I’m staying here tonight.”
Hearing the commotion, Zhong Yu poked her head out of the kitchen and whispered to her husband, “Did he quarrel with Little Yi?”
Zhuang Yan also thought that was likely the case; otherwise, why would he run back without even saying hello, looking so distracted?
An hour later, Yi Ke appeared at the door holding a king crab in his left hand and a blue lobster in his right, politely saying, “Hello, Uncle and Auntie.”
And just like that, he successfully took his wife back… or perhaps not so successfully, because during the process, Zhuang Ningyu had stepped out of the window, planning to hug the drainpipe and flee, but was grabbed back by Yi Ke. The road after the evening rush hour was unobstructed. Zhuang Ningyu opened the car window, letting the cold night wind of the city blow in. Slowly covering his stomach with both hands, he said in a firm tone, “Stomachache!”
Yi Ke rested one hand on the steering wheel and used the other to pull Zhuang Ningyu’s arm up a bit. “The stomach is here.”
Zhuang Ningyu had no intention of correcting himself. After getting home, he sat on the sofa, eating an old-style popsicle and grapes while continuing to have a stomachache. The origin of the world is some objective spiritual entity. A spiritual stomachache is still a pain. If I say it hurts, it hurts.
And Yi Ke indulged him completely, cooperatively helping him rub his belly. After rubbing for a while, his palm slid down from the V-line past the navel, and then he pressed inch by inch on the lower abdomen with his fingertips. Zhuang Ningyu reflexively wanted to curl up, but Yi Ke pulled his body open, pressed himself onto him again, applied a bit more force with his hand, and asked in his ear, “Did I reach this spot?”
Zhuang Ningyu had never heard such talk. He even froze for a moment, then blood rushed to his head. He felt he might really get a stomach cramp this time. He remained stiff and didn’t move. Yi Ke laughed, lowered his head to kiss that bright red ear, then withdrew his hand, helped him tidy his clothes, and hugged him tight again. “I won’t force you. How did you learn to run back to your parents’ home? Come on, let’s go shower.”
“I’ll wash myself.”
“No.”
“…”
After the shower, wrapped in dampness, Zhuang Ningyu was placed on the bedroom bed by Yi Ke and peeled out of the bathrobe. Yi Ke dried the water droplets on his lover’s legs bit by bit with a towel. Even the ten toes, pink from the hot water, were wiped one by one. Finally, he helped him change into pure cotton pajamas, freshly taken out of the dryer and washed until soft. The kiss on his forehead was gentle: “I won’t touch you. Sleep well.”
Zhuang Ningyu held his fingers. His body, thoroughly softened by the hot water, felt as light as a feather. As the lights dimmed, he floated lightly into Yi Ke’s embrace, relaxed his nerves, and fell into a lazy and comfortable sleep.
The next day at work, He Mo, still fearing the world wasn’t chaotic enough, came over to observe, wanting to see if his unborn nephew was well taken care of, and nimbly dodged a slap to the face.
“Sour and spicy chicken giblets for lunch?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a pre-prepared meal.”
He Mo was stunned by his words. “As long as it tastes good, who cares? Why such high standards for a street-side shop? Since when did you start being picky about pre-prepared food?”
Zhuang Ningyu still didn’t agree. He indeed didn’t care whether it was pre-prepared or not, but Yi Ke was off today. Eating sour and spicy chicken giblets right at his doorstep carried a high risk of being caught. He dismissed He Mo with a few words and logged into the office system. Before he could open today’s documents, he received a phone call. A colleague from the investigation team reported on the other end: “Captain Zhuang, we just confirmed the person donating to Wei Liying comes from a charity organization called ‘Universal Love and Benevolence.’ The initiator is named Jin Yi, male, 42 years old, a bar owner. The person responsible for contacting Wei Liying is named Fang Han, his secretary. She was originally a psychotherapist but had her license revoked for violating industry regulations.”
Information regarding “Universal Love and Benevolence” was sent over simultaneously. Zhuang Ningyu scanned it roughly. This charity was established two years ago, not large in scale, mainly doing some community assistance and environmental protection projects. He clicked on Fang Han’s photo. As expected, she was young and beautiful, wearing the heavy makeup common in nightclubs and dressed rather provocatively.
“Is she the only one contacting Wei Liying usually?”
“Yes, so there’s almost certainly a problem. You know, ‘Universal Love and Benevolence’ usually posts on their public account for three days just for organizing volunteers to sweep a street. Yet their help for Wei Liying is sneaky, as if they wish they could visit at midnight.”
“Is there any video of Fang Han going to Wei Liying’s house?”
“Yes, but the surveillance in that area is overwritten every ten days. Currently, we only found one very blurry clip. The technical team is still trying to recover the remaining data, not sure if they will succeed.”
Wei Liying lived in an old factory staff housing complex left over from earlier years. Usually, a niece took care of her, but the niece had been busy with work recently, so she spent most of her time living alone. The security system in the old community was imperfect, and the unit building where Wei Liying lived was in a corner, almost out of surveillance range. Plus, it was dark, so Fang Han only appeared in the video for a brief two seconds. Her black trench coat billowed in the wind, revealing two long, slender legs—in the dilapidated environment, this young woman looked unusually fashionable and out of place.
“Luckily Elder Zhong was there. He identified the person first, and then we worked backward to retrieve Fang Han’s movement route. After comparison, we finally confirmed it was her. Otherwise, with this blurriness, we might not have been able to tell.”
Saying this, he uploaded another video clip to the folder. It was from the underground garage of Fang Han’s home. This view was much clearer; it was indeed her. Black trench coat, long curly hair, a flash of bright red on the soles of her sharp high heels, and a half-lit cigarette between her fingers.
The investigator continued, “We also found out that an institution under Fu Dong once invested in Jin Yi’s bar, though they don’t have any overt connections.”
On the other end, Yi Ke was also leaning on the sofa, flipping through the information on “Universal Love and Benevolence” in his hand. Jing Lan’s voice came through his earphones: “Jin Yi, huh? I know that bar. They’re experts at internet hype. A while ago, they were sued by a competitor for using paid trolls for slander.”
“Got it. Help me keep an eye on them.” Yi Ke hung up the phone. However, the ringtone rang again very soon. This time it was another friend calling, voice mixed with a hint of urgent wailing, “It’s a matter of life and death! Come quickly to the Cotton Mill Staff Family Courtyard, Yangliu Road, hurry hurry hurry!”
“What happened?” Yi Ke grabbed his jacket and car keys, hurriedly changing his shoes.
“Didn’t you ask me to find someone to watch that Wei Liying?” the friend said breathlessly. “She’s out of control now, threatening to jump off a building!”
Yi Ke’s brows jumped violently!
Vehicles sped toward Yangliu Road from all directions of the city, hitting green lights all the way. Rushing to the scene were not only Yi Ke but also Huo Ting, He Mo, Zhong Pinghe, negotiation experts, rescue teams, medical vehicles, and Zhuang Ningyu—Wei Liying was holding a megaphone, screaming hysterically that she wanted to see him within an hour.
“Are we really going?” He Mo drove while looking at the person in the passenger seat, feeling unsure. “Don’t go. Her mind is really abnormal. What if she jumps the moment you appear? Then this… we won’t be able to explain it clearly.”
Zhuang Ningyu leaned back in his seat. “She’s searching the whole city for me with a loudspeaker right now. If I don’t go and she jumps, I won’t be able to explain it clearly either way.”
He Mo was speechless. A dull pain throbbed in his temples. After a long while, he spat out a curse. What the hell kind of things happen every day?
Dark clouds hung low, mixing with the pale gray weather—unsure if it was fog or smog—looking like dirty cotton pulled from an old quilt, soaked in filthy moisture. Outside the car window, the city was gradually becoming dim and blurry. Leaves were blown in the same direction by the wind. Experienced people knew at a glance that a storm was coming.
In this kind of ghost weather, generally, no one wanted to stay on the streets; everyone would be rushing home. However, this time was an exception. Yangliu Road was packed with people. Even with the cordon line up and countless police officers painstakingly trying to persuade them to leave, the crowd only perfunctorily retreated a few meters. Their gazes remained fixed on the dilapidated high-rise not far away. Seven stories, about twenty meters high. This height made the person standing on the roof look like a tiny dot.
“Don’t get out of the car yet.” He Mo pulled over to the side of the road. Police immediately set up a cordon behind the car. However, sharp-eyed onlookers still spotted Zhuang Ningyu through the window. The discussion at the scene instantly grew louder. A kind-hearted auntie even craned her neck and said powerfully, “Xiao Zhuang, don’t mind her! Go back quickly!”
“Exactly, Captain Zhuang, you go back.”
“This is endless.”
“Quiet, everyone be quiet.” The police officer had a splitting headache and could only keep moving the cordon back. Zhuang Ningyu watched the real-time drone footage on his phone. Wei Liying was dressed in bright red, holding a megaphone in one hand and clutching a large stack of flyers tightly in her arms. She was sitting on the narrow ledge of the building without any protective measures. It was a waterproofing ledge with no load-bearing standards. Plus, after so many years of wind and rain, it had long become as brittle as a biscuit—in other words, even if she just shifted her position slightly, she might fall.
There were two buildings like this. Wei Liying was on Unit 1. The police had just tested Unit 2; a strong person could kick a crack in the ledge with one foot. It was only because Wei Liying was thin and small that she could hang there precariously until now.
He Mo frowned deeply. This… there’s no need to risk life like this, right? Does she really want to jump?
Yi Ke kicked open the door to the stairwell. The rusty lock fell to the ground with a clang. The stairwell reeked of thick cooking fumes. He ran up, bypassing piles of cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, honeycomb briquettes, broken chairs… but ran into a group of colleagues at the corner of the sixth floor.
“Shh!” Qing Gang raised a finger, reminding in a low voice, “Don’t provoke her yet.”
