As the chaotic sound of footsteps echoed from outside, Ning Zhuo was the first to hear it.
He grabbed Shan Feibai, ready to get up.
Shan Feibai, who had only just fallen asleep, grumbled with a nasal tone, utterly reluctant: “I’m injured. Where else should I be in the middle of the night if not in bed?”
Ning Zhuo said curtly, “It’s probably someone I don’t want to see.”
Hearing this, Shan Feibai became compliant. With a push against the bed, he got up.
The medical conditions in the high-security prison district were among the best in the entire Yatebo region.
After meticulous treatment, within just a few hours, Shan Feibai’s injured bones no longer hurt, though he still felt weak.
They hid in the unlit bathroom.
Shan Feibai whispered, “Sounds like the police.”
Ning Zhuo found him annoying. “Obviously.”
Shan Feibai: “What if we get caught?”
The footsteps outside scattered, irritating Ning Zhuo. “Nothing happens.”
Shan Feibai suggested, “If we get caught, how about we pretend to be a pair of secret lovers?”
Ning Zhuo’s thoughts drifted.
The police arriving so quickly was beyond his expectations.
He repeated, “Oh, secret lovers?”
Shan Feibai analyzed methodically, “Late at night, no lights on, the two of us hiding here—what else could we be doing?”
Ning Zhuo looked at him, realizing he was seriously discussing the idea.
Shan Feibai leaned against Ning Zhuo, weak as if he had no strength, yet even after his injury, his body temperature was higher than Ning Zhuo’s. His palm rested on the small of Ning Zhuo’s back, steady and warm.
Ning Zhuo gave a half-smile. “What kind of ‘good things’ do you want to do?”
Shan Feibai, with an innocent expression, said earnestly, “Nothing specific, just act the part.”
He said, “I like you.”
At that moment, Ning Zhuo wasn’t in the mood for romance. He frowned slightly, looking puzzled.
Shan Feibai’s hand on his waist tightened a bit, his palm warmer than before. “You say it too. ‘I like you.’”
Ning Zhuo’s mind wasn’t on this.
He was still wondering if Motobu Takeshi would return, ruining his plans.
Dryly, he said, “Like.”
Shan Feibai prompted, “Say it again. It’s gotta feel believable.”
Ning Zhuo: “…I like you.”
Shan Feibai’s eyes glinted faintly in the dark. “Yeah, I like you too.”
Suddenly, Ning Zhuo felt the atmosphere shift strangely.
Their eyes met.
The sincerity in Shan Feibai’s gaze made Ning Zhuo’s heart skip a few beats.
His cheeks flushed with a mix of heat and tingling. Ning Zhuo reached to tug Shan Feibai’s ear.
Ning Zhuo was naturally adept at suppressing emotions, so he couldn’t quite grasp Shan Feibai’s unguarded words.
Shan Feibai, with his frivolous nature, what did he know about liking or not liking?
Just teasing him for fun.
But before Ning Zhuo’s hand reached halfway, the sound of footsteps outside interrupted.
Instead, Ning Zhuo covered Shan Feibai’s mouth, thought for a moment, and then covered his nose too.
Shan Feibai didn’t struggle, but a small, warm wetness brushed Ning Zhuo’s palm.
Ning Zhuo hadn’t expected him to mimic a wolf cub so perfectly. His hand loosened slightly, and Shan Feibai, taking advantage, pulled him into a playful embrace.
With a soft hiss, Shan Feibai reminded him, “Shh.”
Ning Zhuo clenched his teeth, maintaining the awkward embrace while listening intently.
The skin where Shan Feibai brushed against him felt unusually hot, constantly vying for his attention.
Only when Ning Zhuo confirmed that the approaching footsteps belonged to the person he least wanted to hear did his focus snap back.
What a coincidence.
Of all people, it was Lin Qin walking into their room.
And at that moment, the prison’s broadcast system crackled to life.
Since the plan had begun, some encounters were inevitable.
So, Ning Zhuo reached over Shan Feibai’s shoulder, pressed the toilet flush button, and pulled him close, whispering, “Let’s go.”
When the three of them appeared together, the atmosphere in the ward grew subtly tense.
Lin Qin stared at Ning Zhuo.
Facing Ning Zhuo’s questioning, Lin Qin answered indirectly, “You… haven’t grown much taller.”
Realizing the comment wasn’t ideal, Lin Qin quickly waved it off with a smile. “No, no, I mean—”
Ning Zhuo glanced outside, spotting Mr. Kenan directing a film crew nearby.
He looked back, cutting Lin Qin off. “Since when did you start hanging out with Interest Company?”
Lin Qin smiled good-naturedly. “Without their help, I wouldn’t even get in here.”
Ning Zhuo’s expression didn’t change, but he nodded lightly in his mind.
He had intended to give Lin Qin a leg up.
But if Lin Qin stubbornly believed that “strong detective skills” could solve everything in Silver Hammer City, he’d be better off playing make-believe.
So far, Lin Qin didn’t seem that naive.
“And you?” Lin Qin asked with an extremely gentle tone, voicing his biggest question. “Why are you here?”
Ning Zhuo replied, “Business.”
Lin Qin: “What kind of business?”
Ning Zhuo crossed his arms, guarded. “Is this an interrogation?”
“No,” Lin Qin said. “It’s a friend’s concern.”
Shan Feibai nodded lightly beside them. “Ah, friends.”
Ning Zhuo turned to him. “What’s it to you?”
Shan Feibai muttered, “…Stole my apple.”
His childish tone made Ning Zhuo relax slightly from his tense state. “Shut up. I’ll peel you another one later.”
Lin Qin’s face flushed.
After all, he was holding the apple, caught red-handed.
Lin Qin spoke up, “I didn’t mean to. When I was a kid, Ning peeled the same kind of apple for me. It felt a bit nostalgic.”
His explanation only made Shan Feibai’s blood rush to his head.
Shan Feibai looked at Ning Zhuo, dragging out his words, “—Ning-ge’s that nice, huh?”
Recalling the low, panting voice of a young man from a recent phone call, Lin Qin guessed at their relationship and quickly tried to clarify, “He’s just a good person… to everyone.”
Shan Feibai was skilled at using his emotions.
He knew that joking around at this moment could diffuse the oddity of their presence here and give Ning-ge some emotional breathing room.
But now, he was genuinely upset, his heart burning, aching, sour.
Ning Zhuo noticed Shan Feibai’s face darken.
Years of habit made Ning Zhuo find it amusing when Shan Feibai was frustrated, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
His mood lightened, and that trace of unease dissipated.
He turned to Lin Qin. “What did you just ask? ‘Why am I here’?”
Lin Qin faced him. “Yeah, I…”
Ning Zhuo said, “I’m here to protect someone named Motobu Takeshi.”
Silence.
A heart-pounding silence, like an invisible tide, spread through the ward once again.
Lin Qin pressed one hand on his black copper baton, his thumb repeatedly stroking its tip to ease the sudden pressure welling up inside him.
Lin Qin confirmed, “Motobu Takeshi?”
Ning Zhuo: “Yes.”
Lin Qin: “He hired you?”
Ning Zhuo: “Yes. You know him?”
Lin Qin: “Why did he hire you?”
Ning Zhuo: “I was hired to do a job that required me to spend some time in prison. Coincidentally, Motobu Takeshi had a few incidents, and his people weren’t up to the task, so he brought me in.”
Lin Qin mentally noted this, refraining from asking what “incidents” Motobu Takeshi had encountered. “So conveniently, you ended up in the high-security district of First Prison?”
Ning Zhuo: “Not a coincidence. Someone arranged for me to be here.”
Lin Qin: “Who?”
Ning Zhuo: “Trade secret. Want to know? Offer a higher price.”
Lin Qin shook his head helplessly. “It’s all trade secrets. So why, when I asked earlier, you said it was just ‘business,’ but now you’re telling me you’re protecting Motobu Takeshi?”
Ning Zhuo: “I don’t usually leak job details. But if you asked anyone else in the prison, you’d find out sooner or later—I’ve been by Motobu Takeshi’s side these days.”
Lin Qin’s questions were sharp, but Ning Zhuo parried them deftly.
Lin Qin exhaled slightly and asked the most critical question, “Where is Motobu Takeshi?”
“Good question,” Ning Zhuo said. “I don’t know.”
Lin Qin frowned.
Ning Zhuo shrugged. “A few hours ago, someone tried to assassinate him. Shan Feibai took a knife for him. I’m here looking after Shan Feibai, but as for where he is now, I have no idea.”
Lin Qin shifted his gaze to Shan Feibai, sizing him up carefully.
Shan Feibai indeed carried the scent of medicine and blood, his face pale from blood loss—not an act.
Seeing Lin Qin’s thoughtful expression, Ning Zhuo called out, “Hey.”
Lin Qin: “Hm?”
Ning Zhuo asked, “Didn’t you get transferred to headquarters? Got enough funding for operations?”
Lin Qin, puzzled, looked at him through his bandages.
Ning Zhuo: “Hire me. Fifty thousand. I’ll ensure you and your team get out of First Prison safely tonight.”
Lin Qin understood what he meant and couldn’t help but chuckle. “You really… take every chance to make money, don’t you?”
Ning Zhuo adopted a no-negotiation stance. “This is the friend discount. No lower.”
Hearing the word “friend,” Lin Qin smiled faintly, holding the rabbit-shaped apple and spreading his arms to hug Ning Zhuo.
Leaning close to Ning Zhuo’s ear, he whispered, “I never realized Chang’an District was so big. All these years, I never once ran into you on the street.”
Ning Zhuo looked aside, patting his shoulder lightly, thinking, It’s not that big. I was avoiding you.
Mercenary Ning Zhuo and “White Shield” Lin Qin were better off keeping their distance.
Seeing them like this, Shan Feibai’s heart practically steeped in vinegar.
He snarked, “A hug’s fifty thousand too, no discounts.”
Lin Qin, touched by the word “friend” and merely wanting to reminisce, was caught between laughter and tears.
This didn’t dispel his suspicions about Ning Zhuo’s sudden presence, but he wasn’t trying to haggle.
Straightening up, he said sheepishly, “Did I interrupt you lovebirds?”
Ning Zhuo: “…”
“Hmph.” Shan Feibai, getting into it, muttered, “Stealing my apple, hugging my man.”
Lin Qin’s face flushed red, and he quietly put the apple back.
He hadn’t seen Ning Zhuo in years, and meeting again in such a complicated situation stirred up emotions he couldn’t quite control.
Lin Qin knew hugging someone’s partner in front of them was improper, especially with Shan Feibai staring at him resentfully, as if he were deliberately trying to steal Ning Zhuo away.
Over the years, Lin Qin had handled everyone with ease, but it had been a long time since he’d been so thoroughly roasted. He left the ward at top speed to regroup his scattered team.
Lin Qin’s thoughts were clear: Motobu Takeshi had survived an unsuccessful assassination attempt today. He’d either hole up somewhere in the prison, refusing to come out, or…
To avoid danger, he’d leave.
This suggested the rumors about First Prison’s high-security district were true.
The prison was like a public restroom—prisoners could come and go as they pleased.
So, on the night of September 30, was it the same?
…
In front of Lin Qin, Ning Zhuo held back.
After all, the last time Ning Zhuo spoke with Lin Qin, the broadcast summoning Motobu Takeshi to sing had blared unexpectedly. It was Shan Feibai’s quick thinking—leaning in with a soft gasp—that had saved the day.
They had to keep up the act in front of Lin Qin.
But once Lin Qin left, Ning Zhuo turned, dragging Shan Feibai straight to the bedside.
Before Ning Zhuo could say anything, Shan Feibai struck first.
He grabbed Ning Zhuo’s collar.
Their tugging and pulling ended with both tumbling onto the bed.
Shan Feibai, on top, stared down at Ning Zhuo. “We’re partners in crime. Shouldn’t we discuss things first?”
Shan Feibai wasn’t light, and Ning Zhuo, hands on his waist, felt baffled. “What didn’t I discuss with you?”
Shan Feibai: “He hugged you!”
Ning Zhuo: “…Did I ask him to?”
Shan Feibai gritted his teeth. “Push him away!”
Ning Zhuo: “You’re telling me what to do?”
Shan Feibai buried his face in Ning Zhuo’s chest, heedless. “I can! I paid for you today—twenty thousand. He hugged you for free and tried to eat my apple!”
Seeing Shan Feibai’s childish tantrum was a rare sight, and Ning Zhuo found it amusing.
Even as a kid, Shan Feibai hadn’t acted like this. He’d always played the good boy, calling “Ning-ge” sweetly, never throwing a fit like this.
Ning Zhuo crossed his arms behind his head. “So what do you want?”
Shan Feibai: “Pat me, and I won’t be mad.”
Ning Zhuo couldn’t believe he had the nerve to be upset. “You a dog or something?”
Shan Feibai: “Dog, cat, chicken, duck—whatever. You patted him, and I’m not happy.”
Ning Zhuo, hearing his cheeky tone, raised a hand, tempted to ruffle his hair back.
Shan Feibai noticed the movement, thinking Ning Zhuo was about to push him off.
He switched to a joking tone. “…Hey, Ning-ge, did I get too into the act?”
Ning Zhuo recalled the bathroom scene, his heart stirring, his brow furrowing.
That playful, clingy act—was it fake, just part of the performance?
Ning Zhuo felt inexplicably annoyed. He nudged Shan Feibai off with his knee, his tone turning cold. “Good you know.”
He followed Lin Qin’s footsteps out.
On the bed, Shan Feibai turned to watch Ning Zhuo leave, legs dangling over the side, swinging lightly, a happy curve on his lips.
…Ning-ge seems to really want my act to be real.
While schemes and motives swirled here, Warden Dorn was truly losing it!
It was routine for high-security prisoners to go out for “errands.”
But they were supposed to keep communication lines open for emergencies.
Motobu Takeshi had vanished into thin air, not responding, his tracker disabled!
Warden Dorn cursed Motobu Takeshi’s ancestors in his head.
Sweating profusely, he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, futilely dialing the unreachable number, his mental scales tipping dangerously.
…This was still his turf.
The high-security district had mercenaries.
They couldn’t let their client be harassed by a bunch of intruding cops.
If Lin Qin insisted on barging in…
As Warden Dorn stewed in malice, Lin Qin’s gentle voice came from behind. “Warden Dorn, found him yet?”
Dorn’s body jolted. He quickly hid his sinister expression, forcing a smile, ready to negotiate one-on-one with Lin Qin.
But as he turned, his face froze.
These days, the mercenary always at Motobu Takeshi’s side, keeping everyone at bay, stood idly behind Lin Qin like a beautiful, ferocious guardian deity, staring at him coldly.
