Just like that, Zhu Xuanyue began to settle down with her life at Peace Mansion. The only people aside from Xia Lei who knew of her true origin were the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members and Xia Changhe. In the eyes of the general public, she was Zhu Xuanyue from the White Hun tribes in Afghanistan, here in China in search of her relatives. She was very unlucky, getting involved in a car crash with Xia Changhe who damaged her brain on her first few days in Jingdu. Out of obligation, Xia Lei decided to let her stay at the Peace Mansion to look after her.

The next day after helping Zhu Xuanyue get used to her new life, Xia Lei had received a call from Tang Yuyan. The conversation had prompted him to rush towards the sanatorium Ning Jing had escaped from.

He could already spot Tang Yuyan from afar, the female was waiting for his arrival at the bottom floor of the building. Today, she was dressed in a white sweater and some blue denim that went well with her New Balance sneakers. The overall outfit gave her a refres.h.i.+ng appearance. Tang Yuyan’s chest filled out the white sweater in the front snugly while her round behind had tightened her jeans. Her face was gorgeous underneath the warm afternoon sun. Tang Yuyan was akin to that of a pure white peony, beautiful and poised.

Xia Lei left his car to approach her with a smile. “Yuyan, what’s the matter? I tried asking but you didn’t answer. Why have you called me here?”

“You don’t know that Ning Jing is missing?” Tang Yuyan stared at Xia Lei. Though the topic at hand was something serious, the corner of her lips couldn’t suppress the smile it wanted to make. She was ecstatic to see her lover. Tang Yuyan just couldn’t hide her glee.

“Ning Jing is missing?” Xia Lei feigned a shocked expression. “When did this happen?”

“She’s been gone for days.” Tang Yuyan grabbed Xia Lei’s hand and pulled him into the building. She walked as she spoke, “The sanatorium had decided to keep it a secret, planning to only report it to the police if they had given up. And yeah, I just received word yesterday.”

“The report was made yesterday but you’re already starting investigations today?”

“Of course not. I’ve already sent an agent over to do some prior investigations yesterday, we found nothing. That’s why I decided to come here myself to see if I can get a hold of any clues.”

“If you’re here to work, why did you need me over?” Xia Lei couldn’t help but raised his suspicion. Ning Jing was kidnapped by Qin Xiang under his instructions and if Tang Yuyan was the one handling this case, she was probably trying to probe him for information. Xia Lei had decided to be a little cautious to prepare himself in this aspect.

Tang Yuyan turned around to roll her eyes at Xia Lei coquettishly. You’re Bureau 101’s supervisor, you’re the expert. Is it wrong for me to ask for your help in this case? If Long Bing had found herself in a case like this, she would definitely ring you up for help. I’m sure you’re always more than willing to rush to her aid.”

Xia Lei let out a slight sigh of relief while he remained in his engaged facade. “What are you saying? Ning Jing is my friend. I’m very anxious about her being missing. Plus, you called for me and I’m certainly here to help.”

“Don’t worry too much about it. A lot of people are looking for her, I’m sure we’ll find her very soon.” She pressed on the lift b.u.t.tons.

Entering the lift, Xia Lei scoffed to himself. “Ning Jing had already morphed into another person. It would be weird if you could find her.”

The metal doors closed.

Abruptly, Tang Yuyan pushed Xia Lei.

On reflex, Xia Lei took a step back. He then found his back pressed to the walls of the lift.

Taking advantage of his position, Tang Yuyan lunged forward and sandwiched the man in between her arms against the cold metal wall.

They stared into each other’s eyes. One gaze was awkward and nervous while the other fiery like flames.

“You…” Xia Lei broke the silence.

“Did Uncle Xia not mention it to you yet?” Tang Yuyan began to close their distance slowly. Her proud b.r.e.a.s.t.s were the first to provide contact between the pitifully small gap between them. Her chest rubbed themselves against his. The entire process felt like two snow mountains experiencing an avalanche at the same time.

“Mention what?” Before he could wait for her answer, Xia Lei quickly diverted her attention. “Please don’t do this, it’ll be troublesome if someone were to walk in now.”

“I don’t care.” Tang Yuyan continued to press her weight onto him. “I’ve been waiting for your response all this time. How long are you going to make me wait?”

“Hadn’t I made it clear?” Thick-skinned, Xia Lei answered her. “I don’t want to be married again.”

“Then what is the point of your impressive wealth? Are you really not going to have an heir to continue your legacy? Have you really thought about it?”

Xia Lei smiled bitterly. “I really hadn’t thought about that before. I’ll answer you after I think this through.”

As soon as his last word was uttered, Tang Yuyan abruptly closed the last remaining distance between them. Taking him by surprise, she pressed her red cherry lips against his mouth. Within a second, her tongue was ready to a.s.sault his warm cavern. The sneaky pink organ pried open his slack jaw to tangle itself with his tongue.

The fragrance and sweetness of her being invaded his senses. The softness and silkiness of her warm tongue were as inviting as a b.u.t.tercream strawberry shortcake.

Xia Lei wanted to push her away but his palms had missed the target miserably to land on her soft mounts. He was certain that he had meant to push her away but the action definitely looked like groping.

Suddenly, the lift opened.

A bunch of white-robed medical personnel stared at the couple in the lift blankly. There were two things that drew their attention, which happened to be where her lips were and the position of his palms.

The moment the metal doors opened to reveal the rendezvous happening inside, all movements ceased. Everyone froze.

One second later, Tang Yuyan quickly pushed herself away from Xia Lei.

Sheepishly, Xia Lei lifted his head to observe the ceiling, as if it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

“Ahem.” Tang Yuyan cleared her throat then exited the lift. “Where is your director? I’m Tang Yuyan, the head investigator of Ning Jing’s disappearance.”

A middle-aged man went forward to greet her courteously. “Oh, you’re Miss Tang! It’s really nice to meet you. I too share the same surname, we’re probably from the same family.”

Without letting Director Tang finish his introduction, Tang Yuyan interrupted his ramble. She held a palm up and said, “This is Xia Lei, my colleague and my fiance.”

What the h.e.l.l was that?

The other few medical personnel stared at Tang Yuyan and Xia Lei weirdly, including Doctor Wei Guanyi who knew Xia Lei very well. He was aware of Xia Lei’s ident.i.ty but decided to act like they were strangers this time.

At this moment, a nurse hurried down the corridor after emerging from a room at the end of it. She was pale and scared, she ran and screamed, “This is bad! Something awful happened! Director, we’ve got a situation!”

“What’s the matter?” Director Tang immediately scowled. “What are you doing panicking like that? Can’t you wait till I’m back in my office?!”

“I…” The nurse was absolutely panting from her dash, she looked terrified even. It seems that something awful had really happened but Director Tang was quick to dismiss her.

“You’re violating the rules! Go to my office and wait for me!” Director Tang’s words were laced with contempt.

As the nurse was about to leave, Tang Yuyan quickly halted her. “Wait, what happened? Tell me.”

“I…” The nurse turned to stare at Director Tang with wide eyes.

Director Tang put up a practised smile. “Miss Tang, please don’t mind her. She’s new here and hasn’t been coached well. She still is not used to the rules and protocol here. I think we should continue…”

Tang Yuyan was resolute. “I want her to tell me now! If she doesn’t speak, you’d be barred from speaking too.”

Director Tang paled.

“Speak!” Tang Yuyan’s tone hinted anger, which probably wasn’t best to not have her request entertained.

This was the first time Xia Lei had encountered an angry Tang Yuyan. This was the first time he had felt such intense leader vibes from her. The current her was much different from when they were in the lift.

“Come on, speak. What are you stalling there for?” Director Tang was increasingly anxious.

“I.. I…” The nurse was very nervous. “Leader, Director, another two of the expert team members had pa.s.sed away.”

“Huh?” Director Tang was stunned.

“Another two members of the expert team died?” Tang Yuyan was quick to question. “Were there more deaths from the team before we came?”

The nurse returned an honest nod. “We lost one yesterday night.”

Beads of cold sweat started to form on Director Tang’s forehead.

Tang Yuyan pointed a finger at him. Coldly, she spoke, “When Ning Jing went missing, you didn’t report it to us. We missed the golden time frame for the search. You even hid the death of one of the experts that occurred yesterday night. I’ve got to admit, you’re quite the talented man. Sadly, it seems that the director’ job isn’t well suited for you, I think you should consider being the security guard instead.”

“I…” Director Tang was very shocked.

“What are you waiting for? Bring me to them, now!” Tang Yuyan roared out her instruction with no regards to Director Tang.

The bunch of medical personnel quickly led the way, no one had bothered to spare Director Tang a glance.

Xia Lei followed behind them, not the least bit sorry over Director Tang’s situation. There were just too many leaders like him roaming around this land. If he hadn’t encountered Tang Yuyan today, Director Tang would’ve probably kept up his disgusting act. Unfortunately for him, fate had something else in store for him.

There were two beds in the ward, each laid one member of the expert team. There was no colour to their face and voided any indications of breathing. It was evident that they weren’t dead for long but the two bodies were already looking like they had been frozen in the morgue for a few days. Their conditions were eerie, they looked like zombies.

“How long were they dead for?” asked Tang Yuyan.

“I don’t know the exact time but it’s probably less than an hour ago,” answered the nurse who found the bodies.

Tang Yuyan averted her gaze onto Xia Lei, her fierce stares immediately melting into something more tender.

Xia Lei came closer to one of the beds. He extended an arm to touch the body’s wrist. Upon contact, the lack of warmth was stark. Xia Lei couldn’t help but be confused, the man had only been dead for less than an hour, it didn’t make any sense for his body to be so cold. What the h.e.l.l happened to him?

His left eye twitched slightly. Soon, the man’s scalp and skull made way for his inspection. He was shocked by what he had seen with his X-ray vision. The man’s brain had already shrunken down to the size of an apple. It looked void of any form of moisture and its colour was not the regular greyish-white but a rotten black.

A body who had not been dead for less than an hour shouldn’t display such obvious oddities aside from their brain's ceasing function. The phenomenon before him was definitely not normal!

What had the two experts experienced before their death?

Said question appeared in Xia Lei’s mind.

“Bad news!” A woman’s voice could be heard from outside the ward. “Another expert is dead! Doctors! Please! It’s an emergency!”

Following that, the doctors in the ward hurriedly rushed out.

Xia Lei’s mind went blank for a moment before he followed suit.