He Got Away

Shen Yu's mind was as still as water. He was as emotionally stable as an otter.

It was all thanks to Xie Shuyang, who had added a little sedative to his medication with a wave of his hand. Once Shen Yu relaxed, the drowsiness set in. He was rarely awake and spent most of his time sleeping. Whenever he opened his eyes, he saw Xie Shuyang sitting by the bed, head lowered as he wrote and drew in the medical record, only to refuse when Shen Yu said he wanted to go out.

Shen Yu settled for the next best thing. He wouldn't go out, so surely they could stop adding the sedative?

Perhaps his expression was too sincere, because Xie Shuyang agreed.

So, on the third day, after seeing off Xu Shenzheng, who had come to visit, Xie Shuyang temporarily entrusted Shen Yu to Xiao Yun while he handled an emergency surgery. When he returned to room 1217 afterward, he found it empty, with only the still-dripping needle left behind. His expression turned frighteningly dark.

He turned around and saw Xiao Yun, who had been looking everywhere for him. "Teacher, why did you ask me to come over after your surgery?"

Xie Shuyang frowned. "I didn't."

"Huh? Sister Kong told me you were looking for me. She said it was urgent."

"Kong Zhaoyue?"

Only after nodding did Xiao Yun notice that the patient was gone. Realizing she had been tricked, she stopped Kong Zhaoyue, who happened to be pushing a cart past, and asked her about it. Kong Zhaoyue looked confused. "Dr. Xie sent me the message. I was wondering why you two needed me to pass messages between you."

Xie Shuyang felt in his pocket. Well, well. The little brat had even filched his phone.

Watching Xie Shuyang's expression grow increasingly stormy, Xiao Yun called softly, "...Teacher?"

"It's fine. Get back to work. I'm going to catch a naughty child who ignored medical advice and ran off." Xie Shuyang returned to the room and, sure enough, found his phone under the pillow. He first requested time off, then started contacting the people at the office.

"Are you coming home to eat? Lunch is ready—your favorite beef brisket rice. I also bought some cold mixed vegetables. We're just waiting for you."

A gentle female voice came through the phone's speaker. The man waiting at the traffic light hurriedly replied, "Yes, I'm on my way back now. Go ahead and eat; don't wait for me. I'll be there soon."

"Then hurry up."

Beep, beep.

The call ended on the phone clipped to the car mount. The man lit a cigarette and set off in a wonderful mood. Just after turning a corner, he saw a blue-haired young man in a hospital gown flagging down cars.

But he was heading home. He looked around; the area was rather out of the way, and with it being mealtime, there were very few cars about. He stopped. "Where to?"

"The shopping street."

It was on his way home, so the man readily nodded. "Get in."

The passenger was none other than Shen Yu, who had escaped from the hospital. Wearing a hospital gown was far too conspicuous. If he went to the Police Bureau, he would be stopped immediately and wouldn't get to see Luo Ningsang. Besides, he had been lying in bed for six days and wanted to find out what was going on first. Those people wouldn't tell him, so he would change clothes and ask around.

Lu Yanjin had returned his phone, fully charged. There was no money in it, but it was linked to Luo Ningsang's close-contact payment account.

Shen Yu felt entirely justified. He was already calling him brother, so what was wrong with spending a little of his money?

Surgeries with Xie Shuyang as the lead surgeon usually took over three hours, but Shen Yu had heard Xiao Yun mention that today's case didn't seem so serious. So, conservatively, he allowed two hours. It had taken about half an hour to trick Xiao Yun into leaving and slip out of the hospital, leaving him an hour and a half to prepare.

After paying and getting out of the car, Shen Yu picked a menswear shop at random and put together an outfit.

The sleeves of his light gray sweatshirt were rolled up to his forearms, exposing his prominent wrist bones. Smoke-gray trousers fell straight down his legs. The whole outfit was plain and muted, the fabric soft and worn-looking. His long hair was tied back and fell over his shoulder, and a distressed black baseball cap sat on his head, its brim pulled down slightly to half conceal his eyes and brows. His figure was tall and straight; the young man in the mirror had a distinctive air of aloofness and cleanness.

Shen Yu looked at his conspicuous blue hair and frowned. He borrowed a pair of scissors from the shopkeeper and was positioning them to cut it off when she screamed and stopped him.

The shopkeeper pressed him into a chair and deftly pinned up his hair. Perhaps sensing that he didn't want it to show, she took out a black hairpiece and fitted it over the bun. Apart from a few loose strands by his ears, there was no sign of Shen Yu's long blue hair.

Shen Yu thanked her and left. As the shopkeeper tidied up, she heard that she had received another two hundred yuan as a thank-you, on top of the price of the clothes.

She hurried outside, but the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.

Shen Yu circled back to the office and mingled in the residential compound behind it. There was a pavilion where a group of elderly people sat playing board games. Among them was a young man with headphones around his neck, dyed white hair, and an ear cartilage stud that glinted in the sunlight. He had chains all over him and gave off a distinctly non-mainstream vibe.

He glanced up at Shen Yu as he approached. Only then did Shen Yu notice that the young man's eyes were golden.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Shen Yu looked away.

But the white-haired young man persisted and followed him. "I think we're pretty fated. Want to get to know each other?"

Shen Yu couldn't be bothered to spare him a glance. He joined the group of old men playing go. The game was nearing its end, and the black stones had almost completely surrounded the white ones. No matter how white struggled, defeat was inevitable.

"Jingsong, thanks for the game."

The old man playing black chuckled.

The old man called Jingsong kept rubbing a white stone between his fingers, staring silently at the board for a long time as he searched for a way out.

"The game's already decided. Stop struggling on your deathbed. Admit defeat and let's play another round."

Though Chu Jingsong was old, he was full of vigor. Even sitting down, he held his back perfectly straight. He placed the white stone in his hand and said, "I never admit defeat."

"All right." The man across from him was fired up too. He pushed the white stones another step toward a dead end. "If you can win this game, I'll do whatever you want."

The people around them began to egg them on.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Then how about that bottle of liquor your son gave you last year? I've had my eye on it for ages."

"I think that works."

"Hold on. Brother Chu and Brother Gu are playing. What's it got to do with you?"

Gu Chongan placed another stone. "It's no use if I'm the only one who agrees. If Jingsong won't play, there's nothing I can do."

The group turned to egging Chu Jingsong on.

Chu Jingsong relented too, but Gu Chongan immediately asked for the white wine he had treasured for so long and couldn't bear to drink. His cheek twitched a few times, but saving face won out in the end. "...Fine."

Black and white stones fell in turn.

The smile on Gu Chongan's face grew wider and wider, until a relatively young voice rang out from behind Chu Jingsong and brought it to an abrupt halt.

"Nine-sixteen."

The hopeless position suddenly came alive.

Gu Chongan stared blankly at the board. When he had seen the two of them come over, he hadn't paid them any mind, thinking they were young people who had come to watch the fun and would leave after a while. Instead, one of them had opened his mouth and done him in.

Chu Jingsong's eyes lit up at once. He pressed the black stones relentlessly, and after a few more moves, Gu Chongan rolled a black stone between his fingers several times, then grabbed a handful and scattered them over the board in surrender.

"Tsk, you really did win." Gu Chongan was more interested in the young man behind Chu Jingsong. "Whose family are you from? How come I haven't seen you before?"

Shen Yu said, "My surname is Shen."

Shen? Gu Chongan quickly ran through the names in his head. Unable to find a match, he was puzzled.

Chu Jingsong was delighted. He smiled and patted Shen Yu on the shoulder. "Have you studied go?"

Shen Yu thought for a moment. "This is my first time watching."

"In this life."

He added.

Chu Jingsong was astonished, but he also thought Shen Yu was exaggerating. How could he understand it so well on his first viewing? His expression immediately turned a little displeased, but he found an excuse for him: young people were naturally brash and headstrong.

"You've got some skill."

After the compliment, Chu Jingsong turned away, but Shen Yu stopped him.

"I helped you, so shouldn't you do me a favor?"

Chu Jingsong's expression grew even more displeased. It seemed to him that this person had come specifically to catch him here and put him in his debt. Could his identity have been exposed? How were those people handling intelligence? Had the Police Bureau sprung leaks like a sieve?

Shen Yu didn't care what he was thinking. The people at the office wouldn't tell him anything, and even the people below them all kept their mouths tightly shut when he sought them out. He didn't want to use force, so he set his sights on the residential compound behind the office. After all, weren't the old men who wandered around here every day a source of information?

Chu Jingsong suppressed his impatience. "What favor?"

Once he found out, he would go put pressure on those people who couldn't sit still. Daring to scheme against him—they really were tired of living.

Shen Yu looked at the ring of curious faces around them and leaned down. "Could we speak somewhere private?"

Chu Jingsong snorted coldly and followed him away.

Gu Chongan sounded regretful. "He seemed like a good kid. How did he end up mixed up with those people?"

Clearly, he was thinking the same thing as Chu Jingsong.

"Whoever's behind him is finished either way. I haven't seen Brother Chu this angry in a long time."

"Forget that. Brother Gu, are you going home to get the liquor?"

"Tsk, wait here."