Page 29

Pei Qingyu's head swam. He did his utmost to keep Xun Yin from noticing anything unusual, yet somehow knew that trying to hide it from Xun Yin was futile.

"Captain, what are we going to do, then?"

Xun Yin brushed the strands of hair on Pei Qingyu's forehead, damp with cold sweat. His voice was calm, and seemed to carry a hint of reassurance.

"...Go find Song Xuanmo, but not us." Pei Qingyu felt the light before his eyes gradually fading. He sighed silently, lowered his head, and gave a quiet laugh. "You... take me to Song Xuanmo."

At that same moment, Xun Yin's fingers instinctively found Pei Qingyu's pulse. Its rapid, irregular beat instinctively made him think something was wrong. Before he could register what Pei Qingyu meant, a weight suddenly sank against his arm.

-Pei Qingyu's face was as pale as paper. His eyes closed as he slumped limply into Xun Yin's arms, already unconscious.

"Have him get one bag of IV fluids at home every day this week. Do you have an oxygen concentrator? If he feels short of breath, give him some oxygen right away."

As Song Xuanmo spoke gently, he inserted an IV cannula into Pei Qingyu's vein. Pei Qingyu seemed to have fallen into a deep coma. Even the pain of the needle failed to elicit the slightest response; he remained unconscious and unaware.

Xun Yin said nothing. When he had rushed in carrying Pei Qingyu earlier, he had given everyone a fright. Seeing the terrible look on Xun Yin's face, Song Xuanmo had thought Pei Qingyu was already dying. Fortunately, the final diagnosis was excessive strain on the heart caused by □□ and pain. Though dangerous, it was not life-threatening.

Song Xuanmo adjusted the drip rate, glanced back at Xun Yin, and sighed. After a moment's thought, he offered some comfort. "You know that as long as Xiao Yu insists on continuing to work as a forensic pathologist, this is bound to happen. You... don't blame yourself too much."

"...I know." After a long while, Xun Yin answered softly, reaching out to slowly warm Pei Qingyu's icy fingers. "I just thought I could protect him... at least do better than this."

Song Xuanmo frowned. He keenly sensed that something seemed off between Xun Yin and Pei Qingyu. But he had always been gentle by nature and offered no further comment, merely pressing a hand to Xun Yin's shoulder.

"You've already done very well. For Xiao Yu to still be able to work as a forensic pathologist after what happened..." Song Xuanmo paused.

"Not everyone can pursue what they believe in without hesitation."

Xun Yin shook his head and dropped the subject. He took a deep breath. "Dr. Song, there's one more thing I'd like your help with."

Song Xuanmo turned at his words. Xun Yin glanced at Pei Qingyu on the hospital bed and said slowly, "Although the captain didn't get a chance to say it before he passed out, I think he insisted I bring him here because he wanted you to verify Song Xiao's identity, and test for this as well."

Song Xuanmo accepted the form Xun Yin handed him, glanced at the requested test, and nodded. "All right. The hospital can test for this very quickly. The results should be ready before Xiao Yu wakes up."

It was not until evening that the interrogation room door opened again.

Song Sheng raised her head from her folded arms, glanced at the person walking in, then buried her head again. She still wore a mask, and her loose hair almost covered her eyes, the only part of her face left exposed.

Pei Qingyu did not look at her. He sat down across the table and turned his head aside to cough for a while. The IV cannula was still in his hand, blue veins faintly visible on its back.

"Your older sister is all right now. You don't need to worry." Pei Qingyu took out a file, set it on the table, and spoke softly.

Song Sheng's body trembled as she lay over the table, as though she had finally breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly sat upright, her head lowered toward the floor.

For a moment, only the faint hum of the air conditioner remained in the interrogation room. Pei Qingyu waited a little while, then suddenly chuckled and shook his head.

"When people are extremely nervous, they instinctively follow their old patterns of behavior. Just now, all your attention was focused on the words 'she's all right,' and you instinctively accepted the wording you were used to."

Song Sheng shuddered, suddenly realizing something. She anxiously raised her head to argue, but Pei Qingyu cut her off.

"You aren't Song Sheng. The person lying in that bed is the real Song Sheng." Pei Qingyu pressed a hand to the file on the table and turned it around, staring into the eyes of the person before him. "She's your older sister. You're the younger sister, Song Xiao."

Song Sheng-actually Song Xiao-stared, dumbfounded, at the medical records on the table, which listed both women's allergies and contraindications in detail.

"You two are similar in both age and build, and even share the same blood type. That gave you the idea to switch identities."

Pei Qingyu straightened and leaned against the back of his chair, lowering his eyes to the trembling person before him as he explained bit by bit. "Her face was wrapped in bandages because she'd been disfigured, while you kept wearing a mask... You originally thought it would be foolproof, but your blood subtypes are actually different. A substance in the transfused blood that had caused you no trouble became a deadly allergen for Song Sheng, and so everything was exposed."

"No, that's not how it was." Song Xiao flung the file off the table and looked up at Pei Qingyu. "What about a motive? We had no reason to go to all that trouble..."

"There was a reason."

Xun Yin stepped forward and handed over the test results Song Xuanmo had just printed out. Song Xiao took one glance and went limp.

"You killed someone, and your older sister wanted to take the blame for you." Pei Qingyu watched the changes in the young woman's emotions. There was a trace of pity in his eyes, but his tone remained even. "I don't know what the two of you discussed, but Song Sheng must have told you she had a way to avoid the death penalty-"

Song Xiao raised her tear-streaked face, looked at Pei Qingyu, and said, enunciating every word, "She's pregnant."

"No, no, that's wrong, it wasn't..." Song Xiao shook her head frantically, but there was nothing she could do to turn things around now.

"Five fingerprints were collected at the scene, and there was another on the handle of the knife used to stab Zhang Zhao. We only need to compare them to find out whose it was," Xun Yin said coldly from behind Pei Qingyu.

"Tell us the whole truth, from beginning to end. Only when we know the truth can we help you," Pei Qingyu said softly at last.