Who broke the glass 14 Pei Qingyu's phone wasn't switched off...

Pei Qingyu's head fell back limply, and a nurse grabbed a simple oxygen mask and quickly placed it over his face. The doctors and nurses crowded around him, forcing Xun Yin to the outside. He looked at Pei Qingyu through the crowd. Pei Qingyu's head lolled to one side, and a thin mist occasionally appeared inside the oxygen mask as he breathed.

Fortunately, it was only something like a collapse brought on by acute emotional distress. About an hour later, Pei Qingyu slowly regained consciousness. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Xun Yin sitting beside him, holding his wrist and carefully counting his pulse.

Pei Qingyu moved his other hand, wanting to remove the oxygen mask from his face, but he had no strength at all. Xun Yin seemed to have finally confirmed that he was all right. He glanced at him, then leaned over without a word and helped him take off the mask.

Pei Qingyu realized then that something was wrong. He ventured, "A-Xun?"

No matter how angry Xun Yin was, he could never bear to ignore Pei Qingyu. He gave a quiet murmur in response, but still said nothing else.

"Don't be angry..."

"Do you know what I'm angry about, Captain?" Xun Yin suddenly interrupted, his question stiff.

Pei Qingyu froze, looking a little dazed. He had only sensed that Xun Yin was very angry this time; he had not yet thought of what he was angry about and had simply tried to soothe him on instinct.

"You don't even know what I'm angry about. Why apologize?" Xun Yin seemed even more upset. He stood and tucked in the corners of Pei Qingyu's blanket, his voice trembling. "A PTSD episode put excessive strain on your heart. Captain, why did you never tell me you had PTSD?"

Pei Qingyu's pupils widened slightly, and his face seemed to grow a little paler. After a moment of silence, he finally shook his head under Xun Yin's gaze and turned his eyes away, no longer looking at him.

Xun Yin stepped back, unable to hide his hurt. "Captain, you never tell me anything. I don't know anything. I told you I wanted to stay by your side and protect you. Why can't you trust me? When you do this..."

Pei Qingyu still said nothing. Xun Yin took another flustered step back, then turned and opened the door. "You must be thirsty, Captain. I'll go buy you a bottle of water."

Silence fell over the hospital room again. Pei Qingyu closed his eyes briefly, then slowly pushed himself up and walked to the door. He took a deep breath and turned the handle. Just as he was about to head toward Xun Yin, the sudden ringing of his phone interrupted him.

Pei Qingyu answered the call. After a moment, he glanced toward Xun Yin, his fingers slowly tightening.

When Xun Yin returned to the room, it was empty.

Chapter 25: Who broke the glass 14 Pei Qingyu's phone wasn't switched off...

Pei Qingyu's phone wasn't switched off, but his calls would not go through.

As Xun Yin listened to the hollow ringing turn into a busy tone, anxiety and fear filled him. His fingers abruptly tightened, making the water bottle creak under the pressure. He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and dialed another number.

"Hello, Brother Xun?"

Wang Yu sounded surprised on the other end. Seeming to think of something, he asked with some urgency, "What's wrong? Did something happen to Captain Pei?"

"Where's the captain?" Xun Yin's heart sank, and he asked coldly.

On the other end, Wang Yu sounded even more surprised. "What? Aren't you with Captain Pei, Brother Xun?"

An hour earlier.

Pei Qingyu answered the phone, and Wang Yu's lowered voice came through. "Captain, I think I know who took the syringes."

Pei Qingyu frowned. Despite the noisy background, Wang Yu was keeping his voice very low. Realizing something, he asked directly, "Where are you now? Are you safe?"

"I'm fine. I'm hiding. Captain, I've been following that person since I left Song Sheng's place. He took the syringes into a little alley. As soon as I followed him in-tsk, I really should have brought the narcotics unit along."

Wang Yu's voice faded in and out, as though he was constantly keeping an eye on his surroundings. Suddenly, shrill music came through in the background. Pei Qingyu instinctively pressed a hand to his chest. When he recovered, he heard Wang Yu continuing on the other end.

"...Seriously, there's a whole row of bars here, with all sorts of listless-looking people standing and lying around outside. Who knows if they're already high? Captain Pei, should I call the narcotics unit in a bit too?"

"Leave that place first," Pei Qingyu said gravely. "If people really are gathering there to take drugs, it's far too dangerous for you to barge in unprepared. Remember the location and withdraw first. We'll discuss the rest later."

"But Captain, those two syringes are still there." Someone seemed to be approaching Wang Yu again. Hurried footsteps came through the phone as he argued in a lowered voice.

"Go back first-"

"I think I saw that the person holding the syringes was Zhuo Wumian."

Pei Qingyu froze, his fingers curling slightly around the phone. After leaving the hospital, he had gone through the evidence Xun Yin had compiled and interrogated the two people Lin Shichu had caught at the time, but he had gained almost nothing.

Pei Qingyu was absolutely certain that he had not known Zhuo Wumian before the case six months ago. Yet ever since the previous case, Zhuo Wumian had given him the feeling that he had been watching him from the darkness for a long time.

Malicious and resentful.

Pei Qingyu fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Come back first, then send me the address."

"No!" Wang Yu had just been about to agree, but at those words, he hurriedly protested. "Captain Pei, you can't go in alone. I'll send you the address and wait here for you."

"Staying there too long will arouse suspicion." Pei Qingyu drew a light breath. He took one last look at Xun Yin a short distance away, then finally began walking in the opposite direction. "Besides, who told you I was alone?"

"Oh, Brother Xun's with you?" Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and, following his orders, quickly retreated toward the mouth of the alley.

Pei Qingyu did not answer, only saying directly, "Send me the address. Once you're back at the station, tell the narcotics unit about the situation here too, but tell them not to alert anyone. If we really have found a drug den this large, we'll need a detailed plan to catch them all in one sweep."