Chapter 4: If Nothing Unexpected Happens, They Knew Each Other

But he wasn’t the same person from before… This one had fairer skin and sharper, more defined features.

What stood out the most, though, was the murderous aura radiating from him—this was someone whose hands had been stained with blood.

Suddenly.

The young man opened his eyes.

Song Yue met his gaze head-on—deep, cold, piercing.

Lu Huaishen froze for a moment when he found himself staring into a pair of bright, almond-shaped eyes. He quickly regained his composure. “You’re awake?”

Song Yue had just started to speak when he cut her off. “You…”

“Lu Huaishen.”

Song Yue had no choice but to switch to introducing herself. “Song Yue.”

They exchanged names.

Then… neither of them knew what to say, and the hospital room fell into silence.

Song Yue wanted to find a topic to talk about—after all, he was her savior.

But before she could say anything…

Her stomach spoke first.

Gurgle~

The sound echoed awkwardly in the quiet hospital room.

Song Yue had never felt this embarrassed before. Her face instantly turned red, the blush spreading all the way to her ears.

Lu Huaishen, watching the young girl’s flushed cheeks and embarrassed expression—

Somehow, he found it… cute?

Seeing him looking at her, Song Yue wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly strange—

Zhou Ye rushed back in, heading straight for the hospital bed. “Boss, food! Food!”

But before Lu Huaishen could take the net bag from him, he noticed that his boss’s gaze was fixed on the hospital bed.

Zhou Ye turned to look—

The person in the bed was awake.

And… her face was flushed? She looked kind of shy?

Then he glanced at Lu Huaishen—there was an uncharacteristic hint of amusement on his face.

Even Zhou Ye, as slow as he was, understood the situation.

Without hesitation, he set down the two bags of food. “Perfect timing. You two eat first, I’ll go get more.”

Then—

Zhou Ye left the room without looking back.

Song Yue: “…”

She had hoped a third person would help ease the awkwardness, but the guy barely stayed a second before running off.

Lu Huaishen, unaware of her inner thoughts, opened the meal boxes.

The dishes were the same, only the portion sizes were different.

Lu Huaishen placed the larger portion on the bedside table. “Be careful, it’s hot.”

Song Yue sat up and thanked him. “Thank you.”

A faint smile tugged at Lu Huaishen’s lips. “No need.”

They each held a meal box and ate in silence.

Halfway through—

Knock knock.

They both turned toward the door at the same time.

Two police officers in uniform walked in.

“Comrades, sorry to interrupt. We’re from the Zhou County Public Security Bureau. We’d like to ask this young comrade some questions regarding the human trafficking case.”

The officers approached the bedside, then turned to Lu Huaishen. “Comrade, we’ll have to ask you to step out for a moment.”

Lu Huaishen stood up, taking his meal box with him as he left.

Once he was gone, the officers gave Song Yue a reassuring smile. “Don’t be nervous. Just answer our questions truthfully.”

Song Yue nodded. “Alright.”

Hearing her response, the two officers exchanged a glance.

One of them took out a notebook and pen, preparing to take notes.

The other began asking, “What’s your name? Where do you live? Who’s in your family? How were you abducted…?”

Song Yue answered each question one by one. However, when it came to the details of her abduction—

She left out the part where her stepmother had sold her.

As for why she kept it a secret—

First, she had no evidence. If it was just her word, no one would believe her.

No one would easily accept that a stepmother could be cruel enough to sell her stepdaughter to a human trafficker.

Second, she planned to handle it herself.

Once she got back, if she didn’t utterly ruin that “family of three”…

She wouldn’t be Song Yue!

The two officers had no idea what was going through her mind.

After finishing their questioning, they smiled warmly at her.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Comrade Song. Because you managed to escape and ran into Comrades Lu and Zhou, we were able to wipe out this entire criminal ring and rescue many other victims like yourself.”

“Now, go ahead and finish your meal before it gets cold.”

Song Yue replied, “Thank you, officers. Sorry for the trouble.”

The officers stopped and turned back to look at her.

“You don’t need to be so polite. It’s our duty to protect the people and serve them.”

“Comrade Song, get some rest.”

Song Yue nodded.

The officers left, closing the door behind them.

Outside, they saw Lu Huaishen standing by the door.

They saluted him. “Comrade Lu.”

Lu Huaishen, who had been leaning against the wall, immediately straightened up and returned the salute.

Once they lowered their hands, one officer spoke. “On behalf of the victims, I’d like to thank you.”

Lu Huaishen’s voice was calm. “Captain Zhang, you’re being too formal.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Zhou Ye returning. “Captain Zhang, have you finished questioning her? If so, I’ll head back in.”

Captain Zhang nodded. “Go ahead.”

As Lu Huaishen stepped back inside, he shot Zhou Ye a meaningful glance.

Zhou Ye immediately got the message and turned to the officers with a cheeky grin. “Captain Zhang, hehe…”

…

After finishing her meal, Song Yue looked at Lu Huaishen and thanked him again. “Thank you for saving me.”

“No need.”

Lu Huaishen poured a cup of water and set it on the bedside table. “Water.”

“Thank you.”

Another thank you.

Lu Huaishen gave her a look. “Do you have anything else to say besides ‘thank you’?”

Song Yue paused. “…”

She held her cup, raised her eyes to look at him, and said, “Then, Comrade Lu, could you give me your address? When I return, I’ll send you the money.”

Lu Huaishen looked down at her. “Your name is Song Yue, and you’re from Rong City?”

Song Yue blinked and nodded. “Yes.”

Lu Huaishen: “What’s your mother’s name?”

Without thinking, Song Yue responded, “My birth mother or my stepmother?”

Lu Huaishen’s heart skipped a beat. “Your birth mother.”

“Yun Qing.”

The name echoed between them.

And then, in his mind: Yun Qing.

It matched.

Lu Huaishen’s heartbeat quickened.

He asked again, “Where was your birth mother from?”

“Beijing.”

Beijing.

It matched!

Beijing. Yun Qing.

Yun Auntie’s missing daughter—Song Yue!

No wonder…

No wonder she looked familiar. No wonder her name sounded familiar!

But… Yun Auntie had been missing for years, even the Yun family couldn’t find her. And what was this about a stepmother?

Could this all just be a coincidence? A series of happenstances lining up?

After the initial excitement, Lu Huaishen forced himself to calm down.

He had to investigate. He had to be sure.

Song Yue noticed his silence. “Comrade Lu, is something wrong?”

“No.” Lu Huaishen picked up the empty meal boxes and stood up. “You need your dressing changed. I’ll go get the doctor.”

Song Yue watched as he left the room.

Alone again, she lay back down, staring at the ceiling, planning her next steps—

How to return to Rong City, how to destroy her scumbag father, her stepmother, and her stepbrother.

…

Downstairs, Lu Huaishen ran into Zhou Ye.

“Boss.”

“Mm.” Lu Huaishen asked, “Is everything ready?”

Zhou Ye handed him a piece of paper. “The introduction letter is done.”

Lu Huaishen didn’t take it. “Good. Take it and buy her a sleeper train ticket for tomorrow morning. Also, inform the train attendant to look after her.”

“?” Zhou Ye was confused. “Boss, you really like this Comrade Song?”

“Mm.” Lu Huaishen said, “If nothing unexpected happens, I’ve liked her since childhood.”

“…What? You two know each other?”

Lu Huaishen glanced at him. “Remember when I told you my grandfather arranged a childhood betrothal for me?”

“I remember. Wait…” Zhou Ye’s eyes widened. “You’re telling me… it’s her?!”

“If nothing unexpected happens—it’s her. But I need to confirm.”

Zhou Ye hesitated. “Boss, don’t forget we still have a mission. We’ve already wasted time.”

“If I weren’t on duty, I’d personally take her back to Rong City.”

“…”