Coming to Myself

The place where Luo Yu lived was quite fitting for his surface persona as an elite lawyer.

A high-rise apartment in the city center, an upscale community with strict security, quiet and secluded. Even the police couldn't loiter around the neighborhood all day and had to keep watch from inconspicuous corners outside, conducting 24-hour surveillance.

Today, it was You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan's turn for the day shift.

Stakeouts were extremely tedious and boring. Both had reclined their car seats, leaning back as if dozing off, taking turns watching the community's entrance and occasionally checking Luo Yu's window with binoculars. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The boxed meals Xu Mengshan had ordered arrived. He went to the intersection to pick them up, and the two ate in silence.

You Mingxu stuck a plastic straw into her drink, took a sip, licked her lips, and set it aside.

Xu Mengshan glanced at her.

After a while, You Mingxu noticed that the stir-fried pork liver in Xu Mengshan's meal looked quite tempting, so she took a bite with her chopsticks and then handed her own box over. Without a word, Xu Mengshan took a portion of her stir-fried pork as compensation.

"What drink did you order for me?" You Mingxu took a big gulp. "It's sour and sweet—pretty tasty."

Xu Mengshan, while shoveling food into his mouth, said, "I ordered it for you the day before yesterday. Why didn't you think it was good then?"

"Really?"

Xu Mengshan chuckled and said, "As soon as you showed up today, I could tell something was off. Ever since you broke up with Yin Feng, you've been coming to work with a cold face, always looking for a fight. And you'd eat whatever was given to you, drinking everything in one go. But today, you seem normal again, like you've come back to life. What's going on? Did you two get back together?"

Good cops were sharp observers, and the one in front of her was especially cunning.

You Mingxu hadn't even noticed it herself until he mentioned it, but she realized she had been in an inexplicably good mood all day. She felt a vague sense of being caught off guard and grew irritable. Coldly, she replied, "No. On the contrary, it's because I don't care anymore that I'm like this."

Xu Mengshan finished his meal, put the box into a bag, and said, "If things keep going like this, with him always coming to our team to work on cases together, how are you going to let go?"

You Mingxu said indifferently, "Let him do what he wants. Right now, my mind is only on the case."

Just then, a familiar car drove out from the garage ahead—it was Luo Yu's. Xu Mengshan raised his binoculars and confirmed that Luo Yu was in the driver's seat. They followed him.

The sky grew dark, and traffic flowed steadily.

Luo Yu, however, drove with extreme caution—steady and unhurried. After tailing him for several days, they had never seen him violate any traffic rules.

After about half an hour, they arrived at the entrance of a nightclub. Luo Yu parked and went upstairs.

Xu Mengshan parked the car on the side of the street not far away and said, "Here he is again, indulging in debauchery."

Luo Yu's nightlife seemed to consist of just that. Aside from occasional overtime work, it was all about eating, drinking, and having fun, always mingling with all sorts of unsavory characters.

"This guy's ambitions have always been clear—he just refuses to take the righteous path," You Mingxu said. "As long as it's high risk and high reward, he never cares whether the money comes from legitimate sources. And I think he actually enjoys power, likes lording it over others."

And this kind of twisted power could only be found in the darkness of the night.

Xu Mengshan shot her a sidelong glance and said, "Tell me, why do you always attract these lost, wayward types? What kind of charm do you have that makes them flock to you one after another?"

You Mingxu: "Get lost."After keeping watch for a while longer, it was almost time for the night shift change. It seemed nothing unusual would happen tonight.

You Mingxu's phone rang—it was Yin Feng.

She glanced at the nosy Xu Mengshan, turned her head aside to answer, and spoke in a low, serious tone: "Hello."

Faint music could be heard from the other end. Someone seemed to be living quite leisurely, chuckling lightly as he called out: "A Xu."

You Mingxu didn’t want to respond.

Yin Feng asked: "What’s wrong? Is it inconvenient to talk?"

"Never mind, go ahead."

"It’s like this," he said slowly. "I have some new thoughts about that organization. Come over for dinner, and we can discuss it."

You Mingxu paused for two seconds.

He waited patiently.

Then she laughed softly and said: "Sure."

Afraid of you?

He sensed her nonchalance, and his voice carried a deeper smile as he said: "Send me your address. Tuya will pick you up."

His car was too conspicuous. You Mingxu replied: "No need, it’s inconvenient. I’ll call a ride myself."

Yin Feng understood and asked again: "How long will it take?"

You Mingxu checked her watch: "I’ll be off work in half an hour. Probably an hour to get to your place."

"Alright," he said softly. "A Xu, I’ll be waiting for you."

After hanging up, You Mingxu’s expression remained indifferent as she gazed at the neon lights shimmering at the nightclub’s entrance. The night had deepened, and the faces of pedestrians on the street were blurred. The lights floated faintly in the air, utterly silent. Just like her heart—long dormant, yet finally rippling. But there was also confusion, bitterness, and an unknown significance.

Not long after, two colleagues arrived for the shift change, half an hour earlier than expected. Xu Mengshan briefly updated them on the day’s situation. As You Mingxu was packing up, she inadvertently looked up and suddenly froze.

The nightclub had three floors, exuding a subtle fragrance and understated luxury. Each floor had several windows, barely visible in the dark night. But You Mingxu had exceptional eyesight and sharp perception. In that fleeting glance, she had actually spotted a familiar figure passing by a second-floor window. She immediately raised her binoculars, but the person had disappeared somewhere and was nowhere to be seen again.

Xiao Yan.

Even though he was dressed in black and slightly bowed his head, You Mingxu couldn’t mistake that delicate face, fair neck, and slender frame.

Under Yin Feng’s command, Xiao Yan was like a scout from ancient times—skilled at picking locks, capable of breaking into any unguarded place. Agile and elusive, adept at petty theft and slippery as an eel.

There was only one reason Yin Feng had sent him here: it was also for Luo Yu.

You Mingxu frowned slightly. Since Yin Feng had decided to cooperate with her, such covert private actions could no longer be allowed to run amok. She decided to talk to him about it that evening.

Since the shift change colleagues had arrived early, there was no need for her and Xu Mengshan to linger any longer. They got out of the car under the cover of night and moved away from the nightclub vicinity. Xu Mengshan said: "Let’s go, the bus stop is over there."

You Mingxu didn’t even lift her eyelids: "You go ahead. I have something else to do."

Xu Mengshan patted her shoulder twice, said nothing, and left.

You Mingxu stared at the night and the flow of traffic ahead. Her brother’s tacit understanding warmed her heart but also stirred some annoyance. Her annoyance was directed at Yin Feng—he was too adept at manipulating people, using You Yingjun as bait to lure her closer. Still, she was no pushover either. She would meet his moves with her own.

Soon, the ride she had booked through the app arrived, and she headed straight to Yin Feng’s home.

The night grew even deeper.When the car entered the villa community, it was almost 9 p.m. You Mingxu hadn't told Yin Feng she would arrive early—what was there to say? Following the green paths within the community, the car moved slowly, and from a distance, the walls surrounding Yin Feng's house were already visible.