In thе private rооm of a сertain сlub, thе Еurореan-stylе decor everywhеrе showсasеd thе high рriсe оf thе sеrviсеs herе, with the scent оf high-еnd pеrfume ocсasionаlly wafting gеntlу аlоng with thе wаrm аir. The mаssеuse аttеntivеly mаssagеd Нe Zhengrеn's wаist and lеgs, reminding him from time tо time to relах, but hе remаined extrеmеlу anхiоus, his bоdу tеnsе and rigid.
"Саn't get thrоugh," Li Hаozhang rеgretfullу infоrmеd Hе Zhеngrеn аfter his Nth attemрt.
He Zhengren, with a stеrn face, sаid to the mаsseusе, "Yоu go оut first, come back in a while."
Li Haozhang made sure the door was tightly closed, spread his hands, and shrugged helplessly. "Based on the timeline, he should have returned from Pearl Peak to West Great Beach, or even Golmud, today. When I contacted him at noon, although he didn't answer the call, it at least went through. But somehow, now..."
"What, has Pearl Peak turned into the Bermuda Triangle? Zhang Chenguang went there and disappeared, Ma He went there and disappeared again?" He Zhengren rubbed his knees. "If it weren't for my leg being inconvenient, I'd really like to go there myself and see if Old He can also enter some alternate dimension, making it impossible for all of you to find me, hmph!"
Li Haozhang patiently said, "Maybe his phone ran out of battery? It's inconvenient to charge on the road, and he has to be wary of Xiao Ba. Don't worry just yet... He's different from Lao Zhang, he hasn't been with you for long. You've never assigned him any transaction tasks; these past two years, he's just been an informant around Xiao Ba. Even if something happens to him, it's far less serious than Lao Zhang's disappearance."
"Did he get the thermos Lao Zhang used for transactions? Did he figure out the location where the Pearl Peak photo was taken?" He Zhengren snorted coldly. "Apart from following Xiao Ba and providing us with some trivial intelligence, what has he actually done?!"
"At least he provided the coordinates for Qiangtang and Guniang Lake," Li Haozhang said. "Lao Zhang and Song Fan are both useless now. You're not in good health, and it's inconvenient for you to show your face. Ma He is one of the few people you can rely on outside."
"What's the use of getting those coordinates?" He Zhengren sighed. If it weren't for Ma He telling him that Bayunye had three photos left by Ba Xiye, he wouldn't have known that those people had pulled such tricks before they died. Diao Zhuo wasn't easy to fool. He had finally made a breakthrough with Bayunye through Ma He, but the meaning of the three photos remained an unsolved mystery.
The trunk of the Wrangler was wide open. Bayunye sat dejectedly on one side, her head hanging low. On her phone screen was a screenshot of a message Brother Long had just sent—
Hippo: Brother Long I've decided to quit goodbye
So rushed that he didn't even bother with punctuation.
Earlier, she had searched through the entire climbing backpack but couldn't find the thermos. Frustrated, she rummaged through all her luggage, every corner of the car, and even searched Fu Yingtao's backpack that she had carried down together, but it was still nowhere to be found. Everything felt like a dream. The journey to Pearl Peak seemed fruitful on the surface, but in reality, it was all for nothing—like riding a roller coaster from the lowest point to the highest, then plunging straight down to the bottom again.
From the moment she started descending, she hadn't let anyone else touch her backpack. From the South Slope base camp to Golmud, there were only her and Hippo in the car. Hippo, who seemed cheerful and carefree all day, disappeared along with the thermos she had found, which was suspected to have been dropped by Zhang Chenguang, after Brother Long exposed his dubious background. He left behind a series of question marks and exclamation points.Hippo might be connected to Zhang Chenguang—this speculation left Bayunye stunned for a long time.
Diao Zhuo pulled her into an embrace, and she clung tightly to his waist as if seeking support. It was the first time he had seen Master Ba so fragile and vulnerable, and he couldn’t bear to see her like this.
“Losing the thermos after finally finding it is all my fault.” Bayunye never hesitated to admit her mistakes. “I got too carried away. Brother Long clearly warned me to be careful of Hippo, but I thought I was clever enough to handle him, believing he couldn’t cause any real trouble. I even lied to him, saying I never found the thermos, and didn’t think to carry it with me. In the end… he stole it and went off the grid. I’m such a fucking idiot!”
“Enough…” Diao Zhuo gently ruffled her hair. “Maybe it’s just a thermos worth three thousand yuan. Whether we earn that money or not makes no difference to us.”
Bayunye stood up anxiously, pacing in place for a moment. “No, this isn’t just about money for you. If you want to scold me, go ahead. I won’t—”
“You just came down from the mountaintop. Instead of asking if you’re tired or hungry, I should pick a fight over a thermos?” Diao Zhuo sighed softly. “Is that the kind of person you think I am?”
“Then what should we do?”
“Check the surveillance footage to make sure he wasn’t coerced.”
“Right! Let’s go to the monitoring room and take a look!”
Diao Zhuo stopped her, telling her to rest at the hotel first while he checked the footage.
“You put so much effort into identifying whether the thermos matched the one Zhang Chenguang had. Aren’t you really angry with me?”
“Some things are impossible to guard against. There’s no need to blame each other.” Diao Zhuo led her toward the hospital exit. “Just don’t go off the grid, Master Ba.”
“Since you say so… carry me on your back.” It made no logical sense.
Diao Zhuo crouched down and hoisted her onto his back. She was truly exhausted, clinging to him quietly without her usual playful antics. Before they even reached the nearby hotel, she was already drifting off to sleep.
Diao Zhuo gently laid her on the bed, removed her jacket and pants, and tucked her in. He sat by the bed, watching her for a while before reaching out to pinch her cheek—damn, women were such mysterious creatures. Even after days of roughing it outdoors, she still carried a faint, inexplicable fragrance.
Time to get to work… Diao Zhuo rubbed his temples, restraining himself, and turned to leave the room.
Bayunye woke up after a short nap and got up to shower. Only then did she realize the extent of her injuries—small scrapes covered her shoulders, fingers, and ankles, some from the straps of her backpack, others from helping carry the injured, where something had cut through her gloves. As the water hit the wounds, they tightened, and she felt a sharp sting. Distracted, she dropped the soap. When she crouched to pick it up, a dull pain shot through her left knee—an old injury from her time in the military. Clearly, the chaos of the descent had aggravated it, making deep squats impossible.
She had an exceptionally high tolerance for pain. What might bring tears and pleas for attention from other delicate girls was, to her, hardly worth mentioning. Standing under the shower, she let the water cascade from head to toe. Memories of her years partnering with Hippo on driving jobs flashed through her mind—his large, bell-like eyes, dark and lean, seemingly guileless, almost invisible in the club. Yet, when he made his move, it was nothing short of extraordinary.
Damn it all…As she walked out wrapped in Diao Zhuo's bath towel, he happened to come through the door, his expression grave, seemingly in a bad mood. Before she could ask him anything, he looked up, his expression softening slightly as he averted his gaze.
She brushed aside the wet strands of hair clinging to her face and asked with concern, "How did it go?"
Diao Zhuo took off his black jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "Put some clothes on first. Don't tempt me."
"Who's tempting you?!" Bayunye shot him a glare. Right now, her mind was entirely on Hippo, and she really hadn't been thinking about that sort of thing.
Diao Zhuo fell silent for a few seconds, as if organizing his words. "He parked in a spot specifically chosen so the camera couldn't capture the rear half of the car, so we couldn't see what he did when he opened the trunk. He walked out the gate alone, carrying a backpack, right around the time we received the keys and ran over to find the car."
"Did he leave by car? A taxi or a ride-hailing service? Or... was someone waiting for him at the gate?"
"All we can see is that after he left the gate, he turned right."
Bayunye pressed further, "Can we report it to the police? He stole my stuff!! Or... report him as a missing person?"
"I asked the police officers still at the hospital. The value of the case doesn't meet the threshold for filing a report. Besides, the thermos was something you picked up from the mountain, and he's your familiar partner, so it can't be classified as theft for now. Moreover, he's an adult man who left without any coercion, and it hasn't even been two hours since he went missing. Reporting him as missing would be a stretch—his phone could have died, or he might have had an urgent matter to attend to."
Bayunye let out a long sigh and slumped down on the edge of the bed.
Diao Zhuo took out a hairdryer and began drying her hair, treating her like a pet cat he had just bathed, teasing her in the process. "Miss, what hairstyle would you like today?"
She glanced at his reflection in the mirror. The sight of him holding the hairdryer was utterly mismatched with his strong, muscular build. In his hands, the hairdryer looked like Thor's weapon, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
She reached out to snatch it from him but failed.
"Hello, Tony. I've suffered a huge blow and want to shave my head and become a nun immediately."
He snorted coldly. "Are you willing to give up this dazzling world?"
"I am."
"Are you willing to give up men?"
"Form is emptiness."
He played his trump card. "What about your car loan?"
She let out a dry laugh. "Never mind the haircut. Just dry it."
"How much is left on the car loan?"
"Over 200,000."
"That's not much. I can help you—"
"No." Bayunye refused quickly. "If I rely on a man, how can I dare call myself 'Ye' in the future?"
Diao Zhuo didn't bring it up again, patiently drying her hair. Her hair was just like her—coarse and thick, likely because she didn't put much effort into styling or maintaining it. There were even a few split ends at the tips. A naturally beautiful but rough tomboy—it seemed she didn't cherish the good looks heaven had given her at all.
Bayunye sat quietly for a while, gradually recovering from the shock of Hippo's betrayal. She suddenly chuckled. "Tony, you've never dried a woman's hair before."
"Hmm?" He was right.
"You're not drying hair; you're kneading dough." She shrugged and suddenly imitated a broadcaster's tone. "Wheat flour, such an ordinary ingredient, transforms in the hands of Chef Diao from Xi'an into a round type of dough food. People in Shaanxi call it 'mo'..."
Diao Zhuo couldn't help but smile, running his fingers through her hair a couple of times, barely managing to make it look less messy. "...Old Fu's case has been filed."
She was taken aback. "So soon?""The police found Jiang Aohang's recent search history over the past few months, including terms like 'fatal allergic reactions,' 'high-altitude pulmonary edema,' 'vitamin overdose,' and a search related to a cardiopulmonary defect. The cardiopulmonary defect search matched the exact medical term used in the doctor's diagnosis of Fu Xingyue's specific condition. This indicates Jiang Aohang knew about his wife's hidden illness and his father-in-law's allergens before coming here, suggesting premeditated intent. In the background investigation, it was revealed that Fu Xingyue's previous relationship was sabotaged by Old Fu, causing quite a stir at the time. She may have harbored resentment toward her adoptive father."
"What about that 'Rui Rui'?"
"Both husband and wife denied Rui Rui's existence. However, the police's inference aligns somewhat with ours: neither of them has a background in medicine or pharmacology, so there must be someone behind the scenes with medical training. The investigation after the case was filed is confidential until everything comes to light, so we can only inquire after the case is closed. Perhaps Rui Rui is the most crucial figure in this case."
"Sounds convoluted—it seems like Jiang Aohang first deceived her into marriage, then accidentally discovered Fu Xingyue wanted to use him to eliminate Old Fu. He pretended to be oblivious to confuse her, then exploited her physical condition and Old Fu's allergens to eliminate both of them, smoothly inheriting those properties. That gay man is quite cunning..." She sneered, stood up, turned around, and pinched Diao Zhuo's chin, her smile growing much more genuine. "There's something to be said for a straight-as-an-arrow man."
Diao Zhuo smiled, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
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