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Chapter Text

Shen Yi was slowly making his way through the park. He was early – or rather Du Cheng had called in a bit ago that he would be slightly delayed.
But as Shen Yi had just been about to leave his house when his partner called in he didn’t feel like starting up something else and had gone ahead anyway.
At least this way if something where to catch his eye and he’d lose himself into it then he’d be in the right place for Du Cheng to find him. Or his ringtone.

The weather was perfect in Shen Yi’s mind. Neither too warm, nor too cold. Sunny but with a light breeze and the occasional cloud that avoided the sun becoming more of a burn than the enjoyable warmth tickling across skin.
A flash of red – no copper – was lit up by the sun at the corner of his vision and the artist turned his head just so to get a closer look at it’s origins.
Unbidden Shen Yi’s lips parted as he could only admire the young man who’d stepped out of the shadow a tree had cast onto the path looping through the park.
Shen Yi watched the stranger move and wondered if the graceful movement of the long limbs was natural or the results of many hours of training.
But then again the man’s long strides were not those of a model trained to strut along the catwalk.

It took a few more moments of being utterly entranced for Shen Yi to realize that he was staring.
The acknowledgment didn’t really change anything however.
In fact Shen Yi only became increasingly more and more aware of the itch to dig through his shoulder bag to pull out his sketchbook.
The only reason why he didn’t do so was because he felt like he might be considered a creep if he just sketched someone like that without him being aware or at least asking for permission first.
But if he approached him, asked him, he felt that the magic of the moment would be gone.

Like this wandering around and taking in his surroundings without being aware that he had Shen Yi’s full attention he was a vision.
The moment people knew someone kept their eyes on them they automatically changed. Especially in front of someone like him they liked to show themselves ‘in the best light’.
Shen Yi didn’t want that. Didn’t want any fake stuck pose.
The energy thrummed through his body now and he found himself tightening his hold onto the strap that went diagonally across his upper body.

Just as his self-restrain was about to snap something in the young man’s body language shifted.
Had the stranger been merely drifting through the park so far, now something seemed to have caught his attention, guiding his steps with newfound determination.

Shen Yi watched him slow down and come to a stop a fair distance away from two young girls playing on the swings.
As the man crouched down to address them on eye level Shen Yi noticed a black ear stud wrapping around the helix of the man’s ear and a cable leading up from somewhere under the coat to earbuds.
The girls were reasonably on guard and hesitant until the stranger pulled something out of his coat, unfolded it and showed it to the girls. That had them step closer to take a better look.

Unconsciously Shen Yi felt himself tense up.
His pulse started picking up as he wondered if he was about to witness an attempted kidnapping.
Attempted because Shen Yi would not just stand there and watch. If it came down to it he would tackle the man down and tell the girls to run.
He’d gotten a pretty good look of the stranger’s face and clothes. He was certain he could draw it from mind if needed should the other somehow manage to escape before Shen Yi could call in reinforcements.

A moment later the artist wanted to slap himself as the young man merely nodded and seemed to thank the girls for whatever it was they told him.
Shen Yi watched him raise to full size again and tilled his head slightly to the side.
The stranger was tall. Taller perhaps than even Du Cheng.

Instinct made Shen Yi turn just as Du Cheng stepped up beside him.
His partner glanced over the rim of his sunglasses. “What did you spot this time that has you get that kind of look with your head in the clouds? Is it some kind of beauty? Are you trying to make me jealous?”

Shen Yi huffed out a laugh.
Du Cheng could be such a dork!
“A beauty indeed.” he agreed with a smile. “Even you would agree. But no need to get jealous.”
Du Cheng actually took off his shades then and hung them into the front of his shirt while giving him a look. “Alright then. Show me that beauty of yours so I can judge for myself. But be prepared to be whisked away one way or another after because I’m starving and knowing you you haven’t had a decent meal all day long either.”

Shen Yi rolled his eyes. He had eaten, thank you very much.
It was just… Du Cheng had a different standard on what could and couldn’t be considered a ‘decent meal’. A ridiculous high one that even he himself didn’t stick to most of the time. Especially when work demanded him to stay in until late into the night and sometimes even mornings.

Deciding to play along regardless and wishing to enjoy Du Cheng’s jaw drop once he realized ‘the beauty’ was in fact a very handsome young man Shen Yi turned to point the stranger out only to come up empty.
Confused he looked left and right but it appeared the man had disappeared in the few moments his partner had distracted him.
His heart lurched a moment later and he snapped his head over to the girls. Or at least where the girls had been just before.
Immediately a cold sensation spread through his chest and he quickly hurried towards the swings to see if he could spot either.

“Shen Yi?” Du Cheng asked sounding confused and alerted at once.
“There were two girls just playing by themselves a moment ago. A guy they clearly didn’t know approached them and showed them something just before you arrived. Now all three of them are suddenly gone… I’m afraid-”
There was no need to talk further Du Cheng’s grim expression told him that the other understood. “They can’t have gone far. There’s only two ways they could have gone from here. Describe the girls to me? And then let’s split up and see if we can find them. You got your phone charged and earpiece with you?”

After Du Cheng was equipped with the necessary knowledge and Shen Yi had put his earpiece in and accepted the other man’s call they both rushed off.
Shen Yi was once again glad that there had been no exceptions made for him and he’d been forced to undergo the same physical trials to be cleared for duty as any other police officer. While still not being the most sportive among them it sure came handy in and out of the job.
Ten minutes later he found himself coming to an abrupt stop as he passed through the gate at the end of the park and whipped his head back and forth but no sign of the girls nor the young man.

“I got them.”
Shen Yi jumped in surprise, having forgotten that he had Du Cheng on the phone and worried for a split second what his partner must be thinking of all the sounds he had made while dashing back and forth while he had heard nary a sound of the other.
But the relief crushing through him was enough to make his knees feel weak even as he braced his hand onto his tights as he bent over.
“They seem to be with their mum or big sister and look perfectly fine to me.” Du Cheng reported while Shen Yi just focused on breathing.

“I’m sorry. I just-” he apologized but stopped when he heard a chuckle from the other end.
“It’s fine. I much prefer you noticing stuff like this and being wrong than dismissing it and having regrets later that you could have prevented this. Now how about you tell me about that beauty I didn’t get to see while I come and get you?”
“Du Cheng!” Shen Yi laughed and scolded his partner for teasing him like that which only got him a “What?!” followed by a “Fine, you can also tell me what you did the rest of the day.”

Chapter Text

Shen Yi didn’t exactly forget about the stranger that caught his eye that day but there was simply too much going on to actually be able to spare a thought on this person.
That was quickly rectified when two days later they were investing the latest top priority case.
A kidnapping.
Of a young girl.

That little bit had Shen Yi – and Du Cheng as well from the side look he shot him – immediately think back to their park experience.
They both exchanged another look of relief when the targeted girl was neither of the two they had seen that day nor bore any resemblance otherwise.
Of little use as that might be to them it helped ease their hearts at last a little.

Until they found the location of the kidnapping to be the very same park.
Shen Yi once again ended up watching surveillance videos with Li Han. The kidnapping had taken place at night and the quality thus wasn’t the best, especially without a working light source at crime scene.
There was a light. But it had fizzled out a while ago and hadn’t been fixed yet. It had been scheduled for a while but somehow kept getting pushed back for other, more important repairs.
Jiang Feng was already doing a background check on the responsible personal.

Li Han jumping in surprise was what made Shen Yi jump as well when suddenly a black shadow removed itself from a tree and dashed through the screen.
“Is that the kidnapper?!” Li Han cried out while quickly scribbling down the time with one hand and rewinding with the other to watch it again.
“Do we have a different angle of that park?” Shen Yi asked which had her go through some sort of list while letting the video play on.
There was little to be seen for a while, except for half an hour later where a dark figure was passing through and seemed to ‘lose’ something as they pushed through bushes. It showed as a slightly lighter blob on the screen and was only noticeable because they knew where to look.

“This is not the same person as the first one.” Shen Yi absently pointed out and got a surprised look from the young woman at his side. A small smile made his lips curl up. “Even thought there was little to be seen I can tell the shoulder with is different. Also the first person was bulkier while the second one was slim even if they trying to hide their body shape by bulky clothes.”
He had Li Han rewind so he could point out what he meant. “And look here. The ankles.”
“I still can’t believe you sometimes. We both watched this for the very first time but the things you pick out at just one glance...” the young woman muttered in awe and shook her head.

“The item the second one dropped is probably the shoe found. It was right under that bush, no? They intentionally ‘lost’ it to be found. Either they are trying to lure our investigations in a wrong direction, try to set someone up or ...”
Shen Yi paused and tilled his head to the side as he sunk back into his seat before slowly rotating his pencil between his fingers.

“Or?” Li Han probed slightly impatient when he got lost in his thoughts too long, making him blink and sit up straight again. “Or they might be the kind that does this for attention. In that case they have planned this out long and in detail, wanting to create an impact. Be flashy.”
The woman gave him a long look, before sighing. “Guess no sleep tonight either. Coffee or tea?”

Hours later Shen Yi was about to follow Li Han’s idea and take a nap on one of the conveniently comfortable couches placed all around the offices when a new figure entered the camera records just as the artist was stretching as far as he could.
“Is that…?” he muttered to himself while leaning in close.
With the cap pulled into his face Shen Yi could barely make out anything but the frame looked familiar as did the way the person was moving.
The dim light reflected on something – likely glasses – as the person glanced and stalked around the area.
They were looking for something that much Shen Yi was sure off.

Unconsciously he held his breath as he saw the familiar figure crouch down by the bush after seeming to have spotted something. But he didn’t reach for it. Just looked at it for a while then pulled something – a phone – from his long coat and appeared to take a picture.
After that he took another look around and then brought something like a cigarette – a short, deformed one – to his lips.
No, not a cigarette.
Shen Yi moved so close that his nose was almost touching the screen, his eyes narrowed in focus.
Something was dangling from whatever the person had put in his mouth. Like a charm.

Startled Shen Yi watched the person suddenly snap his head to the side and only by pure reflex and habit managed to catch a screenshot that showed what he thought to be a little ponytail peeking out from the cap, not hidden by the big hood of the coat.
From this angle he could also see a dark spot on the persons ear, which further cemented his belief that he might know the identity of this mysterious nightly visitor on the crime scene.
The jawline and the bit he could see of the long throat didn’t help not being biased.
Finally allowing the feed to keep playing after having made certain there really was nothing else to be gained he watched the person suddenly dash off in in the same direction as the first person had done.

After rewinding a couple of times and adding time stamps and notes he checked that no, that person had not returned to that place at all by the time police was on-scene.
Frustratingly Shen Yi only managed to trace the stranger down the same path as the kidnapper, past the place they had witnessed the girl getting knocked out without ever noticing the danger she was in and then the trail went cold.
As if they had just dissolved into thin air.

Shen Yi had already drawn a circle on a map of the area he suspected to hold a hideout or similar. There were blind spots in the cameras coverage and which was the only way he could use to limit the space they would have to have searched.
His head was hurting and eyes burning by then and he was just tipping his head back to roll it back and forth when Du Cheng suddenly came in.
The older man hardly looked any better.
“Enough.” he grumbled. “Unless you are about to have a breakthrough we are heading home for proper sleep.”
Shen Yi felt himself break into a smile. That idea sounded heavenly.

“In a moment. Here, let me show you first what we got.” he asked and tugged at Du Cheng’s sleeve to make him take a seat beside him.
It took longer than Shen Yi had expected to pass on all information and show his partner the most important bits. He struggled to keep his eyes open by the end and finally gave in and buried his face in Du Cheng’s shoulder.
“Oi. You can nap in the car. Just hold out until then or I’ll have to carry your out. On my back or princess style.” his partner told him but ended up brushing his lips over Shen Yi’s forehead after making sure it was safe to do so without being seen.

Du Cheng must have made true of his ‘threat’ because when Shen Yi awoke the next day to the smell of fresh coffee and food he couldn’t remember anything beyond stumbling into the car and just barely managing to get the safety belt on before the thrum of the engine had lulled him to sleep.
Glancing down at himself he was pretty certain that that was none of the shirts he ‘forgot’ at Du Cheng’s place before nor any in his possession. It was too big to begin with.
But it was cozy and it smelled of his boyfriend.
It made him feel so safe and warm that he was more than happy to curl up again and go back to sleeping.
As if drawn to him by that sheer thought Du Cheng slid into the bedroom and seemed to know that he was up right away.
No mercy or negotiations were to be had.

“How sure are you that the third one ‘on scene’ is that guy from back then?” Du Cheng asked Shen Yi after this one had had his first sips of coffee and was rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hands.
“Mmmh… Like 80 % from what I got to see on screen and 19 % instinct?” he mumbled and starred at the spoon next to his bowl. Congee.
Huh.
“Good enough for me. You can do a sketch of him from memory, right? I’ll leave that to you then. Send his picture to the group once you are done. Then you can get back to watching those surveillance tapes. See if you still find something on the other cameras or find something prior or after the kidnapping.”
Shen Yi only gave an agreeing hum around a spoonful of food.

Chapter Text

“Captain Du!”
Both Du Cheng and Shen Yi turned at the call to find a young man rushing towards them.
“There is a man here who claims he has information regarding the kidnapping and wishes to speak to you.”
“What?!” the man couldn’t help but ask before shaking it of. “Where is this person?”
“In room B. He’s been waiting for about half an hour.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem, captain.”

Du Cheng turned to Shen Yi who sighed and nodded. The other really wanted that portrait to be done.
His partner smiled at Shen Yi understanding what he wanted before he could voice it and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Join me once you completed it and bring it along. If this guy really has any valid information your picture might help identify that one and his role in all of this.”
Having gotten his orders Shen Yi saluted which had the other roll his eyes and give him a little shove to tell him to get going already.

Once in his office Shen Yi was starting to set up his drawing table like always and about to get started when he hesitated at actually drawing the first line.
It wasn’t that he didn’t remember that person’s face vividly as if he stood in front of him in a fair distance again but somehow using his usual pencils to draw his face didn’t feel right.
After contemplating it for a few more moments he set the pencil aside and pulled open his drawers of utensils.
Equipped with different tools a moment later he went to the task at hand.

When Shen Yi lifted the paper up a bit later the handsome male drawn in gentle shades of brown looked just to the side of him.
It was easy to imagine him from the front and draw him that way as well but he had wanted to capture him at this angle to make certain he could properly add all the details he thought were important.
The sepia colored portrait had turned out satisfactory. Another time he’d try to capture his very first glimpse of the man when he’d just stepped into the light in colors on canvas.

His chair slid back with a soft wisp over the carpet as he moved to stand.
Putting the drawing in a folder he was about to head over to room B when his door swung back.
Du Cheng looked startled for a moment then promptly recovered. “Done already? That was fast. Must be a new record. Let me take a quick look before we head out. This guy claims to know where a secret...”
Shen Yi blinked as his partner trailed off all of sudden then pointed at the painting and looked at Shen Yi almost accusingly. “That’s him! That’s the guy!”
It was Shen Yi’s turn to blink before walking around Du Cheng to head for the room to see for himself.

The young man was wearing the same olive green coat that he’d been wearing that day with the same frames sitting on his nose.
And just like that day the sun peeking through the blinders was causing his hair to lit up in red hues that reminded Shen Yi of a sunset in gold and red colors.
“Yes? Can I help you?” the man asked.
Shen Yi didn’t even feel embarrassed to be drawn further in by the sound of his voice. Music may have never been his focus but that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate a pleasant sound.

“Ah… Apologies. I’m Shen Yi. The portraitist of captain Du’s team.” he introduced himself.
The other man eyed him weirdly then slowly nodded. “Liu Sang.”
Shen Yi realized too late that he was still holding onto that portrait when the stranger’s gaze drifted down and got stuck on his hand.
“… Is that… a picture of me?”
Cursing himself in his mind for his carelessness Shen Yi rushed of something to say when he felt warmth behind him. “That’s what I’d like to know. I’m afraid we’ll have to ask some more questions Mr. Liu before you can lead us… to that secret basement.”

The young man sighed and pushed his glassed up his nose a little bit further.
“A young girls life is on the line and you’d rather waste your time asking me question than pick up a lead?” he asked disapproving and rose a hand cutting of Du Cheng before he even said a word. “Look, I understand that I appear like a suspicious person right now but I have worked with police forces before in order to solve chases. While I understand there are some standard procedures and protocol to be followed I think we can agree that the most important bit right now is to find the girl.”

“Chen Xiaomei. Her name is Chen Xiaomei.” Shen Yi found himself saying which got the stranger – Liu Sang to flicker his gaze over to him then nod in agreement. “Chen Xiaomei.”
Then his gaze returned to Du Cheng. “You can ask me what you wish on the ride to the park. I’ll even agree to get handcuffed to either of you if that appeases your mind – but do be aware if there comes a situation where you need to give case I will be a burden to you and slow you down. My body has never been the fittest.”

Du Cheng seemed to mull this over in his head his jaw clenching a few times. “Fine. Write down the last police officer that can vouch for you and we’ll be along while I’ll have one of my men check that person’s identity and have him validate your statement.”
Shen Yi watched the man simply nod, appearing not the slightest bit bothered by the request as he moved back to the table that held a written and signed statement.
The paper fluttered loudly in the room as Liu Sang flipped it over to write down a name and number and some notes from memory.

“Wang Guo, police officer of Longmen Town” it read on the paper that Du Cheng read aloud, along with a number that might be the man’s personal phone number or the one of the office.
“Won’t he need any sort of reference to know what we are calling in about?”
Liu Sang snorted. “I doubt that. I only helped with one case and that one was quite memorable for all involved.”
Du Cheng gave Liu Sang another long look but the young man didn’t elaborate so he was forced to nod and then Du Cheng promptly recruited a coworker to do the check up before nodding to them.
“Let’s go then and have a look at this hideout of yours.”
“It’s not mine.” Liu Sang coolly corrected as he passed them both by. “I just happened to find it. I don’t know what exactly awaits us down there so you best be prepared.”

“You… How can you boldly claim to have a lead related to the case when you didn’t check?!” Du Cheng asked reigning in his temper if only just barely.
Liu Sang lifted one elegant eyebrow in a very infuriating way that even sparked something in Shen Yi. “Are you telling me that I, a mere civilian, should have risked going into a potential kidnappers hiding place unarmed and without protection?”
“You had no qualms sneaking around at night and go looking for the hideout before.”
“Because I was aware that there was no one around. I couldn’t be so sure about what laid beneath.”

“Alright. Let’s get some protection gear then and get going.” Shen Yi finally interjected disrupting the staring contest of the two men in front of him.
Cheng Du made an agreeing sound and called Jiang Feng over to look after Liu Sang while they got geared up with the clear order not to let ‘this one’ out of his sight. All without breaking eye contact with the man.

“He’s really gotten under your skin.” Shen Yi murmured quietly as he pulled the bullet-proof vest on and then buttoned up his shirt over it.
The older man stopped for mid-movement of tightening the straps for a moment then proceeded.
“He reminds me a bit of you. When we first met.” the man answered. “Haughty. Self-certain. Thinking he is absolutely right and has done no wrong.”
It was Shen Yi’s turn to falter at the last button.
Unfortunately Du Cheng’s first impression of him back then was spot on. He’d been too arrogant and thought himself wronged. Until he learned that what he’d drawn out of boredom and without thinking twice about it had cost a human life.

A hand gripped his shoulder and gave him a squeeze as he craned his neck to look up at Du Cheng’s gentle understanding expression.

“By the way: you were right. He really is eye-catching. You weren’t wrong about that. If you had taken more care of your hair back then and tamed it a little the two of you would resemble even more.”
Shen Yi starred after his partner as he left the room.
Had… had Du Cheng just underhandedly called him pretty?

Chapter Text

The air in the car was thick as they drove towards the park. Even Shen Yi didn’t struggle with keeping his eyes open as much as he usually did.
Once at the park Liu Sang strode ahead of them, certain of where to set his long legs.
“For someone who just claimed to be afraid to investigate further due the lack of protection he sure seem eager now.” Du Cheng grumbled.
“You are here with me now, are you not? And as a civilian am I not someone you have sworn to protect?” the man ahead of them threw back over his shoulder actually making them exchange a look.

“Don’t worry thought. I’ll gladly let you take the lead once we are at the location.” Liu Sang added with a drawl.
That man, Shen Yi thought to himself, really knew how to rub people the wrong way.
Still they had little choice but to follow after him as he strode through the very spot caught on camera and stopped only shortly after arriving pressing into the area Shen Yi had marked for search. The blind zone that the kidnappers must have entered and then disappeared, never exiting it.

The man stood still for a moment then shifted and stepped off the path and onto the green grass and moved towards a group of trees and greenery.
Du Cheng and Shen Yi hurried after him only to find that Liu Sang had already stopped again and was eyeing the ground before dropping down into a crouch, not caring at all that his open coat was dragging over the ground.
“See those footprints here?”
They glanced at the ground Liu Sang was pointing with a surprisingly long finger and after a moment spotted the sole imprints on the earth.
Shen Yi dimly remembered that it had rained a lot the days before the kidnapping had taken place so it made sense that the ground would have been still soaked and soft.

Absently the artist had grabbed his phone and was taking pictures and sending them to the group along with sharing their location.
Du Cheng was carefully walking on the side, tracing the imprints to a little hill covered in grass where they simply stopped. Cased to exist.
Shen Yi rose from where he’d keeled down for the pics to join him and noticed the hint of a metallic edge just as Du Cheng reached down to trace a finger along it.

Liu Sang said nothing as they worked to find how to open what appeared to be the lid of a trap door. Just slowly raised to his feet and stood back watching them with crossed arms.
It was Du Cheng who found the gap and put his fingers in after quickly shining the light of his cellphone into it.
With a click the whole little flat dome opened along with the soft hiss of hydraulics that aided in opening up the trap door with little effort.
A ladder lead down and even without additional light they could see the bottom thanks to the clear weather.
Du Cheng was about to swing a leg inside and start getting down when Liu Sang stopped him. “Wait. Let me check it out first.”
“I thought you didn’t want to go into the unknown first?”
“I’m not. Now be quiet just for a few minutes and let me work.” Liu Sang huffed with narrowed eyes while he reached into his pocket.

Shen Yi’s eyes widened. It was a whistle! With a charm dangling form it. Was that… a little bat with it’s wings huddled close?
The painter could only watch in fascination as the other put the little piece of metal between his lips and closed his eyes before a high and shrill sound rang through the air.
Wasn’t this exactly what he had done the night before? Just before he had headed into this very direction? Just what was it that Liu Sang was doing with that whistling?
The man jerked his head ever so slightly this way and that while his eyebrows were twitching as if in concentration.

Shen Yi’s eyes dropped lower to where he saw the man’s hand move ever so slightly as well. It were movements that he wasn’t unfamiliar with.
Phantom or ‘air’ painting. Not unlike a piano player who’d reflexively move his fingers along a familiar melody, triggered into mimicking the way they’d play the piece on their instrument.
Somehow Liu Sang hadn’t struck him as the artist type.

“Here.” Shen Yi offered once the other man snapped his eyes open.
Liu Sang seemed surprised at being handed his block and a pencil, but merely nodded and quickly flipped the first page open and started sketching.
Intrigued Shen Yi leaned in to watch what the other was doing.
It took him a long while to figure out that Liu Sang wasn’t drawing a person or… well, anything he had somehow been expecting.
It was a blueprint.
Starting from the entry spreading outwards slowly as if drawn in vanishing ink and slowly being made to appear by the neat strokes of the pencil.

It was the type of painting Shen Yi himself was… well not incapable of, but he just didn’t do that kind of drawing. It was too… sterile in his mind.
Too many rules and restrictions. Bound by physical laws and reality.
The art he did for his job as a portraitist may be restraining as well, but it tended to be more of a stimulating challenge that demanded his full focus and didn’t allow for error.

“There you go.” Liu Sang announced just then, handing the pencil back and carefully removing the plan to hand over to Du Cheng who took it with a blank expression on his face.
“That’s as far as I can make it out from here. It appears to be an old sewage water system?”
Shen Yi glanced up as he heard the clicking sound of Du Cheng’s phone. Shortly after his own buzzed and he glanced at the screen to see Du Cheng’s order for someone to look into that and find the official full blueprints.
“I’ll take care of that.” Jiang Feng reported in a moment later as could be expected. What surprised Shen Yi a little was the additional remark. “Where did you find that? Doesn’t look like Shen Yi’s work.”
Du Cheng saw it as well but only typed back “Irrelevant.” for now.

They both were about to pocket their devices when they saw Jiang Feng typing something else.
“Managed to contact officer Wang. He was a bit taken aback to be asked about Liu Sang but confirmed that he was essential in clearing up a serial murder case and they managed to save two lives thanks to his interference. Said Liu Sang is a bit like Conan, except he isn’t interested in the attention and fame. I also rang in on the office, where the person in charge confirmed that the story, thought it appears Wang Guo was the one who had the most contact with this person. Both confirmed that while Liu Sang might be a bit odd he is trustworthy and ultimately trying to help.”

The pair exchanged another look as they let the screens go black and pocketed them.
“I’m heading down first.” Du Cheng announced, then started climbing down.
Each step made a soft clang sound and ended up making Shen Yi tense.
“There is no one in the immediate area.” Liu Sang told him, his voice quiet and kind of softer as if to reassure him.
It was an odd contrast to his prior behavior that had Shen Yi stare again.
“… What? You really enjoy looking at me that much?” Liu Sang then asked with his face pulling into a scowl. “Do I stick out so much or what? You barely stopped starring at me that day as well. I could practically feel your gaze on me.”
That had Shen Yi actually flush, not having expected for the other to know. He certainly hadn’t acted as if he head been aware.

“You can come down. It seems safe.” Du Cheng called up just then and saved him from having to come up with an answer.
His partner immediately sensed something was wrong once he stepped away from the ladder, but with Liu Sang following right after he didn’t ask any questions.

The tunnel below stretched out exactly like Liu Sang’s sketch.
Du Cheng still found himself having doubts whether the man hadn’t been down before and thus had the knowledge to draw something like that, but that didn’t matter for now.
Knowing that their coworkers likely had already dispatched a team to secure evidence like the footprints and perhaps even fingerprints on the trapdoor he was reassured that they could call for backup if the situation demanded it.
As they reached the first intersection of paths crossing and branching off again he was admittedly a bit for loss and started guiding his flashlight over the floor and wall for traces.

“… There is something down this path.” Liu Sang murmured quietly. “But I can’t tell if it has anything to do with the case.”
“Something?” Shen Yi asked before Du Cheng could.
“… some electronics. Perhaps surveillance cameras. Or-”
The way the other suddenly cut himself off was strange.
“Or?” Du Cheng promptly pressed in, while guiding his light down the path Liu Sang was looking at.
The young man was quiet for a moment, keeping staring down the tunnel, before finally breaking he silence again. “Safety measurements. To warn of trespassers. Or trigger traps intended to keep people out or away.”

That was enough for both officers to turn their heads towards Liu Sang. It was a valid way of thinking, but not the line of thoughts that usually crossed normal people.
Just who was this Liu Sang person?!
“How can you tell?” Du Cheng asked at long last.
That had Liu Sang sigh and reach up to pinch the brink of his nose as if starving off an incoming headache. “My hearing his better than most people. It’s how I found this place. It’s how I can hear a sort of electric humming coming from most devices. Or a similar sound to that of a mosquito in the worst case.”

Shen Yi couldn’t help but stare in mild awe.
Ever since he had been thought drawing seriously he had heard his ability to perceive things and create images as well as his empathy towards people’s emotions being praised.
But a hearing like this? He wondered what the world looked like to Liu Sang.
How he perceived it.
Rather than visual stimulation Shen Yi imagined the other to define it by sound.
Remembering the way Liu Sang had sketched the clean, neat lines and the whistle and charm he felt even more intrigued.
Perhaps after this case-

Liu Sang suddenly jerking his head back to the corridor cut off any thoughts and they other two immediately went tense and still.
“… There’s a door. Probably a vault-like one. A person just got out and is walking away. Probably female. Young. Lightweight.”
“… You can hear all of that?” Du Cheng asked with a frown.
“The door squeaked and I could hear a sound that’s alike the one when you turn a wheel. The was a person walks can be a giveaway towards the gender and that one was wearing heels. And didn’t thread like someone who...” Liu Sang makes a vague hand gesture that didn’t really mean anything but the both understood.

“I believe the door is soundproof.” the specialist went on. “Cause for a brief moment I could hear something that sounded like a TV or something, then it was cut off just as the door closed.”
Once again Du Cheng and Shen Yi exchanged a look. So far Liu Sang had been right on all accounts. The question was what to do with the situation they had at hand.
If Liu Sang was right with his guess about surveillance or… something nastier, then they would likely trigger some alerts. Alerts that anyone with a brain would place in a way so they could easily escape in time. It might scare away their only lead.
On the other hand the first 24 hours were the most important in a kidnapping. Especially when the target was a kid.
Should they risk it and rush in? Or lay low until reinforcement arrived?

Chapter Text

While the police – no, interpol – officers were quietly debating over their next move with only their eyes Liu Sang turned his back to them and closed his eyes to cast out his hearing.
Removing anything behind him from his perception it was almost easy to track down the one marching away, down another corridor.
Without the aid of his whistle he had only the sound of her heels to roughly get an idea of her location but once he found her he knew he had only a little while longer until she was too far for him to properly get a sensory impression of her.

When he opened his eyes again he had memorized the sound of her heartbeat and knew he’d be able to identify her without doubt.
“Liu Sang?”
The voice was close and Liu Sang managed not to jerk away when unexpectedly a hand settled onto his shoulder.
It was Shen Yi who looked a bit concerned. Had he called his name before?
Either way it didn’t matter.
“I’ve memorized what sound I could about the party leaving. What’s your plan for now?” he informed them and asked in one go.
Shen Yi glanced up to Du Cheng who slowly nodded apparently giving permission to share their plan.

It was pretty straightforward and simple and thus had the best chances of success.
Du Cheng was going to lead to make certain it was safe for them to follow – of course Liu Sang was given the option to stay behind – and then they would head into whatever laid behind the door.
Meanwhile police officers and their own force would head out to cover all the exits they could find based on the old map and stand guard there in hiding to catch the other party.
At Liu Sang’s nod the captain of the team gave once glance over to Shen Yi who moved in front of Liu Sang to act as a shield in the case of the case, just as he had been thought.
The action got him an odd look from the tall male while Du Cheng started moving ahead.

There was no visible reaction as the man walked around the corner and they followed at a safe distance, but Liu Sang hear the humming of the devices and knew the exact moment something was triggered.
No thing noticeable happened after that so Liu Sang found it safe to assume that Du Cheng had just triggered an alert or notification or something somewhere.
A moment later he could hear the captain already working the door open and gestured for Shen Yi to go ahead since the man didn’t allow him to step around him.

Again nothing happened as the older man pulled open the door but he did remain stunned in the frame for a moment.
“There are bricks over there. Lets pick some up and block the door from falling shut.” Liu Sang suggested to the man by his side, who gave him another look, than nodded just ad Du Cheng ventured inside with his gun drawn.
Liu Sang strained his hearing but couldn’t make out another heartbeat but the ones he already knew.
Just as Shen Yi crossed the threshold to follow after his partner Liu Sang suddenly heard a soft click followed by soft hissing.
“It’s a trap! Gas! Get out!” he yelled while already flinging himself back at the door. It had been a good idea to put bricks into the frame but already they were cracking and crumbling with the force that tried to close the vault door.

“Du Cheng!” he could Shen Yi call for the other who was already stumbling back towards the exit with his t-shirt pulled over his nose and coughing.
Liu Sang cursed in his mind while pressing against the door with all his might, little as it might be.
A metal chair was suddenly wedged into the gap closest to the hinges and Shen Yi nodded at him the pushed him back into the tunnel, his slim frame hiding a surprising strength.
Liu Sang turned around just in time to catch an arm full of Du Cheng who was still struggling for breath.
“Shen Yi!” the man managed to squeeze out and Liu Sang pushed him up against the wall then rushed towards the almost shut gate again.

“Oh, for fucks sake.” he muttered and grabbed at the artists who’d fallen unconscious, knocked out by whatever was released inside the room.
Du Cheng was suddenly at his side, helping him get the other out and then they staggered arms in arms towards the exit.
They didn’t make it far, not even around the corner when there was a sickening crunching sound that had Liu Sang slap his hands over his ears as his face twisted in a grimace.
The vault felt shut and Liu Sang could dimly hear the sound of the wheel whirling as it locked itself.
By the time the ladder up to the surface appeared in his vision he felt dazed and swayed and then darkness suddenly engulfed him.

It was loud around Liu Sang by the time he came to.
Orders and replies were rapidly fired off and he couldn’t help but groan while reaching up to fiddle with the settings of his noise-blockers only to come up empty.
His eyes snapped open only to have him wince at the bright light.
“This one has come to!” someone called out above him and it was then that suddenly all the noise seemed to slam into Liu Sang at once.
The beeping of machines, the sound of people speaking, many, many heartbeats and the clutter of hospital beds and wheeling chairs going back and forth in what felt like all directions.

With his mind still not operating normally and his only protection gone all he could do was roll onto his side and curl up while pressing the balls of his hands of his hands over his ears.
His breath caught in his throat and his heart hammered in his chest and he tried to focus simply on breathing but kept slipping up.
“Patient is hyperventilating. He’s having a panic attack!”
He was not having a panic attack, Liu Sang dimly thought sourly somewhere in the back of his mind, he was simply overloading because someone thought it was a good idea to take his earplugs out.
His stomach reeled and twisted and he knew before he retched that he had hit his limit.

After that it was all a mess and Liu Sang lost track of everything. Of time, of space, what was up and what was down. He wasn’t even certain if he was awake or kept fading out.
At one point he was aware of his hand being tied into restrains and that made cold fear roll into his stomach.
A sharp sting in his neck had the world drop out from under him again.

Darkness surrounded him when he came too again and even thought he was aware that he was still in a hospital the noise seemed to no longer to press in on him from all sides.
In relief he sucked in a shuddering breath and blindly reached up to find a familiar cord and followed it down to the device allowing him to regulate the amount of white noise generated and turned it up to the highest setting.
Only then did his body finally relax and Liu Sang ached from how tightly wound up he had been.

It took him some more time to finally be in a clear enough state of mind to start taking stock of himself.
His body was sore from how much he had instinctively tensed up to ward himself against the onslaught and his stomach still wasn’t happy with him at all and somewhere stuck between wanting food and an ill sensation as if he was about to need a bucket again.
There was also the faint sensation of a pounding sensation in his temples which felt oddly cottoned.
As he became more aware of himself and the circumstances surrounding him he realized that he was attached to some devices but someone must have turned the beeping off. There was also a drip attached to a wrist of his, likely feeding him fluids, nourishment and sweet, sweet painkillers.

Liu Sang allowed himself a few more moments of peace before he finally acknowledged that the two heartbeats nearby and the quiet shuffling of papers told him that he was not alone in the room.
Slowly letting his eyes flutter open he was glad to find the lights dimmed except for a small reading light that belonged to Shen Yi’s bed.
Du Cheng as sitting on the edge of the bed and both of their gaze was firmly trained on the notebook on Shen Yi’s lap running some sort of footage.

Liu Sang blinked slowly. Once.
Then let his eyes shut again. Lowering the input for just a short little bit he listened to them breath, listened to their lungs and heartbeat.
Shen Yi coughed a bit at one point, but other than that seemed fine. Probably kept overnight just to be safe seeing how he had passed out and been exposed to whatever gas had been released over a slightly longer period of time.
They were okay and safe.
For now that was enough for Liu Sang.

Chapter Text

“The suspect we caught is in the interrogation room.” Jiang Feng was just updating them as Shen Yi and Liu Sang both followed him into the office.
“Let me warn you she is a stubborn one. Despite being caught at the scene she denies being involved in any sort of kidnapping. Supposedly she was just passing through by chance.”
The man held up the door where Du Cheng was already equipped with a thick headset to listen in what was being said on the other side of the reflecting glass.
Liu Sang wasn’t surprised to detect relief in the other’s body language, expression and heartbeat but he wasn’t prepared for the other man to feel similarly about him as he did about Shen Yi when his gaze slid over to him.

“Still not scared away?” the man teased him but it was in good nature.
It made Liu Sang scoff and roll his eyes like he tended to do in reaction to Pangzi’s taunts these days. “I wouldn’t have made it this far if something like this was enough to make me turn tails.”
Du Cheng only gave a slightly impressed twitch of his lips before turning back to face the interrogation room which was like a signal for the other’s to follow suit.
“This is the one you caught exiting the sewer tunnels?” Liu Sang asked after a moment with a frown.
“Yes? Why? You recognize her?” Jiang Feng asked half-joking, half-serious.
Liu Sang shook his head.
“I don’t. And that’s the problem. She’s not the one that set up the trap for us.”

“What?! How can you be so sure? You didn’t even see her from what the captain told us...”
“I didn’t see her but the heart doesn’t lie. And I don’t know the heartbeat of the woman in the room. She’s not the same.” Liu Sang declared.
“He’s right.” Shen Yi confirmed. “I saw the footage. The woman who exited the sewers on the footage is not this woman. The slope of her neck and the ear shape is all wrong.”
The portraitist paused for a moment, leaning both his hands onto the board in front of them and leaning in as if that allowed him to see clearer.
“But?” Du Cheng asked knowing that the man had picked up something even if he wasn’t completely certain about it.
“… She might be the person that dropped Chen Xiaomei’s shoe under the bush.”

“Woha.” Jiang Feng started but Shen Yi cut him off. “I’m not completely sure yet. I’ll need to watch the footage again. Of that night and what you have from yesterday.”
With those words Shen Yi glanced to Du Cheng who nodded and gave him the go ahead.
Jiang Feng turned to Liu Sang. “You aren’t going to help this time?”
“Visuals are not my forte.” the man in question replied while pushing his glasses up his nose and then giving a smirk. “But I can hear a lie when told one. Let me talk with her and see if I can’t get her to spill what she knows.”
“That’s...” Jiang Feng hesitated with a glance over to the captain who appeared undecided.

“Look.” Liu Sang sighed. “Usually I wouldn’t meddle and let you do your thing. You’d no doubt make her talk. But we haven’t got a clue about the girl yet and time’s ticking. It’s already past the first 24 hours and we have no direct lead yet.”
Du Cheng tightened his jaw at that then sighed. His shoulders slumping a little before he straightened again. “Alright. You can have a go. But you’ll stay connected all the time and you back off when I tell you to and must listen to my instructions. Understood?”

Liu Sang was smirking again and gave the other man a salute which got ignored as Du Cheng pointly looked away and gestured Jiang Feng to set Liu Sang up with an earpiece.
“No need for that. I’ll be able to hear you talking just perfectly fine even if I’m in the room next to you. I’m actually more useful with these in.” Liu Sang declined and was already out of the door, leaving the two adults behind.
“… He isn’t serious, is he?” Jiang Feng asked with disbelief in his voice.
“… For our hope I think he is.” Du Cheng muttered as he turned back to the room that Liu Sang just entered. He only just had barely enough time to warn the officer inside that this was alright.

The young woman was obviously surprised by Liu Sang’s entry and couldn’t pull her gaze from him as he walked around to sit down across her.
“You’ve been held up by an officer yesterday. Would you care to tell me what that all was about?”
The young woman blinked in confusion then straightened up. “That’s what I would like to know! I was just taking a walk and then suddenly I got ambushed like that and taken in like a criminal! I’ve even had to stay at a prison cell overnight! Do my rights as a citizen have no value at all?!”

Liu Sang gave a cryptic smile. “Miss Dou. We both know very well that you were not ‘just taking a walk’ or that you were surprised to get taken in by the police.”
“Yes, you can talk to a lawyer. After we’ve finished our little talk here. You are likely going to need one.” he cut her off before she actually could voice any protest.
“Now let’s try this again. Why were you at that place dressed like that?”
“I-I… I don’t know wh-”
“Miss Dou!” his voice was like a whip crack then making her flinch. “Who asked you to show up like that? Who asked you to swap places? Was it someone you knew? A friend? Online acquaintance?”

The way he rapidly fired his questions had everyone hold their breath while Liu Sang intensely gazed at the woman without actually seeing her.
“An online acquaintance. I see. And what were you supposed to get in return for stalling the police?”

The woman visibly fidget with unease now. “I- You! Stop putting words into my mouth. I didn’t say anything like that! I didn’t do anything like that! It’s just like I said: I was merely taking a walk! That’s not a crime, is it?!”
Liu Sang leaned back unimpressed and intertwined his fingers on the table in front of him. “Indeed. It is not. But lying to the police? Intentionally mess with investigations? Help a suspect avoid getting secured and taken in for questioning?”

Miss Dou’s pulse was all over the place as she nervously swallowed before quickly shaking her head. “You are just making assumptions! Where is your proof, huh? Stop with your baseless accusations and try to frame me a criminal!”
Liu Sang leaned in then again. “Miss Dou.” he slowly drawled. “You don’t seem to understand the situation you are in. Me being here, asking questions and giving you a chance to come clean is me doing you a favor. Of course if you want proof… That can be done. But. You should be aware that the moment proof is brought into this room, onto this table… Any chance you have to explain yourself, to lessen the sentence… it’s off the table. Because then you refused cooperation and had to be convicted. Do you understand?”

Not all of that was entirely true or correct but it was close enough to the truth that Du Cheng saw no necessarily to correct Liu Sang.
“He’s good...” Jiang Feng muttered in mild awe.
In the other room Liu Sang quirked a tiny smile then went back to business. “You may not be aware of this, Miss Dou but you are involved in a kidnapping case. A little girl called Chen Xiaomei is missing and it’s past 24 hours. Do you have any idea what this means? What trauma you are helping causing? For the girl? The parents? What horrors she might encounter if we can not get to her in time?”
He let that sink in before getting ready for the strike. “Anything that happens to her… whether she ends up dead or as victim of human trafficking… That will all be on you. Because it was you that helped one of our main suspects escape by taking her place. We have it all on footage. And it was also you in the park two days ago, was it not? Once again acting as a stand-in. But back then you took in an even more active role. You intentionally messed up a crime scene by pretending to be someone else and by throwing that shoe under the bush… We have it all on camera. Still trying to deny your involvement?”

The young woman had grown more and more pale as Liu Sang had spoken and dodged his gaze. “That’s… that’s all wrong. It’s not true… You can’t… you can’t prove any of that. It’s a bluff.”
Liu Sang kept silent for a moment then sighed and got to his feet.
“We both know I’m right. You can deny it all you want but facts are facts. Good luck in front of the judge explaining you were ‘just taking a walk’ after he sees the video proof.”
Without another word Liu Sang headed for the door scoffing as he did so.

“Wait!”
The desperate cry cut deep into anyone’s heart but Liu Sang merely let his hand hover over the door knob and then slowly turned his head back.
The woman was clearly trying to collect herself and keep herself from breaking apart.
“I’m waiting.” Liu Sang told her, before purposefully looking at a watch tied around his watch. “But not forever. I’m kind of on a tight schedule. Got a little girl to find, you see? So I’ll be counting to ten and if you haven’t told me everything I wanted to know by then you lost your chance. I’m starting… now! 1!...2...”

Chapter Text

“Your bluff was a risky move.” Du Cheng told Liu Sang as he entered. “You couldn’t be certain it was her on the footage in the park that night. If you had been wrong you’d have destroyed all credibility of yourself.”
“Oh, but I wasn’t bluffing. I knew.” Liu Sang shrugged and gestured towards Shen Yi. “I clearly heard him say ‘It is her.’ before he rushed over to let you know.”
“You heard me? All the way from...” Shen Yi asked in disbelief, drifting off. Because those were indeed the words he had spoken after watching the way the woman they had captured walked and compared it with the record of the park.

“Anyway, we now knew she was ‘tricked’ into compliance by being made believe that this was a ‘game’ she was playing through a challenge app. She knew she was messing with the police but didn’t think of it much then, reassured that we would have nothing on her and she couldn’t be convinced for ‘taking a walk’.”
“That’s not … exactly what she said in the room.” Jiang Feng pointed out.
“But that’s the truth. She’ll come around to admit it herself sooner or later as well.” Liu Sang replied with conviction.

“More importantly right now is to find out who sent her the ‘challenge’. She handed over her phone and access code, right? Have a technician look into it and work together with the app developer to find out their identity.” Du Cheng took over and sent his Jiang Feng his way with that task, then turned to Shen Yi and Li Han, who had joined them by now.
“You two continue watching the footage and try to find out who Miss Dou swapped places with.”
“Yes, captain.” the two answered in unison and left to go do as told before Du Cheng turned to Liu Sang who shifted slightly when the attention landed on him and quirked an eyebrow in question.
“… I still have a hard time understanding about what you did and how it worked but it helped. Thank you.”

“No task for me?” the young man asked with the hint of a smile around his lips making Du Cheng huff and then clasp him on the shoulder. “You aren’t one of my team so I have no business commanding you around. In fact you shouldn’t even be here, this involved in the investigation.”
He paused then. “But I’m open to suggestions. Right now even if you were someone of my team I’d have no idea of how to make use of your special skills and just have you investigate with someone of the others.”

Liu Sang starred at the captain for a moment then sighed.
“I’m currently a bit at loss as well.” he admitted. “Have you had any leads on those in contact with Chen Xiaomei? The kidnapping must have been planned by watching her daily schedule and plans after all. The timing was planned in too much detail. Oh, and also: Have you checked the guys responsible for maintenance on the lamp post?”
Du Cheng had shaken his head at the first question and then nodded his agreement at Liu Sangs assessment before frowning. They had those involved researched but nothing in particular stood out.
“I can show you the results but… What do you have in mind?”

Surprisingly Liu Sang actually looked slightly abashed. “I forgot about it while we were in the park because I was hoping you could rescue the girl down in the tunnels. But when I was in the park that night I heard a humming not unlike what was down there. It came from the direction of the lamp. I didn’t think too much of it then but now I think it's possible someone intentionally messed with the lamp to make it appear defect and then postponed the repair. To set the stage, so to say.”
Du Cheng’s eyes went wide in understanding and he muttered a curse while rushing off to find Jiang Feng, leaving Liu Sang looking after him with mild amusement.
A moment later the smile dropped and he sighed while dragging a hand down his face.
He sure had gotten mixed up into something tricky, had he not?

Liu Sang found himself in the interrogation room once again, Du Cheng by his side. Across them sat a young man, a technician.
Who had just happened to repair the lamp post in the park that had been defect for weeks now.
“Well, with what just happened I figured that it was best to fix it right away. It might not be doing much but criminals shy away from bright light. Especially with the cameras there too.” the young man explained with a sigh. “The earlier the better, no?”
Both men on the other side of the table mutely starred at the male who visibly got more and more uncomfortable the longer the silence stretched.

Finally Du Cheng turned to look at Liu Sang who sighed a long heavy sigh. “Lying to the police is a serious crime, Mr. Tang. Especially in the case of a kidnapping like this. This is neither a funny joke, nor a game nor ‘getting back’ at the police for any tickets you may have gotten in the past. There is a kid’s life on the line. A little girl’s. So… Let’s pretend you didn’t just say that and let’s try this again. Shall we?”
Du Cheng stoically repeated his earlier question, inwardly impressed. When the other had suggested playing good cop bad cop he had agreed mostly because they could save time with Liu Sang being able to tell a lie from the truth and because he’d already done a good job on Miss Dou. He hadn’t actually expected to know how to work as a team seeing how he appeared to be more of a loner type.

The key words Liu Sang had been throwing at Mr. Tang seemed to be enough to crumble the guys confidence. He easily admitted to having manipulated the lantern but had thought it was all a set up for a joke. A prank. That’s what the challenge of the app had claimed anyway.
After catching the kidnapping case on TV he’d been overcome with guilt and gone to remove the disturbing signal, least something else happened.
The little device disrupting the power supply around a certain frame of time was in his spare shoes in his trunk.
“Did you let the one sending you the challenge know you were going to remove it?” Du Cheng asked to with Mr. Tang shook his head. “I… I wanted it done before I told him that the deal was off. I didn’t think it was much of a big deal to turn off the light for a bit for a couple of days so he could scare his friend but… I now realize how wrong I’ve been… I have a little sister myself. If that had happened to her… I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“The app was originally meant as a trading hub, to help people lacking funds but having skills or things someone else might need. Like this one here: Need to get my lawn mowed offering fully functional TV, 32” as I’ve just upgraded to a bigger one.” Li Han explained while brushing a stray lock out of her face. “Or this one: Trained masseur offering free massage, food and drinks for someone who can help paint the house on weekend days.”
“Most of it his harmless, thought there is a warning system implemented that will send notifications to the ones in charge if some requests uses certain words or word combinations for manual control. The app is funded through ads. It’s popular especially by young people. The owner was very cooperative after he understood that his app has become a tool to someone to incite others into crime. What stands out is that the ‘challenges’ were directly sent to Miss Dou and Mr. Tang respectively, rather than posted online for anyone to pick up. This suggests that whoever is behind this selected these two people for a reason.”

“They must have known both their personality and jobs and just how to entice them to play along.” Du Cheng pointed out with a frustrated growl.
“Either way I already have the company’s team working on filtering out any other direct requests sent in a similar frame of time and focused on the city, asking for those within a set radius of the crime to be marked and shown first, so we can check if other people were involved in this and set up to become an accomplice.”
“Good thinking!” the captain praised her making Li Han beam.

“Captain!” Jiang Feng rushed into the room, late to the meeting as he had still been on the phone. “I may have got a lead!”
And after that things became hectic with one investigation result after another getting reported in and they had to sort out things by priority and distribute tasks among them.
Before the day as over Liu Sang had somehow sort of been adopted into the team and treated as one of them.

The next day surprised them with a new lead. Or rather getting an unexpected call explaining that the missing girl had been recognized at the airport and detained along with the couple she was with.
“This is our daughter!” the woman insisted and looked miserable as tears threatened to spill over. “Give her back! Please, please, give her back! We’ve been searching for her for so long!”
Trying to make sense of her words was useless in the state she had gotten herself in so Du Cheng turned to the woman’s husband who held her tightly into his arms.
“Our daughter got kidnapped 3 years ago. The police couldn’t find her. We’ve both worked hard and invested all our savings in a team of professionals hoping to track her down. Xiaomei is our daughter. I’m sure if you do a DNA comparison you’ll find that to be true.”

“So let’s assume this plays out the way you claim… What the heck did you think you were doing? Kidnap your daughter back? Did you think for even one moment about your daughter in that moment? How she might feel if she got taken again?” Du Cheng couldn’t help but ask. The whole thing was so out of the norm and strange.
The man lifted his chin proudly and without shame. “You don’t know the hell we have been going through in the last three years. We had finally found her, what did you expect us to do? Call the police and give those frauds a chance to run off with our little girl again?!”
Liu Sang rose from his chair abruptly and pinned them down with a glare and left without another word, which threw Du Cheng for a loop and made him torn between following suit and staying put when a voice in his ear took care of the problem for him.
“I’ll go after him.” Shen Yi reassured him. “And I do think they are not lying. Or at least they are convinced things are as they believe them to be.”

Surprisingly Shen Yi found Liu Sang in his office, leaning against the wall and gazing out of a window.
He was rigid and didn’t turn to greet him thought the artist was pretty certain the other was aware of his presence.
Quietly he walked until he stood by Liu Sang’s side, following his gaze while once again becoming aware just how tall the other was compared to him.

“Unfortunately desperate parents like that often tend to become selfish. We deal with that kind a lot. Generally selfish people, that is.” Shen Yi finally broke the silence after he mulled over what could have possibly set the other of.

“… How can they claim to love their daughter when they have no regard for her feelings?” Liu Sang muttered darkly.
Shen Yi hesitated to reply for a moment, before sighing. “They wouldn’t know the psychological damage such an act can cause. They never experienced kidnapping… Even if they did, it’s a different experience for a kid. They couldn’t possibly understand what she was feeling then... You do.”
A wry smile crossed Liu Sang’s face and he pushed off the wall to unwrap his crossed arms and shove his hands down his jacket pockets but didn’t say a thing. Just starred at Shen Yi as if he wanted for him to get his point across.

“Would you like to talk to Xiaomei? They psychologist is doing their best but she hasn’t opened up at all. If she were to met someone who had the same happen to them who grew up fine-.”
Liu Sang laughed then. “Fine, huh? Is that how you see it?” The other man just shook his head as if in amusement and snorted. “Never mind that. I can try and talk to Xiaomei but don’t expect much. Every person is different and deals with things differently. Some can move on, some can never forget. I can’t promise her that things will be all alright. Especially not if what they said is true and she’s their daughter.”

Shen Yi closed his eyes for a moment. That would be a lot to take in for anyone and completely uproot her life if true. Also depending on how things turned out the couple still committed several crimes. Circumstances might be in their favor but he doubted they’d be able to get away scoot-free.
“Well, let’s take small baby steps and deal with what we can one step at a time.” he finally told Liu Sang and smiled a small smile at him. The other man starred for a moment then nodded.

Chapter Text

Shen Yi’s head was pounding, and he could feel bruises forming all over his body.
His hands were tied behind his back, something was covering his eyes, and rough fabric was shoved into his mouth.
Fuck.
Du Cheng was going to have a field day — he’d gotten himself captured again.
The weight of his phone was gone, but as he shifted slightly, he almost sighed in relief when he felt the familiar weight of the watch still strapped to his wrist.
At first, it had felt weird when Du Cheng had asked for permission to add a tracker to it — something that could be triggered in emergencies — but with the memory of that time he'd been kidnapped and nearly killed still fresh, Shen Yi had agreed.
Now, he was glad he had, even if it had mostly been to calm Du Cheng’s nerves back then.

A soft groan beside him made Shen Yi suddenly aware of the warm weight pressed against his side. A moment later, his stomach dropped as the events replayed in his mind.
What they’d originally thought was a kidnapping — then a child trafficking case — had turned out to be far more complicated than anything they’d expected.
Genetic experiments, carried out through a fertility clinic, implanting clones into the wombs of women desperate to become mothers — then stealing the children back after a seemingly random number of years to observe their development, run tests on them, and eventually allow them to ‘escape’ or be rescued — it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to encounter.

Nor would anyone expect that ‘Chen Xiaomei’ had actually been swapped for another girl — the Mei couple’s Xiaomei — just days before the kidnapping.
But that’s exactly what had happened. The real Chen Xiaomei was abducted while Mei Xiaomei was told that if she played along and behaved, she’d get to see her parents again. She’d been coached on how to act like Chen Xiaomei, while the real girl was taken.
The man who later kidnapped ‘Chen Xiaomei’ was just another pawn — hired under the impression that it was some kind of elaborate prank. He hadn’t thought anything of it when the girl happily ran up to her parents and hugged them.

Even with all that, they’d still managed to dig deeper, following leads to a basement where Chen Xiaomei was being kept unconscious for further experiments.
The people behind it all had escaped, but not without the team right on their heels.
But the other side clearly had contingency plans — and they’d walked straight into an ambush, forced to fight off attackers.

Liu Sang, who was meant to stay back with the girl and the rescue team after helping locate the site and reporting the escape attempt, had suddenly reappeared mid-fight, blocking several blows meant for them.
At one point, he hadn’t been fast enough — taking a blow to the head — but thanks to him, they still won the fight with only minor injuries. Liu Sang probably came off the worst.
That didn’t stop him, though; even dazed, he directed the team after the ones trying to slip away in the chaos.

Shen Yi had stayed behind to help Liu Sang back to where the medics were waiting, while the others rounded up the remaining suspects.
Liu Sang had been swaying, barely able to stand, and they’d barely made it around the corner when he suddenly retched.
Shen Yi vaguely remembered Liu Sang suddenly freezing and turning to him with wide eyes — but before any sound had escaped his lips, Shen Yi must have been knocked out.
And unless he was mistaken, Liu Sang had suffered the same fate and was now lying next to him.

Slowly, Shen Yi took a deep breath through his nose, trying to calm himself.
It was okay. Du Cheng had the resources to find them, especially once it became clear they were missing and unreachable.
They’d realise something was wrong.
The real question was: why had they been taken? None of it made any sense.
His head snapped up at the sound of approaching footsteps. A moment later, he quickly shut his eyes and slumped against the person next to him.
If they thought he was still unconscious, maybe he could overhear something useful. People tended to get careless when they believed no one was listening.

Du Cheng was close to losing his mind.
It had been almost two days since Shen Yi and Liu Sang had vanished without a trace.
Neither of their phones could be tracked, and Shen Yi’s watch tracker wasn’t connecting — either destroyed or being jammed.
None of the people they’d arrested knew anything, and for the first time, Du Cheng found himself questioning whether he’d been wrong to trust Liu Sang.
Had it been him all along?
It would be a bold move, walking right into the middle of an investigation like that — but in a world of modern surgery, it wasn’t impossible for someone to make themselves look like someone else.

The captain sighed as he unlocked the door to Shen Yi’s flat. Bureau Chief Zhang had sent him home, ordering him to rest and forbidding him from working or investigating any further until 8 a.m. the next day — unless there was a breakthrough. She’d also made it clear that no one was to contact him in the meantime.
As he passed the mirror, he saw why she’d been so firm. He looked like hell.
He nearly tripped over a cat toy lying on the floor and let out a small huff.
Good thing they’d sent the cat to stay with his sister while the operation was ongoing — no way they’d have been able to keep checking in.
The poor little thing was probably starving by now.

He wandered slowly down the hallway to Shen Yi’s usual room.
To his surprise, the light didn’t come on, even after he flicked the switch a few times.
Du Cheng sighed and turned to search for a spare bulb — when something struck the back of his neck and the world went dark.

His head was pounding when he came to.
Whatever had hit him, it hadn’t been a baseball bat — Du Cheng knew enough about those to rule it out immediately.
A groan slipped out, and he tensed as he felt ropes digging into his arms.
He was tied to a chair, but at least they hadn’t gagged or blindfolded him.

“Boss.”
A quiet voice came from behind, making his head snap around — but the speaker stayed just out of sight, in his blind spot. All he caught were muscular arms and clasped hands.

The room was dim, lit only by a single, naked bulb hanging from the ceiling.
A door opened, and someone hurried in, setting up a chair directly opposite him.
Moments later, the tapping of a walking stick echoed as a man in a suit entered, lowered himself into the chair, and rested both hands on his cane.
Dark eyes, framed by elegant glasses, locked onto Du Cheng with such cold intensity that his skin prickled. Sweat beaded at his temples.
Every instinct screamed: this man is dangerous.

“I’ll get straight to the point: where is Liu Sang?” the man asked, his voice sharp and cool.
Du Cheng sat up, stunned by the question. “Wha—?”
“Don’t play dumb. I’ve got proof you’ve been keeping him around and using his skills.”
“Whoa, hold on — we don’t know where he is either! He disappeared during an operation along with one of our team members. We’re trying to find them both right now!” Du Cheng blurted, mentally cursing himself as the words left his mouth. Depending on what this man wanted with Liu Sang, he might have just made things worse for both of them.

“Oh.” The man’s lips curled briefly. “So, you misplaced them.”
His amusement vanished as quickly as it came.
“Don’t insult me, boy. If you won’t talk, we’ve got ways to make you.”

He raised his hand and gestured towards the door.
A shadow moved, and someone prowled into the light like a panther.
“Eyes over here, big boy.”
A sultry female voice cut through the air. The light revealed flip-flops, a pair of dungarees hugging her figure over a T-shirt, and tattooed arms crossed under her chest.
Du Cheng hadn’t even been looking at anything improper, but still felt flustered as though he’d been caught red-handed.

The woman tilted her head, studying him with sharp eyes. Several piercings glittered in the light, and though most of her long hair was pinned up, a few strands had escaped.
There was no denying her beauty — but the muscle in her arms and the contrast with her almost childlike outfit made her all the more intimidating.

He felt like a bug under a microscope, waiting to be dissected.
Suddenly, her curious expression shifted into a frown.

“What the heck?” she blurted. “Aren’t you Du Cheng?”
“You know this guy?” the man in the suit asked, his voice calm.
Du Cheng blinked, completely lost. He was certain they’d never met — though she vaguely reminded him of one of Shen Yi’s artist friends. But someone like her? He wouldn’t forget.

“I am Du Cheng,” he confirmed, watching as her eyes flicked between his face and her phone screen.
“Yeah… I can tell,” she drawled, slipping her phone back into her pocket with a huff.
“Boy, are you lucky I bullied Yi-ge until he finally sent me a photo of you. Didn’t mention his boyfriend was also his new boss — and the dick who crushed his spirit all those years ago.”
“That’s—” Du Cheng faltered. That’s private! Who was she?
“Who are you?!”
The woman snorted.
“A friend of Shen Yi’s — that’s all you need to know for now.” She turned to the man beside her. “We can trust him, boss. It’s not him. Shen Yi would’ve sensed if something was off, working together this long.”
“You’re sure?” the man asked.
She nodded. He waved at his men.

“In that case, I apologise for the rough introduction. Since you’re looking for your partner and we’re looking for Liu Sang, and since they disappeared together — let’s join forces. I look forward to a fruitful cooperation.”
He stood, approaching as Du Cheng was freed and the guards stepped aside.
Part of Du Cheng wanted to refuse the handshake — it felt like shaking hands with a snake — but he knew better than to reject the offer. Slowly, he clasped the man’s hand.

“Mhm. A good grip. Not bad. I might grow to like you,” the older man remarked before letting go.
Du Cheng still felt like he’d walked straight into a lion’s den.
Just who the hell was Liu Sang?!
And what kind of friends did Shen Yi have?!
What on earth had he just been dragged into?!