Shàng Wèi waited impatiently for William and Wĕi Qí to leave the study. He had been forbidden to participate in the interrogation, which made him very nervous. He would have loved to take out all his anger and frustration on that dummy Kan Te and get the truth out of him with his fists. Adam had been missing for almost three days, and no one knew what had happened to him. No requests had been made. No one had contacted them yet. Worry had reached unimaginable levels, and he needed to do something soon. Knowing that his Xiao Wū Mù was alone and at the mercy of some compliant evildoer from the Zhao family sent him into a rage. He felt helpless and useless, pacing back and forth along the narrow corridor, waiting for information that would lead him to find Adam and finally get him to safety. Tired of the interminable wait, Shàng Wèi decided to enter the room but, just then, the door opened, and Wĕi Qí and William appeared before his eyes. The severe gaze of the

The echo of hurried footsteps brought Adam out of his semi-conscious state. The sharp pain in his head prevented him from opening his one remaining healthy eye. Instead, knowing what awaited him, he ducked into the corner, bringing his hands to his head as a protective shield, and waited, trembling, for the blows to return to his exhausted body. "ADAM'?" A pained call echoed through the empty corridors. Adam smiled sadly, thinking he was suffering from auditory hallucinations. "ADAM?" There was that voice again. It sounded closer and closer. And Adam seemed to know it, though he had never heard that note of panic and pain in it. "ADAM?" The sobbing voice persisted in its mournful plea, yet Adam couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. If it was coming from the outside or from his imagination. Everything was so confused in his head at that moment. "Big brother? Big brother, are you okay?" Claire? That sound

"You idiot! Where do you think you're going?" Wĕi Qí suddenly opened the door and removed the key from the ignition. Shàng Wèi looked at him, furious. "What do you think you're doing? Give me back the key now, and let me go." "Where, to the slaughterhouse? Use your head. Do you think they're going to roll out the red carpet for you when you get there? And let you take Adam away, like nothing happened, huh?" He asked angrily. "Don't nag me. Give me the key." He ordered again, raising his voice. Shàng Wèi was beside himself with anger at Wĕi Qí's attitude. He was getting in his way, and just at the moment when he wanted to run to save his Wū Mù. "Get out of the way, Wĕi Qí." He intimated again, seeing that his friend had no intention of letting him go. "You will have to knock me out." The latter challenged him. Shàng Wèi was waiting for nothing else. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment but reaching Adam as soon as

"Xiao Wū Mù!" "Mmm..." "Wake up!" "Mmmm... nooo..." "Xiao Wū Mu, wake up!" "Five more minutes." A crystal-clear laugh echoed faintly in his ear as two mighty arms wrapped around his waist. "We have class this morning." "I don't want to go. It hurts all over." Adam grumbled sleepily, sinking his head under the covers. "Ohhh! Does my little doll hurt? Please show me where. I'll kiss you to take the pain away." So said the deep voice, mouthing at him. A cheeky hand came down and gently cupped his bottom. Adam grabbed the pillow and hurled it at his molester's head. "Ouch!" The moan of pain roused him from his light sleep. Reluctantly, he squinted his eyes, sighing in exasperation. Then, very slowly, he sat up, grimly observing the culprit of his lack of rest. Hēi Sé looked at him with a naughty and satisfied look. He looked like a big, proud cat that had just eaten its prey. And, con

A figure dressed in white entered the room. The movements were slow and measured. As a result, the figure had a fragrance that differed from the smell of laundry soap and disinfectant, which could be smelled throughout the hospital. She approached the bed with a circumspect step and, after glancing at the sleeping patient hidden by the immaculate sheet, drew a syringe filled with a colorless liquid from his pocket. Very calmly, so as not to wake the patient, she took the drip thread, which was sticking out from under the covers. Then she inserted the thin needle, letting the transparent liquid flow slowly and inexorably towards the perforated vein. Once the injection was complete, she put the syringe away and gently placed the drip back in its original position. An evil chuckle escaped the figure's crimson lips before she turned on her heel to leave the room. "You'd have to have a specialist diploma to perform this kind of operation. B