“Shh, shh, shh…”
Xu Xiaoyou lowered her voice.
“You look like a mouse that’s just seen a cat,” Lin Ran blinked. “What guilty thing did you do?”
“Huh? I clearly just saw someone walk in. Did something happen?”
The girl’s voice outside the door sounded confused. As if she had thought of something bad, she suddenly knocked hard on the door.
“Don’t tell me someone fainted? A heart attack, or something?”
“What should I do, what should I do—should I break the door down?”
“Forget it, saving a life is more important!”
Seeing that the other party really seemed about to force the door open, Xu Xiaoyou hurriedly shouted, “Wait!”
The person outside let out a sigh of relief.
“What the heck, I thought something serious happened. There is someone home after all…”
Xu Xiaoyou pressed her fingers to her temples, forcing herself to calm down.
“What do you need?”
“Well, I just finished washing my hair, but there’s no hair dryer at home. I thought I’d come borrow one from you.”
Calm down. Calm down.
Xu Xiaoyou fell into thought.
The person outside didn’t seem very smart—nothing like that investigator.
Was it a coincidence, or was it just her imagination?
Given that investigator’s personality, if she truly knew Xu Xiaoyou’s address, she would have broken in long ago.
The other party probably didn’t know her true identity and had simply moved into this apartment building by chance.
Still, she had to remain vigilant.
If the person outside really was that investigator, acting too unnaturally would instead arouse suspicion.
“I’ll open the door.”
As the door opened, the girl’s figure came into view.
She stood quietly in front of the door. Her calves were fair and straight above a pair of disposable slippers. A thick bath towel was wrapped around her body, her wet black hair bundled loosely, droplets of water sliding down along the strands to her ears. Her cool red eyes were misty with moisture, carrying a hint of timidness.
Perhaps startled by Xu Xiaoyou opening the door so suddenly, she took a step back.
“Sorry for disturbing you so late.”
Xu Xiaoyou forced her expression to remain calm, though her heart was already in turmoil.
Who else could this girl be, if not the three-winged investigator she had seen before?
“Um… haven’t we met somewhere before?” Bai Youyou looked at Xu Xiaoyou, trying hard to recall.
“Miss Investigator, we met at the station before,” Xu Xiaoyou said with a gentle smile.
“Oh~ I remember now! Your name was Xu Nian!” Bai Youyou’s mouth opened slightly. “But your ID information said—”
“For work reasons, I just changed the gender listed on my ID,” Xu Xiaoyou said calmly, repeating the explanation she had prepared long ago. “It avoids a lot of unnecessary trouble.”
“I thought you’d gotten cosmetic surgery or something. So that’s how it is.”
Either Xu Xiaoyou hid it too well, or this investigator was simply too naïve.
The other party showed no suspicion at all. Xu Xiaoyou stepped aside and let her in.
She stared closely at the investigator’s back, trying to detect any abnormalities.
Her deduction was correct—this person didn’t know her true identity. Moving nearby really was just a coincidence.
Was she disguising herself now?
Xu Xiaoyou had seen her insane side before.
How far had the investigation progressed? She needed to probe carefully.
The moment Anya saw Bai Youyou, she reacted like a startled cat—her pupils narrowing as a powerful sense of danger made her tense instantly.
“Anya, be polite to the guest,” Xu Xiaoyou said.
“Is this… your… child?” Bai Youyou asked.
She looked barely twenty herself—already a mother?
Feeling Bai Youyou’s strange gaze, Xu Xiaoyou explained flatly:
“Cough, cough. I picked her up from a trash can. She looked pitiful being alone.”
Anya: “?”
“Anya, Anya,” Lin Ran called softly from afar, poking her head out. “Come here, come here.”
Anya shot Bai Youyou one last wary glance before running toward Lin Ran.
The spacious living room was suddenly left with only the two girls, making it feel oddly empty.
“Xu Nian—uh, Miss Xu, you’re really kind-hearted.”
“Just call me Xu Xiaoyou.”
After entering the bathroom, Bai Youyou sat down.
Xu Xiaoyou used a large towel to wring out the girl’s long hair, then picked up the hair dryer and stood behind her.
“Miss Bai Youyou, I’ll help you dry your hair.”
“Eh?”
Bai Youyou froze, her gaze turning cold as she looked at Xu Xiaoyou.
“How do you know my name?”
“I never told you my name after coming in, did I?”
In an instant, a chill shot straight up Xu Xiaoyou’s spine. The bathroom fell into deathly silence.
Her mind raced.
Damn it—she was too tense.
A grade 3 fixer capable of deciding her life or death so easily was sitting before her without any guard at all.
If she revealed even the slightest flaw, what awaited her might be utter annihilation.
Xu Xiaoyou gradually calmed herself and quickly devised an explanation—one that could even open a breakthrough.
“I heard it on the news. The way you spoke so firmly in front of the cameras about catching the killer left a deep impression on me.”
“R-really? Ahaha, I…”
Whether it was her imagination or not, the girl’s flawless white back seemed to flush red, even her ears burning.
“Pretty cool,” Xu Xiaoyou said, turning on the hair dryer and carefully lifting Bai Youyou’s damp black hair. “Punishing criminals and all that—I think it’s really cool.”
The hum of the dryer echoed in Bai Youyou’s ears. Her gaze wavered. Being praised like this face-to-face was embarrassing—but it was also the first time someone had truly acknowledged her ideals.
Whether it was her elders or the people she’d met growing up, they had either mocked her or dismissed her as an idealist.
They chatted sporadically.
“My friend’s life was taken by a wanted criminal,” Xu Xiaoyou said. “If possible, I hope this world can one day have no crime at all.”
She stared intently at Bai Youyou’s fragile neck.
If she used a weapon now, could she kill the other before she reacted?
To kill a three-winged investigator…
Just as Xu Xiaoyou hesitated inwardly, Bai Youyou suddenly changed the subject.
“Your heartbeat is really fast.”
Xu Xiaoyou’s pupils shrank.
From this distance, she could even sense Xu Xiaoyou’s heartbeat. Had she noticed something?
Had she guessed Xu Xiaoyou’s thoughts at this very moment?
The perception of a third-tier fixer was even sharper than she had anticipated.
“Your hands are shaking too.”
Cold sweat poured down Xu Xiaoyou’s back.
“It must be because of sadness,” Bai Youyou lowered her eyes. “Sorry. I made you remember something painful.”
Xu Xiaoyou finally relaxed.
This girl really was foolish—like a white cloud drifting lazily in the sky.
She had actually been deceived just like that.
“Then why do you want to catch every criminal in the world?” Xu Xiaoyou asked.
She had expected some tragic childhood trauma, something that twisted her personality. Instead, Bai Youyou simply tilted her head.
“No reason. Crime is wrong, so of course it should be punished!”
As if a program had been implanted in her mind, Bai Youyou grinned stubbornly and continued naturally:
“If one day all the criminals in the world were caught, and there was no crime left…”
“You’re wrong,” Xu Xiaoyou said calmly.
Rate on N.U.
