Pei Huaiye pressed Su Qingyue into his arms and rolled the car window down. “Two street punks by the utility pole—grab them and bring them back for questioning!”
Yuan Guang saw a young woman sitting in his arms. His eyes widened, and he hesitated. “Brother Pei, broad daylight—take it easy.”
Pei Huaiye’s temples throbbed. “Get lost! It’s not what you think.” He slammed the window shut and hurriedly searched for the antidote.
The soft body in his arms was still trembling. Su Qingyue didn’t know what was happening to her. Her blood surged to her head, and she had no control over her actions. She only wanted to be closer to the man in front of her—closer still.
So her delicate hands began to wander. She squirmed restlessly in Pei Huaiye’s arms, the curves at her chest rising and falling with every movement.
Clueless about what to do, she looked up at Pei Huaiye with tear-filled eyes.
Pei Huaiye’s whole body went rigid. The softness in his arms sent his blood boiling; every muscle tensed, veins bulging along his arms as if his blood might burst.
In a panic, he finally found a black pill and immediately fed it into Su Qingyue’s mouth. Her soft lips brushed against his rough fingers as she swallowed.
Boom.
That tiny touch was like a spark falling into dry grass. Su Qingyue lifted her head instinctively, searching for the man’s lips—and then she kissed him.
She pressed against his lips urgently, yet didn’t know how to ease the thirst, clumsily pulling away only to press back again, over and over. The heat inside her only grew stronger.
Pei Huaiye took a deep breath. “Sit still! Don’t move!”
He gripped her slender waist, his voice hoarse and low. “Just wait a bit—it’ll pass!”
Su Qingyue’s peach-blossom eyes shimmered with moisture as she looked at him pitifully. She looked both pure and enticing. Pouting, she offered her red lips to him once more.
Pei Huaiye’s gaze darkened. One large hand cradled the back of her head, and he bit down hard on those red lips.
At first he was clumsy and tentative, but after only a moment, it was as though a fish had entered water—smooth and unrestrained.
They met each other again and again. Su Qingyue had never experienced anything so overwhelming; her mind was like fireworks exploding layer upon layer, until her thoughts were completely blank.
At last, her thirst was quenched, and a satisfied hum escaped her lips.
That soul-hooking sound snapped Pei Huaiye back to his senses. With great effort, he let her go.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, his ears flushed red. His voice was especially rough. “I’ll take responsibility. Are you feeling better now?”
The antidote began to take effect, and clarity slowly returned to Su Qingyue’s eyes.
Their gazes met. The air fell quiet for a moment before both of them tacitly looked away.
Thinking of what she had just done, Su Qingyue felt both embarrassed and indignant. She covered her face with both hands, then after a while parted her fingers and secretly peeked at Pei Huaiye.
When she finally got a good look at his face, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Seeing her sweet, slightly foolish expression, Pei Huaiye curved his lips into a smile. “Wait here. I’ll go buy you a bottle of water.” With that, he got out of the car.
Su Qingyue’s heart was still pounding. She tidied her clothes and hair in the car mirror. Her lips were swollen, and thinking of what had just happened made her blush again.
Suddenly, through the car window, she spotted Su Qianqian and Zhou Wenfang pacing back and forth in the construction park in the distance. Realizing something, her face instantly turned pale.
Su Qingyue quickly left Pei Huaiye a note and hurried toward the bus stop.
Pei Huaiye had said he was going to buy water on purpose—to give the girl some space and let her calm down.
As he walked back, he wondered how he should bring up proposing to her later. But when he opened the car door—she was gone.
His face darkened as he scanned the surroundings, about to go look for her, when he noticed a note on the seat:
Meet me tomorrow at one o’clock in front of the Friendship Store. My treat.
You’ll never believe why I moved to… Manila
My life in emojis: ✈️, 🏄, 🍣, 🚵♂️
He let out a long breath and broke into a roguish yet handsome smile.
Pei Huaiye returned to the criminal investigation base, where Yuan Guang came to report.
He handed over a plastic bag. “The handkerchief was tested. It was indeed contaminated with ‘Misi.’”
Pei Huaiye narrowed his eyes. “Where did they buy the ‘Misi’?”
“They said they don’t know. A few days ago, they planned to harm a woman in the south of the city, but she said she was a young lady of the Su family. If anything happened to her, she’d make sure they paid dearly. Then she gave them twenty large-denomination bills and said she’d left a thank-you gift for them at the Friendship Store. Today, they did manage to corner a pretty girl, and the handkerchief was given to them by that woman surnamed Su.”
Pei Huaiye’s gaze turned cold. “What background does the Su family in the south of the city have?”
Yuan Fang lowered his head. “A chief of staff. We might not be able to touch them.”
“Since those two know the Su family’s young lady, file a report and apply to question the Su family!”
Yuan Guang sighed. “Brother Pei, this is the capital, not our jurisdiction. We don’t have deep roots here. It’d be better to proceed cautiously.”
Pei Huaiye said coldly, “I don’t care what high official it is. If they break the law, they’re equal to commoners. Our job is to serve the people!”
Yuan Guang nodded heavily.
……
Su Qingyue carried her clothes and waited at the platform. She noticed a Citroën van parked nearby with its door open. A couple was scolding a child inside.
The man had a scar on his face. He covered the child’s mouth, his eyes fierce. “If you keep making trouble, Daddy’s going to spank you!”
The woman spoke impatiently. “Xiaobao, be good. We’re going home by car. You can’t take the bus.”
The child clung tightly to the bus stop pole, refusing to let go. His fair face was streaked with tears, his expression a mix of fear and anger.
Looking again at the couple—the man was dark-skinned with shifty eyes, the woman had a bulbous nose and a face full of coarse flesh. They looked nothing like the child.
Thinking of her own experience, Su Qingyue suddenly realized what was going on. These two were probably human traffickers.
An older woman nearby said, “If the kid wants to take the bus, just let him. Look how hard he’s crying.”
The man laughed. “We have a car at home. He just had ice cream and still wants more. You can’t spoil him.” The child’s mouth trembled, and tears poured out.
“Kids really shouldn’t be spoiled.”
Seeing the couple about to pry the child’s hands off the pole and drag him to the van, Su Qingyue stepped forward and grabbed the child’s hand.
“One of you says the child wants to take the bus, the other says he wants ice cream. Your stories don’t match. Are you really this child’s parents?!”
After speaking, Su Qingyue immediately called out to the people around them. “Sir in the military uniform, auntie carrying fruit, and the gentleman holding a book—please come take a look! These two are dressed completely differently from this child. They might be human traffickers!”
Those who were called immediately became alert. A young man quietly backed away, then turned and ran.
The scar-faced man flew into a rage. “This is my child! My wife and I scrimp and save so he can eat well and dress well—what’s wrong with that? We’ve been coaxing him here for ages. Don’t believe me? Ask the people around us! I think you’re the trafficker, deliberately twisting the truth to abduct our kid!”
An older woman stepped forward. “Miss, could you be mistaken?”
“Auntie, ask them this—what brand are this child’s clothes and shoes? If they can answer correctly, I’ll let them go and apologize to them!”
As soon as Su Qingyue finished speaking, everyone stared at the couple.
The two of them, guilty and flustered, said nothing. The crowd immediately sensed something was wrong.
Seizing the chance, the child broke free and shouted at the top of his lungs, “They’re not my mom and dad—waaah…”
Before he could finish, the woman reached out to cover his mouth, and the man reacted lightning-fast, scooping the child up and trying to run.