It was nearly eleven o'clock by the time she got home. This apartment had been bought for her by her mother, Meng Wenjian, when she was in university, but since she'd spent her graduate studies and work years away from Longcheng, she'd rarely stayed here.
After hearing that she was returning to Longcheng for work, Meng Wenjian had immediately and joyfully hired people to renovate the place, and had even reimbursed her for an entire set of new furniture.
Meng Luobai had barely stepped through the door when she scrolled to Meng Luoyu and Sangsang's Moments posts—the two of them had been to a concert and were thrilled to have met their idol, both posting nine-grid photo collages.
She flipped through the photos. Maybe she was getting old—she didn't recognize a single one of the celebrities on stage these days.
Just as she was looking, a news notification suddenly popped up at the top of her phone—[Ling Sui—More Than Just a Champion! MMA's New King Crosses Over into Fashion, Stunning Everyone with Looks and Skill in Equal Measure!]
Meng Luobai tapped it open. It was news from Empirl's latest runway show.
The man in the photo sat quietly at the edge of the runway. Unlike the person seen in the fighting ring, he was now dressed in a bespoke suit that perfectly wrapped away the bloodthirsty aura he carried in competition. A breeze drifted in from some unknown direction, gently stirring the loose strands of hair at his forehead. The camera lens favored him exceptionally, every inch exquisitely, unfairly perfect.
He wasn't looking at the camera. His phoenix eyes rested lazily on the runway stage, a hint of nonchalance and boredom hidden in their depths, mixed with an innate wildness—like a king commanding the entire venue, arrogant, languid, yet carrying a touch of impatience and an aggressive sense of untouchability.
The comments from fans below were endless:
[Can the editor please fact-check before writing? "Crossing over into fashion"? Empirl is literally Ling Sui's family brand. He IS the one who defines the fashion industry.]
[This is Ling Sui's own show, okay? Why would he need to cross over? Who's crossing into whose territory here?]
[So handsome!]
…
Meng Luobai closed the news notification and headed toward the bathroom.
Meng Luobai needed white noise to sleep, mostly various criminal cases from ancient and modern times, both domestic and international, and occasionally some horror or supernatural stories. Perhaps because she'd been on vacation recently, listening to so many cases had given her unusually vivid dreams. But every time she woke up, she could never remember what she'd dreamed about.
Today was different, though—before she could slip into her jumbled dreams, her work phone rang first.
Meng Luobai opened her eyes and reached for the phone on her nightstand.
"Hello, is this Dr. Meng?" It was the voice of an old client.
Before answering, Meng Luobai took a deep breath, paused, then responded with a clear, alert voice. "This is Meng Luobai."
"Dr. Meng, I have a—" The voice on the other end hesitated. "—friend who's run into a bit of a situation. Could I trouble you to come over and take a look?"
"Of course." Meng Luobai swung her legs off the bed. "Could you give me a general idea of the situation first? So I can prepare."
"Just bring your medical kit. No special preparation needed." The old client's voice wavered for a moment. "…They might be a little injured."
"Alright, I'll be right there." Meng Luobai glanced at the time on her nightstand—it was already past 1 a.m. She'd had a bit to drink earlier. Would there even be a designated driver available at this hour? Would it be easy to get a cab?
Just as she was thinking this, the old client spoke again. "I've already sent someone to wait downstairs at your building. Just head down directly."
Meng Luobai: "…"
Five minutes later, carrying her medical kit and fully dressed, Meng Luobai indeed saw the person waiting for her downstairs.
The night was thick, and a black Maybach was parked at the entrance of the apartment building. Two men in black suits stood beside the car. Seeing her approaching with a medical kit, the man on the left stepped forward first and gave a slight nod. "You must be Dr. Meng?"
Meng Luobai sized him up without changing her expression and nodded. "Yes, I am."
The man made a "please" gesture. "Dr. Meng, please get in the car. Mr. Zhang sent us to pick you up."
Meng Luobai glanced at the Maybach parked by the roadside, then at the two men standing upright beside the car.
Quite the fanfare. She couldn't help but wonder who the "patient" might be.
After she got in, the two men in black followed and sat down, and the car immediately started moving smoothly.
As soon as the car drove out of the neighborhood gate, Meng Luobai caught a glimpse of the men in black on her left and right from the corner of her eye. As if she could run away after getting in? Sitting like this felt like she was being "escorted."
The car drove on for a while longer, and the street scenes outside the window grew increasingly remote, clearly heading out of the city. She spoke up and asked, "Where is the patient?"
The man in black on the left replied in a cold, stiff voice, "In a safe place."
Meng Luobai: "…"
Mr. Zhang was her first employer, and many subsequent employers had been introduced by him. Meng Luobai had always trusted him greatly. She glanced out the window—surely he wouldn't have worked with her for four years just to harm her today?
Even though she thought this, when she saw the car truly leave the city, Meng Luobai's expression turned serious. "You need to tell me where we're going."
The man in black glanced out the window. "Almost there."
Almost… there?
Meng Luobai quickly turned her head to look outside.
At two in the morning in the suburbs, everything beyond the reach of the headlights was pitch black.
What kind of patient would be lying out in this desolate wilderness?
As a family doctor like this, Meng Luobai served employers with net assets of over ten million, and most of them valued their privacy extremely highly. Unless the employer voluntarily disclosed information, she never asked about anything beyond the medical condition.
She touched her phone.
Well, this was just great—what if she never got the chance to ask again…
Just as her mind was wandering, the car suddenly turned a corner.
Meng Luobai looked up, and at the end of her line of sight was a brightly lit complex of buildings. As the Maybach drew closer, the buildings gradually came into focus. A "Versailles Palace"-like structure stood resplendently before her, with several auxiliary buildings behind it also glowing with golden light, shimmering brilliantly in the night.
Meng Luobai remembered now. This was one of the country's famous top ten private estates—Xishui Manor, the Chinese version of "Versailles Palace."
Thirty years ago, Longcheng's efforts to attract foreign investment had been very unsuccessful, and it hadn't developed for years despite trying. It wasn't until an overseas Chinese investor appeared that things changed. Not only did he invest in building factories himself, but he also brought in a large number of foreign businessmen and emerging industries.
Later, when Longcheng's real estate began to develop, the government specially allocated a piece of land to this Chinese investor, and Xishui Manor was built in a place overlooking the mountains and the sea.
By now, the Maybach had already entered the manor's main gate. After driving along the driveway for a while, the car passed through a large garden, circled around the fountain pool, and finally stopped at the main entrance of the "Versailles Palace."
As soon as Meng Luobai stepped out of the car, a breath of air mixed with the freshness of a forest oxygen bar and a faint fragrance of flowers rushed to meet her.
The man in black turned slightly to the side. "Dr. Meng, please come in."
Upon entering, one was greeted by a hall rivaling a parliamentary chamber, golden light flooding the entire space. The dome, three stories high, was painted with intricate patterns, and gilded-framed oil paintings hung along the walls on either side. Passing through several rows of Roman columns, a private elevator hidden behind an ornate carved screen came into view.
The man in black pressed the button for the top floor, and soft classical music flowed through the cabin. As the elevator ascended slowly, the panoramic window revealed the full view of the main living room, like stumbling into an isolated, luxurious palace.
Meng Luobai's clientele had always been wealthy. Even having seen countless lavish villas, she still found Xishui Manor excessive.
—It was entirely on a royal level.
With a soft "ding," the elevator doors opened.
The corridor on the top floor was carpeted with thick rugs, muffling every footstep into silence. At the end of the corridor stood a dark solid-wood door, its gleaming golden handle radiating a warm glow. The man in black leading the way stopped, opened the door, and stepped aside, gesturing for Meng Luobai to enter.
Unlike the serene luxury outside, the atmosphere in the room was heavy and tense.
A row of servants in dark uniforms stood against the wall, each with lowered brows and downcast eyes, silent as cicadas in winter.
Meng Luobai's gaze swept across the floor, where several antique vases lay shattered into pieces, broken rose stems resting among the fractured white porcelain. A faint scent of blood mingled with the sweet tang of red wine assailed her senses.
The air was eerily still, broken only by intermittent, stifled sobs.
Following the sound, Meng Luobai spotted a man and a woman huddled on the carpet beside the sofa. Both were thinly dressed, their clothes hanging askew on their bodies. The man's shirt was stained with blood, his eyes vacant and unfocused, as if his soul had fled. The woman bore several ambiguous red marks on her neck, her makeup smeared, looking utterly disheveled.
Meng Luobai: "…"
…What on earth is going on?
She hesitated for a moment, uncertain whether to check on the injured first or call the police immediately.
After half a second of deliberation, her doctor's instinct made the choice for her. She grabbed her medical kit and stepped forward quickly, deciding to tend to their wounds first.
But no sooner had she taken two steps than a clean, slightly languid voice sounded from behind her: "Aren't you going to check on me?"
The voice was crisp, low, its trailing tone wrapped in an unshakeable air of detachment and world-weariness. It was like a lake surface that had just frozen in deep winter—tap it, and the crisp crack of ice sent a chill straight to the heart.
Even so, Meng Luobai caught a hint of familiarity in it. She stopped in her tracks involuntarily and turned around instinctively.
The man leaned against the bathroom doorframe, his long, slightly wavy black hair falling past his shoulders, damp strands clinging to his face, framing features of striking, aggressive beauty. Sharp brow bones, a high-bridged nose, slightly upturned eyes, and thin, vividly colored lips—even with an almost indifferent expression, he exuded a bewitching, cult-like allure.
He wore a pale gold silk robe, its hem just brushing his calves, revealing the smooth lines of his ankles. The robe was loosely gathered with a single sash, leaving his collarbone and chest barely covered. Several red marks of varying depth, mixed with scabbed scrapes, stood out starkly against his pale, cold-toned collarbone.
Two hours ago, the man she'd seen on the bar's TV and in the news now stood before her—it was Ling Sui.
He was holding his phone, mid-call. The person on the other end had probably misunderstood his earlier gesture of calling out to her. In a detached tone, he explained, "I wasn't talking to you."
Just then, the man in black beside him quietly reminded, "Dr. Meng, this way."
Only at the man in black's words did Meng Luobai's gaze finally withdraw from him. "What about them?"
The man in black's face betrayed no emotion as he replied matter-of-factly, "Someone will come to check on them."
Meng Luobai couldn't say anything more and followed him to the treatment area nearby.
Ling Sui was still on the phone. With each word he spoke, his collar loosened a little more. He rose from where he'd been leaning against the doorframe, his gaze indifferent. After a few more words, he finally said, "Whatever you want."
The room fell silent again.
Ling Sui hung up the phone, his gaze landing on her.
Meng Luobai set down the medical kit, and just then, her eyes met his.
If her memory served her correctly, it had been seven years since they'd last seen each other. From that final meeting until now, they'd had no contact whatsoever. Because she'd left so abruptly, she could no longer even recall the scene of their last encounter.
Before Meng Luobai could pull herself from her thoughts, the languid figure rose from the doorway and walked over to stand before her.
Meng Luobai's lashes trembled. After so many years apart, she had things she wanted to say. But this face—so familiar yet so foreign—and his current identity made her forget what she'd been about to say.
He stood before her, slowly bending down until his gaze was level with hers. A pair of phoenix eyes shimmered with an almost bewitching allure as they swept across her face. "My back hurts so much," a smile curled at the corners of his blood-red lips. "Sister."