Chapter 59 — You're Delusional!

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But Yang Huaijun was not discouraged. What kind of person was he? If such a simple probe could have exposed him, then all those years of treating him like a god would have been wasted.

"Look here, little Song, it's one thing for you to be dim-witted, but how is it that your captain is just as excitable?" Now that Yang Huaijun had already seen his face, Wei Zhao saw no point in hiding any longer. He simply raised his head. "Sigh, it seems the stress of your work is far too great. You ought to sign up for some psychological counseling and relieve the pressure."

"Why won't you admit it?" Yang Huaijun paid no heed whatsoever to Wei Zhao's attempts to deflect the conversation. He seized Wei Zhao's shoulders in an excited grip and shook him hard. "I'm Hound! Don't you recognize me?"

Qiu Lingshan had just been about to fire back at Wei Zhao when she suddenly heard Yang Huaijun refer to himself as "Hound." Her eyes flew wide open. What on earth was going on? Could it be that Captain Yang was truly so stressed out that he had started talking nonsense?

"There, you see? I told you, little Song - he's suffering from a severe delusion. He's actually fantasized that he's an animal." Wei Zhao shook his head. "And the moment he sees me, he thinks I'm an animal too..."

A row of black lines instantly appeared across Qiu Lingshan's face. Captain Yang had always been the picture of composure and wisdom. What had gotten into him today?

If there had been any doubt before, now Yang Huaijun was one hundred percent certain - the person standing before him was exactly who he had been looking for. Those brutal years, the comrades who had shared life-and-death hardship together, the kind of bond forged in such circumstances - how could Yang Huaijun possibly mistake the man for anyone else?

Especially given Wei Zhao's tone of voice now, and that unmistakable brand of absurd humor - it only confirmed to Yang Huaijun that the person before him was him. Then a thought suddenly flashed through Yang Huaijun's mind. Could it be that he was on a special mission and couldn't expose his identity?

Yes, that was very likely. Thinking back to the classification level of the mission they had carried out back then, Wei Zhao's current behavior was hardly surprising at all.

"Little Song, hand him over to me. I'll personally handle this case." Before anyone could argue, Yang Huaijun grabbed Wei Zhao's arm, as though terrified he might bolt.

"Ah... alright then..." Qiu Lingshan did not understand why Yang Huaijun was suddenly so invested in Wei Zhao's case, nor why he was behaving in such a peculiar manner. But orders from Captain Yang were orders, and out of habit, she obeyed.

Yang Huaijun had no time for pleasantries. He seized Wei Zhao by the hand and strode rapidly toward the office building. Wei Zhao followed behind him with a bitter smile. It seemed there would be no dodging this bullet.

"Bang." The office door slammed shut under Yang Huaijun's hand and was bolted tight from the inside. Though Yang Huaijun knew full well that for that particular person, even being thrown into prison wouldn't keep him contained - he'd find a way out regardless.

Wei Zhao took it all in stride. He settled himself right onto the sofa in Yang Huaijun's office. "Captain Yang, is it? What exactly do you want with me? You realize that broad daylight, two grown men locked in an office together... if word gets out... sigh, and here I am, just a high school student..."

"That's enough. There's no one else here, and my office is sufficiently soundproof. You know my nickname is Hound, which means my skills in both investigation and counter-surveillance are formidable. No one could plant a bug in here and slip past my eyes." Yang Huaijun turned to face him, eyes locked tightly on Wei Zhao, and spoke word by word.

"No way. You seriously want to do something with me?" Wei Zhao widened his eyes with a look of perfect innocence.

"Drop the act. Arno, you know what I'm talking about." Yang Huaijun's expression turned deadly serious.

"I'm sorry, you've got the wrong person. I'm not some Arno, and I have no idea what you're talking about." Wei Zhao shrugged.

"I won't be mistaken." Yang Huaijun's face contorted with emotion. He lunged forward to stand right in front of Wei Zhao, gripping his shoulders and shaking him hard. "Eagle! Are you running from something? Why won't you admit who you are?"

Wei Zhao felt a strange numbness creep over him. Was he - really - running from something? Those years of gunfire and flames, that absolute trust between comrades... and that breathtakingly beautiful face, those melancholy, heartbroken eyes... His heart clenched violently.

"Xiao Ning has been looking for you all these years." Yang Huaijun's face twisted with pain. Wei Zhao's denials had pushed his emotions into uncharted territory.

"Xiao Ning... who is that?" Wei Zhao felt as though a needle had been driven into his heart, though outwardly he maintained the same placid expression.

"You - " Yang Huaijun's eyes blazed blood-red as he glared at Wei Zhao with vicious intensity. "You're trying to run, aren't you? You'll ruin her entire life!"

Suddenly, Yang Huaijun clapped a hand to his chest. Beads of sweat the size of beans poured down his forehead like rain. His entire face went ashen and contorted in pain, and his body began to shake uncontrollably...

"What's wrong with you?" Wei Zhao was startled at once. Yes, he could deny everything, but this man—a comrade-in-arms from days past, someone to whom he had once been able to entrust his own life—Wei Zhao could not, by any means, simply look the other way.

With difficulty Yang Huaijun fished a small bottle of pills from the pocket of his jacket, opened it with trembling hands, took out a single tablet and held it under his tongue. After a moment his color eased somewhat, though he was still gasping for breath in great heaves.

Wei Zhao glanced at the label on the bottle. It was, incredibly, an imported high-potency sedative and painkiller. His expression changed on the spot. "Why are you taking this stuff?"

Wei Zhao knew Yang Huaijun's constitution better than anyone. The man was strong as an ox, and it was unthinkable that he should suffer from some hidden ailment—and yet now...

"You... finally admit it?" Yang Huaijun's face was still deathly pale, but a faint smile, one long absent, flickered at the corner of his mouth.

"Never mind that for now—what's gone wrong with your health?" Wei Zhao no longer bothered with denials; he helped Yang Huaijun over to the sofa and sat him down.

"I'm not so delicate as all that. It's nothing." Yang Huaijun grinned, and it was plain to see that he was truly happy. "Eagle, I knew I hadn't mistaken you. These past two years you've grown taller, and the edge has gone out of your eyes—you've become much more restrained—but I still recognized you."

"All right, I admit it, I am. But first tell me—what exactly has happened to you? And how did you end up retired? Wasn't that organization you belonged to a lifetime commitment?" Wei Zhao truly could not imagine what had befallen Yang Huaijun over these two years.

Outwardly he still looked robust, but Wei Zhao had caught a trace of something sickly in his face. Old Man Wei had been the most renowned physician for miles around the village, and Wei Zhao had inherited his true medical skill.

"I'm retired," Yang Huaijun said with a smile. "Because I was injured, I could no longer carry out that kind of high-risk mission, so I was transferred to a local police station."