Wuming and Judy retreated together beyond the cordon line.
Captain Qin remained on scene to handle the body of the offender.
Since Judy wasn’t part of the police force proper, she couldn’t join in and could only wait for Captain Qin to finish and report the situation to her.
In other words, she still had some time to kill here.
“At least this incident was resolved… ‘peacefully,’ in the end.”
Judy suddenly spoke while looking toward the scene, trying to make small talk to keep Wuming company.
“…Mm.” Wuming gave a quiet reply.
Even though the outcome was good, he hadn’t managed to convince the knife-wielding man to drop his weapon.
A heavy sense of guilt pressed down on his chest and refused to lift.
In that kind of hopeless situation… he really had been powerless, hadn’t he…
As a psychologist, he had poured everything he had into it, yet it seemed to make no difference at all.
He had thought he could use his professional skills to talk the man down. Instead, things had ended like this.
Even though the man was a criminal, he hadn’t deserved to die.
There should have been room to turn things around—maybe he could have been saved…
If only he had been brave enough to play the hero.
“I’m going to head over there for a bit, Doctor Wuming. You can stay here by yourself.”
“Sure. Go ahead and take care of what you need to, Officer Judy.”
Just as Wuming was sinking deeper into self-reproach, a familiar figure quietly appeared at his side.
It was Serena.
When he saw her approach, Wuming glanced at her briefly before looking away again.
What will she think of me now?
Disappointed? Or…
“Wuming! You were amazing!”
Serena’s voice rang with open excitement and admiration.
There was no trace of reproach or mockery over how things had turned out.
Eh—?
Wuming froze completely.
The scolding he had braced himself for never came.
Instead, he received nothing but Serena’s pure, unfiltered praise.
“You… don’t think I failed?”
He couldn’t help asking her.
His eyes searched her sincere face for any hint of pretense, but found none.
“Failed? Why would you say that?”
Serena tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
“You faced that kind of danger head-on to negotiate with him. That alone was incredibly brave! Why would I blame you?”
Her tone carried the matter-of-fact certainty that she truly didn’t see anything wrong with what he had done.
“And look—the hostage was rescued safely in the end, right? So you clearly helped! You did great, Wuming!”
As she spoke, Serena’s gaze drifted toward the ambulance not far away.
The “blood clan loli” who had just been saved was now sitting on the back of the ambulance, talking with a strikingly noticeable young man.
Wuming followed her line of sight. His eyes settled on the man—dressed in a crisp black suit, comforting the blood clan girl in front of him.
Going out this late still wearing a suit? What kind of job does this guy have?
Whatever. Wuming silently gave the handsome guy a mental score.
—Mm.
Probably around 90 points.
As for himself?
Obviously a solid 100.
Then his gaze shifted back to the “blood clan loli” who had caused the whole incident.
Reluctantly, he awarded her full marks too.
That face kept giving him an intense sense of déjà vu—like a character straight out of one of the 2D games he was obsessed with. The name hovered maddeningly on the tip of his tongue but refused to come.
Anyway, she was definitely his type. That much was certain.
While Wuming kept staring, he suddenly noticed the “blood clan loli” glance in his direction. Immediately afterward, the handsome guy turned his head to look at him as well.
“…”
Why’s that guy staring at me?
What Wuming didn’t realize was that the man’s gaze wasn’t actually fixed on him—it was locked on Serena standing beside him.
“…”
Wuming watched as the two of them walked straight over and finally stopped in front of him.
“Sir, thank you so much for saving my… female friend’s life.”
The young man spoke first, his tone filled with sincere gratitude.
The cute-looking blood clan loli beside him nodded along vigorously.
“Yeah, yeah! Thanks a ton, bro! Otherwise I… cough otherwise I’d have had to take another stroll past the gates of hell!”
The blood clan girl’s words of thanks carried a bold, brash energy that clashed wildly with her angelic face, making the dissonance almost comical—and somehow made it easier to believe there really might be a “boy” hiding underneath.
If the handsome guy hadn’t explicitly called her his “female friend,” Wuming might have seriously wondered whether she was a trap or just very convincingly gay.
“Behave yourself.”
Lu Muzhe helplessly gave Bo Qinyue a light tap on the head.
She immediately puffed out her cheeks and shot him a dissatisfied glare—somehow managing to look even more adorably sulky in the process.
…What a strange pair.
“I’m Lu Muzhe. This is Bo Qinyue.” Lu Muzhe turned back to Wuming and politely introduced himself.
Bo Qinyue gave a casual wave from beside him.
“May I ask how we should address you, sir?”
“Just call me Wuming.”
As he spoke, Wuming habitually reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it over.
“If you ever need psychological counseling, feel free to contact me anytime. My clinic is right nearby.”
His original intention had been concern that Bo Qinyue might need professional help after going through such a traumatic hostage situation—so he casually promoted his own business.
“Thank you, Doctor Wuming.”
Lu Muzhe accepted the card on her behalf. Then, in the span of a single instant, his gaze flicked from Wuming to Serena and back again.
“We should get going, Muzhe. Otherwise more trouble might show up.”
Bo Qinyue already seemed impatient. She tugged at Lu Muzhe’s sleeve.
She didn’t want to stay here any longer attracting everyone’s stares—especially not from doctors and police. She wanted nothing to do with them!
“Mm.” Lu Muzhe nodded.
He shared the same thought: better not linger.
“Then we’ll take our leave, Doctor Wuming.”
With that, the two turned and walked away. Just as they left, Judy finished up and returned.
Seeing her approach, Wuming also stood up, ready to leave.
“We’ll head out too then, Officer Judy.”
“Mm. See you, Doctor Wuming.”
Judy nodded in farewell. Wuming and Serena turned and left the scene together.
“Speaking of which…”
On the way back, Serena suddenly spoke up, sounding thoughtful.
“That blood clan girl named Bo Qinyue… she feels really strange.”
“Hm?” Wuming turned curiously toward her. “Strange how?”
“Because… I couldn’t smell any blood aura on her.”
Serena’s brows furrowed slightly, a trace of confusion and bewilderment in her expression. That was the strongest, most immediate impression the girl had given her—and it was simply too bizarre.
“That girl felt to me… like… like a corpse that just crawled out of a grave. Completely hollow and empty.”
“Cough…” Wuming nearly choked on his own saliva.
“Your imagination… could you make it any wilder?”
How could that girl—who had just been scared half to death and argued with her captor that her gender was an attack helicopter—possibly be a corpse fresh from the grave?!
“I’m being serious!”
Serena continued. “We blood clan can sense the unique ‘blood aura’ that every living creature has. But on her… there was nothing. Completely clean.”
“Okay, okay, whatever you say.”
What does it have to do with us anyway?
Wuming laughed helplessly, treating it as one of her random, out-there remarks and not taking it seriously at all.
“Wuming,” Serena suddenly leaned in closer. Her beautiful eyes stared straight at him. “Between me and her… who’s prettier?”
“Hah?” Wuming blinked in surprise. “Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Because when she was talking to you just now…” Serena narrowed her eyes and slowly lifted her hand, making the ring on her finger glint.
“I could feel you got a little excited looking at her. Your heartbeat sped up just a tiny bit~?”
“…”
My dear ancestor! Is this really necessary?!
She was just a pretty… uh, probably-a-trap loli! Did she have to monitor him like this?!
Wuming wailed internally.
He hadn’t expected Serena to secretly eavesdrop on his mood swings!
“Not telling.”
Wuming turned his face away in annoyance, using silence to protest this invasion of privacy.
“Hmph…” Serena pouted and turned her own face away.
Then she suddenly threw out a line she’d learned from some drama: “Men really are all big pig trotters!”
The moment the words left her mouth, she huffed angrily and latched onto Wuming’s arm like a koala, clinging tightly.
“What are you doing now…?”
Wuming asked, exasperated.
“Declaring sovereignty, of course! Wuming can only have me!”
Serena boldly proclaimed.
“Sigh… fine, you little tyrant…”
Wuming let out a helpless sigh, though the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily.
In the end, he let her keep holding onto his arm.
The two of them walked side by side like that, gradually disappearing into the night.
“By the way—”
Halfway there, Serena suddenly remembered something and tilted her head toward him. “Tomorrow… aren’t you going to be on the news?”
Of course Wuming understood what she meant. His involvement in the hostage incident was bound to catch the media’s attention—it was practically guaranteed.
“Yeah,” he shrugged, his tone carrying a touch of resigned acceptance.
“Once you do something like that, there’s no escaping the reporters’ eagle eyes.”
【Concerned Citizen Steps In Heroically, Assists Police in Resolving Crisis.】
He could already picture the generic headline splashed across tomorrow’s papers. Thankfully he and Serena had left quickly enough to avoid getting cornered by journalists.
Otherwise… his voice would probably be looping on the evening news right now. Wuming quietly counted his blessings.
“Sigh…”
Even though Wuming didn’t want the interview, Serena let out a long, dramatic sigh and let her shoulders slump.
“If it weren’t for those damn bastards…”
She ground her teeth, voice thick with resentment and unwillingness.
Her small fists clenched tight. “Something as flashy as being on TV… I want to do it too!”
The moment she thought of the enemies who had forced her into hiding, Serena’s hatred boiled over. She itched to tear them apart right this second!
“Those damned bastards!”
She practically growled the words. A cold light flashed in her eyes.
Those people…
Wuming’s heart sank along with hers.
Serena was right.
As long as those hidden threats weren’t completely eliminated, neither of them could ever live truly peaceful lives.
Scarlet Night…
How the hell were they supposed to deal with them…
Honestly, Wuming had no good ideas for stopping it all.
The best solution would be to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
For now, all he could do was pin his hopes on Uncle Park and the bureau…
“Alright, stop thinking about that depressing stuff.”
Serena’s mood flipped as fast as turning a page. One second she was radiating murder; the next she was back to normal.
She smiled brightly and shook Wuming’s arm. “Are we heading home now, Wuming?” she asked.
“…Let’s stop by the supermarket first. I need to pick up a few things.”
Wuming adjusted his mood.
He had planned to buy some snacks on this outing anyway, but the earlier incident had delayed him.
“Oh… then let’s hurry!”
And so Serena followed him toward the supermarket.