They stared at each other, not sure if they should go back to the apartment to talk about the cases or if Wei should join him in the elevator and go out.

Yunlan's phone broke the awkward moment. He stepped out to answer.

Wei stood gazing at him. Now that he had acknowledged his own feelings, his eyes held longing. They lingered on the other's face and lips, remembering how it had felt good to kiss him.

He hadn't heard a word of Yunlan's conversation with whoever was on the phone, so he was quite startled when he heard him speak.

"Will you come with me?"

"Come? What do you mean? Where?"

Yunlan's eyes narrowed.
"Didn't you hear? Another person has disappeared. We are not waiting to see if he'll come back on his own, after the recent events we are treating any reported disappearance as another missing case. You said you wanted to help, I'm going there now, wanna join me?"

Wei nodded, incapable of saying a word. They entered the elevator together and Yunlan didn't comment on how close to him Wei was standing.

For Wei, it was as if everything had suddenly changed. It was selfish of him, he knew that. He should have talked about the case, but Wei really couldn't stop thinking how much he wanted the man next to him. He had tried to distance himself before, but now that he had made peace with his heart's want, it was as if he could not avert his eyes anymore.

They took Yunlan's car and reached the residential area of the mother that had called the police very much alarmed after her son had interrupted their phone call mid-sentence and had never made it home.

As soon as they got out of the car, Yunlan spotted Chu and Hong. They had talked to the woman already and were able to tell him everything there was to know about the twenty-nine-year-old man that had called home to say he was coming back but had never arrived.

Hong was once again eyeing them but now Wei could recognize her hostility for what it was. They both craved the attention of the same man.

Yunlan seemed oblivious of the silent war going on around him, and his voice when he spoke had a professional tone. They were working now, and the case demanded priority.

"When did this happen? Has anyone else been informed?" he asked.

"She called so many people, from his friends to the hospitals, that I'm surprised the place is not full of journalists yet," Hong informed him. "The mother said that he called h..."

She stopped. The three men turned to stare at her still face. Her gaze had become unfocused and she stood like a statue for a second before her body began to move like a marionette.

Wei was the first to realise what was happening, cursing himself for not paying more attention to his surroundings. Why did he never notice them beforehand? He didn't think twice, he had nothing to hide anymore. His hand shot up and he called, "Takeo!"

It was a matter of two seconds during which both Chu and Yunlan shifted their baffled gazes from the woman slowly walking away to the man with them.

"Free her!" Wei urged, and then watched as his personal soldier, strengthened with his own energy, flew straight into Hong's body and out again, chasing away the Shadow that had momentarily possessed her. No one else did, but Wei could clearly see both.

She fell on the ground, and the three men rushed at her side. She was conscious but under shock.

"What... what?" Hong was desperately trying to clear her mind and make sense of her new position on the ground.

Yunlan helped her sit more comfortably then he opened his backpack and took out an energy drink.

"Here, drink this."

A weak hand grabbed the can that he had already opened for her and brought it to her lips. She took a gulp and let out a deep sigh. Feeling slightly better, she drank some more.

"You have a backpack with provisions? Since when?"

Yunlan smirked, she seemed to be herself again.

"Since I realised someone's sudden cravings."

When Yunlan's thumb moved to point at him, Wei blushed feeling his heart rate increasing.

Hong's eyes followed his thumb and she grimaced. "I see."

She tried to get up and the men offered her their arms to make sure she wouldn't fall again, but she felt still weird and crouched down again.

"Give me a moment," she said bringing a hand to her temple. "What happened?"

Yunlan didn't know what to say. Chu frowned.

"You tell us. You walked away without finishing your report."

"I don't know..." she mumbled, and Wei sighed deeply to gather his courage. Other than to Yunlan, he had never spoken about this before.

"You were going to be the latest person to disappear. A Shadow took over your body. We sent it out." Wei's voice seemed alien to his own ears. He kept it steady, but being so open about these things was something he wasn't yet used to.

Everyone's eyes were on him. He rather expected some sarcastic or mocking remark, so he was surprised when none of it came.

Hong had a very unsettling, although short memory of being unable to control her own body, so she wasn't really in the mood to protest.

"I couldn't... I couldn't stop it, my legs moved... I don't understand. You... saved me?" she asked instead.

"Of course," Wei replied. What else was he to do?

"Why?" Her voice was clear amd genuinely curious. She also wanted to ask how? but that seemed less important now.

"Because I could do it." No matter their divergences, he had had no doubt in wanting to help her. After all, if they were both after the same person it wasn't up to them to choose. In the end, it was up to Yunlan.

Chu laughed softly. He didn't understand much either, but he had a mind of his own. He didn't dwell on what could or could not be real, he simply accepted what every day put in front of him.

"Can we adopt you as a police mascot?" he chuckled, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Wei smiled feebly, it all seemed so easy  that he didn't know how to react. This wasn't what he had imagined when he read that article. Images of his past had resurfaced, he had seen himself isolated, rejected, he had even feared he might get fired.

He had thought everyone would have mocked him or called him crazy like when he was a kid, instead he now found himself openly talking about those things to other human beings, and he definitely had not lost his job.

He didn't know if it was true, but he had heard rumours that a group of people at the company had been reprimanded by Mr Song after being caught gossiping about him behind his back.

He could barely believe what was happening. Yunlan asking for his help.
Chu making playful jokes. Even Hong right now was looking at him without the usual hostility.

Was he dreaming or could he really have a life like this?

Hong covered her face with her hands. She didn't understand any of it, but it was obvious that something had happened to her and that she was herself again now. After hearing his answer she felt rather embarrassed, maybe ashamed even, at being saved by the person she had been so harsh with.

She had never hated him, she had never been interested in knowing him enough to either like him or hate him. She had always cared about one man only, and Wei was only guilty of stealing his attention away from her.

A part of her wanted to say something, and for a second she thought she might even apologise to him, but the sudden noise of a car stopping close to them diverted everyone's attention.

The press had arrived. A man with strikingly good looks came towards them looking at Yunlan with soft eyes.

He was dressed in a fine grey suit, tall and elegant, and extremely handsome.
He barely looked at them, his attention focused only on one man.

"Zhao Yunlan. It's been a while. You look as handsome as ever. How long has it been?"

Yunlan's expression didn't let anything out.
"Since you dumped me? I don't know, I don't keep track, I've had a lot of work to keep me busy."

The face was expressionless, the voice so calm, the tone had an indifferent note to it that stood out more than any enraged scream could have.

Hong's eyes moved from one man to the other, realising something for the first time. She had never seen Yunlan with anyone and for a long time now she had tried to catch his attention, growing bitter at seeing that Yunlan valued Chu's company, and then Wei's, much more than hers.

She saw now how foolish she had been and let out a mirthless laughter.
"I've been such an idiot," she complained in a low voice. Only Chu heard her, but he didn't say anything.

For a moment, Yunlan and that man just stared at each other, then Yunlan turned his back on him and knelt down again to check on Hong.

Wei looked at the journalist with a thousands questions swirling in his mind, but the man didn't notice. He kept staring at Yunlan. Wei decided that he didn't like that at all.

A/N Eheh someone is a little jealous now :lol: