10 Gao Ming?

Ai Jing's face was scrunched in concentration, and she held her controller in a death grip. Only one lap remaining. This was the third and final track, and her sister had won both the previous races. As the older sibling, her pride dictated that she had to win at least one.

And for now, she was in the lead. Knowing this game, however, the tables could be completely turned on her with less than a moment's notice. As she made the final bend, and the finish line came into view… A warning indicator popped up at the top of her screen. Lo and behold. A blue shell.

She let out a sigh. Consigning herself to her fate, she watched sadly as the shell smashed into her kart with the force of a ballistic missile, sending her flying. Miaomiao's kart zoomed past her while she was still in the air, and just like the last two times–

"I win! I win~! That's three out of three!"

Ai Jing groaned and flopped to the side. She stared dejectedly at the living room wall, at the various posters and paintings hanging upon it. In the very middle of it all was the sheet of paper with Re:PRIZE's autographs, laminated and framed. It was probably one of Ai Miao's most treasured possessions now.

"Madame, I just received a call from Officer Zhang. She's asking if you have the time to drop by the police station this afternoon. They need you to identify someone."

Butler Xu was approaching with two plates of omelettes in his hands.

"Ahhh…"

Ai Jing rolled off the couch.

"Here, Madame. Miss."

Butler Xu handed them their omelettes, two half-moons of soft, golden goodness. At least Ai Jing was getting a consolation prize of sorts.

She stuffed a chunk of egg into her mouth, and she hummed with enjoyment. The way Butler Xu made his omelettes, the egg was still a tad bit runny when he took it off the stove. It gave the dish a fun consistency, a fact she absolutely loved.

"Thanks for the omelette, Butler Xu. It's delicious, as always."

"Thank you, Madame."

As she continued devouring her treat, she silently lamented her complete lack of cooking skills. On the few occasions when Butler Xu wasn't home and she wasn't feeling like going out for food, she would resort to making her single most trusted dish – instant noodles. Tasty, but hardly something to brag about.

"Did Officer Zhang say when she needs me to get there?"

"No, she didn't specify."

"Okay. Let's leave right after lunch, then."

"Alright, Madame."

Butler Xu bowed, leaving Ai Jing and Ai Miao to finish their breakfast.

***

"This man. Do you recognize him?"

Officer Zhang pointed at one of the four TV screens mounted on the wall. It was linked to a live camera feed of one of the many interrogation rooms in the police station. The black and white image showed a nondescript table; a police officer was sitting on one end, the suspect on the other.

Ai Jing leaned in closer to the screen.

"Yes, I know who he is. He was the waiter at La Chaleur, the one who brought me and Liu Yong our drinks."

"And do you remember what the drink was called?"

"Missoula Mare. I remember the name because I thought it was rather unique."

Officer Zhang nodded.

"Yeah, it's unique alright. Try ordering one of those at any other bar in the world, and the bartender's just going to look at you funny. Turns out Missoula Mare is a code for a drugged drink. Shared between Liu Yong and that guy there. We believe he was running a solo racket, but we've been interviewing all the other staff at the La Chaleur just to be sure."

She turned to Ai Jing.

"This case has expanded quite a bit. Since it's shaping up to be a scandal, it could end up meaning a lot less stress for you."

"What do you mean?"

"We've basically confirmed that you aren't the only girl Liu Yong's tried to hurt, so we're going to release the basics of this story to the news – hopefully, it can get some of the other victims to come forward. That'll mean more witnesses and less of a burden on you."

Ai Jing nodded in understanding. Such a short time after leaving Edelweiss, and she'd already been pulled into something like this. She'd always counted herself an optimist, but the events of the last few weeks were putting a bit of a damper on that. Who could she even trust anymore?

As she pondered this question, her gaze drifted over the other screens on the wall. Each one was tuned in to a different interrogation room. Two of the rooms were empty, and the third...

"Hey, isn't that the guy from the hospital? The one who worked for Liu Yong, the negotiator?"

"Oh, yeah. That's him. We brought him in for questioning too. It was a bit difficult to track him down, since he seems to be tied up in the underworld. A professional intimidator, if you will. Though I suppose that also explains why he was such a terrible negotiator haha. The moment he realized who you were, he completely fell apart. Take away a snake's fangs and you're left with a harmless noodle."

Ai Jing giggled.

"You know, I was actually wondering… He didn't even know my real name when he came to the hospital, right? How was he able to find out which room I was staying in that night?"

Officer Zhang was quiet for a moment. Then, she laughed.

"You think pretty deeply, don't you? But let's put it this way."

She rubbed her fingers together, indicating a bribe of some kind. Ai Jing formed an "o" with her mouth.

"Miss Ai! Officer Zhang!

Ai Jing turned towards the source of the voice. It was Officer Ma, the male officer from the hotel room. He was waving them over.

"Miss Ai, there's someone I here I think you'll want to meet."

At first, Officer Zhang looked confused. Then, her face lit up as she remembered.

"Oh, right! We found out who beat Liu Yong."

"Yup."

Officer Ma was beaming.

"And we had him come in today to answer a couple questions. He's right here, actually."

"Oh!"

Ai Jing exclaimed in surprise as the man turned the corner.

"Gao Ming?"