8 The Hospital Room

"Officer Zhang. Here are the results of Miss Ai Jing's blood test. We found traces of Rophynol."

The officer shook her head as her eyes darted over the sheet of paper.

"Roofies, huh? Shocker..."

The doctor nodded disappointedly. She turned to Ai Jing, a weary smile on her face. Though her skin was wrinkled and her hair was gray, she had a bright spark in her eyes. Ai Jing could tell that she loved her job, as tiring as it could clearly be.

"Don't worry, Miss Ai. The swab we took didn't contain any foreign DNA. The nurse also said that your... corona is still intact. In any case, it seems like your savior really did get there before an actual assault could happen. Just as Officer Zhang said. I'm sure this alleviates the majority of your concerns."

"Yes. Thank you, doctor."

"No need to thank me, Miss Ai. No need to thank me..."

The doctor looked down at her clipboard, adjusting her glasses.

"Now then, Officer Zhang. I'll have a full report ready for you soon. In the meantime, please rest up. It's late, and I'm sure you could both use some shuteye."

Ai Jing glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. 4:40 AM. Indeed, it was getting extremely late. So late you could start calling it "early."

She leaned back on the bed, thinking of dozing off for a short bit. As she did so, however, the sound of heavy footsteps carried in from the hall. There were a few hurried shouts, and then the door of the hospital room swung open with a bang. An irate-looking middle-aged man was standing there in the doorway, breathing heavily. He wore a black tuxedo, and it was clear from the way he carried himself that he was a butler – Ai Jing's butler, to be specific. There was also a little girl standing next to him, clinging nervously onto the hem of his jacket. It was Ai Miao – Ai Jing's dear little sister.

"Madame," the butler whispered.

His eyes were fixed on Ai Jing, and he took a deep breath. Without wasting another moment, he swept into the room, bringing Ai Miao with him. When the little girl saw Ai Jing, she let go of the butler's jacket and leaped onto the bed.

"Sis!"

Ai Jing patted her sister on the head before giving her a hug.

"Hey, Miaomiao. Sorry to make you worry."

"Madame, are you alright?"

"Yes, Butler Xu."

She smiled, trying to look as reassuring as she could.

"Everything's fine. The doctor confirmed that I wasn't hurt. That man… He didn't touch me."

"Ah. Is that so?"

The butler sighed in relief. As he did so, Ai Jing noticed that his bowtie, usually meticulously fixed, was a tiny bit crooked.

"Sorry for calling you so late, Butler Xu. I… You didn't have to rush here."

"Madame, there's no need to apologize. It is only natural that I should worry for you, and I am absolutely thrilled to hear that you're fine."

He hesitated before he continued.

"Though if I may ask – who exactly was he? The man who tried to hurt you. What exactly happened?"

"Ah. He was just some random person I met at a club. At the La Chaleur. If I remember correctly, he said his name was Liu Yong. The son of Liu Zhenhua."

"Liu Zhenhua? The filmmaker?"

"I think so, yeah. As for what happened..."

After taking a deep breath, Ai Jing began to recall the events of the night. She started with her and Isabella ordering a champagne. Then, she mentioned how Isabella left while she'd decided to stay behind. When she got to the part about Liu Yong approaching her, she paused.

"Ah, maybe Miaomiao shouldn't listen..."

She looked down at her sister, whose head was lying on her lap. The girl was asleep. As everyone around her fell silent, her quiet breathing became the only sound in the room.

"Did she force you to bring her, Butler Xu?"

"The Young Miss did, yes. I didn't know how long I would be here, so I woke her to tell her that I would be leaving for a while. You know how much the Young Miss worries for you, of course. She had me tell her everything I knew about the situation. And upon hearing that something had happened to you…"

He trailed off, a "you know the rest" etched into his smile; Ai Jing chuckled before continuing her story.

She talked about how she drank a Missoula Mare, how she blacked out. How she woke up in a hotel room, dazed and confused. When she got to the part about seeing Liu Yong's half-naked body leaning against the wall, Butler Xu looked like he wanted nothing more than to cave in someone's skull.

Ai Jing ended her story on her ride to the hospital, where she had called home from Officer Zhang's police car. When she was finished, Butler Xu shook his head.

"The world is filled with so much scum," he muttered under his breath.

"Officer Zhang. Do you know anything more about the man who saved Madame Ai? I should like to thank him."

"Oh. The last time I checked with Officer Ma was when we first got to the hospital. Let me call him and ask him if he's found out anything new."

She excused herself, but before she left the room, she stopped.

"Oh, Miss Ai. I almost forgot. There's something important we need to talk about eventually. Will you be pressing charges against Mr. Liu Yong?"

Ai Jing pursed her lips. Pressing charges… she hadn't thought about that at all until now. In the end, Liu Yong hadn't been able to hurt her. And even if she took him to court and won, any money she'd win would be inconsequential in her eyes. Knowing who he was and the kind of power he likely commanded, pressing charges against him could very well lead to a long and grueling legal battle. Was she willing to go through something like that?

"I… I'm not sure."

The officer nodded knowingly.

"I understand. Since he's such a high profile figure, it'll be very difficult to push a case like this against him. He'll undoubtedly have the best lawyers, and he may even have a few people in his pocket."

She laughed bitterly before glancing at Butler Xu.

"Though seeing as you were at the La Chaleur and even have your own butler…"

Stopping herself short, the officer cleared her throat.

"Let me put it this way. I'm willing to bet that Liu Yong sees himself as being above the law. I'm willing to bet that he's hurt many other girls in the past. If you were to press charges, we could investigate the matter further. Perhaps uncover some of his other misdeeds."

She gave Ai Jing a meaningful look, and Ai Jing frowned as she considered the officer's words. She wasn't sure if it was what the officer intended, but she was starting to feel guilty about her uncertainty. If Liu Yong really was a serial criminal as the officer believed, letting him go without a fight seemed like a terrible mistake.

"I think you should press charges, Madame. Forgive my crudeness, but the man tried to r*pe you. Perhaps it is a selfish thought, but I would very much like to see him tried for his crime."

Ai Jing was silent for a few minutes as she considered her position. Then, she nodded.

"Alright. I'll press charges."

The officer beamed.

"Thank you, Miss Ai. Now, to make my call… Oh! Who are you? Miss Ai, do you know him?"

"No, I don't know who he is."

There was a new person standing in the doorway. Like Butler Xu, he was also impeccably dressed. But where Butler Xu looked like, well, a butler… this man reminded Ai Jing of a professional hitman. His head was shaved clean, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of pitch-black sunglasses.

Alarmed, Officer Zhang shifted into a fighter's stance.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Please, don't be nervous."

A strange thing for him to say, Ai Jing mused. The man's voice was incredibly gruff, as if there were gravel lining his throat. His tone was also a chilling one, the kind that inspired… nervousness.

"Who are you?!" Officer Zhang asked again.

The man held up his hands.

"No need to be so aggressive, ma'am. I'm only here to negotiate."

"Negotiate?"

"Yes. I work for Mr. Liu Yong. He contacted me about an hour ago and told me about what happened. Are you Miss Lingling?"

He was looking at Ai Jing. Though it was clear that the man didn't intend to hurt her, she struggled to keep her voice even as she answered. The aura he exerted was just that intimidating.

"Y-yes. I told him my name was Lingling."

"Good, good. I don't like wasting time, so let's move straight to business."

He smiled, exposing two rows of golden teeth.

"You see, my master is a rather important man. He is also very busy, and he would prefer to settle this matter in private."

"In private…"

"Yes. So long as you are willing to drop the matter entirely, Mr. Liu Yong will pay you a handsome sum. It is in your best interests to accept, I think."

He cracked his neck threateningly, and Butler Xu instinctively moved to shield Ai Jing.