99 – Blood

"What happened to the YBoys?" Typed a user on the Meibo social site.

"I don't know, is there anything unusual?" Asked another user. 

"It hasn't been a year since their debut, but they suddenly disappeared after their concert a month ago," the fans had been discussing about their disappearance for weeks. There had been no communications on the YBoys official Meibo page.

"I have seen someone say that their company shipped them out to a temple and shaved all their hair off. It's some sort of extensive training."

"Geez, that's so harsh, they are just a bunch of kids! When will these companies stop with this need to train children!?"

"We should boycott the company! There are so many young boys and girls who are abused by the entertainment industry."

Rouxi scanned through messages left by fans and spectators on the YBoys's Meibo fanpage. She didn't understand how the rumor had started, but what happened last month wasn't as crazy as some of the conspiracies listed on the website. At that time, the staff and crew were in constant motion backstage, working to maintain the technical aspect of the concert for more than a thousand spectators. To the typical idol group, it wasn't much, but it was a lot for a newly debuted group. In the middle of the commotion was Ano, frozen in shock. He read the paper again, and his hands started to tremble from both exhaustion and fear. He would have collapsed if it wasn't for Li Yun and Rouxi reaching for his elbows.

The medical doctor took a step, but Li Yun signaled him to wait for a moment. Li Yun moved Ano over to the sofa and gave him a moment to think about his situation. Stripping away the glamor and eyeliner of an idol, Ano was simply just a boy, but he knew the word cancer when he saw it written on the piece of paper. Acute myeloid leukemia was the exact diagnosis that Li Yun gave him.

He had a choice to ignore the diagnosis and potentially die. Or, he could get treatment immediately. The problem was, if he got treatment, it could potentially end his career. He was only twelve, but he knew that with his existing contacts in the entertainment industry, he could create a new life for his parents and siblings. However, that was all at risk. With a single diagnosis, his path was completely blocked off.

"Doctor, is it treatable?" Ano asked without any doubt. He was still a child, and easily trusted adult. There was no need to verify the diagnosis; he only wanted to know if he could live.

Li Yun nodded. The earlier people receive treatment, the better. Ano was still young. If a path was cut off, he could make a new one. That was how resilient children could be sometimes. Like their body's natural ability to heal, their mentality was often stronger than those of adults.

"What should I do?" Ano looked to Li Yun for guidance.

It was strange, this man standing in front of him whom he had never meant before. Was it because the man said he knew his parents, or was there something particular about this man that caused his instinct to trust him? Whatever the reason was, Ano wanted to grasp at whatever hope was remaining.

Li Yun surveyed the innocent eyes staring at him with a glint of hope. In any other scenario, he would have left the decision up to the individuals. However, Ano was really too young. Just as he was about to respond, Ano nodded his head and mumbled something only Li Yun could hear.

"I want to live." Forced with the decision to live or die, it didn't feel like a choice at all, but Ano responded in a way that made his path wider.

Li Yun couldn't cure leukemia. Even after spending a month on a formula treatment for Little Yan's TA, he still hadn't found a solution. Leukemia was more complex, but it was treatable with Western medicine. All he could do for Ano was advise him on the hospital and doctor for treatment.

When Ano explained the situation to the company and to his teammates, rather than kicking him out, they all decided to go through with it together. The team was still young and had been training together for so long that they were closer than brothers. They all chose to pause their activities and shaved off their heads in support of Ano. Although their managers were supportive, the head executives weren't happy. There were a few rounds of threats, but they couldn't do anything with all the members sticking it out together. After a month, rumors circulated about a possible disbandment of the YBoys. Rouxi wasn't sure if they were at the temple, but they were probably somewhere waiting for Ano to recover.

In the meanwhile, Rouxi looked at the detective board Li Ching and An Zhang Mi made up after Ju De complained about them leaving files everywhere. The board was laid out like the classic detective board. The only difference was that it was in a digital format and viewed from their cell phone.

"Did you guys rearrange the board for aesthetic purposes?" Wu Ling asked as her hand moved over her the phone's screen to zoom into the board. They were gathering information on her brother's fiance, Jia Lia. "What's with the red strings and Post-on notes?"

"It's pretty," said An Zhang Mi.

"But is it necessary?" asked Wu Ling. 

"Visual elements are important for quickly picking up information," Li Ching added. "You see here, there are two disappearances at Sheng University. One from 8 years ago, Jia Lia, and one from 6 years ago, Dan Shi. The surrounding names are from universities within 50km in the past 15 years."

"And we haven't included a missing person list either, just those from the university," said An Zhang. "The police report from 10 years ago also did a similar analysis, but they didn't find any connection."

"Did you find out anything unusual about Jia Lia?" asked Rouxi.

"Well liked, personable, and pretty active in volunteer work," said Li Ching. "Lingling, how much do you remember about her?"

"Not much, she was around during break, but only on the weekends," said Wu Ling. "She was pretty kind and chatty with my mom. I interviewed my mom, and she didn't think she was involved in anything dangerous."

"If it's just a random kidnapping, then it would be difficult to find," said Rouxi. "Sorry Wu Ling, I know you want to solve this case for your brother, but it might be beyond our capability."

Wu Ling sighed with a bit of disappointment. There were cases that couldn't be resolved, and Jia Lia's case may be one of them.

"It's fine, I just wanted to see if we are able to uncover anything new."