"Can we go inside to take a look?" Xue Ning asked, interested.
She never got to see the face of the person that tried to kill her, her last memory of that man was one covered in blood and glass shards, and with the bad lighting, she couldn't make out any features.
"Let us in," Jingwei demanded less diplomatically. "Or I'll get the both of you fired for harassing my wife."
Normally, Xue Ning would baulk at this abuse of power, but then she also wanted to know what lay behind that door.
(Also, it was satisfying to see Ya Ren gulp under the weight of Sun Jingwei's steely glare. Jingwei was getting more protective of her, and even though she didn't need his protection, it still made her heart flutter.)
At Jingwei's statement, the two policemen could only stare at each other in defeat. They reluctantly relented to their request, for the sake of their rice bowls.
"It's not going to be anything interesting, mind you," Ya Ren said. "We've been here for days and there's no change."
"The doctors said that he's physically fine, but he hasn't regained consciousness." Lu Sheng added.
"We'll see him for ourselves," Jingwei said. "Maybe hearing new voices will wake him up."
"If he wakes up, please inform us," Lu Sheng said, "The police need to interrogate him first."
"Sure," Jingwe promised, but he had no real intention of doing so. At least not before he got his answers. He then held Xue Ning's hand as they opened the door and entered the room, with the policemen outside trying their very best to not look like they were spying on them.
The door closed and they walked down the mini-hallway, finally fixing their eyes on the person lying in the bed in the far corner. His eyes were closed and he had bandages wrapped around his forehead. There was a heart monitor attached to him, and it beeped a slow steady beat.
"He doesn't look like he's dying," Jingwei whispered as they moved closer, peering over him.
"I'm just surprised your family was willing to put him in a VVIP ward." Xue Ning whispered back. "He tried to kill you!"
"He tried to kill us," Jingwei corrected. "Which is why I'm going to wake him up to interrogate him."
Sun Jingwei then smacked that man right on the chest!
Immediately the beeps from the heart monitor became faster.
"What the hell!" Xue Ning exclaimed, pulling his arm back. "You could have killed him!"
"No, I'm sure he's already awake and ready to talk," Jingwei said. "That heart monitor doesn't lie. You better wake up now, I'm the man you tried to kill!"
Xue Ning's eyes widened - it was just as Jingwei said, the heart rate of this man increased even more.
"Don't go closer -" Xue Ning warned, but Jingwei merely gave her a winning smile and leaned over the man, planning to use his fingers to manually lift his eyelids.
Before he could do that, the man opened his eyes!
"You're awake -" Jingwei cried out in delight, then he choked. The man's eyes were full of rage, and he wrapped his injured hands around Jingwei's neck, squeezing the life out of him. Jingwei immediately tried to pry his hands off, but that man had an iron grip on his neck, as though it was his dying mission to kill Jingwei.
"You.. it's all your fault…" He wheezed.
Xue Ning cursed. Why didn't Jingwei listen to her? She immediately went to that man's feet to twist his toes. He let out a hoarse scream and loosened his grip on Jingwei's neck. Jingwei, wasting no time, took advantage of the distraction to further away.
"Get the officers to come in," Xue Ning ordered. "If he's fit enough to strangle you, he's fit enough to undergo interrogation."
The man on the bed began to cackle breathlessly at her words, his arms falling limply to his side as he gazed at her with a smirk on his face.
"Those officers… are not here to help you. Call them in, and I'll die before I reach the station." He said, breathing out as he closed his eyes.
"I don't believe you," Jingwei said, crossing his arms. He wanted to come closer, but Xue Ning gave him a warning glare and he stayed away.
"Try it then," the man said, "I've been… pretending to be unconscious for days. I overhear many things."
Xue Ning narrowed her eyes. She couldn't risk calling his bluff - this man was the one real lead that they had!
"What's your name?" Xue Ning asked.
"...Who are you?" The man asked, half-wheezing as he casted a curious look at her, as though finally registering her presence for the first time. "I've never… seen you before."
"She's my wife," Jingwei said. "And answer her question!"
"You… got married? Scumbag…" He panted in anger, his heart rate increasing again. "You left Xiumin to rot… and now you dare to get married?"
"You tried to kill us for Xiumin, didn't you?" Xue Ning guessed. He must have been keeping an eye on Xiumin, and when she got arrested, he tried to finish what she started.
He glared at them with hatred in his eyes.
"I'm guessing yes, but who put you up to it?" Jingwei asked. "And don't say it's Xiumin, we know that there's someone behind her that's pulling the strings."
"Xiumin would never… betray the Boss," the man said bitterly. "You'll… get nothing from her."
"We can't get anything from her," Jingwei said regrettably. "She was killed in police custody."
The man froze in disbelief. His eyes widened as he stared at them.
"Killed…?" He whispered. "No… no… you must be lying… she cannot be…"
"She was," Jingwei confirmed seriously. "Whoever was responsible for this wanted to tie up loose ends, and they did it very quickly. She was confirmed dead the morning after she was taken to the station."
"No…Xiumin…" He cried out weakly, heartbroken at this news. His eyes were filled with unshed tears. "How…"
"We still don't know how," Jingwei said, "but I have a feeling you can tell us who could be responsible."
The man's mouth clamped shut and he turned away, even as tears began streaming down his cheek.