We Finally Protected Her… But She Disappeared Again

“This is also the issue we wanted to raise.”
This time, Fuzi took over the conversation.
Hadi, looking like he was leaving everything to his assistant, quietly observed from the side.

“Then that works out perfectly. First of all, I don’t approve of Chenlian staying here.
First, you don’t know Chenlian at all. I can’t trust that you won’t do something to her.”
Lin Yuxuan’s impassioned words revealed her dissatisfaction with the situation.

“Chenlian is our patient. As a doctor and a nurse, we would never do anything to harm a patient.”
Fuzi’s answer was full of professional ethics. Her earnest eyes showed no trace of falsehood.

“That’s hard to say. Words are cheap. In reality, you’ve already classified Chenlian as a research subject for Variants, haven’t you?”
Lin Yuxuan didn’t take Fuzi’s words seriously at all, still searching for an angle of attack.

“Yes,” Fuzi didn’t deny it.
“But that’s also for the sake of developing a drug to inhibit mutated cells as soon as possible. We’re only drawing Chenlian’s blood on a regular basis. Other than that, we haven’t done anything to Chenlian’s body.”

“If all that’s needed is regular blood draws for testing, that can also be done at my house,” Lin Yuxuan quickly countered.

But Fuzi immediately rejected the proposal.
“That’s impossible. The outside world is too dangerous for Chenlian right now.
The government has already taken action against Variants.
Depending on which department or organization finds a Variant, the treatment will differ.
The worst-case scenario is being captured as a lab specimen, becoming a disposable tool.”
Fuzi’s serious voice carried a hint of anger.

“Wha—?”
Lin Yuxuan and Ye Qing exclaimed in unison, both showing looks of surprise.

“The government has already dispatched inspectors. Within this week, they will conduct mandatory blood tests on everyone suspected of being a Variant.
Any means necessary can be used to suppress resistance.
And in doing so, life-saving guarantees for Variant suspects can be excluded.”

“Exclude life-saving guarantees!? Meaning if someone dies, the organization bears no responsibility?”
Ye Qing asked anxiously.

“Yes,” Fuzi confirmed.

“Outrageous!” Lin Yuxuan fumed. “Don’t Variants have any human rights?”

“That just shows how dangerous Variants are. You saw the news about the Fujin Building collapse ten days ago, didn’t you?
The entire building crumbled in just a few minutes.
Variants have already become enemies of the government and society, threatening public safety and order.”

The two fell silent for a moment.
Then Ye Qing drew a conclusion.
“Prioritizing national and social safety over Variants’ human rights… is that it?”
He smiled bitterly.
“Then Variants have only three choices.
First, voluntarily turn themselves in to a relatively safe organization, trading their freedom for safety.
But no one knows what goes on inside these organizations—it’s no different from gambling with one’s life.
Second, run and hide. But as long as they stay within the country, the chance of truly evading the organization’s pursuit is almost zero.
And the moment they choose to flee, they can already be identified as Variants, making it even less likely the organization would let a potential fugitive go.
The consequences of becoming a primary target are even more unthinkable.
Lastly, they could try to cheat the blood test—which is also almost impossible.
I don’t think the inspectors sent by the organization will be that easy to fool.”
Ye Qing laid out all the possibilities he had thought of in one breath.

“Sigh…”
Fuzi sighed.
“It’s just as Ye Qing said. This is the current situation.”
Fuzi interlaced her fingers and placed them on her lap, lowering her head.

“Then can you tell me the reasons why you can protect Chenlian? Since you think Chenlian is safe here, is it because you’re using this villa as a hiding place?”

“Hiding is impossible. Our idea is to tamper with the blood test.”
Fuzi raised her head and gave her answer.

“How?”
A simple question. Ye Qing sought the answer from Fuzi.

“Through someone inside the organization. Actually, someone from our organization has already infiltrated the inspectors.
If the inspection targets Chenlian, we’ll receive advance notice.
Then, by coordinating from both sides, we can swap Chenlian’s blood sample with fake blood, letting them test false blood to avoid being identified as a Variant.”

“Then how exactly will it be done?”
Ye Qing continued to inquire.

“The inspectors’ blood tests on Variant suspects are mandatory, no matter the method.
If they use a normal blood draw procedure, the chance of swapping the sample is extremely low.
So we have to cause an ‘accident’ during the blood draw.
We’ll leave that to the infiltrator. Don’t worry—he’s very skilled at this sort of thing. After all, he managed to infiltrate the inspectors in the first place.”

“What about Yue Chenlian’s identity? If it’s discovered that Yue Chenlian is actually Zhang Haoyang, there’s no doubt she’ll be identified as a Variant.”
Ye Qing raised another issue.

“No need to worry about that. Dr. Hadi has already altered the hospital’s records. The relevant paperwork has been processed.
The infiltrator has also modified all other information related to Zhang Haoyang.
All data concerning Zhang Haoyang has now been consistently changed to Yue Chenlian’s information, so there won’t be any suspicion.
As for his parents—his father has already agreed to transfer custody of Zhang Haoyang after being informed of the situation, partly for the sake of his mother.”
Toward the end, Fuzi’s voice became low, and her expression turned sad.

“I won’t comment on the custody issue, since I know a bit about the background…
Then what if the swap fails?”
This time, it was Lin Yuxuan asking.

Fuzi was silent for a moment.
“True… If things really come to that…”
She paused, then stood up.
Placing her right hand over her heart, with a serious expression, as if taking an oath, she said,
“Even if it costs my life, I will transfer Chenlian to a safe place.”
Her unwavering voice was as convincing a testimony as any.

Now it was Lin Yuxuan and Ye Qing’s turn to fall silent.
Both of them knew that Dr. Hadi and his assistant Fuzi were genuinely thinking about Chenlian’s well-being.
There was no doubt about that.
If they had ulterior motives and wanted to exploit Chenlian, they certainly wouldn’t have come up with such a concrete plan.
And even if there were the slightest hint of falsehood, Lin Yuxuan and Ye Qing’s eyes would never overlook any malice toward their best friend.

They looked at each other and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“Passed!”
They both gave Fuzi and Hadi their affirmation.

Fuzi and Hadi looked at each other for a moment, then also smiled in turn.

“Whew~! I was thinking that if it came down to it, I might have to knock you two out to take Chenlian away.
But it looks like we can settle this without violence.”
Lin Yuxuan stood up, stretched lazily, and uttered those terrifying words.

“Hey, hey! You actually considered that? And even if you thought it, you don’t have to say it out loud!”
Ye Qing was exasperated.

“Come to think of it, Sister Fuzi!”
Lin Yuxuan completely ignored her childhood friend’s protest and said to Fuzi, who had just relaxed,
“The truth is, you’ve already started thinking of Chenlian as your own daughter, haven’t you? Even though you don’t know her yet.”

“Eheh… well… how should I put it?”
Fuzi grew shy and flustered.

“Just say it straight, Sister Fuzi!”
Lin Yuxuan had somehow already made her way in front of Fuzi and nudged her in the side with her elbow.

“Yes,”
Fuzi sighed and confirmed it in a serious tone.

“Ehh~! Mommy dearest is so scary! Why so serious?”
Lin Yuxuan continued teasing.

“Mommy~?”
This was probably the first time Fuzi had been called that. She wore an expression that was both shy and happy.

[This has completely turned into a game! Come to think of it, not long ago you looked like you were about to die, old man! Stop snickering over there and go save your assistant!]
Ye Qing inwardly ranted as usual, then let out a big sigh.
That was one problem solved.
[But Haoyang… what was that goodbye of yours all about!?]

Just then, Yuxuan’s phone rang again.
Lin Yuxuan let Fuzi go, took out her phone, glanced at it, and immediately hung up.

“We should be heading back soon,”
Lin Yuxuan said to Fuzi and Hadi.

“Is that so? You’re right—it’s already 8:00 PM. I’ll drive you back,”
Hadi stood up and replied.

“Wait. Before that…”
Lin Yuxuan suddenly interrupted, sounding a little dejected.
“I want to see Chenlian.”

“Mm. I’ll lead the way,”
Fuzi nodded to Yuxuan and guided her.
Ye Qing also followed up the stairs.

“Clomp, clomp, clomp!”
The three ascended to the second floor.
Fuzi turned on the corridor lights by the wall.

“Chenlian is in that roo—”
Fuzi pointed to the middle door, but it was already open.

[Bad feeling about this.]
Just as Ye Qing thought that, Lin Yuxuan had already run to the open door and peered inside.
Then she stood there in a daze, stunned.
Slowly, she turned her head.
“No one. Chenlian isn’t in this room.”

“Maybe she went to the bathroom,”
Ye Qing calmly suggested the possibility.

“I’ll go check!”
Fuzi rushed to the end of the corridor, opened the door on the right, and looked inside.
She turned back just as stunned.
“No!”

Lin Yuxuan walked into the room where Chenlian should have been.
A late-night breeze blew in through the open window.
The cool wind brushed her face.
Her silky, long black hair gently lifted backward.
Dazed, she took two steps forward.
Her heart ached like it was being twisted.
Just like that day.
Clearly, she had been right there. And now she had disappeared again.
Her mind was a complete mess.
Lin Yuxuan fell to her knees, powerless.
Two streams of glistening tears fell from the corners of her eyes…