Breakfast was over. To Wei Ying's horror, Yanli had insisted in wiping his face and arms clean.  "You will feel fresher and more comfortable so stop fussing so much." she said firmly. Consequently, Wei Ying had been rather sulky before falling asleep again. 

Taking advantage of Wei Ying's nap, Yanli had gotten A'Yuan into the bathroom to clean up as well. After wiping his face, she had given him his underthings and sweat pants then discretely turned her back while he put them on. The t-shirt though was beyond what he could do by himself with his ribs. When she carefully removed his pajama shirt, she was horrified. His ribs were awful blacks and purples. Why his ribs weren't broken, she had no idea. But there were signs this had been long term abuse. Scars. Too many to be from the normal accidents of childhood. And so thin... Later, she knew she'd probably be crying on A'Zi shoulder again but right now, A'Yuan need positivity. She carefully helped him put on a pale blue t-shirt.

"How's that? Do the clothes fit okay?" she asked with a smile. He looked up at his aunt and the warmth in her smile. Her eyes were sad though. They hadn't been sad until she had seen him with his shirt off.

"I'm okay, Gu-gu. It doesn't hurt very bad." he hesitantly reached out and touched her face. It was almost more than Jiang Yanli could take. She gently pulled him into her arms and kissed the top of his head.

"No one will ever hurt you like this again, A'Yuan. Life is about to change for you in so many wonderful ways. Soon those bruises will be healed and you can run and play. We'll go do things together when you're ready." She tilted his head up and looked in his eyes. "You can tell me anything, Zhizi. I will always help you." Yanli couldn't help the tears filling her eyes but her voice was warm, kind, loving.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and just leaned against her. She felt good to hug. He wasn't sure if he was going to get to keep all the new happiness he had but he hoped so.

------

Yu Bin was watching Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng. Both were fidgeting, checking either their watch or phone often and giving each other worried looks.

"Okay, spill, please. What's going on, A'Sang?" Yu Bin asked.

"What? Nothing in particular. Why?" Nie Huaisang pulled out his phone again. He pulled up something and passed it Yu Bin.

Looking confused, he accepted the phone and began to read the message Huaisang had pulled up. His eyes widened. He checked the time.

"Ten more minutes?" he asked suddenly as nervous as the other two officers. He tried, rather unsuccessfully, to lean closer. "How the hell did he end up in the attic?"

Nie Huaisang made a helpless 'who knows?' gesture and started flipping his fan open and closed again.

-----

Nie Mingjue knocked on the door of Wen Chao's apartment. He was smiling.

"What do you want?" was yelled through the door. Nie Mingjue fought the urge to say 'Your head!'.

"Police! We're serving a search warrant!" he replied with the same cheery tone most people used to announce the arrival of dinner. He heard running feet. "Open it up, boys!"

A small battering ram designed for urban use, was slung into action. Two smashes later, the door had been breached.

'So satisfying.' Nie Mingju sighed to himself. 'I should have definitely been born in an earlier age. Castles, swords, battering rams and heads over the gate. Yep.'

"Remember, gloves and put up with no shit from his minions. Now let's round'em up and get a move on before they start destroying things!" he announced with a great deal of satisfaction. "Pictures of anything you think is necessary. Use your phones if the photographer can't get to you. Let's go!"

A throng of police officers entered the apartment. They had all been assigned the rooms they were to search. Nie Mingjue had been very specific during their brief. "Go slowly. We have no time limit. And don't make a mess. That's how things get missed. Gloves on before we go in and a spare pair in your pocket for just in case. We want no contamination of evidence. Go through each drawer, shelf, cabinet, box and bag. Look into the shoes. Kitchen! Pay careful attention to the freezer, refrigerator and food stores. Just because it says its beans, doesn't mean it is. Make sure the weight is appropriate. I want there to be nothing in this apartment we haven't examined. Got it?"

"Got it!" was the enthusiastic reply. Everyone knew Wen Chao was a criminal into horrible things. This was not about breaking and entering or laundering stolen goods. This was about murders, human trafficking and sexual slavery. This was their chance to nail him to the wall.

Nie Mingjue stood in the middle of Wen Chao's garish, gaudy living room and smiled. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text.

'We're in, Di-di.'

-----

When Nie Hauisang's phone beeped, three people in the room jumped. Nie Huaisang unlocked his phone as fast as he could. His brother. At least that was going well.

"The search warrants are being served. Nie Mingjue has taken charge of Wen Chao's apartment. It should turn up something. Ge-ge is a thorough man and he loathes Wen Chao. The idea of Wen Chao evading the executioner's axe this long is an affront to his personal ideas of justice according to him." he explained. Three more minutes.

"Okay, close enough." he announced.

'Did you escape? Do you need back up?' Nie Huaisang replied to Lan Wangji's message.

And waited.

Five minutes.

Nothing.

Another message. 'Hit any letter if you need help and hit send.'

More waiting.

Another five minutes.

"Call them in, Jiang Cheng." Nie Huaisang said firmly.

Jiang Cheng nodded.

'Back up is on the way.'

-----

As Lan Wangji exited the building, he realized there were four police cruisers parked in front of the Blue Delights. No lights and no sirens had announced their arrival. He stood to the side with the other spectators and watched as men in various stages of undress were being arrested with quiet efficiency.

It suddenly occurred to him, his phone was still silenced. Unlocking it, he found multiple messages from Nie Huaisang.

'Escaped safely. Sorry to worry you. Have blanket. OMW soon.' He hit send then paused.

'Please tell officers I am safe. Thank you.'

He smiled to himself. 'What a glorious day.' he thought as he waited for the officers to haul Wen Chao's men away for outstanding arrest warrants.

-----

Jiang Cheng was yelling in the hallway, "What do you mean you can't find him?" when Nie Huaisang walked out of the room.

"Check your phone. He's clear. Tell your men he's safe." He was grinning ear-to-ear. For some reason, Jiang Cheng's rants always put him in the best moods. He knew it made no sense but they still made him laugh. He would, however, never admit this fact to Jiang Cheng. Not in a million years.

"He's safe. Nice haul. I'll try to meet you at the station as soon as I can." Jiang Cheng's entire tone had changed. He hung up his phone and shook his head. "How did he get past my men?"

"We'll have to wait until he arrives to get the story." Nie Huaisang shrugged. "The key is he's okay and he wasn't made. He and Yu Bin make a wonderful undercover team. I'd hate to lose that option."

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at Nie Huaisang's matter of fact statement.

"As soon as he gets back, I'm leaving. I've stalled her arrest and the search warrant as long as I can." Jiang Cheng ran his fingers through his hair. "Part of me says show up in my uniform with Di-di's blood on it. Another part is afraid she'd like it."

He looked down for a moment. "I'll go home and shower. Change into a clean uniform before I join my men." He looked up at Nie Huaisang. "I'll be gone for hours. Think you and Lan Wangji can hold everything together?"

"Of course, my friend." There was sympathy in his eyes. "I don't envy you. Today is going to be rough."

"Agreed." Jiang Cheng looked resolute. "But it has to be done."

"Agreed"

With a quick shift of focus, Jiang Cheng looked at Nie Huaisang. "What was going on with Dr. Yu earlier?"

"You noticed that?" Nie Huaisang was surprised considering Jiang Cheng was holding his crying nephew at the time. Jiang Cheng nodded.

"She is uncertain of me as an appropriate companion for her brother."  Nie Huaisang gave himself a mental pat on the back for his diplomacy.

"That's reasonable." Jiang Cheng replied.

"What?" Nie Huaisang
stared at him.

"You are known as The Spider..." Jiang Cheng said thoughtfully.

"She doesn't know that!" Nie Huaisang sputtered. "And she better not find out..." He glared at Jiang Cheng who looked totally unphased.

"I noticed you didn't want us to wake her and agreed to the idea of sharing phone numbers quite quickly, sir. Any reason for that? Hmmmm?" The glare had shifted to a sly smirk.

"Courtesy for the doctor and ease of communication." Jiang Cheng replied cooly.

Nie Huaisang laughed. "You are so shameless! That one is a firecracker. Be careful or you'll end up burned, my friend!"

"We'll see!" Surprisingly, Jiang Cheng was grinning. It took ten years off of him.

Together, they entered the hospital room. Wei Ying was still sleeping. He definitely needed it. Wei Yuan was sitting in between his aunt and uncle while eating snacks.

Nie Huaisang gave Yu Bin a thumbs up. "He's safe."

Yu Bin sighed in relief. "No more ops for him until I'm up and going again. Okay?"

"I will let you work that out with him, A'Bin." Nie Huaisang smiled.

-----

On the sofa, Jin Zixuan gave Wei Yuan a hand held device. The boy just looked at it.

"It's a game, Zhizi. If you like, I'll teach you to play it." Wei Yuan was excited. He had seen them on tv but had never had one.

Jin Zixuan was pleased that he had thought to get the unit out of his desk. It was a prototype his company was working on. He would tell his staff it was in the 'beta testing phase' currently. The thought made him laugh.

In no time, Wei Yuan was engrossed in the soccer game he was playing. Perched on his uncle's lap so he could help when necessary, the two were having a grand time. It made Yanli smile and wonder if maybe they were ready to give Wei Yuan a cousin in the not too distant future.

She smiled and went back to the book she was reading on her phone and let the boys have their time.

~♡~♡~♡~

Chapter 50! Can you believe it? I ate popcorn and peanut M&Ms while writing it to celebrate! 😁

Huge Hugs For Everybody!!

❤️🍫🫖❤️