Chapter 39

Ignoring everyone else at this point, Wei had eyes only for Yunlan. His last words swirled in his mind and he felt his heart jump in his chest.

"Did you need me here? Officer Hong said you found two missing persons." He managed to get his composure back. He wanted to talk more with him about the shirt, about waking up in his bed, but he didn't want to do it with all those people around. Right now Yunlan was working and had requested his help, so the rest would have to wait.

"One is over there," Yunlan said, nodding and pointing to the woman Wei had already seen when they had arrived.

"She still seems out of herself," Wei said, keeping his voice low. "Can we move somewhere more private? I want to try something."

Yunlan tilted his head in curiosity, then he grabbed his arm and pulled him away from all the others.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, but I had a strange dream last night, and I feel kind of different now. I want to try to help her and see what happens."

"Different how?" Yunlan asked unable to control himself, but then he thought better of it. His curiosity could wait, they had more important things right now.

"Never mind, you'll tell me later. Try whatever you want."

Wei gave him a warm smile, there was an unspoken trust in that simple but firm statement that made him happy.

He called upon Huan and immediately saw him appear at his side. "Free her," he said, before calling Takeo's name. "Destroy that Shadow."

At his words, Yunlan's eyes opened wide and he turned towards the woman as if expecting something to happen, but he could only see that she had stopped moving.

Wei, on the other hand, had clearly seen Huan push the Shadow out of the woman's body, then Takeo had used his energy to fly into it and tear it apart.

There was new, burning energy inside Wei that made both himself and his ghost friends stronger than before. Takeo had attacked the dark spirit until it had been shredded to pieces in an explosion of white light. Nothing remained of it now.

Wei didn't feel guilty. He would never harm anyone intentionally, but this dark spirit wasn't a person, it wasn't alive, and it had threatened the living. He only had that one way to stop it for good, knowing that if he didn't that Shadow would never stop hurting human after human.

It was over pretty quickly. Rather anticlimactic, from Yunlan's point of view. From Wei's serious, sort of approving expression, he had a feeling something big had happened, but he had no way of knowing.

Other than asking, that is.

"What happened? Did it work?"

"Yes," was Wei's reply. He still had his eyes on the unmoving woman and seemed to be considering something.

When Wei started moving, calling for Qing's help and approaching the unconscious woman, Yunlan kept right beside him. An officer tried to stop him, but Yunlan was there to ensure that he had free access. The man appeared conflicted for a few seconds, but eventually gave in to Yunlan's authoritative tone and stepped aside, keeping close just in case anything happened.

Wei sat next to the woman in the police car she had been placed into before she fell unconscious, and he took one of her hands in his.

With the help of Wei's considerable energy, Qing cleared her body of all the dark energy left by the unwelcome spirit. When Wei left her hand go, he smiled knowing that she was now simply sleeping. Her body had a lot of recovering to do, but doctors would see to that and she'd be alright.

He exited the car under Yunlan's questioning eyes. It was evident that he was dying of curiosity, and Wei smiled reassuringly.

"She's fine, now. I don't know how long it will be before she wakes up, but she will."

Wei's voice was confident and Yunlan believed him. So many questions were rotating in Yunlan's mind that he didn't know which one to ask first.

Eventually, he chose what he deemed more important at the moment and settled for: "Are you alright? You must feel tired now. I must go check on the other one but you can stay back if you don't feel up to it."

Yunlan really wanted him to come along, but at the same time, he was worried about his health. Twice already Wei had fainted in front of him, and Yunlan didn't wish for a third.

Wei had already noticed a difference after his encounter with Nari, but now he had confirmed it.

"I don't, actually. I told you I felt different. I can feel such powerful energy inside me, it's like something has been unlocked and now I'm stronger. I feel perfectly fine."

Wei smiled at him again. A warm, happy smile that reached his eyes and made them sparkle, taking Yunlan's breath away.

That was certainly good news. Yunlan was still curious but he was more relieved to know that Wei would not be fainting on him again. The rest of Yunlan's questions could wait for later.

They went together to the scene of the next target, where supposedly there was another missing person. This time Wei didn't wait for Yunlan or any other officer to approach the man. He stayed back and did the same as before: first freeing the man so that he would be harmless when the cops approached him, then vanish the Shadow that had dared to attack humans.

He also proceeded to clear the man's body of all residues of dark energy, before leaving him in the care of the doctors.

It felt so good to finally be able to help. He felt more confident and much lighter than before. There was still some guilt inside of him, but now he could make things right. He knew he could keep doing it without getting weak, and a part of him wanted exactly that, but he remembered that he had missed another day and a half of work.

"I should go to work now. Really, with all that's happened lately, it's a miracle if I don't get fired." Wei feared now that all the time he had taken off his working hours to help Yunlan might have consequences, and he didn't want to lose it. He liked his job, after all.

"You won't, don't worry. I'll have my chief talk to your boss, he'll put things right."

"How can you be so sure?"

Yunlan gave him a smirk. "My chief yells a lot, but deep down he loves me."

Wei frowned at that statement and Yunlan laughed. "Come on, let's go back. I want to understand what's going on. Today has been much less eventful than I anticipated."

Yunlan laughed again at Wei's scornful look and drove him back to the station. As much as he wished to be alone with him and understand what was going on, he had a job to do first. Yunlan left Wei in Ling's company while he went to speak with the chief.

Wei couldn't honestly say that he was at all interested in Ling's ramblings, but he didn't want to be rude. Wei stood awkwardly beside the desk listening for a long while to Ling complaining that he wasn't being given enough credit for his own program, but Wei's mind was elsewhere. He felt conflicted between his worry to lose his job, his eagerness to help the missing people and the desire to be alone with Yunlan.

"They act as if they found them on their own, but they would have nothing if it wasn't for me."

Wei barely registered Ling's words, and replied absent-mindedly.

"I know, Ling. Yunlan told me you're quite the computer genius."

Ling's face beamed with pride and mischief. "He did? He praised me?"

Wei went cold, had he just said what he once promised he wouldn't? It seemed such a long time ago, when he thought he would never have a chance to talk to these people or that he wouldn't see Yunlan again.

He hoped Yunlan wouldn't blame him for spilling it, but his thoughts got interrupted when a man entered the station.

So good looking and smartly dressed, Li Chang stopped to ask an officer where Zhao Yunlan was. The young officer looked around uncertain, and Wei stepped forward before he could stop himself.

"Zhao Yunlan is busy right now, maybe you'd better talk to one of the other officers handling the case."

Li Chang's eyes showed a hint of recognition that annoyed him greatly. "I've seen you before. Are you new here? I need to speak to Yunlan personally, if you could tell him I'm here, that would be nice."

Wei stiffened. He couldn't blame the guy for trying, but he wouldn't be the one to let it happen.

"I'm neither an officer or a journalist, I'm here at Yunlan's request. I'm sorry but he'll be too busy today to talk to you."

Wei's voice was colder than he would have liked, but it was becoming difficult to control his jealousy.

"I see. Are you two..."

"Yes, we are."

Li Chang sighed, took a look around under Wei's firm stare, then said, "It seems I was too late. If things change, you know where to find me."

Wei was puzzled until he heard a voice behind him. "I don't think I will. Goodbye, Chang."

Wei turned around to face a smirking Yunlan. "My chief agreed to speak to your boss. There shouldn't be a problem there, he can be very persuasive when he shouts loud enough."

Wei gasped for air and only manage to murmur, "Mr Song doesn't respond well to people shouting."

"It'll be a funny conversation then, I'm sorry I won't be there to witness it."

Yunlan laughed then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go, now. I want to hear the whole story."

They called a taxi, since Yunlan's car was still parked at Wei's building's parking lot, and Wei silently stole a glance at the man beside him.

The smirk on his face made Wei understand that he wasn't referring only to the case, and he groaned knowing very well that it was going to be a very embarrassing conversation.