Interrogation

Their small class had fewer than seventy people in all, and quite a few of them didn’t know one another. At the very least, after Wei Yin checked the group photos, nearly a quarter of them still hadn’t added her as a friend.

If Hua Yu hadn’t suggested coming to the gathering with her, Wei Yin would never have come on her own.

Wei Yin’s arrival caused no stir. Instead, plenty of people greeted the class monitor and Yu Tiantian; when they saw Hua Yu, they would pause for a moment and ask with a smile whose family member she was.

Hua Yu didn’t even glance sideways. She followed behind Wei Yin and sat in a corner seat.

The room held two huge round tables, decorated in a retro raw-wood style. Men and women were mixed together; only a third of the seats were filled, and there was no one within three meters of the spot Wei Yin had chosen.

“Come on, everyone, quiet down for a second,” the class monitor said after catching Yu Tiantian’s glance. He stood between the two tables and raised his voice. “Take a look at who’s already here. If anyone’s still on the way, hurry up and call them.” Dozens of us are waiting.”

Someone mercilessly shot him down with a laugh. “There were only a little over thirty people who said they’d come, and now only half of them are here. The rest are all stuck in traffic.”

“Exactly. How long are we supposed to wait?” someone else chimed in. “Why don’t we just start eating first?”

Quite a few people still hadn’t arrived, and they weren’t skipping it; they were just stuck on the way. For a moment, the class monitor couldn’t decide whether to keep waiting.

Then Yu Tiantian snapped her fingers at the door. “Waiter.”

The server standing by the door, waiting for instructions, walked over to Yu Tiantian.

“Bring out dessert for everyone here first,” Yu Tiantian said softly. “Let them pick whatever they want.”

The waiter agreed and handed out the dessert menu.

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

[Tiantian really is loaded. I heard tonight’s bill is on her.]

[Weren’t you hungry? How about a strawberry tart?]

[Why are you giving me this? I don’t like dessert. Take it away.]

Wei Yin ordered a red bean dessert in an ordinary, proper way; Hua Yu did the same.

“Hey, are you Wei Yin?”

The table was big, but people were naturally mobile; when someone spotted Wei Yin, they came over on their own initiative.

“Mm,” Wei Yin said with her practiced smile and her all-purpose line. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah, it’s been ages,” said the other person, a fashionable beauty dressed in a Western-style hot-girl outfit. She smiled brightly. “What are you doing now? Did you open your own little shop?”

“Open a shop?” Wei Yin paused for two seconds as the idea rolled through her mind. Then she smiled. “Not yet. I’m running a studio with a friend.”

“A studio’s fine too,” the hot girl said, still smiling. “What’s it called? I can help you promote it.”

Wei Yin took out her phone. “Sure. It’s called Crow Speech Studio.”

“Okay, let me take a look.” After saying that, the other woman asked casually, “How’s your health been these years? Has your gland gotten any better?”

Hua Yu, who had been standing quietly to the side like part of the background, suddenly said, “You know her health isn’t good?”

The woman finally looked at Hua Yu and said naturally, “Of course. We all know.”

Hua Yu frowned. “That’s common knowledge?”

“She can’t smell alpha pheromones herself; her gland is disabled,” the hot girl said, looking baffled. “Everyone knows that.”

Hua Yu’s expression immediately turned a little strange.

Wei Yin tugged at Hua Yu and said softly, “It’s okay.”

“Gland disability is a level-one injury and requires medical assessment,” Hua Yu said as she turned her wrist and gently but firmly removed Wei Yin’s hand. “When Wei Yin was in college, she only had delayed gland development. She wasn’t anywhere near the standard for disability. Who spread this nonsense?”

The hot girl hadn’t expected Hua Yu to chase the wording down so closely. She froze. Though the question had come out rather suddenly, when she saw Hua Yu’s serious, cool expression, she still tried hard to remember.

“Since you asked so suddenly, I can’t remember either. Probably around junior year? All of a sudden, people started saying Wei Yin was disabled, specifically gland-disabled. Plus, in her freshman year she helped the student council move alphas and omegas in heat around, so everyone knew she couldn’t smell alpha pheromones. Put it that way and it made sense.”

Their voices were at normal volume, and people nearby could vaguely hear them.

The hot girl’s friend came over to drag her away. “Stop talking. Your dessert’s here.”

“Do you remember,” the hot girl seized the chance to ask, “who said Wei Yin was disabled?”

The other person gave Wei Yin a quick glance; there was caution and dislike in that look. In a low voice, she said, “It’s been so long. Who remembers? Anyway... who knows how she made her own gland disabled. Let’s go already.”

The hot girl was simple-minded enough that she blurted it out right away. “She made herself disabled? No way, wasn’t her body just naturally weak?”

“Natural my ass. After getting marked so many times and being repeatedly cleaned out, of course it’d be ruined. Are you coming or not? If you’re not, I’m leaving.”

The hot girl looked completely dumbfounded. “What are you even talking about? Where did you hear all this?”

Seeing that she couldn’t be reasoned with, the other person simply ignored her and went back on her own.

At that moment, someone suddenly blocked the path in front of her.

Hua Yu had stood up. She was tall, and her bearing naturally carried the cool, detached air of someone used to looking down on others. Standing in front of that person, she said politely yet unmistakably, “I’m Wei Yin’s doctor. Her medical records clearly state that her gland has never undergone any marking. Do you have evidence for this so-called ‘marked so many times and repeatedly cleaned out’ claim?”

“Who are you?” That person had already been irritated by the hot girl’s few words. Seeing Hua Yu block her path, she snapped back directly. “You say it wasn’t marked, so it wasn’t marked? And you call yourself a doctor? Ask anyone here if they don’t know a doctor.”

Wei Yin was completely stunned. She looked from one person to the other, then finally fixed her gaze on Hua Yu.

“Dr. Hua...”

Hua Yu gave her a look that said to stay calm, then took out her work ID. “Hello. Hua Yu, Department of Differentiation, Provincial Hospital. I stand behind every word I’ve said. If you have no objections, I need you to explain what you just said, including but not limited to my patient’s condition and your speculation about her personal reputation and privacy.”

Department of Differentiation at the provincial hospital.

Those five words carried enormous weight.

Countless graduates with fancy diplomas fought tooth and nail to get into that hospital, not to mention one of its hottest departments.

The person’s gaze fell on the words Deputy Chief Physician, and her pupils shrank sharply.

She hadn’t been wrong about one thing just now: everyone present was in nursing-related majors, and most of them would go on to become nurses in hospitals after graduation. Being part of the medical system, they naturally knew how heavy that title was.

A deputy chief physician this young, in the differentiation department of the provincial hospital—there was absolutely no way that kind of position could be earned by ability alone.

There had to be serious backing in Hua Yu’s family.

The woman took half a step back. Her expression shifted through several stages, each one more awkward than the last, finally settling into a guilty smile.

“Hello, Dr. Hua... maybe this is some kind of misunderstanding.”

Hua Yu gestured for her to sit. “I have plenty of time to hear your explanation.”

The room was large, and the commotion among a few people didn’t draw much attention. The woman glanced around, then sat down beside Hua Yu.

The hot girl squeezed over as well. “I just realized. You have to explain this properly to her; this is spreading obscene rumors!”

What did she mean, marked so many times? Wasn’t that basically saying Wei Yin had messed around with alphas and omegas?

Glands were such sensitive things. How was that any different from saying a young girl had gotten pregnant and miscarried over and over again?

Wei Yin wasn’t especially close with her, since they were only neighboring dormmates. But they were in the same class and attended every class together. Wei Yin had never missed a night back in the dorm, and although she didn’t have many clothes, they were all neat and clean. Whenever someone asked her for help, she never refused. She was such a nice girl; how had the rumors gotten this far?

The woman was so nervous her palms were shaking. She glanced at Wei Yin, then met Hua Yu’s sharp, icy gaze.

“It was... it was something the class monitor mentioned,” she said in a very small voice, afraid others would hear. “One time we went to KTV to sing; it counted as a small class gathering. Wei Yin didn’t come, and when we were talking about people who didn’t show up, someone casually brought it up... the class monitor started it.”

“Later, someone said they’d seen Wei Yin getting into luxury cars. Then someone else said they’d seen Wei Yin at the mall, with men and women around her, all older bosses, rich women, hugging and kissing...”

Bosses? Rich women? Kissing?

Wei Yin’s expression had been frozen ever since she heard the rumor about herself, fixed in a mixture of indignation and confusion.

Indignation was the first reaction to being slandered; even the gentlest person would get angry.

The confusion was the delayed reaction to being hurt.

Rumors always harmed the person involved, and this kind of filthy rumor even more so. But Wei Yin had absolutely no idea what she had done wrong.

She didn’t understand how things she had never done could be imagined and fabricated into such bizarre, elaborate versions.

How could a rumor with no evidence spread so widely without her even knowing?

She had never known that, in the eyes of her classmates, she was the kind of shameless slut who would ruin her own gland into disability.

“Don’t be afraid.” A hand with a cool warmth covered her eyes and pressed against the hot corners of Wei Yin’s eyes. Hua Yu’s steady, gentle voice sounded by her ear. In a low voice, she soothed her. “Xiao Yin, don’t be afraid.”

Wei Yin’s stiff body gradually softened. She lifted her hand and held Hua Yu’s palm, whispering, “...I’m fine.”

Hua Yu let that person leave. “I’ll verify what you said later. Thank you for your cooperation. But I don’t want to hear anything else about Wei Yin come out of your mouth again, understood?”

The woman nodded furiously. “Understood, understood. I won’t say it again, never again...”

By this point, she understood she had kicked an iron plate.

In truth, when they had been spreading the rumor by word of mouth, none of them had ever cared whether it was true. Compared with investigating evidence and proving the truth, following the crowd to discuss sensational, vulgar gossip was much more appealing.

Unfortunately for her, she had run straight into Wei Yin and her backing.

The woman shot the class monitor a fierce glare. After she sat down, someone handed her dessert, and she immediately picked up her bag and stood. “Sorry, something came up at home. I’m leaving first.”

With that, she quickly packed up and left. The class monitor came over to ask what happened, but she shoved him away hard, causing a small commotion.

None of this affected Wei Yin’s side.

She spent several minutes gathering herself, then gave Hua Yu a smile that didn’t quite come out smoothly.

“I really am not suited to this kind of setting,” Wei Yin said in a very low voice, sounding weak. “Maybe I shouldn’t come anymore.”

Hua Yu was thinking about something. She had a strong intuition that there was someone else behind this.

Her gaze landed on the class monitor, who had been hanging around Yu Tiantian like a tail all this time.

He was plain-looking, of average height; aside from having an honest, rustic face that gave people a sense of good-natured sincerity, he had no redeeming qualities at all.

He couldn’t even get everyone to arrive on time for a gathering, yet he was extremely attentive to Yu Tiantian.

The rumor had spread in junior year, and Wei Yin and Yu Tiantian got together in senior year. If this had nothing to do with Yu Tiantian, then how had she viewed the rumor about Wei Yin?

If Yu Tiantian believed the rumor, then she would never have gotten together with Wei Yin.

If Yu Tiantian didn’t believe it, then with her ability and position, such baseless and easily disprovable rumors would never have been allowed to circulate for so long, or still be whispered about four years later.

Unless... she had been involved in this.

In just a few minutes, countless thoughts flashed through Hua Yu’s mind.

“The one who’s wrong is definitely not you,” Hua Yu said through gritted teeth, her jaw tightening into a hard line. But only for an instant. Then she regained her calm and composure, looked at the crowd of clinking glasses, and struggled to suppress something. “With me here, no one will hurt you.”

Wei Yin listened and could only force out a faint smile.

What future was there? She probably wouldn’t attend this kind of large gathering again for a very long time.

She already disliked interacting with others. Every time, her luck was bad; she never ran into good people. She might as well stay home. At least then she wouldn’t get hurt.

Just then, movement stirred beside the table. Someone approached with a wineglass raised.

Yu Tiantian went around toasting everyone one by one, and when she reached Wei Yin in order, her makeup was exquisitely done today and her smile was bright. “Xiao Yin.”

Wei Yin steadied the wineglass and was just about to stand when a hand pressed her down.

Hua Yu, sitting beside her, stood up instead and lifted her own glass. With not a trace of weakness in her grip, she clinked directly against Yu Tiantian’s.

With a crisp crack, a sharp shattering sound rang out along with Yu Tiantian’s startled cry.

Hua Yu’s movement had been almost like a slam. Yu Tiantian’s glass split in her hand, and crimson wine ran down from her palm, spilling over the white length of her dress.

Hua Yu set down her glass and said evenly, her voice utterly flat, “How unfortunate. I accidentally dirtied your clothes. Shall I take you to the restroom to clean up?”

“You!” Yu Tiantian’s expression twisted with anger, but very quickly, in less than half a second, she forced out a generous smile the instant she looked up. “It’s fine, just an accident. I can handle it myself...”

Hua Yu directly seized her arm and dragged her up with force. “Fine, I’ll help you handle it.”

She dragged her along without hesitation. Before anyone else could even react, Hua Yu had already hauled the person to the restroom.

Hua Yu flicked her hand and threw Yu Tiantian into the corner.

“Tsk.” Yu Tiantian gritted her teeth while maintaining a smile and said coldly, “Dr. Hua is in a pretty bad mood today.”

Hua Yu looked down at her from above. “Tell me. What exactly are you trying to do by deliberately calling Wei Yin to this gathering?”

“Dr. Hua, that’s a bit too far from you. How could I be deliberately doing anything? This is just an ordinary class reunion; the person who initiated it wasn’t me, it was the class monitor.” Yu Tiantian played dumb on purpose.

“You sent Wei Yin a private message asking to meet her too. Was that also the class monitor’s idea?” Hua Yu said mockingly. “I advise you to stop pretending. I don’t have much patience.”

Yu Tiantian froze for a moment after hearing that. “Wei Yin even told you that?”

Then she smiled again. “Dr. Hua, I’ll also advise you to know your place. Wei Yin is my ex-girlfriend. I want to see her, and that has nothing to do with you. You’re overstepping a little too much.”

Hua Yu’s gaze was cold, and Yu Tiantian didn’t back down. She even seemed eager to see the expression Hua Yu would make next.

In the past, whenever Wei Yin was mentioned, Hua Yu’s calm mask would crack inch by inch.

She was absolutely eager to see Hua Yu fall apart!

That proper, elegant person would be in such agony over the fact that she had stolen away her beloved lover. Just thinking about it made the tip of her heart tremble with excitement!

“Is that so?” Hua Yu said without changing expression, seeming even a touch more composed. At Yu Tiantian’s provocation, she snorted dismissively. “Did Wei Yin reply to her old lover’s private message?”

Yu Tiantian’s smile stiffened.

Hua Yu said slowly, “Sent her a Weibo private message, I assume? She probably doesn’t have her WeChat anymore... got deleted?”

“That’s normal too,” Hua Yu said leisurely. “What she hates most are people without a sense of propriety or boundaries. A good horse doesn’t graze on old grass; a qualified ex should be treated as dead. Who would’ve thought someone could be this shameless, coming back again and again?”

Hua Yu usually didn’t talk much, but when it came to being venomous, she was no less formidable: “Are certain people secretly pleased that Wei Yin came? Let me tell you, Wei Yin didn’t want to come at all. If she hadn’t been able to bring me as her family member, she wouldn’t have spared you all even half a glance.”

Yu Tiantian had failed to see Hua Yu break down, and Hua Yu’s words made her furious. She said angrily, “You think too highly of yourself. Wei Yin isn’t as proud and cold as you are. I’ll say it again: the gathering was initiated by the class monitor, and Wei Yin respects the class monitor very much...”

“Respects the class monitor who spread obscene rumors about her?” Hua Yu cut in sharply.

Yu Tiantian’s pupils shrank.

Hua Yu fixed her with a hard stare; there was a smile on her lips, but her eyes were so cold they looked like frost from the ninth heaven. “Oh? As expected of an ex. You know this very clearly.”

Yu Tiantian stepped back. “What are you talking about? I don’t know anything.”

“Your expression shows you’re not the least bit surprised,” Hua Yu said, her eyes narrowing into a dangerous line. “A normal person, if they didn’t know, would react with shock first and then ask what kind of rumor it was... Yu Tiantian, if you’re acting, at least act a little more convincingly. Such clumsy, low-level acting is disgusting.”

“So what?” Yu Tiantian had already been thrown into the corner; with Hua Yu pressing in step by step, she had nowhere to retreat. Furious, she snapped, “What do you want? You came here to show off? To stand up for Wei Yin?”

Hua Yu stared at her, her voice heavy. “That’s what I want to ask too. What, exactly, are you trying to do?”