Chapter Six: Guo Ting Awakens

Chapter Six: Guo Ting Awakens

After Lin Ran returned to the police station, he received a call from the hospital informing him that Guo Ting had regained consciousness, though her emotions were still somewhat unstable. They asked Lin Ran to come and check on her. When he left the hospital earlier, Lin Ran had given them his own number and instructed the nurse to call him immediately when she woke.

Hanging up, Lin Ran went straight to find Fan Beixiao. In school, Fan Beixiao had studied intelligence gathering, making him a desk officer by training. After graduation, Lin Ran was assigned to the Major Crimes Unit, while Fan Beixiao was placed in the Intelligence Division—quite fitting, given that he’d always had to retake exams during police academy training.

“Ran, what brings you here?” Fan Beixiao asked as Lin Ran arrived at the door of the Intelligence Division, just as Fan Beixiao was coming out, camera in hand.

“Do you have anything urgent?” Lin Ran asked, studying him.

“Not really! Just need to get some photos I took developed,” Fan Beixiao replied, holding up his camera.

“Come with me to the hospital,” Lin Ran said, nodding. New trainees rarely had much to do beyond odd jobs.

“What for?” Fan Beixiao looked at him in confusion.

“To see someone—Guo Ting, who’s also in Major Crimes with me,” Lin Ran explained.

“Guo Ting? You mean the campus beauty from our academy?” Fan Beixiao’s eyes widened.

“That’s right,” Lin Ran confirmed with a nod.

“Whoa! Amazing, man! How did you get close to the school’s top beauty?” Fan Beixiao looked incredulous.

“Enough with that! Don’t talk nonsense. She was on duty today. On the way to seal off a crime scene, she suddenly fainted. I took her to the hospital,” Lin Ran shot him a glare and clarified.

“Oh…” Fan Beixiao drew out the syllable, wearing a look of exaggerated skepticism.

Lin Ran couldn’t be bothered to explain further; sometimes, the more you explained, the more suspicious things sounded.

After leaving the station, Lin Ran and Fan Beixiao hailed a cab straight to Guo Ting’s hospital. Upon arrival, Lin Ran bought some fruit and headed with Fan Beixiao to Guo Ting’s room.

“You two came to see me? And even brought gifts?” Guo Ting’s pale face managed a faint smile. She was surprised to see them; the incident earlier had clearly left her shaken.

“We’re here to check on you. After all, it’s my fault,” Lin Ran said, setting the fruit by her bedside, his face tinged with guilt.

Guo Ting shook her head, saying nothing, but Lin Ran could see she was still deeply unsettled.

“Hello, I’m Fan Beixiao. We were schoolmates—and now colleagues!” Fan Beixiao smiled and reached out his hand. He was always quick-witted, and, sensing the awkwardness, he stepped in to ease the atmosphere.

“Hello, I’m Guo Ting,” she replied, politely shaking his hand.

“I know! You were the school beauty—goddess to thousands of single men! So many guys had secret crushes on you for four years!” Fan Beixiao teased.

“That’s an exaggeration!” A faint blush appeared on Guo Ting’s cheeks as she covered her mouth, laughing.

“I’m telling the truth!” Fan Beixiao insisted, pretending to be completely earnest.

Lin Ran watched as the awkwardness dissolved thanks to Fan Beixiao’s antics. For the first time in four years of knowing him, Lin Ran thought he’d actually done something useful. If Fan Beixiao knew what Lin Ran was thinking, who knows how he’d react.

With such an oddball in their midst, the atmosphere grew much more relaxed, and the three of them quickly became comfortable, chatting about all sorts of things. Guo Ting wasn’t cold by nature—rather, she was lively and cheerful, and her smile put people at ease. The barriers between them gradually faded.

“You two didn’t just come to visit me, did you?” Guo Ting suddenly looked at Lin Ran and Fan Beixiao, smiling.

“Uh? Haha, well, he’s the one who dragged me along to see you!” Fan Beixiao quickly pointed at Lin Ran, a mischievous grin on his face.

Lin Ran laughed awkwardly, thinking, “This guy really can’t be trusted. Turns on you in a heartbeat.”

“Honestly, you don’t need to say it—I know why you’re here,” Guo Ting said, still smiling, seemingly unconcerned.

“Guo Ting, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to deceive you,” Lin Ran said, taking a deep breath.

“It’s alright, Ran. I’m not upset. In fact, I’m happy you and Beixiao came to see me,” Guo Ting shook her head, looking at Lin Ran with a smile.

“Hey, wait a minute! Why do you get to call him Ran, but I’m Beixiao?” Fan Beixiao protested loudly.

“Because I want to—what’s it to you?” Guo Ting replied, making a face at him, as if to say he deserved it for being so glib.

Fan Beixiao looked utterly defeated, sighing to himself that a woman’s heart was truly a mystery.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you both—I just worry you won’t believe me,” Guo Ting’s smile faded.

“Go ahead. We’ll believe anything you say. If we’ve come this far, of course we’ll believe you,” Lin Ran assured her.

Guo Ting nodded, memories swirling in her mind. She shivered at the recollection of what she’d seen under the dead tree.

Seeing her face turn pale again, Lin Ran gently sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. Feeling his presence, Guo Ting managed a forced smile, comforted by his closeness.

“When I entered that villa, I felt a coldness, a deep unease—like someone was watching me,” Guo Ting said after a long pause.

“That’s why I said I didn’t want to go in. After you went inside, I sealed off the scene. Then, I noticed someone in the tree. I was puzzled—why would anyone be in a tree? So I went closer, and I saw… I saw a woman’s body hanging from the tree!”

“Her eyes were wide open, staring at me. I was terrified! Then, a rope dangled toward me. I was so scared! That’s when you came running out. After that… I don’t remember,” Guo Ting’s voice trembled with agitation.

Lin Ran and Fan Beixiao listened in stunned silence. Lin Ran suddenly recalled how, when he’d entered the villa alone, he too had felt as if something was watching him.

Furrowing his brow, Lin Ran said nothing more. He turned over Guo Ting’s words in his mind, growing more and more uneasy. That villa was certainly not as simple as it seemed.

“I have a feeling that the deaths in that family are somehow connected to the woman who hanged herself,” Guo Ting said, gripping Lin Ran’s hand tightly.

“Don’t think about it for now. Just rest and recover. Leave the rest to me, alright?” Lin Ran comforted her, worried that the incident would leave her with lasting trauma.

Guo Ting gradually calmed down and nodded.

After keeping Guo Ting company for a while, Lin Ran and Fan Beixiao returned to the police station. This case, it seemed, was becoming ever more complicated.