Red Light

Connections

Lan Zhan was dreaming.

He could see nothing within the gloom nestled amongst darkly glowing clouds. He wandered, hoping to find something that would orient him. Nothing. The darkness was as solitary as he was. He had squatted down and hugged his knees, waiting.

That was when he heard it. A whisper that brushed past him. A note rising and falling to his left only to be repeated immediately on his right. The dizi player was gifted. Fingers weaving magic from the instrument. A song created then and there. Intricate in places and simple in others, the song had its own life. Its own essence. It ran. Pirouetted. Slunk through low notes only to leap upward at the crescendo. Delighted with its existence.

Eyes closed, Lan Zhan watched the song exploring itself. As it became aware of him, it approached. Looking but not touching. Swirling itself around him. His hair gently moved as if in a breeze. Then the song looked at him. Stared through his shuttered eyes and into his soul. Neither moved. It was a gift accepted. A gift given.

It backed away slightly then surged forward. Engulfing him. Consuming him. Pouring itself into the dreamer. Entwining itself with Lan Zhan. Easing the loneliness he never spoke of.

He woke sluggishly. Loathe to leave the dream. Loathe to leave the song.

His eyes finally opened. The dream dissolved into mist. But, for a moment, the song remained.
~~~~~

Meng Yao's phone started blowing up at eight am sharp.

He studiously ignored it. After a shower and some breakfast, he scanned the list of missed calls. Every member of the thirteen person board had called. Including his father. He had called five times.

It seemed they were all upset about one sentence.

My resignation is effective immediately.

'Nothing like a little panic to re-open the lines of communication, is there?' The thought made him rather sad. 'All well. It is what it is.'

Meng Yao turned back to the task at hand. Four thumb drives were laid in a neat row on the table. Three large boxes were lined up on the floor. Packed and ready to go come Monday morning. He carefully affixed the address label to each box. No return address.

Scooping up a thumb drive, he pulled out his phone. The conversation was quick and quiet.

"Thank you. I'll be there within the hour."

Leaving his apartment building, he paused and smiled at the clear blue sky. He was at peace with his decision and that was worth everything.
~~~~~

Lan Wangji was once again writing reports when the smell of coffee wandered through his home. Soon, Yu Bin leaned on the door to the office, sipping his coffee.

"Are you ready for tonight?" he asked.

"Yes." Lan Wangji finished and hit send. He turned to look at Yu Bin who grinned at him.

"Thanks again for getting a coffee maker." He sipped appreciatively again. "Mornings didn't really feel right without coffee."

"Even when I bring it to you?" Nie Huaisang was standing behind him. Yu Bin was so startled he almost spilled his coffee.

"I wish you would at least knock." Lan Wangji sighed.

"And that would be amusing how?" Nie Huaisang answered. "I brought breakfast but I'm tempted to eat it myself." He wandered off in the direction of the kitchen.

Yu Bin laughed and followed. "You aren't going to share any?"

"No." was tossed back over the inspector's shoulder. Yu Bin laughed again. Nie Huaisang had two large bags with take out containers in them.

"You'll need a nap if you eat all that!"

Lan Wangji listened to their voices fade as they bickered and laughed. Considering how uncomfortable Yu Bin was when he first met Nie Huaisang, the two had come a long way. He hoped they had formed a lasting friendship.

He hoped he had formed a lasting friendship with them both.

A few notes of the song breathed through his memory. Lan Zhan gave a small hopeful smile and joined them in the kitchen.
~~~~~

Song Lan was sitting at his computer. He had explored everything he could think of to find a connection between Madame Yu and the park. There simply weren't any. She had been born in Harbin to a wealthy family who moved to Beijing when then Miss Yu was a teenager. She had been enrolled in a girls boarding school that was strictly controlled. If she did sneak out, there was no reason to come half way across the city to this park.

Her financial records, the few he could access, didn't lead him to believe she had any involvement in an investment venture regarding the park. Song Lan was scratching his head.

Especially after he started accessing CCTV footage following her route. She had been going to the park sporadically for at least 13 weeks. There was no missing her car in that neighborhood. He wondered when she had started going and, of course, the million yuan question - why?

Xiao Xingchen had left early today. He liked to be ready for anything the subject might do. It meant long hours apart but they enjoyed their business and it allowed them to live together since their home and office were the same building.

Song Lan grinned quite smugly.

It had been his idea and effectively hid their relationship. Living over your business was fairly common and aroused no suspicion. No one seemed to care that it was two 'bachelors' sharing costs. The Aunties at the bakery next door even complimented them on their thriftiness.

All that mattered was they could be together and he could keep his A'Xing safe. Everything else was extra.
-----

Xiao Xingchen was observing the mansion. As far as he could tell she lived alone if anyone could be alone with the number of staff she employed. He had seen three gardeners leave during the afternoon and what appeared to be a chef after dinner. Several maids had left with the chef. He wondered if any of them were chatty. He sent a text to Song Lan regarding the staff. The response was fast.

"Wei?"

"I'll look into them. Just so you know, I'm not finding any links between the subject and the park. Scrounging in her financial information again, I picked up something I missed before. About six months ago, she joined an existing charitable organization helping homeless youth. The head of the board is Jin Guangshan and it is listed as one of the charities his family's company, Lanling Corp, supports. She's been linked to him romantically in the gossip columns but I don't have proof."

"I'll keep an eye out for any signs of a romance between them. Does she strike you as charitable, A'Lan?'

'No. Not in the slightest.'

"Think you can dig a bit deeper on that?"

"On it, My Star."

Xiao Xingchen smiled and hung up the phone.

~♡~♡~♡~

Hi, Everyone! I have good news and bad news.

The good news is I got a job! WOOT! I like the place and I think it'll be fun. 👍😊

The bad news is I won't be updating as often as I have. So I'm hoping for every other day or so until I get my feet under me a bit juggling work, hubby, dogs and house.

Thanks for your patience!

Remind yourself how beautiful you really are! 😊 ❤😊

❤🍫🫖❤