The Poisoned Pen: A Guardian Story

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stakes Rise

Shen Wei locked eyes with the man sitting opposite him.  He looked young, but the faint frown lines just visible on his face betrayed the fact that he had experienced a lot in his lifetime of only a few decades.

"How long have you and Zhao Yunlan known each other?" he asked, genuinely curious to hear the answer.

"Around fifteen years.  Since we were in our late teens.  Yunlan then went and joined the force and I got a job in a private investigations firm in the city.  After a few years, I decided to set up on my own, and he wanted to leave the police, so we started the agency together.  It's not exactly making our fortunes, but business has been pretty steady since the beginning, and it's good to be able to help people in trouble."

"I see.  You must have handled a lot of stalking cases then."

Da Qing's eyes narrowed slightly.  He had a sudden feeling that he knew where this conversation was going.  No doubt the young author was starting to see himself as insignificant in the detective's eyes.  It was time to run a bit of interference in his colleague's love life.

"That's true," he admitted.  "And Yunlan's experience in the police meant he could pick up some personal protection work as well."

"I understand." Shen Wei's face fell a little, and the other man immediately knew what emotions were going through his head.

"No, I don't think you do," he said, slowly.  "This case.  I've never seen him act like this before."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything that's happening to you.  It's like it's happening to him.  I mean, he always takes his work seriously, but this isn't work to him anymore.  It's personal.  And it's because of you."

"Me?"

Shen Wei's eyes widened in surprise, and Da Qing was forced to suppress a smile at the fact that he was so completely oblivious to what must have been obvious to everyone else for quite some time.

"Listen to me," he said, sitting forward to emphasize his point.  "I understand that you must be frustrated with him for not being honest about who we were from the start, but he has thrown his entire being into keeping you safe, and even more than that, making you happy.  He wants more for you than he ever has for himself.  And the thought of you being angry with him?  Or upset?  He's going out of his mind, and it's making him pretty unbearable.  So, do you think you might just be able to forgive him?  You'd be doing me a huge favour at least."

Shen Wei blinked slowly as he considered the other man's words.

"I suppose I could...I mean...things between us are..."

"Complicated?" Da Qing finished.

"Yes." The writer sat back and breathed a sigh of relief that someone understood.  "Complicated is the right word."

"Then I recommend that you uncomplicate them," the private detective suggested, his tone kind despite the bluntness of his words.  "After all, no one else is going to do it for you."

***

Chu Shuzhi sat back in his chair and sighed heavily.  In front of him, spread out on his desk, were an abundance of photographs, scraps of paper with handwritten notes, and official reports.  He had hoped that by laying everything out in one place, it might help him connect the dots and bring the various pieces of evidence together, but unfortunately it just looked like a jumble of disparate information and images.

He picked up the picture of the latest suspect. Ken, or Kenny, Wang.  President of Shen Wei's newest fan club and number one pain in the ass.  Still, being annoying was not a crime, as much as it deserved to be.