When he woke up, it was 4 am.
Xiajun grunted as he stood up. Sleeping in an upright position had it's own drawbacks, of course. Today, it seemed that his back hurt like hell.
Stretching, Xiajun flicked off the extra lights that had been left on when he drowsed off and in the trickle of light coming from the large glass wall, he walked to his kitchen which was adjoined to his living room.
Xiajun yawned as he spooned in the coffee grounds into his coffee maker and waited for it to pour out. A cup of black coffee in the early morning was the best thing to wake him up. Still drowsy, Xiajun strolled over back to his living room around the kitchen counter and admired the garden from it, a sight that brought him peace of mind.
His sleep schedule was doomed for the next week, he thought hazily as he listened to the soothing trickle of coffee as it dropped into his cup. He turned on his heel and went to retrieve his cup. As he turned around, he heard a faint pitter-patter on his glass wall and turned around just as the rain really started to pour. Xiajun sighed. It just had to rain the day he had to go out again.
As he sipped out of the cup, he stood near the cold class and listened in to the soft patter of the rain. In this lonely home, it seemed that only nature was his only friend.
That early morning, Xiajun didn't like the taste of bitter coffee. It made him feel sad, for some reason... or maybe it was just the rain. Displeased, he spooned in half a teaspoon of sugar and went up to his office to arrange his schedule for the coming day.
****
As he ascended the steps the tall blue building that towered over everything in it's neighborhood, he felt a sudden shiver down his spine. Today, Y Corporation looked more grave than usual. All around him, employees hurried to reach their office desks while he took his time, clenching the umbrella in his left hand. Some people that hurried past him must've not expected the rain because they were either covering their heads with their briefcases and purses, or they were taking 3 steps at a time, hoping that by the time they reached the lobby, they won't be much too wet to be unacceptable.
Xiajun looked like just another employee as he approached the front guards who didn't let anyone enter without proper verification. Xiajun flicked out his business card from his bust pocket and handed it to the guards that blocked his way. The two buff men glanced at it just once and then bowed briefly before they stood aside to let Detective Jun enter.
Smirking, Xiajun strode confidently through the large glass doors that had slid open prior to his entrance and pulled shut his umbrella. He hung it on the hooks next to doors along with the rest of them and then approached the front desk.
"Detective Li Xiajun?" said the woman at the front desk before Xiajun even had a chance to speak. He wasn't surprised that CEO Wu had already alerted his staff to keep a lookout for him.
"Yes, that's me," Xiajun said solemnly.
The woman gestured to a man nearby. "This way, sir," she said, her gaze back on the register. "Fang De, the gentleman over there will escort you to the CEO's office."
Xiajun nodded and turned on his heel. Fang De had already started moving. As he walked through the corridors of Y Corporation's building, he admired the amount of glass used in the architecture. To his one side was a whole wall that stretched beyond his sight, made completely of glass. On the other side were cubes of people working quietly or a whole row of door. People hurried past him, probably trying to check-in for their morning meetings.
Xiajun sighed a sigh of relief as he was reminded of why he didn't work an office job.
"Through here, sir," Fang De said as he bowed once and then went to meet his own affairs.
Xiajun had been brought to a lone door with a brass plate at eye-level that was engraved with the inscription, reading: Chief Executive Officer. Xiajun smiled and straightened his suit up a bit before knocking.
"Come in," came a distant, gruff reply from inside.
Xiajun pushed open the door and steered his head to look in.
CEO Wu was sitting on his large desk with the city scape behind him, lighting him up from the back. The rain was pouring as hard as it had when it was 4 am, though it was 8 am now. Xiajun strolled in and waited for CEO Wu to lift his face from his hands.
The CEO sighed loudly and then looked up, his face lighting up almost instantly at the sight of the detective.
"Detective, you came!" he said cheerfully as he struggled to get off his large wing-backed seat and approached Xiajun with his hands outstretched.. Xiajun and the CEO shook hands.
"Take a seat, detective," CEO Wu said as he went back to his own seat and pressed a button on his wired phone which made a buzzing sound outside his office. In an instant, a attendant was by his side to assist him. "What would you like, detective? Coffee? Tea?"
Even though Xiajun had a cup of coffee not too long ago, he decided that one could never have too much coffee. "I'll have a coffee. Black and no sugars."
"The same for myself, please," CEO Wu said, addressing his attendant who bowed and left the office to prepare the drinks.
Xiajun played with a lose thread on the chair in front of CEO Wu's desk and waited for the CEO to speak up. CEO Wu Donghai was an old man, Xiajun noticed. Older than he appeared on media. His grey hair was gelled back and his similarly grey moustache was pinched from the corners as it sat gruffly on top of his dark lips. He wore specs over his serious, brown eyes which lowered as the CEO examined Xiajun who sat directly across him, his form rigid.
"Right, detective, I'm sure you've done your research," CEO Wu muttered as he coughed to gain the detective's attention, who had taken to staring at the cityscape beyond him. "Let's get to the point. My son, Yanlin was hurt and I can very well assure you that judging from the condition he went to the hospital in, it wasn't an accident."
Xiajun cocked an eyebrow as his eyes flicked over to CEO Wu's solemn face.
"And what, pray, makes you so sure of that?" Xiajun said as he leaned forward. "Had he any bullet marks? Dagger slashes? Any foot stamps, perhaps? No, none?"
The CEO shook his head, his gaze on his desk. Indeed, his son hadn't received any of the mentioned injuries at all.
"Hah...." Xiajun sat back in amazement. He wasn't able to get his hands on any pictures of Wu Yanlin's hurt body, so he had no idea of knowing what had happened to him. He decided to ask the father himself.
"Have you perhaps any picture's of your son's wounds before he got cleaned up at the hospital?"
CEO Wu nodded. He shuffled in a drawer for a moment and brandished a thin yellow file which he slid across to Xiajun. Xiajun opened it with one finger and his eyes widened as he scanned the collage of many photographs featuring the same... bloodied... man.