The door slammed shut behind her, the sound echoing in the silent, dark room. After turning on the switch, she moved her eyes across the familiar space—everything was just as she had left it.
A wave of relief swept over her, and she took a deep breath, though it wasn't enough to calm the nerves she had been dealing with for the past four days since her poisoning incident.
Ever since she was poisoned, she had been on edge, especially because the culprit had yet to be captured.
She worked as a bartender at one of the nightclubs in the city, and her shift had just ended. Feeling exhausted, she decided to take a shower.
Then, the table phone rang.
In that quiet room, where she lived alone, the ringtone sounded louder than it should have, almost making her jump.
Hesitantly, she reached for it and picked up, listening.
"You didn't think you could hide from me, did you, Lin Lijun?"
She heard a deep voice in the Thai language, laced with amusement, which instantly turned her blood cold.
She would have thought it was a wrong call if not for the fact that they mentioned her name—and that she could understand the language.
The voice added in a low, chilling tone, "If only the world knew who you really are."
Lijun's heart picked up its pace. Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Who was he? She couldn't even guess, thanks to the voice modifier being used. She slammed the phone down, her hand trembling. No words could explain her panic.
They knew where she was.
If they had her number, then finding her address wouldn't be impossible. The only thing she thought of was to leave.
Immediately, she rushed to her room, grabbed her bag from the closet, and began stuffing it with her passport, cash, and a few clothes.
But before she could leave, a huge blast erupted from the living room, the force sending her flying against the wall.
When she fell, her head pounded, feeling as though it would burst. Her ears rang, her vision blurred, and slowly, she succumbed to darkness.
---
Her eyes fluttered briefly before snapping open, meeting a bright ceiling. Her body ached, and a sharp pain stung in her stomach.
Instinctively, she moved her fingers and felt the bandages wrapped around her midsection.
She had been wounded, but the pain wasn't enough to compare to the terror she felt. Her chest tightened at the thought of the possible reason behind it all.
She abruptly rose from the bed, but as soon as she did, the pain in her stomach intensified, making her hiss.
The door opened, and her sharp eyes quickly shifted toward the sound. Her expression darkened when she saw that familiar face.
She had already sworn not to get involved with people like her, and yet here she was.
"You just had surgery," Detective Bai said, her voice maddeningly calm as she stepped inside. "You should be resting instead of trying to run." A faint smile appeared on her lips. "Nice to see you again."
Lijun scoffed and turned her face away, her jaw tightening. To her, it wasn't nice to meet this officer.
"If this is about the explosion, I know nothing," she said flatly.
"As someone who lived in Thailand for almost her entire life and recently moved to Hong Kong only to be targeted, claiming you know nothing is proof enough that you're more deeply involved than we thought."
Lijun narrowed her eyes. "So what? You think I did this to myself?"
Detective Bai settled onto the nearby couch, her gaze unwavering. "Aren't you even a little curious about the casino case?"
As someone who had been made a suspect and hadn't been cleared, shouldn't she at least pretend to care?
Yet, Lijun acted as if nothing had happened. She hadn't even called to ask about her poisoning incident.
"Why are you here?" Lijun asked, her voice low but serious.
Detective Bai was taken aback. A victim asking an officer why she was here?
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we need your full cooperation to find out the truth about everything that's happened to you."
Lijun's patience ran thin. "Haven't I already told you? I don't know anything!" she slightly yelled, her eyes flashing with fury.
Bai paused, studying her, then asked, "Have you ever been in jail?"
Lijun's eyes widened, surprised by the unexpected question.
"It's written all over your face how much you hate me. Unless you've been on the wrong side of the law, I can't see why you'd look at me with such contempt."
"I don't hate officers. I have a problem with you," she said seriously.
Detective Bai watched her, speechless. She was one of the most admired officers in her bureau, yet Lijun regarded her as the filthiest person she had ever seen.
Bai rose from the couch and walked toward her. Pulling out her phone, she tapped a few times before showing Lijun a photo.
Confused, Lijun looked at the image—a woman staring back at her.
Her eyes narrowed. The woman in the photo was her, at the club. The green hair was a wig she had worn that night.
She raised her brows, frowning. "You followed me?"
"We had to," Detective Bai replied casually, then added, "I hope you recognize yourself. That was the night Celine Wen, the congressman's daughter, went missing from that club. Care to explain what you were doing there?"
Lijun's brows knitted in frustration.
"You want me to explain what a bartender does in a club?"
"I want to know what you did," Detective Bai's tone turned cold, any lingering smile fading.
"At that time, you weren't inside the club. You seemed to be following her. There's a witness who claims to have seen you at the scene, so tell me, Lijun. What were you really doing there?"
Lijun gave the detective a hard stare. She knew this woman well enough. Bai cared about one thing: winning cases. She didn't hesitate to pin people down if it meant closing an investigation. How could a sane officer come to her with such baseless claims?
Detective Bai put her phone back into her jacket.
"I knew you wouldn't admit anything. But don't worry, you can rest—for now. After all, you've just woken up after two nights of unconsciousness. But keep this in mind: I am going to uncover whatever you're hiding."
She turned to leave but stopped at the door.
"Oh, and one more thing. You're right—I do care about closing my cases. But I don't frame innocent people."
With that, Detective Bai walked out. Lijun watched her, her fists clenched at her sides.
Her pulse throbbed on her forehead as her mind raced. Someone was trying to frame her. Detective Bai was playing right into their hands.