"Of course I am," her eyes slightly widened.

"..."

Once again, Mingshen’s palm flew to his chest.

"You are not doing okay at all. I see you clutching your chest every now and then..." She frowned, then gasped in shock, "Did something hit you in the chest?"

"It’s your love bomb, Jia~" Huojin laughed.

That laughter didn’t stay on for too long and now he lay flat on the ground decommissioned from duty, post some violence not suitable to be described to the audience.

An officer approached her. "What should we do now, Inspector Song? The body must have been...

"Yeah, no way it survived that. Even if something remained, it wouldn’t help us at all," she dragged out a sigh. "Let the bomb squad clear out the area and declare it safe. Until then, grab all the CCTV footage you can find around this area and look for when this man was last seen. Also, find everything you can about him."

"Yes, Mam!"

She rushed back to Mingshen’s side and said, "Let’s go to the hospital and get those bruises all cleaned up."

The more she looked at them, the more guilt crept in her chest like an annoying buzz that refused to leave her ears.

"Inspector! Superintendent Tang is calling you back to the Bureau. The bomb has gotten everyone on high alert.

"Ah."

Mingshen studied her confusion and helplessness. On one hand, she really did want to accompany Mingshen but on the other hand, the bomb had sent all units into a frenzy. He flicked her forehead. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"It’s just some scratches. Devils don’t die, you know~ Especially handsome devils~"

"...Are you sure?"

Despite his humor, Jia was evidently not comfortable in leaving him alone.

"Wait, why do you sound like my mom now? Even Mom wouldn’t worry about me that much."

He smiled. "Yeah. You go."

She parted and closed her lips. "Okay, I hate to go. But! I will drop by the hospital! So you better get those scratches all taped up or you will lie just like Huojin there."

Then said cop, Mo Huojin, still lay decommissioned.

"Why are you threatening your sexy husband?" He pouted.

"Doctors are the worst patients," she grimaced. "So you better not ignore yourself! Got it?"

Jia wasn’t going to leave without a positive promise, erupting something ticklish all over his body.

Is it some virus? What kind of virus makes you feel ticklish all over? I need to do some research.

"Got it," Mingshen said, lifting both hands in surrender. "I will behave."

She narrowed her eyes at him as if trying to assess whether that promise held any reasonable validity.

"I mean it," she pressed.

"I know," his chirpy voice lost its edge for a brief second. "Go. I will drop by the Bureau myself when I am done~ I cannot stay apart from my Spicy for too long, you know~"

That seemed to settle some reassurance inside her. She gave him one last look, almost reluctant before turning on her heel and jogging towards the police vehicle waiting at the perimeter.

Mingshen watched until the car disappeared down the street. Only then did he look down at his arm.

The cut wasn’t deep. Superficial lacerations and mild bruising, that was all. Nothing alarming. And yet his palm drifted back to his chest again that drummed a little too hard for his own good.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath.

An ambulance crew approached. "Doctor Yang, we should take a look at that."

"I can take care of it myself," he replied dryly.

"Exactly what makes you worse," the paramedic shot back. "Doctors are the worst patients."

He didn’t argue after that.

—

By the time Jia reached the Bureau, the atmosphere had shifted from the usual chitter-chatter and daily rush to outright tension. Officers moved briskly through the corridors and phones rang incessantly. News outlets were already circling the story of a bomb detonating at an active investigation site.

Superintendent Tang stood at the center of the operations room, issuing rapid instructions.

"Inspector Song," he called the moment he saw her. "Report."

Jia gave a concise breakdown of the timeline, evacuation and the structural collapse. A murmur spread across the room.

Tang nodded slowly. "Increase security protocols immediately. Until we identify the perpetrators, no one moves alone. We have no clue of knowing if that perpetrator has planted any other bombs. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

As the briefing ended, Jia retreated to her desk, finally allowing herself a breath. Her phone buzzed with Mingshen’s message.

’Alive. Bandaged. Still very handsome~’

Despite the chaos unfolding at lightning speed, a small smile tugged at her lips. She typed her reply.

’Send proof. Doctors lie.’

’I am flying straight to the Bureau~ You can then thoroughly inspect me all you want, Inspector Spicy. My pure body is all yours~’

Jia choked.

This man...

Her fingers hovered above the screen for a second longer than necessary before she locked it instead. Relief flooded through her to see Mingshen doing alright.

Now, focus.

The door to the Bureau entrance opened quietly. She didn’t notice at first when a man in his late twenties stepped inside hesitantly. He was disheveled with a pale complexion. His eyes darted around the room as if measuring his next movement.

A junior officer approached him. "Sir, can we help you?"

He swallowed hard. "I...I need to speak to an officer."

Jia looked up, and the man’s gaze locked onto hers instantly. She stood and walked towards him. "What’s the matter?"

"Are you the senior here?"

"Well, fairly senior enough."

"I need to speak to you privately," he said, voice slightly on edge. "It’s about the construction site explosion."

Every muscle in Jia’s body sharpened.

"Explosion? Do you have any information about it?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I know who did it."

"Come with me," Jia said, guiding him towards a smaller interview room.

Once inside, Jia closed the door but didn’t lock it.

"Please speak. What do you know about the man who died? And about the explosion?" She asked in a flurry.

He looked at her for a long second. Then his lips twitched into something that didn’t match the fear in his eyes.

"I know all about it. Because I was the one who planted that bomb."

His hands moved to his jacket. Slowly and deliberately. He pulled it open and strapped tightly around his torso were wires and explosives with a digital timer.

Jia’s heartbeat slammed against her ribs.

The man smiled. "I didn’t want to do this. But I guess this was the fastest way to get things done."

The timer blinked red - 00:58:47.

Jia didn’t move. The Bureau outside buzzed with unaware activity but inside this very room - time had just become a deadly weapon.