Capturing My Demon King Costar

MY COSTAR AND I INVESTIGATE

Ye Fang goes on to tell them how it took her a long time to realise Gao Wu was dead, and afterwards she was so shocked that it took someone else approaching for her to finally cry for help.

"It's just so awful, how could this have happened?" she sobs, wiping her face with her forearms.

"Did it look like he died from natural causes or, something else?" Xin Hulei asks, keeping his voice low.

That's also a possibility. Yao Shen barely had the time to grapple with Gao Wu's death, let alone consider the circumstances in which it happened.

Ye Fang's eyes widen, the possibility hasn't crossed her mind either. "No...I....I don't know. I didn't see any blood, but that doesn't mean..." Her face goes suddenly bloodless. "Wu-ge was so young, it's very odd for him to die so suddenly. Maybe, maybe someone..."

Tan Liansi shushes and rubs her back, oddly caring. "We don't know that. Let's leave the investigation to the police."

She shoots Xin Hulei a warning look, which he gives no sign of noticing.

"It's late, maybe you should go back to your room and rest," Yao Shen tells Ye Fang. He wants to have a word alone with Xin Hulei and Ye Fang and it would be better if she wasn't there.

She panics immediately. "I don't want to be alone, please I'm too scared," she says, clinging to Tan Liansi's arm. "Can I stay here tonight, jiejie? I promise I won't bother."

It might be his imagination but Yao Shen is fairly certain he sees a fain blush colouring Tan Liansi's earlobes.

"Sure, uh, I'll show you the bedroom."

She helps Ye Fang off the sofa and leads her towards the bedroom, closing the the partition doors behind them.

---

Yao Shen waits in silence with Xin Hulei for Tan Liansi to return, afraid that anything they say can be overheard by Ye Fang in the room.

She closes the doors to the bedroom behind her and nods towards the balcony glass doors.

They all step outside. Xin Hulei immediately lights up a cigarette. For a moment Yao Shen considers bumping one off him. Xin Hulei must see the temptation in his eyes because he shakes his head.

"This is really fucked up," Tan Liansi says, leaning against the railing.

Xin Hulei takes a deep drag of his cigarette. "The timing is suspicious."

"Maybe he had some disease no one knew about," Yao Shen says, trying to steer the conversation back towards the possibility of natural causes. Since both Xin Hulei and Tan Liansi seem to have decided that isn't what happened.

"Maybe, but we need to consider all angles," she says, and then steals the cigarette off Xin Hulei's fingers and takes a drag herself.

"We can't do anything now," Yao Shen says with a sigh. "We'll just have to wait for the autopsy report."

Xin Hulei hums. "If his death is ruled a homicide we'll definitely hear about it, because we'll be suspects and the police will want to talk with us."

That's something Yao Shen hasn't considered. Xin Hulei's grim words kill any conversation as the three of them stay silent. Tan Liansi and Xin Hulei pass a single cigarette back and forth between the two of them until finally Xin Hulei stubs it out, the waning moon as the only source of light in their square of balcony.

---

Back in Xin Hulei's apartment, Yao Shen is too restless to fall asleep, and too disturbed to pick up where he and Xin Hulei left off before Tan Liansi's call.