My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"Haa…Haa…" Xu Binchen stopped by the roadside for a while to regain his breathing. All the running caused nausea to churn his stomach and his temples throbbed in pain. He swore he would take a week of leave from Captain Jin after everything had ended.

The cold water he poured earlier over his head had evaporated into white mists, mixed in it was his own perspiration. So much for sobering himself up, now everything was in vain, he grumbled inwardly.

"Excuse me…" A passerby approached and asked carefully. "Are you okay, Sir?"

Veins popped up in his forehead. "Do I look that awful to you?"

"Huh?" Taken aback, the passerby scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, you look like you're about to faint…"

Xu Binchen straightened up and nodded politely. "I am perfectly fine. Thank you, Sir."

"Are you sure—hey!" Xu Binchen strode past him, turned into a corner and disappeared in a blink of an eye, disregarding the other person's protests. 

Ain't got time to waste, he murmured to himself. Come to think of it, since when did his body turn so weak that he was already on his last breath with this short sprint? If this was a few years ago, he could run twenty laps around the police academy without breaking a sweat. 

Xu Binchen tried to think of whatever light and mundane to distract himself from his body's discomfort. The road leading to the apartment complex was already in front of his eyes. Just five minutes—no, three minutes more, he could arrive there.

A faint siren came from behind him, turning louder and louder until an ambulance drove past him at high speed, carrying with it the blast of snowflakes and harsh gusts of wind on its wake. 

Then it…entered the apartment district.

A foreboding swelled in his heart and he quickened his pace, this time he truly didn't have time to think of anything else. Could it be…? No, no…since when did his imagination become so fantastic? Just because she didn't answer the phone didn't mean that the ambulance was coming for her. 

Nonetheless, before he could realize it himself, he had started running.

"Oh, Mr. Xu, you're early today—" The security guard plastered a smile as he saw Xu Binchen but the man was too preoccupied with his own thoughts and brushed past him in a flash. Flabbergasted, the security guard turned to his colleague who had just returned from checking the situation out. "Did you see Mr. Xu just now?"

"Yeah. It seems like he has heard of the emergency. News sure travels fast." The man shook his head in frustration. "First it was a murder case, now it's an assault case. Do you think we will be fired anytime soon because accidents keep popping up under our watch?"

The security guard's face was drained of all colors. "Damn, you're right! Let's pray that we won't be held responsible for it!"

…

Sometimes, Murphy's Law indeed existed. The more you don't want something to happen, the more likely it will. A crowd had gathered in front of his apartment building and the ambulance he had seen earlier was parked in front. The back door was opened as paramedics rushed into the building.

Turmoil shattered the tranquility and hushed discussions were heard all around, yet Xu Binchen could care less about that.

"This is the police!" He bellowed loudly. "Make way! Excuse me, please make way for me!"

"Oh, it's Mr. Xu!"

"Mr. Xu has come here?"

"Oh my God, how can this kind of thing happen? Is this district still safe for us to live in?"

All the arguments and talks swiveled around him, making it hard for him to breathe. Upon hearing the police had arrived, the crowd instantly parted, offering him a smooth pass to break through. 

Please…please…he prayed for once in a blue moon. Please don't let it be her.

The sight opened up in front of his eyes. Paramedics shouted in medical terms he didn't quite understand, the stretcher that had just been carried out and on it…laid Shi Nian's mother with blood flowing out of her stomach ceaselessly. The woman's face was as white as sheet and a frown marred her face, groaning in pain.

It was as if something in Xu Binchen's mind snapped. 

"Madam Shi!" He rushed forward but was held back by a paramedic. 

"Sir, you can't get close!"

"Scram!" Xu Binchen flashed his police badge. "I'm from the police!"

His steps faltered as he made his way to Qiang Fei. He didn't even realize that his hands were trembling as he reached out to the barely conscious woman. How…How could this happen? Looking around in frenzy, he roared. "Who's the one who called for the ambulance? Is there any witness?! Shi Nian! Shi Nian, where are you?!"

His hand was suddenly yanked in a deadly tight grip. Qiang Fei gritted her teeth as she mumbled in a delirious state, again and again. "Save my daughter…please…save her…"

Xu Binchen's pupils dilated as he leaned down. "What do you mean? Where's Shi Nian? Who attacked you?!" 

The woman's breath came out very, very weak as she kept on repeating. "Save her…Shi Nian, he…he is…" Xu Binchen placed his ear close to Qiang Fei's mouth to no avail. The woman's consciousness had faded. Only by sheer willpower could she persist in asking for help.

"Sir!" Xu Binchen was pushed back by the angry paramedics. "Are you her family?! We have to get her to the hospital as soon as possible!"

"I…" Xu Binchen clenched his fists. "I'm not…"

"Then scram!" The stretcher was lifted into the ambulance. When Xu Binchen came to his senses, the door was already closed in front of his eyes. The red sirens rang out in an ear deafening blare as the ambulance raced out from the apartment district.

Xu Binchen lifted his hands to see them soaked in blood. Qiang Fei's blood. 

Who was it? Who had taken Shi Nian away? The serial killer? It must be him, right? 

His suspicion was right… There's no way he would leave Shi Nian alone. 

Xu Binchen, you fucking idiot. 

Why did he leave Shi Nian alone? No, not only that, he should have prohibited her from going anywhere. Better if she could stay in the police station until everything ended.

Why didn't he do it…?

"Boss...are you okay?" The manager probed carefully. 

Xu Binchen snapped out of his reverie and let out a light scoff. Exactly how many times had he heard this sentence today? "I'm fine. Please take care of the mess here. I will go upstairs to inspect. Also, prepare the CCTV footage and gather everyone, we will meet in the meeting room in fifteen minutes."

Upon receiving the manager's nod, he made his way to the twentieth floor. The door to Shi Nian's house was wide open and the fragrant scent of grilled meat and sauce wafted out, mixing with it the familiar stench of blood. The inside of the house was unexpectedly not messy except for the pool of blood on the ground and Shi Nian's phone not far from it. 

Xu Binchen bent down to retrieve it. His eyes inadvertently fell onto the mirror in the bathroom and hell...he looked so goddamn awful. Now he knew why everyone reacted like that when they saw him. 

The piercing pain on his stomach came again like waves. He staggered inside and bent over the sink, panting. "Keep yourself together..." He grunted.

Without any warning, bile rose to his throat and he covered his mouth, gagging a few times. There was a wet sensation on his palm and he glanced down to find it covered in blood. Not Qiang Fei's blood, but his own. His head was spinning and the rusty scent of blood assaulted his nose, making his consciousness blur. "Damn it, not now…!" He gritted his teeth, wiped his mouth and rinsed all the blood away.

After that, he started to move again like nothing happened.

.

.

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A/N: spoiler - don't worry he will not die _(:3」∠)_

Xu Binchen: Scram!

Paramedic: You're the one who should scram!

*Proceed to fight in the middle of the street*