My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Central Hospital, Capital City.

The faint conversation drifted into Ru Meiqi's ears as her eyes slowly fluttered open. White ceiling and glaring lights welcomed her sight as soon as she did. Frowning, she turned her head sideways. Her whole body felt as heavy as lead, even that single act almost drained all of her energy.

"Oh my, Miss, you're awake!" An exclamation sounded nearby.

Ru Meiqi's sight focused gradually and she took in her surroundings. A woman in a nurse uniform, the thick scent of disinfectant in the air, creamy white walls and the IV drips that hung on her wrist. Right…she ought to be in the hospital right now.

"How are you feeling?" The nurse asked. "Is there anywhere uncomfortable?"

Ru Meiqi tried to speak but her throat felt like it was on fire; dry and painful. "Water…"

"Ah, right, my apologies." She swiftly poured a cup of water and put in a straw to help Ru Meiqi drink. "Slowly…slowly…"

"Thank you." Finally, she felt a lot more comfortable. Sighing in relief, she asked. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Ah?" Taken aback, the nurse answered in reflex. "It's been over two hours since you were brought in here."

Ru Meiqi nodded. She lowered her eyes, long eyelashes quivering slightly. "The man who was with me…how is he?"

"Who?" The nurse asked, confused.

"He…" The last image of Jin Renguang's terrible state flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes and said in a strained voice. "The one whose back is injured by the steel beam."

"Oh, it's him!" The nurse put on a careful look and Ru Meiqi's heart sank seeing that. "He's still in the operating room. But don't worry, the surgery is going smoothly."

Ru Meiqi clenched her fists to suppress the tremble and flung away the blanket covering her body.

Shocked by her abrupt movement, the nurse tried to hold her back. "Miss, what are you doing?! You shouldn't move yet!"

A sharp pain stung her chest and she bit her lips, panting softly. Grabbing onto the nurse's hands, she directed a somber and serious look. "I'm fine. Please report my condition to me."

The nurse put on a dumbfounded look. It wasn't until Ru Meiqi repeated her question once more did she react swiftly. "You—Your right ankle is fractured and two of your ribs are broken. In addition, your body is covered in bruises and cuts."

Ru Meiqi nodded. So that's why she felt a bit difficult to breathe. "Not bad."

"Of course! You have no idea how awful you look when you—huh? What did you say?"

Ru Meiqi ignored the nurse's remarks and requested instead. "Can you help me…no, can you please bring me a wheelchair?"

This was the first time the nurse had to deal with this kind of stubborn patient. "Where do you want to go?! You shouldn't get out of bed yet!"

"I…" Ru Meiqi massaged her brows. She had so much to do, better than to stay here and be plagued with the thought of Jin Renguang all day. Jiang Jinyan still hadn't been found and on top of that, Shi Nian had also gone missing. Jin Renguang was right. Something didn't add up, there must be more to it than what meets the eye. "I have something to take care of—"

She hadn't finished her sentence when the door suddenly slid open and Ke Shao entered. Seeing Ru Meiqi awake, the rims of his eyes instantly reddened. "Senior Ru! Oh my God, it's so good that you're awake! You have no idea how panicked we were when the building collapsed on all of you!" Striding forward, he asked worriedly. "Are you okay? Where do you want to go?"

Just in time, Ru Meiqi sighed in relief. She asked eagerly. "How is the progress of the case? Is there any clue yet to Shi Nian's whereabouts?"

Ke Shao's face turned gloomy. "The team is a mess right now. Captain is down and Xu Binchen is out of reach. We can only report it to Director Fen and at the moment, Qin Weizhe has been assigned to take over as temporary Captain."

"Qin Weizhe?" Ru Meiqi frowned. "Where's Xu Binchen? He's missing too?"

"I know right?" Ke Shao scratched his head in frustration. "He said that he's going to check up on Shi Nian. You know, his face just turned pale all of a sudden, it really shocked me and Wang Chengbing! Well, it's good otherwise we wouldn't know that such a thing has happened. However, after he sent a report back, we couldn't reach him anymore. Even his phone is inactive."

Ru Meiqi lowered her head and pondered. She made a split second decision and nodded. "Where's the rest of the members? I have something to discuss with all of you. Can you please take me there?"

"Nah, everyone is here right now. Even those guys from General Crime too."

"Perfect." Ru Meiqi nodded. "There's no time to waste. Please gather everyone here. Tell them; I might have an idea who the serial killer is."

As soon as the summons were sent out, everyone gathered in Ru Meiqi's room in less than five minutes. The atmosphere turned rowdy in an instant. Qin Weizhe entered last, his face was haggard with deep eye bags under his eyes. "Sorry, I was caught up on something. Is everyone here?" 

"Yes, yes." Wang Chengbing answered impatiently. "Come on, spill. Senior Ru, you said you know who the serial killer is?! Who is that damn son of a bitch?!"

"Yeah, right! He has the audacity to bomb us!"

"I will teach him a lesson if he's caught later!"

Ru Meiqi cleared her throat. "Okay, I know everyone is frustrated with the situation right now. But this is not the time to let emotions get the best of us." 

Everyone turned silent simultaneously and grew ashamed. Captain Jin was severely injured and Senior Ru could still be this calm and collected. What right did they have to behave like kids? 

"Good. We have to remain cool-headed especially at times like these." After controlling the situation, she turned to Wang Chengbing. "Do you have the thing I asked you before?"

"Of course." Wang Chengbing offered her his laptop. "But why are you asking for Nan Cheng and Nan Xukun's data?"

Nan Cheng and Nan Xukun. The members glanced at each other. What did those people have to do with the case?

Ru Meiqi scrolled through the two's data. Wang Chengbing's skill was exceptional as always. Not only was their life history compiled, but there's also medical reports, additional expenses, the places they frequented and past relationships. 

Her movement halted as she finally found the thing she had been looking for. 

Her heart raced faster and the light from the laptop screen made his pale complexion look even whiter. 

"So that's how it is…" She murmured under her breath.

Everyone was getting restless and jittery. What had Ru Meiqi found? They were impatient yet didn't dare to bother her line of thoughts. Fortunately, Ru Meiqi soon snapped out of her daze and swept her gaze over solemnly. "Before the accident, Captain Jin has brought up something that has been overlooked by all of us." 

For the next few minutes, she proceeded to recap Jin Renguang's doubts and suspicions regarding username kmeulchian5862.

"There's a few suspicions regarding Si Zhening as the serial killer. First, why did he kidnap Jiang Jinyan when all of his previous victims were ordinary people? He is Jiang Huocheng's secretary so he must have known how difficult it is to deal with him. Second, why did he send that CD to us? It's as if he was giving us clues to catch him. Do you know what it looks like?" 

Ru Meiqi paused. "...It's as if he's staking everything in this last act.. He wants us to catch him red handed, his real intention must be to cover for the real serial killer."