Chapter 94

"Mr. Xia, the above is all the investigative information we have about you. Do you have any questions?"

"No."

"Very well. May we proceed with questioning you now?"

"You may."

"Thank you. Today is August 31, 2022. Given your physical condition, we will only inquire about matters prior to August 14, 2010. Mr. Xia, your memories before that date should be complete and clear, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. In 2005, your father, Xia Gaohan, committed suicide at his home in San Francisco. Were you aware of this, or did you notice any connection between your father and the terrorist organization LEBEN?"

In the sterile, brightly lit conference room, a top-tier alpha in a black shirt and trousers sat with detached indifference at the table. Across from him were two uniformed members of the National Special Criminal Unit—Zhang Zhuo and Yu Quan.

Just one wall away, in another meeting room, members of the Major Crime Unit and the AGB Team watched this unconventional 'questioning session' through a surveillance monitor.

Xia Qing—or rather, the 16-year-old alter of Xia Qing—had agreed to the National Special Criminal Unit's request for a conversation on one condition: before questioning began, the unit had to present him with the information they had gathered about what had happened to him after August 2010.

Zeiss's first reaction was that this alter didn’t trust those around him. But Zhao Yang, upon hearing this, gave him an eye-roll—he said it was obvious that "Xia Qing" didn’t want to hear everything from Xu Zhangying’s mouth.

"Why?" Zeiss frowned.

Fang Puxin, standing nearby, interjected gently, "Wouldn’t it be cruel to have the person who experienced it all recount it himself? And if it were Officer Xu, he might brush off or gloss over the hardest parts."

Zeiss looked up to see Zhao Yang crossing his arms, staring at him with an expression that clearly said, *Of course, you ivory-tower type.*

That said, when the criminal unit members recited the life-altering events in Xu Zhangying’s life—his mother’s death, his own illness, his disappearance, "Xia Qing’s" differentiation, memory loss, and even leading the team to complete the human genome decryption project just last week—in a monotone bureaucratic voice, even bystanders like Yu Mei felt a creeping unease.

Yet this Xia Qing, frozen in 2010, simply listened quietly. His fair, handsome face was impassive as still water, leaving even those from the Major Crime Unit who had worked closely with him momentarily dazed—was this really the 16-year-old Xia Qing?

Before Fang Puxin and the others could regain their composure, Qi Feng, standing nearby, snapped angrily, "Are these criminal unit members completely heartless? They’re talking to a 16-year-old alter and immediately bring up his father’s suicide. If A Ying were here, he’d have cussed them out by now."

Tan Song turned to the furious female alpha, hesitating. "Qi Feng, do you really see the current Professor Xia as a 16-year-old alter? To me, he doesn’t seem any different from before."

Qi Feng gave him a baffled look. "What are you talking about? The difference is obvious. It’s plain as day!"

Yu Mei, Song Yuli, and the others exchanged awkward glances as they stared at the impassive face on the monitor—where exactly was the difference?

"Back then, I was unaware. My memory of the day my father died is hazy, but I can confirm that before then, the name *LEBEN* was never spoken at home."

Xia Qing’s voice echoed through the meeting room, calm and detached.

As his words faded, the air in both the meeting room and the surveillance room grew tense. Zhang Zhuo and Yu Quan exchanged glances before Zhang Zhuo adjusted his glasses and pressed further, "Why do you say 'back then'? Does that mean you now know Xia Gaohan had contact with LEBEN? Why?"

Xia Qing lifted his gaze, staring absently at the table as he replied evenly, "I signed an NDA with the AGB Team. Though 15 years have passed, I’m not sure if this is still confidential—I learned during the August 2007 Tokyo sarin gas attack that my father was a high-ranking operative in LEBEN."

Zhao Yang and Qi Feng went quiet, but Li Jiali beside them gaped in shock. "Tokyo in 2007—wasn’t that LEBEN’s last known global appearance before this? Xia Qing was involved back then?"

"Indeed. The AGB Team provided us with a classified document—not from the 2007 Tokyo attack, but it mentioned that Xu Zhangying’s mother, Ms. Ye, took you in afterward," Yu Quan said, glancing at the documents in his hand. "So I believe this information can still be shared with us. Was Officer Xu Zhangying of the AGB Team also involved in the terror attack at the time?"

Xia Qing replied, "Yes, but he was dragged into it because of me. Neither he nor Ms. Ye had any connection to LEBEN."

A flicker of alertness passed through Zhang Zhuo’s eyes. He pressed firmly, "Why do you say he was dragged into it? Could you briefly explain—to whatever extent you deem within declassification limits?"

"Because at the scene of the attack, we encountered a top brass member of LEBEN—one of my father’s right-hand men. That was how I learned my father’s crimes weren’t limited to trafficking narcotics. He was also a key figure in LEBEN."

Xia Qing spoke as if describing an objective fact entirely unrelated to himself. Even the veteran homicide detectives couldn't extract any information from this soul claiming to be 16.

Yu Quan leafed through the documents in his hand and asked solemnly, "Are you aware of the codename your father went by in LEBEN back then?"

Xia Qing gave a slight nod before replying calmly, "The AGB Officers had mentioned something at the time."

Then came a word so familiar it was almost unbelievable.

"Emperor."

Zhao Yang's eyes mirrored the disbelief. He stared intently at the young man on the monitor, his grip tightening on the pen in his hand.

Before Zhang Zhuo could react, Xia Qing suddenly stood up from across the table and looked down at the two men. "Our time is up. If you want more information, you can apply to the AGB Asia Branch. That would provide more accurate and comprehensive details than my verbal account."

Being confronted by a standing high-ranking alpha made Yu Quan rise automatically. "Time's up? What do you mean?"

Xia Qing replied evenly, "I promised Xu Zhangying this interrogation would only last an hour. He said since I'm neither a suspect nor involved in the case, I could decide the duration myself."

Zhang Zhuo gazed into those clear eyes opposite him and finally noticed a fleeting disconnect between soul and body. But before either could speak, Xia Qing said, "I'll take my leave," and walked out of the conference room without looking back.

"It's not my imagination—Professor Xia does seem different somehow," Tan Song tilted his head thoughtfully. "But how?"

Qi Feng, standing beside him, said dismissively, "Just wait a little longer."

Song Yuli asked, "Wait for what?"

Qi Feng replied, "For Xu Zhangying to come out, of course. Isn't he being interrogated by another group next door?"

In the hallway, Xia Qing sat holding a smartphone—handed to him by an alpha named Zhang Ke, who claimed to be his personal assistant. He'd only accepted it because Xu Zhangying recognized the man.

It was strange. Despite losing twelve years of memories, he felt no unfamiliarity with revolutionized technology. He'd known how to use the smartphone almost the moment it touched his hand—this must be what they called muscle memory.

When recalling specific phones, the first thing that came to mind was his old Nokia with removable batteries—when Xu Zhangying still called him every night before lights-out during Beijing training camp. The art studio had limited outlets, so he'd always kept two extra batteries rotating.

The second memory was of the iPhone 4 released in June 2010. Ye Xin had someone bring two from America—one for him, one for Xu Zhangying—finally arriving in late July.

"A gift for getting into university," the woman in her business suit had said, waving her identical phone with a smile.

Memories within reach yet worlds away.

Near enough to touch, yet too distant to accept.

"I can't really remember my mother's face anymore," 29-year-old Xu Zhangying had said, lying in bed while looking at Xia Qing crouched beside him—his eyes holding emotions the 17-year-old version never had. "Wouldn't it be nice if you could only remember happy things forever?"

Xia Qing looked down at his hands—unrecognizable from his memories. Stronger, more defined, the hands of an adult male alpha.

But Xu Zhangying's hands had changed too. When Xia Qing held them, he found combat calluses had overtaken the pencil-writing calluses. Apart from a few warped fingers, they were nothing like he remembered.

They were about the same size as his own, yet now unmistakably beta hands.

The moment Xia Qing woke up, he knew the world had changed—become richer, more vivid. He noticed the myriad scents lingering in the air before even realizing they were pheromones.

Only when Xu Zhangying woke and tapped lightly behind his ear did his perception magnify a hundredfold—the scents intensifying a hundredfold, saturating his senses.

"Great scientist, this is your world-changing invention," Xu Zhangying had laughed. "Doesn't it feel stranger now? You could've asked Zhao Yang or the others instead of waiting for me to wake up."

That's when Xia Qing realized—this was how Xu Zhangying had always experienced the world.

Though only the two of them occupied the hospital room, Xia Qing could detect the faint residual pheromones of others—each distinct as aquatic, floral, and oriental fragrances spilled and mingled together.

Only Xu Zhangying's presence was empty, pale, and still.

"Xia Qing, smell yourself and tell me," Xu Zhangying struggled to sit up straight, his face brimming with enthusiasm. "I didn’t have the nerve to ask the previous Xia Qing, but I’m dying to know—what do you smell like?"

The 29-year-old Xu Zhangying was even more accustomed to being a beta than the 16-year-old Xia Qing. He spoke without reservation, cutting off Xia Qing’s emotional processing of their reversed roles.

"It smells a bit like leaves," Xia Qing looked up, somewhat bewildered. "But I don’t know how to describe it."

"Leaves, huh? You must mean one of the green scent notes. Laura has that too," Xu Zhangying grinned. "If I had to guess, your scent profile is likely Class A. Later, let me take a peek at your identity file—once I see the code, I’ll have a rough idea."

Why pretend like it was no big deal?

The 29-year-old Xu Zhangying was several times smarter and sharper than his 17-year-old self—he had instantly discerned which fractured timeline this Xia Qing came from and immediately prepared a cushion to soften the harsh reality.

—Though compared to the cruelty of reality, these preparations were but a drop in the bucket.

Xia Qing sat in the hallway, watching as sunlight refracted endlessly off the white tiles, eventually converging into a blinding white light. The confusion in his heart finally cleared.

So, over the past eight years, he had been abandoned by everyone—as a prime alpha.

And as for Xu Zhangying, the beta, he had abandoned everyone else.

The National Special Criminal Unit’s interrogation of Xu Zhangying was much stricter, and neither the AGB Team nor the Major Crime Unit was allowed to observe. So Zeiss and the others had to wait another full hour before Xu Zhangying finally emerged from the room.

Four days had passed since the Hong Kong film crew kidnapping case. Xu Zhangying still had bandages on his abdomen, but since he could walk, he insisted on coming to the police headquarters for questioning.

But in all honesty, he had absolutely no recollection of this "No. 10 killer" before Wu Qize dropped the bombshell. Before the 523 case, he hadn’t even known of the existence of "David City," let alone terms like "Emperor" or "DUKE"—they were totally unheard of to him.

During the interrogation, the National Special Criminal Unit all but treated Xu Zhangying as a suspect. Both sides ended up exhausted, with nothing substantial uncovered—except for Xu Zhangying’s colorful retelling of his adventures during the Tokyo terror attack 15 years ago.

After listening to his storytelling, the team leader, Mei Mingxuan, waved his hand and abruptly ended the questioning.

The doors of both rooms were pushed open almost simultaneously. Xu Zhangying and Song Yuli’s group, emerging from their respective rooms, immediately spotted Xia Qing sitting in the hallway.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Officer Xu. You and Mr. Xia may return to rest now," Mei Mingxuan said solemnly.

"Oh, sure. Bye." Xu Zhangying, rarely seen dressed in a sleek silver-gray suit and tie, looked devastatingly handsome.

Zeiss hadn’t gotten a good look at Xu Zhangying that morning before he entered the interrogation room. Now, seeing the usually carefree Beta Commissioner in a three-piece suit, he blinked in disbelief, as if witnessing a ghost in broad daylight.

As Xu Zhangying walked toward Xia Qing on the other side of the hallway, he turned and noticed the Major Crime Unit and his own team emerging from the other room. He immediately greeted them, "Captain Yan, Capt. Fang, you’ve had it rough these past couple of days."

Everyone stepped into the hallway, watching as the Beta Commissioner strode up to Professor Xia, who was still seated. Placing his hands on his hips, Xu Zhangying leaned down slightly and asked, "Been waiting over an hour, huh? No big deal, right?"

Xia Qing looked up at the smiling Xu Zhangying and shook his head. "No big deal."

With that, he took the handsome officer’s outstretched hand and stood up.

"Perfect timing, Xia Qing, Captain Yan," Xu Zhangying threw an arm around the prime alpha’s shoulder, grinning at the group. "Given the circumstances, it just occurred to me—we should do introductions again."

Fang Puxin, relieved to see the Beta Commissioner in good spirits, smiled at the familiar-faced prime alpha and extended his hand. "Professor Xia, hello. I’m Fang Puxin, deputy captain of the Guangzhou Municipal Police’s Major Crime Unit. We worked together for two months before."

The man dressed head-to-toe in black studied his face, gave a slight nod, and shook his hand. "Hello. Just call me Xia Qing."

As soon as he spoke, Yu Mei, Tan Song, Song Yuli, and Benjamin, as if drawn by the commotion, crowded around "this you" in unison.

Standing amid the crowd, Xia Qing, with Xu Zhangying at his side, shook hands and exchanged introductions with the "strangers" from the Major Crime Unit and the AGB Team.

Off to the side, Qi Feng rubbed his nose sheepishly. "Zhao Yang and I will pass. We’re a lot more familiar with this you."

"These are my colleagues from the AGB Team, just like Laura and Amber we met in Tokyo back then. Remember?" Xu Changying turned his face slightly, smiling as he looked at Xia Qing. "This is Li Jiali, and this is Benjamin. Including me, there are three of us in the team."

Li Jiali and the others finally confirmed that their team leader had been entangled in Life's criminal underworld as early as 2007—they would definitely have to talk to him about it later.

After Xia Qing and Li Jiali got acquainted, he noticed the high-ranking alpha standing nearby, his keen senses picking up that this person's pheromones had been present in the hospital.

"This one isn't from our team. Officer Zeiss is a senior officer from the North America Branch," Xu Changying turned around and saw Zeiss studying him with a scrutinizing gaze. Unable to skip the introduction, he forced a laugh.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zeiss, who had been lost in thought, closed his eyes briefly before ignoring the Beta Commissioner and extending his hand to the high-ranking alpha. "Hello, Zeiss."

Xia Qing glanced at Xu Changying, who looked unimpressed, then simply shook Zeiss's hand. "Xia Qing."

The awkward reintroduction ended, and Xu Changying habitually began discussing the current case with Yan Jianbai and the others. "Captain Yan, Team Leader Mei said their operations won't involve AGB or the police anymore. What about your side?"

Yan Jianbai nodded solemnly. "Right, but since Wu Qize is also a suspect in the '523 Case,' we still need to follow up on the final arrest. It should be soon—they’ve already locked down a few border hideouts."

Xu Changying understood. "Then this should really be the final phase. The long game to capture the Emperor afterward won’t involve us—that’ll be the North America Branch and Team Leader Mei’s job."

Fang Puxin then looked at Xu Changying with concern. "Our operations aren’t as urgent now, given it’s a nationwide police and military deployment. Officer Xu, you should focus on recovering. How are you feeling?"

Xu Changying blinked, sharing a look with Zhao Yang behind Fang Puxin, and smiled. "Much better, but I’ll probably need three more days before discharge. Then I’ll be back on duty."

While they spoke, Xia Qing stood silently behind the suited Xu Changying, not joining the conversation, just watching his face as he talked.

Fang Puxin hesitated before asking, "What about Professor Xia’s safety now? And the Life Conference—"

"It’s fine," Xu Changying said softly to Yan Jianbai and the others. "The team responsible for his safety is still nearby. The domestic unit has arranged cognitive rehabilitation—there shouldn’t be major issues."

"That’s good. Professor Xia’s safety is the priority. Beyond that, whichever Professor Xia this is," Fang Puxin finally relaxed, smiling at the high-ranking alpha, "we’re all very fond of him."

Xia Qing, standing nearby, froze for a moment before nodding at the kind-faced alpha officer. "Thank you for your concern."

Xu Changying exchanged a few more words with Zhao Yang and Qi Feng—though he didn’t mention how much of a shock it had been for the 16-year-old Xia Qing to learn they’d become cops. He just grinned and said, "Hey, want to grab a meal? The four of us haven’t eaten together in ages."

"On the way here this morning, Xia Qing noticed *Bing Sheng* restaurant nearby. Zhao Yang, don’t you like that place?"

Qi Feng paused, looking at the high-ranking alpha standing beside her. A pang of bittersweet emotion hit her, making her hands tremble slightly.

—This really wasn’t the Xia Qing from Xing'an Group, nor the Professor Xia from LSA, but the real Xia Qing they’d grown up with.

"Come on," Zhao Yang chuckled, lifting his head with an exasperated look. "We’re just regular workers now. We can’t afford to eat there regularly—we’d be broke."

"I said I’d treat you, cheapskate," Xu Changying crossed his arms, unfazed. "So, coming?"

"Nah, Qi Feng and I have to head to the Tsim Sha Tsui info center this afternoon. You should go rest," Zhao Yang patted Xu Changying’s shoulder. "You’ve still got a gaping wound in your gut."

Perhaps because it hit home, Xu Changying didn’t argue further. He could feel his body nearing its limit, the open wound in his abdomen throbbing faintly. After a quick farewell, he turned and left.

"Up close, Professor Xia really is different—much quieter than before, and following Officer Xu like a shadow," Tan Song murmured, watching the two walk away.

Yu Mei also gazed after them. "Even though everything’s changed, at least they’re both still here. For the current Professor Xia, Officer Xu must be incredibly important."

"But hasn’t Xu changed the most?" Li Jiali, who had been observing her superior, couldn’t help interjecting. A subtle emotion flickered across her calm demeanor. "Xu never even wore a tie at his promotion. This is downright bizarre."

Li Jiali’s remark reminded everyone—Xu Changying had indeed been dressed in a pristine silver-gray three-piece suit earlier, his striking, charming looks making him look like an AGB elite straight from a movie.

—No wonder it felt strange. Almost in unison, they glanced at the impeccably dressed high-ranking alpha. Didn’t Officer Xu’s style just clash with Officer Zeiss’s?

Though the two were complete opposites in their brand of handsome.

"Yep," Qi Feng rubbed his chin, also puzzled. "Today was just giving testimony to the criminal team, so why did A Ying dress to the nines?"

"What's so strange about that?" Zhao Yang tsked, unimpressed. "Dressing up is obviously to impress someone who likes that look."

Hearing Zhao Yang's words, Yu Mei and the others looked confused, then turned to him. Yu Mei asked, "Who?"

"Who else?" Zhao Yang stared at the figure that had disappeared at the end of the hallway. "The one seeing him in a suit for the first time today."

"No way." Qi Feng turned to Zhao Yang. "A Ying wouldn't do that, would he?"

"Of course he would," Zhao Yang leaned against the wall, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Going all out with the outfit today might not even earn him a good outcome."

"Ding."

The elevator doors slid open, and Zhang Ke walked ahead, opening the apartment door for the two. "Officer Xu, are you sure you don’t want to grab a meal first?"

Xia Qing had been discharged from the hospital two days prior, and Yao Anping had arranged this temporary residence near the hospital for him.

The reason it wasn’t Zhang Ke’s arrangement was that Yao Anping, as part of the "work team," had gained the trust of this top-tier alpha due to his non-Xing’an employment status—only then did Zhang Ke realize that Xia Qing had already prepared backup plans years ago for potential memory issues.

It was hard to imagine how this brilliant man had anticipated his own unknown future, but Yao Anping and his trusted circle had indeed maximized trust-building and subsequent arrangements with Xia Qing with memory loss.

Xu Changying knew he should be in a hospital bed, but having escaped less than four hours ago, he really didn’t want to go back. So he told Xia Qing he wanted to rest with him first before heading out to eat.

"No need, Xiao Ke. You should rest too," Xu Changying said softly to Zhang Ke.

Zhang Ke glanced at his boss he still barely knew, nodded, and left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door shut, Xu Changying instinctively turned to say something to Xia Qing but jostled his constant pain in his abdomen, his face briefly going pale.

"What’s wrong?" Xia Qing bent down, supporting Xu Changying’s shoulder as he asked.

"It’s fine, nothing serious," Xu Changying could feel that his wound hadn’t reopened. He looked up, keeping his tone deliberately light. "I’ll just lie down for half an hour, then we’ll go eat. No need to return to the hospital so soon."

With that, Xu Changying straightened up, removing his suit jacket as he headed toward the sofa.

But before he could take a second step, he felt his arm being grabbed and was firmly guided toward the master bedroom.

"Lie down," Xia Qing said.

"You're being so rough," Xu Changying, with his jacket only half off, sat on the bed and looked up at the younger man. "Xia Qing, you’re twelve years younger than me now. I’m the adult here."

Over the past three days since waking up, Xu Changying had often used his age to tease, but today he felt uncertain—three hours ago, during an interrogation in another conference room, his mind had been entirely preoccupied with Xia Qing in the next room, processing twelve years' worth of memories.

Even if it were 20-year-old or 17-year-old Xia Qing, Xu Changying’s first thought upon waking had been—why bring the 16-year-old Xia Qing into this timeline?

He knew nothing but had to bear all the unbearable realities, all of which were Xu Changying’s own doing—if only he had found a more roundabout and gentle method back then, Xia Qing wouldn’t have appeared before the tunnel, suffering such a massive shock.

Xu Changying’s thoughts were racing when Xia Qing bent down to help remove the suit jacket still draped over his shoulders. But suddenly, as if noticing something, Xia Qing reached out and touched the beta’s neck.

"Smack!" Xu Changying instinctively swatted Xia Qing’s hand away.

Only a second later did he come to his senses. He quickly apologized to the silent Xia Qing, "Sorry, Xia Qing. It just startled me. I’ll just lie down for a bit—no need to take anything else off—"

Before he could finish, Xia Qing pushed him backward onto the bed.

This was the first time Xu Changying had properly worn a three-piece suit. Even after removing the jacket, the vest remained, tightly fitted around his abdomen—Zhang Ke’s choice of clothing was perfect, the vest providing support that eased the strain on his wound during movement.

And now, Xia Qing sat on the bed, silently undoing the buttons of Xu Changying’s vest.

"Xia Qing, I don’t think the timing is quite right," the beta lying on the bed clutched the front of his vest tightly, playing it off with humor. "Can't this wait?"

But the vest buttons gave way regardless. Xia Qing silently pulled the vest open forcefully to both sides, then immediately began unbuttoning Xu Changying's white shirt.

"Come on," Xu Changying kept up his flippant tone, "I thought you liked it when I put this on this morning. What, not good enough for you now? Quit undressing me!"

Xu Changying's hands gripped his tie tightly, pulling his shirt collar taut. By now, Xia Qing had already undone all the buttons on his upper body, revealing a stitched dressing on his abdomen, with a crusting centipede scar in the middle.

Despite the struggle sending waves of sharp pain through the wound on his stomach, Xu Changying still held onto the tie with all his strength, his playful expression completely gone. Xia Qing, however, said nothing, only prying his fingers open one by one.

"Xia Qing, you're hurting my stomach like this! Can't I just show you next time?" Xu Changying felt his fingers being forcibly pried apart, panic finally flashing across his face as he raised his voice.

"Xia Qing, you're going too far—"

Before he could finish, Xu Changying felt his collar tighten abruptly as the tie was completely yanked into the hands of the top-tier alpha. His neck was pulled forward by the tie, forcing him to meet those piercingly clear eyes.

This is it.

Xu Changying couldn't suppress the tremors spreading through his chest. The next second, the tie around his neck was wrenched away, followed by a strong hand twisting his head to the side. Finally, the collar of his shirt at the back of his neck was tugged down.

Just like in countless nightmares.

Xu Changying felt as if the skin on the back of his neck was being scorched by that terrifying gaze, yet his entire body seemed frozen, unable to move at all.

After what felt like ages, Xu Changying slowly regained sensation in his body. He released his grip on Xia Qing's shirt, pulled his collar back up, and opened his mouth. After a long pause, he said stiffly: "It's really nothing... I was a beta before you even presented."

Xu Changying's voice trailed off into silence, the room so quiet that only his own breathing could be heard. After what felt like an eternity, he felt something wet drip onto his neck.

And the next moment, he heard Xia Qing's voice, cold and bitter: "Xu Changying."

"You never loved me at all."