The atmosphere… it's suffocating.
Ch'en Huijie's gaze was sharp as a blade, locked straight onto Chen Mo's face. He swallowed on instinct.
"Officer Ch'en, I really don't know this 'Talulah' you're talking about. I'm just an ordinary citizen. You're wasting your time on me."
His words fell into the quiet reception room—and the silence stayed exactly as heavy as before.
Perhaps realizing how improper it was to stare so openly at a man, Ch'en Huijie finally shifted her eyes aside and forced her icy voice into something marginally gentler.
"You're Chen Mo, right? Don't worry. I just have a few questions."
"Where did you used to live? Are your mother and father still alive?"
Who opens with "Are your parents dead" like that?
Chen Mo barely managed not to lose his composure. He understood what she was trying to get at, and immediately shook his head and waved his hands.
"I'm an orphan, Officer Ch'en. Even if you ask me that, I don't know anything."
He was something fabricated out of thin air—no matter how many lies he piled up, one day they'd crack.
Better to use the universal excuse: orphan. Let her and everyone else guess at his origins as they pleased.
"An… orphan?"
As if she hadn't expected that answer, Ch'en Huijie frowned and began studying his face again—his features so eerily similar to Talulah's.
Siblings? No… this man, Chen Mo, was clearly a pure-blood Draco.
Her eyes lingered—almost appreciatively—on the beautiful horns and tail he wore. Hand to her chin, she sank into thought.
If they were true siblings, she couldn't possibly know nothing about him.
And in all her years growing up, other than Talulah… she had never seen another Draco.
If she eliminated every other possibility, there was only one explanation left.
In Chen Mo's surprised, curious stare, Ch'en Huijie abruptly stood up, seized his hand, and looked at him with grave sincerity.
"I'm sorry. You've suffered all this time."
Yes. Only that could explain it.
Talulah's father—the man her mother had loved—had cheated.
"Huh? Officer Ch'en… are you misunderstanding something again?"
Was this damned dragon cop really spinning some outrageous tragic backstory for him?
Chen Mo glanced down at the hand she was gripping. "I don't know what kind of fantasy you've built up, Officer Ch'en, but holding a decent, innocent man's hand like this is… pretty inappropriate."
Her grip was insanely strong. Whatever she'd imagined, it had her way too fired up.
Ch'en Huijie realized her lapse and quickly let go.
"Sorry. I… got carried away."
She sat back down, steadied the surge of emotion in her chest, and tried to make her tone as gentle as possible.
"About your background, Chen Mo, I have a hypothesis. Don't panic, okay?"
"…As long as you don't say I'm your family or something."
Ch'en Huijie swallowed the words she was about to say.
Chen Mo stared at her. With the way she'd choked on it, his expression turned even stranger.
No way. Did he actually hit the mark?
"You're not seriously going to treat me like your long-lost brother, are you?"
It sounded absurd, but Ch'en Huijie nodded anyway—dead serious, not a trace of humor on her handsome face.
"Based on the timing of your father's death… you would be my elder brother."
Well. That was blunt.
And the misunderstanding was officially out of control.
He had to admit—if he stood in Ch'en Huijie's shoes, her logic was disturbingly solid.
But Chen Mo absolutely, categorically could not admit it.
Not because he didn't want to be her brother—once she latched onto him…
That old dragon would definitely—
Knock, knock.
The sudden rapping at the door made Chen Mo jump. The sword at his waist—Ash—was out in an instant, its keen point aimed at the reception room door.
"They're here already?!"
The temperature spiked so fast that Ch'en Huijie shot him an astonished look.
She didn't know what her "brother" was afraid of, but as a woman—and a senior officer—she would never let a man face danger alone.
"Stand behind me."
Ch'en Huijie stepped forward, tall and poised, shielding the silver-haired beauty behind her as if by instinct. Her voice came out cold and resolute.
"I know it's late to say this… but from now on, I'll protect you."
"Officer Ch'en… you can say something like that with a straight face and not even blush?"
Ch'en Huijie stiffened for a beat—then smoothed it away.
"…Looks like I'll need to properly discipline your manners and your speech later, my brother."
Chen Mo's face fell. Even the Ash blade drooped in his hand.
He was done for. Ch'en the nuisance had him in a death grip now.
The door opened.
"Am I interrupting something?"
The gang boss known as She-Wolf stepped inside, casually waving the documents in her hand.
"How about you put the weapon away and we sit down to talk?"
Ch'en Huijie gave her no courtesy at all. If anything, She-Wolf's appearance sharpened her aura to something even more severe.
"My brother and I have nothing to discuss with a criminal gang leader like you."
The gang conflict case could be dealt with slowly through questioning Chen Mo. But she would not allow her brother—Talulah's brother—to have any entanglement with this underworld figure.
Protecting men. Protecting family. That was her duty as a woman.
She-Wolf didn't seem to care about the hostility. Smiling, she sat across from them and tossed the file onto the table.
"You and Chen Mo have the same temper, Officer Ch'en. But don't misunderstand—this time I'm here to deliver something."
Chen Mo stepped forward and opened the file.
He scanned a few lines—and his face changed instantly.
"Where the hell did you get this?!"
Was this some kind of joke? Did his useless "cheat" power copy someone else's DNA when it made him?
Was that old dragon seriously keeping someone else's clothing—or hair—like some freaky souvenir?
He'd been thinking he might have to slip out tonight under cover of darkness, risk the checkpoints, and run to Rhodes Island.
But now…
Now there was no chance—and no need.
Seeing Chen Mo's shock, She-Wolf laughed out loud.
"Hahaha! You'd already guessed it long ago, hadn't you, Chen Mo?"
"Thanks to you, right after you collected your payout that day, that big shot's people came to me. I took the opportunity—and became his informant."
"And honestly, it was obvious. A man as strong as a monster like you was never going to have a simple background."
Ch'en Huijie, listening to the two of them speak in riddles, didn't bother with politeness. She leaned in—carefully keeping a respectful distance—and read the bold lines at the bottom of the document.
"Based on DNA analysis results, assuming no confounding external factors such as close-kin interference, the findings support the existence of a parent–child relationship between Chen Mo and Edward Atreias."
Ch'en Huijie wore an expression that said, As expected.
Chen Mo, however, just stared, stunned, only now managing to process it.
So for the past month—while that old dragon hadn't shown up to cause trouble—
This was what he'd been doing?
"Oh, right." She-Wolf lifted a finger as if remembering something. "That person also asked me to pass you a message."
Under the gaze of the two young draconic siblings, She-Wolf cleared her throat and spoke slowly:
"When you have time… come home more often."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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