S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 106

Love Murderer 13 – The Past

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Xu Bao’s words made Zhan Zhao and the others a little dumbfounded. The old lady opened the gate and said, “Come in and sit down to talk, don’t stand at the gate.”

Bai Yutang nodded, and followed the old lady into the small courtyard. Xu Zhong and Xu Bao followed.

After entering the house, Bai Yutang looked around and saw that they were in a clean but simple room with snow-white walls and piles of bundled firewood on the side. In the urban and rural areas, there are elderly people who like to use coal stoves to burn wood and boil water. There is a lot of food in the house, and it can be seen that there are a lot of people taking care of this lady. On the wall facing the door in the living room, there is a spiritual stand, and on it, a black and white photo of Xu Tian and an incense burner… Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other and could obviously see that the old lady missed her son.

Everyone sat down, and Ma Han helped the old lady bring tea. Xu Zhong handed a cigarette to Bai Yutang, and Bai Yutang waved his hand, indicating that none of them smoked.

Xu Zhong retracted his hand and sat on a stool by the table, while Xu Bao sat on a bamboo chair by the door, lit a cigarette, and started smoking.

The way he smoked caught Zhan Zhao’s attention.

There were actually quite a few people who smoke in SCI, but none of them are addicted to it, only smoking a few cigarettes occasionally. After all, when you do this sort of work, you will see either carrion or a pervert, and cigarettes are a good sedative and relaxant. (Angel: Carrion is a term for decaying flesh.)

After a simple autopsy at the scene, Gongsun would stand by the door and smoke a cigarette if the corpse was disguising. When he smoked, Gongsun looked very melancholic, but only after an autopsy. Most of the time, it is dumbfounding, especially when he is wearing his white coat in the forensic room, holding a newspaper on his legs, wearing glasses, and holding a cigarette… like a decadent uncle, but he looks younger and more handsome.

Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Wang Chao also smoked occasionally, for professional needs. Ma Han is one of the heavier smokers, and he would sometimes smoke two cigarettes when there was nothing wrong. It is said that his habit developed during his many years as a sniper; before a mission, he would smoke to calm his heart so that his hands do not tremble later; after the mission, he would smoke to calm his heart so that his hands do not start shaking afterwards. Therefore, when he smoked, there was a sense of calmness. It is no wonder that a woman like Chen Jiayi was confused when she saw Ma Han smoke a cigarette.

Da Ding and Xiao Ding also smoked, though it is for posing or because they are in a good mood. In short, when they smoked, they would squint their eyes and smile with the corner of their mouths; it is a little scornful and a little cruel. They are afraid that people don’t know that they’d pay for what they have done sooner or later.

There is nothing to say about Bai Jintang’s smoking other than it’s sexy… To be able to smoke cigarettes like that can be regarded as unprecedented.

Luo Tian has already quit smoking because of Luoyang. He would occasionally take one out when he is on a mission, but most of the time he would just hold it in his hand. Zhan Zhao has carefully observed that most of his cigarettes burn out by themselves, as he would take two or three puffs at most, and always seems to be in a daze. If he wants to speak, he will put out the cigarette.

Zhao Zhen can imitate smoking in various ways because of the need for it in his performances, but he never smokes in real life, probably because he is too lazy to smoke. Bai Chi doesn’t smoke anymore, if he did, he would definitely be called a bad boy.

Zhan Zhao recalled that in his memory, Bai Yutang occasionally smoked a few cigarettes. There were a few serious cases where the appearance of the corpses were really disgusting and he would smoke a few cigarettes. However, after smoking, he would find a place to brush his teeth because of his OCD towards cleanliness… However, Zhan Zhao actually likes the way Bai Yutang smokes, as it makes him feel a little older. He and Bai Jintang have similar genes and can make simple movements very sexy.

Zhan Zhao never smokes. On one hand, it is out of health considerations, on the other hand, he has been studying psychology all year round; he has nerves as strong as steel, so even though he is the most gentle in SCI, he can be described as having the strongest endurance.

The appearance of Xu Bao smoking in front of him aroused Zhan Zhao’s interest because there was a kind of inexplicable vicissitudes of life. The vicissitudes of life are greater than sadness, and there is some…. guilt and some incomprehension, which was very interesting. (Angel: Vicissitudes of life is a Chinese idiom that is a metaphor of great changes in nature or many changes in the world.)

Seeing Zhan Zhao staring at Xu Bao in a daze, Bai Yutang asked Xu Bao, “You said that Xu Tian was destroyed by Zhang Miaomiao’s hands, can you tell me more about that?”

Xu Bao sighed, “Ask my brother to tell you, I am dumb.”

Everyone looked back at Xu Zhong.

Zhan Zhao first asked the old lady, “Mother-in-law, is there a picture of Zhang Miaomiao?”

The old lady thought for a while, and said, “I might have it in my bedroom, I’ll look for it.”

“I’ll help you.” Ma Han stood up and helped the old lady up.

The old lady looked at Ma Han for a while, then nodded with a smile, “Okay.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other; Ma Han’s temperament was so similar to Xu Tian’s, so the old lady thought that he was like her son.

The two left the room, and Bai Yutang looked at Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong sighed, “Zhang Miaomiao was not a woman from our village, she was from the city. She worked in the wool spinning factory here. She was very diligent, working two jobs, working at the wool spinning factory during the day and at the brick factory in the other village at night.”

Zhan Zhao nodded and asked, “Does Zhang Miaomiao have no family?”

“I haven’t heard about them.” Xu Zhong shook his head, “When she first came, she was a teenager. Think about it, if she had relatives, would they be willing to send such a little girl here to do such hard work? She also went to the sericulture farm to cut mulberry leaves on Sundays. At that time, all the adults in the village said to the group of boys that this little girl was beautiful and hardworking, and that whoever gets to marry her will be blessed.”

……

In the room, the old lady slowly looked through her things and sighed softly.

Ma Han knew that it must be uncomfortable for her to hear about what happened back then, so he closed the door gently and said to her, “Mother, don’t be in a hurry, take your time to look for it.”

The old lady looked at him and nodded. Then, the two of them sat down. While searching, the old lady told Ma Han about Xu Tian’s childhood.

……

“If she was a good girl, why do you have such an extreme opinion about her?” Zhan Zhao asked in confusion.

“This person, I really don’t know if she is good or bad.” Xu Zhong shook his head, “We were in our teens at the time, what did we know? We knew that Zhang Miaomiao was very beautiful, with delicate and tender skin, and very different from those wild girls in our village. I wanted to chase her, but I was scared after saying a few words to her. That girl’s mouth is cruel, she had a mean temper that was big, and she didn’t get close to people at all, barely saying anything all day.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, ‘So powerful?’

“What about Xu Tian?” Luo Tian asked, “I heard that he and Zhang Miaomiao were childhood sweethearts and had been with each other since they were teenagers.”

“En.” Xu Zhong nodded, “Brother Tian was very quiet, didn’t look cool, was never careless with hands-on fights, but he rarely lost his temper. He didn’t talk to others very much, he was more cultured than the rest of us, and he liked to read books.”

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows at Bai Yutang — ‘He looked like Ma Han, could all the powerful girls like this type?’

Bai Yutang couldn’t laugh or cry. He looked at Xu Zhong and listened to him continue.

“Brother Tian and Zhang Miaomiao worked in the brick factory. Seeing that she was a girl working at the factory and that it was unsafe for her to go out early and return late at night, he took very good care of her. Everyday, when Zhang Miaomiao got off of work at the textile factory, Brother Tian would pick her up and bring her dishes made by Mother Tian. After she finished eating, he would send her to the brick factory and the two would work the evening shift together. Brother Tian would then send her home after work and buy her breakfast.” Xu Zhong smiled and continued, “So, is a fierce woman afraid of stalkers? Brother Tian didn’t care about Zhang Miaomiao’s attitude towards him, he simply treated her well every day, rain or shine. Then Zhang Miaomiao began to fall in love with Brother Tian. She was also very filial to Mother Tian. Everything was already planned, as soon as Zhang Miaomiao reached legal age, they got married.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other; no matter how they heard it, they felt that this was a happy love story. Zhang Miaomiao was just a good girl with a hard mouth and a soft heart, how could she have become the demon in Xu Bao’s eyes?

“But everything was ruined that night.” Xu Zhong shook his head, “That night, Brother Tian was sick and couldn’t go to work at night. Zhang Miaomiao let him sleep and went to work by herself. On her way back from work that night, she was bitten by a vampire.”

“Vampire?” Bai Yutang frowned and asked, “Someone saw her get bitten? How could they tell that it was a vampire?”

“What was it if it wasn’t a vampire?” Xu Zhong asked, “It was almost dawn and she still hadn’t returned, so Brother Tian dragged himself out of bed and went to look for her. We found her in a haystack at the entrance of the village. There was a big bite mark on her neck and she was dying. When she was sent to the hospital, the doctor was terrified, saying that she was bitten and that half of her blood had bled out. Behind the haystack where Zhang Miaomiao was lying, there were several graves, all of which were from a long time ago.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other. At that time, people might have been superstitious, but now, most of them would think it was animals. No matter what, it is impossible to believe in the absurd idea that vampires are casually biting people.

“Later, she went crazy.” Xu Zhong continued.

“Crazy?” Zhan Zhao was surprised.

“She just shouts at and beats people, it’s like she became wicked.” Xu Zhong shook his head, “Brother Tian was with her every day, and sometimes she would bite or beat him.”

Zhan Zhao thought for a while, and said, “She was not crazy, but rather frightened and stimulated.”

“Brother Tian said the same.” Xu Zhong nodded, “We are not bad guys. Of course, we know that she is poor, but the adults in the village didn’t like her anymore, saying that she was bitten by a vampire and that she will be harmful in the future. The wool spinning factory and the brick factory fired her. When others asked Brother Tian, he would always say that she doesn’t remember being bitten, and that maybe it was a beast or something. However, everyone knew that Brother Tian was just protecting her.”

“What happened later?” Zhan Zhao asked, “Did you call the police?”

“We reported it to the police.” Xu Zhong nodded, “Brother Tian reported it, but police came to investigate and didn’t find out what really happened.”

Bai Yutang nodded and asked, “Is the officer still here?”

“He retired early.” Xu Zhong smiled, looking up at Bai Yutang, “Officer, did you grow up in the city?”

Bai Yutang was taken aback and nodded.

“There was a small police station in the countryside, and there were also militias. At that time, no one knew anything about criminal investigation, and there were very few thieves.”

Zhan Zhao then asked, “What happened later?”

“Later, Brother Tian took Zhang Miaomiao away.” Xu Zhong said, “After being gone for more than ten years, his mother didn’t recognize him when he came back... But when he came back, Zhang Miaomiao was cured and full of energy.”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao nodded.

“Later, they said that they wanted to get married, but the villagers were afraid of Zhang Miaomiao. On one hand, they felt that she was unclean and bitten by a vampire. On the other hand, she abducted Mother Tian’s son and kept him from returning for ten years. Later, when the two of them went to live in the city, Mother Tian refused to follow them, and Brother Tian would come back to visit her every week.” Xu Zhong frowned slightly, “Over the next ten years, everything went smoothly. Brother Tian did some business and had a good life, he even drove a car. He often brought things to Mother Tian, but Zhang Miaomiao never came with him… Brother Tian was not happy!”

“Unhappy?” Zhan Zhao was surprised, “Why was he unhappy?”

“I don’t know, I always worried about it.” Xu Zhong shook his head, “We have all heard that women in the city can spend a lot of money. We asked him if Zhang Miaomiao was difficult to raise, but he just shook his head and asked us to help him take care of his mother, as if he was handing her over to us. Then he went and committed suicide inexplicably.”

Zhan Zhao frowned; this was indeed a strange death.

“When we went to the funeral, we saw that the funeral was set up and managed by some kind of agent, and Zhang Miaomiao didn’t even let us see his face! The most annoying thing is that she also took away Brother Tian’s ashes!”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other — No ashes?!

At that moment, the bedroom door opened suddenly. Ma Han ran out hurriedly and said, “Captain!”

Everyone was taken aback by him. Xu Bao jumped up and asked, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with Mother Tian?!”

Everyone thought that something happened to the old lady, but they saw that the old lady had come out of the bedroom with Ma Han and was looking at him in confusion.

“Captain! Look!” Ma Han put an old photo on the table and said, “This is Zhang Miaomiao, who does she look like?”

Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, and Luo Tian all leaned forward. After taking a look, they all took a breath at the same time. Although her style had changed — isn’t that Zhang Ying?!

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Zhan Zhao really did a full-on analysis of all of their smoking styles...

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 30/31, 2021