S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 37

Ghost Murderer 05 - Happened Suddenly

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Gongsun sat in Bai Jintang’s car and they arrived at the front of a small, exquisite restaurant.

“We haven’t been here before.” Gongsun looked at the restaurant's entrance and felt quite refreshed.

“I just bought it.” Bai Jintang parked the car and the two of them got out. They headed towards the restaurant, where two waiters at the entrance opened the door.

Bai Jintang and Gongsun stepped inside the restaurant together.

The whole restaurant was decorated in an unusually romantic way, but there was only one table right in the middle. It was only then that Gongsun remembered that he hadn't looked at the name of the restaurant at the entrance, and stepped outside to take a look, only to see that it was – Wedding Anniversary.

Gongsun looked at Bai Jintang with some confusion, and saw him smile slightly, “There are three hundred and sixty-five days a year, and people get married every day, so there should be business here every day, but every year, no one can book a reservation for today.”

Gongsun laughed and looked around, thinking that Bai Jintang was quite romantic and should have spent a lot of time on this.

Bai Jintang took Gongsun to sit down. There was no music in the restaurant and no candlelight because Bai Jintang knew that Gongsun didn't like that.

But when Bai Jintang opened the bottle of carefully selected wine on the table, Gongsun was already delighted, as it was his favorite.

“There's something else for you.” Bai Jintang poured the wine for Gongsun and the two of them looked at each other as they tasted the wine.

Gongsun smiled, “We won’t be able to drive later.”

“I'll have the twins come and pick us up.”

“En.” Gongsun nodded and asked with a smile, “What’s the present?”

Bai Jintang smiled rather mysteriously, “Guess what I want to give you.”

Gongsun rested his chin on one hand, “It's a bit difficult.”

“If you don’t guess, you’ll be punished.” Bai Jintang reached over and tapped his fingers elegantly on the back of Gongsun's hand.

“Well…” Gongsun thought for a moment and asked, “is there a hint?”

“The one you've always wanted.” Bai Jintang laughed softly.

Gongsun was stunned, he hadn't wanted anything in a long time. Raising his eyes to look at Bai Jintang, Gongsun narrowed his eyes and saw the man smiling smugly.

Having really no clue, Gongsun was ready to admit defeat, what could Bai Jintang have gotten for him?

At that moment… there was suddenly the sharp and piercing sound of a car braking outside.

While Gongsun was slightly stunned, he saw Bai Jintang turn his face to look outside, then he stood up abruptly and pulled Gongun across the table.

At the same time, a loud ‘boom’ was heard, and in an instant, the wall facing the street was smashed open… and a car rushed in.

It was so sudden that Gongsun felt his whole body freeze. Bai Jintang pulled him aside, but the car was going too fast and the cabinets and tables it hit flew up.

“Keep your head down!” Bai Jintang pulled Gongsun into his arms and dodged to the side, and Gongsun felt as though they had flown… In the confusion, he heard the sound of brakes, and a muffled grunt from Bai Jintang.

Soon, everything was calm.

By the time Gongsun looked around again, the romantic restaurant had been turned into a wreck, and the wall facing the street was in ruins.

“Jintang?” Gongsun looked back at Bai Jintang, who still had his arm around him. He saw his eyes forced shut and blood slowly trickling down the side of his forehead.

“Jintang!” Gongsun sat up and wrapped his arms around Bai Jintang to look at him, panicking.

“Big Brother!” At this time, the restaurant staff that were busy in the kitchen all ran out and quickly called for an ambulance. Several ran to the car to look… What had rushed in was a taxi and its driver was leaning over the steering wheel, his eyes wide open… already dead.

“Jintang.” Gongsun wrapped his arms around Bai Jintang, not daring to check his breathing… 

Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, Zhao Zhen, and Bai Chi exited Food City after having a hearty meal.

Li Ying had had two glasses of wine and was a bit tipsy. She pulled all the handsome guys and said she wanted to go to another restaurant to drink and sing with beautiful people.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao reluctantly took charge of sending her back. Zhao Zhen had also drunk two glasses and felt tired, so Bai Chi helped him get into the car.

Just as he opened the car door, Bai Yutang's cell phone rang and he had no choice but to hand the slumped Li Ying to Zhan Zhao, who shoved her into the car.

“Hello?” Bai Yutang picked up the phone and frowned, “Hello? Gongsun? Take your time, talk slowly…”

Zhan Zhao turned around, and Bai Chi and Zhao Zhen on the other side looked over, and they saw Bai Yutang's face change, “In which hospital?”

After asking and hanging up the phone, he spoke to the group who had already realized what had happened, “Something has happened to Brother.”

……

After getting into the car and racing to the hospital, Bai Yutang and the others rushed to the door of the operating room and saw Da Ding, Xiao Ding, and many others outside, and Gongsun sitting on a bench on the side, his eyes a little blank.

“Gongsun.” Zhan Zhao walked over to him.

Gongsun slowly raised his head to look at him.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt a chill in their hearts, this was the first time they had seen this kind of look on Gongsun’s face – vulnerable.

Bai Chi sat down next to him and patted him on the shoulder as Gongsun looked down and continued to frown without saying anything.

“How is it?” Bai Yutang asked Xiao Ding.

“I don't know how that lunatic managed to drive into the restaurant!” Xiao Ding gritted his teeth and cursed.

“Big Brother's in surgery, and the doctor says he was hit in the head.” Da Ding was still slightly sensible and answered Bai Yutang.

“Is he in danger?” Zhan Zhao asked.

“It’s fifty-fifty.” Da Ding sighed.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and both couldn't help but frown, how could this happen…

The group didn't have the heart to say anything else, and they all waited outside the operating room.

Five minutes later, the door to the elevator opened and the SCI members rushed over.

Bai Yutang frowned, somewhat puzzled, “Why are you guys here?”

Ma Han walked over to Bai Yutang and whispered to him and Zhan Zhao, “The people from the traffic division just gave us the case, and we only found out that it was Brother Bai who got hurt after reading the information.

Bai Yutang frowned and asked, “What case? The car that caused the accident was a taxi?”

“That’s right,” Gongsun suddenly tilted his face up and said, “it was a taxi that suddenly barreled in.”

“Where’s the driver?” Bai Yutang asked.

“Dead!” Zhao Hu replied, “We've sent someone to gather information.”

Bai Yutang nodded, still a little confused. He looked at Zhan Zhao and saw that his face was not good, and he seemed a little puzzled. Everyone had the same thought in their mind – Why is it so coincidental? Is it really a divine arrangement? Or was it some other reason? It just happened to be today, and it just happened to be Gongsun and Bai Jintang who were involved?

In addition, Zhan Zhao also thought that he and Bai Yutang had just been involved in a car accident. If Bai Yutang hadn't been alert at the time, maybe something would have happened then too. Could there be any connection between them?

Seeing that Bai Yutang had a thousand things on his mind at the moment, Ma Han and the others were not in a position to say much, so they patted him and said, “Head, you continue to wait while we go and investigate first.”

“En.” Bai Yutang nodded.

The SCI members left and the others continued to wait.

Time passed, and finally, when the light above the operating room went out, the group's hearts trembled.

The door to the operating room pushed open and a doctor stepped out. Looking up as he removed his mask, he was startled to see the scene before him and asked, “The family…”

“How is he?” Bai Yutang asked, “I’m his brother.”

“Oh, he suffered an impact to the brain and there's a little bit of bruising left, but it will clear up on its own after a while. Other than a few scrapes on his hands, there's nothing too serious, he's very experienced and avoided the critical areas. He is awake and will be kept in hospital for twenty-four hours for observation and will be discharged if he has no adverse reactions.”

“That means…” Bai Chi looked at the doctor.

“Mhmm.” The doctor nodded, “He’s very lucky, almost unharmed.”

“Whew…” After hearing the doctor’s words, everyone let out a long sigh of relief, and Gongsun's pale face recovered a bit.

The men sent by Da Ding and Xiao Ding were sent away first, while Gongsun went to the ward with Bai Yutang and the others to visit Bai Jintang. 

In the single patient room, Bai Jintang was sitting with a circle of gauze wrapped around his head and a doctor was on the side, asking him questions.

Seeing the group enter, the doctor asked with a frown, “Which one of you is his family? He may have some problems.”

Everyone’s hearts that had just settled were racing again, and they looked at the doctor.

Then they heard Bai Jintang say, “Yutang, is this person arranged by you?”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other, and Gongsun walked over to his bedside, “Jintang?”

Bai Jintang seemed a little surprised and looked up at Gongsun.

When their eyes met, Gongsun froze, the way Bai Jintang looked at him… was not quite right.

“Brother?” Zhan Zhao also felt that something was not right and walked over to ask, “How are you?”

Bai Jintang shook his head and said, “A little dizzy, but this doctor told me it’s now 2010.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both nodded, and then a little at a loss, asked, “Brother… what year do you think it is?”

Bai Jintang was even more puzzled, asking, “Isn’t it 2007?”

……

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both stunned. Behind them, Bai Chi and Zhao Zhen widened their eyes. Gongsun, on the other hand, felt… blank.

“What's wrong with him?” Bai Yutang was a little agitated and asked the doctor, “That doctor just now clearly said he was fine.”

“He is indeed physically fine,” The doctor was still relatively calm, “however, it might be a residual effect of the blood pooling that caused him to lose three years of his memory, but it doesn’t matter, it should be recoverable.”

“How long will it take to recover?” Bai Chi asked.

“Maybe a day, maybe a year,” Gongsun suddenly spoke up, “maybe forever.”

The group was startled. Bai Jintang reached up and rubbed his forehead, not remembering what had happened, but raising his hand, he saw the ring on his left ring finger.

Bai Jintang froze and looked down at the ring in awe.

“Hey,” Zhan Zhao nudged Bai Yutang, “what should we do?”

Bai Yutang shook his head and looked at Bai Chi and Zhao Zhen at the side.

Bai Chi was also anxious, while Zhao Zhen had a helpless look on his face, “This… is a bit dramatic.”

“Big Brother,” Da Ding and Xiao Ding asked, “are you… teasing us?”

Bai Jintang frowned and glanced at them, and they took a step back in shock – That’s right, this was the same Bai Jintang as before, the one before he knew Gongsun.

“How many years exactly?” Bai Jintang asked Bai Yutang.

“Brother, you lost three years of memory in a car accident,” Bai Yutang said, “but it should come back soon… uh, these three years are very important to you.”

Bai Jintang froze, looked at the ring on his hand and asked, “I’m married?”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao nodded, “En.”

Bai Jintang was a little curious, “Who is your sister-in-law?”

Everyone was a little awkward, and when Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at Gongsun, they saw that Gongsun's face was now even uglier than when he was waiting outside the operating room.

“Who is it?” Bai Jintang looked at the group in confusion.

Da Ding and Xiao Ding reached out and pointed at Gongsun.

Bai Jintang froze and raised his eyes to look at Gongsun.

The two looked at each other, and after a long time, Bai Jintang suddenly laughed and shook his head, “You guys are saying that I'm married to a man?”

The group felt a chill at the back of their necks, because at this moment, Gongsun was radiating a chilling aura all around him.

Bai Jintang reached out, seemingly wanting to take the ring off, and Bai Chi hurriedly said, “Wait a minute.”

Bai Jintang raised his eyes to look at the group, and he heard Gongsun coldly say, “Don’t you dare take it off!”

Bai Jintang froze and looked at Gongsun. He saw that Gongsun’s face was pale, but his eyes were red, he seemed to be very emotional.

“Gongsun.” Zhan Zhao wanted to comfort Gongsun a little, after all, this was a special situation.

Gongsun gritted his teeth and looked at Bai Jintang, “Remember, if you dare to take it off, don’t put it back on for the rest of your life!” After saying that, he turned around and hurriedly walked away, even bumping into the cabinet by the door.

“Gongsun.” Zhan Zhao chased after him. Bai Chi looked around and chased after them.

Bai Jintang frowned slightly, leaning against the bed to look at Bai Yutang.

“Brother…” Bai Yutang was a bit helpless, and after a moment of silence, he said, “Take your time to get better, everything will be okay, but…” As he spoke, Bai Yutang pointed to the ring on his finger, “don’t take it off, I’m afraid you will regret it.”

Bai Jintang did not say anything, but finally decided not to take the ring off. He took some interest in the Gongsun that had just… indeed seemed a little familiar, but he could not remember who he was.

“Look after Brother and tell him about what has happened in the last three years while we go back and solve this case.” Bai Yutang said to the twins.

Zhao Zhen looked around and hurriedly followed him out. He would have liked to keep Bai Jintang company, but in his current condition, he didn't seem to know him.

“Big Brother,” Da Ding and Xiao Ding walked over, and Bai Jintang raised his hand and waved it, saying, “Get me more doctors in this area.”

“En.” Xiao Ding turned and walked away.

Bai Jintang looked at Da Ding, “Say, that man just now, what is his name?”

“Gongsun Ce.” Da Ding replied.

“What have I been doing for the past three years?” Bai Jintang asked.

“Dealing with work about one percent of the time.” Da Ding replied.

Bai Jintang felt a little strange, “What about the rest of the time?”

Da Ding was silent for a moment, then replied, “Gongsun, Gongsun, or Gongsun…”

Bai Jintang raised an eyebrow as Da Ding glanced at his ring and said, “You… mustn't do anything impulsive.”

“All right.” Bai Jintang sighed and said, “Specific things, piece by piece.”

“Oh.” Da Ding moved a chair to sit down and explained it all to Bai Jintang.

……

“Gongsun, do you want to go back and rest for a while?” Zhan Zhao chased after Gongsun and counseled him, “That, Brother didn’t mean it.”

“I know, I don’t care.” Gongsun quickly walked back to the forensic room, kicked the door open and kicked the stool away. He put on his gloves and prepared to handle the newly delivered bodies of the two drivers.

“Why don’t you take the next few days off?” Bai Yutang asked, “Spend some more time with Brother.”

Gongsun didn’t say anything and began dissecting the bodies.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both startled, thinking that Gongsun didn't look like he was going to dissect the body, but rather split the body.

“Sister-in-law…” Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang finally couldn't help but call out together.

Gongsun looked up and glared at the two men fiercely.

Both of them were a little helpless.

Gongsun put down his knife and gritted his teeth, “Bastard!”

“That’s right,” Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded, “he’s a bastard.”

Gongsun turned and went out.

“Gongsun, where are you going?” Zhan Zhao chased after him again.

“That bastard still owes me a gift!” Gongsun grunted in anger as he headed out, glaring murderously when he saw anyone, his mouth mumbling, “How dare you forget about me, I’m not finished with you!”

“What about the… autopsy?” When he left, Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang.

“I’ll do it.”

At this time, Ma Xin leaned into the room.

“Didn’t you go on a date with Luo Tian?” Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were surprised.

“I dumped him.” Ma Xin’s murderous aura was not much weaker than Gongsun’s.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's eyes widened – No way.

“What happened to you two?” Bai Chi was also puzzled.

Ma Xin narrowed her eyes, “What do you guys think the chances are that if I hit him hard in the head with a baseball bat, he'll only retain his memories of SCI and forget all the ones before that?”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other and calmly walked out, while Bai Chi hurriedly ran out after them.

Back in the SCI office, they saw Luo Yang sitting on the swivel chair next to Jiang Ping with a depressed look on his face, cuddling the little lion and sulking, while Luo Tian stood next to him with an innocent look on his face, watching his son's expression.

Zhan Zhao sighed and Bai Yutang held his forehead – why is it so messy?

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

I've had three exams this week and I nearly forgot that I upload on Fridays. Luckily I am about three weeks ahead and only had to edit the chapter. 

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

Translated: October 11, 2021