Qiming Chapter 28

Chapter 28

---

In July, the cicadas' buzzing was like a torrent of arrows, overwhelming and penetrating every corner. Xu Chengyue had left the criminal investigation team early, suggesting that his home's door had been repaired.

He had thought he would feel an indescribable sense of relief, but standing at the door, he felt an unusual coldness. The speculation that Yuan Man might have a biological father left him suddenly unsure of whom to confide in.

Gu Yunfeng turned a corner and stopped at the door of Director Zhao's office on the second floor. Seeing the light still on in the office, he knocked lightly on the door.

Zhao Chuan was dealing with emails. Seeing that it was Gu Yunfeng, he didn't even raise his head and immediately began to scold him.

"Has the case been solved?"

"Not yet..."

"How long has it been?" He let go of the mouse, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. "A week? Any progress? Are you waiting for another person to die to provide you with clues?"

"I will investigate as soon as possible." He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Professor Xu gave a preliminary judgement on the initial crime scene of Cao Yan's murder."

"Where is it?"

After hearing the name of the place, the anger on Zhao Chuan's face subsided a bit. He searched on the map for a long time before pointing to a residential area. "This place, isn't it near your home?"

"Mhmm, it's my home, but I don't live there now, my father does."

"Your father... how has he been recently?" Zhao Chuan hesitated, then pointed to the sofa beside him, indicating for him to sit down.

"Still the same, worrisome." He answered truthfully. "He took early retirement last year, and with nothing to do after retirement, he just buys groceries, cooks, takes walks, and drinks."

"Has he quit smoking now?"

"He has, but now he drinks heavily."

"......" Zhao Chuan was silent. He knew that Gu Yunfeng had encountered some troubles in the past, but he hadn't looked into the specifics. He only heard that he had a troublesome father who had made his mother ill from anger.

"He's not chopping at his own hand with a kitchen knife anymore, is he?"

"He wouldn't dare." Gu Yunfeng sneered, glancing at his own hands. His eyelids softened. There was a deep scar on his palm. Ten years ago, out of curiosity, he had sought out a fortune-teller who, upon seeing the broken palm line, was shocked and said his career line, lifeline and love line would all face a major turning point before he turned thirty. This turning point, whether good or bad, was destined by fate, and he could either seize it himself in the future or pay the fortune-teller to help him avert the disaster in advance.

He, of course, chose to walk away and seize the future himself.

"Go to the scene tomorrow and investigate, take Xu Chengyue with you and see what you can find." Zhao Chuan waved his hand, signalling that he could leave. These days, he had countless times imagined the possibility that on the anniversary of his sister's death, he might discover that Cao Yan had been released on parole and regained freedom, and that Gu Tao, in a moment of impulse, had meticulously planned to send her to hell.

But if his father had any issues, he would definitely know. From the moment the scar on his palm appeared, from the moment the past was reconciled with the wind, he and his father had become an indestructible family. The bloody, heart-wrenching moments in his memory were like a constantly beating needle, stabbing them as they looked towards the future.

He had hidden this matter deep in his heart and body. He opened his hand, staring at the shocking scar on his palm, a painful testament to his life during those years of family turmoil and separation.

Gu Chunqiu had been a warm and bright girl during her lifetime. In his blurred memories, he clearly remembered the day of her accident, her college entrance exam results had just come out. Later, she passed away, and their mother filled out her college application on her behalf. A few months later, they received the admission notice from that school.

That notice had been kept in the drawer of the cabinet at home until a few days ago when they had those consecutive dreams. They took the notice to her grave and burned it to Gu Chunqiu.

In the first five years, all the adults seemed to be torturing each other. His mother resented his father, and this resentment grew deeper and more intense until they eventually divorced. He clearly remembered that on the day the divorce was finalised, his mother hugged him and cried bitterly while his father stood far away. Then his father took his hand and walked away, head down.

He turned his head to look at his mother from afar. That was the last time he saw her outside the hospital. After that, it was endless chemotherapy and surgeries. He and his father continued to care for her in the hospital until she, like his sister, left this world.

Gu Tao had started to quit smoking ever since Chunqiu's accident. His attempt to quit lasted for five years, on and off, never truly successful. Until his ex-wife passed away due to illness, on the night he kept vigil for her, Gu Tao couldn't resist lighting a cigarette. As the small room gradually filled with smoke, he suddenly went mad and threw the half-finished cigarette to the ground, stomping it out furiously.

Then, without any hesitation, he pulled out a knife from the drawer right in front of Gu Yunfeng and slashed at his own wrist.

That whole night was filled with Gu Tao's silent sobs. He watched as his thirteen-year-old son rushed over, one hand tightly gripping his father's wrist that held the knife, while the other hand met the blade, causing the wound to tear and bleed profusely.

The young boy gritted his teeth and, with a calm expression, asked, "What's the use of torturing yourself like this?"

Now, more than ten years later, Gu Yunfeng pushed open the door of the criminal investigation team. He knew that, for Gu Tao, there would never be a harder time than that. Seeing Cao Yan regaining her freedom now, he would only remark, "I'd recognise her even if she turned to bones."

Baihua Street, Nandao Jiayuan.

Xu Chengyue had been waiting in the living room for an hour when the music from the electronic door lock in his building's hallway finally started playing. A young man in a sports T-shirt and flip-flops peeked into his home. He was carrying an extremely heavy box and, panting heavily, placed it at the door, leaning boldly against the door frame as he called out to him.

"Xu Shixiong?"

"Xie Yu'an?" Hearing the voice, he walked over from the living room and turned on the ceiling lamp in the entrance hall.

Xie Yu'an smiled brightly and, with his flip-flops, stepped onto the freshly vacuumed carpet, causing the cleaning robot to circle him non-stop in alarm.

"This little guy doesn't seem to welcome me," he said, squatting down to change into slippers. He turned off the cleaning robot and placed it in a corner. Xie Yu'an was three years his junior in their shared discipline, not very tall, just over a metre seven, with a baby face that made him look like a high school student. Introduced by Lu Yong, they had interned at the same company. The difference was that Xie Yu'an stayed on after his internship, while Xu Chengyue pursued his PhD after graduating with a master's degree. 

"Teacher Lu said your door lock was broken and asked me to come fix it." He sat in the living room, downing a full glass of water. "It's so hot outside, and the elevator broke on the tenth floor. I had to carry that box up nine flights of stairs."

The elevator broke? It was the first time this year that the elevator malfunctioned. The property management was getting increasingly negligent. What were the maintenance fees even for? He shook his head and promptly reported the elevator fault.

"Shixiong, I checked your door, it's not just the lock that's broken, the whole door is about to fall apart." Xie Yu'an asked in shock, "What happened? Did a burglar break in?"

"Yes, a legal burglar." He chuckled, turning on his computer to reauthorise the home biometric security system, inputting his right index fingerprint and left iris.

"Yesterday, I suddenly passed out at home, and after I called the police, they broke down the door to save me."

"Tsk tsk, I was wondering who could be so powerful." Xie Yu'an pursed his lips, opening his toolbox and taking out a full set of installation equipment.

"Why did you pass out suddenly? Did you go to the hospital?"

"Not yet, I've been a bit busy lately. I'll go to see Dr. Ying for a check-up later."

"Dr. Ying? You mean Ying Xizi?" Xie Yu'an's eyes widened with sudden excitement.

"No, her father." Seeing his junior's disappointed expression, he walked to the spare room and dragged out the newly delivered door. "The old door is useless now. I bought a new one that matches the previous smart lock model."

In the month after his accidental fall, Xie Yu'an happened to meet Ying Xizi during a visit. With just one glance, he fell head over heels. As he put it, it was love at first sight. They chatted briefly and found out they were alumni. He eagerly added her on WeChat, hoping for a romantic encounter, but she never accepted his friend request.

"If you like her, you should visit our school more often. She works at the school hospital, and you can also see Teacher Lu frequently." He watched as Xie Yu'an bent down and found a stool of the right height, sitting down and tinkering with the door lock.

"We're really busy right now, finishing work at ten in the evening is normal, and past midnight counts as overtime. I even used the pretext of providing service to a company client to leave early today."

"Exploiting employees."

"Shixiong, didn't you also intern at Zhiyin Technology?" Xie Yu'an casually pulled out an electric drill. "It's even worse now than when you were there. Especially last year, when Zhiyin started aggressively developing its biomedical department, saying they wanted to create AI robots almost indistinguishable from humans."

"Hey, Shixiong, why do you think our internet company, which started with search engines, is branching out into unrelated fields like this?" He turned to Xu Chengyue, whispering, "And this year, they're even thinking of splitting off and going public, but our company doesn't need to raise money."

"You'd have to ask your boss, how would I know?" Xu Chengyue watched as the smart recognition lock cylinder fit seamlessly into the sturdy door, connecting to the embedded wiring.

"Shixiong, try it out. If it doesn't work, I'll adjust it." With that, Xu Chengyue found himself locked outside. Standing in the dark hallway, he extended his right index finger, passed the internal network authentication, and then completed the iris scan, unlocking automatically.

The door opened.

Inside, Xie Yu'an was so happy he jumped up and spun around. This junior of his was energetic and cheerful, finding joy in even the smallest successes.

"Shixiong, I've noticed you've changed a lot since that fall." Under the bright light, Xie Yu'an tidied up the box he had brought. The previously heavy equipment now seemed incredibly light.

"It's called prefrontal cortex damage, changes are normal." This was the medical explanation Dr. Ying gave for Xu Chengyue's personality shift. Considering the high-risk craniotomy he had undergone, recovering to his current state was already very fortunate.

"Then why are you getting along so well with Lu Yong now?"

"???" Xu Chengyue looked at him, puzzled.

"There was a time when your relationship was quite strained." Xie Yu'an said nonchalantly, "You're selectively damaged, you selectively forget the bad stuff, like how Lu Yong screwed you over."

—————

At seven o'clock in the morning., the criminal investigation team had cordoned off both sides of the Pudian River in the Shangnan District, the presumed initial crime scene.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the sun had not risen, leaving the sky overcast. Both sides of the river were lined with thirty-centimetre-high shrubs, overgrown with neglected weeds.

Two days ago, a heavy rain had washed away any potential evidence. The riverbanks were muddy, with occasional footprints that clearly belonged to children, likely playing there out of curiosity.

The personnel on-site were divided into three groups: one continued searching for possible traces within the crime area, another conducted door-to-door visits in the residential area to find potential witnesses, and the last group retrieved surveillance footage from within a two-kilometre radius.

He stayed at the scene, searching for physical evidence and traces with the technical investigation team. Xu Chengyue called to say he would be there in ten minutes, complaining about the hopeless traffic during rush hour. More frustratingly, the overly cautious self-driving program had chosen to stop and wait for the red light three times when there were three seconds left on the green light.

– Can't it just try to make it? Three seconds are enough to get through these traffic lights.

– It's for your safety.

He teased Professor Xu in reply, when someone suddenly slapped his shoulder heavily.

"Who???" He turned sharply to see Gu Tao standing in front of him with a vegetable basket, squinting at his phone's conversation. Gu Tao smirked, "Yo, chatting with a girl? Smiling so happily."

"......" He turned off his screen and pulled Gu Tao outside the cordon.

"What are you doing here?" He pointed at the yellow-black striped line, "You can't go in."

"I live here, it's perfectly normal for me to come over." Gu Tao nonchalantly found a small stool to sit on. "I was just buying vegetables over there and an old man said someone was dead here, a murder case, with limbs scattered everywhere, so I came to check it out."

"... What kind of nonsense is that?" He glared at his father helplessly. "Stop poking your nose into things."

Gu Tao suddenly realised, "So someone really is dead, otherwise, why would you be here?"

Ten minutes later, Xu Chengyue came running up, and from a hundred metres away, Gu Yunfeng saw him. Xu Chengyue pushed through the crowd, reached him, and bent over, panting heavily to catch his breath.

He found the skinny yet spirited old man, Gu Tao, somewhat familiar. Comparing the two men's appearances, he deduced they were likely father and son.

"Good morning, Uncle Gu," he greeted politely before turning his head to ask, "Why is your father here?"

"It's quite a coincidence," Gu Yunfeng explained awkwardly. "He lives in this neighbourhood and happened to be at the scene. Quite the coincidence, right?"

Xu Chengyue: "......"

"I've already sent Shu Pan to check the surveillance footage." He snapped a few photos of the scene and immediately received a text message from Wen Xin, asking him to quickly review the surveillance.

Turning his gaze to Xu Chengyue, he said, "How about you go and interview some of the residents?"

"Interview residents?"

"Interview my dad, since he's right here." As one of the related parties in this convoluted case, Gu Tao indeed needed to cooperate with the investigation. He beckoned Gu Tao over, who reluctantly walked over.

"I'm going to check the surveillance. Professor Xu, let me introduce you to my dad, Gu Tao. Feel free to ask him any questions. If he doesn't cooperate, call me, and I'll use some means to get him to talk."

"Ask? Ask what?" Gu Tao, still holding a basket of groceries, looked puzzled. "I need to go back and cook."

"Someone was killed here in the early hours of June 24th. Dad, cooperate with Officer Xu and answer all his questions truthfully."

"But these groceries..."

"It's still early, you won't be late for cooking." He then handed a notebook and pen to Xu Chengyue before hurrying away, leaving the two unfamiliar men staring at each other, wide-eyed.

What did Gu Yunfeng want him to ask? Mechanically, he opened the notebook to a blank page, standing there blankly.

Should he ask if he saw anything? Or if he had an alibi during the time of the crime?

The morning's overcast sky finally broke through with sunshine, the grey mist gradually dissipating, revealing a clear, cloudless sky. Gu Tao, seeing this, found a place to set down his basket of groceries. Before Xu Chengyue could speak, he began to ask questions.

"Young man, are you Gu Yunfeng's new colleague?"

"Yes."

"Aiyo, why would you choose to join the criminal investigation team?" He shook his head in dismay. "How old are you? Which year were you born? Where are you from? Do you live nearby? Just graduated? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Xu Chengyue: "......"

"How long have you been with the criminal investigation team?"

"A little over a week..."

"That's good then. This job is dangerous and tiring, look at Gu Yunfeng, prematurely aged and still without a girlfriend. Young man, think it over. You're so handsome, gentle, and refined, there are plenty of other things you could do."

Prematurely aged? To be fair, Gu Yunfeng did look mature and steady for his age but definitely not prematurely aged.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"N-no," he answered nervously.

"You should hurry up, don't wait until you're older and find there are only men around you."

Xu Chengyue: "???"

Gu Tao sighed, rubbing his temples. "What do you need to ask me?"

After much digression, they finally got back to the main topic. Xu Chengyue felt he was the one being interviewed, with his age, family, marital status, and hobbies all being scrutinised.

"Where were you and what were you doing from eight o'clock in the evening on June 23rd to six o'clock in the morning the next day?"

"I drank too much that day and went to bed early."

"Can anyone vouch for you?"

"Gu Yunfeng," he replied without hesitation, but then added seriously, "but he might have drunk too much too, so his words might not count."

"......"

—————

To the east of the Pudian River, a row of willow trees hung their leafy branches like curtains, obscuring the view. Feedback from several major docks in Nanpu City indicated that no boats passed through this shallow and narrow section of the river during the early hours of that day.

"The surveillance around this section of the river is sparse, mostly concentrated around the nearby neighbourhoods," Wen Xin pointed to the cameras on the fences of the riverbank neighbourhoods.

"The Shangnan District has two cameras in all four directions, covering the entry and exit of all personnel in the neighbourhood from the 23rd to the 24th. The fences are high and equipped with an electric fence, making it unlikely for anyone to climb over."

"There is a hotel two kilometres east along the river, with cameras that can capture the river's surface."

"What about upstream?"

"There is a camera one kilometre upstream, used for filming traffic violations. It's near the road and at a traffic light intersection, but due to its angle, it can't fully capture the river surface."

"Have you reviewed the footage?"

"Not yet..." she said hesitantly. "Captain Gu, the footage adds up to over a hundred hours."

"Then come with me to review it, we'll start from the uppermost part." He shielded his eyes from the glaring sun, slinging his jacket over his shoulder. "Where's Old Qin?"

"Uncle Qin said his child is sick..."

"Then call Professor Xu over, he can watch with us." He received a flurry of messages on his phone, indicating that the interviews had yielded no useful information, with the residents reporting nothing unusual or suspicious. An hour ago, the tech team restored Cao Yan's phone contacts and recent call records but found no suspicious numbers.

The murderer must have contacted Cao Yan somehow and lured her out. He had used the shared car Cao Yan rented without leaving a trace and managed to contact her secretly, ultimately causing her to drown in the river without any resistance. It was clear that they were not complete strangers.

Gu Yunfeng sat in the surveillance centre of the neighbourhood property management, reviewing footage from the critical cameras at the entrances and exits from ten o'clock in the morning on the 23rd to ten o'clock in the morning the next day.

He calmly opened the eight small screens and saw that Xu Chengyue had finally interviewed his father, seemingly just going through the motions.

However, sending the taciturn Professor Xu to face someone like his father, there was no telling who was actually interviewing whom.

"There are only a few of us here now," he said to Xu Chengyue, who had rushed to the surveillance centre. "The rest are either still interviewing the public or checking other surveillance footage. Shall we divide the tasks and watch these? If we really can't finish, we can take the videos back to the team."

There were so many videos to watch, and although they needed to be watched completely, he couldn't determine how long it would take.

"How many hours of surveillance?"

"Twenty-four hours, from a total of eight cameras."

"Then I should be able to handle it alone." Xu Chengyue stood behind Gu Yunfeng, arms crossed as he leaned against his chair, and he stared at the eight small screens in front of them. "It's best to also include the previous day's footage for comparison, making it sixteen screens in total. Set them all to thirty-two times speed, twenty-four hours of footage will take me forty-five minutes to remember completely."

He looked at Gu Yunfeng's astonished face and casually added, "Including all the details."

—————

Outside the window, a green bird flew by and the wind rustled the willow trees. The sky was split by a kite from who knows where, one half was clear, and the other half cloudy.

Gu Yunfeng and Wen Xin retreated to the corner of the surveillance room, staring in amazement at Xu Chengyue. He calmly watched the fast-forwarded footage as if he were watching a movie.

Forty-five minutes later, the video turned black as scheduled. Xu Chengyue sat in his chair, removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and picked up his cup to make some tea.

"How is it?"

"Comparing the footage from the last two days, no suspicious individuals entered the residential area," he said after a sip of water. "Only residents entered and exited. The footage also covered the streets and river near the residential area, there's nothing unusual."

Seeing the disbelief in their eyes, he pointed at the screens helplessly. "There wasn't much movement, so it was easy to remember the details."

"What about around four o'clock in the afternoon on the 23rd? What did the surveillance show?" Gu Yunfeng, still incredulous, replayed some of the footage, feeling like he was witnessing a miracle.

"Okay, I misspoke, there was a suspicious person," Xu Chengyue quickly corrected himself. "At three-fifty in the afternoon on the 23rd, a man who is not a resident entered through the east gate, carrying a bag of fruit. He wore a grey shirt, was about one metre eight in height, around twenty-five to thirty years old, and looked decent but didn't go to work during working hours, suspicious."

"Who's acting suspiciously?" Gu Yunfeng wanted to roll his eyes but couldn't help smiling.

"Do I need to find this person now?" Wen Xin asked, confused by their odd conversation, as she pointed to the small screens. "Shall I switch to three-fifty on the 23rd?"

"Pfft – it's not necessary." He reached out to tousle Wen Xin's hair. "That person was just visiting relatives."

Gu Yunfeng copied the footage to take back to the team. Based on public interviews and nearby surveillance, no suspect had been seen near this section of the river, and even Cao Yan herself had not been seen alive in the area.

She had drowned in this part of the river as if she had fallen from the sky, with no one able to explain how she appeared there.

"Could we have missed something? Or is this not the primary crime scene?"

"No, Cao Yan definitely drowned in this section of the river. Even with a margin of error, it wouldn't exceed a kilometre," Xu Chengyue said firmly.

"We searched the riverbanks two kilometres in both directions, reviewed the surveillance footage and interviewed residents, no one was in this area on the night of the incident," Gu Yunfeng said, bending to lift the police tape and walking along the riverbank.

He stood in the low grass, looking at the calm river, and said, "Maybe Cao Yan did drown here, but the murderer never came near this part of the river."

"By water? Boats? A rubber dinghy?" Xu Chengyue asked. If the murderer had rowed there and thrown the unconscious victim into the water, it could explain things.

"It's not possible by water. First, it would be too noticeable and easy to spot. Second, there's a camera two kilometres east of here. Following a west-to-east route, the murderer would have to continue east. The camera covers the waterway, but it didn't capture any suspicious boats that night."

How had he exploited the surveillance blind spots? He crouched in the grass, the river was obscured by thirty centimetres of weeds and drooping willow branches. Crossing his arms over his knees, he slowly stood up and suddenly noticed a white plastic bag swaying under the willow leaves, spinning gently in the water.

"The evidence from the Shangnan District included something strange," he said as he found the registered evidence record.

"Two pieces of cotton found in the victim's clothing."

"This cotton could have just floated into the river after she drowned, mingling with the river debris," he mused, feeling that these items were out of place.

"No, that's not right. Cotton wouldn't float after being soaked, it would absorb water and sink due to its increased density." Xu Chengyue walked to the riverbank, picked up the plastic bag that had floated to the shore, and prepared to throw it into the bin. "Cao Yan sank together with the cotton."

—————

"Sank together with the cotton..." The phrase echoed in Gu Yunfeng's mind.

Cao Yan, unconscious, sank into the river with the cotton, drowning in this section. The murderer hadn't come near this area, and the victim had only appeared in the river.

If the victim and several kilograms of cotton had fallen into the water together, the waterlogged cotton could have easily dragged a floating wooden box or cardboard box to the riverbed.

In that instant, a meticulously crafted plan suddenly came to mind.

"Chengyue, do you think this is possible?" He grabbed Xu Chengyue's wrist, pointing to the discarded white plastic bag in his hand.

"Suppose I fill this bag with cotton, then leave a small opening and put the bag into the water. Over time, the cotton would start to absorb water through the opening, and eventually, the bag would sink."

"That would indeed happen." He nodded.

"So, if the murderer strangled the victim unconscious and placed her on such a device, it could be a cardboard box or a wooden crate. She would float in the river for a while, and as the cotton absorbed water and its density increased, the box would sink, causing the unconscious Cao Yan to drown."

"She just happened to drown in this spot, so there were no traces found by the river or in the neighbourhood."

"If the quality of the cotton and the space it occupied were carefully calculated, it could be done." Xu Chengyue picked up a stone from the ground, bent sideways, and threw it along the river, causing splashes of water: "But why go through all the trouble?"

This was not a foolproof method. What if a boat passed by that night? What if Cao Yan got lucky and drifted to the shore and woke up herself?

The murderer's entire plan would be ruined.

"Because he didn't want to kill this woman with his own hands." Gu Yunfeng smiled, "This is the only method the murderer could think of, to avoid personally killing Cao Yan while hiding the primary crime scene."

Gu Yunfeng dialled Shu Pan's number, asking him to visit the delivery points in Jinping District, Dong'an District and Shangnan District to investigate if anyone had purchased a large quantity of cotton in the past week.

"Also, withdraw the people and send someone to search along the riverbank for any large wooden crates or cardboard boxes." Although the chances of finding anything were slim, he was still willing to try.

He stopped in his tracks and stood still. Turning around, he saw Xu Chengyue still leisurely following behind, using his slender, fair hand to shield his face from the sun, his eyes fixed on the calm yet unfathomable river surface.

The relationship between the murderer and Cao Yan was special. So special that the murderer harboured such immense hatred towards her, yet couldn't bring himself to end her life with his own hands.

Instead, he let the unconscious Cao Yan drift in the river, leaving her fate to chance.

He called out to Xu Chengyue and sent him an address on his phone: "Professor Xu, if you don't have any classes this afternoon, come with me to this place."

"Xingyu Orphanage?" Xu Chengyue glanced at the navigation he sent.

"Right. It was after visiting the orphanage that Cao Yan confirmed Yuan Man was her daughter." The summer sun was glaring, making it hard for him to keep his eyes open. He squinted and smiled lightly and openly: "I have a theory that needs to be verified at the orphanage."

If Yuan Man's biological father was still alive, and if he recognised this daughter who resembled him greatly, would he make a completely opposite choice from Cao Yan?

Would he fight with all his might to protect his daughter, becoming an anonymous knight in the darkness?

—————

He drove his car, bringing Shu Pan and Xu Chengyue along. Just as he shut the car door, he suddenly received a call from Yuan Man.

"Officer Gu, where are you?" As soon as he pressed the answer button, Yuan Man's clear and crisp voice came through, sounding like it was in a bustling and lively shopping mall.

Maybe because the background was too noisy, Yuan Man's voice was several decibels louder than usual. Gu Yunfeng had to hold the receiver a bit farther from his ear and said to her, "Working."

"Then when do you get off work? It's just about noon now, and I bought a lot of things I can't carry."

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah, I wanted to go shopping, so I went out by myself." She laughed softly, "I didn't expect to buy too much."

He was silent for a while, covering the receiver with his left hand and engaging in an intense internal struggle. It was work hours, and he was about to head to an important place, he should refuse the young girl's unreasonable request.

But listening to her light laughter, he could almost see her lonely yet delicate and timid heart with his eyes closed.

In the end, he put down the phone and said to Xu Chengyue, "Looks like you'll have to go to the orphanage alone." He pointed to the earpiece in his ear, "We'll keep in touch via voice communication."

"Boss, what does this big star want from you?" Shu Pan asked, blinking curiously after he hung up the call.

"Accompany her shopping."

"Aiyo, isn't that a good thing, why do you sound so resentful?"

"Do I sound resentful?"

"Yes, ask Professor Xu if you don't believe me, your face is full of grievance." Shu Pan patted Professor Xu on the shoulder, and Xu Chengyue nodded along.

"It's quite unsafe for her to be out alone," Gu Yunfeng said, shaking his head helplessly. "I don't know why she thought of calling me."

"She likes you, whenever something happens, she calls you first." Shu Pan said, cracking his knuckles, "Boss, if I were you, I'd quit being a cop and let her support me, living a life of leisure."

"Show some ambition..." He turned on the music and started the navigation.

"But she's still a minor, so it's inappropriate for you to make a move. Maybe wait a few years?"

"... Shut up." He just wanted to give this kid a heavy punch on the head to wake him up.

"Hurry up and get out."

Gu Yunfeng rolled up his sleeves and stepped on the accelerator. The navigation showed it was about twelve kilometres to the K11 in Dong'an District, where Yuan Man was shopping alone.

Xu Chengyue arrived at Xingyu Orphanage at three in the afternoon. The orphanage was on the westernmost edge of Nanpu City, about thirty kilometres away from Shangnan District. When he arrived, the children were all in class, and the yard was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of reading.

The director of the orphanage was a middle-aged woman in her forties with the surname Wu. She had long curly hair, wore glasses, and had a very dignified demeanour.

She warmly received Xu Chengyue, explaining that she had been transferred there three years ago. Before her arrival, there had been a negligence incident in the management of the orphanage, which caused a fire. Fortunately, the children were all out on a field trip that day, so there were no casualties. However, the management team at the time was completely replaced due to the incident.

"Negligence? What exactly happened?" Xu Chengyue asked.

"It was due to ageing electrical circuits. The issue had been mentioned a long time ago, but they didn't want to spend the money, so it was never addressed. Later, whether it was intentional or accidental, someone caused a short circuit in the archives room, which led to the fire."

Xu Chengyue had a small microphone clipped to the collar of his shirt, with an earpiece in his left ear, maintaining real-time contact with Gu Yunfeng.

"Ask her who caused the short circuit intentionally," said Gu Yunfeng, who was currently shopping. He adjusted his earpiece while carrying more than a dozen bags, standing in a shop that sold vintage phonographs.

Yuan Man, wearing a large mask, was selecting two ornate machines named 'Solar Constellation' and 'Moon Treasure Box'.

"What short circuit?" Yuan Man asked, her clear eyes looking at him.

Freeing one hand, he took the two not-so-light items and put his phone down. "There was an electrical problem at home, almost caused a fire. Luckily, my dad was there."

"Do you need to go back?" She timidly pulled down one corner of her mask, looking a bit anxious and expectant.

"He can handle it, I'm here to accompany you shopping."

Seeing the girl's sparkling eyes, he casually asked, "Have you received any more threatening letters recently?"

"No." She linked arms with his heavily burdened one, "I told you, it was just a prank."

"Still being followed?"

"I don't think so, I didn't feel it." Yuan Man pouted, put her mask back on, and looked around. She suddenly saw a white wedding dress in the shop window across the street and jumped up excitedly, "That dress is gorgeous!"

Hanging in a window with a deep blue background, several strings of star-shaped lights were more dazzling than the morning star in the night sky.

At that moment, the white dress seemed to come alive, dancing alone under the star-filled sky. The jewels on its skirt sparkled like fireflies in the night.

"I want to wear it and sing a quiet song for those who love me at the weekend concert."

"Many people love you." He imagined the scene of her wearing the white wedding dress and singing a slow song at the concert. It would be like a romantic poem. Despite everything she had gone through, Yuan Man was still an innocent and naive girl. She didn't understand how many expectations could lead to just as many disappointments. Would the song she so dearly wanted to sing really be heard?

"But I still hope there will be that one special person." She looked at Gu Yunfeng with determined eyes, then burst into laughter at his puzzled face. "If there isn't, then it's a song for all my fans."

—————

The author has something to say:

Mwah mwah mwah, thank you for your support

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

Translator Notes

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

Translated: July 5, 2024 by Angel

Edited: August 13, 2024 by Angel