Qiming Chapter 45

Chapter 45

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In the depths of the night, the city was illuminated by the bright lights and the hustle and bustle of nightlife.

Xu Chengyue sat on a high stool at the bar, staring at the television screen on the wall, which repeatedly broadcasted messages against pornography, gambling, and drugs. The black background with yellow text was very striking.

He turned his back on the noisy crowd and ordered a cocktail with brandy. Taking a sip, he found the taste acceptable and continued to drink slowly. It was still early, and a man was warming up the stage in the centre, dancing on a pole and teasing the keyboard player beside him. This was his first time in such a place, and he felt very uncomfortable with the unfamiliar environment, so he lowered his head and played with his phone.

"Handsome, are you alone?" Hearing the voice, he shook his glass and looked around, seeing a woman with heavy makeup and half-exposed cleavage approaching him. Her skirt barely covered her hips, her nails were bright red, and her hair was permed. She lightly jumped and sat on the high stool next to him.

"Alone." He nodded, raised his glass, took a sip, and placed it by his hand. Before he could continue speaking, he heard Gu Yunfeng's startled voice through his earpiece, "Isn't this a gay bar??? Why is a woman hitting on you?"

With a clatter, the glass beside his hand was knocked over, and the orange liquid spilt down the bar.

Xu Chengyue pursed his lips and frowned slightly, not wanting to talk to him at all.

An hour ago, he and Gu Yunfeng stood in front of a bar named 'Dynasty Men', debating for half an hour about who should go inside.

Standing under the criss-crossing lights of the sign, Gu Yunfeng pointed at the men going in and out and said, "I think, I'm really not suited for this kind of place."

"Why are you nervous?" Xu Chengyue leaned against the car door and asked in surprise, "I'll go in with you."

"No, no, it's even weirder if we go in together."

Gu Yunfeng looked at two strong, muscular men walking past him and felt a chill down his spine. He couldn't accept this scene and felt like calling the local police station to check if they were violating any laws.

"Haven't you ever been to a gay bar?" Logically, with his profession, he should have come across all sorts of people. It didn't make sense if he hadn't.

"I really haven't."

"I'm lucky not to have encountered one."

After saying this, Gu Yunfeng suspiciously looked him up and down, then pulled Xu Chengyue to a mirror, pointing at their reflections.

"Professor Xu, look, you're good-looking, women love you, and so do men."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're naturally delicate and carry a melancholic air. Compared to the flashy people in the bar, you're like a nobleman, a celestial being." Gu Yunfeng put an arm around his shoulder and winked at him, then pointed at his own reflection, "Look at me, all righteous and obviously straight, surely no one will bother me."

"You just don't want to go in, do you?" Xu Chengyue interrupted Gu Yunfeng, looking at his supposedly righteous face in the mirror. His eyes were big and bright, his brows were full of heroic spirit, his nose was high and defined, he really did have a righteous face.

"Choosing the more suitable person to go in is better. Use your charm to find out what Jiang Yang was doing in this bar." Gu Yunfeng smiled at him, "The moment I stand at that door, my heart will seize up, and I won't be able to move." They stood in a corner, their backs to the light, just shadows visible. A few burly men with beards glanced at them, then returned to the bar in a habitual manner.

Gu Yunfeng took off the hat he was wearing and fanned himself with it, "I have no connection with this place. If you encounter any danger, don't worry, Professor Xu. I'll rush in and pretend to be your boyfriend to save you."

Xu Chengyue: "......"

At this time, the bar was gradually filling up, and the volume of the music was gradually cranked up. The resident band moved to the dance floor, making it almost impossible for Xu Chengyue to hear the woman opposite him. However, when he heard Gu Yunfeng shouting in his earpiece, "Why is a woman hitting on you?" he couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh.

The heavily made-up woman caught the knocked-over glass in mid-air, but the alcohol spilt across the table, dripping onto the stained floor.

"Thank you."

"Aiya, you're welcome." She brushed her hair behind her ear. "Look, you're drinking here by yourself, and your glass has been knocked over. It so happens that the gentleman behind me would like to buy you a drink."

Xu Chengyue was taken aback. He looked up at the television screen, which had stopped broadcasting the anti-pornography, gambling, and drug messages and switched to a live comment feed.

The comment feed was filled with various instant messages looking for hookups.

"Are you a bartender?" he asked instinctively.

"Of course not." The woman seemed puzzled. She turned and patted the shoulder of the man behind her, and a man in a dark blue shirt with short hair and no fringe smiled at him and raised a half-filled glass.

The next moment, a Long Island iced tea was placed in front of him.

"I just wanted to help this gentleman get to know you," the woman said, sounding aggrieved.

"Damn, she's a pimp." Gu Yunfeng's voice echoed unsurprisingly, "Xu Chengyue, remember your mission, don't be ruled by desire! Don't be deceived by sweet talk from strangers! Don't drink what strangers offer!"

Desire? Deception?

Listening to Gu Yunfeng's excited warnings outside, Xu Chengyue felt a wave of exasperation. If he was so uneasy, why hide outside by himself? If he had the guts, he should come in.

"Thanks, I'm here alone to relax." Xu Chengyue nodded slightly and stopped the heavily made-up woman from leaving. "Don't go."

"I don't want to get to know him, I want to get to know you." With that, he pushed the Long Island iced tea aside and looked apologetically at the man behind her.

"Are you crazy, hitting on a woman in a gay bar?" Hearing Gu Yunfeng's nagging in his earpiece, Xu Chengyue frowned, wanting to respond but couldn't. Here, a woman with such a special status might know more.

"Aiyo, what's wrong, darling? Feeling down?" She leaned almost entirely on the bar, extending a slender arm to touch Xu Chengyue's face, which he blocked.

"Damn, just hearing her voice makes me sick." Gu Yunfeng's voice continued to instruct, "Alright, whether it's a man or a woman, follow our plan, play hard to get but don't give them any chance to take advantage."

Hadn't he had enough? What was with him today?

Suddenly, Xu Chengyue found Gu Yunfeng extremely annoying. Usually, he was quite steady, why was he so noisy today? Unable to bear it any longer, he pretended to drink and directly turned off the microphone and earpiece, taking a deep breath of the stuffy air. With the deafening music, the world finally felt quiet.

"What are you thinking about? Feeling unhappy?" She sat back on the stool.

"My lover passed away." Xu Chengyue lowered his head and spoke slowly, in a low voice. This was the script he and Gu Yunfeng had agreed on before coming in, fabricating a pitiful story to lower the other party's guard.

Not expecting such a reply, the heavily made-up woman was stunned for almost half a minute before she slowly responded, "My condolences."

"He used to be a regular here, so I came to have a look." Xu Chengyue began to choke up, "It's my first time here, and the familiar sights bring back memories, it should be lively."

"Your lover was a regular here? Which one?" she asked regretfully, her face still showing undisguised frivolity.

"His name was Jiang Yang."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the woman in front of him had an 'are you crazy' expression on her face.

About ten seconds later, she suddenly covered her mouth and laughed, "Hahaha, handsome, you must be joking."

"We were very sad about what happened to Mr Jiang, but you..."

She paused and continued, "You know, he had a wife. Mr Jiang was not interested in men. Every time he came here, it was always to drink and play games with some girls who were practically treated as air."

Xu Chengyue looked up sharply, seeing the woman's mocking gaze. "If you were really his lover, wouldn't you know that the only reason he came to this bar was because he was a major shareholder?"

Xu Chengyue: ???

Of course he had no idea. Why hadn't Gu Yunfeng mentioned this to him?

Xu Chengyue subconsciously reached for his earpiece to ask Gu Yunfeng, only to remember he had turned it off. The real problem was that the quality of the microphone was poor, and he had broken it in the process.

He sighed, unsure of the mess he had created that abruptly severed their communication. He could easily imagine Gu Yunfeng outside the bar, frantically adjusting his earpiece, his mind filled with thoughts of abduction, drugging, or assault.

So, what was he supposed to do now? They had barely started talking, and he had already blown his cover.

—————

Gu Yunfeng stood next to a sycamore tree at the street corner.

He had been examining the suddenly silent earpiece for a while and concluded it wasn't broken. The more he thought about it, something felt off.

Why had Xu Chengyue gone silent all of a sudden?

Was it a signal issue? Had he drunk something he shouldn't have? Been robbed? Or... assaulted?!

He quickly called Xu Chengyue, but no one answered.

By now, there weren't many people on the street, and the bar patrons were only entering, not leaving. Anxiously, he paced around the tree several times, reassuring himself that Professor Xu wasn't a helpless teenage girl.

But it was indeed his decision to send Professor Xu in alone that had led to this crisis.

After circling the tree a dozen times, he resolved that if he couldn't contact Professor Xu within ten minutes, he would storm in and extract him from that chaotic place.

He started at the time on his phone anxiously. The moonlight above was cold and clear, while the street below was noisy and chaotic. Cars passed by continuously, and a few drunken guys leaned against the guardrail, puking their guts out.

Suddenly, his screen lit up with a call from Forensic Doctor Xu.

Given the timing, it was likely the DNA test results had come in.

Typically, they would compare the target's blood sample with the city's DNA database and at the same time, collect blood samples from people around the victim for comparison. The city's database wasn't extensive, covering less than a tenth of the population. If the murderer was from out of province, they would have to request access to the national DNA database.

The other end of the line was quiet, and Xu Yuanqiao's tone was unusually cautious, with the faint sound of papers being shuffled.

"The test results for the bloodstain found in Jiang Yang's car have come back." As expected, he got straight to the point.

"Did you identify the source?" he asked.

"The city's DNA database is quite extensive, so we first compared it with those around the Jiang family."

"You'll find this hard to believe," Forensic Doctor Xu spread his hands on the other end of the phone, a puzzled look on his face.

"Was the result unusual?"

"Mhmm." He hesitated for a long time before saying, "I triple-checked to be sure–"

"The bloodstains, other than the victim's, belong to Lin Xiangrong."

On August 19th, Lin Xiangrong had a perfect alibi, being on the other side of the world. Yet, fresh blood belonging to Lin Xiangrong had been found at the crime scene.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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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 26, 2024 by Angel

Edited: September 23, 2024 by Angel