Qiming Chapter 92

Chapter 92

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"I know her." Gu Yunfeng nodded with a bitter smile. He wanted to say that not only did he know her, but he had seen her before. Not only had he seen her, but she kept popping up everywhere like a fly, constantly involving herself in everything. Lately, he suspected that the person monitoring Xu Chengyue was Lin Xiangrong, otherwise, how else could she always appear in front of them, no matter where they were? Even when Fang Xing was cornered with no way out, she managed to swoop in and shoot him.

That was in a remote mountain region, miles away. Yet, she managed to be on the same flight as Xu Chengyue, then drove to the small town hidden in the mountains, and in front of the police, she elegantly silenced Fang Xing, keeping the last secret of Zhiyin Technology.

Hearing this, Ying Xizi lifted her head, wanting to say something but hesitating. In the end, she refrained from asking further. She unconsciously sighed, then turned to see a trail of messy footprints along the roadside, along with a small snowman they had built, no more than half a metre tall.

The miniature snowman had a chilli pepper stuck in its head, with a few branches serving as limbs, and stood alone in the wind and snow.

Xu Chengyue was dressed in a black wool coat, holding a grey scarf in his hand. As he walked out of the school gate, he took off his glasses to wipe away the fog, and suddenly heard a beep from the roadside.

Rubbing his eyes, he saw Gu Yunfeng, who had just rolled down the car window. Snow-covered green leaves fell onto Gu Yunfeng’s head as he leaned out. He gently brushed them off and gave Xu Chengyue a soft whistle.

Gu Yunfeng hadn’t had any particularly big cases recently and had asked for a few days off for annual leave, completely indulging in some relaxation. He often showed up when Xu Chengyue finished class or sometimes during class, like waiting for him at the school gate or even pretending to be a student to attend classes. There was even one time when he fell asleep in class, and Xu Chengyue had to wake him up.

Compared to that, waiting for him at the school gate seemed much more low-key and wouldn’t give him such a shock.

"Where are we going? Home or on a date?" Xu Chengyue asked as he opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. Taking off his coat, he sneezed solidly after five seconds.

"Captain Gu, aren’t you going to turn on the heating..."

"I forgot, I forgot," Gu Yunfeng quickly closed the window and turned on the heater, grabbing a blanket from under the seat and tossing it to Xu Chengyue.

Smiling, he said, "We’re going on a date."

Xu Chengyue, wearing only a thin sweater and wrapped in the blanket, showed a rare excitement on his usually calm face. "Where are we going on a date?"

"The detention centre."

As soon as he said that, he pulled out two tissues and sneezed for the second time.

Gu Yunfeng drove on, glancing nervously at him after hearing the two consecutive sneezes. "Maybe you should put your coat back on, the blanket’s too thin, don't catch a cold..."

"Detention centre?" Xu Chengyue’s face immediately fell.

"We’re really going to the detention centre for a date?"

He had been genuinely excited when he heard the word date. This was his first experience of snow, as last winter had been a warm one, with no snow for three whole months. Now that it was finally snowing again, he thought they’d at least roll around in the snow a bit, to satisfy his curiosity about this new experience.

But upon hearing the unfortunate news, his face immediately showed childlike disappointment, "Who are we meeting at the detention centre?"

"Ying Han," Gu Yunfeng replied.

Gu Yunfeng watched as Xu Chengyue’s expression changed, and he couldn’t help but want to laugh. He found a spot by the roadside to park the car, reached out to ruffle Xu Chengyue’s hair, and then wrapped the scarf around him.

Xu Chengyue looked at him with clear displeasure. The date location had fallen far short of his expectations, and the planned activities had gone from romantic snowy scenes to a visit to the detention centre for work. He was too embarrassed and frustrated to accept it.

"Why are you parking?"

"To kiss."

"What?"

"I said, to kiss." Gu Yunfeng pointed to his cheek.

"No."

"Then I’ll kiss you."

"Oh, that’s fine, kiss me," Xu Chengyue closed his eyes. Make him unhappy and still want him to take the initiative? That wasn’t happening. If Gu Yunfeng wanted to kiss him to make amends, that would settle the score.

But after keeping his eyes closed for quite some time, all he could hear was the quiet outside the car and the soft sound of snow falling. Inside the car, it was peaceful, with only the sound of their breathing.

After nearly a minute, Xu Chengyue angrily opened his eyes, "Why haven’t you kissed me yet?"

Gu Yunfeng finally couldn’t hold back his laughter, watching the anger that had suddenly appeared on Xu Chengyue’s face and feeling no guilt at all. He patted the back of the seat and said, "Xu Chengyue, you’re so different from when I first met you, haha..."

Back then, he was so cold and aloof, even seemed a bit emotionally distant, almost like a robot. But now, he was actually asking for a kiss, even if it was because Gu Yunfeng had tricked him into it.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?"

"Yes, yes."

This time, Xu Chengyue didn’t close his eyes. His sharp gaze bore into Gu Yunfeng, making him feel a bit uneasy, like he couldn’t muster the courage to move. He cupped Xu Chengyue’s face, closed his eyes, and leaned in for the kiss.

The moment their lips touched, their soft tongues tentatively brushed against each other, before becoming entwined, warm and passionate, invading each other's hurried breaths.

"Why did you close your eyes?" Xu Chengyue pried Gu Yunfeng’s eyes open, refusing to let it go.

"Do you think I’m ugly?"

Gu Yunfeng couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head quickly with a gentle look in his eyes, "No, I don't dare, you’re the most beautiful."

"Oh?"

"The most beautiful in the whole world, the most handsome in the entire universe, I’m just a little worse than you." Gu Yunfeng repeated, taking the chance to pinch Xu Chengyue’s cheek.

—————

At the Shangnan District Public Security Bureau.

Gu Yunfeng took the storage drive handed to him by Huang Chen, the captain of the criminal investigation team in Shangnan District, and opened the computer to play the surveillance footage from the investigation of Ying Han.

In the video, Ying Han looked noticeably worn out. He was still wearing his work uniform, indicating he had been taken during his working hours. A closer look revealed more grey hairs on his head, and he appeared listless, sitting in the chair as he answered the questions with a sense of desolation.

"Ying Han, right?"

"Yes."

"From 2019 to 2023, you worked in the neurosurgery department at Ruihe Hospital for five years. Starting in 2020, you served as the department head, overseeing all neurosurgery operations."

"That's right." The exchange began with non-confrontational questions, and Ying Han responded flawlessly.

In the video, Huang Chen casually asked his questions, while his peripheral vision meticulously tracked every small movement of Ying Han’s body – the involuntary trembling of his limbs, the sweat on his forehead, and the fingers touching his nose. Then, suddenly, his eyes turned sharp.

"Have you ever counted how many people died on your operating table because of those surgeries?"

Ying Han’s expression darkened, but he replied half-cooperatively and half-resistantly, "Which surgeries? I don’t understand what you mean. I’ve performed many surgeries, saved many people, and encountered many situations where I couldn’t do anything."

"Stop pretending. Wei Han, the one who was killed during that botched kidnapping, reported Ruihe Hospital’s illegal human experiments to us," Huang Chen continued. "Since 2020, you’ve been in charge of these experimental surgeries."

"Just from the list Wei Han gave us, there are five people, including his brother, who were volunteers during the same period. After our investigation, it’s confirmed that all five are dead. So, how many people were there in total, Dr. Ying? Why don’t you enlighten me?"

"There were no experiments." Ying Han hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed lightly, "This is all his conspiracy theory."

"I'm just doing my duty as a doctor, doing my best in every surgery."

Duty as a doctor? Huang Chen laughed coldly. “Are you worthy of the wronged souls that have died at your hands?”

With that, he slammed a list of names down in front of Ying Han. The names were clearly written, though they had gradually become a blur in his memory. Now, they resurfaced with startling clarity, bringing those once-forgotten faces back into focus.

Seeing the list, a trace of sorrow finally appeared on Ying Han’s face. Lowering his head, he murmured, "I’m sorry."

"But we never conducted illegal human experiments. There are risks with surgeries, and my skills weren’t advanced enough. I failed them, letting them die unjustly."

Perhaps it was the sudden chill in the air, the biting wind, or the snow that had begun to fall, but even in his white coat, Ying Han couldn’t ward off the cold. A gust blew open the window, and he suddenly coughed violently.

After taking a while to regain his composure, Ying Han lowered his head once more and said indifferently, "Each of their lives was a great contribution to the advancement of medicine and science. I only resent the fragility of life and the inadequacy of medical knowledge. Too often, surgery can’t save everyone."

Gu Yunfeng paused the video, rewinding it by a few minutes and stopping at the list that had appeared mysteriously. He zoomed in, carefully confirming that Xu Chengyue’s name wasn’t on the list. Relieved, he continued playing the video.

"That’s his attitude, completely insistent that he knows nothing. There's nothing we can do." Huang Chen sighed, a helpless expression on his face.

"Where did you get that list of illegal experiment volunteers?" Gu Yunfeng pointed at the screen.

"We made it up."

"Made it up?"

"We just wrote down everyone Ying Han failed to save during surgery over the years. Who cares if they were part of it or not?" Huang Chen explained with a carefree shrug. There were only about thirteen or fourteen who fit the criteria for the experiments, and eighty percent of them were probably victims.

"Hey, Yunfeng, how do you know this Dr. Ying?" Huang Chen had been surprised when Gu Yunfeng, his junior from the academy, called yesterday saying he wanted to visit someone in the detention centre.

After all, the two didn’t seem to have any connection. This doctor had been a law-abiding citizen, with no criminal record, though he was often harassed by medical troublemakers. But Gu Yunfeng and his team rarely got involved in those cases, so there was no reason for any contact.

"He’s..." Gu Yunfeng had been about to say that Ying Han had been his partner’s attending doctor and life-saving hero, but then he suddenly remembered that Xu Chengyue’s involvement had to remain hidden, no matter what, not a single detail could be leaked. So, he quickly changed his answer. "I know his daughter."

Daughter? Hearing this, Huang Chen’s eyes instantly lit up.

"Oh? Is something going on?"

"I’ve got plenty going on."

"What the hell? You're no longer single?" Huang Chen looked him up and down in surprise, firing off a series of rapid questions, "When? How did it happen? Is she good-looking? Does she have a slim waist? Long legs? Big chest?"

Amid the barrage of questions, Gu Yunfeng replied grumpily, "No chest."

He was certainly good-looking, but indeed, there was no chest. Professor Xu was rather lean and didn’t work out, where would the chest muscles come from?

He, on the other hand, did have some.

"Seriously, no chest," Gu Yunfeng repeated.

Hearing this, Huang Chen looked at him with a face full of pity, patting his shoulder in consolation, "Actually, looks and body don’t really matter, it’s all about feelings, love is the most important thing."

"When are you going to introduce her to me, shidi?" Huang Chen asked, grinning mischievously. (Angel: Shidi is a term for a junior brother.)

"Anytime, even now."

"What?"

"They're waiting for me outside."

‿︵‿︵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: September 17, 2024 by Angel

Edited: January 7, 2025 by Angel