Retire because of the illness.
Although everyone knew that such a day would come, no one could have imagined that it would come so quickly.
Yan Xie didn’t know what to say for a while. However, Yu Zhu smiled when she looked at him; she got up and patted her cuffs: “Let’s go to your office and talk about the kidnapping case.”
Immediately after, she bypassed Yan Xie and walked straight towards the closed door of the vice-captain’s office.
——Jiang Ting is still in the office!
Yan Xie stepped forward and held the handle before Yu Zhu could reach out and pushed the door open. He smiled, “It’s a pity that my office is in a mess, and I haven’t had time to clean it up properly for a while. I’m afraid I’ll let Captain Yu see a joke…” said Yan Xie as he pushed open the door. He took half a step sideways skillfully, to block Yu Zhu’s vision.
There was a slight sound of movement from the cabinet door, but then everything was quiet.
Captain Yu walked into the office.
“Isn’t this very clean?” Captain Yu laughed, pulled out the armchair opposite the desk, and sat down, waving her hand to stop Yan Xie: “You don’t have to make tea, I can’t drink anything now. I have to listen to the Doctor’s advice every two steps — I am already a crippled person now.”
Yan Xie also pulled away the swivel chair, took advantage of the gap to check the office very quickly, and then smiled: “Where? You have made great contributions to the establishment of Jianning City, how can you say that about yourself?”
——He said it sincerely because it was the truth.
Yu Zhu is the first female police supervisor in Jianning City’s history and one of the highest-ranking female criminal investigators in the province’s public security system. More than 30 years ago, she started as a field trainee. She has done trace detection and technical investigation, participated in hundreds of operations in anti-drug, anti-smuggling, and explosive arrests hundreds of times, and has made more than ten contributions. More than ten years ago, when Wei Yao, from the main branch of criminal investigation, went to the local police station for training, she was transferred from the deputy director of the technical investigation detachment to be the deputy head of the criminal investigation detachment to lead the criminal investigation work of the City Bureau. Soon after, Wei Yao came back, and she was promoted to deputy director and was logically appointed. Then she establishes the main branch of criminal investigation at the department level.
If it weren’t for the heart problems that were found in the previous two years, that were even serious enough to have bypass surgery, there would be no problem for her to transfer to the Deputy Director-level leadership position.
“The hero doesn’t mention the courage of the past year. Let’s not mention the past.” Yu Zhu smiled, “Tell me about the kidnapping case this time. I heard from Deputy Director Wei that you insist this is not the first case. Is this not a single case, but a series of kidnappings?”
“Oh, that’s what happened.”
Yan Xie was well prepared and handed the information at hand to Yu Zhu to read, and at the same time gave a brief overview of Jiang Ting’s analysis, emphasising the kidnapper’s unusual sense of role division and ritual desire, and added: “It’s mainly because our original investigation idea has come to a dead-end, and it is almost impossible to move forward. The technical investigation found that the rental car company hired by Shen Xiaoqi was a WeChat public account that bought articles. He only said that he did not wait for Shen Xiaoqi outside the scenic spot on the night of the incident and didn’t know the rest of the questions. He has been interrogated for two hours; there is no gain so far as to why Shen Xiaoqi wants to go to the Tianzong Mountain Scenic Spot and whether he has been affected by any external factors…”
“The on-site search and rescue personnel did not find any clues in the mountains and forests?” Yu Zhu asked.
“Trace detection, police dogs, and life detectors are all available, and the scope of search and rescue has been pushed to the limit.” Yan Xie said, “In this season’s primaeval forests, finding the whereabouts of two children is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Yu Zhu nodded thoughtfully.
Yan Xie asked: “Do you think there is anything wrong with our reasoning to investigate serial cases?”
Judging from Yu Zhu’s reaction, she probably considered her words before saying, “I can’t say it’s wrong. On the contrary, it makes sense.”
Yan Xie’s expression was slightly relaxed.
“But only one thing caught my attention.”
Yan Xie: “Huh?”
“What you are good at is organisation and interrogation. Behaviour analysis is a little too professional for you.” Yu Zhu’s upper body moved slightly forward, looking into Yan Xie’s eyes: “Did anyone within the city bureau inspire you? “
It was just one or two seconds, Yan Xie calmly looked back at the other party’s searching gaze, but countless thoughts flashed through his mind instantly.
What is she testing?
What should I say?
“Oh, this.” Yan Xie blinked and smiled disinterestedly: “I was desperate, so I called and asked my dad. Didn’t our family invest in a private hospital? He should have asked a few psychiatrists outside.”
Yu Zhu thought for a moment, and finally slowly leaned back on the back of the chair:
“…Well, there is nothing wrong with that.”
Yan Xie smiled and did not answer.
“My physical condition is like this, it will be a matter of time before you take the lead independently. The captain of the criminal investigation unit is the most important position on the front line of public security and the first barrier to face crime. If your judgement is wrong, many people will suffer because of it. At the same time, if you let someone Influence your thoughts, many people will get illegitimate benefits because of it.”
Yu Zhu stood up, and Yan Xie also stood up, only to see that she pointedly said word by word:
“I hope that all your decisions will not be affected by any outside influence; even if the influence comes from within the seemingly calm City Council.”
Yan Xie: “……”
“Okay, I won’t bother you anymore.” Yu Zhu looked at her watch, reached out, and patted Yan Xie’s shoulder solemnly: “I’ll go to Director Lu’s office. Let’s talk later.”
Yan Xie wanted to say something, his lips moved, but he was stopped by her raised hand before he could speak.
Yu Zhu turned around and left the office with her hands behind her back.
Yan Xie stood behind the desk and watched her leave, his eyes flickering slightly. After a long while, Yu Zhu’s footsteps completely disappeared in the corridor, and he finally stepped forward and closed the office door.
Then he looked at the filing cabinet: “What do you think?”
The curtain moved behind him, and Jiang Ting came out.
Yan Xie suddenly turned his head to look and saw Jiang Ting flexing his stiff shoulders nonchalantly. As if he hadn’t heard what Yu Zhu said just now, he only asked, “How is the case file investigation going?”
………
At the same time, in Director Lu’s office.
The door was knocked on twice, and then Yu Zhu pushed in.
Director Lu’s eyes were glued to the computer screen, he didn’t even look away, and just raised his watch and waved: “You’re late, what are you doing?”
“It’s nothing, I chatted with Yan Xie about this case on the way.” Yu Zhu walked to the table and sat down, looking at the screen: “—you already started watching?”
Director Lu pushed the screen in her direction: “Yes.”
——She saw what was playing on the screen was the internal surveillance video of the City Bureau, and the time in the lower right corner was the early morning of May 8th.
Hu Weisheng died that night!
In the dimly lit office, only the screen was dimly lit, reflected on the dark faces of the two people, and the four eyes reflected the shaking images of the city bureau in the surveillance. After a long while, Captain Yu took a light breath and said in a low voice, “We Jianning City Bureau will eventually become the next Gongzhou?”
Director Lu glanced at her and suddenly said, “Speaking of Gongzhou, I think of a person.”
“Who?”
“You have co-directed several operations with Jiang Ting, the second-in-command of the former Gongzhou Anti-drug Unit. What’s your comment on him?”
When he mentioned this, Yu Zhu was stunned: “Jiang Ting?——Isn’t he already dead?”
“But it has always been said that Jiang Ting is the number one black police officer in Gongzhou.” Lu Ju asked, “I want to hear your opinion.”
“……”
Yu Zhu’s face had her usual restrained and cautious expression, and after thinking for a long time, she slowly said: “Jiang Ting’s case analysis is indeed very powerful; but apart from the case analysis, any other words that come out of his mouth are unreliable… He has a very special ability, that is, he is easy to believe, and even many experienced criminal investigators can hardly escape. I have seen many criminals in my life, but the one as good as Jiang Ting, the master of hiding and inducing people’s hearts, is really unique.”
Director Lu didn’t speak but raised his crossed fingers.
Captain Yu said, “I’m sure that the deaths of Yue Guangping, the deputy mayor of Gongzhou, and the undercover agent ‘Rivet’ were all related to him.”
………
The minute hand of the clock on the wall went round and round. Outside the window of the Criminal Investigation Detachment’s office, the red sunset gradually turned into a night. The smell of cigarettes and instant noodles permeated the entire corridor, fully soaking everyone’s lungs.
Ma Xiang weakly leaned against the door frame, and symbolically slapped the office door twice: “No, Brother Yan, the result is not ideal.”
Yan Xie was sitting behind the computer, and Jiang Ting was wearing a baseball cap and was sitting in the stack of files; the two of them raised their heads at the same time.
“In the past three years, there have been 2,864 cases of juvenile disappearance reported across the province; 216 cases were unsolved, and 19 cases were identified as kidnappings. Among the 19 unsolved kidnapping cases, 11 were male, 8 were female, and no hostages were found. In any case, it wasn’t a double kidnapping, and there was no ransom of more than 2 million yuan.” Ma Xiang slammed the information summary on the desk: “As for the double kidnapping cases that have been solved, there are 63 cases, most of them are less than ten years old and are relatives; the suspects are either squatting in prison or have already taken a bullet, and it is even less likely that they will commit the crime again.”
Yan Xie took the material and was about to open it when Jiang Ting waved at him.
Yan Xie had to go over with the materials, Jiang Ting sat and he stood there; the two gathered together to look at the stack of case files.
“What’s going on, I’m going to die this way.” Yan Xie murmured while bowing, “What should I do next?”
“It’s so easy to die.”
“How can it be so easy to die?”
“…..” Jiang Ting was about to turn the page when he suddenly stopped again and looked up at Yan Xie: “This idea is definitely correct, but there may be some problems with the screening method.”
Yan Xie raised half of his brows and motioned for him to continue.
“Let’s go back and look at the case again. After the six students arrived at the farmhouse, Tan Shuang took Bu Wei to pick up wood, and Shen Xiaoqi followed and left a clue for the return journey so that Tan Shuang could return to the hotel along the same path. During this process, Shen Xiaoqi was alone.”
Yan Xie nodded.
“We already know that the kidnappers have a good understanding of the situation of the Shen family, which is a premeditated stalking kidnapping. However, he did not take action when the target was alone, but waited until Shen Xiaoqi rescued Bu Wei and Tan Shuang left, and then started the kidnapping of these two.”
“Wait,” Yan Xie interrupted him: “Are you trying to say that Bu Wei may be suspected of committing a crime?”
“Before the hostages were rescued, even Shen Xiaoqi himself could not completely rule out of the suspicion.” Jiang Ting said, “I still have this common sense.”
Yan Xie: “Mmmm…”
“But let’s not mention whether the two hostages are suspected or not, and only discuss the normal situation. When the suspect negotiated with you as a ‘kidnapper’ rather than an ‘executor’, there is one thing that goes against the normal role of a kidnapper, that is, he didn’t take the initiative to mention the existence of Bu Wei, and he didn’t even try to ask the government for a ransom. It seems that on the surface, Bu Wei is just a necessary addition to him.”
Jiang Ting paused and looked at Yan Xie.
“Yeah,” Yan Xie was a little puzzled by what he said: “Because of this, we can’t judge whether Bu Wei is a pure hostage or not. If she is a victim, why did the kidnappers not use her as a threat to the police at all? If she is not a victim, or even one of the kidnappers, wouldn’t this distinction even more clearly arouse the suspicion of the police?——This is too contradictory to the kidnapper’s superb anti-reconnaissance ability.”
What he said made a lot of sense. Even Ma Xiang, who was tired not far away, listened intently and couldn’t help but move his chair closer.
But Jiang Ting shook his head and said, “Why don’t you understand what I mean?”
“…Hey you,” Yan Xie pit his hand on his shoulder, “Don’t leave it here to play dumb riddles, hurry up.”
Jiang Ting didn’t care about the small details of Yan Xie’s hand movements.
He said: “Bu Wei’s existence is useless for the ‘kidnapper’ character, but she was taken away. Could it be because the ‘executor’ needs her to exist?”
As if some kind of fog was cleared away, the eyes of the other two people in the office changed a bit.
“…Notary,” suddenly Yan Xie murmured, “a notary is usually needed at the scene of an execution.”
Ma Xiang slapped his thigh sharply.
“If the executioner only needs another hostage to appear as a notary, then just like in this case, the parent of the other kidnapped person will not receive an extortion call at all; and even if he calls the police, it will only be regarded as an ordinary disappearance or even leaving home. That is to say…”
Jiang Ting spread his hands, and Yan Xie immediately took his words: “—that is to say, our screening target should be another disappearance that happened in the same place and jurisdiction as the kidnapping case!”
Jiang Ting threw the thick stack of summaries at Ma Xiang, who immediately jumped up with a “Whoosh!”, turned around and rushed out.
“Brother Yan! Brother Yan!” Half an hour later, Ma Xiang pushed the door and rushed in, slamming the material onto the table.
Yan Xie suddenly raised his head, and Jiang Ting got up and walked over as if he had a premonition.
“On July 12 last year, a 16-year-old boy named He Liang was kidnapped in Longchang Town, Jiangyang County. The kidnappers extorted 1 million yuan and the time limit was 72 hours. The money was sent to the place designated by the kidnappers, but no one came to get it. On the fourth day, the parents finally went to the police station to report the case, but it was already too late, and the police have yet to find He Liang’s body.”
Ma Xiang opened the material and pointed to a few pages: “There are two things worth noting about this case, one is that the parents received the bloody clothes sent by the kidnappers, but the test later confirmed that it was chicken blood; the other is that although the materials are there but the keyword execution does not appear. But that’s because the case is not in Jianning, our dossier is incomplete, and we lack detailed information about the police station.”
Yan Xie didn’t say a word, and shouted outside: “Someone come in!
A red-eyed police officer rushed in.
“Call the police station of Longchang Town, Jiangyang County immediately, and ask them to fax over the first-hand transcript of last year’s 712 He Liang kidnapping case!”
“Yes!” The police officer turned around and rushed out.
Ma Xiang take out another piece of printing paper: “According to Consultant Lu’s speculation, on the same day, in the same place, and in the same jurisdiction, the 110 Police Centre of Jiangyang County received a call from the parents of another 16-year-old girl, Li Yuxin, saying that she was scolded by her family and disappeared because of her declining academic performance. She was suspected of running away from home. The local police force was tense. On July 13, the police did not file a case until 24 hours later. But the family went to the police station to withdraw the case on the night of the 15th. The daughter came back when she lost her anger.”
Yan Xie and Jiang Ting glanced at each other.
——She came back herself.
“Has this Li Yuxin disappeared afterwards?” Yan Xie asked.
“No, but she ended up in the detention centre because of the repeated theft. At the same time, it is worth noting that I checked the map,” Ma Xiang turned over the paper with densely printed information: “Li Yuxin studied in Jiangyang No. 1 Middle School, and He Liang attended the High School Affiliated to the Normal University; the two schools are separated by a door-to-door relationship, and the geographical distance is less than 200 metres.”
The same youthful boys and girls, door to door, basically mixed together when going to and from school…
The words “Zhi Mu Shao Ai”¹ popped up in everyone’s mind at the same time.
“Jiangyang No. 1 Middle School.” Suddenly Yan Xie pondered: “Although I didn’t attend classes properly in high school… I remember that the No. 1 middle school in a certain place is one of the best school in the area.”
Ma Xiang affirmed: “Yes, Jiangyang No. 1 Middle School is quite famous. I just found out that they are the champions of the college entrance examination.”
“The girl who was admitted to the best high school in the area and was scolded by her parents because of her declining academic performance, why did she enter the detention centre for repeatedly stealing——does she have a record of stealing before?”
“No, but it’s possible that she didn’t leave a record under the age of sixteen…” Ma Xiang couldn’t explain: “It’s quite weird.”
“It might be kleptomania,” Jiang Ting said lightly.
Yan Xie and Ma Xiang cast their gazes at the same time.
“Kleptomania usually occurs in women. It is more common among women over fifteen and under twenty years old. Most of the symptoms are psychogenic and are induced by external factors.” Jiang Ting said: “If she had been a ‘notary’, then it could be a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.”
He looked a little dark when he said the last words, but no one in the office could see it clearly in the night.
“Vice Yan, the transcript you want!” The criminal policeman who was called just now came back and rushed into the room with the hot fax that was just sent: “I just received a fax from the Longchang Town Police Station. This is last year’s 712 first-hand police information of the case!”
Yan Xie’s whole body was instantly energised. He took the transcript with a lightning speed, opened it and only glanced at it twice, then pointed to a certain page to show Jiang Ting.
That was the extortion phone record dictated by the local police to He Liang’s parents——
“The voice said: ‘One million, not a cent less, seventy-two hours before the execution time.'”
Jiang Ting said, “It’s him.”
Snapped!
Yan Xie and Jiang Ting gave a heavy high-five, even though the latter was caught off guard and almost stumbled half a step by the slap.
“When Laozi catches that grandson, I’ll kill him alive!” Yan Xie was full of joy, ignoring his hoarse voice due to lack of sleep: “Ma Xiang, go check in which detention centre Lu Yuxin is and how long it takes to go there from Jianning?!”
Ma Xiang said, “Do I still need you to tell me this? It’s Jiangyang County Detention Centre. If you drive fast, it is a three-hour one-way trip. Do you wanna go there now?”
Yan Xie looked at his watch, it was 1:14 in the morning.
“Yes!” Yan Xie grabbed his documents, uniform and gun like a gust of wind crossing the border: “Ma Xiang sent your Consultant Lu home to rest, and called a boy who was not on duty during the day to take me to Jiangyang, and notified Director Lu to greet the local detention centre —— I’m going to interrogate that little girl surnamed Li overnight!”
Suddenly his hand was grabbed from behind, Yan Xie turned around, only to see Jiang Ting saying solemnly, “I’ll go with you.”
“Your body…”
“It’s okay, I’ll sleep in the car.” Jiang Ting replied concisely: “The case is important.”
1:20 in the morning.
The Criminal Investigation Building was brightly lit all night. Downstairs, the Cherokee’s red and blue police lights were lit and it rushed out of the gate of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
“Consultant Lu is really incredibly good. Sure enough, this kidnapping is not an isolated case. The kidnapper’s anti-reconnaissance ability and accurate grasp of time can also prove that he is a veteran.” Although Ma Xiang was stopped several times by Yan Xie and was told to go home and sleep, Ma Xiang still followed the car with the case file materials, and sat on the co-pilot to flip through the pages: “Now we only need to find Li Yuxin; this little girl must know the information about the kidnapper, at least she has dealt with the pervert head-on…”
“Not necessarily,” Jiang Ting’s voice came from the back seat.
Ma Xiang turned his head: “Huh?”
Before leaving, Yan Xie grabbed a small policeman named Zhang to drive the car, and he and Jiang Ting sat in the back seat. The carriage was dark in the middle of the night, and he could vaguely see Jiang Ting’s pale face due to fatigue. But he still spoke very calmly: “If Li Yuxin had dealt with the kidnapper head-on, and even saw the kidnapper’s face, why would he release her intact? it’s an unexplained problem at the moment.”
“Then our way of thinking…”
“The idea itself is correct, but there is one thing: our analysis is not based on facts, but on behavioural logical reasoning.”
“Huh?!” Ma Xiang became confused.
“…Don’t understand?” Jiang Ting asked back, looking at his innocently blinking eyes.
Ma Xiang said honestly: “Maybe during the daytime, but at the moment my IQ is only one-tenth of the daytime…”
Yan Xie has been looking out of the car window since he got in the car, and did not know what to look for along the side of the road. Hearing this, he said coldly: “Listen to him, his IQ during the day is at most 70!”
Ma Xiang pursed his lips, feeling extremely wronged and Jiang Ting laughed.
“The police’s logical analysis of the suspect’s behaviour is just like the legendary psychological portraits and micro-expression recognition; lacks scientific proof and mainly relies on experience. Although we say that the massive practical experience of criminal investigators is based on behavioural analysis. But empiricism is empiricism in the end. If there is a lack of solid evidence, even if the criminal mental portrait and behavioural logic analysis can achieve a 99% correct rate, the fatal error of 1% cannot be avoided.”
“For example,” Jiang Ting saw Ma Xiang’s serious appearance, and rarely became interested: “What do you think, what is the basis for our assumption that the kidnapping is not an isolated case?”
“Well…” Ma Xiang said hesitantly: “The 712 kidnapping showed a shirt soaked in chicken blood, and a keyword for execution appeared. At the same time, it basically meets the premise that two teenagers, a boy and a girl, disappeared at the same time…”
“But we still can’t be sure that the two cases were done by the same person. What if there is another group of kidnappers who like to use bloody clothes to threaten the families of hostages, and at the same time watch a lot of criminal investigation dramas and like to use the word execution and have some anti-reconnaissance methods? What if Li Yuxin’s disappearance was really just a runaway from home, and it was just a coincidence with the kidnapping of He Liang in 712?”
Ma Xiang was speechless.
“Besides, there is an unexplainable part, that is, why the Shen Xiaoqi case used a shirt soaked in the blood of the white-tailed sea eagle, and the kidnappers demanded 200 million yuan; last year’s 712 case was a chicken blood shirt and a million yuan ransom.” Jiang Ting said, “We cannot deny that there are all kinds of coincidences in this world, and at the same time, we cannot rule out the possibility of imitating crimes. Therefore, in the absence of evidence, the so-called criminal mental portraits and behavioural logic analysis are just gorgeous on paper.”
As if Ma Xiang realised something, he nodded silently.
“—But Consultant Lu,” he couldn’t help but ask after a while, “If, as you said, we really encountered the 1% possibility, all behavioural analysis and inferences would be wrong…”
Jiang Ting did not leave him any chance of luck: “Then the two children are dead.”
The car fell into silence, the air was slightly condensed, and even the policeman who was driving couldn’t help shivering.
“This is normal during the detection process of any case.” After a long time, Yan Xie’s hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
Ma Xiang looked back at him from the co-pilot seat.
“Criminal investigators are not gods. In the process of fighting crimes, they will inevitably be overwhelmed, and even make mistakes in judgement. We pay a heavy price for this, and it even leaves an unforgettable shadow. But that is unavoidable for every old criminal police officer. The most important thing is, next time when we face crime can we stand up again with scars and shadows and do our best.”
Yan Xie’s voice paused slightly.
At his side, Jiang Ting seemed to be aware, and gave him a very inconspicuous glance.
All of a sudden, he heard Yan Xie’s “hey” sound: “Xiao Zhang, pull over and stop in front.”
The policeman driving the car didn’t know why, but he still did as he was told, and slowly stopped in front of the convenience store. As soon as the car stopped, Yan Xie pushed the door and got out, and came back with a bag of things after a while.
“Here, refresh yourself to drive the car at night.” Yan Xie handed Red Bull, coffee and snacks to the front row, and then put two steaming buns in Jiang Ting’s hand:
“You don’t eat instant noodles in the evening. You’re used to it, so I bought two bean paste buns to eat.”
Jiang Ting was a little stunned.
Yan Xie said: “After eating, hurry up and sleep for a while. Ma Xiang also didn’t read the whole material. When Li Yuxin would be interrogated, we will have a tough battle to fight.”
………
Cherokee flashed the police lights on the road in the middle of the night, like a lonely boat splitting the Black Sea.
Yan Xie leaned against the rear window, only to hear from the front row that Ma Xiang and Xiao Zhang were chatting with each other. After a while, Ma Xiang tilted his head, and a low snoring sounded. He noticed that the sound of the plastic bags on his side had not been stopped. It was Jiang Ting nibbling on the buns, and the back seat was filled with the sweet smell of red bean paste.
After a few more minutes, the slight cat like movement stopped, and a warm weight gradually came from his side.
Yan Xie opened half of his eyelids and saw that Jiang Ting had eaten half of the sweet buns, and he was so sleepy that he was gradually leaning towards his shoulder.
“…..”
Yan Xie’s arm was suddenly as heavy as if a thousand tons, and after several impulses, he finally lifted it up slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around Jiang Ting’s shoulder, making him lean into his arms more comfortably.
The long road seemed to be endless, the car was slightly bumpy, and the dimly lit street lights passed quickly from both sides.
The city night and the lights of thousands of homes were left behind, and the city bureau building they set off from was already submerged in the sea of lights. All the details of the weird case and the dangerous and unpredictable future seem to be like the tide under the moonlight, and at this moment it recedes far away.
The only thing left in the whole world is the back seat in, dark, small and private, and the warmth that rises and falls calmly with the breath in his arms.
Yan Xie opened his eyes, although he didn’t know what he was looking at, he seemed to be in a dream-like void.
He slowly tilted his head to look at Jiang Ting.
Jiang Ting’s body was softer than he imagined, which was a bit unexpected by Yan Xie. In his impression, Captain Jiang should be thin, solid and extremely sharp. But he didn’t expect him to be soft like a fluffy feather. His breathing was light and well-proportioned; the constantly swept-back street lamps shone a little light on his jet-black temple hair, and there was a faint smell in his hair. Yan Xie sniffed it for a while, fascinated; just now he was sure it was the smell of his own shampoo.
Washing your hair every day is really important, Yan Xie thought.
He stared at Jiang Ting’s cheek, and a thought suddenly popped up in his heart: Would a person like him have soft and delicate skin?
Yan Xie brushed the hair on Jiang Ting’s forehead with his thumb, and pushed the bangs over and over again, the soft hair kept rubbing against the pulp of his fingers. He didn’t know what he was doing either. This action made all the sleepiness and fatigue disappear strangely. By the time he reacted, his thumb had been slowly rubbing Jiang Ting’s forehead to the corner of his cheek and mouth, and kept lingering on his pal red lips.
Yan Xie thought in a daze, this feeling is really strange.
Although they have only been with each other for less than two months, they seem to have known each other for a long, long time. For a long time, as long as he remembers the existence of this surname Jiang, he feels like there is more worry in his heart. This feeling is heavy and light, troublesome and anticipating. It is difficult to let go and doesn’t want to leave, as if the whole person is trapped in a slimy dream.
“you……”
Jiang Ting murmured something, but Yan Xie didn’t hear it clearly. He rubbed his face against Yan Xie’s shoulder.
Yan Xie’s fingers stopped for a moment.
The vehicle was still galloping, the back seat was bumping regularly, and Ma Xiang’s unconscious shout came from the front row. After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Ting curled up, as if he had found a more comfortable and relaxed position in his sleep.
Yan Xie kept looking at him without blinking, until Jiang Ting fell into a deep sleep. Yan Xie’s eyes were attracted by the sticky point on the corner of his mouth — it was bean paste the size of a grain of rice.
“…..”
Yan Xie’s Adam’s apple slid down, but his saliva seemed to be dry.
As if under some kind of spell, he held his breath and raised his hand, tucked the little bean paste, and then smugly put his fingertips in his mouth.
A hint of sweetness smeared in the mouth.
Really sweet, he thought in a trance.
Suddenly, at this moment, he felt that something was wrong.
——Jiang Ting’s breathing stopped for a moment.
The air suddenly solidified, no one moved, and all the reactions seemed to be as if a paused button had been pressed; only the sound of the car’s steady speeding forward was suddenly particularly clear.
Jiang Ting didn’t open his eyes, and Yan Xie’s hand was hanging in the air.
Don’t know how long it took before Yan Xie asked very lightly from the gap between his lips:
“…Are you awake?”
Retire because of the illness.
Although everyone knew that such a day would come, no one could have imagined that it would come so quickly.
Yan Xie didn’t know what to say for a while. However, Yu Zhu smiled when she looked at him; she got up and patted her cuffs: “Let’s go to your office and talk about the kidnapping case.”
Immediately after, she bypassed Yan Xie and walked straight towards the closed door of the vice-captain’s office.
——Jiang Ting is still in the office!
Yan Xie stepped forward and held the handle before Yu Zhu could reach out and pushed the door open. He smiled, “It’s a pity that my office is in a mess, and I haven’t had time to clean it up properly for a while. I’m afraid I’ll let Captain Yu see a joke…” said Yan Xie as he pushed open the door. He took half a step sideways skillfully, to block Yu Zhu’s vision.
There was a slight sound of movement from the cabinet door, but then everything was quiet.
Captain Yu walked into the office.
“Isn’t this very clean?” Captain Yu laughed, pulled out the armchair opposite the desk, and sat down, waving her hand to stop Yan Xie: “You don’t have to make tea, I can’t drink anything now. I have to listen to the Doctor’s advice every two steps — I am already a crippled person now.”
Yan Xie also pulled away the swivel chair, took advantage of the gap to check the office very quickly, and then smiled: “Where? You have made great contributions to the establishment of Jianning City, how can you say that about yourself?”
——He said it sincerely because it was the truth.
Yu Zhu is the first female police supervisor in Jianning City’s history and one of the highest-ranking female criminal investigators in the province’s public security system. More than 30 years ago, she started as a field trainee. She has done trace detection and technical investigation, participated in hundreds of operations in anti-drug, anti-smuggling, and explosive arrests hundreds of times, and has made more than ten contributions. More than ten years ago, when Wei Yao, from the main branch of criminal investigation, went to the local police station for training, she was transferred from the deputy director of the technical investigation detachment to be the deputy head of the criminal investigation detachment to lead the criminal investigation work of the City Bureau. Soon after, Wei Yao came back, and she was promoted to deputy director and was logically appointed. Then she establishes the main branch of criminal investigation at the department level.
If it weren’t for the heart problems that were found in the previous two years, that were even serious enough to have bypass surgery, there would be no problem for her to transfer to the Deputy Director-level leadership position.
“The hero doesn’t mention the courage of the past year. Let’s not mention the past.” Yu Zhu smiled, “Tell me about the kidnapping case this time. I heard from Deputy Director Wei that you insist this is not the first case. Is this not a single case, but a series of kidnappings?”
“Oh, that’s what happened.”
Yan Xie was well prepared and handed the information at hand to Yu Zhu to read, and at the same time gave a brief overview of Jiang Ting’s analysis, emphasising the kidnapper’s unusual sense of role division and ritual desire, and added: “It’s mainly because our original investigation idea has come to a dead-end, and it is almost impossible to move forward. The technical investigation found that the rental car company hired by Shen Xiaoqi was a WeChat public account that bought articles. He only said that he did not wait for Shen Xiaoqi outside the scenic spot on the night of the incident and didn’t know the rest of the questions. He has been interrogated for two hours; there is no gain so far as to why Shen Xiaoqi wants to go to the Tianzong Mountain Scenic Spot and whether he has been affected by any external factors…”
“The on-site search and rescue personnel did not find any clues in the mountains and forests?” Yu Zhu asked.
“Trace detection, police dogs, and life detectors are all available, and the scope of search and rescue has been pushed to the limit.” Yan Xie said, “In this season’s primaeval forests, finding the whereabouts of two children is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Yu Zhu nodded thoughtfully.
Yan Xie asked: “Do you think there is anything wrong with our reasoning to investigate serial cases?”
Judging from Yu Zhu’s reaction, she probably considered her words before saying, “I can’t say it’s wrong. On the contrary, it makes sense.”
Yan Xie’s expression was slightly relaxed.
“But only one thing caught my attention.”
Yan Xie: “Huh?”
“What you are good at is organisation and interrogation. Behaviour analysis is a little too professional for you.” Yu Zhu’s upper body moved slightly forward, looking into Yan Xie’s eyes: “Did anyone within the city bureau inspire you? “
It was just one or two seconds, Yan Xie calmly looked back at the other party’s searching gaze, but countless thoughts flashed through his mind instantly.
What is she testing?
What should I say?
“Oh, this.” Yan Xie blinked and smiled disinterestedly: “I was desperate, so I called and asked my dad. Didn’t our family invest in a private hospital? He should have asked a few psychiatrists outside.”
Yu Zhu thought for a moment, and finally slowly leaned back on the back of the chair:
“…Well, there is nothing wrong with that.”
Yan Xie smiled and did not answer.
“My physical condition is like this, it will be a matter of time before you take the lead independently. The captain of the criminal investigation unit is the most important position on the front line of public security and the first barrier to face crime. If your judgement is wrong, many people will suffer because of it. At the same time, if you let someone Influence your thoughts, many people will get illegitimate benefits because of it.”
Yu Zhu stood up, and Yan Xie also stood up, only to see that she pointedly said word by word:
“I hope that all your decisions will not be affected by any outside influence; even if the influence comes from within the seemingly calm City Council.”
Yan Xie: “……”
“Okay, I won’t bother you anymore.” Yu Zhu looked at her watch, reached out, and patted Yan Xie’s shoulder solemnly: “I’ll go to Director Lu’s office. Let’s talk later.”
Yan Xie wanted to say something, his lips moved, but he was stopped by her raised hand before he could speak.
Yu Zhu turned around and left the office with her hands behind her back.
Yan Xie stood behind the desk and watched her leave, his eyes flickering slightly. After a long while, Yu Zhu’s footsteps completely disappeared in the corridor, and he finally stepped forward and closed the office door.
Then he looked at the filing cabinet: “What do you think?”
The curtain moved behind him, and Jiang Ting came out.
Yan Xie suddenly turned his head to look and saw Jiang Ting flexing his stiff shoulders nonchalantly. As if he hadn’t heard what Yu Zhu said just now, he only asked, “How is the case file investigation going?”
………
At the same time, in Director Lu’s office.
The door was knocked on twice, and then Yu Zhu pushed in.
Director Lu’s eyes were glued to the computer screen, he didn’t even look away, and just raised his watch and waved: “You’re late, what are you doing?”
“It’s nothing, I chatted with Yan Xie about this case on the way.” Yu Zhu walked to the table and sat down, looking at the screen: “—you already started watching?”
Director Lu pushed the screen in her direction: “Yes.”
——She saw what was playing on the screen was the internal surveillance video of the City Bureau, and the time in the lower right corner was the early morning of May 8th.
Hu Weisheng died that night!
In the dimly lit office, only the screen was dimly lit, reflected on the dark faces of the two people, and the four eyes reflected the shaking images of the city bureau in the surveillance. After a long while, Captain Yu took a light breath and said in a low voice, “We Jianning City Bureau will eventually become the next Gongzhou?”
Director Lu glanced at her and suddenly said, “Speaking of Gongzhou, I think of a person.”
“Who?”
“You have co-directed several operations with Jiang Ting, the second-in-command of the former Gongzhou Anti-drug Unit. What’s your comment on him?”
When he mentioned this, Yu Zhu was stunned: “Jiang Ting?——Isn’t he already dead?”
“But it has always been said that Jiang Ting is the number one black police officer in Gongzhou.” Lu Ju asked, “I want to hear your opinion.”
“……”
Yu Zhu’s face had her usual restrained and cautious expression, and after thinking for a long time, she slowly said: “Jiang Ting’s case analysis is indeed very powerful; but apart from the case analysis, any other words that come out of his mouth are unreliable… He has a very special ability, that is, he is easy to believe, and even many experienced criminal investigators can hardly escape. I have seen many criminals in my life, but the one as good as Jiang Ting, the master of hiding and inducing people’s hearts, is really unique.”
Director Lu didn’t speak but raised his crossed fingers.
Captain Yu said, “I’m sure that the deaths of Yue Guangping, the deputy mayor of Gongzhou, and the undercover agent ‘Rivet’ were all related to him.”
………
The minute hand of the clock on the wall went round and round. Outside the window of the Criminal Investigation Detachment’s office, the red sunset gradually turned into a night. The smell of cigarettes and instant noodles permeated the entire corridor, fully soaking everyone’s lungs.
Ma Xiang weakly leaned against the door frame, and symbolically slapped the office door twice: “No, Brother Yan, the result is not ideal.”
Yan Xie was sitting behind the computer, and Jiang Ting was wearing a baseball cap and was sitting in the stack of files; the two of them raised their heads at the same time.
“In the past three years, there have been 2,864 cases of juvenile disappearance reported across the province; 216 cases were unsolved, and 19 cases were identified as kidnappings. Among the 19 unsolved kidnapping cases, 11 were male, 8 were female, and no hostages were found. In any case, it wasn’t a double kidnapping, and there was no ransom of more than 2 million yuan.” Ma Xiang slammed the information summary on the desk: “As for the double kidnapping cases that have been solved, there are 63 cases, most of them are less than ten years old and are relatives; the suspects are either squatting in prison or have already taken a bullet, and it is even less likely that they will commit the crime again.”
Yan Xie took the material and was about to open it when Jiang Ting waved at him.
Yan Xie had to go over with the materials, Jiang Ting sat and he stood there; the two gathered together to look at the stack of case files.
“What’s going on, I’m going to die this way.” Yan Xie murmured while bowing, “What should I do next?”
“It’s so easy to die.”
“How can it be so easy to die?”
“…..” Jiang Ting was about to turn the page when he suddenly stopped again and looked up at Yan Xie: “This idea is definitely correct, but there may be some problems with the screening method.”
Yan Xie raised half of his brows and motioned for him to continue.
“Let’s go back and look at the case again. After the six students arrived at the farmhouse, Tan Shuang took Bu Wei to pick up wood, and Shen Xiaoqi followed and left a clue for the return journey so that Tan Shuang could return to the hotel along the same path. During this process, Shen Xiaoqi was alone.”
Yan Xie nodded.
“We already know that the kidnappers have a good understanding of the situation of the Shen family, which is a premeditated stalking kidnapping. However, he did not take action when the target was alone, but waited until Shen Xiaoqi rescued Bu Wei and Tan Shuang left, and then started the kidnapping of these two.”
“Wait,” Yan Xie interrupted him: “Are you trying to say that Bu Wei may be suspected of committing a crime?”
“Before the hostages were rescued, even Shen Xiaoqi himself could not completely rule out of the suspicion.” Jiang Ting said, “I still have this common sense.”
Yan Xie: “Mmmm…”
“But let’s not mention whether the two hostages are suspected or not, and only discuss the normal situation. When the suspect negotiated with you as a ‘kidnapper’ rather than an ‘executor’, there is one thing that goes against the normal role of a kidnapper, that is, he didn’t take the initiative to mention the existence of Bu Wei, and he didn’t even try to ask the government for a ransom. It seems that on the surface, Bu Wei is just a necessary addition to him.”
Jiang Ting paused and looked at Yan Xie.
“Yeah,” Yan Xie was a little puzzled by what he said: “Because of this, we can’t judge whether Bu Wei is a pure hostage or not. If she is a victim, why did the kidnappers not use her as a threat to the police at all? If she is not a victim, or even one of the kidnappers, wouldn’t this distinction even more clearly arouse the suspicion of the police?——This is too contradictory to the kidnapper’s superb anti-reconnaissance ability.”
What he said made a lot of sense. Even Ma Xiang, who was tired not far away, listened intently and couldn’t help but move his chair closer.
But Jiang Ting shook his head and said, “Why don’t you understand what I mean?”
“…Hey you,” Yan Xie pit his hand on his shoulder, “Don’t leave it here to play dumb riddles, hurry up.”
Jiang Ting didn’t care about the small details of Yan Xie’s hand movements.
He said: “Bu Wei’s existence is useless for the ‘kidnapper’ character, but she was taken away. Could it be because the ‘executor’ needs her to exist?”
As if some kind of fog was cleared away, the eyes of the other two people in the office changed a bit.
“…Notary,” suddenly Yan Xie murmured, “a notary is usually needed at the scene of an execution.”
Ma Xiang slapped his thigh sharply.
“If the executioner only needs another hostage to appear as a notary, then just like in this case, the parent of the other kidnapped person will not receive an extortion call at all; and even if he calls the police, it will only be regarded as an ordinary disappearance or even leaving home. That is to say…”
Jiang Ting spread his hands, and Yan Xie immediately took his words: “—that is to say, our screening target should be another disappearance that happened in the same place and jurisdiction as the kidnapping case!”
Jiang Ting threw the thick stack of summaries at Ma Xiang, who immediately jumped up with a “Whoosh!”, turned around and rushed out.
“Brother Yan! Brother Yan!” Half an hour later, Ma Xiang pushed the door and rushed in, slamming the material onto the table.
Yan Xie suddenly raised his head, and Jiang Ting got up and walked over as if he had a premonition.
“On July 12 last year, a 16-year-old boy named He Liang was kidnapped in Longchang Town, Jiangyang County. The kidnappers extorted 1 million yuan and the time limit was 72 hours. The money was sent to the place designated by the kidnappers, but no one came to get it. On the fourth day, the parents finally went to the police station to report the case, but it was already too late, and the police have yet to find He Liang’s body.”
Ma Xiang opened the material and pointed to a few pages: “There are two things worth noting about this case, one is that the parents received the bloody clothes sent by the kidnappers, but the test later confirmed that it was chicken blood; the other is that although the materials are there but the keyword execution does not appear. But that’s because the case is not in Jianning, our dossier is incomplete, and we lack detailed information about the police station.”
Yan Xie didn’t say a word, and shouted outside: “Someone come in!
A red-eyed police officer rushed in.
“Call the police station of Longchang Town, Jiangyang County immediately, and ask them to fax over the first-hand transcript of last year’s 712 He Liang kidnapping case!”
“Yes!” The police officer turned around and rushed out.
Ma Xiang take out another piece of printing paper: “According to Consultant Lu’s speculation, on the same day, in the same place, and in the same jurisdiction, the 110 Police Centre of Jiangyang County received a call from the parents of another 16-year-old girl, Li Yuxin, saying that she was scolded by her family and disappeared because of her declining academic performance. She was suspected of running away from home. The local police force was tense. On July 13, the police did not file a case until 24 hours later. But the family went to the police station to withdraw the case on the night of the 15th. The daughter came back when she lost her anger.”
Yan Xie and Jiang Ting glanced at each other.
——She came back herself.
“Has this Li Yuxin disappeared afterwards?” Yan Xie asked.
“No, but she ended up in the detention centre because of the repeated theft. At the same time, it is worth noting that I checked the map,” Ma Xiang turned over the paper with densely printed information: “Li Yuxin studied in Jiangyang No. 1 Middle School, and He Liang attended the High School Affiliated to the Normal University; the two schools are separated by a door-to-door relationship, and the geographical distance is less than 200 metres.”
The same youthful boys and girls, door to door, basically mixed together when going to and from school…
The words “Zhi Mu Shao Ai”¹ popped up in everyone’s mind at the same time.
“Jiangyang No. 1 Middle School.” Suddenly Yan Xie pondered: “Although I didn’t attend classes properly in high school… I remember that the No. 1 middle school in a certain place is one of the best school in the area.”
Ma Xiang affirmed: “Yes, Jiangyang No. 1 Middle School is quite famous. I just found out that they are the champions of the college entrance examination.”
“The girl who was admitted to the best high school in the area and was scolded by her parents because of her declining academic performance, why did she enter the detention centre for repeatedly stealing——does she have a record of stealing before?”
“No, but it’s possible that she didn’t leave a record under the age of sixteen…” Ma Xiang couldn’t explain: “It’s quite weird.”
“It might be kleptomania,” Jiang Ting said lightly.
Yan Xie and Ma Xiang cast their gazes at the same time.
“Kleptomania usually occurs in women. It is more common among women over fifteen and under twenty years old. Most of the symptoms are psychogenic and are induced by external factors.” Jiang Ting said: “If she had been a ‘notary’, then it could be a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.”
He looked a little dark when he said the last words, but no one in the office could see it clearly in the night.
“Vice Yan, the transcript you want!” The criminal policeman who was called just now came back and rushed into the room with the hot fax that was just sent: “I just received a fax from the Longchang Town Police Station. This is last year’s 712 first-hand police information of the case!”
Yan Xie’s whole body was instantly energised. He took the transcript with a lightning speed, opened it and only glanced at it twice, then pointed to a certain page to show Jiang Ting.
That was the extortion phone record dictated by the local police to He Liang’s parents——
“The voice said: ‘One million, not a cent less, seventy-two hours before the execution time.'”
Jiang Ting said, “It’s him.”
Snapped!
Yan Xie and Jiang Ting gave a heavy high-five, even though the latter was caught off guard and almost stumbled half a step by the slap.
“When Laozi catches that grandson, I’ll kill him alive!” Yan Xie was full of joy, ignoring his hoarse voice due to lack of sleep: “Ma Xiang, go check in which detention centre Lu Yuxin is and how long it takes to go there from Jianning?!”
Ma Xiang said, “Do I still need you to tell me this? It’s Jiangyang County Detention Centre. If you drive fast, it is a three-hour one-way trip. Do you wanna go there now?”
Yan Xie looked at his watch, it was 1:14 in the morning.
“Yes!” Yan Xie grabbed his documents, uniform and gun like a gust of wind crossing the border: “Ma Xiang sent your Consultant Lu home to rest, and called a boy who was not on duty during the day to take me to Jiangyang, and notified Director Lu to greet the local detention centre —— I’m going to interrogate that little girl surnamed Li overnight!”
Suddenly his hand was grabbed from behind, Yan Xie turned around, only to see Jiang Ting saying solemnly, “I’ll go with you.”
“Your body…”
“It’s okay, I’ll sleep in the car.” Jiang Ting replied concisely: “The case is important.”
1:20 in the morning.
The Criminal Investigation Building was brightly lit all night. Downstairs, the Cherokee’s red and blue police lights were lit and it rushed out of the gate of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
“Consultant Lu is really incredibly good. Sure enough, this kidnapping is not an isolated case. The kidnapper’s anti-reconnaissance ability and accurate grasp of time can also prove that he is a veteran.” Although Ma Xiang was stopped several times by Yan Xie and was told to go home and sleep, Ma Xiang still followed the car with the case file materials, and sat on the co-pilot to flip through the pages: “Now we only need to find Li Yuxin; this little girl must know the information about the kidnapper, at least she has dealt with the pervert head-on…”
“Not necessarily,” Jiang Ting’s voice came from the back seat.
Ma Xiang turned his head: “Huh?”
Before leaving, Yan Xie grabbed a small policeman named Zhang to drive the car, and he and Jiang Ting sat in the back seat. The carriage was dark in the middle of the night, and he could vaguely see Jiang Ting’s pale face due to fatigue. But he still spoke very calmly: “If Li Yuxin had dealt with the kidnapper head-on, and even saw the kidnapper’s face, why would he release her intact? it’s an unexplained problem at the moment.”
“Then our way of thinking…”
“The idea itself is correct, but there is one thing: our analysis is not based on facts, but on behavioural logical reasoning.”
“Huh?!” Ma Xiang became confused.
“…Don’t understand?” Jiang Ting asked back, looking at his innocently blinking eyes.
Ma Xiang said honestly: “Maybe during the daytime, but at the moment my IQ is only one-tenth of the daytime…”
Yan Xie has been looking out of the car window since he got in the car, and did not know what to look for along the side of the road. Hearing this, he said coldly: “Listen to him, his IQ during the day is at most 70!”
Ma Xiang pursed his lips, feeling extremely wronged and Jiang Ting laughed.
“The police’s logical analysis of the suspect’s behaviour is just like the legendary psychological portraits and micro-expression recognition; lacks scientific proof and mainly relies on experience. Although we say that the massive practical experience of criminal investigators is based on behavioural analysis. But empiricism is empiricism in the end. If there is a lack of solid evidence, even if the criminal mental portrait and behavioural logic analysis can achieve a 99% correct rate, the fatal error of 1% cannot be avoided.”
“For example,” Jiang Ting saw Ma Xiang’s serious appearance, and rarely became interested: “What do you think, what is the basis for our assumption that the kidnapping is not an isolated case?”
“Well…” Ma Xiang said hesitantly: “The 712 kidnapping showed a shirt soaked in chicken blood, and a keyword for execution appeared. At the same time, it basically meets the premise that two teenagers, a boy and a girl, disappeared at the same time…”
“But we still can’t be sure that the two cases were done by the same person. What if there is another group of kidnappers who like to use bloody clothes to threaten the families of hostages, and at the same time watch a lot of criminal investigation dramas and like to use the word execution and have some anti-reconnaissance methods? What if Li Yuxin’s disappearance was really just a runaway from home, and it was just a coincidence with the kidnapping of He Liang in 712?”
Ma Xiang was speechless.
“Besides, there is an unexplainable part, that is, why the Shen Xiaoqi case used a shirt soaked in the blood of the white-tailed sea eagle, and the kidnappers demanded 200 million yuan; last year’s 712 case was a chicken blood shirt and a million yuan ransom.” Jiang Ting said, “We cannot deny that there are all kinds of coincidences in this world, and at the same time, we cannot rule out the possibility of imitating crimes. Therefore, in the absence of evidence, the so-called criminal mental portraits and behavioural logic analysis are just gorgeous on paper.”
As if Ma Xiang realised something, he nodded silently.
“—But Consultant Lu,” he couldn’t help but ask after a while, “If, as you said, we really encountered the 1% possibility, all behavioural analysis and inferences would be wrong…”
Jiang Ting did not leave him any chance of luck: “Then the two children are dead.”
The car fell into silence, the air was slightly condensed, and even the policeman who was driving couldn’t help shivering.
“This is normal during the detection process of any case.” After a long time, Yan Xie’s hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
Ma Xiang looked back at him from the co-pilot seat.
“Criminal investigators are not gods. In the process of fighting crimes, they will inevitably be overwhelmed, and even make mistakes in judgement. We pay a heavy price for this, and it even leaves an unforgettable shadow. But that is unavoidable for every old criminal police officer. The most important thing is, next time when we face crime can we stand up again with scars and shadows and do our best.”
Yan Xie’s voice paused slightly.
At his side, Jiang Ting seemed to be aware, and gave him a very inconspicuous glance.
All of a sudden, he heard Yan Xie’s “hey” sound: “Xiao Zhang, pull over and stop in front.”
The policeman driving the car didn’t know why, but he still did as he was told, and slowly stopped in front of the convenience store. As soon as the car stopped, Yan Xie pushed the door and got out, and came back with a bag of things after a while.
“Here, refresh yourself to drive the car at night.” Yan Xie handed Red Bull, coffee and snacks to the front row, and then put two steaming buns in Jiang Ting’s hand:
“You don’t eat instant noodles in the evening. You’re used to it, so I bought two bean paste buns to eat.”
Jiang Ting was a little stunned.
Yan Xie said: “After eating, hurry up and sleep for a while. Ma Xiang also didn’t read the whole material. When Li Yuxin would be interrogated, we will have a tough battle to fight.”
………
Cherokee flashed the police lights on the road in the middle of the night, like a lonely boat splitting the Black Sea.
Yan Xie leaned against the rear window, only to hear from the front row that Ma Xiang and Xiao Zhang were chatting with each other. After a while, Ma Xiang tilted his head, and a low snoring sounded. He noticed that the sound of the plastic bags on his side had not been stopped. It was Jiang Ting nibbling on the buns, and the back seat was filled with the sweet smell of red bean paste.
After a few more minutes, the slight cat like movement stopped, and a warm weight gradually came from his side.
Yan Xie opened half of his eyelids and saw that Jiang Ting had eaten half of the sweet buns, and he was so sleepy that he was gradually leaning towards his shoulder.
“…..”
Yan Xie’s arm was suddenly as heavy as if a thousand tons, and after several impulses, he finally lifted it up slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around Jiang Ting’s shoulder, making him lean into his arms more comfortably.
The long road seemed to be endless, the car was slightly bumpy, and the dimly lit street lights passed quickly from both sides.
The city night and the lights of thousands of homes were left behind, and the city bureau building they set off from was already submerged in the sea of lights. All the details of the weird case and the dangerous and unpredictable future seem to be like the tide under the moonlight, and at this moment it recedes far away.
The only thing left in the whole world is the back seat in, dark, small and private, and the warmth that rises and falls calmly with the breath in his arms.
Yan Xie opened his eyes, although he didn’t know what he was looking at, he seemed to be in a dream-like void.
He slowly tilted his head to look at Jiang Ting.
Jiang Ting’s body was softer than he imagined, which was a bit unexpected by Yan Xie. In his impression, Captain Jiang should be thin, solid and extremely sharp. But he didn’t expect him to be soft like a fluffy feather. His breathing was light and well-proportioned; the constantly swept-back street lamps shone a little light on his jet-black temple hair, and there was a faint smell in his hair. Yan Xie sniffed it for a while, fascinated; just now he was sure it was the smell of his own shampoo.
Washing your hair every day is really important, Yan Xie thought.
He stared at Jiang Ting’s cheek, and a thought suddenly popped up in his heart: Would a person like him have soft and delicate skin?
Yan Xie brushed the hair on Jiang Ting’s forehead with his thumb, and pushed the bangs over and over again, the soft hair kept rubbing against the pulp of his fingers. He didn’t know what he was doing either. This action made all the sleepiness and fatigue disappear strangely. By the time he reacted, his thumb had been slowly rubbing Jiang Ting’s forehead to the corner of his cheek and mouth, and kept lingering on his pal red lips.
Yan Xie thought in a daze, this feeling is really strange.
Although they have only been with each other for less than two months, they seem to have known each other for a long, long time. For a long time, as long as he remembers the existence of this surname Jiang, he feels like there is more worry in his heart. This feeling is heavy and light, troublesome and anticipating. It is difficult to let go and doesn’t want to leave, as if the whole person is trapped in a slimy dream.
“you……”
Jiang Ting murmured something, but Yan Xie didn’t hear it clearly. He rubbed his face against Yan Xie’s shoulder.
Yan Xie’s fingers stopped for a moment.
The vehicle was still galloping, the back seat was bumping regularly, and Ma Xiang’s unconscious shout came from the front row. After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Ting curled up, as if he had found a more comfortable and relaxed position in his sleep.
Yan Xie kept looking at him without blinking, until Jiang Ting fell into a deep sleep. Yan Xie’s eyes were attracted by the sticky point on the corner of his mouth — it was bean paste the size of a grain of rice.
“…..”
Yan Xie’s Adam’s apple slid down, but his saliva seemed to be dry.
As if under some kind of spell, he held his breath and raised his hand, tucked the little bean paste, and then smugly put his fingertips in his mouth.
A hint of sweetness smeared in the mouth.
Really sweet, he thought in a trance.
Suddenly, at this moment, he felt that something was wrong.
——Jiang Ting’s breathing stopped for a moment.
The air suddenly solidified, no one moved, and all the reactions seemed to be as if a paused button had been pressed; only the sound of the car’s steady speeding forward was suddenly particularly clear.
Jiang Ting didn’t open his eyes, and Yan Xie’s hand was hanging in the air.
Don’t know how long it took before Yan Xie asked very lightly from the gap between his lips:
“…Are you awake?”
