Chapter 91
“From now on, all birthdays will be peaceful and happy.”
Every year when Yan Xie returned home on his birthday, his uncles, aunts, cousins from both sides, and all the relatives who he might not be able to see all year, would come to have a meal. There were a total of thirty or forty relatives, so there were three long dining tables arranged in the garden downstairs, looking extremely extravagant.
Yan Xie drove his car in, but before his car could even stop, Madam Zeng Cui, who was dressed ten years younger than her actual age, hurriedly greeted him with an emerald green crocodile leather Kelly handbag, and her first sentence was: “Where’s Xiao Lu?”
Yan Xie got out of the car with a blank face, and said casually: “Oh, he wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t come.”
Mother Yan was startled and asked cautiously, “A quarrel?
“—How could that be?” Yan Xie laughed, and casually shoved the red wine brought from home into his mother’s arms: “Your son is so charming, and it hasn’t even been that long since your daughter-in-law fell in love with me. He has to eat the bear’s heart and leopard’s gall to dare to quarrel with me.”
Madam Zeng Cui rolled her eyes with restraint, only to see Yan Xie slip into the door with a cigarette without stopping, shouting indiscriminately, “Hello, uncle!” “Good cousin!” “Second aunt is looking young again!” A whirlwind swept through the crowd up to the storage room on the second floor. Zeng Cui thought he was looking for something, but after a while, she saw him coming downstairs again like a whirlwind, holding a mahogany box in his hand, walking out without stopping.
“You bastard!” Zeng Cui chased after him and shouted, “You’re taking your dad’s treasured collection again, aren’t you?”
Yan Xie didn’t look back: “My dad said that everything he owns is mine in the end!”
Madam Zeng Cui put her hands on her hips, and was about to scold her son when she heard Yan Xie add another sentence from a distance: “Except for his favorite wife!”
“……” Madam Zeng Cuicui blushed and immediately forgot about all the curses she was about to spit out. After a long while, she pouted angrily: “One old and one young, both are not good.” Then she secretly rejoiced and went back to the house to find her husband.
Yan Xie put the mahogany box containing four tea cakes into the glove box under the passenger seat, clapped his hands, and closed the door, thinking that at least this would keep Jiang Ting satisfied for a whole year — but knowing Jiang Ting’s behavior, he would definitely be reluctant to open the second packet for a while. He would probably drink other cheap teas for a few weeks, and then on a quiet night, would carefully open the Lao Tongxing behind his back and drink it with satisfaction, licking his mouth contentedly, and pretending that nothing happened.
After all, Yan Xie was still young, and as soon as he thought of Jiang Ting, his heart started to heat up slightly. He didn’t even realize that the corners of his mouth had raised.
“Hello, third uncle and aunt!”
“Hey, thank you, aunt!”
“Well, cousin has grown taller again. How much did you get on the final exam?”
………
Every year was like a fixed procedure, and Yan Xie had already mastered it.
The real people in charge of the Yan family were Yan Xie’s parents. He himself didn’t participate in the business at all. He was destined to be a hands-off business owner who would hire professional managers in the future. All the interest arguments and business dealings were almost irrelevant to him. The main purpose of his appearance at the family banquet every year was to declare that he was still alive and had not died in the line of duty, and that he hadn’t been swept out of the house by his parents for the time being for not getting married yet, which was enough.
The third aunt leaned over from the other side of the dining table and said in a serious tone: “Yan Xie is another year older, and not very young anymore. You should start thinking about getting married and settling down!”
Yan Xie said yes with a smile.
“Seeing that your second cousin has already found a girlfriend, and your cousin in the hall is already pregnant. Why are you still single? You have a dangerous job, you should get married sooner. Men can only concentrate on their careers if they have stable backing, understand?”
Yan Xie: “Yes, yes…”
In previous years, Yan Xie was condemned to death by many elders at this time, but this year, Father Yan quarreled with his brother-in-law twice. He suddenly put the bowl down and strengthened his neck, and inserted arrogantly: “Who said that my son can’t get married? My son already has a partner!”
A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the third aunt was almost startled.
“They are also from the city bureau. Their job is very good, their age is the same, and the person is also very good-looking! Yesterday, they even made a home-cooked meal for us to eat!” Father Yan showed off calmly in the eyes of the relatives around him: “If you don’t believe me, ask Cuicui. Isn’t that right Cuicui?”
Yan Xie: “……”
Mother Yan would never let Father Yan embarrass himself in front of others, so she immediately took out her mobile phone amidst the shocked eyes around her, opened the photo album, and called up pictures of fried prawns, beef stew with potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, pork rib soup, etc. which were taken at Yan Xie’s house yesterday with 18 layers of filters added. They were circulated by relatives all over the table, and they all cheered and said their praises, showing endless admiration.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just that there may be a shortfall in fertility.” Mother Yan said modestly to all the relatives: “But it’s already been agreed that they’ll go to the United States to surrogate three children, and both children are okay with it! I also approve of them having a child who can be surnamed Zeng…”
All kinds of complicated feelings surged in Yan Xie’s heart, and he couldn’t tell whether it was funny or emotional. At this moment, the little cousins who were screaming and running around, the little niece who was crying at the next table, and the distant brother-in-law and sister-in-law who he couldn’t even recognize, all made him feel a strange longing and melancholy in his heart, although he himself could not tell where this feeling came from.
Yan Xie quietly stood up and exited the hall. Standing by the backyard porch, he lit a cigarette, held his mobile phone for a long time, and finally opened WeChat. Countless unread messages were lined up with red dots, which were birthday congratulations sent by colleagues from the Municipal Bureau: Deputy Chief Wei, Gou Li, Qin Chuan, Technical investigator Huang Xing, Ma Xiang, Gao Panqing…
Yan Xie opened the “Surname Lu”, hesitated for a long time, typed and deleted several times, and finally pressed the send button:
[Where are you?]
Jiang Ting didn’t reply immediately.
The voices persuading people to drink, shouting, talking and laughing loudly, and teasing each other came from the direction of the hall. Although there were all kinds of disagreements and unpleasantness in private, they were still lively and happy when they got together, like a big family.
Yan Xie held the phone and walked down the porch aimlessly. It was getting late at this time, and the lights on the porch were on. The water lilies in the garden were slightly fragrant, and the night insects in the grass were chirping. Yan Xie didn’t know when he reached the back door of the kitchen, only to see a carefully prepared three-layer cake on the round table through the glass window. The beautiful decoration on it was like handicrafts, and the fresh cream was slightly orange-yellow under the light.
Yan Xie’s heart moved. He picked up his phone, took a photo, and sent it to Jiang Ting.
Who would have thought that Jiang Ting’s reply would just come over at this time:
[At home.]
After the photo of the three-layer cake under the light was successfully sent, just three seconds later, Yan Xie’s phone shook again—
Surname Lu: [Happy birthday.]
[From now on, all birthdays will be peaceful and happy.]
Yan Xie’s heart was warm and all his internal organs were ironed out at that moment, and indescribable comfort came out from every pore on his body. The electric numbness rose all the way from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, stirring up countless joyful fireworks in his mind.
The thought of I can’t wait to see that person suddenly erupted like a tsunami. In Yan Xie’s more than 30 years of life, there had never been an impulse so urgent that shook every nerve, and even his eardrums were buzzing loudly.
He couldn’t even wait for a moment. He hurriedly put away the phone in his hands, turned around, and ran back to the lively hall. Mother Yan was looking for her son to make a toast, only to see Yan Xie striding forward like a meteor with a smile on his handsome face, reflecting the bright lights in the whole room. She was stunned for some reason, and was immediately pulled by Yan Xie, who shouted in the noisy background: “Mom, you eat first, I’m going back!”
Mother Yan was stunned and asked: “The cake hasn’t been cut yet, where are you going? Cut the cake for me!”
Yan Xie thought of an excuse at random: “The city bureau has some matter…”
“Again something, you will cut the cake for your mother. Do you really think this trick will work?!”
Mother Yan beckoned all of his cousins to help push the cake from the kitchen. She grabbed her son’s hand and pressed it to cut the cake piece by piece amidst the sound of birthday songs around her, and put them into small silver plates. As soon as the children walked away holding the cake, Yan Xie immediately put down the knife and gave the cake decorated with cherries to his mother: “I’m leaving!
Mother Yan sighed hesitantly, only to see Yan Xie rushing up to hug his dad before heading out. Father Yan was stunned by his son’s sudden enthusiasm. Before he could ask any questions, he saw him rush out of the door without looking back.
“You bastard!” Mother Yan chased after him to the door, shouting in annoyance: “Where are you going, drive carefully at night!”
“I know!” Yan Xie started the car, made a beautiful U-turn, leaned his head out of the window, and said with a smile: “Mom, I love you! See you later!”
The Mercedes-Benz roared and went away. Mother Yan stood on the steps inexplicably, while only a trail of smoke was left in the front yard slowly drifting away through the street lights.
At ten o’clock in the evening, the traffic flow in the city center had eased slightly. The business district was very lively, and the half-opened car windows wafted in the fragrant wind unique to the metropolis at night.
The Mercedes-Bentz stopped slowly at the red light, Yan Xie glanced at the rearview mirror at random, took out his mobile phone from the side of the car door, and sent a voice message to “Surname Lu”: [Guess where I am?]
The top of the screen showed that the input was in progress, and after it stopped for a while, Jiang Ting’s voice message came:
[On the way home?]
Yan Xie’s smile deepened. But before he said anything, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a brightly lit cake shop on the opposite corner of the intersection, and the words that had just reached his lips changed: “Yes, I also brought a birthday cake for you.”
He could almost imagine Jiang Ting’s stunned and troubled expression over there, but soon he heard the man reply as if smiling: “Okay, drive slowly, there’s no hurry.”
The red light turned green, and the car in front started to move. Yan Xie put away his phone and quickly glanced left and right. Taking advantage of the few seconds when the right turn lane was still empty, he quickly turned on the indicator and changed lanes. The Bentz made a beautiful turn, roared down the horizontal street, and then made a U-turn. At the intersection of the road, it stopped firmly in front of the cake shop.
A few minutes later, he walked out of the shop holding a sliced cake specially wrapped in a white paper bag. He put the paper bag on the passenger seat and was about to start the car when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something from the side window, and his movement paused.
——Under the red light at the intersection where he temporarily changed lanes, an ordinary silver Hyundai was parked on the side of the road, neither moving forward nor flashing, as if it was waiting for someone.
A strange feeling suddenly appeared in Yan Xie’s heart: Have I seen this car in the rearview mirror just now?
This idea was actually a bit ridiculous. Such vehicles were extremely common on the streets of Jianning City. They look almost the same. If one didn’t look at the license plate carefully, one couldn’t tell who was who. But after all, Yan Xie had been a criminal policeman for so many years, and he had an inexplicable sensitivity to certain things. It was as if a shadow quickly swept past from the deepest part of his heart.
Beep—
A horn sounded from behind, Yan Xie frowned, stepped on the accelerator, and turned right.
His pause just now was only a matter of a few seconds, and no one could have seen anything unusual. Yan Xie also deliberately did not show any abnormality. After going on the road again, he always paid attention to the rear-view mirror and side-view mirror. Not long after he saw that the left lane was separated by a distance of tens of meters, the shadow of a silver car body flashed again.
Yan Xie’s eyebrows jumped slightly.
It was that Hyundai.
Such a coincidence?
Yan Xie had lived for more than 30 years, and the thing he didn’t believe the most was a coincidence. He stepped on the accelerator slightly, and the modified S450 made a dull roar and accelerated suddenly to change lanes. Bypassing the car in front and speeding through the traffic lights, at the next intersection where he should continue to drive forward, he turned on the indicator and turned to the right, and glanced at the side mirror at the same time.
The silver car not far away also turned on the right indicator, obviously wanting to keep up!
——Someone was deliberately following him!
Who was bold enough to follow the car of the Vice-Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment?
“Basterd, courting his own death…” Yan Xie scolded in a low voice, deliberately slowed down the car, and held the steering wheel with one hand. At the same time, he took out his mobile phone and made a call without looking at it: “Hey Ma Xiang? Is there someone in the bureau?”
“Happy birthday, Brother Yan——!” Ma Xiang’s loud and enthusiastic voice came from the other side: “I’m in the bureau right now, going to open a dark secret with Brother Gou and Brother Qin. Aiya, after not seeing you for a few days, we miss you so much…”
“I’m being followed.” Yan Xie interrupted him, his face sinking like water: “I am at east of Workers’ Avenue near the exit of Jindao Road now. The stalker is a silver Hyundai Elantra sedan. I can’t see the license plate number for the time being. I’ll send you the location right now, you can go to the traffic police team to lock the target car number and track it back. Hurry up!”
On the other side of the phone, Ma Xiang’s cheerful expression was gradually replaced by a solemn expression. By the time Yan Xie had finished saying the last word, he had already gotten up and rushed out of the office door, leaving only a brief and powerful: “Yes!”
Workers’ Avenue ended in a blink of an eye. The farther away he got from the city center’s business district, the fewer the vehicles on the road became. On both sides of the S450’s window, the street lights and trees swept back smoothly and quickly. Yan Xie raised his eyes and stared at the rear-view mirror, only to see the headlights flashing again, and the silver Hyundai following him.
Who was it?
What do they want to do?
He didn’t usually drive this S450, who knew this was his car?
The various doubts on the surface quickly fell silent, and a terrible guess vaguely emerged in the depth of his heart.
But Yan Xie wasn’t surprised at all. Perhaps he had already made psychological preparations subconsciously, and when things really happened, he didn’t feel the slightest surprise. He quickly led the silver sedan through three green lights in a row, until he got a call from Ma Xiang again: “Hello?”
“Brother Yan, I just contacted the traffic police brigade, and the nearby traffic police and patrol police were immediately dispatched to intercept. Please be careful not to leave the current sub-bureau area, and don’t change the speed of your car. We’ll be there soon!”
Yan Xie spat out a word: “Okay.” Then he hung up the phone, went to WeChat, clicked on the top dialog box, and said, “I suddenly remembered that there was some material left in the office, and I have to drop by the city bureau. I might arrive home late.”
At the same time, on the sofa in the apartment, the screen of the mobile phone reflected Jiang Ting’s slightly raised eyebrows: “What the hell…”
But he swallowed the words back and sent a voice message. This time, there were only two simple and neat words:
“Drive carefully.”
——Drive carefully.
Jiang Ting’s tone didn’t fluctuate in these words, but it made Yan Xie’s heart tremble for some reason.
When he found out that he was being followed, even in some of the more dangerous and critical situations before, Yan Xie had never had such weightless palpitations in his heart, as if Jiang Ting had already felt something.
He didn’t explain any further, closed WeChat, and returned to the address book. While continuing to speed forward, he called Ma Xiang’s phone again. At the same time, he looked up at the rearview mirror, and after a few seconds, his pupils suddenly shrank—
The stalker disappeared.
He was in the middle of a two-lane straight road, flat and bright from front and rear, with excellent visibility. The rearview mirror could see at least 200 meters behind him without hindrance, but aside from a few taxis and pickup trucks, there was no shadow of the silver car.
“Brother Yan!” At this time, the call was connected, and Ma Xiang asked eagerly: “Are you still on Jindao Road? I have already left the city bureau!”
“…He’s gone.”
Ma Xiang didn’t react: “What?”
The S450 slowed down, drove smoothly across the long street, and slowly stopped under the red light. Not far away, the trucks and taxis in the other lanes stopped one after another. The road behind him was empty and flat, and the elusive stalker had quietly disappeared.
There was a hint of coldness in Yan Xie’s voice, and he said in a low voice, “He suddenly gave up.”
Red and blue police lights flickered in the distance, and nearby police motorcycles quickly approached Jindao Road. On Ma Xiang’s side, the background was noisy with the clattering sound of the car sirens, he must be rushing to the scene.
Corresponding to this noise was the long and heavy silence of the two of them.
—The stalker was very clumsy and technically abrasive, and he didn’t even cover his tracks well. However, the person who came was able to choose to give up decisively at the same time when the police were dispatched. His keen sense and precise timing made people feel terrified as soon as they thought about it.
“…Don’t worry Brother Yan,” After a long while, Ma Xiang’s deliberately lowered voice finally came from Bluetooth, with a hint of concern: “I’ll notify the traffic police brigade to call for surveillance on Workers’ Avenue. No matter who the other party was, we will definitely be able to get the license plate number out.”
Yan Xie took a deep breath. The bright neon lights of the urban night sky passed through the car window, reflecting half of his cheeks, casting a shadow on the corner of his lips, and the other half was hidden in the deep darkness of the car.
“Don’t let too many people know about this, especially Chief Lu and Deputy Chief Wei.” Yan Xie paused and said, “Be careful.”
Then he hung up the phone.
………
Forty minutes later, the apartment complex.
The S450 drove into the gate of the community, and before entering the garage, he saw a familiar figure standing under the streetlamp in the distance. Yan Xie immediately stopped the car and lowered the side window: “Why are you waiting here?”
Jiang Ting had his right hand in his trouser pocket and his left hand was clutching his mobile phone. Who knew how long he had been standing here? His always calm expression did not change, but for some reason, when Yan Xie saw him, he felt that he seemed to be slightly relieved.
“Come down, let’s take a walk.” Jiang Ting moved his shoulders, and his joints which had been tense for a long time made a rattling sound after relaxing, but he didn’t seem to care: “Are you all right? Why are you so late?”
Yan Xie looked at him for a few seconds, and he suddenly had the urge to tell everything that happened.
But just as he was about to say the words “I was being followed”, another scene suddenly appeared in his mind. It was as clear as if it was happening at the moment — but it actually happened yesterday in the bathroom. Jiang Ting held his arm tightly, his lips seemed to be trembling slightly, and after a long while he said softly, “You will regret it…”
—Will I?
Or have you already decided that I will?
The short-lived impulse just now was suddenly pressed back by a stronger force and disappeared in an instant. Yan Xie looked at Jiang Ting from the car, smiled slowly, then stretched out his hand from the car window, and squeezed his cold fingertips.
“It’s alright,” He said gently, “I couldn’t find the materials in the office, so it took a while.”
Jiang Ting’s eyebrows were still slightly wrinkled.
“Come on, I brought you a cake.” Yan Xie leaned forward and opened the passenger seat’s door, motioning him to come up: “Come on, let’s go home together.”
Chapter 91
“From now on, all birthdays will be peaceful and happy.”
Every year when Yan Xie returned home on his birthday, his uncles, aunts, cousins from both sides, and all the relatives who he might not be able to see all year, would come to have a meal. There were a total of thirty or forty relatives, so there were three long dining tables arranged in the garden downstairs, looking extremely extravagant.
Yan Xie drove his car in, but before his car could even stop, Madam Zeng Cui, who was dressed ten years younger than her actual age, hurriedly greeted him with an emerald green crocodile leather Kelly handbag, and her first sentence was: “Where’s Xiao Lu?”
Yan Xie got out of the car with a blank face, and said casually: “Oh, he wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t come.”
Mother Yan was startled and asked cautiously, “A quarrel?
“—How could that be?” Yan Xie laughed, and casually shoved the red wine brought from home into his mother’s arms: “Your son is so charming, and it hasn’t even been that long since your daughter-in-law fell in love with me. He has to eat the bear’s heart and leopard’s gall to dare to quarrel with me.”
Madam Zeng Cui rolled her eyes with restraint, only to see Yan Xie slip into the door with a cigarette without stopping, shouting indiscriminately, “Hello, uncle!” “Good cousin!” “Second aunt is looking young again!” A whirlwind swept through the crowd up to the storage room on the second floor. Zeng Cui thought he was looking for something, but after a while, she saw him coming downstairs again like a whirlwind, holding a mahogany box in his hand, walking out without stopping.
“You bastard!” Zeng Cui chased after him and shouted, “You’re taking your dad’s treasured collection again, aren’t you?”
Yan Xie didn’t look back: “My dad said that everything he owns is mine in the end!”
Madam Zeng Cui put her hands on her hips, and was about to scold her son when she heard Yan Xie add another sentence from a distance: “Except for his favorite wife!”
“……” Madam Zeng Cuicui blushed and immediately forgot about all the curses she was about to spit out. After a long while, she pouted angrily: “One old and one young, both are not good.” Then she secretly rejoiced and went back to the house to find her husband.
Yan Xie put the mahogany box containing four tea cakes into the glove box under the passenger seat, clapped his hands, and closed the door, thinking that at least this would keep Jiang Ting satisfied for a whole year — but knowing Jiang Ting’s behavior, he would definitely be reluctant to open the second packet for a while. He would probably drink other cheap teas for a few weeks, and then on a quiet night, would carefully open the Lao Tongxing behind his back and drink it with satisfaction, licking his mouth contentedly, and pretending that nothing happened.
After all, Yan Xie was still young, and as soon as he thought of Jiang Ting, his heart started to heat up slightly. He didn’t even realize that the corners of his mouth had raised.
“Hello, third uncle and aunt!”
“Hey, thank you, aunt!”
“Well, cousin has grown taller again. How much did you get on the final exam?”
………
Every year was like a fixed procedure, and Yan Xie had already mastered it.
The real people in charge of the Yan family were Yan Xie’s parents. He himself didn’t participate in the business at all. He was destined to be a hands-off business owner who would hire professional managers in the future. All the interest arguments and business dealings were almost irrelevant to him. The main purpose of his appearance at the family banquet every year was to declare that he was still alive and had not died in the line of duty, and that he hadn’t been swept out of the house by his parents for the time being for not getting married yet, which was enough.
The third aunt leaned over from the other side of the dining table and said in a serious tone: “Yan Xie is another year older, and not very young anymore. You should start thinking about getting married and settling down!”
Yan Xie said yes with a smile.
“Seeing that your second cousin has already found a girlfriend, and your cousin in the hall is already pregnant. Why are you still single? You have a dangerous job, you should get married sooner. Men can only concentrate on their careers if they have stable backing, understand?”
Yan Xie: “Yes, yes…”
In previous years, Yan Xie was condemned to death by many elders at this time, but this year, Father Yan quarreled with his brother-in-law twice. He suddenly put the bowl down and strengthened his neck, and inserted arrogantly: “Who said that my son can’t get married? My son already has a partner!”
A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the third aunt was almost startled.
“They are also from the city bureau. Their job is very good, their age is the same, and the person is also very good-looking! Yesterday, they even made a home-cooked meal for us to eat!” Father Yan showed off calmly in the eyes of the relatives around him: “If you don’t believe me, ask Cuicui. Isn’t that right Cuicui?”
Yan Xie: “……”
Mother Yan would never let Father Yan embarrass himself in front of others, so she immediately took out her mobile phone amidst the shocked eyes around her, opened the photo album, and called up pictures of fried prawns, beef stew with potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, pork rib soup, etc. which were taken at Yan Xie’s house yesterday with 18 layers of filters added. They were circulated by relatives all over the table, and they all cheered and said their praises, showing endless admiration.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just that there may be a shortfall in fertility.” Mother Yan said modestly to all the relatives: “But it’s already been agreed that they’ll go to the United States to surrogate three children, and both children are okay with it! I also approve of them having a child who can be surnamed Zeng…”
All kinds of complicated feelings surged in Yan Xie’s heart, and he couldn’t tell whether it was funny or emotional. At this moment, the little cousins who were screaming and running around, the little niece who was crying at the next table, and the distant brother-in-law and sister-in-law who he couldn’t even recognize, all made him feel a strange longing and melancholy in his heart, although he himself could not tell where this feeling came from.
Yan Xie quietly stood up and exited the hall. Standing by the backyard porch, he lit a cigarette, held his mobile phone for a long time, and finally opened WeChat. Countless unread messages were lined up with red dots, which were birthday congratulations sent by colleagues from the Municipal Bureau: Deputy Chief Wei, Gou Li, Qin Chuan, Technical investigator Huang Xing, Ma Xiang, Gao Panqing…
Yan Xie opened the “Surname Lu”, hesitated for a long time, typed and deleted several times, and finally pressed the send button:
[Where are you?]
Jiang Ting didn’t reply immediately.
The voices persuading people to drink, shouting, talking and laughing loudly, and teasing each other came from the direction of the hall. Although there were all kinds of disagreements and unpleasantness in private, they were still lively and happy when they got together, like a big family.
Yan Xie held the phone and walked down the porch aimlessly. It was getting late at this time, and the lights on the porch were on. The water lilies in the garden were slightly fragrant, and the night insects in the grass were chirping. Yan Xie didn’t know when he reached the back door of the kitchen, only to see a carefully prepared three-layer cake on the round table through the glass window. The beautiful decoration on it was like handicrafts, and the fresh cream was slightly orange-yellow under the light.
Yan Xie’s heart moved. He picked up his phone, took a photo, and sent it to Jiang Ting.
Who would have thought that Jiang Ting’s reply would just come over at this time:
[At home.]
After the photo of the three-layer cake under the light was successfully sent, just three seconds later, Yan Xie’s phone shook again—
Surname Lu: [Happy birthday.]
[From now on, all birthdays will be peaceful and happy.]
Yan Xie’s heart was warm and all his internal organs were ironed out at that moment, and indescribable comfort came out from every pore on his body. The electric numbness rose all the way from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, stirring up countless joyful fireworks in his mind.
The thought of I can’t wait to see that person suddenly erupted like a tsunami. In Yan Xie’s more than 30 years of life, there had never been an impulse so urgent that shook every nerve, and even his eardrums were buzzing loudly.
He couldn’t even wait for a moment. He hurriedly put away the phone in his hands, turned around, and ran back to the lively hall. Mother Yan was looking for her son to make a toast, only to see Yan Xie striding forward like a meteor with a smile on his handsome face, reflecting the bright lights in the whole room. She was stunned for some reason, and was immediately pulled by Yan Xie, who shouted in the noisy background: “Mom, you eat first, I’m going back!”
Mother Yan was stunned and asked: “The cake hasn’t been cut yet, where are you going? Cut the cake for me!”
Yan Xie thought of an excuse at random: “The city bureau has some matter…”
“Again something, you will cut the cake for your mother. Do you really think this trick will work?!”
Mother Yan beckoned all of his cousins to help push the cake from the kitchen. She grabbed her son’s hand and pressed it to cut the cake piece by piece amidst the sound of birthday songs around her, and put them into small silver plates. As soon as the children walked away holding the cake, Yan Xie immediately put down the knife and gave the cake decorated with cherries to his mother: “I’m leaving!
Mother Yan sighed hesitantly, only to see Yan Xie rushing up to hug his dad before heading out. Father Yan was stunned by his son’s sudden enthusiasm. Before he could ask any questions, he saw him rush out of the door without looking back.
“You bastard!” Mother Yan chased after him to the door, shouting in annoyance: “Where are you going, drive carefully at night!”
“I know!” Yan Xie started the car, made a beautiful U-turn, leaned his head out of the window, and said with a smile: “Mom, I love you! See you later!”
The Mercedes-Benz roared and went away. Mother Yan stood on the steps inexplicably, while only a trail of smoke was left in the front yard slowly drifting away through the street lights.
At ten o’clock in the evening, the traffic flow in the city center had eased slightly. The business district was very lively, and the half-opened car windows wafted in the fragrant wind unique to the metropolis at night.
The Mercedes-Bentz stopped slowly at the red light, Yan Xie glanced at the rearview mirror at random, took out his mobile phone from the side of the car door, and sent a voice message to “Surname Lu”: [Guess where I am?]
The top of the screen showed that the input was in progress, and after it stopped for a while, Jiang Ting’s voice message came:
[On the way home?]
Yan Xie’s smile deepened. But before he said anything, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a brightly lit cake shop on the opposite corner of the intersection, and the words that had just reached his lips changed: “Yes, I also brought a birthday cake for you.”
He could almost imagine Jiang Ting’s stunned and troubled expression over there, but soon he heard the man reply as if smiling: “Okay, drive slowly, there’s no hurry.”
The red light turned green, and the car in front started to move. Yan Xie put away his phone and quickly glanced left and right. Taking advantage of the few seconds when the right turn lane was still empty, he quickly turned on the indicator and changed lanes. The Bentz made a beautiful turn, roared down the horizontal street, and then made a U-turn. At the intersection of the road, it stopped firmly in front of the cake shop.
A few minutes later, he walked out of the shop holding a sliced cake specially wrapped in a white paper bag. He put the paper bag on the passenger seat and was about to start the car when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something from the side window, and his movement paused.
——Under the red light at the intersection where he temporarily changed lanes, an ordinary silver Hyundai was parked on the side of the road, neither moving forward nor flashing, as if it was waiting for someone.
A strange feeling suddenly appeared in Yan Xie’s heart: Have I seen this car in the rearview mirror just now?
This idea was actually a bit ridiculous. Such vehicles were extremely common on the streets of Jianning City. They look almost the same. If one didn’t look at the license plate carefully, one couldn’t tell who was who. But after all, Yan Xie had been a criminal policeman for so many years, and he had an inexplicable sensitivity to certain things. It was as if a shadow quickly swept past from the deepest part of his heart.
Beep—
A horn sounded from behind, Yan Xie frowned, stepped on the accelerator, and turned right.
His pause just now was only a matter of a few seconds, and no one could have seen anything unusual. Yan Xie also deliberately did not show any abnormality. After going on the road again, he always paid attention to the rear-view mirror and side-view mirror. Not long after he saw that the left lane was separated by a distance of tens of meters, the shadow of a silver car body flashed again.
Yan Xie’s eyebrows jumped slightly.
It was that Hyundai.
Such a coincidence?
Yan Xie had lived for more than 30 years, and the thing he didn’t believe the most was a coincidence. He stepped on the accelerator slightly, and the modified S450 made a dull roar and accelerated suddenly to change lanes. Bypassing the car in front and speeding through the traffic lights, at the next intersection where he should continue to drive forward, he turned on the indicator and turned to the right, and glanced at the side mirror at the same time.
The silver car not far away also turned on the right indicator, obviously wanting to keep up!
——Someone was deliberately following him!
Who was bold enough to follow the car of the Vice-Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment?
“Basterd, courting his own death…” Yan Xie scolded in a low voice, deliberately slowed down the car, and held the steering wheel with one hand. At the same time, he took out his mobile phone and made a call without looking at it: “Hey Ma Xiang? Is there someone in the bureau?”
“Happy birthday, Brother Yan——!” Ma Xiang’s loud and enthusiastic voice came from the other side: “I’m in the bureau right now, going to open a dark secret with Brother Gou and Brother Qin. Aiya, after not seeing you for a few days, we miss you so much…”
“I’m being followed.” Yan Xie interrupted him, his face sinking like water: “I am at east of Workers’ Avenue near the exit of Jindao Road now. The stalker is a silver Hyundai Elantra sedan. I can’t see the license plate number for the time being. I’ll send you the location right now, you can go to the traffic police team to lock the target car number and track it back. Hurry up!”
On the other side of the phone, Ma Xiang’s cheerful expression was gradually replaced by a solemn expression. By the time Yan Xie had finished saying the last word, he had already gotten up and rushed out of the office door, leaving only a brief and powerful: “Yes!”
Workers’ Avenue ended in a blink of an eye. The farther away he got from the city center’s business district, the fewer the vehicles on the road became. On both sides of the S450’s window, the street lights and trees swept back smoothly and quickly. Yan Xie raised his eyes and stared at the rear-view mirror, only to see the headlights flashing again, and the silver Hyundai following him.
Who was it?
What do they want to do?
He didn’t usually drive this S450, who knew this was his car?
The various doubts on the surface quickly fell silent, and a terrible guess vaguely emerged in the depth of his heart.
But Yan Xie wasn’t surprised at all. Perhaps he had already made psychological preparations subconsciously, and when things really happened, he didn’t feel the slightest surprise. He quickly led the silver sedan through three green lights in a row, until he got a call from Ma Xiang again: “Hello?”
“Brother Yan, I just contacted the traffic police brigade, and the nearby traffic police and patrol police were immediately dispatched to intercept. Please be careful not to leave the current sub-bureau area, and don’t change the speed of your car. We’ll be there soon!”
Yan Xie spat out a word: “Okay.” Then he hung up the phone, went to WeChat, clicked on the top dialog box, and said, “I suddenly remembered that there was some material left in the office, and I have to drop by the city bureau. I might arrive home late.”
At the same time, on the sofa in the apartment, the screen of the mobile phone reflected Jiang Ting’s slightly raised eyebrows: “What the hell…”
But he swallowed the words back and sent a voice message. This time, there were only two simple and neat words:
“Drive carefully.”
——Drive carefully.
Jiang Ting’s tone didn’t fluctuate in these words, but it made Yan Xie’s heart tremble for some reason.
When he found out that he was being followed, even in some of the more dangerous and critical situations before, Yan Xie had never had such weightless palpitations in his heart, as if Jiang Ting had already felt something.
He didn’t explain any further, closed WeChat, and returned to the address book. While continuing to speed forward, he called Ma Xiang’s phone again. At the same time, he looked up at the rearview mirror, and after a few seconds, his pupils suddenly shrank—
The stalker disappeared.
He was in the middle of a two-lane straight road, flat and bright from front and rear, with excellent visibility. The rearview mirror could see at least 200 meters behind him without hindrance, but aside from a few taxis and pickup trucks, there was no shadow of the silver car.
“Brother Yan!” At this time, the call was connected, and Ma Xiang asked eagerly: “Are you still on Jindao Road? I have already left the city bureau!”
“…He’s gone.”
Ma Xiang didn’t react: “What?”
The S450 slowed down, drove smoothly across the long street, and slowly stopped under the red light. Not far away, the trucks and taxis in the other lanes stopped one after another. The road behind him was empty and flat, and the elusive stalker had quietly disappeared.
There was a hint of coldness in Yan Xie’s voice, and he said in a low voice, “He suddenly gave up.”
Red and blue police lights flickered in the distance, and nearby police motorcycles quickly approached Jindao Road. On Ma Xiang’s side, the background was noisy with the clattering sound of the car sirens, he must be rushing to the scene.
Corresponding to this noise was the long and heavy silence of the two of them.
—The stalker was very clumsy and technically abrasive, and he didn’t even cover his tracks well. However, the person who came was able to choose to give up decisively at the same time when the police were dispatched. His keen sense and precise timing made people feel terrified as soon as they thought about it.
“…Don’t worry Brother Yan,” After a long while, Ma Xiang’s deliberately lowered voice finally came from Bluetooth, with a hint of concern: “I’ll notify the traffic police brigade to call for surveillance on Workers’ Avenue. No matter who the other party was, we will definitely be able to get the license plate number out.”
Yan Xie took a deep breath. The bright neon lights of the urban night sky passed through the car window, reflecting half of his cheeks, casting a shadow on the corner of his lips, and the other half was hidden in the deep darkness of the car.
“Don’t let too many people know about this, especially Chief Lu and Deputy Chief Wei.” Yan Xie paused and said, “Be careful.”
Then he hung up the phone.
………
Forty minutes later, the apartment complex.
The S450 drove into the gate of the community, and before entering the garage, he saw a familiar figure standing under the streetlamp in the distance. Yan Xie immediately stopped the car and lowered the side window: “Why are you waiting here?”
Jiang Ting had his right hand in his trouser pocket and his left hand was clutching his mobile phone. Who knew how long he had been standing here? His always calm expression did not change, but for some reason, when Yan Xie saw him, he felt that he seemed to be slightly relieved.
“Come down, let’s take a walk.” Jiang Ting moved his shoulders, and his joints which had been tense for a long time made a rattling sound after relaxing, but he didn’t seem to care: “Are you all right? Why are you so late?”
Yan Xie looked at him for a few seconds, and he suddenly had the urge to tell everything that happened.
But just as he was about to say the words “I was being followed”, another scene suddenly appeared in his mind. It was as clear as if it was happening at the moment — but it actually happened yesterday in the bathroom. Jiang Ting held his arm tightly, his lips seemed to be trembling slightly, and after a long while he said softly, “You will regret it…”
—Will I?
Or have you already decided that I will?
The short-lived impulse just now was suddenly pressed back by a stronger force and disappeared in an instant. Yan Xie looked at Jiang Ting from the car, smiled slowly, then stretched out his hand from the car window, and squeezed his cold fingertips.
“It’s alright,” He said gently, “I couldn’t find the materials in the office, so it took a while.”
Jiang Ting’s eyebrows were still slightly wrinkled.
“Come on, I brought you a cake.” Yan Xie leaned forward and opened the passenger seat’s door, motioning him to come up: “Come on, let’s go home together.”
