Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Along the way, no one spoke. Each person was lost in their own thoughts, and Jiang He’s sudden illness made everyone realize that this situation was likely far more complicated than they had imagined. If one were to compare the human brain to a computer, then Jiang He’s memory was evidently much larger than the others, capable of processing multiple streams of information simultaneously. However, if Jiang He’s computer had crashed, it would be even harder for the rest to decipher the essence behind the case.
Old Shao closed his eyes, gently rubbing his temples. His mind was racing at full speed.
Lu Zhengye, Wei Linghui, Wei Lingyong, Wang Ziyi, Wei Qian—these names tangled and combined in Old Shao's mind. Yet he felt as though he was missing something, perhaps a detail or a name.
Yuan Jun glanced at them through the rearview mirror. Jiang He had his eyes closed, resting his head on Xu Yiman's shoulder. The intense exertion from earlier seemed to have drained him completely; after having fought against sleep for so long, he finally succumbed to a deep slumber. Xu Yiman gently patted Jiang He’s shoulder like a dedicated caregiver.
A faint worry crossed her face as she seemed uncertain about where their path would lead next.
Guan Deng kept his head down as usual, avoiding eye contact with others and refraining from making any sudden movements for fear of drawing attention to himself. Normally, he would carry a laptop with him, constantly typing away, but now he simply stared at the ground, lost in thought.
Guan Deng turned to look at Old Shao and then back ahead.
Rather than being a police unit, it felt more like a gathering of oddities.
Yuan Jun drove quickly, and sure enough, by the time they finished breakfast, they had arrived at Lu Zhengye's doorstep.
Yuan Jun knocked on the large iron gate and called out, "Is anyone home? We are police officers; we’ve already made prior arrangements."
Lu Zhengye's parents had not yet opened the door when their neighbors beat them to it.
"Has Lu Zhengye gotten himself into trouble again?"
"What girl has he messed up this time?"
"This kid has always been into relationships; I knew he wouldn't turn out well."
Amidst the chatter, the door of the Lu residence finally swung open. A man appeared at the entrance and said to the task force members, "Come in."
"Old Lu, what happened to your son this time?" one of the neighbors asked. "Did he mess up with another girl?"
Old Lu sighed, not bothering to refute anything, and simply led the members of the project team into the house.
Once seated, Lu's Mother had already prepared breakfast. As she served everyone, she said, "My son, Lu Zhengye, although he has been a bit aimless since growing up, has a good heart. He has never intended to harm anyone and would never do such things. It must be Wei Qian and those harlots who seduced my son; it has to be."
Lu's Mother continued her rambling, seemingly viewing Lu Zhengye as a perfect child.
Old Shao took a sip of rice porridge and said, "What happened ten years ago is in the past, regardless of the truth. Lu Zhengye just got out of prison, and now he’s gone missing again."
"No," Lu's Mother insisted. "I believe my son would never do such a thing. His lawyer confirmed that it was Wei Qian who seduced him."
Xu Yiman couldn't help but interject, "That might have been a tactic to lessen your son's punishment."
"The lawyer's words are true; how could they be false?" Lu's Mother replied stubbornly.
Lu Father, unable to listen any longer, said, "Stop with the nonsense. Even if it were false, what difference does it make? He’s already spent ten years in prison. Now they’re looking for us because our son is missing. You’re here to help us find him, right?"
Lu Father looked at the others.
"Yes," Old Shao nodded. "That’s our purpose for being here. Can you tell us exactly when Lu Zhengye went missing? I mean when you lost contact with him."
Lu Father nodded and recalled, "We can’t remember the exact date; it was about three months ago. He went out and never came back. At first, we didn’t think much of it; we thought he would return soon. But after more than a week without any word from him, how could we not worry?"
"Did you try calling him later?" Old Shao asked while taking a bite of his meat pie.
"We did," Lu Father replied. "But his phone was always off, and no one answered. We initially planned to report it to the police, but then I thought about it—my son just got out of prison; I didn’t want to trouble the police and risk giving them a bad impression of him, so we didn’t report it. We just searched ourselves and asked relatives and friends to help look for him until you all arrived."
Jiang He hadn’t eaten; he sat on the heated bed and asked, "Before Lu Zhengye went missing, did he say anything strange or mention wanting to meet someone?"
Lu Father nodded and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Actually, there is something I need to tell you about."
"My son Lu Zhengye was picked up from prison by us along with his wife Wei Linghui. However, it seemed like he didn’t want to see Wei Linghui at all. Knowing this, we brought him home early and didn’t let Wei Linghui meet him. Later on, Wei Linghui came here several times looking for him, but he refused to see her."
"Have you not seen Wei Linghui for a long time?" Jiang He looked at Lu Father.
Lu Father nodded, then shook his head, saying, "Anyway, Wei Linghui hasn't come by since then. We don't know if Lu Zhengye has met with her outside. However, during the time right after Lu Zhengye got out of prison, things were really good. He went to bed early and got up early, helped us with some chores, and then went out to look for work—all on his own."
"He used to smoke and drink, but after he came out, he stopped," Lu Father continued, rubbing his head. "He even gained some weight after getting out, telling us that the food inside was quite good. He learned a lot of lessons during those ten years; he really changed a lot and understood many things."
Lu's Mother chimed in, picking up where Lu Father left off. "Yes, he was serious about finding a job when he got out. It wasn't easy for him to find work after prison, but if he took it slow, he could eventually find something to support the family. He even confided in me that once he settled down, if Wei Linghui was still willing to be with him, they could live a good life together. If not, he would be fine on his own."
"Is that why he was avoiding Wei Linghui? Because he wanted to find a job?" Xu Yiman asked.
Lu Father pulled out a cigarette. "Yes, that's how it was. Back then, he was confused; the person he hurt the most wasn't anyone else but Wei Linghui. We were second on that list."
"Did he ever talk about what happened ten years ago?" Old Shao took another sip of rice porridge. "You mean that incident?"
Lu Father shook his head. "He never went into detail with us; he just mentioned it briefly. He had responsibilities for what happened back then, but over ten years, he has paid his dues. He actually thought about divorcing Wei Linghui ten years ago but never got the chance to bring it up before everything happened."
Old Shao nodded. "Alright, continue."
Lu Father took a puff of his cigarette, smoke billowing from his nose. "He looked for a job for a while but couldn't find one. His qualifications were good, but as soon as people heard he had just come out of prison, they shook their heads and turned him away. He could have gone back to living like before with his old crowd, but that wasn't the life he wanted anymore."
"Later on, some of his old friends—those who used to hang out with him—came by to see him," Lu Father said. "He occasionally went out with them, but eventually lost touch more and more. Even those friends noticed that Lu Zhengye had completely changed; he had his own aspirations now."
"Until three months ago when something seemed off," Lu Father added.
"Off?" Jiang He asked. "What seemed off?"
Lu Father sighed and pinched the cigarette between two fingers. "After he got out, his phone number changed to a new one, so no one knew it and no one called him. That phone didn't ring for a long time at all. But three months ago, it started ringing constantly; it seemed like someone was trying to reach him about something important."
"During that time, he became a bit irritable," Lu's Mother said. "We asked him what was going on, but he never shared anything with us—just some random friends trying to contact him whom he didn't want to see."
"We didn't want to pry too much into how he was feeling," Lu's Mother added.
"Then what happened?" Jiang He asked.
Lu Father replied, "Later, it seemed he promised someone something. He went out to meet a friend and didn't come back that night."
"Did he not come back that night?" Jiang He pondered, "Or did he never come back again?"
Lu Father said, "He just didn't need to wait for dinner that night. From what he implied, he would return the next day. But who knew what happened? He didn't come back the next day either. We didn't think much of it at first, but now we can't reach him at all. It's driving us crazy."
"Do you know who he was in contact with?" Jiang He asked.
Lu Father shook his head and said, "He was just standing in the yard making calls. We only caught a few snippets here and there. From what I gathered, it seemed like the other person was asking him to do something. At first, he refused, but later he agreed. I don't want to bring up things from ten years ago; why mention them now?"
"I also heard something about the police," Lu's Mother added. "It seemed like he spoke with a police officer and mentioned something about impossibilities, but I didn't catch much more than that."
"He spoke with a police officer?" Old Shao and Jiang He asked in unison.
"Yes!" Lu Father nodded. "I remember that call too; he seemed very angry and felt wronged. However, after that, it seemed like he never received any more calls from the police."
Comment 0 Comment Count