NOS Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Birch Bridge (5)

Chapter 74: Birch Bridge (5)

Early in the morning, Yu Chunming was awakened by the noise of the garbage truck downstairs. He lay in bed for a long time before slowly sitting up.

Guan Yao had already finished his shift at some point. He was washing up in the bathroom. Just as he poured the mouthwash into the cup, Yu Chunming pushed the door open and walked in.

“Awake?” Guan Yao had the fresh scent of toothpaste on him. He was about to turn around to look at Yu Chunming, but Yu Chunming hugged him from behind.

“Hey, what are you doing…” Guan Yao stiffened.

Yu Chunming was injured, and he didn’t dare to struggle casually, fearing he might touch the other man’s unhealed wound, so he had no choice but to stand rigidly, letting Yu Chunming hug him for as long as he wanted before letting go.

“When did you get back?” Yu Chunming also grabbed a cup and started brushing his teeth.

“Half an hour ago. I saw you were still asleep, so I didn’t come in.” Guan Yao replied, “I got some breakfast from the city branch, eggs, soy milk, and meat pies. I don’t know what you like to eat now.”

“Anything’s fine with me.” Yu Chunming replied, his words muffled by the toothbrush in his mouth.

Guan Yao stepped aside and walked past him, sticking his head out to glance at the front door: “When I came back, I saw a pile of beer bottles at the opposite door. What’s going on? Last night, Auntie Jiang, she…”

“Your Auntie Jiang isn’t home. Qin Tian invited a bunch of shady friends over to drink, making a racket until late at night, keeping me up half the night.” Yu Chunming said.

“Qin Tian?” Guan Yao was a little surprised. “He’s back home?”

“What’s wrong?” Yu Chunming was puzzled. “Didn’t Qin Tian used to come home often? I’ve only been here for a few days, and I’ve run into him several times at night.”

Guan Yao shook his head: “That kid always fools around outside, not coming home for weeks at a time. Otherwise, how could Auntie Jiang keep that house so clean?”

These words made Yu Chunming a little suspicious. Could it be that Qin Tian came back specifically for him?

“Put some sugar in the soy milk next time. This is so bland, who can drink it?” After finishing washing up, Yu Chunming said as he sat at the table.

“Don’t you hate sugar?” Guan Yao was surprised.

“I do hate sugar, but you have to categorize things. For example, with this soy milk, if you don’t add sugar, I can’t drink it at all. But like that purple chocolate, ugh, it’s sickly sweet, I can’t eat it.” After Yu Chunming finished speaking, he added, “White Rabbit Candy is okay. I looked for it for a long time last night, but I couldn’t find it.”

“Are you looking for candy?” Guan Yao saw through the other man’s hidden thoughts. He chuckled, “If I ever smell any cigarette smoke in the house, be careful, or I’ll punish you until you have nothing left.”

Yu Chunming took a big bite of the meat pie: “Officer Guan, if you want to see me take my pants off, just say so directly, no need to beat around the bush.”

“What are you talking about…”

Thump—bang!

The two were talking when suddenly there was a loud noise outside the door, followed by the sound of vomiting.

Yu Chunming swallowed the last bite of meat pie with some difficulty, then grabbed the sugarless soy milk and took a couple of gulps: “It must be Qin Tian, he was completely drunk last night.”

Guan Yao opened the door and, sure enough, Qin Tian was supporting a friend by the door. This friend reeked of alcohol, his legs were weak, and startled by the opening of the door, he almost turned around and fell into his own vomit.

“What’s going on here?” Guan Yao scolded sternly.

Qin Tian was so frightened that he almost snapped to attention and saluted Guan Yao.

“Who told you to bring people home?” Guan Yao asked, his face grim.

Qin Tian shrank his neck and chuckled: “Brother Yao…”

“Who’s your brother?” Guan Yao pointed at his nose. “What did you promise me before? Have you forgotten?”

“Didn’t forget, didn’t forget, didn’t forget!” Qin Tian immediately abandoned his friend, raising both hands, “Never gamble again, never steal again, never hit my mom again, and never bring shady friends home!”

“And now?” Guan Yao squinted his eyes and glanced at the person collapsed on the ground. “This is the new manager of the Birch Bridge Club, right?”

“Oh, Brother Yao, you know him?” Qin Tian chuckled, flustered. “We, we just became friends a couple of days ago. I was thinking, my mom’s out, I’d bring him home to sit for a while, and then, we just had a little drink, you know?”

“Get him out of here immediately!” Guan Yao scolded. “And if I catch you going to Birch Bridge again, I’ll whip your thighs with a belt.”

“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare…” Qin Tian bowed and scraped, cautiously sending his friends out the door.

Once everyone was gone, he sneaked up to Guan Yao and asked, “Brother Yao, is your colleague home?”

“Colleague?” Guan Yao frowned.

At this moment, Yu Chunming strolled to the door: “Looking for me?”

“Oh,” Qin Tian was about to shake his hand. “Comrade Police, hello, hello.”

Guan Yao grabbed him: “What are you doing?”

Qin Tian said in a slick way, “Just saying hello, we’re all neighbors, haha, neighbors.”

Guan Yao didn’t want to see this neighbor at all. He blocked Qin Tian, raised his hand, and closed the door, not forgetting to leave a sentence before closing it: “Clean up the stairwell for me.”

Qin Tian nodded obsequiously, loudly responding from outside: “Got it, Uncle Police!”

Hearing that there was no movement outside, Yu Chunming slowly opened his mouth: “He listens to you.”

“Who? Qin Tian?” Guan Yao chuckled. “Listens my ass. If I didn’t have a pair of handcuffs on me, he wouldn’t necessarily talk to me honestly.”

Yu Chunming smiled and asked, “Who was the person he was supporting out just now? I heard you say… it sounded like the manager of Birch Bridge?”

“Right, Birch Bridge.” Guan Yao’s expression revealed displeasure. “Last year, a new entertainment club opened in District 22, which is the jurisdiction of Huangsha Ridge Police Station. It was called ‘Panning for Gold’ at first, but then it was changed to ‘Birch Bridge’. We’ve received several reports saying that the place isn’t clean and that there’s a gambling den underneath. As a result, the people from the city branch went two or three times, but they didn’t find anything, so it ended up being dropped. This March, the previous manager of Birch Bridge was arrested for… illegally reselling tobacco. The entire club was also ordered to suspend operations for half a year for rectification. It just reopened recently, and that guy outside is the new one they hired after reopening. I’ve seen his file.”

Yu Chunming frowned: “How did Qin Tian get mixed up with someone like that?”

Guan Yao sighed. He waved his hand and said, “Auntie Jiang can’t control him. He learned bad habits from his stepfather, Wu Laosan. You know.”

Wu Laosan, real name Wu Wei, Jiang Min’s third husband. The two married the year after Qin Tian’s biological father, Qin Zhun, died.

Yu Chunming remembered very clearly that this Wu Laosan had a bad temper, was an alcoholic, and committed domestic violence, beating and scolding the mother and son every other day. Qin Tian was clever and quickly defected to the enemy, becoming Wu Laosan’s little follower. As for Yu Chunming, he could only hide in Guan Yao’s house to avoid being affected.

Guan Yao had said before that Wu Laosan died seven or eight years ago. How did he die? Yu Chunming was a little curious.

“It seems he got into a fight with someone outside, got his head cracked open, and couldn’t be saved,” Guan Yao said. “He didn’t die in Za Mu Er, so the specifics… I’m not very clear. When Auntie Jiang went to the station to get a certificate for him, I heard Sister Shu Wen mention that Wu Laosan died outside.”

“That’s what happens to bad people, they get their just desserts.” Yu Chunming said faintly, “Wu Laosan shouldn’t have had a good ending.”

Guan Yao chuckled and said nothing.

Yu Chunming then turned to ask, “Has Qin Tian quit gambling?”

“Who knows?” Guan Yao replied. “He’s been caught and locked up two or three times before for gambling. After coming out, he hasn’t changed his ways. He not only gambles, but also steals. Some time ago, he also got into drugs. He’s practically got all the vices. Oh, right, I haven’t told you the follow-up to his drug use.”

Guan Yao remembered the interrogation last night. He said, “Do you know? The person who drugged Qin Tian behind his back is very likely Li Guanglai, who is also the suspect ‘Yi Jun’ in the Mopan Mountain dismemberment case.”

“‘Yi Jun’?” Yu Chunming’s eyelids twitched.

Yu Zeng had said personally that he didn’t know Qin Tian, but Yu Zeng also said that although he didn’t know Qin Tian, Li Guanglai knew Song Chen. In other words, if necessary, Li Guanglai could bypass him and directly contact a generational subordinate.

Although it is not yet certain whether it is Li Guanglai after all, or whether it is “Yi Jun”, Guan Yao boldly hypothesizes and cautiously verifies, and he believes it is “Yi Jun”. After all, there are no coincidences in a case. The time and place of that incident were too suspicious. If the person behind it had any purpose, this purpose is most likely related to the case.

“But before, Song Chen said that the person who approached him claimed to be a policeman and wanted him to ruin Qin Tian. This is very strange. If it was Li Guanglai, what kind of feud would he have with Qin Tian?” Guan Yao said, pondering.

“Perhaps it wasn’t Li Guanglai at all, but Qin Tian offended someone at Birch Bridge.” Yu Chunming looked a little distracted, he pressed his shoulder injury, his face faintly pale.

“Possibly,” Guan Yao didn’t notice Yu Chunming’s change, he continued, “What’s the motivation? If you really want to ruin a person, there are many ways. Why would you take the one with the most variables, and even specially disguise yourself as a policeman to confuse Song Chen? Unless this person can control the entire process, even including controlling Qin Tian.”

Yu Chunming pursed his lips and added, “I guess the person who tried to ruin Qin Tian also tried to ruin a policeman.”

Who is this policeman?

Guan Yao realized something was wrong. He looked at Yu Chunming, worried: “Why are you suddenly sweating so much? Is it the wound…”

“It’s a little painful.” Yu Chunming forced a smile. He squeezed his shoulder and supported himself on the table to stand up, “Maybe I’ve been standing for a bit too long.”

Guan Yao hurriedly went to support him.

“It’s okay,” Yu Chunming took a deep breath, “Qin Tian is definitely gambling again recently, you have to pay more attention to him.”

“Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on him.” Guan Yao responded softly.

Yu Chunming asked again, “When will you take me to see Fang Wang and Xiao Meng?”

“Tomorrow.” Guan Yao responded casually.

That morning, after Yu Chunming had just fallen asleep, Han Chen, who had led the team to search for He Wang near Beilin Village, returned. He brought back news that was neither good nor bad.

“He Wang should still be in the country.” At the case discussion meeting, he said, “According to the villagers’ descriptions, he may be injured. He limps slightly when he walks, perhaps he twisted his foot or fell during the chase that day.”

“Did the villagers say which direction He Wang went?” Someone asked.

“They didn’t say clearly,” Han Chen replied. “Some people saw him going to Qianjinping in the north, and some people saw him heading towards the city. After all, it’s snowing outside, and the mountains are white, so it’s normal not to see clearly.”

“Several weeks have passed. It’s already very difficult to find eyewitnesses. It’s good to know that he’s still in the country,” Guan Yao added.

Min Chao, the captain of the city branch’s criminal investigation team, sighed: “But in this way, our clues are cut off, and the accounts given by Ai Hua and the small snakehead are also useless. If the suspect really finds a godforsaken place to hide, we won’t be able to find him even if we dig three feet into the ground.”

“It won’t be,” Guan Yao said at this time, “We have to understand that there are more than just the police looking for He Wang.”

That’s right, there are more than just the police looking for He Wang.

Outside the crowded Songlin Street Farmers Market, Jiang Min was smoking a cigarette, watching the last wave of vegetable farmers this winter busily working under the plastic sheds. Not far away, several young men were pushing and shoving each other at the entrance of the clothing city. One of them saw Jiang Min and hurriedly jogged to her.

“Where’s Qin Tian?” Jiang Min asked.

The young man chuckled: “Brother Tian went to Birch Bridge. He was still in Hui Chun this morning.”

Jiang Min nodded and turned to leave.

The young man called out again: “Hey, Auntie, what do you need Brother Tian for? I’m going to Birch Bridge this afternoon, I can bring him a message.”

Jiang Min stopped and looked back at the man.

The young man said enthusiastically: “What’s wrong, Auntie? Is Brother Tian going to be scolded?”

Jiang Min’s expression was very calm. She said: “It’s nothing big, I’m just afraid he’ll gamble again.”

“Aiyah, don’t worry, Auntie!” the young man shouted, “We’re watching him, we won’t let him touch the dice!”

“Thank you.” Jiang Min was very polite.

After she finished speaking, she tugged at her long mink coat, straightened her hat, and prepared to turn around and leave.

However, at this moment, a van sped over and stopped precisely beside Jiang Min. Two burly men pounced on her, and before she could shout, they twisted her shoulders and dragged her into the car.

In Guan Yao’s home, Yu Chunming slept until the afternoon. It wasn’t until 4:30 pm that his cell phone rang, and he woke up groggily.

It felt like a large stone was pressing on his chest, and the wound on his shoulder was burning. Yu Chunming pinched his eyebrows and slowly realized that no one was in the house.

The call was from Wang Zhen, but he hadn’t answered for too long, and the phone screen flashed and went dark again.

Yu Chunming was too lazy to return the call. He sat on the bed for a long time, ate the pills that had been counted and placed on the bedside table, and then slowly got out of bed to look for food.

When did Guan Yao leave? He didn’t know. New and old injuries often dragged his originally quick-witted brain to a point where it wasn’t so clear. For example, now, when the sound of knocking on the door came, Yu Chunming thought sluggishly that it was Guan Yao who had returned, rather than some outsider suddenly visiting during working hours.

“Comrade Police?” Only when he opened the door and Qin Tian’s voice rang out did he instantly remember what had happened last night and this morning.

“Comrade Police, I’m really sorry,” Qin Tian clung to the crack in the door, looking at Yu Chunming with a grin, “I didn’t have enough money to go around today. I only made three hundred dollars, and it was all gone after treating my brothers to a meal. That thousand of yours… I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

After hearing this, Yu Chunming directly closed the door, but Qin Tian rudely blocked it with his hand, then directly raised his leg and stepped inside. He said, “Comrade Police, you haven’t told me what your name is. Let me write you an IOU, okay?”

Yu Chunming took a step back, realizing that this person was up to no good. He coldly replied, “No need.”

“No need?” Qin Tian seemed to have picked up a treasure, “Comrade Police, do you mean… I don’t need to pay back the money?”

Yu Chunming frowned. He smelled an unpleasant stench of alcohol from Qin Tian: “It’s only this time, and you’re already this drunk. Didn’t you drink enough last night?”

Qin Tian laughed. He pulled up a chair and sat down at the dining table: “Drinking, it’s anytime, anywhere, I can do it.”

“Then you can go out, don’t make a drunken scene in my house.” Yu Chunming said, his face grim.

“Your house?” Qin Tian propped his head up and sized him up. “Is this your house?”

Yu Chunming narrowed his eyes: “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know what I mean?” Qin Tian licked his lips and spat out two words, “Jiang Xin?”