NOS Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Yuya Island (8)

Sitting in the City Bureau conference room, Yang Xiaowei said awkwardly, “Actually, it was all nonsense he spouted when he was drunk in bed. I can’t really figure out if it’s true or not.”

“It’s okay, just chat casually. We’ll judge whether it’s true or false,” Jiang An said amiably.

Encouraged, Yang Xiaowei sat up straight and began, “Police officers, I haven’t had much contact with Fang Dian in recent years, and I don’t know what happened to that Wang Xinsheng later. But when we first got together… Fang Dian often liked to talk, after getting drunk, about how he and that Wang used to be sworn brothers, loyal to each other, decades ago. But then that Wang sold him to a human trafficker heading south, all for money.”

“A human trafficker heading south?” Jiang An asked, puzzled. “Did your ex-boyfriend… give a specific account of what happened?”

Yang Xiaowei looked up, thinking for a moment, and replied, “Not really specific. He just said that they were planning to go south to make money and get rich, but at the Shunyang train station, Wang turned around and sold him to a second-hand trafficker. If he hadn’t been lucky, and it happened to coincide with the first ‘Strike Hard’ campaign, who knows what organs would have been dug out and sold for money.”

“The first ‘Strike Hard’ campaign?” Jiang An calculated and turned to ask his colleague, “Wasn’t that…”

“Thirty-three years ago, the same year as the Za Mu Er 9.24 fire,” the colleague replied.

“Thirty-three years ago, the same year as the 9.24 fire, and also the first year that ID cards began to be issued,” Yu Chunming said, his eyes lighting up instantly after hearing Guan Yao’s retelling. “Do you remember where He Wang’s ID card was issued?”

“I remember,” Guan Yao replied. “Sui City. The 8.19 operation in the second year, a series of special arrests targeting the illegal trafficking of human organs in the south. At that time, the first ‘Strike Hard’ campaign was nearing its end, and the 9.24 fire had happened less than a year before. He Wang’s ID card was uniformly issued by the Liang’an Police Station in Fangping District, Sui City, at that time.”

Yu Chunming smiled. “It really lines up. In other words, Qian Guowei had just escaped to Shunyang after the fire when he was sold out by Xu Wen, who wanted money. And Ai Hua, who had agreed to go south to work with him, ended up going to Baishan because he couldn’t wait for him at the station. But how did the three of them find each other later? Communications were not advanced thirty years ago. Did they manage to stay in touch after they separated?”

That’s right. In theory, Qian Guowei, who had been lucky enough to escape having his kidneys harvested and had successfully transformed into He Wang, should have been content to be an upstanding citizen. If he didn’t say anything, no one would know that the “clean” He Wang was actually Qian Guowei, who had “disappeared” in the fire.

And Xu Wen, no matter how he became Wang Xinsheng, wouldn’t want to deal with Qian Guowei again, since they already had a grudge. But the two of them were reconnected, and competed to smuggle themselves out of the country last April and this October.

And Ai Hua, how did He Wang find him? Did these two have any other contact in the past thirty years?

The question was difficult, and no one could figure it out. Guan Yao sighed, took the towel that Yu Chunming had been holding, and personally wiped his face for him. Then, he found the razor. “Yang Xiaowei also said that Wang Xinsheng was very anxious when he sold the factory, as if his ass was on fire. She didn’t think much about it at the time, but now she thinks it’s strange. After all, although the factory was losing money at that time, it was much better than it is now. It wasn’t worth selling it at a low price.”

“So Wang Xinsheng did participate in the drug-making case led by Li Guanglai, and he was worried about it,” Yu Chunming accepted Guan Yao’s “shaving service” with peace of mind. He continued, “But this… He Wang, who supposedly hated Wang Xinsheng, probably didn’t know about it. Otherwise, I don’t think he would have interfered.”

Guan Yao laughed. “That’s right. Come on, lift your chin up.”

Yu Chunming obediently did as he was told.

“Actually, the intertwined relationship between the three is also easy to understand. After all…” Guan Yao’s hands moved constantly, and he couldn’t help but say the conjecture that had always been swirling in his mind, “After all, Jiang Min is still alive.”

Yu Chunming’s body froze.

Jiang Min was still alive, so this woman who had been deeply hurt by the three of them had become the only bond between them.

Baishan Xue Mei, Li Hongge on the stage thirty-three years ago, the code in the communication records thirty-three years later. She was like a shadow. Once she appeared, looking back at the past, it seemed that every corner had her lingering presence.

Yu Chunming’s heart was pounding wildly. He didn’t dare to think deeply, let alone think about what Guan Yao was implying.

“Oh, right,” but the person who had just started the conversation suddenly said, “Before you got up, Han Chen called and said that he and Na Fei checked Li Ying’s resident registration and contacted the person in charge of the non-ferrous smelting plant. They found the department manager who originally recruited Li Qie, also known as Li Guanglai. They discovered that this person had already left the non-ferrous smelting plant five years ago, let alone going to some Damoqi mine as an outsourced worker. But strangely, when the census registered family members’ workplaces, Li Ying still filled in the non-ferrous smelting plant as his son’s contact address.”

“He didn’t know?” Yu Chunming asked, puzzled.

“It’s hard to say whether he really didn’t know or was pretending not to know,” Guan Yao washed his hands and sat back on the bed. “The most important thing is that Han Chen secretly asked someone to check the receiving records of Li Ying’s bank account and found that the payers were really transferring money from Damoqi Bank every time.”

“That’s not right,” Yu Chunming immediately recalled the scene when he first met Li Ying. “More than a month ago, we arrested He Wang on the train to Haizhuerge, but we ‘coincidentally’ met ‘Yi Jun’, and Li Ying, who was supposedly going to visit his son. In an emergency, Li Ying tripped me, and then… let ‘Yi Jun’ run away.”

Guan Yao’s eyebrows jumped, and he didn’t respond.

In the past, when analyzing the “Baihuation arrest”, no one dared to use the word “let go” to define Li Ying’s sudden standing up and blocking Yu Chunming’s actions. But if he had sat still and let Yu Chunming smoothly cross the long table and arrest the suspect? Or, perhaps, Li Ying didn’t get on this train so coincidentally?

“He was helping that person escape,” Yu Chunming said firmly. “So Li Ying must know who Li Guanglai is. Perhaps…”

Ding—

This conclusion was interrupted by a burst of rapid ringing. Guan Yao quickly took out his phone and saw the words “Li Xiaotian” on the caller ID.

Perhaps he was calling to tell him about the search and rescue of Meng Changqing.

Guan Yao glanced at Yu Chunming, who was staring at him, cleared his throat, “It’s Auntie Wang from downstairs. She’s been calling all day yesterday, saying that our bathroom is leaking. The call came again today. I’ll go out and answer it.”

Yu Chunming didn’t suspect anything. He obediently leaned against the head of the bed with Guan Yao’s support, and then said, “I’ve been saying that there’s something wrong with the water pipes, but you just won’t fix it. What if it freezes and bursts in this cold winter? What if the water floods Za Mu Er?”

“Yes, yes, yes, I’ll fix it when I get back,” Guan Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

He settled Yu Chunming down, greeted the nurse who came in to change the IV drip, and then found an empty stairwell to call Li Xiaotian back.

“Old Guan!” Before Guan Yao could speak, a shout came from the other end. “This morning, the search and rescue team found a marker left by Meng Changqing on a mountain outside Qianjinping!”

“A marker left by Meng Changqing?” Guan Yao’s heart instantly leapt into his throat.

More than a week had passed, and there was still no news of him. Everyone had mentally prepared for the worst, but then suddenly there was a new clue. Could it be that Meng Changqing, the clever kid who Guan Yao said could even play dead to get away with encountering a bear, was really still alive?

Li Xiaotian was probably outdoors. He was walking and panting as he spoke. “Old Guan, we didn’t expect it either. The station was about to give up, but just now, the search and rescue team sent by the administrative office found a pile of stacked stone bricks on Yinhou Mountain next to Qianjinping. Under the stone bricks was a piece of dark blue cloth, and there was blood on the cloth. I glanced at it roughly, and the fabric looked just like our issued outer trousers. There was nothing there when we walked past it yesterday, but it’s there today! Old Guan, Xiao Meng might really be alive!”

“It’s good that he’s alive, he must be alive,” Guan Yao’s Adam’s apple bobbed, trying to suppress his slightly hoarse voice. He steadied his mind and asked, “What about Fang Wang? How is he? Is he conscious?”

“Oh, Lao Fang, he’s conscious, but he injured his brain. It’s called… a concussion. The doctor said it caused a slight short-term memory loss. He still can’t remember what happened before the accident, but Lao Fang can clearly describe how he and Xiao Meng went to Qianjinping after leaving our station that night, and who was driving.” Li Xiaotian took a breath. “Old Guan, don’t worry too much over there. Take care of Officer Yu!”

“Hey, wait, have you notified Xiao Meng’s parents? I…”

“Guan Yao?” Before he could finish speaking, Yu Chunming’s voice suddenly came from the stairwell. Guan Yao, who was holding his phone, shook. Before Li Xiaotian could reply, he immediately hung up.

“You, how did you get out of bed?” He turned around and saw Yu Chunming, who was only wearing a coat, with one arm in a sling and a drainage tube still in his body. He was immediately startled.

Yu Chunming was holding onto the wall with one hand, and his other hand was fixed to his chest with a strap. He was also surprised. “Didn’t the nurse say when you went out? I can walk around today. I haven’t seen you for a long time, so I came out myself.”

Did the nurse say that when he went out? Guan Yao didn’t remember. At that time, he was only concerned with answering the phone and didn’t pay attention to what people were saying.

Yu Chunming saw the panic and concealment on his face at a glance. He frowned. “Didn’t you say that the person on the phone was Auntie Wang? Why did I hear you asking about… Xiao Meng?”

“I, cough,” Guan Yao was a little uneasy. “After I finished talking to Auntie Wang, Li Xiaotian called again. He said that Fang Wang was conscious, but this, this concussion caused short-term memory loss, so he can’t really say what happened. Oh, and he said Xiao Meng… said the station hasn’t notified Xiao Meng’s parents yet, because his parents live in the mountains, and there’s heavy snow in the mountains now, so it’s not convenient to get in and out.”

Yu Chunming was dubious. “We still have to notify them. It’s not appropriate to say nothing.”

“Yes, yes, I was just lecturing Li Xiaotian. This person is always opaque when he does things.” Guan Yao carefully supported Yu Chunming’s waist. “Let’s go inside and take a walk. Don’t stand here in the stairwell. You’ll catch a cold.”

As he spoke, he tightened the man’s clothes for him.

This was the second week after being shot, and Yu Chunming was recovering slowly. The drainage tube wasn’t removed until two days later, and the wound was healing slowly. Wang Meng came to see him once and directly suggested transferring him to the sanatorium of the First Hospital of the Medical University. That place was on Yuya Island, far from the city, with fewer people, and a better environment.

But it was predictable that Yu Chunming would resolutely refuse to go – if he went, how could Guan Yao come to see him every day?

Moreover, Yu Chunming not only resolutely refused to go, but he also hoped that he could go back to Za Mu Er with Guan Yao and Wang Zhen in three weeks. This “fantasy” was naturally rejected by everyone, and even Wang Zhen, who had been very accommodating to him recently, resolutely disagreed.

“What are you going back to do?” Captain Wang, who had just come from the City Bureau, said with concern. “What’s wrong? Do you miss Han Chen?”

“What the hell?” Yu Chunming picked up a pillow and wanted to throw it at him.

Guan Yao was already experienced. He held down the pillow with one hand and stepped aside to block Wang Zhen. “Time to take your medicine.”

“I don’t miss Han Chen,” Yu Chunming said, looking at the medicine that was being brought to his mouth. “I hate him.”

“I know,” Guan Yao nodded. “Take your medicine first.”

Yu Chunming pursed his lips, staring at him, refusing to move.

“What’s wrong?” Guan Yao was a little confused.

In the past, Yu Chunming was most pleased to see Guan Yao’s “hesitant” state when he mentioned Han Chen.

After all, Police Officer Guan always obviously hated this person, but was forced to put on airs and adopt a business-like attitude out of face and the vague emotions in his heart.

So what about now?

Now, the business-like attitude was still there, but the obvious hatred was gone. Or rather, the obvious hatred had been completely hidden by him, just as if…

Han Chen, as Yu Chunming’s ex-boyfriend, was no different from anyone else, just as Guan Yao didn’t hate Shu Wen’s ex-husband or Wang Zun’s ex-wife, because it had nothing to do with him.

Realizing this, Yu Chunming instantly panicked.

“I’ve tested the water temperature, it’s just right, not too hot or too cold,” Guan Yao pushed his hand forward again.

Yu Chunming’s throat felt as if he had swallowed a stone. He took a sip of water, but couldn’t swallow the medicine. The bitter taste spread in his mouth, causing him to lean over the bed and retch.

“Oh, this, this, this…” Wang Zhen hurriedly took over. “It’s all my fault for having such a big mouth. Why did I mention Han Chen? When we go back, I’ll send him to be a wild man in the Jin A Lin Mountain. We’ll never mention it again.”

Yu Chunming covered his mouth and didn’t speak.

Guan Yao was also a little at a loss. He held the water cup and said worriedly, “Why don’t you… rinse your mouth?”

Yu Chunming turned his head away. “I don’t want to rinse. I want to go out.”

“Go out, go out… then I’ll help you get your clothes,” Guan Yao quickly agreed.

“I want to go downstairs,” Yu Chunming said again.

“Going downstairs is out of the question,” Wang Zhen said anxiously from the side. “Look at the big wind outside. It snowed all day yesterday, and the ground below is slippery. Just walk around on this floor.”

After speaking, he poked Guan Yao.

But Guan Yao stood still. He held a thick coat and looked at Yu Chunming seriously. “Are you… angry with me?”

[The author has something to say]

The previous events in this chapter were also discussed in Chapter 18.