NOS Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Fish Cliff Island (12)

Guan Yao first saw Jiang Xin one afternoon, just as school was letting out. He was carrying a messenger bag and following behind his older sister, Guan Na, squeezing into a grain and oil store.

“Don’t rush, be careful not to lose your grain coupons!” someone shouted from the front.

The store was full of Forest Farm workers coming to collect their rice, flour, and oil. Guan Yao was still a child, short in stature, and was purely being used as a laborer by his sister. Even on tiptoes, he could barely see what was going on in front, until someone yelled, “Thief! Catch him! That little bastard is stealing!”

Then, Guan Yao was knocked to the ground with a “thump.” Before he could see who was stealing, the crowd in the grain and oil store surged out like a swarm of bees.

“Jiang Xin? Jiang Xin—” His sister, Guan Na, also ran out.

Guan Yao got up and craned his neck to look: “Who’s Jiang Xin?”

“You don’t recognize Jiang Xin?” A middle-aged woman in her forties wiped sweat from her forehead and replied, “Isn’t he Jiang Min’s son, the one who lives across from you?”

Guan Yao knew that the beautiful aunt who lived across from his house had given birth to a son three years ago. She had given birth a little over a year after her divorce, without a man by her side, so the compound was filled with gossip.

“Is it her ex-husband’s seed?”

“That’s hard to say…”

“Maybe she had him with some wild man… Her ex-husband is an official in the provincial capital, would he let his wife suffer with a big belly in this poor place like Za Mu Er?”

Guan Yao had heard these words many times, but this was the first time he had actually seen the child of unknown parentage.

“Did you get beaten?” When he returned to the compound, Guan Yao saw a dirty child squatting downstairs from his house.

The child was either naturally dark-skinned or never washed his face. He looked like a little tabby cat, with tear stains, blood crusts, and mud under his eyes. As soon as he heard Guan Yao speak, he immediately stood up to run, but how could a three-year-old run faster than Guan Yao, who was already growing taller? He was caught before he could even take two steps.

“Why did you steal?” Guan Yao asked, grabbing him by the collar.

The child stared at Guan Yao with his overly large eyes, not saying a word.

“How old are you? Can’t you talk yet?” Guan Yao examined him.

The child tried to break free from Guan Yao’s grip, but he was too thin and had no strength other than running fast. After struggling for a long time, he still couldn’t escape Guan Yao’s grasp, and finally had to obediently pout and squat back down on the ground.

“Are you Jiang Auntie’s son?” Guan Yao asked curiously, “Why haven’t I ever seen you before?”

No, to be precise, he had rarely seen even Jiang Auntie in recent years.

Guan Yao’s grandmother said that Jiang Min had returned to her hometown. She had been dismissed from the Songlan Grand Theater due to issues with her conduct and then dismissed from the Forest Farm Art Troupe for the same reason. Three years ago, Jiang Min’s parents drove an ox cart from the deep mountains of Jin A Lin to Za Mu Er and took her back to their hometown. After that, Guan Yao had hardly seen this beautiful aunt again.

“Did you and Jiang Auntie come back to Za Mu Er?” Guan Yao also squatted down, trying to look Jiang Xin in the eye. “Are you leaving again? If you don’t leave, we’ll be neighbors.”

The child looked up at Guan Yao, his eyes timid.

Just then, several mocking shouts came from the distance, and a group of boys about Guan Yao’s age rushed in from outside the compound.

“There he is, the little bastard’s there!” the leader shouted.

The child squatting on the ground jumped up with a “flutter,” turned his head and ran, but was quickly surrounded by the group of boys. One of them, fat and short, kicked him and cursed with a laugh, “Are your mother and father starving to death? How dare you steal!”

Guan Yao took a closer look. The fat boy was the son of the noodle shop owner at the entrance, who originally had a kind face but now had a rather ferociousface. He sneered, “You look like a rat, and you act like a rat. No wonder you’re born of a whore!”

“Beat him to death! Beat him to death!” the surrounding people cheered.

“Hitting people is against the law. If you dare to lay a hand on him, the police will arrest you!” Guan Yao rushed into the crowd and stood in front of the child.

The son of the noodle shop owner frowned and raised his chin: “Guan, get out of the way, or we’ll beat you too.”

“If you have the guts, come on.” Guan Yao pulled a long iron hook from under the trash passage. “I want to see if you can beat me!”

Then, that day, he and Jiang Xin were both beaten black and blue.

That night, his sister, Guan Na, applied medicine to the two of them while scolding, “Why bother arguing with them? Those little brats are no good. Run when you see them, got it?”

Jiang Xin nodded vigorously, as if if he responded too slowly, Guan Na would give him a slap like Jiang Min would.

Guan Yao dared to argue back, he said indignantly: “It’s because I’m not skilled enough. If I could learn the Repentance…”

“You’re still talking about Six Meridian Divine Sword?” Guan Na gave him a flick on the forehead. “Read less martial arts novels, go, take your little brother to the factory to wash his face!”

Guan Yao sullenly shrank his neck and pulled Jiang Xin up from the small bench: “Let’s go, I’ll wash your face.”

Jiang Xin was very obedient, holding the washbasin and sticking close to Guan Yao, following him around seven turns and eight turns into the No. 2 Timber Factory’s washroom.

“Can you even talk?” Guan Yao asked.

Jiang Xin pursed his lips and nodded.

“Then why don’t you talk?” Guan Yao asked again.

Jiang Xin blinked twice, as if he didn’t know what to say.

Guan Yao said deliberately: “Come on, call me ‘brother’.”

So, Jiang Xin, with water droplets on his face, obediently opened his mouth and called out: “Guan Yao brother…”

Guan Yao brother…

Brother. Jiang Xin had always called him brother. Guan Yao could still recall the image of this child, who never seemed to grow taller, chasing after him and calling him brother.

What about Yu Chunming?

At this moment, Yu Chunming smiled after saying those words, then stepped forward and softly asked: “Am I wrong, Guan Yao brother?”

The person who had been called out with goosebumps all over his body trembled instantly, wanting to reach out and push Yu Chunming away.

After all, he was too close, so close that this call and his warm breath drilled into Guan Yao’s chest,Entangled his beating heart.

Guan Yao suddenly felt weak all over. He involuntarily placed his hands, which should have been pushing hard, on Yu Chunming’s waist, and then let this person slowly press his lips to his ear.

“I won’t leave you, no one can take me away.” Yu Chunming said.

Guan Yao closed his eyes.

He had once held Jiang Xin’s hand and ran along the Ning Nie Li Qi River. The two of them passed through golden cornfields, crossed hills full of birch trees, and leaped all the way to the top of the mountain.

Looking at the long river flowing to the distance under his feet, Guan Yao asked with a smile: “Do you know what Ning Nie Li Qi means?”

Jiang Xin shook his head.

“Ning Nie Li Qi, in the language of our local ethnic minority, means ‘flowing towards spring.’ Jiang Xin, this is a river from spring.” Guan Yao said.

It was probably autumn at that time, because there were already patches of floating ice on the river, and their faces were also frozen red. They exhaled white mist from time to time as they spoke.

Jiang Xin asked curiously: “This is a river from spring, so where is spring?”

Guan Yao raised his face and thought for a long time. He replied regretfully: “I don’t know either.”

Jiang Xin squatted down and picked up a withered yellow grass: “Za Mu Er is north of spring, so we can’t find her. Only by going south will we find where spring is.”

“Going south…” Guan Yao was somewhat lost in thought.

He had indeed gone south, trying to find his spring, but he had missed it time and time again. And now, Yu Chunming was right in front of him, so what reason did he have to push him away?

Yu Chunming said: “I can be Jiang Xin, I can be your younger brother, or I can be no one, because no matter who I am, it can’t change the fact that you love me.”

Guan Yao paused, raised his eyes and met Yu Chunming’s naked and scalding gaze.

“Do you want to kiss me?” Yu Chunming smiled. “I allow you to kiss me.”

Allow… Guan Yao had been given permission, so how could he continue to hesitate?

In the evening, a thin mist settled on the river surface. Fish Cliff Island was secluded and quiet, and the lights in the ward were dim.

The tide surged in, submerging the more than twenty-year-long gap between the two. Guan Yao finally tightened his arms and pulled Yu Chunming into his embrace.

He slowly leaned closer, lowered his head slightly, and gently rolled his Adam’s apple.

However, ding—

A phone call suddenly came in.

“Wait, wait…” Guan Yao immediately let go of his hands. He Tormentedtook out his phone and saw the caller ID: “It’s Team Wang.”

Wang Zhen, damn Wang Zhen, Yu Chunming cursed in his heart.

Guan Yao had already answered the phone. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before calling out, “Team Wang.”

Wang Zhen asked loudly from the other end: “Where are you?”

Guan Yao glanced at Yu Chunming: “At the Medical University’s sanatorium, on Fish Cliff Island, next to Chunming.”

“Oh, Chunming’s side…” Wang Zhen immediately lowered his voice. “Za Mu Er sent news this morning that Han Chen and the others found a footprint outside Qianjinping, identifying it as belonging to the third person who appeared at the scene of the fight involving the suspect in the Three Mines Family Compound.”

“The third person?” Guan Yao immediately asked, “Is it that rubber shoe footprint?”

“Yes, the rubber shoe footprint.” Wang Zhen replied. “Na Fei led the task force to collect evidence in Qianjinping all afternoon, but unfortunately, they didn’t identify any suspicious people. They only found a pair of rubber shoes covered in silt on the soles in an abandoned patrol station not far from Qianjinping, as well as a cigarette butt next to the rubber shoes. This pair of shoes and that cigarette butt have now been taken back to the city for further Decidedto see if any useful information can be extracted.”

Speaking of this, Wang Zhen changed the subject: “By the way, Xu You came back yesterday, he came back… Songlan doesn’t lack manpower anymore, so you can go back to Za Mu Er early. I bought you a ticket for tomorrow, K7629, leaving at twelve thirty noon. It’s peak tourist season now, and it took me a lot of effort to get a sleeper ticket for the whole trip.”

“Okay, I understand.” Guan Yao didn’t have any room to refuse.

After he hung up the phone, Yu Chunming asked: “What did Wang Zhen say?”

“Team Wang he…” Guan Yao touched his nose, finding it a little difficult to speak.

“Did he tell you to go back to Za Mu Er?” Yu Chunming asked.

Guan Yao had no choice but to nod: “Yes, tomorrow, the car at noon tomorrow.”

“K7629?” Yu Chunming immediately stated the train number. “That ticket found in He Wang’s house was for this train, I remember it was… leaving at twelve thirty noon.”

“Yes.” Guan Yao put away his phone and bent over to start cleaning the table. “I might have to leave earlier in a bit, go back to the guest house to pack something, and then go to the City Bureau tomorrow morning to bring the sorted materials back to Za Mu Er. You… take good care of yourself here, don’t always argue with Teacher Wang and the others.”

Yu Chunming chuckled and didn’t say anything.

Great, Wang Zhen’s phone call had sent Guan Yao back to before liberation.

This person, who had just been holding Yu Chunming, wanting to kiss and gnaw on him, had now turned back into a gentleman. He began to Work hardwipe the table and mop the floor, then checked whether the smoke alarm he had bought in the morning was working properly.

After everything was done, Guan Yao let out a long breath: “If there’s nothing else… I’ll go first.”

“Go.” Yu Chunming was very straightforward.

Guan Yao still wanted to say something, but he paused for a long time and didn’t say a word in the end.

The evening on Fish Cliff Island was unusually quiet. Except for the few lights in the sanatorium that were still on, the distance was dark. A faint clamor came from across the river, and the high-rise buildings on the other side of the river flashed with neon lights. A Cruise boatslowly sailed past under the cable car, creating countless wide ripples on the water.

Guan Yao suddenly stopped moving. He turned his head and looked at the window.

Through the thick curtains, only a sliver of light shone through. The light was sometimes dim and sometimes bright, reflecting the figure moving inside the room.

What was Yu Chunming doing now? Would he be hiding behind the curtains, making eye contact with himself across the distance?

Guan Yao didn’t know. He didn’t know whether Yu Chunming would choose to stay or choose to leave, and he didn’t know when this person had discovered that he already knew he was Jiang Xin. Yu Chunming always had many twists and turns. He was sharp and cunning, he was precocious and suspicious, and he was always planning one elusive trap after another. And one of those traps might be the inescapable net he had set for Guan Yao.

The person standing in the ice and snow silently exhaled.

Dawn broke with a light snow, and the Beginning of Winter arrived as scheduled.

At eleven thirty noon, Guan Yao, who had finished eating and packing his things at the City Bureau, said goodbye to Wang Zhen and set off on his return journey alone with his bag on his back.

The Songlan Railway Station was crowded with people coming and going. Guan Yao traveled light and bought two buckets of instant noodles and two loaves of bread in a chain supermarket outside the station as his lunch and dinner for the day.

After following the crowd to the ticket gate, Guan Yao took out his phone and prepared to make a phone call to Yu Chunming.

But just then, with a “ding,” Wang Meng’s call rang first. Guan Yao paused, feeling a bad premonition in his heart.

Sure enough, as soon as the phone was answered, Wang Meng asked from the other end: “Guan, is Chunming with you?”

Guan Yao looked around: “I’m at the train station, going back to Za Mu Er today. Chunming he… isn’t he at the sanatorium? Why would he be with me?”

Wang Meng sighed heavily: “This morning at around ten o’clock, before I even got out of class, the head nurse of the center called me seven or eight times, saying that Chunming was gone.”

“Gone?” Guan Yao was shocked. “Where would he go? Did you check the surveillance? Did anyone in that sanatorium see him?”

Wang Meng replied: “The surveillance was checked, and not even a shadow was found. I’ve already told Old Yu and Wang Zhen, they…”

Before Guan Yao could hear the whole story, the hand holding his phone suddenly went empty—in broad daylight, in a bright world, who would rob a police officer’s phone?

“I knew she would call you.” The “robber” said faintly from the side.

Guan Yao turned his head.

The person who had been wearing a patient’s gown last night, obediently staying in the sanatorium, had now changed into a rather fashionable and eye-catching black leather jacket, and he didn’t know where he had gotten a pair of Martin boots that “clicked” as he walked. He hung up the phone and smiled at Guan Yao: “What’s wrong? Don’t want to see me?”

Guan Yao was dumbfounded: “You…”

“You… don’t talk yet,” Yu Chunming raised an eyebrow. “Listen to me.”

So, Guan Yao really shut his mouth and listened to him.

“First,” Yu Chunming held out his index finger, “Without any formal transfer orders, I am still a police officer at your Forest Farm Police Station. My files and personnel relations are all kept in Za Mu Er. Even the King of Heaven himself would have to issue a transfer request first, let alone Deputy Director Yu.”

“It’s not…”

“Second,” Yu Chunming didn’t give Guan Yao a chance to recover. He held out another finger. “Second, I am thirty-two years old this year. The year I graduated from college, I moved my Household accountfrom Old Yu’s Household account本as required by Deputy Director Yu. So neither Deputy Director Yu himself nor Teacher Wang has the right to restrict my personal freedom as a thirty-two-year-old adult. That’s what the law says.”

Guan Yao was speechless, but Yu Chunming had a third.

“Third,” he smiled, “Of course, if my direct leader, Guan, doesn’t agree to me going back to Za Mu Er like this, I have nothing to say, so… the choice is yours.”

Guan Yao opened his mouth. He looked at the display screen at the entrance gate. The time had rolled over to twelve fifteen, and the announcer’s voice then sounded.

“It’s time to check in.” Guan Yao suddenly let out a long breath.

[Author’s words]

It won’t be a long-distance relationship, don’t worry.