Still Frame Chapter 75
byChapter 75 Sincerity for Sincerity
Surrounded by a group of out-of-state police officers, Wen Jin remained calm. He quickly glanced at the search warrant and asked, “Who notified you?”
The leading officer probably hadn’t expected this black-haired, black-eyed out-of-stater to speak so aggressively, and his tone hardened. “That is not for you to know. Please come with us.”
Because the commotion was so loud, it had already attracted the attention of several neighbors. Zhang Liuxin spotted a familiar face behind the crowd—those emerald green eyes.
He recalled what Feng Xi had said yesterday. It seemed Feng Xi had used some means to notify the central police bureau in the city.
He briefly explained the situation to Wen Jin and finally said, “Let’s just go with them. Too many people are gathering here; it’s affecting Sister Hui’s shop.”
The two were taken to the town’s police station. The station was small, old, and worn-looking from the outside. This was the first time either of them had been brought to a police station as suspects for questioning.
They initially thought it would be a simple inquiry, as they hadn’t done anything to affect Bernlin State. However, after the questioning, the city police officers demanded that they not leave, insisting they stay at the station until evidence proving their innocence emerged.
Zhang Liuxin thought the officers didn’t know their identities, but to his surprise, they said they knew they were from Yin State. Yet, they insisted they had to handle the matter officially. To show goodwill, they specially arranged for Wen Jin and Zhang Liuxin to stay in the guesthouse next to the police station. The only difference was that someone was always guarding the door, severely limiting their freedom.
Zhang Liuxin felt anxious, worried that Tu Huisha would return to the shop and not find them. He explained the situation to the officer again, mentioning that their family would arrive tomorrow to pick them up. But the officer was unyielding, saying that since they would be picked up tomorrow, they would just have to endure staying here for one more night.
After much effort, nothing changed. Zhang Liuxin looked at Wen Jin, who was still composed and calm beside him, and asked, “A-Zhuo, aren’t you worried?”
Wen Jin had already pulled out a tissue and briefly wiped the table before replying, “Why are you calling me A-Zhuo today?”
“…”
Zhang Liuxin was truly baffled by his husband’s thought process and focus.
Wen Jin told him to sit down first. “There’s nothing to worry about. Duan Chengzi will arrive before noon tomorrow. Once he handles the negotiations, we can leave.”
Zhang Liuxin was still confused. “I originally thought they didn’t know who we were, but clearly that’s not the case. They must know who we are and that we pose no threat. Why are they still holding us here?”
“Liuxin, don’t be too anxious.” Compared to the worried Zhang Liuxin, Wen Jin’s expression was very peaceful.
“Aren’t you worried that your second paternal uncle is behind this again?” Zhang Liuxin frowned. “The reason for suddenly detaining us here is clearly flimsy.”
Wen Jin replied, “It’s not the second paternal uncle. Bernlin is relatively closed off; his reach doesn’t extend here. I looked at the search warrant just now. It was issued by the Serlin government. Yin State and Serlin have never had close ties. The city is likely much more vigilant about that plane than the town. They won’t release us until someone arrives from Yin State or official documents are issued.”
It seemed they really would have to stay here until tomorrow. Zhang Liuxin accepted the reality. “What about Sister Hui and Brother Tu? Will they worry?”
Wen Jin comforted him, “I left a note before we left, and many people saw us along the way. They will inform them.”
That made sense. Zhang Liuxin’s heart settled back into place. However, looking at Wen Jin’s serene profile, a sudden strange feeling arose in his heart.
“Wen Jin.”
“Hmm?”
“What is the situation like in Yin State now?” Zhang Liuxin hesitated slightly. “Last time you said your parents had started handling things. Your second paternal uncle should be under control, right?”
Wen Jin offered a gentle smile and patted the back of his hand. “Yes. After all, my father is in charge of the Wen family. He won’t let everything be handled flawlessly.”
“What about Zhang Jiming?”
Perhaps still feeling uneasy, even though he knew Wen Jin had no way to contact the outside world, just like him, he stubbornly asked, wanting to know what the Zhang family was thinking now. Zhang Qiannan had woken up. Would Zhang Jiming cause more trouble for the sake of this youngest son who had been lying down for seven years?
Wen Jin gripped his hand tightly, his warm, large palm completely enveloping his, giving him confidence and strength.
Wen Jin said, “You don’t need to worry about the Zhang family’s affairs. They have nothing to do with you.”
How could they have nothing to do with him? Zhang Liuxin suddenly remembered that when they first arrived here, Wen Jin had said the same thing. At the time, he had simply thought Wen Jin had also listened to outside rumors and inwardly believed he wasn’t truly a formal child of the Zhang family. But after so many days of being together, especially after last night’s intimacy, he felt that what Wen Jin meant was not what he had assumed.
So he pressed, “Why do you feel that way?”
Wen Jin had always had minimal involvement with the Zhang family. After their marriage, he had only returned to the Zhang family once with Zhang Liuxin, leaving before even eating. At that time, Zhang Jiming had tried to remind Wen Jin of his childhood visit to teach Zhang Qiannan piano, but Wen Jin dismissed him with a simple “I don’t remember,” leaving Zhang Jiming speechless but unable to vent his anger.
“You don’t like the Zhang family,” Wen Jin stated, looking at him with serious eyes. “Last time you told me that Zhang Jiming is an irresponsible father and husband.”
Was it simply because he disliked the Zhang family? Wen Jin was severing his connection with them, hoping to isolate him from the family that had brought him endless loneliness and pain.
“Yes, I don’t like the Zhang family.”
“If you don’t like it, it’s not your home, and it has nothing to do with you,” Wen Jin explained gently. “After we return to Yin State, I will begin the process of separating the assets of the Wen and Zhang families. Zhang Jiming’s ambition has grown over the years, and he has gained many benefits by leveraging his connection to the Wen family.”
So that’s what he meant by “you don’t need to know about the Zhang family”? Something in Zhang Liuxin’s heart began to loosen, because Wen Jin’s words seemed to imply something else: if the Zhang family wasn’t his home, then the home he shared with Wen Jin was his home… right?
“Liuxin, drink some water,” Wen Jin poured him a cup. “Are you bored?”
Zhang Liuxin took a sip of water, his tense nerves relaxing significantly. He nodded. “A little.”
He looked at the composed Wen Jin, dragged his chair closer, and said, “Let’s chat, Wen Jin.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Since arriving in Bernlin, they had chatted many times—stiff, awkward, and tender conversations. But after yesterday’s wedding, after Wen Jin said, “Our wedding was perfect,” Zhang Liuxin felt there were still many things they hadn’t discussed.
Zhang Liuxin looked out the window at the swaying branches and suddenly thought of the willow tree outside Wen Jin’s room at Wenfei Terrace. After all these years, that willow tree had grown very strong. He hadn’t entered Wen Jin’s room many times, and almost every time, he ended up rolling onto the bed, his attention completely monopolized by Wen Jin. But occasionally, he woke up earlier than Wen Jin, and after opening the curtains, he would see the tender green willow branches swaying in the wind.
Let’s talk about that tree, Zhang Liuxin thought, and asked, “How long has the willow tree below your room at Wenfei Terrace been planted?”
Wen Jin seemed slightly taken aback that he would suddenly ask this, but answered without much thought, “It was planted the day before the engagement banquet.”
“You like willow trees…” Zhang Liuxin’s gaze was slightly evasive. He pursed his lips and finally looked vaguely out the window at the patches of sunlight falling on the wooden frame.
Wen Jin smiled. “I don’t.”
If he didn’t like it, why was he smiling? Now the answer was truly imminent.
The questioner became Wen Jin. Following up on the willow tree topic, though not entirely, he asked, “Was your name chosen by your mother?”
“Yes,” Zhang Liuxin lowered his eyes. “She chose it for me after learning the Yin State language.”
“My father… Zhang Jiming didn’t like the Bernlin language, perhaps because he didn’t like my mother enough, so he barely spoke the local language. Zhang Qiannan is only a few months younger than me, which means he wanted to leave this family when I was born, and he wasn’t willing to name me. It was my mother who read books from Yin State and finally chose the characters Liuxin from a poem.”
If he could travel back to when Zhang Jiming and his mother were dating, he would desperately tell his mother, who was immersed in passion, that this man wasn’t willing to put effort into her, wasn’t even willing to learn her language to communicate with her, and she should leave early. If his mother was happy, then it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t exist.
“It’s a beautiful name,” Unconsciously, they were leaning tightly against each other again in an intimate posture. Wen Jin’s voice was warmer than the sunlight outside the window. “Liuxin, the name suits you well.”
Zhang Liuxin didn’t immediately react to the second half of the sentence. He paused before realizing that Wen Jin had spoken in the Bernlin language.
It wasn’t a long sentence, but Wen Jin spoke it slowly, with the slightly deliberate articulation of a foreign language, yet the tone sounded unexpectedly tender and affectionate.
Why did Wen Jin learn the Bernlin language? He said he didn’t learn it for work. Was it for him?
Zhang Liuxin hopelessly realized that he had completely fallen for Wen Jin. Even those restless stirrings seemed to be thoroughly extinguished by Wen Jin’s sweet words on this peaceful, sunny day.
“But I haven’t found my mother. I don’t know where she is. I was too young when I left Bernlin State.”
He didn’t even know if his mother was still… in this world. Perhaps mother and son were connected heart-to-heart. Zhang Liuxin occasionally had nightmares, dreaming that his already blurry-faced mother was moving farther and farther away until she completely vanished from his memory. He always woke up with tears streaming down his face.
So he stopped thinking about it and stopped obsessively searching for his mother. He felt that as long as he didn’t open that box, he would never know what was inside, and he had reason to keep convincing himself that his mother was definitely living healthily and happily somewhere he didn’t know.
Lost in melancholy, he didn’t notice that the hand resting on his shoulder had stiffened considerably. After a long moment, Wen Jin abruptly asked him, “Do you want to know?”
Zhang Liuxin’s expression froze for a second. He sat up straight, staring blankly at Wen Jin, but found it difficult to discern anything from the other man’s expression.
“Do you… know?” he asked hesitantly.
Wen Jin didn’t answer, but instead said, “If you want to know, I can help you investigate.”
The two exchanged a few lines like a tongue twister, but Zhang Liuxin gave up first. “Not now.”
If the vague premonition in his heart was correct, the truth would be cruel. Zhang Liuxin wanted to deceive himself for a little longer, here on the land connected to his mother.
He sighed softly. It was already noon. Someone from the police station delivered food. Sunlight streamed through the window and onto the dining table. Wen Jin looked at the spread of food and pursed his lips, looking displeased.
His mood suddenly lightened considerably. Zhang Liuxin pulled out the chair next to him and said, “Professor Wen, just bear with it a little longer.”
At this moment, although the mention of his mother still caused a significant ripple in his heart, looking at Wen Jin, he blindly believed that life, especially life with Wen Jin, would be completely different from the false life before. There would be no more pretense, calculation, or concealment between them.
At least… until tomorrow arrived, that’s truly what he believed.