NOS Chapter 11
by VolareIn the weedy area, two tall men were squatting, staring intently at the three sets of footprints that were almost overlapping.
“Is this…left by the person who flashed past the back window this morning?” Guan Yao asked, puzzled.
Yu Chunming shook his head, “It doesn’t seem like it. The forensic team also believes it isn’t. Za Mu Er had frost a few days ago, and it had been raining before that, so the soil here is loose and muddy, which can leave relatively clear footprints. But today, so many of us have been walking back and forth here, but we haven’t left any clear marks. So, these three sets of footprints must have been left before the frost.”
Guan Yao “tssked” softly, “Before the frost…”
“Moreover, it can be seen from two of these three sets of footprints that the people walking were probably side by side. One of them had erratic steps, while the other was quite steady.” Yu Chunming paused, “As for the third set, the shoe size looks much smaller than the other two, and the prints left are also much shallower. So, the owner of this footprint is probably short and thin. However, the detailed body shape and appearance need to be measured precisely by the forensic team after they have fully traced the footprints. The only thing I can be sure of now is that, based on the degree of overlap between these three sets of footprints, the owner of the third set of footprints went to the driving school much later than the owners of the first two sets.”
“Liu Bin, Lin Zhimin, and the third person Liu Bin hid,” Guan Yao continued.
Yu Chunming nodded, “Tonight, we found Lin Zhimin’s clothes and shoes. Just now, outside the barbecue restaurant, I took a rough look, and his shoe prints matched this more erratic shoe print quite well. And the person walking side by side with him, the shoe print size and depth were similar to his, or even deeper, so I guess the person who took Lin Zhimin from the hillside to the driving school was a taller and stronger man than him.”
“Then the third set is Liu Bin’s shoe prints,” Guan Yao pondered, “Short, hunched, thin, and judging from the shoe prints, his left foot is slightly splayed outward. That all matches him.”
“That’s right.” Yu Chunming put his hand on Guan Yao’s shoulder and stood up. “Let’s go, let’s follow the direction these three sets of footprints came from and take a look.”
The footprints were imprinted on the left side of the prefabricated house, and following the direction they came from, after a few steps, was the birch forest at the foot of Mopan Mountain. Right now, the forest was filled with mist, and the tree shadows hidden in the mist were looming, as if some terrifying beast would really jump out and devour them both.
Guan Yao suddenly grabbed Yu Chunming.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Chunming turned to look at him.
“It’s not safe at night,” Guan Yao said in a low voice.
The flashlight in Yu Chunming’s hand shook, illuminating the path ahead: “Are you afraid of the dark?”
Guan Yao’s face stiffened: “How could I be afraid of the dark?”
Yu Chunming said calmly: “If you’re not afraid of the dark, why are you afraid of walking into the forest? This place is very close to the highway. I’ve only heard of people getting lost on Mopan Mountain, never of anyone getting lost in this forest.”
Guan Yao stood still, unwilling to move.
Yu Chunming raised an eyebrow: “Since that’s the case, then Officer Guan can stand here, and I’ll walk in alone.”
“Hey, no way,” Guan Yao said, forcing himself to be brave, “Who told you I’m afraid of the dark? It’s not safe to go into the mountains or the forest at night. Can’t you have some self-protection awareness?”
After saying that, he snatched the flashlight from Yu Chunming’s hand and strode forward: “Just take a walk around the outside of the forest. If you want to go in, wait until it’s light tomorrow morning.”
Yu Chunming showed that ambiguous smile again, but this time, Guan Yao didn’t see it.
The two of them walked around the outside of the forest as agreed, but ultimately found nothing. Yu Chunming wasn’t satisfied. He stood facing the two sets of footprints, frowning as he looked at the prefabricated house in the distance.
Guan Yao leaned against a birch tree, boredly shining the flashlight on his face: “We have to go back. You don’t have a personal life, but I do.”
Yu Chunming looked at him: “What personal life? Did you fall in love?”
This question was too straightforward, familiar, and full of questioning, which startled Guan Yao.
Yu Chunming, however, remained calm. He acted as if he had never asked that question, turned his head, and began to discuss the case: “If Lin Zhimin was transferred from the hillside to the driving school by a third person, then this third person should be someone who is quite concerned about him. You said before that this person is very likely to be Liu Bin’s employer, which is indeed a reasonable guess.”
Guan Yao stared at Yu Chunming’s profile, deliberately not answering his question: “What kind of personal life I have is none of your business, is it?”
“It’s none of my business,” Yu Chunming said matter-of-factly, “But since Liu Bin’s employer is already paying such close attention to Lin Zhimin, why would he go to the trouble of spending a lot of money to hire Liu Bin to investigate him?”
Guan Yao was exasperated, but had no choice but to follow Yu Chunming’s line of thought: “He wants to cover his tracks.”
“He wants to cover his tracks,” Yu Chunming turned his head, as if talking to himself, “Why does he want to cover his tracks?”
“Because he’s afraid of being recognized,” Guan Yao rubbed his hands, “Any criminal is afraid of being recognized.”
“That’s not right,” Yu Chunming immediately retorted, “If a person hasn’t become a criminal yet, and has already planned a detailed and meticulous plan to destroy the body and eliminate the traces, then would he still be afraid of being recognized?”
Guan Yao’s expression paused.
“Unless, he is already a criminal.” Yu Chunming answered himself.
After saying this, the person who had been talking eloquently about the case suddenly fell silent. He pressed hard on his left temple and turned to walk out.
On the way back, neither of them spoke again. Guan Yao wanted to speak several times, to ask Yu Chunming what he meant by “already a criminal.” But when he turned his head and saw the person leaning against the passenger seat with a pale face, Guan Yao swallowed back the words he was about to say.
After all, the two of them had only looked at a few crime scenes together and had some similar ideas, but they weren’t familiar enough to speak their minds freely.
When they arrived at the station, Guan Yao went around to the back to park the car alone. Who knew that in this short moment, the usually silent lobby had become unusually lively when he entered, and even Meng Changqing, who was sleeping in the back dormitory, had been disturbed and put on his clothes to watch.
“What happened?” Guan Yao casually pulled over a colleague who was poking his head out of the office and asked.
That colleague waved his hand with a bitter face: “Remember the prostitute incident at the Yingbin Guest House a few days ago? Just now, the involved party’s husband called and said he wanted to find the police officer who handled the problem to argue with him.”
Guan Yao was puzzled: “Why?”
“Why else? It wasn’t handled well. The man said that our police officer advised them to separate rather than reconcile, and even seduced his wife… This person is really shameless, he was the one who cheated first…”
“Wait a minute,” Guan Yao seemed to remember something, and asked quickly, “Who was the officer who responded to the call that day?”
“Officer Yu,” the colleague lowered his voice, “Otherwise, would that man be able to point at our noses and scold us, saying we seduced his wife?”
Guan Yao’s face changed drastically in an instant. He immediately squeezed into the crowd and asked loudly: “What’s going on?”
Yu Chunming, who had gotten out of the car at the front door and was about to go upstairs, had been blocked by the troublemaking man on the way. Two strong men from the patrol team were trying to restrain him to prevent him from causing trouble. But this person looked short and thin, but he was surprisingly strong. He didn’t know if he was drunk or had taken something he shouldn’t have, but he broke free of the shackles in a few moments and was about to rush forward to beat someone.
“Hey, he has a stick in his hand!” Meng Changqing shouted from the outside.
But for some reason, Yu Chunming didn’t seem to notice. He was still standing motionless at the stairwell, holding the railing, watching as the stick was about to fall on his head.
“Damn!” Guan Yao cursed in a low voice, rushed forward, blocked in front of Yu Chunming, and grabbed the stick that was coming straight at them, “Are you trying to spend the rest of your life in jail? Assaulting a police officer in the police station?”
These words slightly awakened some of this person’s sanity, causing him to pause. The people present quickly took the opportunity to handcuff him and escort him to the law enforcement area.
After the troublemakers and onlookers had all left, Guan Yao shook his wrist, preparing to turn around and give Yu Chunming a good talking-to. But to his surprise, as soon as he turned around, he saw the person who had been leaning on the stair railing slide down.
“Hey!” Guan Yao rushed forward and supported Yu Chunming, who almost fell.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that this person’s face was abnormally pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. The body leaning in his arms seemed to be trembling slightly.
Yu Chunming was also a man with broad shoulders and long legs. Although he was thinner, he looked about the same height as Guan Yao. But when Guan Yao reached out to hug him, he realized that this person was not just a little thinner, he was simply a skeleton.
Supporting this skeleton, Guan Yao asked anxiously and helplessly: “What’s wrong with you?”
Yu Chunming probably wanted to push him away and stand up again, but he couldn’t muster the strength. After struggling for a long time, he managed to utter half a sentence: “I’m okay, maybe a little…”
“It’s okay, he may have a little low blood sugar.” Han Chen appeared beside them at some point, took Yu Chunming over naturally, separated Guan Yao, and pulled the man into his arms. “Officer Guan, please pour a glass of water.”
To be honest, Han Chen was indeed a bit too familiar. Anyone would think so. Especially in the situation where Yu Chunming had never given him a kind look, it was really abnormal for him to come forward so warmly.
Of course, Yu Chunming himself also thought so.
He propped up his head, sat on the small sofa, and watched Han Chen bring him a handful of sugar thoughtfully, but didn’t take any of them.
“Didn’t you eat dinner tonight?” Han Chen asked softly.
Yu Chunming dodged the hand that was trying to touch his cheek, lowered his head, and took out a bottle of medicine from his pocket.
“You’ve been with that Guan Yao all the time, and he doesn’t even know to care about you.” Han Chen complained.
Yu Chunming didn’t want to answer. He looked up, swallowed two pills, and then impatiently pushed away Han Chen’s arm blocking him: “Get away from me, the smell on you makes me sick.”
Han Chen’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly put on a smile and joked: “I’m still using your favorite shampoo.”
Yu Chunming frowned, covered his stomach, and turned to find the trash can. It seemed he was really disgusted by Han Chen.
Just then, Guan Yao entered the room at the right moment.
He not only brought a glass of hot water, but also a lunch box. When he got closer, he first bent down to feel Yu Chunming’s forehead, and then took out two White Rabbit Candies.
“The water is rock sugar pear water, but it’s still a bit hot. Eat a candy first.” Guan Yao said, unwrapping the candy wrapper.
Yu Chunming hesitated for a moment, and Han Chen immediately chuckled. But then, the person who had just hesitated lowered his head in Han Chen’s gaze, and held the candy that Guan Yao handed to his mouth.
“When I went out, I asked Li Xiaotian to ask the old cook on duty in the cafeteria to cook something and leave it for you.” Guan Yao opened the lunch box, “It’s been simmering on the stove, it’s still hot.”
As soon as the lunch box was opened, the aroma immediately overflowed.
Yu Chunming chewed on the White Rabbit Candy, staring blankly as Guan Yao stuffed the glass of rock sugar pear water into his arms.
Didn’t this person hate him yesterday and was going against him? Yu Chunming thought blankly.
Han Chen sat aside, looking embarrassed. He glanced at Yu Chunming’s accepting look and gently rubbed his back molars.
“Deputy Team Leader Han,” Guan Yao said sternly, “Just now, the forensics technician said there was something they wanted you to verify. Go and take a look quickly, don’t delay.”
“Ver…verify what?” Han Chen was reluctant to leave Yu Chunming’s side.
“The account that Liu Bin used to contact his employer online and the other party’s IP address. I saw that the broadband operator has already located the specific location based on the IP address. Go and take a look quickly,” Guan Yao replied.
This was indeed a big deal, and Han Chen had no choice but to get up. He hesitated for a moment and said to Yu Chunming: “You rest tonight, I’ll find someone to cover your shift.”
Yu Chunming had candy in his mouth and was too lazy to answer him. Guan Yao smiled and kindly opened the door for him.
At twelve o’clock that night, faint wails came from the law enforcement area. Li Xiaotian stood in the lobby and shouted something. Before long, the sound gradually weakened, and then gradually turned into earth-shattering crying.
Guan Yao stood at the door, frowning as he listened to the commotion. After listening for a long time, he couldn’t figure out what was going on, and couldn’t help turning around and asking Yu Chunming: “What… what exactly did you do with that case that day?”
Yu Chunming was slowly and methodically picking out the green onion shreds from his noodles. He replied leisurely: “I handled the case according to the rules and regulations and procedures.”
Guan Yao was greatly puzzled: “Then why did this person come to go crazy?”
Yu Chunming’s hand holding the chopsticks paused. He didn’t know what he was thinking of, but the expression on his face changed for a moment.
Guan Yao was struck by inspiration and suddenly remembered the fashionable lady with high heels and wavy hair from the day before yesterday. He moved closer to Yu Chunming and asked with a half-smile: “Did his wife… throw herself at you?”
Yu Chunming didn’t say a word.
Guan Yao laughed loudly, and put his arm around Yu Chunming’s shoulders: “Chunming, let me tell you, sometimes, being too good-looking is not a good thing.”
Yu Chunming put down his chopsticks and glanced at Guan Yao’s hand on his shoulder: “Take it away.”
Guan Yao’s smile froze, and he slowly moved his arm away.
Yu Chunming straightened up and frowned as he looked at Guan Yao: “There were three people fighting together in the Yingbin Guest House that day. They were the female involved party who was cheated on, the female third party who was deceived, and the male involved party who cheated and lied. The male involved party was soliciting prostitution in the Yingbin Guest House, and was caught by his wife and girlfriend together. He was drunk and delirious, and even pointed at the female involved party and cursed vulgarities, and tore off her coat. I found the hotel waiter’s coat and put it on the female involved party, so he thought I was his wife’s lover, which made the female involved party so angry that she wanted to inform his unit leaders and parents. Fang Wang and I kindly stopped the female involved party, and took him back to the station and locked him up for the night. After he sobered up, we persuaded him to sign a settlement. In theory, shouldn’t the case be closed?”
“That’s what you thought the case was closed.” Guan Yao said, “Za Mu Er is just a small county-level city, it’s so small. The female involved party even came to the station to find you later. Tell me, if she publicizes it again, wouldn’t the old man think of you as her lover? You should have directly notified his unit to pick him up and pay the fine that night. With the unit pressing him, see if he would dare to make trouble.”
Yu Chunming’s face sank: “Our police have no right to disclose the personal privacy of the parties involved. Apart from relatives, it is his own right to notify whoever he wants.”
“Oh, Officer Yu, what rights are you talking about when dealing with this kind of rogue man?” Guan Yao said, standing up and patting the dust off his clothes. “Wait and see, this person’s face will be completely humiliated in a moment.”
[The author has something to say]
Taking advantage of no one watching, I slightly revised the settings of the previous article.