NOS Chapter 22
by VolareChapter 22 Huangshaling (9)
Guan Yao didn’t know how he walked out of the Linchang Police Station. When he came to, he was already sitting at the dining table at home.
“Old uncle?” Guan Ning wasn’t on duty today, and had already washed up and prepared to go to bed. But when she saw Guan Yao’s dazed expression, she couldn’t help but come closer and ask, “Old uncle, what’s wrong with you? Why do you look like you’ve been dumped?”
Guan Yao frowned at her, “Who got dumped?”
Guan Ning was obviously in a good mood. She said cheerfully, “The other day, Uncle Yu went to the hospital to see me and even helped me speak to Professor Wang on my behalf.”
Guan Yao glanced at the little girl: “Every day, you’re not walking the right path.”
“What do you mean not walking the right path?” Guan Ning pouted unhappily, “My Uncle Yu is willing to help me.”
“You’re already calling him Uncle, what kind of uncle is he to you?” Guan Yao said unhappily.
“He helped me, so of course he’s my dear uncle.” Guan Ning “hmmphed” and said, “Unlike you, you don’t look like my real uncle at all.”
“Alright, alright, alright, then go find him.” Guan Yao waved his hand and went into his room.
The furnishings in his room were very simple. Even the bed, the bedside table, and the row of mahogany tables were left over from when Guan Yao’s parents got married more than thirty years ago. And he had been using them until today.
The light was dim, and Guan Yao’s eyes were a little sore. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in many days.
But that was normal. Ever since his sister Guan Na died, he often had restless sleep and many dreams. Over the years, he rarely had a night where he could sleep peacefully until dawn. Guan Yao was already used to it.
He touched the radiator by the bed, and then put the clean clothes he was going to change into tomorrow on it. After taking a shower and closing the door tightly, Guan Yao turned on all the lights in the room.
“Are you afraid of the dark?” Yu Chunming asked outside the birch forest a few days ago.
And now, when Guan Yao lay down on the bed, he softly replied, “Yes, I am indeed afraid of the dark.”
Otherwise, why would he leave the lights on all night?
Looking at the bright fluorescent tube above his head, Guan Yao finally felt at ease.
The next morning, after another night of chaotic dreams, he walked into the Linchang Police Station right on time. He faintly heard several reprimands from upstairs. Guan Yao mistakenly thought that Chief Zhang Hui was taking the opportunity to criticize the events of yesterday before he went to work, so he quickly grabbed Shu Wen, who was still wandering in the office hall, and asked, “What’s going on upstairs?”
“Nothing,” Shu Wen said with half a bun in her mouth, “The Chief and the instructor are lecturing Officer Yu.”
Guan Yao opened his mouth, suddenly feeling a little short of breath.
“What’s wrong with you? Why that expression?” Shu Wen went up to him to study him, “Don’t you hate him the most?”
“Who told you I hate him?” Guan Yao blurted out.
Shu Wen laughed, “Just pretend, shouldn’t you be happy to see him get scolded?”
Guan Yao said sternly, “My ideological awareness is high, I don’t have the bad habit of enjoying the misfortune of my colleagues.”
But Shu Wen laughed as if she had heard a great joke, almost dropping the bun on the ground. She patted Guan Yao’s lower back: “Your ideological awareness is high, why don’t you hurry up and find a partner?”
“My God, my good sister, the way you changed the topic, aren’t you afraid of twisting your neck?” Guan Yao was speechless, “Even when my grandma was alive, she didn’t urge me as often as you do, you’re really… unbelievable.”
Shu Wen laughed, “This is the task that our grandma gave us. Although our grandma is gone, we still have to carry it out well. Listen, young comrade, you have to hurry up, otherwise, when Chief Zhang retires at the beginning of next year, that vacant deputy position won’t be yours.”
“I don’t care if it’s mine, do I care about that position?” Guan Yao raised his head.
He ignored Shu Wen and walked upstairs with his bag, but halfway there, he came back: “Yu Chunming… didn’t go back last night?”
“Go back where?” Shu Wen asked in confusion.
“Home, of course.” Guan Yao asked.
“How would I know? When I came, the Chief was already giving important instructions upstairs, how would I dare to go up?” Shu Wen pointed to Fang Wang, “Why don’t you go ask him, he was on duty last night.”
Guan Yao hesitated.
“No…” Shu Wen looked at him, still unable to figure it out, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so profound this early in the morning?”
“It’s nothing,” Guan Yao didn’t go upstairs after all, “I’ll go take a stroll around the household registration window.”
It was hard to say how long the Chief and the instructor lectured Yu Chunming, because Guan Yao hadn’t even warmed his seat when he was called to the City Branch Bureau by a phone call from Han Chen – Yu Chunming had been fired from the task force, but he hadn’t.
Now that Yu Zhenshan, the vice president in charge of major criminal cases in the province, was in Za Mu Er, everyone was on high alert. How could Guan Yao slack off in the Linchang Police Station?
That morning, he was first transferred to Mopan Mountain to re-collect evidence, and then pulled by the criminal investigation team leader Min Chao to the train station to record statements from relevant personnel. Then, he met the man who had unfortunately worn the suspect’s clothes yesterday. By the time he returned to the Linchang Police Station, it was already dark.
“Master!” Meng Changqing rushed up and shouted, “Is there any new progress?”
“Even if there is, I can’t tell you,” Guan Yao looked around, “Where’s Yu Chunming?”
Meng Changqing was stunned: “Officer Yu?”
“Yes, Officer Yu.” Guan Yao turned his eyes and saw the glass of water on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and the cotton coat draped over the armrest of the sofa. His heart skipped a beat. Could this person really not have left last night?
At this time, Meng Changqing whispered, “Officer Yu seems to have been suspended. He hasn’t come back since he left.”
“Suspended?” Guan Yao was taken aback, “Why is it so serious?”
Meng Changqing scratched his head: “I’m not sure, but Sister Shu Wen said so.”
Guan Yao looked at Yu Chunming’s desk, which was clean and spotless. The drawers and cabinets were still tightly locked, not giving anyone a chance to peek.
“Alright,” Guan Yao’s investigation yielded no results, and he felt a little discouraged. He put away the water glass on the table and the clothes on the sofa, and said to Meng Changqing, “If… if Officer Yu comes back, tell me.”
Meng Changqing agreed immediately.
There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. Guan Yao drove his broken car and swayed back to the Linchang Staff Family Compound.
The streetlights at the entrance had been broken for the past two days. The bulbs flickered from time to time, and at this moment they were so dim that they seemed to go out in the next second, making the whole yard seem eerie.
Therefore, Guan Yao didn’t notice that someone was sitting on the platform by the doorway until he walked to the bottom of his building.
“Guan Yao.” Yu Chunming called out.
“Holy crap!” Guan Yao almost jumped up.
Yu Chunming coughed twice and got up to dust off the ash on his clothes.
At this time, Guan Yao noticed that a lot of cigarette butts had accumulated on the trash can next to him. Yu Chunming’s face was pale red from the cold autumn wind, and he didn’t know how long this person had been sitting here.
“You… were you waiting for me?” Guan Yao asked in surprise.
Yu Chunming nodded: “I came to borrow your Flying Pigeon bicycle.”
“Huh?” Guan Yao didn’t react for a moment.
“Flying Pigeon bicycle,” Yu Chunming repeated, “The one you mentioned the other day.”
Guan Yao finally woke up from his dream. He said “Oh” several times, and then raised his hand to touch the back of his head: “I, I remember.”
It was the Flying Pigeon bicycle he had casually promised in the middle of the night when he was arresting the person suspected of being He Wang.
But, this person had been sitting there for so long, was it just for a bicycle? What did he want a bicycle for? Guan Yao looked at Yu Chunming’s face suspiciously.
Compared to last night, his face hadn’t improved at all. Apart from looking normal in spirit, he was a little too pale, especially his shallowly sunken cheeks, which were not dyed with a trace of blood.
“Are you feeling better?” Guan Yao asked as he rummaged for the key to the shed.
Yu Chunming “mm”ed, and had no other answer.
Guan Yao asked again, “I went back to the station today and didn’t see you, what did you do?”
Yu Chunming didn’t say anything for a long time.
Guan Yao was committed to not letting any words fall to the ground, so he continued, “Actually, I just…”
“The Chief wants me to resign.” Before Guan Yao could explain his purpose in finding him, Yu Chunming answered irrelevantly.
“What?” Guan Yao paused.
Yu Chunming seemed unable to stand still, and sat down on the platform again. Then, he tried to light a cigarette, but unfortunately, the low-quality lighter wouldn’t light a flame no matter how hard he tried, so he had to give up.
“The Chief wants me to voluntarily apply for resignation, or apply for a transfer.” Yu Chunming said in a flat tone, “But I said I don’t want to leave.”
Guan Yao moved his lips, not knowing how to answer this.
Yu Chunming obviously didn’t need his answer either. He looked up and saw Guan Yao frozen in place, so he asked seriously, “Haven’t you found the shed key yet?”
“Found it,” Guan Yao cleared his throat, hiding the momentary loss of focus just now. He turned and walked towards the small bungalows on the opposite side, “Come on, it’s over here.”
The garage was dark, and the two had to turn on their flashlights to find Guan Yao’s Flying Pigeon bicycle hidden in the corner. The place was full of smoke and dust, and before he could find the place, Yu Chunming had already coughed several times.
“Oh my, what do you want this thing for? It’s so hard to find, and it’s all covered in dust.” Guan Yao sneezed three times in a row, “Look at it, it’s this one.”
Yu Chunming squinted his eyes and scanned the bicycle from top to bottom, finally asking with some confusion, “Your car doesn’t seem to have accumulated much dust?”
“There’s not much dust?” Guan Yao waved away the dust that splashed in front of his face and said with a wrinkled nose, “Look, it’s so choking.”
Yu Chunming squatted down and carefully inspected the tires, the front bar, the handlebars, and the seat: “No lock?”
“No lock?” Guan Yao wasn’t sure either, he answered vaguely, “Maybe… my grandma forgot to lock it after riding it back then, and Guan Ning and I haven’t touched this thing either.”
Yu Chunming frowned, looking at the slightly flat tire on the rear wheel without saying anything.
Guan Yao followed his gaze and noticed this as well. He said “Oh dear” and laughed, “It seems to be leaking air, then it’s over, you can’t use it. I really don’t know where in Za Mu Er there is a place to inflate Flying Pigeon bicycle tires.”
Yu Chunming remained silent.
“What’s wrong, you’re not upset about this, are you?” Guan Yao patted Yu Chunming’s shoulder, “It’s not a big deal, it’s just a bicycle, if you really need…”
“I don’t need it.” Yu Chunming turned and walked out, “Lock the shed.”
This person was always inexplicably strange sometimes, and Guan Yao was already used to it. He locked the shed door again, put the key in his pocket, and casually asked, “Have you eaten? The noodle shop next door hasn’t closed yet, want to go out and eat something?”
Yu Chunming didn’t answer, but instead asked, “Who can open the door of this shed?”
“The residents in our building can,” Guan Yao didn’t know why he was asking about this, but he still told him everything, “This small bungalow was originally going to be built as an activity room, but the factory ran out of money. In the end, the activity room wasn’t built, and the unit was too lazy to take care of it. The families living in this row discussed it and negotiated with the factory office to build a small shed. Actually, it’s just a junk room, there’s everything in it, it’s all junk, I don’t even want to go in.”
After speaking, Guan Yao looked at him: “What’s wrong, Officer Yu, is there any clue in the case pointing here?”
“No.” Yu Chunming immediately denied it, and continued Guan Yao’s words, “Let’s go to the noodle shop.”
The noodle shop at the entrance of the Linchang Staff Family Compound had been open for almost thirty years. In the early days, it was run by the current owner’s parents. Thirty years had passed, and even the helper had been replaced by the owner’s son.
Yu Chunming hesitated when he stepped on the steps, but when Guan Yao looked back at him, the hesitation had disappeared.
“Let’s sit here.” Guan Yao familiarly found a corner seat.
The proprietress behind the counter saw him and immediately greeted him with a smile: “Yo, Officer Guan, you’re getting off work early today?”
“Not early,” Guan Yao stretched his head to look at the pickles on the table over there, and turned to ask Yu Chunming, “What do you want?”
Yu Chunming was about to open his mouth when the proprietress who came to bring tea and water suddenly approached him: “Eh, who is this?”
“My colleague.” Guan Yao answered while taking apart the chopsticks, “Just transferred from Songlan in June.”
“From Songlan,” the proprietress said with a smile, “If you didn’t say so, I would have thought you were a relative of that someone across from your house, you look a bit alike.”
Yu Chunming’s back trembled slightly.
“What, you…” Guan Yao didn’t notice the fleeting glint in the eyes of the person sitting across from him at all. He stretched his head and shouted at the owner who was dozing off in the back kitchen, “One bowl of chicken noodle soup, one bowl of…”
“Anything is fine with me.” Yu Chunming answered.
“Then make two bowls of chicken noodle soup.” Guan Yao handed the disassembled chopsticks to him, “Their signature dish, chicken noodle soup.”
Yu Chunming took the chopsticks, waiting for Guan Yao to pour water for him. He took advantage of this gap to turn his head and look at the middle-aged man who was busy in the kitchen.
Most cooks are fat, and this one was no exception. Yu Chunming saw him with a potbelly, wearing a chef’s white hat. He was only in his thirties, but there were already no hairs on the back of his head.
– He no longer had the majestic and heroic posture of chasing after him and scolding him back then.
Yu Chunming couldn’t help but laugh.
Guan Yao was inexplicably chilled by this person’s smile. He wondered, “What are you thinking about that’s so happy?”
Yu Chunming raised an eyebrow and put away the smile that had risen on the corner of his mouth. He answered lightly, “Getting a few days of vacation for nothing, isn’t that funny?”
Guan Yao was speechless, he pushed the pickles in front of Yu Chunming and said stiffly, “Try this.”
Yu Chunming smiled again.
The heating in the noodle shop was very good. The two of them got so hot after sitting for a while that they took off their coats. With the warm orange light overhead, Yu Chunming’s originally pale face softened a lot. He no longer searched for cigarettes, and his cold expression gradually calmed down.
Guan Yao felt a little relieved after staring at this person eating two bites of noodles.
“You scared me last night.” He interjected, “What’s wrong with you, how can a headache hurt like that?”
Yu Chunming buried his head and ate the noodles: “It’s nothing, I’m probably just tired.”
Guan Yao didn’t believe it: “It’s not related to the injury behind your ear, is it?”
Yu Chunming started pouring vinegar into his bowl: “It’s not related.”
“If you’re in pain often, you have to go to the hospital to get it checked out.” Guan Yao said again.
Yu Chunming glanced at him: “Officer Guan, when did you become so naggy?”
“Hey, I’m just concerned about my colleague, okay? People who want to hear me nag don’t even have this privilege.” Guan Yao scoffed.
Yu Chunming raised the corners of his mouth.
Just as the two of them were bantering, the bell at the entrance of the noodle shop suddenly rang “ding ding”, indicating that new guests had arrived.
The proprietress greeted, “What do you want?”
Yu Chunming also raised his head and looked towards the door, but immediately, he froze in place.
It was a woman, a woman who was not young anymore, but was still dressed flamboyantly.
“Oh, Jiang Min?” The proprietress was stunned when she saw her.