NOS Chapter 35
by VolareChapter 35: Qianjinping (11)
Za Mu Er is a small city, and almost everyone who lives here knows when someone’s family is in trouble.
Guan Yao remembered that more than ten years ago, before he retired from the army, his grandmother had told him about a “homosexual” in District 8 during a home visit.
Of course, no one really knew if that person was actually homosexual; in Guan Yao’s grandmother’s words, that person was simply categorized as a “sissy.”
“Dressed like a big girl,” Guan Yao’s grandmother said with a grimace at the time, “I took a look at him from a distance the day before yesterday, oh my, it was just unbelievable, someone who’s almost six feet tall actually wearing a little skirt, what does he think he’s doing?”
“A man wearing a skirt?” Guan Yao asked in surprise.
“Yes, a man!” Guan Yao’s grandmother stood in the kitchen, tossing the wok while she said, “Do you know whose child he is?”
“Whose is he?” Guan Yao asked.
“Your Uncle Liu’s nephew.” Guan Yao’s grandmother clicked her tongue and sighed, “That kid looked pretty normal when he was little, I don’t know what happened when he grew up. He went out to study for a couple of years, and when he came back, he turned into this. You don’t understand, people are saying he’s a homosexual!”
“Homosexual? You mean, he likes men?” Guan Yao grew up in a simple environment, and it was even simpler after he joined the army. Homosexuality was something that felt farther away than the sun.
Guan Yao’s grandmother “humphed” and said, “Look at the way he is, if he didn’t like men, would he dress up like a big girl?”
Guan Yao supported his head and thought for a long time, finally agreeing with his grandmother’s opinion.
Thus, in his mind, people who liked men became equated with “Uncle Liu’s nephew.”
——But what about Yu Chunming?
Yu Chunming is a very good-looking man, Guan Yao had to admit. But how could being good-looking be the same as being homosexual?
He’s so tall, kicking someone could break their ribs. He doesn’t like to wear makeup, and he doesn’t like to dress like a big girl. He’s a complete man, even in Guan Yao’s mind, he’s more of a man than Meng Changqing and Fang Wang, who are always dawdling and acting coy.
How could such a man like men?
Guan Yao couldn’t figure it out.
He sat on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, and rubbed his forehead irritably. It was at this moment that he slowly realized: how could he have left Yu Chunming alone in the hospital?
Of course, Yu Chunming, lying in the hospital ward, had no intention of delving into what Guan Yao would think or how he would react after hearing those words. He was in pain all over, and his chest felt like he had been stabbed with a knife that was being twisted from time to time.
He woke up and fell asleep several times, and when the sky was just beginning to brighten, he finally couldn’t help but sit up and turn on the light in the room.
“Awake?” At this moment, a familiar voice came from across the bed.
Without Wang Meng, no one would arrange a private room for him, but Za Mu Er Municipal Hospital was deserted. The inpatient department didn’t have many people anyway. Until Guan Yao left, he was the only one in the room.
Then who was speaking just now?
Could it be that after he fell asleep, new patients had come in?
Yu Chunming had just turned on the light, and his eyes hadn’t adjusted yet. He could only vaguely see a figure walking in front of him and dimming the light for him.
*Clatter!* At the same time, this person put a cell phone next to his pillow.
“I sent you messages and you didn’t reply, I called you and you didn’t answer. Chunming, do you still hate me? Or are you torturing yourself?” the person asked softly.
At this time, Yu Chunming could see clearly that the person standing in front of him was none other than his mentor, the captain of the Songlan City Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment, Wang Zhen.
According to plan, Wang Zhen was supposed to take the train the night before and arrive in Za Mu Er the next noon, but the day before, he had sent Yu Chunming messages all afternoon and called all night, and none of them were answered. In the end, he couldn’t hold back any longer and directly changed his ticket to a flight to Changlian, arriving in Za Mu Er overnight.
“I went to your station to look for you, but I couldn’t find you. I only found your phone, ah, no, to be exact, it should be the phone you left in the detention room.” Wang Zhen pulled up a chair, sat down by the bed with a smile, and even gave a thumbs up, “You’re really something, kid. You’ve been working under me for almost ten years and you’ve never been to the detention room once. You’ve only been in Za Mu Er for a few months, and you’ve already received a major demerit. Impressive!”
Yu Chunming looked at his mentor expressionlessly and retorted indifferently, “I worked under you for almost ten years, and although I never went to the detention room once, I almost ended up in court. Looking at it that way, you’re the impressive one.”
Wang Zhen’s smile froze, and then he answered cheerfully, “Why do you have to be so quick with your tongue? It hurts the enemy by a thousand and yourself by eight hundred, not worth it.”
Yu Chunming glanced at him, too lazy to reply, and simply turned his head and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
Wang Zhen, however, was very talkative. He leaned forward with a smiling face and began to chatter, “Why are you sick again? You were sick for a month before you came to Za Mu Er. I told you not to come, but you insisted. I’m telling you, in another month, Za Mu Er will be as cold as an ice cave, and people won’t be able to stay outside at all. Southerners already think our Songlan is cold, but Za Mu Er is even colder than Songlan…”
“I grew up in Za Mu Er, I know better than you,” Yu Chunming interrupted the endless Wang Zhen impatiently.
Seeing that he was willing to speak, Wang Zhen couldn’t help but grin, “Oh, I thought you had hurt your throat, and didn’t even want to give me a word to listen to.”
Yu Chunming frowned, only regretting that he couldn’t slap this person in the face to shut him up.
Wang Zhen continued, “Look at you now, you don’t even have anyone to take care of you. It would be so much better if you stayed in Songlan, Wang and I could even bring you tea and pour you water…”
“Someone is taking care of me,” Yu Chunming said stiffly.
“Someone? Where’s someone?” Wang Zhen immediately put on a frightened look, “Is there anyone else in this room besides me?”
“I…”
Yu Chunming was about to explain, but who knew that at this moment, the door of the ward suddenly “creaked” open, and a figure flashed in.
“Yu Chunming, I bought you something…” Guan Yao’s words were not finished before he met a pair of straight staring eyes.
Wang Zhen sat on the chair, crossed his arms and legs, examining Guan Yao up and down, down and up, like an official in the county yamen interrogating a criminal. Then, he asked politely, “This is…”
“My leader, named…”
“Guan Yao,” the person who was struggling to free a hand while holding a thermos, two hot water bottles, and a padded cotton coat, gave a “friendly” greeting to “Captain” Wang Zhen, “I am a friend from his work unit.”
This answer made Yu Chunming’s eyebrows twitch.
Wang Zhen immediately drawled out an “oh,” and said, “A friend from work! I remember you, you’re the one who answered my call before.”
Answered his call? Guan Yao had answered many people’s calls, and he could only chuckle. He didn’t know when this burly, dark-skinned man with a standard “matchmaker’s mole” on his chin, who looked a bit out of place, had called, and why he would appear in Yu Chunming’s ward just as it was getting light, and put on the air of a master.
“This is my mentor,” someone introduced reluctantly, “Captain of the Songlan City Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment, Wang Zhen.”
“Hello, hello!” Wang Zhen enthusiastically extended his hand to Guan Yao.
Now, Guan Yao, who had been secretly calling him an “old lecher” in his heart, quickly put down his things and shook Wang Zhen’s hand, “So it’s Captain Wang, I thought you wouldn’t be here until noon…”
“I was originally going to arrive at noon today,” Wang Zhen said with a smile, “But who knew this kid wouldn’t let me rest easy, and keeps causing trouble for your station, I’m really sorry.”
“No, no,” Guan Yao replied with a stiff smile.
Wang Zhen touched the “matchmaker’s mole” on his chin, and his eyes swept over the things Guan Yao had put aside, and immediately became playful, “Officer Guan is usually quite attentive to our Chunming?”
It had been eight hundred years since Guan Yao had been called “Officer Guan,” and he was immediately a little awkward. He laughed twice and took two steps back, keeping a certain distance from Wang Zhen, “We’re all comrades in the police force, taking care of each other is what we should do.”
Yu Chunming, leaning against the headboard, twitched his eyebrows again silently.
He thought Guan Yao wouldn’t come today, at least, not so early. After all, he had left looking lost, could he recover so quickly?
But now, this person seemed to have not only recovered, but also used some theory that Yu Chunming couldn’t understand to convince himself to continue to be a “friend” with peace of mind.
——Or maybe not so much peace of mind.
But anyway, he looked perfectly normal now, no different from before.
——At least on the surface.
Wang Zhen, however, inexplicably had many strange thoughts. He looked at Yu Chunming with great interest, and then at Guan Yao with great interest, then “hissed” and said, “Chunming, you’ve only been here for a few months, and you’ve already found…”
“Captain Wang,” Yu Chunming interrupted once again, unable to bear it any longer.
Guan Yao didn’t understand, “Found what?”
Wang Zhen smiled, “Found a friend.”
He said without leaving any face for his own apprentice, “Officer Guan, you don’t understand, our Chunming is as stubborn as a mule, and ten oxen can’t pull him back. I accidentally scolded him once, and he hates me to this day. I’m telling you, he has a lot of weird quirks, you usually…”
“Captain Wang, are you here in Za Mu Er on a business trip, or are you here to talk and do nothing? The city branch is working all night on a case, go and lend a hand.” Yu Chunming had been on an IV drip all night, and his high fever had subsided at this time. His mind was clear as could be. As soon as he heard Wang Zhen start talking, he felt pain everywhere, both from old wounds and new ones, and he just wanted to get the man out of here as soon as possible.
But Wang Zhen just wouldn’t leave. He sat down on the stool, perfectly calm, “In theory, I should have arrived at noon today, so I won’t be able to start working until the afternoon, there’s no rush.”
“Then don’t wander around in front of me, I’m dizzy,” Yu Chunming said irritably.
Perhaps he had finally softened his heart and decided to let go of his apprentice who was still sick, Wang Zhen stood up and sighed, “Alright, alright, is it okay if I leave?”
After speaking, he bent down to pick up the briefcase he carried with him on business trips, hesitated, and smiled at Guan Yao again, “Officer Guan, see me off?”
“Yes, yes,” Guan Yao couldn’t refuse.
“Don’t see him off,” Yu Chunming ordered.
In theory, Guan Yao was a leader, and had been a “leader” for many years, and he wouldn’t listen to Yu Chunming at all, but somehow, before the words had even landed, Guan Yao had already stopped moving.
Wang Zhen was surprised and looked at Yu Chunming with some disbelief.
At this time, Guan Yao realized that something was wrong with him, and he quickly stepped forward to take the bag from Wang Zhen’s hand, saying politely, “Captain Wang, it’s still early, it’s hard to get a taxi, where are you going, I’ll drive you.”
Wang Zhen chuckled twice and waved his hand at Yu Chunming, “I’ll come see you again after my mentor gets off work.”
After speaking, he smiled kindly at Guan Yao, “Let’s go, Officer Guan.”
This was the first time Guan Yao had met Wang Zhen, but it wasn’t the first time he had heard of him. As early as his first year after retiring from the army and going to the Linchang (Forest Farm) Police Station, he had heard stories about this person from afar.
Wang Zhen had a nickname, “Old Black Devil,” supposedly because he was dark-skinned, ruthless, and cunning.
How cunning? The director of the Linchang Police Station at the time had told Guan Yao a few things about Wang Zhen going undercover in a criminal organization during the years of “crackdowns.” These things were like myths and legends, and there was even an “urban legend” that this person had been injected with drugs by a black boss but didn’t get addicted, and there was also a “web novel” of this person mixing in the lower levels and eventually becoming a big boss himself.
The stories were mysterious, and Wang Zhen had become an abstract symbol. He existed in the hearts of many people like a “super-powered police officer.”
However, legends are legends after all. Now that Wang Zhen was standing in front of Guan Yao in the flesh, the former legends immediately turned into a pile of bubbles.
“I’ve heard of you.” After leaving the ward and going downstairs, Wang Zhen, who had been glib in front of Yu Chunming, suddenly lowered his voice. He glanced at Guan Yao and said coldly, “You’re the captain of the Law Enforcement Team at the Linchang Police Station, right? After your Director Zhang retires, you’ll be the deputy director.”
“Captain Wang, I…”
“No, no, no need to be humble,” Wang Zhen waved his hand, “You used to be with the Border Defense 52nd Regiment, right? You’ve been recognized for your service. When you were discharged and assigned a job, your commander originally wanted to put you with me. I had agreed to take you, but you refused to come.”
“I…” Guan Yao’s words were stuck. He knew that it was true.
More than ten years ago, he had insisted on retiring against the organization’s wishes. The old commander of the army had specifically instructed him to send him to the best unit in the local area. The original plan was the Songlan City Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment, but in the end, he didn’t know how, he went to the most remote Za Mu Er.
Wang Zhen had a good memory. He couldn’t forget the people he had met and the things he had seen. When he answered Guan Yao’s call before, he remembered that this person was the discharged soldier who had almost become his subordinate back then.
“So, why didn’t you want to come?” Wang Zhen asked.
Guan Yao twitched the corner of his mouth and found an answer casually, “There were things going on at home.”
“Oh, things going on at home,” Wang Zhen nodded, and then asked very suddenly, “What about now? Is there still anything going on?”
“Huh?” Guan Yao was stunned.
Wang Zhen patted him on the shoulder, “I’m asking you if there’s anything going on at home now? If not, would you be willing to come to my place?”
This question was too important, and Guan Yao couldn’t give an answer for a moment.
He was first surprised, then panicked, and finally a little puzzled, “Captain Wang, I, I’m just a…”
“Just the sharpshooter from the 52nd Regiment who shot and killed the cross-border fugitive, and also helped us capture a drug smuggler who had been on the run for ten years. You received one collective first-class commendation and three individual second-class commendations. I heard that you were the first in the entire army in the 50-kilometer cross-country race, and you shook hands with a senior leader from the central government,” Wang Zhen stopped, turned around, and looked at Guan Yao with a smile, “How can you… willingly stay in Za Mu Er and be a small police chief?”
Guan Yao didn’t speak.
“Alright, I won’t ask you to answer now,” Wang Zhen patted the non-existent dust off his hands and smiled cheerfully, “It won’t be too late for you to give me an answer after this case is over. But after Chunming and Han Chen left, I’m really short of people, so I sincerely invite you to be my soldier.”
“Then why won’t Yu Chunming do?” Guan Yao asked an awkward question as if he didn’t understand the ways of the world.
But Wang Zhen’s expression was as usual. He “tsked” twice and answered very euphemistically, “Isn’t he in poor health? It wouldn’t be appropriate to keep him with me.”
“It’s not appropriate for him to stay in Za Mu Er either. It’s too cold here, and he’ll get sick countless times in the winter,” Guan Yao frowned slightly, “When he applied to be transferred to Za Mu Er, why didn’t you stop him, Captain Wang?”
“I stopped him?” Wang Zhen said as if he had heard a joke, he said in surprise, “Don’t you understand Yu Chunming? He’s not someone I can stop from doing what he wants to do. And… he can’t go back either.”
Guan Yao was silent.
Wang Zhen said again, “However, when it comes down to it, you and him have a strange kind of fate.”
“Strange fate?” Guan Yao didn’t understand.
Wang Zhen smiled and replied, “Back then, if you had retired and gone to our place, taking up the spot, Yu Chunming probably wouldn’t have had the chance to be my apprentice.”