Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 21

There was a saying that every reunion was for the next separation.

The potential meaning of this phrase was that reunions weren’t necessarily a good thing.

For Lin Chen, he was unable to determine whether the reunion arranged by fate was good or bad. He only knew that waiting for this reunion was a difficult thing.

The sun shone silently in the dining hall, which was quiet.

The staff at the rest stop had brought brown blankets for everyone. A group of policewomen who were the first to arrive were pouring tea for the passengers. Seeing the unhurried policewoman’s movement, Lin Chen realized that Xing Conglian had found him.

“When will you be taking statements? We are in a hurry here!” A passenger held his paper cup as he spoke with slight impatience.

“That’s right. Just leave a few people back and they can talk about it!” A passenger on the other side agreed.

“Please wait a moment.” The policewoman smiled very gently. “Our colleagues at the forensic department haven’t yet finished cleaning up the scene. The highway is currently limited right now, so there’s a lot of traffic. The transfer cars that were dispatched are currently stuck in traffic.”

“Forensic department? It’s like we’re shooting a drama!”

“It’s almost been two hours. Haven’t you finished yet, huh?”

“Why make such a big deal? We’re fine. It’s just a child’s prank!”

Several older women expressed their opinions together. Lin Chen was still sitting in a corner. It was a little cold, but also quiet. He carefully observed everyone’s expressions, and a strange feeling gradually rose in his heart.

When the hijacking was mentioned, everyone’s faces were relaxed and indifferent. Not only did they not have any PTSD* reactions, but they were also blaming the police for making a fuss. His gaze finally fell on the policewoman’s face, who was currently tucking her long hair behind her ears. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any emotions belonging to tension or solemnity on the policewoman’s beautiful face.

*Post-traumatic stress disorder. A mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event.

Then, the reason why everyone was still here, in addition to the orders from Xing Conglian, was probably because there really was a traffic jam.

Lin Chen gradually felt that the situation was somewhat serious.

He looked out the window, where the lime green reeds stretched endlessly. When the wind blew, the reeds rippled like the sea.

The space gradually quieted down to the point where it became too quiet.

Suddenly, Lin Chen heard some footsteps downstairs. It was the sound of typical police leather boots hitting the marble floor. The sound became denser. It seemed there were a lot of people coming downstairs. Most likely, the police bridge had arrived.

Those people stepped into the hall, walked around the corner, and went upstairs…

Realizing this, Lin Chen suddenly felt nervous. This tension wouldn’t make his hands sweaty or his body tremble, but it was enough to interrupt all his thoughts in an instant. He felt a rapid heartbeat and his mind became blank. At this moment, he couldn’t recall any psychological adjustment method he had learned.

He was nervous; nervous because of the person who was about to come.

There was a click.

When the leather boots stepped its last step, Lin Chen subconsciously raised his head.

The figure at the entrance of the stairs stood upright, like a rocky lone peak on a frosty winter night, but also very craggy.

The man’s police uniform was straight, with silver stars shining on his shoulders. His surname was Huang, the Huang that was part of the elite four families of Zhou, Wu, Chen, and Huang.

—

When he received the call from Wang Chao, Xing Conglian walked into Fengjing.

“Fuck, not good captain. Inspector Huang is going to take the consultant to the rest stop to take statements. You better hurry up. I’m afraid that my A’Chen will be murdered if you’re too late!”

On the other end of the line, Wang Chao’s words came at him like a cannonball of jumbled words. Because he pronounced it too fast, Xing Conglian didn’t hear it clearly. “What inspector are you talking about?’

“Huang Ze! Huang Ze! Huang Ze!” Wang Chao shouted as if he was about to die. “I have already sent you the best route to your phone to avoid the traffic jam. You can thank me later!”

Before Wang Chao even finished, Xing Conglian heard a message notification sound on his phone. He looked down and saw that it was a new email.

“Is something wrong, Captain Xing?” Yang Dianfeng seemed to vaguely feel that the voice on the other end of the line had extreme urgency, and he couldn’t help but ask with concern.

Xing Conglian frowned, then quickly turned around and ran towards the Jeep parked on the side of the road.

The noise carried by the spring breeze outside the school was because of the students, while the noise inside the dining hall was because of the arrival of several police officers.

The passengers in the corner of the hall stood up one after another. Sunlight streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows and the raised transparent ceiling. Huang Ze stood at the entrance of the stairs but could not hear any sound around him.

The sun was extremely bright, and the beige marble reflected most of its light. Huang Ze felt something pierce his eyes and fell into a daze.

He seemed to have seen Lin Chen, and it was indeed Lin Chen.

But Lin Chen’s body should be beneath that rolling river, and his soul wandering some cemetery…

But Lin Chen was standing among the passengers. His eyes were clear, and his hair was slightly moistened by the sun.

Huang Ze suddenly wanted to laugh.

He saw Lin Chen put down the paper cup in his hand, turn around and put a scarf on the old man beside him, said something that seemed to soothe his emotions, and then walked over.

Sure enough, it was Lin Chen. The Lin Chen who could tell a big lie or get punched on the spot and would still remain calm and unapologetic.

The closer Lin Chen got, the tighter Huang Ze’s fists became.

Finally, Lin Chen stopped in front of him.

He condescendingly looked into Lin Chen’s eyes, hoping to see any apology or guilt, but no. Lin Chen was still calm and indifferent, as if he was looking at a stranger.

At that moment, Huang Ze could no longer restrain his inner anger and punched Lin Chen in the cheek.

It was a punch that exhausted all his strength and staggered Lin Chen violently, but it didn’t relieve his hatred. He saw Lin Chen cover his face and take two steps back. This only made him clench his fist tighter and swing again.

Lin Chen was still shaken by the first punch. The pain was second to none. He fell into a brief darkness and lost his ability to move. He realized that Huang Ze was swinging his fist at him again. He felt he should avoid it, but his body didn’t listen to his command.

However, the second punch didn’t land as expected. Huang Ze didn’t know what was wrong with him. His fist seemed to change position in mid-air and landed on Lin Chen’s shoulder. It opened up and grabbed the man, as if it was going in for a hug.

By the time Lin Chen could react, his ears were ringing badly. His face felt like it was on fire and his mouth was full of blood.

Lin Chen felt his face being pressed against hard fabric, and he finally realized he was being hugged tightly by Huang Ze as he could feel his heartbeat.

“Why didn’t you die?” He heard Huang Ze say.

He could feel that Huang Ze’s voice was a little choked up, but why?

Lin Chen felt strange. The situation was awkward, and he didn’t know where to put his hands, and Huang Ze didn’t seem to want to let him go.

In the end, it was a question from someone next to Huang Ze that rescued him.

“Are you Lin Chen?”

The speaker had a head full of fluffy, messy, curly hair. Those hairs were so long they almost covered his eyes. Lin Chen glanced at the person in silence.

Huang Ze woke up like a dream. As if he was throwing away garbage, he abruptly pushed him away.

Lin Chen covered his face and looked up and saw a fluff of messy curly hair.

“You’re not dead yet Captain Xing has been sad for so long?” The man’s tone was very casual, as if he had expected this.

“I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Jiang Zhe.” Seeing that there was no reaction from Lin Chen, he was stunned. Jiang Zhe’s face showed a trace of mockery. “The new psychology consultant for the Hongjing Police.”

Oh, it turns out to be a colleague of Xing Conglian’s.

Lin Chen nodded and stretched out his hand naturally.

However, Jiang Zhe didn’t reach out. “In the 1111 extra-large murder case, your suspicion hasn’t been cleared. I will not shake hands with a murderer.”

Jiang Zhe’s voice was so loud that all eyes in the hall gathered towards him.

Oh, it turns out it’s Huang Ze’s friend.

Lin Chen retracted his hand and bowed politely. Since he had already greeted them and had nothing else to say, he walked back to his seat.

“Why are you here? Is this hijacking related to you? Do you still want to be famous that much?!”

Jiang Zhe’s questions came from behind him. Lin Chen stopped and turned around again. Looking at Jiang Zhe’s slightly raised brows and mocking lips, he thought for a while, then answered seriously, “No, I just happened to pass by. I’m just an unlucky victim.”

As if provoked, Jiang Zhe suddenly raised his voice. “Yes, a victim. Like last time you were also the victim of Feng Peilin’s case. I have read the file. You jumped into the river with the victim in your arms! You are so intuitive, but you didn’t know that someone was watching you for three years? You were simply helping Feng Peilin escape, but in the end, he died. The result was like that, yet that idiot policeman won’t doubt you!”

Jiang Zhe spoke very quickly. His voice was cold, and it seemed to make the glass window shake. Because he raised his voice so loudly, he ran out of breath while talking and had to pause.

At this moment, a very soft and casual voice came from downstairs. “Ah, ah, Consultant Jiang. It’s not good to say bad things about people behind their backs.”

Jiang Zhe was suddenly startled.

Lin Chen was also equally shocked.

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