Chapter 17 Will You Forgive Me?

There was a gentle knock on the conference room door, and everyone's eyes snapped to it. A tall, lanky police officer stood at attention and saluted. "Captain Yu, the security guard received a local express delivery. You're the one signing for it." Yu Hao's jaw tightened, and he raised his hand to signal him to open the package. The moment the officer unpacked the carton, the air in the conference room seemed to freeze. Lu Chao's pen clattered to the table, and Zhang Min gasped. Even the usually calm Sun Wei's eyes widened slightly. It was a lifelike wooden sculpture. The subtle curl at the hairline, the sunburn on the left side of the nose, even the sesame-sized mole on the right earlobe were precisely reproduced. "This craftsmanship..." Lu Chao's Adam's apple rolled up and down, his voice trembling. "It's like freezing someone in the wood." The sculpture depicted Liu Feng. Zhang Min picked up the note from the package and whispered, "This is what I saw that day. Sun Lei." Her fingertips trembled as she stared at Yu Hao in disbelief. Yu Hao's knuckles felt cool against the wooden base. He took a deep breath, his voice low and firm, "The chain of evidence is complete. Apply for an arrest warrant." "Captain Yu!" Lu Chao stood up suddenly. "Do you want to verify it again? What if..." "What if? There's hardly any what if," Yu Hao interrupted, his eyes sharp as a knife. "The evidence doesn't lie." He paused, his voice slightly hoarse. "Before the law, there's no room for mercy." A dead silence fell in the conference room. Sun Wei suddenly spoke: "Okay, since you've made the decision, let's execute it." She stood up and stared at him. Yu Hao glanced at Sun Wei, gave her a slight nod, and walked out of the conference room. In the hallway, he took out his phone and called his master again. If there was anyone he could rely on emotionally, it was Qin Guoan. Yu Hao's voice was eerily calm as he reported the progress of the case to his master in an orderly manner. Sun Wei stood at the door, her face filled with worry. She knew that the calmer Yu Hao appeared, the more he struggled internally. There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then Qin Guoan's voice slowly came over: "This is the pain we criminal police officers must bear." "I know, but Uncle Zhang..." "Old Zhang will understand," Qin Guoan sighed. He also grew up in Nan'an Village, and Old Zhang was his childhood friend; they had known each other for nearly sixty years. "Okay, Master." After hanging up the phone, Yu Hao stood in front of the director's office door for a moment before raising his hand to knock. * Back in the meeting room, everyone looked at him, awaiting the final decision. "Request an arrest warrant." Yu...

There was a gentle knock on the door of the conference room, and everyone's eyes turned to the door.

A tall, thin police officer stood at attention and saluted. "Captain Yu, the guard received a local express delivery, and you are the signatory."

Yu Hao's jawline tightened, and he raised his hand to signal him to open the package. The moment the police officer opened the carton, the air in the entire conference room seemed to freeze.

The pen in Lu Chao's hand fell to the table with a "click". Zhang Min gasped, and even the usually calm Sun Wei widened her eyes slightly.

It was a lifelike wooden sculpture. The subtle curl at the hairline, the sunspot on the left side of the nose, and even the sesame-sized mole on the right earlobe were all accurately reproduced.

"This craftsmanship..." Lu Chao's Adam's apple rolled up and down, his voice trembling, "It's like freezing a person into a log."

The person carved in the wood is Liu Feng.

Zhang Min picked up the note in the package and read softly, "This is what I looked like when I met that person that day. Sun Lei." Her fingertips trembled slightly, and she looked at Yu Hao in disbelief.

Yu Hao's knuckles felt cool against the wooden base. He took a deep breath and said in a low, firm voice, "The chain of evidence is complete. Apply for an arrest warrant."

"Captain Yu!" Lu Chao stood up suddenly. "Should we verify it again? What if..."

"What if? There's almost no what if." Yu Hao interrupted him, his eyes sharp as a knife. "The evidence won't lie." He paused, his voice slightly hoarse. "Before the law, there is no mercy."

There was dead silence in the conference room.

Sun Wei suddenly said: "Okay, since you have made the decision, let's carry it out." She stood up and stared at him.

Yu Hao looked at Sun Wei, nodded slightly to her, and walked out of the meeting room.

In the corridor, he took out his cell phone and called his master.

If there is anyone who can be his spiritual support, it is only Qin Guoan.

At this time, Yu Hao's voice was terrifyingly calm, and he reported the progress of the case to his master in an orderly manner.

Sun Wei stood at the door with a worried look on her face. She knew that the calmer Yu Hao was, the more he was struggling inside.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then Qin Guoan's voice slowly came over: "This is the pain that we criminal police must bear."

"I know, but Uncle Zhang..."

"Old Zhang will understand," Qin Guoan sighed. He also grew up in Nan'an Village, and Old Zhang was his childhood friend; they had known each other for nearly sixty years.

"Okay, Master." After hanging up the phone, Yu Hao stood in front of the director's office for a moment before raising his hand to knock on the door.

*

Back in the meeting room, everyone looked at him, waiting for the final decision.

"Apply for an arrest warrant." Yu Hao's voice was soft, but it cut through the silence like a knife. "Go to the hospital."

A trace of pity flashed in Lu Chao's eyes. Yu Hao was about to leave when Sun Wei suddenly stood up and stopped him: "You don't have to go. I'll go with them."

Yu Hao was stunned for a moment: "This is inappropriate..."

"I'm a forensic pathologist and a doctor." Her eyes were firm. "If the old man has any emergency, I can handle it."

Yu Hao looked into her clear eyes and finally nodded.

*

There was silence inside the police car as it drove to the hospital.

Lu Chao suddenly spoke, his voice full of confusion, "He's clearly a filial son, and he clearly loves his wife so much..."

"Everyone has their own frustrations," Sun Wei said softly. "This is the price he must bear."

Zhang Min sat in the back seat, silent.

*

The hospital corridors are always filled with the smell of disinfectant, which is pungent but makes people feel inexplicably at ease.

Liu Feng closed the door of the ward gently, fearing to disturb his sleeping mother.

Before closing the door, he glanced at the old woman. There was still a hint of a smile on her face, as if she had dreamed of something beautiful. Seeing this, Liu Feng also showed a rare smile on his face.

He thought to himself that although his mother was sick, she was still happy for several days when she heard the news that Xiaoli was pregnant. It seemed that she really wanted to have a grandson.

After closing the door, his wife Zhang Li came over and handed him the thermos cup, her eyes full of heartache.

"Have some water."

Liu Feng's lips were chapped and there were dark shadows under his eyes, but he still smiled gently at her.

"Okay, please sit down and don't stand too long." Liu Feng quickly helped Zhang Li sit down on the bench at the door.

He put away the thermos and leaned back in his chair, his cervical spine making a slight "clicking" sound.

Zhang Li looked at her husband's profile with concern.

This year, a lot of things happened to Liu Feng, including marriage, unemployment, her mother falling ill... It was also at this time that she became pregnant.

This once high-spirited man, a former top student in the IT industry, now had the wrinkles of life carved into his brow, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

She even once thought that she had brought him bad luck and that it was marriage that had brought him to this point, but when she told Liu Feng about her feelings, Liu Feng firmly told her to abandon this idea.

She remembered Liu Feng's words clearly, and they remained etched in her heart. "I thought my life was over, but it was because of you that I had the courage to fight this fate. You are the light of my life."

"Mom's surgery fee..." Zhang Li hesitated and said, "How about we sell the house?"

Liu Feng sat up straight abruptly. "No!" His voice was low but resolute. "That's our home."

"But--"

"Don't worry about the money." Liu Feng held his wife's slightly cold hand, "I'll think of a way."

Zhang Li hesitated to speak. She remembered the 50,000 yuan in cash her husband had suddenly brought back a few days ago, a thick stack wrapped in newspaper.

At that time he said it was an advance on his salary from his boss, but his eyes were as vague as a candle in the wind.

"I just don't want you to be so tired." Zhang Li turned her head and looked at her husband, tears welling up in her eyes. "I also don't want anything to happen to you."

Liu Feng's body was obviously stunned, and his raised head slowly lowered, accompanied by a sigh.

Zhang Li noticed her husband's gaze fixed on her belly. This was the family's hope at the moment, and the driving force that kept them going.

"Is it the wrong time?" Zhang Li gently stroked her belly, which had not yet shown any pregnancy, and said hesitantly, as if she was talking to herself, or as if she was asking her husband a question.

Liu Feng slid down from the bench, rested his head on his wife's belly, and said softly, "Don't say that. It's fate that he's here. Maybe he's been looking for his parents in heaven for a long time before he found us. We welcome him to come anytime."

Zhang Li smiled slightly. Liu Feng's words to her were sometimes romantic, as if with childlike innocence. "What do you think..." "Will it be a boy or a girl?"

Liu Feng's fingertips carefully touched his wife's belly. "A girl," he said, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes becoming more pronounced as he smiled. "As beautiful as you."

"What if it's a boy?"

"Then..." Liu Feng's voice suddenly choked, "Just don't be as useless as me."

Zhang Li's heart trembled and tears almost fell. She wanted to touch her husband's face with her hands, but her husband had turned his head away and stood up.

"Don't say that. The child will definitely like you and be proud of you. You are a good son and a good husband, and in the future, you will definitely be a good father."

Liu Feng turned his back to her and said nothing. He just looked out the window quietly. The cold wind blew and there seemed to be a sound of water drops falling.

"Liu Feng." She suddenly called out, "If... I mean if, you do something wrong, will you tell me?"

The radiator under the bench made a gurgling sound. Liu Feng's breathing paused for a moment, and he turned his head to look at his wife.

"Lizi," his voice was as soft as falling snow, "if I make a mistake, a big mistake, will you forgive me?"

The sound of a cart's wheels came from the end of the corridor, getting closer and closer, then gradually disappearing.

Zhang Li didn't answer either, but held her husband's hand tightly. Her palm was sweaty, but still cold.

"When I was a child," she said suddenly, "I stole apricots from my neighbor's house."

Liu Feng was stunned, not understanding why his wife suddenly said that.

"That tree bore big, sweet apricots. I'd stare longingly at them every day after school," Zhang Li said, her voice tinged with a distant smile. "One day, I couldn't resist, so I climbed up and picked two when no one was around."

The sound of a cart was heard again, this time accompanied by the hurried footsteps of medical staff. Someone was wheeled into the emergency room, and the cries of family members pierced the silence of the corridor.

"What happened next?" Liu Feng asked.

"Later, I planted the apricot kernels in my yard, and now the tree is taller than it was before." Zhang Li looked up at her husband, the light reflecting tiny specks of light in her pupils. "So you see, some mistakes... as long as they are made for love, can bloom new flowers."

Liu Feng's eyes suddenly turned red. He opened his mouth to say something, but a violent coughing sound came from the ward.

"I'll go see Mom." He stood up in a hurry, his back staggering a little.

Zhang Li sat alone on a bench, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the thermos. The cartoon pattern on the wall of the cup had faded - it was bought in their first year of marriage, when Liu Feng smiled and said he would use it until the children went to school.

The digital clock in the hallway jumped to 6:00 PM, and the last ray of sunlight outside the window was swallowed by dusk. She took out her phone, and on the lock screen was a photo of the two of them at the wedding.

At that time, Liu Feng was wearing a neat suit, with a silk flower with the word "groom" pinned on his chest, and his smile was incredibly bright.

"Excuse me, is this Ms. Zhang Li?"

A strange voice suddenly rang out. Zhang Li looked up and saw three people in police uniforms standing in front of her. The female officer in the front had a complicated expression.

She had seen this person before. She had introduced herself when she came to the hospital in the morning. Her name seemed to be Zhang Min.

"I am." She stood up subconsciously, and the thermos fell to the ground with a bang.

The female officer bent down to pick up the cup and handed it back, saying softly, "We're looking for your husband, Liu Feng."

Zhang Li's vision suddenly became blurred and her hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably.

A moment later, she saw her husband slowly walk out of the ward and mouth the words "Don't be afraid" to her. All the sounds and images seemed to be separated by a layer of frosted glass.

"I coaxed Mom to sleep again," Liu Feng said to her before he was taken away. "Remember to ask the nurse to change the dressing in half an hour and wait for me to come back."

Unexpectedly, things happened so quickly, although she was mentally prepared...

Zhang Li stood there, watching her husband disappear behind the elevator doors. The pale light in the corridor stretched her shadow like a suddenly withered tree.

She slowly squatted down and picked up the thermos cup that had fallen to the ground at some point. There was a fine crack on the cartoon smiling face on the bottom of the cup, as if it was crying silently.

When she stood up, she felt dizzy and her body finally gave out. She fell down. It seemed that a tall, thin, short-haired woman with a cold face supported her...