Chapter 80 The Unspeakable Secret
"Hey Section Chief Shen, please don't bring your fans on motorcycles next time, okay?" Xiao Chuan jumped out of the back of the motorcycle and rubbed his face vigorously: "It's not even as fast as a water truck, and it'll blow your face crooked."
"How dare you! You're lucky to even have a seat, yet you're being so picky. Don't you know that adults have to pay for their own gas?" Chen Zhenzhu stylishly locked her little motorcycle, then stood on tiptoe and hopped a few times to make sure Wu Fuwang behind the counter saw her.
Wu Fuwang placed several new milk tea varieties on the wrought iron table and chairs, and greeted Xiao Chuan: "Unfamiliar face? Lost child?"
Shen Zhenzhu is going to be happy again.
Xiao Chuan simply said, "Wu Zhongguo is my father. I came to the opening day."
Wu Fuwang took out some cookies from his pocket and handed them to him as a greeting gift: "We were family five hundred years ago, take them. After you finish these few drinks, I'll treat you to something else."
Li Lili, who had just come from school, squeezed through the crowd and fed them a bag of warm chicken cakes: "Big sister, I'll go in first, I've been too busy lately."
She said this with great joy, feeling a great sense of accomplishment as the assistant store manager when business was good.
"Hey, have you eaten?" Chen Zhenzhu asked. "Want to eat at that duck restaurant over there?"
Li Lili said, "My godmother arranges for someone to deliver meals to the staff every day, which is better than the duck meals."
Xiao Chuan's eyes lit up, and he stared longingly at Chen Zhenzhu. Chen Zhenzhu understood immediately and took out her mobile phone to call her sixth sister's shop to order two more staff meals.
With food and drinks provided, Xiao Chuan held his milk tea in silence.
"Didn't you say you'd taken the bait? Why aren't you saying anything?" Chen Zhenzhu glanced at the few empty sofas in the shop, holding her hot milk tea and covering her hands, and said, "Trying to trick me into buying milk tea?"
"I've made up my mind." Xiao Chuan leaned back and told Shen Zhenzhu his answer after considering it for the past two days: "I'm still a child, and there are many things I don't understand. When I talk to my parents, they are too subjective. So I want to talk to you and tell you everything I know. After all, you are an adult and Section Chief Shen, so you can give me the right answer. At least you can tell me whether I want to continue to be confused."
Look at these clever little words! Young people who know the taste of troubles speak differently now.
Since he said that, Chen Zhenzhu got straight to the point and asked, "Then what did you hide from me last time?"
"Oh my god, you actually knew I was hiding something?" Xiao Chuan almost knocked over the milk tea, quickly steadying herself and saying, "Can you guess what it is?"
Shen Zhenzhu laughed: "I'm not a mind reader, but since I'm 'Section Chief Shen,' I can guess a little bit. It's related to Xiao Kai saving you, right? You said Xiao Kai told you that your dad was upstairs and then saved you. During that process, something happened between you, which caused a rift in your friendship."
"You're like a tapeworm in my stomach!" Xiao Chuan looked around. Next door, a young couple sat at the wrought-iron table, their affectionate atmosphere delightful. Behind them sat three high school girls, chattering about their exams.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things for you. Just tell me." Sensing his insecurity, Shen Zhenzhu patted Xiao Chuan's forearm and said, "Don't hide anything this time. Tell me everything."
“Yes!” Xiaochuan nodded firmly with a determined look in his eyes, full of youthful vigor: “Something did happen in the middle that made me see him in a new light.”
He recalled the events of that day, slowly saying, "When I heard the firefighters say that the building might explode a second time, I was actually very scared. But I love my dad, and Xiao Kai said he ran up to save people. I was really worried about him, with his old bones, so I rushed up. But the fire got bigger and bigger and almost trapped me in the third-floor corridor. I finally made it to the fourth floor and found that the fire was even bigger there. It was so hot that I couldn't breathe. When I turned around and ran downstairs, I saw Xiao Kai."
What was Xiao Kai doing at the time?
"He was carrying a bicycle, and Uncle Li's bicycle was running down the road."
Thinking of this, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Shen Zhenzhu sat opposite him, waiting quietly.
After calming down, Xiao Chuan said through gritted teeth, "Xiao Kai ran up to the second floor with me and pointed to the other side of the corridor, telling me that my dad was over there. I hesitated because the fire was too big over there, and suddenly he pushed me from behind! I fell into the fire and rolled around several times. I was really scared!"
Chen Zhenzhu asked, "Did you check the floor number carefully?"
Xiao Chuan said, "I looked carefully. Each household had a house number. The second floor is close to the ground. I not only heard my mother calling me, but I also heard the sound of an insurance agent arguing with someone."
Shen Zhenzhu thought of one of the victims she had learned about yesterday, Sun Feifei, who had suffered extensive burns all over her body. She didn't mention her at first, but instead said, "And then he suddenly appeared and saved you?"
Xiao Chuan looked down at his scabbed instep, finally relieved that the gauze wasn't sticking to his skin anymore. He tapped his toes lightly, then looked up and said, "It wasn't exactly a sudden rescue. When I thought I was going to die, I heard the insurance agent say, 'Even if you die from a burn, we won't pay out.' Suddenly, Xiao Kai appeared wrapped in a fire blanket... Because he pushed me down and burned my instep, he carried me downstairs."
Do you know where he put that bicycle?
“I didn’t see it. They should have helped rescue it by now. Uncle Li treasures this bicycle. All the neighbors in the building know that.”
Shen Zhenzhu wrote down what he said in her notebook and pressed him for an answer: "When he carried you downstairs, did he say why he was pushing you?"
Ogawa said, "He apologized to me, saying he was too scared to push me and quickly saved me after realizing what had happened. I thought we were even, so I didn't blame him at first. Then..."
Xiao Chuan suddenly looked up, gripping Shen Zhenzhu's hand tightly, and said, "Section Chief Shen, I saw him talking to an insurance agent at the entrance of the residential area. He was asking about whether insurance would cover deaths caused by fire. I suspect, I suspect—"
"You think he really wanted to kill you at first, but after hearing the insurance agent arguing downstairs, he turned around and saved you. You suspect that he wasn't sincere in saving you, but just wanted to leave himself an escape route, right?" Shen Zhenzhu spoke very bluntly. At this moment, she had to understand Xiao Chuan's thoughts.
Xiao Chuan shuddered and said, "His parents are both dead, and his uncle couldn't pay compensation for the arson. He had no way to make a living, so in those brief three minutes, he decided to rescue me and became our family's benefactor. It's only right that his grandparents, parents, and he treated him well; he saved me. Actually, when we were together, he often said he envied me for having good parents and that my family was the only ones worthy of love."
Xiao Chuan suddenly looked up, grasped Shen Zhenzhu's hand again, and said, "I thought too badly of him, Section Chief Shen. Tell me, he really didn't push me on purpose. He genuinely wanted to save me!"
Chen Zhenzhu patted his cold hands, forcing him to face reality: "Sun Feifei could have escaped, but a bicycle suddenly appeared in front of her house, preventing her from opening the door. She couldn't participate in the Olympiad and had to go to Shanghai for emergency treatment."
"The only thing left in the building was Uncle Li's bicycle... He left it there! He almost killed Sun Feifei!"
Xiao Chuan couldn't control his trembling. His face drained of color, and he stared at Chen Zhenzhu, saying, "Xiao Kai and Sun Feifei are rivals. The school originally focused on cultivating Sun Feifei, who won the provincial first prize! Get rid of her. As long as we get rid of her, he can become the main player we cultivate."
Yes, yes! Hu Xingrui, the top student in the grade, was the same. For a period of time, she had blood-stained letters, dead rats, bats... and printed letters threatening to cut off her hand if she didn't transfer schools. The school asked us to keep this a secret, but like Sun Feifei, after she transferred, Xiao Kai became the top student in the grade.
Seeing his nervousness and fear, Shen Zhenzhu knew that it would be difficult for a kind-hearted child to accept the guilt of his good friend. This was why Shen Zhenzhu hadn't pressed him for answers last time, but instead hoped that Xiao Chuan would think things through and come over to talk.
Xiao Kai is a perfect child, the kind of child everyone admires. But his perfection is a facade, a mask for deceit; beneath the sweet exterior lies deadly poison.
Based on Xiao Chuan's words, Shen Zhenzhu was certain that Xiao Kai might have committed arson. When Xiao Kai's uncle was arrested, he repeatedly said "You must be alright, you must be well" while in handcuffs, which was likely an implication that he would take the blame for Xiao Kai.
“I will report the suspicious points of this case to my superiors. It is possible that Ye Shengwen was not the arsonist.” Chen Zhenzhu closed her notebook and said, “Ye Shengwen will be transferred to the procuratorate for prosecution in three days. We need to hurry.”
Xiao Chuan asked nervously, "Will Xiao Kai be executed?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "It's still too early to say. This is all your testimony. We need evidence. Anything else you say is just our inference."
Xiao Chuan couldn't even finish his milk tea. He held the milk tea for a long time, feeling melancholy, and then exhaled a breath of stale air: "Section Chief Shen, is this what growing pains are like? Have you ever experienced such growing pains?"
Shen Zhenzhu looked at him with pity: "Child, people usually don't experience such growing pains during their growth."
Besides, is this what you call labor pains?
This person was sliced to pieces with a knife.
"Reality is really scary. Before this, I had no idea what kind of criminals my dad and you guys were dealing with." Xiao Chuan finally said what had been on his mind, and his expression softened a bit. "I really want to be friends with Xiao Kai. Never mind, I'm relieved to leave it to Section Chief Shen."
“That’s right, leave it to me,” Chen Zhenzhu said. “I’ll talk to your father tomorrow. If you feel wronged and want to cry, I can keep it a secret for you.”
Ogawa scoffed, "'A man doesn't easily shed tears,' have you ever heard that?"
Shen Zhenzhu teased him deliberately, "No."
Xiao Chuan gained confidence from Shen Zhenzhu: "Wow, you've never heard of this? Have you ever heard of 'Men bleed but don't cry'?"
Chen Zhenzhu smiled and said, "I've heard of it."
The young man with yellow hair who took over Wu Fuwang's delivery duties was the former fifth-ranked employee at the skating rink. He rode over on a tricycle, carrying a foam insulated box to deliver employee meals.
The new part-time girl who makes milk tea came to pick up her staff meal. She smiled brightly when she smelled the aroma and greeted Chen Zhenzhu outside with a cheerful voice, "Hello, Sister Zhenzhu."
Chen Zhenzhu accepted the staff meal and greeted her, "How are you? Are you settling in?"
"I'm very used to it. I have plenty of food and drink, the salary is high, and I can eat at Sister Liu's restaurant. Many of my friends envy me." The little girl held her lunchbox, her round face full of smiles: "Sister Pearl, please open a branch soon. My friends are all envious that I can work here."
"A simple life is so enviable!" Xiao Chuan, like a little adult, opened his lunchbox: "Wow! Spicy chicken, Mapo tofu, hand-shredded cabbage! All my favorites!"
He peeked into Chen Zhenzhu's lunchbox and saw that there weren't many chicken nuggets. Even though he liked them, he still picked up a few and put them in Chen Zhenzhu's bowl: "You're an adult, eat more. Later, I won't use my allowance to buy study materials for Xiao Kai anymore. I'll treat you to KFC, and you can have a whole Doraemon meal by yourself!"
"Wow, that's so generous! I'll remember that." Chen Zhenzhu asked curiously, "Have you been complaining that your family has been neglecting you lately?"
With sauce on his lips, Ogawa said apologetically, "I can't be a perfect child, nor will I ask them to be perfect parents. Since neither of us is perfect, why bother?"
“You’re actually more mature than everyone thinks.” Shen Zhenzhu smiled sweetly and scooped all the spicy chicken from the lunchbox for him. “Imperfection is also a kind of perfection. You’re good enough for me.”
Xiao Chuan didn't respond, pretending not to hear Section Chief Shen's praise. If only the tips of his ears weren't so red.
That's what a pure young person is like. Even if the world shatters their trust in a hurry, their eyes still hold a clear lake, and their smile is pure.
Shen Zhenzhu held her small face in her hands as she watched him eat with relish. In her heart, she prayed that the passing wind would help him bypass the thorns and stop bringing him cruel things, so that the kind boy would not be hurt anymore.
Early in the morning, Shen Zhenzhu rode her little motorcycle at breakneck speed to her workplace, where she waited outside the office with a large vegetable bag in her mouth, keeping watch over Wu Zhongguo.
I stayed up all night thinking about Xiao Kai, and didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning. I also had a bag of Shen Yuyuan snacks hanging on my wrist.
Unexpectedly, instead of Wu Zhongguo, Lu Ye showed up first. The burly guy meekly begged for a large vegetable bun, then turned around and ordered Old Shen to sweep the floor.
After sweeping the floor, Chen Zhenzhu saw Wu Zhongguo downstairs and went to wait at the door again. This time, she caught Gu Yanzheng waiting for her.
"Go to the main conference room. The new political commissar will emphasize daily discipline to everyone. Bring your notebooks," Gu Yanzheng said.
“Uncle Guo is really like my uncle,” Lu Ye remarked.
Feeling utterly hopeless, Chen Zhenzhu and Lu Ye reluctantly made their way to the main conference room, clutching their laptops.
When I got to the conference room, I found that everyone had arrived quite early today. They must have been curious about the meeting's content, so they tacitly left the first row empty and squeezed to sit in the back.
Seeing that only the second row had a single seat left, Lu Ye forgot about the kindness of the vegetable buns and hurriedly grabbed the seat.
Unexpectedly, just as he reached the second row, Section Chief Shen kicked Lu Ye from behind, sending him flying to the first row.
Lu Ye: "......"
Throughout the morning meeting, under the cover of Lu Ye's burly yet aggrieved figure, Shen Zhenzhu ate tea eggs, chicken cakes, calcium milk biscuits, half a corn cob, and even sipped a cup of Milo.
Guo Daye's voice came from directly in front of him. His square face righteously criticized "some comrades" for their lazy work style: "They don't bring pens to meetings, their pockets are full of peanuts!"
Shen Zhenzhu thought to herself that Grandpa Guo was really capable; he could tell just by smelling the tiger-skin peanuts that Sixth Sister had made before even tasting them.
This morning meeting was uneventful; it mainly focused on hygiene and discipline, and establishing good conduct. Whether it was effective or not is unknown, but Sixth Sister's tiger-skin peanuts were quite popular. Zhang Jie, sitting next to Chen Zhenzhu, grabbed a handful from her pocket, barely ate a few, and they were all devoured by her neighbors.
"The Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Team can't be too lax in its work style." After the meeting, Guo Daye came to Director Liu's office and said angrily, "Some people are late, and some are whispering. This is no way we're having a meeting."
"This last-minute notice doesn't really count as a formal meeting. Besides, criminal investigation team members are always busy solving cases, often not knowing where their next meal is coming from. It's understandable that she'd eat something," Director Liu said, covering the peanuts on the table with his hand and speaking up for Section Chief Shen.
"Who ate anything?" Guo Daye's eyes widened. "Who ate anything while I was in a meeting?"
The difference in competence between leaders who don't work on the front lines and those who work on the front lines year-round is immediately apparent. Director Liu retorted, "Didn't you say some comrades have pockets full of peanuts?"
"I was just using an analogy, meaning don't neglect your duties." Guo Daye relaxed, not noticing that Director Liu had successfully hidden the evidence by pushing the tiger-skin peanuts into the drawer.
“Criminal investigation team members work under pressure outside, but they should relax when they get home. Being too strict both inside and outside is not good for them.” Director Liu said meaningfully, “Of course, we must be strict with our team, but we can control the direction of the strictness. We can turn a blind eye to some minor things.”
"I've been very tolerant. Director Liu, Tian Yongfeng threw away all the trash cans to avoid checking them. Park Heung-seong doesn't bother tidying up his office, so he just makes them work in the conference room. And the fourth team is always nowhere to be seen; whether they're solving cases or just sleeping at home, who knows?"
Director Liu chuckled, holding his teacup, and said, "Sleeping is fine too. You must be working overtime to solve the case. I'm just afraid that not sleeping will ruin your chances of success."
Guo Daye's words caught in his throat. He smacked his lips, feeling that the criminal investigation team was treating him like a nobody.
"Director Liu, I know that our criminal investigation team is excellent at solving cases. But I'm also focusing on the issue of conduct for the good of the team. Ideological conduct is the lifeline of public security work. It relates to the team's political character and loyalty, ensuring that law enforcement is for the people, fair and honest. Excellent ideological conduct is also the core of combat effectiveness. It can temper willpower and provide a firm ideological guarantee for dealing with complex tasks."
Director Liu nodded firmly and said, "The issue of conduct is also an issue of Party spirit. The public security team must win the trust of the masses with a strong ideology and work style, which is also the foundation of our existence. If you want to rectify the team, I won't stop you. I am very confident in entrusting the political commissar's work to you."
"Don't worry." Seeing that Director Liu didn't object to him pushing forward with the work, Guo Daye then asked Director Liu, "What about the attendance issue for Team Four?"
The implication is that he will be in charge of attendance.
Director Liu waved his hand dismissively: "We don't need to do everything ourselves. In the future, just have them let Captain Gu know before they start handling cases, so we don't have to search for him."
"..." In the end, it still comes down to letting their own family members manage their own family members.
As Guo Daye was leaving, he brushed past Shen Zhenzhu. If he hadn't seen other people outside, he would have thought that Shen Zhenzhu was sent by Gu Yanzheng to listen to their conversation.
Shen Zhenzhu didn't have time to chat with him. Hearing that Xiao Kai had suddenly arrived, she was worried that something might go wrong and decided to keep an eye on Wu Zhongguo.
Upon arriving at the entrance of Team Three, Wu Zhongguo was talking to Park Heung-sung. Shen Zhenzhu finally caught up with him.
"Old Shen, wait for me after get off work." Wu Zhongguo spoke first, before Shen Zhenzhu could ask him, "There's something I can't make up my mind about, and I wanted to ask for your opinion."
Without hesitation, Chen Zhenzhu said, "Okay, I was just looking for you too."
Park Heung-sung glanced at Chen Zhenzhu: "How's the situation?"
Shen Zhenzhu nodded: "I'll tell you in a bit."
As they were talking, Xiao Kai's voice came from inside.
"Uncle, can't I really see my uncle one more time? He's my only family. Please, please? Waaah—" Xiao Kai cried, tears streaming down his face, clutching Kang He's arm and bowing his head, pitifully wiping away his tears with his sleeve.
Kanghe was more patient with junior high school students than with criminals, repeating over and over, "Your uncle has been criminally detained. In a couple of days, the case file will be compiled and transferred to the procuratorate. You definitely won't be able to see him then."
He saw Guo Daye walk by outside and said in a low voice, "Besides, we're still enforcing discipline, so we can't meet in public or private."
"There's no precedent for this," Chen Zhenzhu said, leaning against the door with regret. "Otherwise, is there anything you want to say to your uncle that you could ask this uncle to relay?"
Kanghe immediately said, "That's fine."
"I just want to see him, I don't know what I want to say. He killed my parents, he deserves to be executed. But I just want to see him, sob sob sob."
“I can understand your mixed feelings of love and hate for Ye Shengwen, your only relative, but my understanding is my understanding, and discipline is discipline.” Kang He took the napkin from Chen Zhenzhu and wiped Xiao Kai’s tears: “I heard you have excellent grades. Don’t give up your studies. It’s painful for you now, but when you grow up, you will definitely not regret your perseverance.”
Kang He really didn't know how to comfort a child, and kept giving Shen Zhenzhu meaningful glances, hoping she would come and help. But Old Shen, who was usually very perceptive and kind-hearted, seemed to have taken the wrong medicine today, standing at the door with a sullen face watching Xiao Kai cry.
During a break, Chen Zhenzhu repeated, "Xiao Kai, I know you're upset. You'll be even more upset if you can't see your uncle, right?"
Xiao Kai finally looked up at her, his eyelids swollen from crying, looking pitiful no matter how you looked at him. He sniffed and looked at her with pleading eyes, saying, "Yes, if I can't see him, I... I can't live either!"
"Silly child, then you should seize this opportunity to let your uncle relay what you want to say." Shen Zhenzhu put her hand on Xiao Kai's shoulder. In Xiao Kai's eyes, this Section Chief Shen's smile was somewhat...malicious. She said, "You are a good child and shouldn't make things difficult for adults, right? Now that your uncle is willing to help you pass on your message, why don't you say it?"
Wu Zhongguo initially disapproved of Xiao Kai coming over, but seeing that Kang He was willing to help, he added, "Say what you have to say, and I'll have your uncle leave you a few words later."
Standing at the door, Guo Daye sighed upon seeing the pitiful boy: "Child, don't worry, just say what you have to say. This is your only relative, and even the law will offer leniency. Even if I just pass on a few words for you, it won't break the rules. The law always puts people first, so don't be afraid."
Xiao Kai gripped the napkin tightly, his head lowered, his eyes darting around as he frantically tried to figure out how to respond to Section Chief Shen's question.
He couldn't say what he wanted to say in front of the police! He had to talk to his uncle alone; they absolutely had to find and destroy that crucial item!
Shen Zhenzhu quietly crossed her arms and looked at him, a smile playing on her lips: "Good child, tell us, we will definitely help you."
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Author's note: Pearl: Good boy, go ahead and act.
***
There's a red envelope! See you tomorrow!
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