53 A Misplaced Reunion | Better Bait
At 6:03 in the morning, the sky was just lightened by a thin mist.
Jiang Yu's message landed precisely beside her pillow like the first rays of sunlight: [Good morning.]
Lin Weifeng buried his face in the pillow, his voice still filled with sleep, but his fingertips were tapping rapidly: [It seems that Officer Jiang is indeed pursuing girls.]
The other party replied immediately, with a little bit of deliberate perversity: [If you feel it's too flattering, remember to signal me to stop.]
The corners of her mouth curled up, teasing him deliberately: [Not enough, add some more oil.]
At the top of the screen, "The other party is typing..." flashed twice, and then a clear sentence popped up: [Received.]
These two words are like the whistle blowing in the morning breeze, soft yet firm.
When Lin Weifeng and Tian Yusu arrived at Zhushan Orchard, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.
The cool breeze carried the moisture from the grass leaves and brushed across her chin.
Rows of lychee trees cascade down the mountain ridge. The branches visible to the naked eye are covered with half-green and half-red fruits, illuminated by the early sun.
Qin Zhi was squatting in a small patch of land at the bottom.
A crimson headscarf covered her half-white temples. She rolled up her sleeves to her elbows, revealing a section of her forearm that was browned by the sun.
She held the seedling in her left hand and covered the soil with her right hand. Her movements were light and the soil fell from between her fingers.
It seems that Qin Zhi is enjoying her current life and has become a competent peasant woman.
Lin Weifeng saw her first through two lines of tree shadows. Although he had never seen her before, her facial features were so similar to Jiang Yu's that they were truly striking.
Her back was thin, and her shoulder blades rose and fell under her old cotton shirt.
Lin Weifeng decisively grabbed Tian Yusu who was walking forward.
Tian Yusu stood on a dirt ridge further back, pinching the backpack strap with her fingers.
She was wearing sunglasses, but the lenses couldn't hide the quick and slight trembling of her nose.
The mother she hadn't seen for many years was right in front of her, and the words she had wanted to ask for for many years were right in her ears. She was a little nervous, as if she was nailed by something and couldn't move even a step.
The wind blew past, and the litchi leaves rustled. Qin Zhi probably felt it as well and looked over here.
At that moment, Tian Yusu's breathing became obviously disordered, her shoulders shrank suddenly, and she took half a step back. Her sunglasses slid to the bridge of her nose, revealing her red eyes.
She lowered her head and huddled beside Lin Weifeng.
Lin Weifeng patted her arm gently and gave her a soothing look.
Then he turned around, walked across the dew-soaked grass path, and walked steadily towards Qin Zhi.
The branches and leaves of lychees brushed against the tips of Lin Weifeng's hair, leaving behind a few wisps of sweet fruit fragrance.
"Aunt Qin?" She stopped two steps away from Qin Zhi. Her voice was not loud, but polite enough.
The shovel in Qin Zhi's hand stopped in mid-air.
She looked up, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were filled with doubts in the sunlight.
"Hello, I'm Jiang..." Lin Weifeng paused, his eyes softly falling on the woman's muddy fingertips, "I'm Yusu's friend. She's over there and wants to talk to you, but she doesn't want to disturb you."
Qin Zhi looked in the direction she indicated.
Tian Yusu stood against the light, her figure surrounded by a halo.
Qin Zhi's pupils suddenly tightened, his ankle twitched, and the shovel handle at his feet fell to the ground with a clang, splashing fine particles of soil.
Her lips trembled and she subconsciously rubbed her hands on her apron.
Not long after, Lin Weifeng heard her say, "Take her away. I don't want to see her."
The morning breeze blew again. Hearing this, Lin Weifeng didn't know what to do.
In the distance, Tian Yusu finally took off her sunglasses, and tears drew two bright lines on her cheeks.
She still didn't dare to move forward and just held her backpack against her chest.
Qin Zhi moved first.
But she did not walk towards Tian Yusu, but left the depression.
She took one step after another, and the mud stuck to the edges of her cloth shoes, like the resolute traces left by time.
Tian Yusu was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught up.
Lin Weifeng stopped in her tracks. She shouldn't interfere in this family battle that would take time.
She lowered her head and pressed the button on her positioning watch.
Jiang Yu quickly received the location information.
Lin Weifeng said to him:
【good afternoon. 】
【Why don't you come and take a look? 】
Jiang Yu replied to her: [Breeze, I won’t go.]
He didn't want to see his mother, didn't want to compete for time with his sister, and didn't want Miao Zheng to seize the opportunity just because he appeared next to Qin Zhi.
Lin Weifeng didn't ask why, but just said: "Then I won't come."
Lin Weifeng returned to the parking lot alone. She told Tian Yusu that she was going to work, but she would pick her up at any time.
Before starting the car, she subconsciously asked Gu Chengxiu: "Mom, will you love Xiao Jiang as much as you love me in the future?"
Gu Chengxiu stopped sewing and said firmly: "Breeze, Mom won't do that, but she will treat him well."
Gu Chengxiu added: "Your father is the same. Even if Xiao Jiang is your father's favorite student, the emotions he can express are not the same as the love he would express for his daughter."
Lin Weifeng looked at the screen and understood the true meaning.
In fact, she didn't know what it felt like to grow up without maternal love.
She couldn't empathize with Jiang Yu on this point.
Based on her understanding, it might be that she won’t have new clothes to wear regularly, and there won’t be someone to act coquettishly with when she can’t sleep.
Of course, she also knew that such speculation was too frivolous.
Human nature is complex, life is full of ups and downs, and Jiang Yu would have experienced the true or false love he received while growing up and had his own judgment without the protection of maternal love at a very young age.
And to become such a good person, he must have paid a lot and endured a lot.
Qin Zhi's reappearance probably has no other effect except reminding Jiang Yu of his twenty years of endurance of the lack of maternal love.
It’s normal not to see each other.
Through the car window, Lin Weifeng saw an aluminum billboard with the official number for Zhushan Orchard’s lychee procurement.
She ordered a few boxes by phone and sent them to Jiang Yu.
Tian Yusu did not call Lin Weifeng. For two consecutive days, Lin Weifeng was busy working on the museum exhibition alone.
The dome in the atrium of the North Bay Museum looks like an inverted jade cup.
The winter light here is so bright that you can bend down, and the Li State "Flower Curve" cultural relics exhibition is spread out under this sea of light.
The vine pattern on the gilded copper sheet is like a golden river kissed by time, quietly waking up in the light.
Lin Weifeng stopped in front of the "Rose Knot" fragment in the center and traced its curvature through the glass.
While appreciating the exhibition, Erkueli was also grasping the legal elements of organizing the exhibition. She synchronized data such as temperature, camera frequency, and vibration monitoring to the cloud so that she could pay attention to details when writing documents.
The museum's legal department gave her a thick stack of documents. When she was tired of visiting, she sat alone in an open area and sorted out the respective responsibilities of the museum, consulate, and insurance company.
The intangible cultural heritage interactive area on the east side is always filled with the scent of sandalwood and indigo.
Lin Weifeng saw that the intangible cultural heritage handicraft teacher there was demonstrating the method of making "flower wrapping" - taking a strand of velvet thread dyed pomegranate red, wrapping a five-petal plum blossom on the copper wire, and then embedding a freshwater bead the size of a rice grain to make a "concentric plum blossom".
As she approached, the crafts teacher asked, "Ma'am, would you like to try making flower wrapping?"
Lin Weifeng was a little interested. He picked up a finished flower and asked, "Does it have any special meaning?"
"Different flowers represent different meanings. The flower in your hand means: perfect love and all your wishes come true."
Love is perfect and all your wishes come true.
Straightforward and beautiful wishes.
Lin Weifeng said: "I want a pair."
Lin Weifeng picked up the tweezers and followed the teacher to wrap it in circles and fold it up.
The teacher said: "You can think of your lover in your heart, so that you can wrap a long line of longing into your palm."
She smiled and said okay.
Almost done.
When the last petal was being reeled in, Lin Weifeng clutched the plum blossom and wanted to hide it in his pocket.
But the moment he raised his eyes, he saw Jiang Yu through the crowd and the spots of light.
Um?
She blinked and looked again, and it was indeed him.
He stood outside the glass curtain wall, his back to the thin sunlight.
A little bit of the white shirt collar is visible from the black coat, making the whole person look sharp and gentle.
Jiang Yu didn't say anything, just raised his hand and tapped the glass with his knuckles.
Lin Weifeng held the "Concentric Plum" he had just completed even tighter.
I thought to myself, this longing wrapped with a red thread could actually pass through all the display cabinets and crowds and fall steadily into his eyes.
Unfortunately, things did not develop as romantically as she had imagined.
She was about to get up and walk in his direction when her phone suddenly vibrated.
Jiang Yu sent a message saying:
【Pretend not to know me.】
[You must really put the relationship on hold so that I can pursue you]
Lin Weifeng stopped, looked down at the screen, and cast a puzzled look at him again.
He just shook his head slightly, then turned and left.
Jiang Yu rushed here after receiving the threatening email from Miao Zheng.
In the encrypted mailbox, the title is just one line in English: Better bait.
The main text is simple and clear:
[We can let Qin Zhi go because we have a better candidate.]
Attached is a three-second video. The camera sweeps across the airport, then across the Zhushan orchard, and finally stops at the profile of a girl.
The picture is not high-definition and is deliberately blurred. The girl's eyelashes are slightly drooping and her expression is sharp.
Jiang Yu initially thought that the person inside was Lin Weifeng.
But that’s not the case.
The Miao Group found the wrong person. They found Ning Sicheng who was going home for the New Year.
After Jiang Yu finished reporting to the special request group, he immediately rushed to Beiwan.
The cold wind from North Bay City blew into his coat, but it was not as cold as his heart.
Instead of going to Zhushan Orchard, he went straight to the flashing blue dot in the location.
He wanted to confirm with his own eyes that Lin Weifeng was safe.
He knew that what Miao Zheng really wanted was not Qin Zhi or Ning Sicheng, but a trump card that could make him "obedient".
Miao Zheng is still trying.
It was not until he saw Lin Weifeng sitting there safely, taking the circles of red lines in his hand seriously, that Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
I hope she can always be so safe.
Late at night, in the abandoned cold storage of Zhushan Orchard.
The iron gate was half-open, and the wind was filled with the pungent sweet smell of lychee wood and refrigerant.
Ning Sicheng was knocked unconscious and tied to an old plastic chair with his hands behind his back. A tungsten filament lamp was flickering above his head.
A short, thin man leaned against the door frame as a doorman, humming a song and turning a key.
Although Jiang Yu didn't like Ning Sicheng, he would never abandon her. He was speeding on the winding mountain road.
The headlights cut through the black fog, and the red pointer on the dashboard jumped all the way to the right.
He controlled the steering wheel with one hand and put the earphones into his ears with the other hand. Miao Zheng was letting him listen to Ning Sicheng's breathing.
On the other end of the phone, Miao Zheng heard the sound of the engine and smiled.
Miao Zheng: "Are you anxious?"
He also came to the cold storage, inserted the key into the lamp holder, turned it gently, and the tungsten filament lamp went out with a "click".
In the darkness, Ning Sicheng heard the loud noise of the door lock being kicked open. He woke up for a second in a daze, but the effect of the drug had not yet worn off, and he fell asleep again in fear.
Jiang Yu said into the phone in a low and steady voice: "Let her go."
Miao Zheng raised his hand, threw the key into the air, caught it, threw it into the air, caught it, and repeated it meaninglessly. He asked meaningfully, "So, are you willing?"
"You bet I would come, and you also bet I wouldn't dare shoot you." Jiang Yu lowered his voice very low, "Now that I'm here, you let her go."
Miao Zheng said: "Don't worry, we won't hurt her before you come."
"Her family is powerful and you can't afford to hurt them." Jiang Yu said objectively and reasonably.
"There are so many people who can't afford to be hurt. Is this something I need to consider?" Miao Zheng smiled.
"You really can't mess with her family." Jiang Yu said this with certainty.
Miao Zheng is not a person who relies solely on brute force, so he naturally received the message behind Jiang Yu's words.
So he moved his fingers and asked his men to do a quick check.
This investigation not only revealed Ning Sicheng's background, but also revealed another interesting point.
Jiang Yu is the person Ning Sicheng loves but cannot have.
Miao Zheng didn't know why his subordinates leaked this information. He twisted his mouth and ordered his men to kill his subordinates who were incompetent. At the same time, he felt that things had become more interesting.
Miao Zheng was still throwing the key. At a certain moment, the key emitted a cold light in the dark and was grabbed by Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu is here.
At the same second, his gun was against the back of Miao Zheng's neck.
Miao Zheng chuckled, slowly raised his hands, pretending to surrender, and said, "You're here."
"Let her go." Jiang Yu's voice became angry.
Miao Zheng still looked indifferent: "I need you to say something."
"You know my answer."
"I don't want your answer right now."
“My answer won’t change.”
Miao Zheng laughed a few times and said, "You will change."
The backup light on the top of the cold storage slowly lit up, and in the white light, Jiang Yu saw Ning Sicheng.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
Jiang Yu's gun was still pointed at Miao Zheng, even though he knew that there were countless guns pointed at his back.
He took a deep breath and asked, "Why don't you give up crime?"
"give up?"
"You are clearly ill."
Miao Zheng's eyes lit up: "You know?"
I know he won't live long.
"No matter what name you use or how you seek medical attention, you only have one body."
"You checked me?"
"For so many years, the entire organization has never given up investigating you."
"Don't talk nonsense, young man." Miao Zheng sneered, "I just want your words."
"What are you trying to do, senior?" Jiang Yu called him politely.
Miao Zheng said: "Seeking pleasure and gambling on people's hearts."
While talking, Miao Zheng opened the door of the cold storage.
Jiang Yu put away his gun, went into the warehouse, cut the rope, and carried Ning Sicheng on his shoulders.
He strode out, knowing no one would stop him.
When passing Miao Zheng, Miao Zheng turned around and said casually, "Such a powerful girl is openly liking you, and you remain unmoved?"
Jiang Yu paused.
"You don't want to get promoted or get rich, what do you want?"
Jiang Yu said: "For someone like this, you alone are enough."
Miao Zheng twisted his mouth and laughed.
"You have to understand that when I say I want your help, I'm not trying to make a deal with you," Miao Zheng's tone turned colder. "If you let her go, there will be another better bait, right, Xiao Jiang?"
Jiang Yu looked back.
Miao Zheng said: "You know who I'm talking about."
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