Chapter 94, the wanted criminal (first update)...
Summer is followed by winter; autumn in Mosk is as fleeting as an illusion.
In front of the warm fireplace, Grandma Vitalie leaned back in her chaise lounge with her eyes half-closed, a thick old blanket draped over her knees.
The firelight illuminated the pages of the book in He Changyi's hands as she read poetry and sometimes prose in Emei language.
She also recited ancient poems in Chinese. Although Grandma Vitalie couldn't understand them, she loved the rhythm of those unfamiliar languages.
He Changyi reads the poems of Blatt Okuzawa the most, and Grandma Vitalie would always say, "My child, please read them again."
He Changyi sighed silently and began to read aloud again in a low voice.
"The past can never be returned / But there is nothing to be sad about / Every era has its own trees growing..."
Gradually, her voice grew softer and softer, and Grandma Vitalie, with a smile on her lips, slowly fell asleep.
The nanny tiptoed over and whispered to He Changyi, "Someone is waiting for you outside the door."
He Changyi nodded, put the poetry collection aside, instructed the nanny to stay and look after Grandma Vitalie, and quietly left the living room.
There was an unexpected guest outside the door.
He stood calmly at the bottom of the steps. Not far away, two men, one fat and one thin, were peeking around, but they didn't dare to rudely shoo him away like they would to others. Perhaps it was because of the black sedan used for official business, or perhaps it was because of the gray uniform worn by the guest.
Hearing the door open, he looked up and his gaze softened upon seeing who it was.
He Changyi exclaimed in surprise, "Andrei? What are you doing here?"
This is not a good thing; the cat has come to visit the mouse's house.
Andrei glanced at the two guys not far away. "This isn't the place to talk."
He Changyi opened the door and gestured for Andrei to come in, but he shook his head and walked to the car by the roadside.
He opened the passenger door and said briefly, "Get in."
He Changyi hesitated for a moment, then turned around, took the coat from the underwear rack in the room, said something to the nanny, quickly walked down the steps, glanced at Andrei, and bent down to get into the car.
Andrei closed the car door for her, went around to the driver's seat and got in. The Volga sedan quickly disappeared around the street corner.
The fat man and the thin man instinctively took two steps to chase after the car, but stopped at the same time after realizing they couldn't catch up. They turned around and looked at each other in shock.
Oh no! Alexei's woman has been kidnapped by the greyhound right under their noses!
On the train, He Changyi asked Andrei, "What happened?"
At a red light, Andrei briefly looked away from the road ahead and turned to glance at He Changyi.
It's hard to say what he was thinking at that moment.
It could be regret, it could be hesitation, or it could be struggle.
But in the end, Andrei spoke up: "That mafia member, Alexei, he's wanted."
He Changyi was startled and immediately asked, "What did he do?"
"He is suspected of murdering the state prosecutor," Andrei said, his tone carrying a contempt and disgust he himself was unaware of.
He Changyi said decisively, "Impossible! Alexei would never do such a thing!"
Andrei countered, “Why not? He’s a mafia member, a degenerate veteran. I’ve seen many criminals like him who will do anything for money.”
He Changyi retorted, "Alexei may not be a good person, but he is certainly not a fool. At least he can distinguish between gang fighting and murdering a state official."
Andrei suddenly let out a cold laugh, which was completely different from his usual demeanor.
"You know him?" he asked sharply. "Then do you know how many people he's killed?"
He Changyi pursed his lips and said, "All I know is that he once learned to kill on the battlefield for the sake of the country, and also learned to accept being killed."
Andrei asked sarcastically, "Are you trying to say that the state granted him a license to kill?"
He Changyi said, "No, but your country taught him to make a living by killing."
The red light turned green, and Andrei stepped on the gas. The car smoothly passed through the intersection, only the wrinkles on the white gloves gripping the steering wheel betraying his true emotions.
A long silence.
He Changyi's mind was in turmoil. One moment she wanted to find someone to get Alexei out, the next she was cursing the bastard, and then she was thinking that she must not let Grandma Vitaly know about this.
The car braked abruptly, followed by the sound of the car door being violently flung open.
Andrei stood outside the vehicle, facing an endless expanse of withered, yellow grass, desolate and solemn.
He Changyi then noticed that the car had unknowingly driven to the edge of the city.
She stepped out of the car, and a desolate wind blew against her, causing her coat to billow violently in the wind.
Andrei had his back to her, and his voice was almost carried away by the wind.
"I regret telling you the news."
He Changyi was walking towards him when she heard this and stopped.
Should I apologize?
Andrei turned around, his expression somber and pained.
"You make me hate myself."
Envy, anger, greed, pride, and lust—he committed the fifth of the seven deadly sins.
There was even murderous intent.
He became unlike himself, or perhaps he became a more authentic version of himself.
He Changyi fell silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Maybe it's my fault. I shouldn't have bothered you in the first place."
Before he finished speaking, Andrei suddenly took a step forward, so close to He Changyi that they could hear each other breathing.
"No, I'd rather hate myself."
He Changyi looked up, hesitated, and slowly raised her hand to touch his face.
Andrei didn't move, his eyes lingering on her hand with longing, but she hesitated and stopped just before touching it.
So he pulled off his gloves, grabbed He Changyi's hand, bent down, and pressed his face against her hand.
It was cold at first.
But gradually, a warm sensation rises from the point of skin contact; the temperature is not high, but it is almost enough to melt you.
Please do not leave.
Andrei whispered, "Even if you see my despicable nature, please don't leave..."
He Changyi stepped forward and took the initiative to give the hug.
"I'm sorry I've caused you pain, and that you'll continue to suffer."
Andrei carefully and restrainedly closed his arms, as if he were holding a fragile piece of porcelain that could shatter at the slightest touch, forcing him to suppress his emotions.
"Pain is the soul burning, which proves that I am still alive."
He Changyi said softly, "You sound like a poet."
Andrei muttered something under his breath: "...always makes one sentimental."
He Changyi looked up and asked him, "What are you talking about?"
Andrei did not answer.
He carefully kept this well-known secret, hiding it in an unlocked velvet box.
As dusk fell, the autumn sunlight vanished in an instant.
As dusk fell, the car drove back to the city.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Andrei slowly and methodically told He Changyi the details of the murder case that could be made public.
The case wasn't particularly complicated. The murdered prosecutor was investigating a gang that controlled the Motor City before his death and was said to have obtained crucial evidence enough to send the "Motor City Godfather" to prison.
But just the night before last, the prosecutor was found dead in his office, shot multiple times. Judging from the location of the gunshot wounds and the ballistic traces, the killer had received long-term military training. Coincidentally, Alexei had been at the prosecutor's building that day.
A down-on-his-luck veteran, and also a key member of the car dealership, no one was more suspicious than him.
Local police immediately identified Alexei as the suspect after the incident, but encountered fierce resistance during the arrest, resulting in injuries to several officers, which further strengthened Alexei's suspicion.
Although he eventually escaped the local police's pursuit, he was put on the wanted list and hunted down nationwide.
Andrei looked ahead at the road and said calmly, "The police will surround Dmitrov Street. I hope you can move out or return to Vladimir City."
He Changyi said, "I can't leave."
She couldn't just hand over Grandma Vitalie to a group of policemen, especially a group of Oroqen policemen.
Andrei seemed to know what she was worried about and reassured her, "I will tell them to try not to disturb the old man."
He Changyi shook his head and said, "I can't abandon Grandma Vitalie at this time; I must stay with her."
Andrei's eyes remained fixed ahead, but his hand, which had been on the gearshift, moved to grasp He Changyi's.
"You are more important."
He paused, then said, "Please believe me."
He Changyi grabbed his hand in return, "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just..."
She couldn't leave at this time, no matter what.
Even if it wasn't for Alexei.
But to onlookers, it sounded like she was doing it all for Alexei.
That damned fugitive.
Andrei suddenly became angry again and said coldly, "Then I'll send you to Vladimir right now!"
He turned the steering wheel, and the car veered from the road leading back to the city onto another road leading out of the city.
He Changyi simply sighed.
“Andrei,” she called his name, “Don’t do this, it’s not like you.”
Andrei remained silent for a long time before speaking again in a low, hoarse voice.
No, this is who I am.
But in the end, he drove the car back to Dmitrov Street.
He Changyi opened the door and got out of the car. He hesitated for a moment by the open door and said to Andrei inside the car, "Please don't tell Grandma Vitaly about Alexei."
Andrei said, "If he escapes and returns home, you must inform me immediately."
He Changyi sighed again and repeated, "Alexei is not a bad person."
"Yes, he's not a bad person, he's just a murderer!"
Andrei suddenly stopped talking, looking somewhat embarrassed, and turned to look at the other side of the car window.
"Don't mention him again."
He didn't hear He Changyi speak again, only the sound of the car door closing gently.
Mosk is so quiet at night that you can clearly hear footsteps going upstairs, the sound of a lock being opened, and the final sound of a door closing.
When Andrei turned around again, He Changyi was no longer on the street.
He sat inside the car, motionless, like a statue.
Suddenly, the sculpture moved, raising its hand and slamming it heavily onto the steering wheel.
The fat man and the thin man hid on the street corner, watching this place from a distance.
The fat man asked hesitantly, "He failed, didn't he?"
The skinny man said, "Who knows? But I hope he fails. I don't want Miss He to become a woman of the greyhounds. She'll be giving those corrupt cops gifts! Just like she gave them to us!"
The fat man shook his head. "Love is too complicated. I can never figure it out."
The skinny man patted his belly and offered a perfunctory consolation: "All you need to know is how to make fried meat pies and Longgao soda."
The fat man pondered, "Perhaps fried chicken and cola would work too. I must say, American fast food is truly fantastic."
The skinny man stared at the Volga sedan and said with great interest, "To be honest, I really wish Alexei were here right now."
The fat man asked, puzzled, "Huh? Will he treat us to KFC?"
The skinny man gave him a disdainful look.
"Damn it, your brain must be completely filled with fat!"
The fat man retorted, "Don't think I don't understand! It's just love, right? Humph, in my opinion, love isn't even as important as fried chicken legs!"
"What a load of bull, what a boring love story!" he declared categorically.
The skinny guy yelled, "You're just jealous! Nobody wants to be with you except for fat! Oh wait, there are brown bears and tigers, they'd absolutely adore you!"
Enraged, the fat man roared and lunged at the skinny man.
The two men were locked in a fierce fight, rolling on the ground as a black Volga sedan drove past them.
Andrei remained expressionless, took out his Nokia phone with one hand, and dialed a number.
"It was me... the operation is canceled."
After saying something on the other end of the phone, he coldly replied, "I will take responsibility."
As the car drove through the desolate, deserted streets, Andrei said his last words on the phone before hanging up:
"I will catch him myself."
He will personally throw that person into prison.
You'll never get out again.
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Author's Note: Let's try to squeeze out a second update~
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