I still love you, even if you have nothing, I still...
Wen Zichuan never told anyone except Cheng Sizhou about the stress caused by the rainy day.
Mo Ming checked his symptoms and thought about the last time. Although it was common to get a fever after being caught in the rain, even after taking the sedative antipyretic, his nerves were still highly tense and his delirium was much more serious than that of ordinary people.
If it's not a physical problem, then it must be some psychological problem.
"Let's go out first," Mo Ming rubbed his hands. "The clean clothes are outside. You guys should change and rest for the night. If you have anything else, it's best to wait until the rain stops."
Cheng Sizhou was found successfully. He was safe and had no missing limbs. Zhou Han breathed a sigh of relief, patted his shoulder, and turned to leave the room.
Xu Jiaxuan mumbled, "Teacher Wen, you should have a good rest," and followed Mo Ming.
It's rare that they are all insiders, so even if Cheng Sizhou wants to stay, he doesn't need to explain too much to them.
The room was where Mo Ming's parents had lived before. They had passed away many years ago. Although the furnishings were simple, it was kept very clean.
Cheng Sizhou placed his cell phone on the bedside table and played a song that they often used as background music when they were at Yangliu Bank. The familiar and relaxing melody floated slowly, and the sound of rain outside the house became less annoying.
Wen Zichuan sat on the bed with his knees hugged against the wall, and Cheng Sizhou accompanied him, sitting beside the bed.
Neither of them said anything for a moment, and almost at the same time they recalled the rainy night when Wen Zichuan first responded to the threat.
"Are you feeling better? Talk to me." Cheng Sizhou saw him biting his lower lip, which was dry and bleeding from the bite. So he reached out and pinched his jaw, "Don't bite yourself. If you still feel uncomfortable, bite me."
During the two hours in the car, when he was half asleep and half awake, Wen Zichuan figured everything out.
Things like "don't pursue" and "start a new life" were all just to fool him. The truth was right before his eyes, and Cheng Sizhou couldn't give up the investigation at this juncture.
Even if Mr. Jiang told him not to put himself in danger, the stolen ancient tombs, the lost cultural relics, and the belated justice were all things he could not give up. At this point, he would never give up.
Thinking further back, perhaps his breaking up with me was fake, and his cold treatment of me was fake. Everything he did was to clear himself from the matter. Even if he met with an accident like Mr. Jiang and died of serious injuries, that would be Cheng Sizhou's business alone.
Wen Zichuan bit his tiger's mouth, but didn't use any strength at all. He swallowed back his broken sobs bit by bit and squeezed out a sentence from his throat: "Cheng Sizhou, I hate you so much!"
Cheng Sizhou pulled him into his arms, whispering, "I actually hope you really hate me... But why did you come to see me in the rain? You knew you would be miserable, so why did you still come?"
"Because I don't want to regret it...! I was so scared on the road, I was afraid something might happen to you... If I didn't bring you back safely, I would never forgive myself in this life!"
"I'm not worthy, Zichuan... I'm not worthy of you doing this..."
"Didn't you say that Junior Brother is also important? You always listen to your family, so can you treat me as family for the time being? Just listen to me this time and don't put yourself in danger, okay?"
Wen Zichuan is almost at his wit's end when it comes to Cheng Sizhou.
He read a lot of information about depression and knew that "love" could not cure everything. Many patients could not find their own place and lost the meaning of existence, which led to physiological diseases induced by psychological disorders.
Therefore, he no longer obsessed with how to make the elders of the Cheng family and the Jiang family accept him. He could just be with them as a junior brother or friend when they needed him.
"Zichuan, listen to me." Cheng Sizhou leaned over to his ear, his breath stirring the fine hairs on his auricle. "What happened back then was far from as simple as we thought. Among my master's belongings, there's a notebook where he wrote down the list of the archaeological team."
"The second archaeological team after my parents?"
"Yes, the archaeological team that carried out the rescue excavation of the ancient tombs in Beiling Village from 1997 to 1998."
"There's someone you know on the team, right?"
Cheng Sizhou paused for a few seconds before sighing, "Yes."
When he saw the notebook, he realized that his master's investigation was very close to the truth, but he always seemed to be misled by something, repeatedly overturning his own guesses and going around in circles for many years.
Cheng Sizhou and Jiang Yunli have different positions. He did not experience the glorious years when the Lantern Festival was first established. To him, those names are just leaders, teachers, and experts who he knows or does not know. He respects them, but will not condone their mistakes out of friendship.
Wen Zichuan leaned on his shoulder: "Tell me, I want to know."
Cheng Sizhou didn't want him to get involved. He just wanted to cut the Gordian knot and go to Mutao Town and Longji Mountain. He wanted to either find the eyewitnesses of the incident as witnesses or find the sacrificial vessels from the ancient tombs as physical evidence. But Zichuan followed him regardless. If he didn't confess his plan, he would be so stupid.
"The specifications of the Beiling Village ancient tomb were revealed to the archaeological team by Destin. Besides the hired technicians and conscripted laborers, there were a total of five people."
Zhang Hongliang, the leader of the excavation team, is currently the director of Dengyuan Museum.
Pei Yan, deputy team leader, is currently the deputy director of the Dengyuan City Cultural Relics Bureau.
Wu Puxian, a team member, is currently the director of the Lantern Festival Cultural Relics Restoration Center and Cheng Sizhou's immediate superior.
Tong Chunyang, a team member, has resigned and changed careers.
Zhao Hongxia, a team member, was responsible for organizing information, writing reports, and communication and liaison. She was later transferred to Dengyuan City Cultural Center. She also participated in hiring teachers and teaching at the City Children's Palace.
The wind and rain were roaring outside the window. The more Wen Zichuan listened, the more frightened he became. Apart from the one who resigned and changed careers, the others were either the leaders of Mr. Jiang and Brother Zhou, or colleagues of Mrs. Lin.
If we assume with the greatest malice that the above five are all suspects, then the twenty years since then have been enough for them to weave an airtight "net". It would be too weak for Mr. Jiang to investigate alone.
"No wonder Wen Duo is unwilling to come out to testify. Even if he tells everything, there may not be any result." Wen Zichuan finally had some understanding of his biological father, but he could never forgive him for colluding with Brother Zhou to hide the truth from him.
"That's not all. Zhao Hongxia's husband is from the city's criminal investigation team. To put it simply, they know everything about Zhou Han's movements."
"Even the police... That's not right! You came to Mutao Town without saying a word, and your parents called the police. Then they would soon know that you were here?!"
Wen Zichuan understood that he was not only here to look for clues, but also to send out signals to lure the enemy.
Once the other party senses the danger and can't help but take action, such as staging another car accident and falling off a cliff, it's time to really close the net.
But it's too dangerous.
A ray of white light flashed across the window frame, and the roar of thunder was like the power of heaven, questioning the support for justice and fairness.
Wen Zichuan's arm bones were tightly clasped on Cheng Sizhou's back. His breathing was disordered, his skin was hot, his body was shaking uncontrollably, and his consciousness seemed to have melted.
Cheng Sizhou felt extremely distressed, and quickly took off his shoes and got into bed, pulling over a thin quilt and hugging him to get in the quilt.
He hugged him tightly, kissed his forehead, and patted his back: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Brother Zhou is here."
Wen Zichuan was speechless, his face was pale and his lips were bloodless. He could only lie on the chest of his beloved and listen to his heartbeat like a drum, which was much more effective than any music.
Not long after, another sigh came from above his head, and he heard Cheng Sizhou say gently: "Zichuan, I'm actually very happy that you can come to me. All along, I didn't mean to push you away, but to protect you. I protected you not because you are my junior brother or anyone else, but because I love you."
It was so close that Wen Zichuan was sure that he had not heard wrong. He opened his eyes wide, and his disordered heartbeat seemed to have experienced the last few steps of a 100-meter sprint. After crossing the finish line, it slowly slowed down and became more and more stable.
My heart felt like a bowl of frosted bitter melon, bitter and sweet. He raised his head, and the confusion in his eyes turned into a smile: "Really?"
Cheng Sizhou stretched out three slender white fingers: "I swear to the heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, rain, snow and four seasons, this is true."
Wen Zichuan broke free from his arms and turned around. It was easy to smile, but it was a difficult problem to hold back the tears that were about to flow.
After a while, the person behind her came up again, his arm around her waist, murmuring, "My Zichuan, he's handsome and smart; he has a father who was pushed far away by fate, but he still cares about him; he has a mother who was able to get into a top university in the 1980s, who is independent and strong, and raised him well; he has a sister who was lost but found again, the daughter of Qin Zhihan, a well-known collector and connoisseur of cultural relics, who is kind-hearted and talented; and he has a lover who is not very outstanding, who wants to be with him forever, but she always... drags him down and ties him down..."
"No," Wen Zichuan turned around, his voice hoarse and choked, "Wen Zichuan has the best lover in the world. Not to mention that he is kind, knowledgeable and interesting, even if he has nothing, Wen Zichuan will still love him."
The two hugged and kissed in the rumbling storm. Even if the torrent collapsed the sky at this moment, it would only be two entangled dry bones under the roof. Thinking of this, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Tonight is destined to be sleepless. Wen Zichuan and Cheng Sizhou hold hands and feel as if they are in a dream. He is afraid that when he wakes up next time, his lover will not be by his side again.
"Get some sleep," Cheng Sizhou kissed the top of his head. "You've been on the road all day, aren't you tired?"
"I'm tired," Wen Zichuan kissed his chin, "but I don't want to sleep. I want to talk to you. I want to talk to you all the time."
"Okay, whatever you want to say, I'm listening."
Wen Zichuan thought for a moment and continued the previous topic, sorting out his thoughts that had been disrupted by the heavy rain. He still had many things he hadn't figured out: "Did you come to Mutao Town because of Dr. Mo?"
"Yes and no." Cheng Sizhou pondered, "Do you remember that time when we went to Dr. Mo's clinic together to see a doctor?"
"Of course I remember." The injury was caused by Liu Shixing, and Wen Zichuan couldn't forget it even if he wanted to.
"I thought his stories about being possessed by ghosts while picking mushrooms and about ghosts in the mountains were just made up for fun. But when I came to town, I realized there were indeed many people here who were possessed by similar ghosts in the past."
Wen Zichuan's palms were slightly sweaty. "Someone possessed? Isn't it a bit like back home, when the rape blossoms bloom in the spring, you'd occasionally run into a few people begging on the street with silly grins on their faces?"
He is not like other children. When he is naughty, he even dares to tease the mentally ill people on the street. He only has his mother. If he gets into trouble, it will bring a lot of trouble to his family. So when he sees something, he will just take a detour.
"I thought the same thing as you before, I didn't take it seriously..." Cheng Sizhou hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Doctor Mo said that Mutao Town is very poor. Those mentally ill people have to steal and rob to fill their stomachs, so they are often beaten and bruised. Women, especially... are often forcibly married and have children."
“…” Wen Zichuan didn’t expect things to turn out like this.
"I came to Mutao Town because, thanks to my master's notes, I was able to track down the archaeological team's teacher, Tong Chunyang. I went to his home, but he had passed away several years ago. Neighbors said he had gone insane and tortured his parents for years before he passed away."
"ah?!"
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