The Devil in the World (13)

The passenger door opened, and Lu He and Luo Xiaoguo exchanged seats. After Luo Xiaoguo got out of the car, he silently looked at the car speeding away. He suddenly felt like he was the one being abandoned, and a chill ran down his spine.

Meng Siqi was surprised that Lu He could go to Shanghai. He got in the car and looked back deliberately, but Meng Siqi was sitting behind his seat and she was small, so neither of them could see each other clearly.

Lu He's cold voice came from behind: "Zhao Leiting, are you going to Shanghai too?"

Zhao Leiting said with a smile: "Captain Lu, let's share a car. We are also going to Shanghai for a case."

"Oh? Alone?"

"No, Siqi is with me."

"Siqi is here too?"

"Yes, Captain Lu." Meng Siqi leaned forward and raised her voice a few degrees, worried that the sound of the car engine would drown out her answer. She thought Lu He had just gotten in the car and didn't notice her.

Cai Shuangxi was driving and glanced to the right. He seemed to remember Chen Jierong saying in the office that Meng Siqi and Zhao Leiting shared a car together. How come he didn't hear it?

He always felt that the road team had been under too much pressure recently. In fact, he didn't need to make this trip at all. He came back from Qingshui City late last night, reviewed Zeng Haoqiang in the morning, and went to Shanghai in the afternoon. He has been running non-stop, which is really too tiring.

Cai Shuangxi couldn't help but feel sorry for him, but he knew that Lu He was just that kind of person, with a stubborn temper. Sometimes he would work day and night on a case and would not take his body seriously at all. Otherwise, he would be the pillar of the team.

There was no conversation along the way. Meng Siqi closed her eyes and rested for a while. Zhao Leiting knew that she was tired, so he didn't say anything either.

The car stopped at a gas station before entering Shanghai. Meng Siqi woke up in a daze, Lu He got off the car, and Cai Shuangxi also got off to buy gas tickets.

Zhao Leiting asked: "Service area, do you want to get off the bus and wash your face? It will take another hour to get to Shanghai."

"It's quite fast." Meng Siqi put on his coat and opened the car door with sleepy eyes. The car drove for several hours and it was already dusk. Jinyang City is quite far from Shanghai, several hundred kilometers away.

In front of you is a giant red light sign for the service area, indicating that you can take a break and replenish your energy here.

Meng Siqi washed her face in the restroom in the center of the service area. On the way back, she saw a small supermarket. She was not very hungry and planned to eat something when she reached her destination, so she walked out of the service area center.

When I walked to the car door, I found that none of them had come back.

The night was still a little chilly, so she folded her arms and took a walk beside the car.

"Siqi, I bought you some roasted rice cakes." Zhao Lei Ting arrived first and handed her a bag.

The roasted aroma immediately whetted her appetite. She took the bag and smiled: "You are so thoughtful. You know what I like to eat."

Zhao Lei Ting took a bite of the roasted rice cake and chuckled, "It's been a long time. The tacit understanding between us is probably the best in the police station."

"That's right," Meng Siqi tore open the paper bag and took a bite of the toasted rice cake, "especially this one, I think we never had any arguments about it."

"Yes, this shows that we are born with a tacit understanding. There is a saying that goes, we are in tune with each other... Alas..." Zhao Leiting saw a tall figure walking over while he was talking. He immediately handed the bag in his other hand to him, "Captain Lu, I bought you the roasted rice cakes. Eat them while they are hot."

Meng Siqi's mouth was greasy with food when he suddenly saw Lu He walking towards him. In the night illuminated by the red lights of the service area, there seemed to be a fire reflected in his eyes. The fire was very hot, but because he himself was cold and indifferent, his eyes gave off a sense of light that was a blend of ice and fire.

He didn't say anything, but silently took the baked rice cake from Zhao Lei Ting and didn't eat it right away.

Zhao Leiting reminded again: "Captain Lu, if you don't eat it, it will get cold."

Lu He handed the big bag in his other hand to Zhao Leiting, "I just bought some bread at the supermarket. There are no other healthy foods. You and Siqi can take some on the way."

Zhao Leiting took the bag and said, "Captain Lu, you are so caring. This is a bit too much. I will share it with you when we get in the car."

Meng Siqi also thought it was a bit too much. Lu He looked at her at this time, and Meng Siqi smiled at him with gratitude. Lu He's expression was still very cold, with his thin lips tightly pursed.

Ten minutes later, Cai Shuangxi hurriedly filled up the car with gas and yelled for everyone to get in. Zhao Leiting opened the passenger door in one step, "Captain Lu, let me switch seats with you. It's inconvenient for Shuangxi to drive, so I'll share some food with him."

Lu He stood in the night for a few seconds before answering, "That's fine."

Meng Siqi turned to the other end and got in the car. After getting in, Lu He just opened the door, and their eyes met again. His cold gaze fell on her face, and Meng Siqi slowly looked away.

Sitting with Lu He reminded her of the last time they watched a romantic movie. She always felt that there was something different between the two of them. She deliberately looked out the car window and saw the red light in the night.

"Siqi, would you like some bread?" Zhao Lei Ting asked in the front row.

"Oh, I don't want to eat anymore. I'm full of rice cake. Are there any tissues in the car?" Her lips were greasy.

"There are tissues." Cai Shuangxi said, "Zhao Leiting, please get them from the glove box."

Zhao Leiting took out the tissue box and reached to the back row. Meng Siqi took one. She was about to take another one, but as soon as she stretched out her hand, her fingers touched Lu He's, who was also about to take a tissue.

As their fingers suddenly touched, Meng Siqi immediately withdrew them. His fingers had distinct joints, were slender and well-shaped, and seemed to be hot.

"You first." The two of them made a sound of pushing each other at the same time, and couldn't help but look at each other. At this glance, Meng Siqi found that Lu He's mouth was also greasy. Under the light coming in from the car window, it shone with an oily glow, and his cold thin lips appeared thick, even with a texture that was a mixture of sexiness and abstinence.

However, Lu He also looked at her lips, which were a pair of oily, somewhat sexy light red lips. Even though Meng Siqi usually dressed simply and simply, at this moment, she looked alluring.

The two of them looked at each other for two or three seconds, then turned their heads away almost at the same time.

Meng Siqi felt his face was a little hot, so instead of taking out another tissue, he took the paper and gently wiped his mouth.

Cai Shuangxi shouted while driving: "Zhao Leiting, stop wasting time and give me something to eat. I'm so hungry."

Zhao Leiting hurriedly tore open the bread and said, "The rice cake I bought for you is cold. Do you still want it? Forget it, just eat bread." He handed the bread with the torn open bag to Cai Shuangxi.

Cai Shuangxi held the steering wheel with one hand and ate the bread with the other hand, "It's too sweet, Zhao Leiting, you are a grown man and you like to eat sweet things."

"It's cheese, you know what, girls like cheese."

"I'm not a girl."

"Eat it if you like. I didn't buy it anyway."

Lu He suddenly cleared his throat and said, "I bought it. This is the only kind available in the supermarket."

"Oh, it turned out that the team bought it. I thought someone bought it specifically for Xiao Meng."

Meng Siqi: “…”

Lu He cleared his throat again, said nothing more, and tilted his head slightly toward the car window.

There was no conversation along the way. After washing her face, Meng Siqi was not sleepy at all. She had been investigating the missing textile workers case recently, but she had never forgotten the Ruan Mengying case. She hesitated to speak, but still asked: "Captain Lu, are you going to Shanghai this time because of the Ruan Mengying case?"

Ruan Mengying has cancer. Chen Jierong came to Shanghai for technical exchanges last time. Meng Siqi naturally thinks that this matter is related to Ruan Mengying.

Lu He turned his head, not looking directly at her, but seemed to be looking in her direction with his peripheral vision, his voice low and magnetic: "Yes, Chen Jierong found information that Ruan Mengying might have been diagnosed in Shanghai, which may be a major breakthrough in the case."

"You mean Ruan Mengying has been to Shanghai?"

"Yes. If Ruan Mengying had been to Shanghai and diagnosed the disease herself," Lu He's tone slowed down, "this case might have become more complicated."

Meng Siqi has also experienced some time in criminal investigation and participated in the Ruan Mengying case. She suddenly understood what Lu He meant by "complex", because Ruan Mengying herself knew that she had a terminal illness, her death could have different reasons. Originally everyone thought that Ruan Mengying might have been killed, but Ruan Mengying did not rule out the possibility of suicide. If Ruan Mengying committed suicide, then this matter is indeed more complicated, because the "murderer" becomes even more elusive.

Now Li Muxiao has eliminated the evidence of Ruan Mengying's death, but he cannot eliminate the evidence of her dismemberment. If Ruan Mengying committed suicide, why did Li Muxiao dismember her? Or was it not Li Muxiao who dismembered her, but someone else, and he was just the last person to send the body to the museum?

Meng Siqi felt more and more confused about this matter. She had already withdrawn from the Ruan Mengying case. There must be many unknown details she wanted to know about the Ruan Mengying case. Of course, Lu He would not tell her in detail in the car, but she firmly believed that Lu He must be confident and he would definitely solve the case.

"By the way? Are you guys talking about Alzheimer's disease?" Lu He turned his head widely this time, his eyes as clear as water, staring at Meng Siqi's face.

Meng Siqi slightly turned away from the gaze and said, "Yes, we are not quite sure whether Yao Renjun's symptoms are Alzheimer's disease. Sister Rong recommended a professor to us, and I hope he can answer our doubts."

"What address are you going to?"

Meng Siqi remembered the address on the business card and told it to him. Lu He said, "Well, it looks very close."

Meng Siqi felt that the addresses of the two expert professors might be near Chen Jierong University, so they would not be too far apart.

"Cai Shuangxi." Lu He stepped forward and ordered, "Drive the car to the address Siqi mentioned. We will find a hotel there."

"No problem, team." Cai Shuangxi replied.

"Captain Lu," Zhao Lei Ting complimented at the right time, "You are better at taking care of people than our Korean team!"

Cai Shuangxi laughed and said, "Zhao Leiting, you have flattered our team. Aren't you afraid that I will tell the Korean team about it?"

"Just tell him, and let him know the gap between him and the road team."

Cai Shuangxi laughed again and said, "Team Lu will definitely feel comfortable hearing what you said."

Meng Siqi couldn't help laughing. She knew Zhao Leiting was joking, but she also knew that Lu He was intentionally taking care of them. Lu He had already turned his head away, and she could only catch a glimpse of his profile, which, under the light of the street lights, undulated like the silhouette of a mountain.

At around seven o'clock, as a dazzling neon light shone into the car window, Meng Siqi knew that they had arrived in downtown Shanghai.

Shanghai is not unfamiliar to her. It is a modern metropolis. Thirty years later, it will stand even more majestically in the east of China and the east of the world.

Precisely because it is a modern large city, the probability of many diseases being diagnosed and treated here will be greatly improved, which is not comparable to a prefecture-level city like Jinyang City.

Therefore, Chen Jierong's suggestion this time may play a key role in the detection of both Team One and Team Two cases.

The car drove all the way to the address Meng Siqi mentioned. It was a district-level hospital. Professor Lu mentioned by Chen Jierong worked in this hospital. His business card said he was in the Department of Neurology.

Cai Shuangxi drove the car to a hotel not far from the hospital. Meng Siqi packed his luggage and got out of the car. Everyone walked into the hotel with their bags. The receptionist in the lobby of the hotel smiled politely and asked, "Would you like a room?"

Lu He said, "Four single rooms."

Cai Shuangxi suggested: "Brother Lu, how about Zhao Leiting and I squeeze in and give us a double room."

Zhao Lei Ting said disdainfully: "That's fine."

All business trip expenses need to be reimbursed by the bureau, and everyone wants to save some money.

The front desk said, "We have no more. We only have two double rooms. Do you want to book them?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment. Two double rooms, four people, and one girl. The housing problem seemed to stump everyone. Zhao Lei Ting said quickly: "Captain Lu, I've agreed. I'll live with Shuang Xi."

As soon as he said this, everyone understood whether Lu He and Meng Siqi would have to squeeze into one room.

Meng Siqi was shy and felt a little embarrassed immediately, but Zhao Leiting didn't mention anyone by name, so she couldn't refute him.

Lu He had a cold expression on his face just now, but now there was a hint of movement in his eyes. He looked away from Meng Siqi and said nothing.

Cai Shuangxi looked at Lu He, then at Meng Siqi, and frowned, "Isn't this a bit too bad?"

Zhao Leiting asked: "What's not so good?"

"It's not appropriate for Brother Lu to live with Xiao Meng."

Meng Siqi was even more embarrassed and lowered his head slightly. Lu He seemed to be amused by him: "Cai Shuangxi, I don't know how you got into the police academy."

"Ah?" Cai Shuangxi was stunned for a moment, then said seriously, "I mean, you two are not suitable to live together. It won't be good if this gets spread back, so why don't you change hotels?"

Zhao Leiting smiled and nodded. At this time, the phone at the front desk rang. The receptionist answered the phone: "Hello, we are the Jinbu Road Youth Hostel. Do you want to stay in the hotel? There are two double rooms, but there are guests asking for it now. Please wait a moment..."

"Stay here." Lu He said without hesitation, "I'll sleep on the floor, and you two can sleep on the bed."

Cai Shuangxi became anxious again, "Brother Lu, this is not appropriate."

"Save some money."

On the way to the room, the three of them were still arguing about who would sleep on the floor. Meng Siqi found his room, which was just a short distance away from their room. Lu He stopped and said, "Siqi, close the door. There is a chain bolt behind the door. Remember to check the windows too."

Meng Siqi nodded, smiled slightly, and said good night.

After closing the door, Meng Siqi finally felt that she could get rid of the fatigue of the journey, and she lay on the bed with white bedding for a while.

From time to time, she would think of Cai Shuangxi's serious words "it's not appropriate to live together". She felt that Cai Shuangxi did not do it on purpose. He might think that Lu He was a natural insulator and estimated that his relationship with girls would always be that of comrades-in-arms.

Ten minutes later, Zhao Lei Ting knocked on the door, "Siqi, Brother Lu said he wants to go out for a meal, and he'll treat us."

Meng Siqi ate another piece of bread in the car. She wasn't very hungry, but it was not convenient for her to stay alone. She packed up immediately and opened the door. There were three people standing at the door.

The entrance of the hotel was still very busy, with many food stalls. Lu He put his hands in his jacket pockets and walked slowly forward, stopping at the entrance of a seafood restaurant. "Are you guys eating seafood? Where's Siqi?" He glanced at Meng Siqi deliberately.

Meng Siqi didn't have too many dietary restrictions on seafood. She knew that this area was located near the sea in Puxi, and the seafood there should be cheaper and fresher.

"I can do it. I don't eat much."

"Zhao Leiting, you order." Lu He said.

Zhao Leiting looked at the basin of clams illuminated by the light on the floor at the door and said, "Brother Lu, I'll order it then."

Four people sat around a square low table at the entrance of the food stall. After ten or twenty minutes, several plates of freshly fried seafood were served. Cai Shuangxi asked for a bottle of drink, filled it for everyone, and shouted, "Zhao Leiting, you ordered a rich meal. Brother Lu, let's eat."

Everyone picked up their chopsticks, and Meng Siqi felt that the dryness in his stomach was instantly filled by the delicious food.

Zhao Leiting did not forget to offer drinks to Lu He and Cai Shuangxi, thanking them for bringing him to Shanghai. Cai Shuangxi said, "You are right."

Meng Siqi picked up the cup and said towards Lu He, "Lu..." She knew that when she was out in public, she should try to avoid being addressed by others in crowded places, so she immediately changed her words, "Lu He..."

"Siqi..." Lu He also picked up the cup. The colorful lights in the alley were reflected in his eyes, but the black part of his eyes was purely bright, reflecting Meng Siqi's smile.

Meng Siqi never imagined that one day he would be drinking with Lu He in an alley full of clinking glasses and noisy fights, in front of a food stall filled with the smell of fireworks, a symbol of the lowest level of happiness in the world.

She repeatedly remembered Lu He flashing back and forth in her thirty years of memory, but his appearance before her was so vivid. She didn't know if it was the cool breeze that brought a slight moisture to her eyes, which made her feel that this was not the real world.

She didn't know whether Lu He would remain the same when she recalled this scene again many years later.