I can stay in the bright moonlight.
Duan Ruiming's last trip to Yangzhou was three days ago.
Back in Linpu these past few days, I've been investigating a new case and have been extremely busy.
Because he was too busy, Duan Ruiming had almost no time to think about anything else, let alone go to Yangcheng.
The words Zhou Jun had said last time still seemed vivid in Duan Ruiming's mind. To be honest, it was a significant blow to him.
Duan Ruiming became a policeman because of his youthful enthusiasm. In this era, people say that enthusiasm can't last a lifetime, but Duan Ruiming still resolutely followed his heart.
He thought that if he didn't even have the right to choose his career, then doing anything else would be meaningless.
At that time, Xu Zhengbei listened to his idea, patted him on the shoulder, and agreed with him very much. His eyes were shining as he said, "Not bad, young people should be energetic!"
After that, Xu Zhengbei would take extra care of Duan Ruiming in the team, and Xu Zhengbei just happened to fit Duan Ruiming's image of a policeman.
The two naturally became master and apprentice.
Xu Zhengbei helped Duan Ruiming gradually learn how to do many things.
Many things happened afterward, and to Duan Ruiming himself, it all felt like a dream.
Duan Ruiming continued his daily routine at the police station, methodically organizing files and investigating cases...
The team is currently investigating a missing persons case, and Duan Ruiming is printing out materials to discuss it at the meeting this afternoon.
Just then, a group of people rushed into the police station, making a ruckus.
Duan Ruiming recognized them; they were the family whose son had died.
A group of people stormed into the police station, knelt on the ground, and shouted, "Please, give my son justice!"
This wasn't their first time here; they come to the police station to cause trouble every few weeks.
This case wasn't handled by Duan Ruiming, but he felt somewhat guilty.
In each of these situations, Duan Ruiming could only bite the bullet and step forward to dissuade them, telling them to calm down and give the staff some time to investigate thoroughly.
Duan Ruiming always knew that what he was doing was wrong, but out of selfishness, he had no choice.
As police officers, their professional ethics require them to be absolutely rational and absolutely impartial.
However, Duan Ruiming understands Xu Zhengbei, and he also understands Xu Li.
If an ordinary person fails to report a crime, then a police officer is certainly not exempt from responsibility.
Duan Ruiming couldn't possibly be unaware of this, but he still resolutely chose to believe in Xu Zhengbei and Xu Li.
Duan Ruiming pulled a few taller policemen to block the family's way, then explained the current progress of the case and assured them that the investigation would continue.
Every time a group of people cause a disturbance, they are eventually sent back by the police with a few words, as if they are afraid that the police will forget. And every time they cause a disturbance at the police station, they are reminded on time.
Captain Li held a cup of hot tea, blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface, and took a sip: "They come to cause trouble every few days. I wonder when the next time will be?"
Duan Ruiming chuckled in agreement, "I don't know, it's always the same routine."
"This case is going to be tough, since we don't have any information at all and don't even know where to begin."
Duan Ruiming wiped the sweat from his palms and nodded.
Captain Li seemed to have thought of something else, and turned to the police officer who was retrieving the surveillance footage, saying, "Remember to prepare the materials for the meeting this afternoon, and also send me the surveillance video of the last time that missing person appeared."
Duan Ruiming breathed a sigh of relief, constantly thinking that he hoped Xu Li could return soon, and that Xu Li had nothing to do with this case.
——
**
Zhou Jun returned home and slept soundly.
Zhou Jun often had a dream in which someone kept calling his name.
The person was right in front of him, but no matter how hard Zhou Junchang tried, he couldn't see the person's face clearly. He only felt that the voice was very familiar.
The sound came from all directions, and Zhou Junchang couldn't tell which way it was coming from. He felt like he was about to be swallowed up by the sound.
Suddenly, I was back to a moonlit night.
Bright lights and vibrant music.
Just when the atmosphere in the bar was at its most enthusiastic and carefree, someone next to us kept ordering more drinks.
"Jun Chang, go and deliver the wine."
A brother next to him pushed Zhou Junchang to deliver wine.
When Zhou Junchang brought over the mixed drinks, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
The woman hid in a corner, drinking silently, oblivious to the surrounding noise. She wore a red dress that revealed her delicate collarbone, and her fingers unconsciously caressed the rim of her glass.
Lipstick stains remained on the rim of the wine glass, and her eyelashes trembled slightly as she drank, her falling hair making her even more captivating.
Zhou Jun walked up to Xu Li, snatched the wine glass from her hand, and questioned her, "Why are you drinking again?"
Xu Li was already drunk and couldn't recognize who it was. He stood up on instinct, trying to snatch back the wine glass, but before he could even stand up, his legs went weak.
Zhou Jun quickly grabbed Xu Li and pulled her towards him.
In that instant, Xu Li's forehead collided with Zhou Junchang's mouth.
Xu Li took the opportunity to lie down in Zhou Junchang's arms, leaning against his shoulder, finding herself a comfortable place to rest.
...
I was eventually woken up by the phone ringing.
Zhou Junchang got up, ran a hand through his hair, and answered the phone with a hint of impatience: "Hello."
Hu Hei had no idea that he was disturbing someone's sleep, let alone that he was disturbing Zhou Junchang's sweet dream.
The voice on the other end sounded relaxed: "Let's go play basketball! Haven't played in ages."
Zhou Jun is usually grumpy when he wakes up, and he gets even more annoyed when someone wakes him up. Just as he was about to refuse, the other person said, "Hurry up, we've been waiting for you!"
He hung up after saying that.
A short while later, Zhou Junchang received a location message from Hu Hei on his phone.
Zhou Jun glanced at his phone, then looked out the window, suddenly realizing he had just had a dream, and it seemed he had dreamt about Xu Li, and even more…
Zhou Junchang himself couldn't understand it. He could accept having dreams, even those kinds of dreams, since he'd had them before. Why would he dream about Xu Li?
Zhou Jun was extremely irritable.
Zhou Jun arrived at the basketball court an hour later.
Zhou Junchang was reluctant to come in the first place, and he was slow to get ready, but he really didn't have anything to get ready. He changed his clothes and went out, wasting most of his time on the way.
There are several brothers here, all of whom Hu Hei called over.
Ah Feng was there too. The three of them were high school classmates and had hung out together since high school, mostly playing basketball together.
Zhou Jun often doesn't know a few people, but he doesn't care. When a group of boys are together, they don't care about such issues at all. They'll get to know each other after playing a game of basketball.
The group fought several rounds, with a few breaks in between.
Hu Hei took a sip of water and laughed heartily, "Awesome! It's been so long since I've played ball like this!"
Zhou Junchang was wearing a jacket when he came over, but he took it off and put it under the basketball hoop because he was playing basketball. Although the weather was already very cold, a group of people were sweating under the basketball hoop.
Zhou Junchang sat next to him, panting heavily. He pulled at his sleeve, wiping the sweat from his face, revealing his toned abs. The veins on his arms were clearly visible after exercising, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he tilted his head back to drink water.
Ah Feng laughed and put his hand on Zhou Junchang's shoulder: "Yeah, it's been a long time since I've played ball like this!"
It was so cold that your breath would come out in white mist when you spoke, but a group of teenagers sat under the basketball hoop, dressed in thin clothes, laughing and talking about how much fun they were having playing basketball.
The winter sun wasn't as scorching as the teenagers' sun.
After having a great time, the group prepared to go for a nice meal.
Because of the dream he had during the day, Zhou Jun was absent-minded all day long, not knowing what he was thinking. He could only force himself to do something else, but he still couldn't stop his wild thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?" Hu Hei handed Zhou Junchang a bottle of chilled soda, which was steaming coldly.
When a group of people get together to drink, alcohol is an essential part of the experience. They've ordered dozens of bottles and are now quite drunk, each sitting in their seats, drowsily chatting with their friends.
Zhou Junchang hadn't drunk much today. He took the soda handed to him, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp: "Nothing, I just want to sleep."
As he spoke, he slowly leaned back, found a comfortable position on the sofa in the private room, and prepared to sleep.
Hu Hei could tell that Zhou Junchang was somewhat absent-minded, and teased, "You're already this tired after only a few days of looking after the shop."
Zhou Junchang ignored him and kept his eyes closed.
Zhou Junchang really wanted to take a nap, but because he had just taken a nap, he couldn't fall asleep now.
Hu Hei drank alone and continued, "These past few days I've gone out with the boss to see some new things. I also want to travel, so I mentioned it to the boss. He gave me a chance, but I still have to start from the bottom and work my way up." He took another swig of wine. "Actually, it's pretty good. I don't have any education, so it's good enough that I don't have any opportunities. Following the boss in this life has been worth it."
Zhou Junchang opened his eyes a crack and glanced at Hu Hei. Hu Hei's previous joking and relaxed tone had vanished, replaced by a hint of sadness.
Hu Hei thought Zhou Junchang was really asleep, so he decided to speak to himself: "I'll be leaving in a few days. I wanted to ask you guys what your plans are? If you don't have any good options, maybe the boss can help you. You could work under him then."
Hu Hei's eyes were glazed as he downed the wine in his glass: "The boss already trusted you quite a bit, and after having you watch the shop for a few days, I think he's pretty satisfied with you. It would be great to work under him..."
Before she could finish speaking, she drifted off to sleep.
Zhou Junchang opened his eyes and looked at the halo of light on the wall of the private room. Several heart-wrenching songs came from the next private room, making people dizzy.
But Zhou Junchang remained completely calm, without a ripple in his heart.
He pondered Hu Hei's words repeatedly.
Then he asked himself again seriously what he should do next.
Zhou Junchang hadn't thought that far ahead. Having lived this long, he had always taken things one step at a time.
But at that moment, he suddenly felt that it might be nice to stay here for the rest of his life. Although he had never thought about it before, when this fact was presented to him, he didn't seem to resist it much.
But why? What convinced him?
Zhou Junchang didn't think about it, nor did he dare to think about it any further.
He was afraid of exposing his disguise.
That night, Zhou Junchang lay in bed for a long time, unable to fall asleep.
Finally, he stood by the window and smoked a cigarette.
The evening breeze swept away any lingering sleepiness; this feeling was familiar, as Zhou Jun had gazed into the darkness like this more than once.
When was the last time?
It was when I was thinking about the scene from that night, and about Xu Li from that night.
In the darkness, some lights that hadn't been turned off went out, and some people who hadn't thought about it before started to think about it.
Zhou Junchang is almost never addicted to cigarettes and can go a few days without smoking without any problems, but tonight he smoked one cigarette after another.
Cigarette ash was scattered all over the floor in front of the window. Sometimes Zhou Jun would forget to shake his cigarette, and a long piece of ash would hang on the unburnt cigarette before being blown out of the window by the wind.
After a long while, Zhou Junchang seemed to have finally made up his mind and took out his phone to send a text message.
The recipient is Zhou Ji.
The letter reads: Boss, when I was considering taking the job at the golf course, I kept thinking about what you told me in the end: don't let yourself regret it. I don't know your purpose or reason, but I do have my reasons. For me right now, this kind of life is pretty good. If you still trust me, I can continue to work at Liumingyueye.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
