In the dark
Inside the police station, Lu Cangyue watched the men and women busily coming and going, chatting and laughing. Their conversations were mostly about drunken troublemakers, late-night disturbances, domestic violence, and the like. The place names were unfamiliar to her, yet she felt a peculiar fascination with memorizing them, even if she had no idea what they were for. He'ai hadn't appeared in days. He'ai would usually be gone for days, foraging for food or doing other things, but whenever she was in danger, He'ai would always be at her side. Had she been forgotten?
She felt herself sinking into loneliness, yet she tried to find ways to comfort herself, to keep the heart from panicking. "It's okay...it's okay..." she muttered quietly to herself when no one was paying attention, trying to stay calm. To distract herself, she would focus her gaze on the TV on the opposite wall.
However, some police officers thought Lu Cangyue was too stubborn and was so comfortable in such a place, so they turned off the TV with malicious intent. They would ask him daily, "Have you thought about it? Do you want to confess?"
The officer was only about thirty years old, and spoke in a very old-fashioned manner. Lu Cangyue didn't know why, but she kept thinking of someone else. Someone with a similar appearance, someone who made her feel at ease. But within that body was a completely different soul from the officer before her. That person was humble, respectful, polite, and attentive to others. She had no idea who that person was, but as she looked at the officer, her image surfaced in her mind.
"You have to say something. It's not good for you or me to keep wasting time like this. Are you having a conflict with your family?"
The female police officer next to her interrupted, "We haven't received any reports of missing children her age recently."
"Then tell me about that knife. Is it yours?"
Zang Yue nodded without hesitation. Officer Li was about to ask more when a commotion erupted from the doorway. Everyone seated rose to watch, watching a group of young men in their twenties being escorted in by several senior officers. If it weren't for the bloodied faces of some of them, one would have thought a group of actors had suddenly arrived at the police station. At least that was what Zang Yue thought at that moment. Seeing so many people suddenly rush in, even though each one was beautiful and charming, Zang Yue's first reaction was fear, a reaction that seemed ingrained in her bones.
The last person to enter looked familiar to Zang Yue. He stared at him for a long moment before slowly remembering his significance to him. He happened to notice a pair of eyes that stood out from the crowd. Even though the overlapping light and shadows occasionally obscured his view, Song Shiwen could still lock onto their owner: a girl around his age, with skin the color of a pink cotton candy and dark, watery eyes. Her face was filled with fear, uneasy, and uncertain. Song Shiwen leaned forward slightly and saw her hands cuffed to the chair. Before their eyes could meet, the girl quickly looked away.
Song Shiwen's gaze hardened, and he was struck on the back of the head by a roll of paper. The attacker was the veteran police officer who had brought them in, and he was very familiar with this group of people. Everyone else was sitting quietly in the chairs against the wall, but he was still acting arrogantly, so he used violence, like an old father, to suppress his thoughts.
"What are you looking at? Sit down! How many times has this happened this month? You bastards..."
Before the old policeman could finish his words, Song Shiwen raised his head in dissatisfaction and interrupted, "We were acting in self-defense. It was that foul-mouthed boss who bullied our sister. He was the one who started it. Look... his head is even broken. Uncle policeman, why don't you do something about such a nasty boss?"
Another devastating blow descended upon him. Song Shiwen remained unconvinced, while the boss across the street continued to curse and wailed, even kneeling down to beg the police for justice. Song Shiwen instantly erupted, ready to charge forward again for another fight, but was stopped by the police. He continued to lash out, hurling a long, venomous tirade.
Cang Yue couldn't help but stare at his mouth, amazed that such a cute face could be so potent. She really liked it. In distant memories, the man she loved was just as composed, aggressive yet graceful and graceful. Song Shiwen was persuaded to stop, but then, feeling he was being spied on, he turned to threaten the girl. Cang Yue quickly averted her gaze, staring blankly at the green wall.
After a while, Zang Yue overheard what had happened to Song Shiwen. It all started when the younger sister of one of his friends was shopping with her friends. She noticed a middle-aged man's fruit stand was booming, while his was deserted. Feeling sorry for him, she went to buy fruit from him out of pity. Instead, she was blackmailed. The man grabbed the fifteen-year-old girl and refused to let her leave, even threatening her with a knife. Thanks to a few shouts from passersby, the girl managed to escape. The stall owner, cursing and swearing, chased after them. Luckily, they ran into Song Shiwen and his friends riding their bikes around the corner. Seeing this, they were furious and demanded an explanation from the stall owner.
The stall owner kept calling me "□□", "bullying honest people by relying on their numbers", "my 80-year-old mother at home is still waiting for money to save her life", "I can't live anymore"...
The two sides finally agreed to a settlement, with Song Shiwen paying the stall owner 5,000 yuan for medical expenses and mental damages. No one else had any objections, as it was best to get the matter over with as soon as possible. However, Song Shiwen suddenly said he disagreed, arguing that the stall owner was pitiful and his family situation was worthy of sympathy, but that was not an excuse for his attempted crime. "He scared our sister, and the shadow left behind will be hard to get over for the rest of her life."
"I'm scared of being bullied, so I just want to build up my courage. How could I dare to really use a knife? You are so many in number, and you surrounded me, formed a gang, and bullied an honest man. What's so great about being rich? At most, the three lives of our family will be enough to compensate you, right?"
Song Shiwen laughed and complained to the police, "There are four people in his family. Why are they taking three lives as compensation? Who do they want to keep alive?"
His companion punched him and told him to be more careful with his words.
The police had to spend some time mediating. Only after the matter was completely resolved did the police station quiet down. Song Shiwen's friends were taken home one by one by their parents or the school. The veteran officer urged Song Shiwen to contact his teacher, but Song Shiwen avoided the topic, wandering around like he was at home, finding a cup with warm water and gulping down two glasses.
Just as he was about to take his third cup, someone cut in front of him. The other person quickly bowed his head and apologized, saying timidly, "Sorry, you go first, I thought you had already taken yours..."
Song Shiwen took a step back and raised his hand, "Come on."
The boy looked about fifteen or sixteen, thin and frail, with a delicate, delicate face, afraid to look at anyone. Song Shiwen remembered that he had seen him the moment he entered, picking up the trash, picking glass shards from fruit peels and tea, and bagging them up. Perhaps he was a police officer's child, doing homework here and had accidentally arrived at this time.
"Who are you? What's your name?" Song Shiwen, unconcerned that he was still waiting at the police station, interrogated the stranger as if he were at home. He was familiar with the police here because his sister used to work there, standing in the front row of the staff photo hanging on the wall. He came here to study, and his sister was transferred, but her former colleagues still looked after him.
The boy glanced up quickly, smiled, and turned to walk the other way. Song Shiwen looked back as he took his water, feeling that everything was strange. The girl was looking at him furtively again, and the boy seemed to be unwilling to pay attention to him, but seemed very kind to the girl. He couldn't help but move closer and sit next to the girl. Zang Yue suddenly looked uneasy, holding the water cup in both hands and turning it continuously.
"Do you know me?" Song Shiwen stared at the girl several times without disguising his presence. The glass of water in her hand was handed to her by the boy just now. The girl was flattered and obviously not familiar with the boy.
Zang Yue was frightened and pressed her chest silently. She took a sip of water, only wetting her lower lip. She looked away and felt that Song Shiwen was no longer staring at her. She quickly glanced at him and the corners of her mouth rose slightly.
"No," the girl replied, her voice sounding very weak. "You don't even know me, how can I know you?"
"Then why do you keep looking at me?" Song Shiwen stretched one hand from behind the girl's head to support himself against the wall, lowered his head to follow the girl's gaze, and questioned, "I've caught you looking at me more than once."
A boy who was still waiting for the parents and the police to say their goodbyes turned around and said in a sly tone, "Brother Wen, you're picking up girls so soon? Hey, little girl, our Brother Wen is famous for being loyal in love. He still hasn't had a formal girlfriend."
Song Shiwen didn't expect his brother to interrupt like this. Perhaps the first sentence made him feel uncomfortable, so he kicked him and cursed, "Show some respect, okay? Big brother!" His parents also noticed that their son was still smiling, so they grabbed his ears and took him away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I was just curious." Song Shiwen slumped down in his chair, saying his apology, his eyes inevitably fell on a person outside the window. He believed in his feelings. The boy definitely had ulterior motives. His thoughts returned to the conversation with the girl, "Because you have been looking at me, I suspect you know me. After thinking about it, I seem to have seen you before, and I have a very familiar feeling. Could you be my relative? Are you 18 years old?"
Zang Yue nodded, one hand touching the other's pulse. Her heartbeat was too fast. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the tension.
Seeing her expression, Song Shiwen raised his hand and called the police, but Cang Yue quickly jumped up, pulled his arm down, and sat back down. Song Shiwen was stunned, looking at his hand being grabbed, lost in thought for a moment, unable to react.
"Don't attract attention... It's okay... Song Shiwen... Song Shiwen... It's not..."
"How do you know my name?" Song Shiwen seemed to be talking to himself. Watching the girl's actions, he vaguely concluded that he was indeed frightened. He raised his hand and called the police uncle in a soft voice, "Uncle, who is she? Is there something wrong here?"
Song Shiwen pointed at his temples, a rare hint of fear showing. Why did she know his name? Did she manage to memorize it during the chaos just now? Why him, of all people? There had to be a reason. He wasn't the type to simply attract a girl with his looks; he knew that, so he didn't believe she'd fallen in love with him at first sight.
His police uncle opened a folder and enthusiastically told Song Shiwen, "Her name is..."
"Don't say anything!" The girl suddenly stood up and rushed over, startling the old policeman and splashing the water in her hand all over him. She dragged the heavy chair forward a little, making a sharp sound. Song Shiwen just happened to see that the handcuffs had bruised the girl's wrists. Some areas had turned purple and even bled. She had been hiding them with her sleeves, making them difficult to see.
Did she struggle secretly? Song Shiwen wondered, what on earth did she do?
"I have the contact information. I have the phone number. Please give me a call." The words were very blunt. The police kindly urged her to calm down. "Sit down. Sit down and talk slowly. Why did you suddenly come to your senses?"
Song Shiwen saw her glance at the TV screen on the wall. It was broadcasting a news report about a famous teacher's apprentice who was about to hold his first exhibition. The screen displayed the artist's photo and name, and then a video behind the photo exaggerated the teacher's achievements and works, the industry's expectations for the artist, and the busy preparations for the exhibition. The artist's photo zoomed in again.
The girl recited a string of numbers, and Song Shiwen noticed a strange seal pattern above the painter's name on TV. Even though there were countless different fonts in the world, Song Shiwen was sure he could tell the font type at a glance, even without much experience. But from a distance, the pattern looked like a maze, but closer inspection revealed a series of small characters connected end to end. There were about 11 of them, some simple, some complex, neatly arranged.
The old policeman made a phone call and hung up after a few words. His face was very bad. He slammed the table and scolded, "Are you kidding me? Still not honest? Did you run away and don't dare tell your parents? If you have any problems, tell us and we can solve them together. If you don't say anything, are you going to stay here for the rest of your life? You can't get away with this cat abuse either."
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