Chapter 86
Chen Pu forced herself not to delve into why she, a growing female detective with a big appetite, had no appetite tonight.
He just softened his tone and coaxed, "Eat a little, okay? You didn't eat well at noon, and you're hungry now. The job of a police officer is stressful and you can't just ignore it once or twice, or you'll have stomach problems later."
"Okay." Li Qingyao picked up the lunch box and water on the ground, turned his head and looked around, found a piece of open space that had been explored and no longer needed protection, and sat down on the ground.
While everyone was resting, Chen Pu sat down next to her and wanted to talk to her, but he didn't know what to say. Because he knew that her mind and eyes were now filled with Luo Huaizheng's affairs, and there was no point in saying anything.
"Do you think... we can find it?" Li Qingyao spoke first.
"able."
His answer was too straightforward, so Li Qingyao asked, "Why?"
"Detective's intuition."
Li Qingyao lowered his head and smiled softly. While picking up the lean chicken cubes to eat, he said, "It's up to you, Captain. I hope your intuition is still good this time."
"It's a must," he said.
After a while, Chen Pu said again: "Don't push yourself too hard, just let it go."
Li Qingyao glanced sideways, looking at his silhouette in the night. He was wearing a loose black T-shirt and matching trousers. His shoulders were broad but his waist was empty. With his two long legs supported and his arms resting on his knees, his head slightly tilted and his eyes looking forward, his profile looked even more stern and determined.
She said, "I know. Look, I've eaten so much. I didn't make your trip in vain." She showed him the half-empty lunch box. Chen Pu was very satisfied and said, "Eat some more."
She grumbled, finished her diced lean chicken, and started picking at the green peppers.
Chen Pu felt that although she was a little abnormal for Luo Huaizheng again tonight, he was already used to it, so it was nothing. On the contrary, at this moment, she was less sharp and not fierce at all. Instead, she was well-behaved and easy to talk to. This made Chen Pu feel strange, as if something in his heart had become soft, but he also felt a little confused as to what he couldn't grasp.
Li Qingyao suddenly put down her lunch box and pressed her chest. Although she tried hard to suppress it, she still made a retching sound. Then she covered her mouth tightly and looked around. Chen Pu reacted immediately, grabbed the plastic bag containing the lunch box, took out the water bottle, and handed the bag to her.
Li Qingyao took it immediately, turned his back to him, and vomited out everything he had just eaten.
Chen Pu watched motionlessly.
Li Qingyao finished vomiting and said in a hoarse voice: "Sorry, I might have eaten too fast."
Chen Pu suppressed the pounding in his heart and handed her the water. She took it and rinsed her mouth, spitting it into the bag. She rinsed several times before she recovered. She turned to look at him, her face a little pale, and said with a smile: "I'd better not eat it. Let's talk about it after I'm done."
Chen Pu kept staring into her eyes, but she looked calm, as if she didn't notice. Chen Pu felt that deep in his heart, it was as if a thin layer of ice had finally cracked. Waves of cold air began to rise, silently spreading through his internal organs, his chest, his throat and his eyes.
He took a deep breath and said, "Stop eating. Drink some water. It's my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to eat."
Li Qingyao shook his head: "How can I blame you? Maybe I feel a little uncomfortable today and have a cold."
Chen Pu reached out to take the bag of vomit, but Li Qingyao refused and stood up and said, "I'll throw it away myself."
Chen Pu insisted: "What does it matter? I've squatted in trash cans before. You sit down and take a rest. I'll do it."
Li Qingyao refused to eat and picked up his unfinished lunch box and walked towards the trash can outside the woods.
Chen Pu looked at her back, rubbed his forehead which was beginning to swell and ache from staying up late, forced himself to calm down, and quickly walked back to his work station.
At dawn, in a tree hole under an inconspicuous tree at the edge of the woods, a criminal policeman from the third team held up a dirty glass bottle and said, "Found it!"
Everybody ran over. The evidence officer carefully took the glass bottle from the criminal police, opened the lid, and found a piece of cloth whose color could no longer be seen inside. He immediately put the bottle and cloth into evidence bags, rushed down the hill, and drove them back to the police station as soon as possible.
Amid the boiling crowd, Chen Pu looked in the direction of Li Qingyao. She was the only one who didn't smile, nor did she look excited. She looked tired and calm. She watched the evidence personnel walk away with the things in their hands, just like watching a bird flying very far and high, and finally disappearing into the clouds.
——
Two days later.
After receiving the notification from the police, Luo Huaizheng rushed to the police station as soon as possible. He was wearing a simple dark grey shirt and trousers, with his tie still tied, and it was obvious that he had just come from the office.
Ding Guoqiang, along with Chen Pu, Li Qingyao and several people from the second team, walked towards him. There were many policemen around looking over here. After all, this case could be described as a shocking reversal, and the follow-up would probably cause an even bigger sensation.
However, Luo Huaizheng, as the central figure of the case, did not seem to be very excited. His eyes were clear and unwavering.
Chen Pu, who was standing next to Ding Guoqiang, suddenly realized something.
He didn't know if it was because he had completely lost some aspects of his judgment and ability to withstand pressure - he felt that Luo Huaizheng's expression at this moment and the expression Li Qingyao had when he looked at the evidence the night before were like they were cast in the same mold.
Ding Guoqiang looked at this ill-fated man and sighed in his heart. He patted his shoulder and said, "Luo Huaizheng, we are officially notifying you that the police have found key evidence in the Xiang Wei case seven years ago, proving that there is another major suspect who is related to Xiang Wei's death. Please cooperate with us in this case and request a retrial."
Luo Huaizheng moved his lips, but no sound came out. At this moment, his eyes met Li Qingyao behind Ding Guoqiang, and Li Qingyao nodded at him firmly. He smiled with a hint of bitterness and said, "Okay, thank you, you have worked hard."
Ding Guoqiang shook his head, took off his police hat, and said to him solemnly, "I'm sorry." As soon as he took off his hat, Li Qingyao, Chen Pu... everyone took off theirs too.
Luo Huaizheng's eyes finally turned red. He stared at the police seven years later, smiled again, and said only two words to them: "It's okay."
He said, it's okay.
Li Qingyao felt a lump in his throat when he heard this. Even the other members of Team 2, who were not familiar with him, felt uncomfortable.
Ding Guoqiang sighed, said a few more words of concern to Luo Huaizheng, and then led his team to leave, leaving Luo Huaizheng alone standing in the empty corridor of the police station.
Chen Pu walked out a dozen steps and turned around. Sure enough, she saw that Li Qingyao had not caught up with her. She stood in front of Luo Huaizheng.
Being so far away, Chen Pu couldn't hear what they were saying. Li Qingyao had his back to him, so he could only see Luo Huaizheng's appearance.
Luo Huaizheng's eyes were redder than before, but he still looked gentle. It’s like there is a tranquil lake, forever hidden in this man’s heart. No matter how violent the storm or how loud the thunder and lightning whirlpool, they could not shake his deepest soul.
Fate played such a big joke on him, making him an outcast in life. Now that his injustice is finally being vindicated, he has more right than anyone else to be angry, violent, and unwilling. But he accepted the fate's new verdict, just stood there quietly and told them that it was okay.
Li Qingyao also looked at Luo Huaizheng like this.
“It may not be the right time to say congratulations,” she said, smiling, “but I’m really happy for you.”
The smile on Luo Huaizheng's face disappeared at some point. He just looked into her deep eyes. He read from them a sadness as light as the wind, as well as bits of joy.
Luo Huaizheng stretched out his hands, leaned over and hugged Li Qingyao tightly. Li Qingyao was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes, which had been dry for several days, suddenly felt an overwhelming sourness and tears rolled out. She closed her eyes and reached out to hug him tightly.
Chen Pu, who was not far away, sighed, straightened the brim of his hat, turned around and left.
"Thank you, Qing Yao, thank you and your colleagues for everything you have done for me."
"You're welcome." She leaned against his shoulder, face to face, and smiled, "I'm already a criminal police officer. This is what we should do."
I am already a criminal policeman, Luo Huaizheng.
The girl who once leaned on your shoulder that summer, listened to the chirping of cicadas and the wind, and watched the stars in the moonlight with you, has grown up. She is no longer the incompetent girl who lost everything, could not find a way out, and could only cry and feel depressed all night. She has a new goal in life, comrades-in-arms, and the closest partner. She has been working hard to make her eyes sharper than an eagle and her bones harder than iron. In this way, she can protect the people she wants to protect.
When you fall into the whirlpool of life and separate from her, she has already grown up.
And you, the most handsome, pure and noble boy in the world, I am so happy. When we meet again, you are still the same as before, with a jade-like appearance and spotless appearance. Maybe you are a little more depressed, or a little more decadent, but when I see your eyes, I know that you are still you.
In that summer, you, me, and Xiang Siling, three young men, suddenly ran into the darkest and deepest spider web. At that time, we were too young, too fragile and vulnerable. From then on, the boy's fate, like a paper crane blown away by the wind, slid in different directions.
But today, lies and truth are the same, selfishness and innocence are the same. We finally forced fate back into a circle.
You can finally repay part of what the world owes you.
Summer is almost over and autumn is about to arrive.
Dear young man, you can stop for a while, take a rest, and start your life again. And I can move forward with confidence.
The road ahead of me as a criminal policeman is still very long.
The story of seven years ago is not over yet. In that fog that shrouds our lives, in that black, sticky, unknown fog, what awaits Chen Pu and me, fruitfulness or withering?
Volume 3: When the Green Cicada Falls
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