Chen Zhaoci looked at her and tears flowed down his face. His face turned pale and his mouth was tightly pursed.
Fan Jia stared at him intently, wiped her tears, and said, "Now you have a chance to get rid of everything in the past and end that kind of life - you surrender to me. Yes, I want you to go to jail. You are just an accomplice, and since you surrendered yourself, your sentence will be lighter. You will only be sentenced to a few years. Even if it is ten years, what does it matter? You will only be in your thirties when you get out, you are still very young. Have you ever heard of a word called 'atonement'? You have done something wrong, so go and atone for it.
The important thing is that from now on, you no longer have to hide in the shadows. You start over with a clean slate. Find a new job, such as being a librarian, or opening a bookstore. Since you love reading, you can put your erudition to use. You can meet girls again, start a family, and have another baby. That's what you've always wanted, and you can get it.
But if you keep moving forward with your head down and continue to live your life in hiding, the police will catch you soon. I am the worst one in my team, they are all much better than me. At that time, maybe you can't turn back. Because if you continue like this, one day you won’t even recognize yourself!
The choice is yours. My life, your life, is in your hands. But Chen Zhaoci, I believe you. When you take me out, I will take you out of the gutter. I swear, Zhao Ci, I am a people’s policeman, and the people’s policeman serves the people. I swear to you! ”
Chen Zhaoci's body, which was originally as stubborn as a bent bow, slowly collapsed. He lowered his head, covered his face with his hands, and burst into tears.
——
A rope fell out from the cave entrance.
There was also a dagger that fell to the ground with a clang.
Fan Jia climbed out, panting. Chen Zhaoci on the side was not in a much better condition. He let go of the rope, supported himself on the ground with his hands, and lowered his head. The man's original gloomy, gentle, and violent aura were all gone. His whole body was filled with the dejection of a complete collapse.
Fan Jia's heart was pounding. He looked around. It was a cramped, simple room with nothing in it except a table, chairs and a small bed. It was dark outside the window and I couldn't see where I was.
Fan Jia asked softly, "Do you have a cell phone?"
Chen Zhaoci still lowered his head: "Lost."
Yes, if he still had his cell phone with him, he would have been wiped out by You Mingxu and his men long ago.
Fan Jia's voice was still gentle: "Then shall we... go?"
He stood up without saying a word, his back looking like a gloomy hill. Fan Jia was also silent. After a while, he opened the door and a cool breeze rushed in. It was dark outside and the buildings were vaguely visible. Until this moment, Fan Jia's heart was like a Coke bottle that had been shaken for a long time. The lid was finally opened and bubbles popped out. She knew she had won.
The two walked outside. There are bungalows all around and some empty stalls on the roadside. There are tall and short buildings in the distance. Fan Jia didn't expect that Chen Zhaoci would lock himself up in such a densely populated area. But at this moment, the sky was still dark, and there was no one in the long and narrow street.
Before Fan Jia climbed up to the cave entrance, she had a piece of rope in her pocket. She took it out and asked, "Can I..."
There was no light in Chen Zhaoci's eyes anymore. He stared at her rope for a few seconds and said, "Does what you said count? If I surrender myself to you now, you will give me a lighter sentence. Do I still have a chance to start over?"
Fan Jia nodded vigorously. Liu Yisha was killed by negligent homicide. Chen Zhaoci did not participate in the abuse and was forced to dispose of the body by his superiors.
"Then when I go to jail, will you come back to see me?" he asked again.
Fan Jia replied: "Yes, I promise."
He then raised his eyelids to look at her: "I hope to see you again."
Fan Jia smiled, just smiled, the night breeze gently blowing her hair, and she didn't say anything.
Chen Zhaoci stretched out his hands in front of her.
Fan Jia quickly tied a knot on his wrists, was silent for a moment, and pulled down his sleeves to cover the knot. He said nothing, just watched her movements.
"Where is this?" Fan Jia asked.
Chen Zhaoci told Fan Jia a location, and she was surprised that this place was still in that slum area. Chen Zhaoci hid her under everyone's noses. But Fan Jia was not familiar with Huaicheng and tried hard to find the direction. At this time, Chen Zhaoci said, "It's about 20 minutes' walk and there's a police station."
Fan Jia looked at him gratefully. Chen Zhaoci led the way in front without saying a word.
The sky was still as thick as ink, so the two of them walked one in front and one behind, about one meter apart. Fan Jia was afraid that his mood would fluctuate again, so she would occasionally say some irrelevant things, such as whether it was cold, what time it was, and what the geographical distribution of the slum was like. She was cheerful by nature, and now that Chen Zhaoci was under her control, she felt relaxed and even smiled at him occasionally. Although Chen Zhaoci couldn't laugh, the knot in his heart seemed to be relieved a little, and his brows were not as heavy anymore.
Fan Jia thought it was quite amazing that he had reached a settlement with a psychopathic criminal. It's a good feeling, just like a piece of stone that was originally full of holes, but you managed to repair it so that it finally has a rounded and gentle outline. She thought that when she returned later, she must talk about her experiences along the way with Sister You, Mengshan Big Pighead and the others. Although the real murderer who killed Zhao Feier has not been caught yet, the death of Liu Yisha has been investigated thoroughly, which is finally a breakthrough.
Although the night was cold, silent and dark, she was alone with a guilty man. But her heart was warm and full of hope after the haze had dissipated.
At this time, the two turned into an even narrower street. The road was very dirty, with mud and water everywhere, and the smell of fish, meat, and rotten vegetable leaves. There are some empty stalls scattered on both sides of the street, and not far away is the entrance to a farmers' market. The end of the road is shrouded in darkness.
Chen Zhaoci stopped.
Fan Jia's heart skipped a beat: "What's wrong?"
He replied: "Let me think about which way to go."
Fan Jia stared at him and said softly, "Don't worry, take your time. We should be there soon, right?"
He replied, "Well, we're almost there." He looked at her, gave her a pale but gentle smile, and led her on.
When Fan Jia saw him leading her into a wider lane with street lights, she felt relieved.
After they walked for a while, he said, "It seems like daybreak is coming soon."
Fan Jia glanced at the sky and smiled: "Yes."
Chen Zhaoci said: "Do you hope for the dawn? If the dawn comes, I will go to jail."
Fan Jia then understood that perhaps it was the fear, struggle, and confusion that made Chen Zhaoci panic. Instead of answering, she asked, "What about you? Do you hope for dawn?" Despite being trapped for several days, her physical condition was extremely poor. But if he changed his mind and wanted to run away at this time, Fan Jia was determined to catch him back at all costs.
Chen Zhaoci replied: "I don't know."
Fan Jia said softly, "There will always be dawn. The sooner the night ends, the sooner the dawn will come." After saying that, she reached out and held his hand. Chen Zhaoci felt her hand, which was much colder than his own, but also much softer. He let her hold it, either with pity or encouragement. When a thought flashed through his mind: Is she just playing tricks? But he saw her clear and determined eyes. Those were truly a pair of detective eyes.
"Let's go." He pulled his hand out of hers, "We don't have much time."
Fan Jia thought that she must have succeeded in steadying him, and as he quickened his pace, they walked through this long, deserted street.
Then she heard footsteps approaching suddenly from behind and the sound of strong wind. Even though her reaction ability had declined a lot due to her physical strength, her criminal police instinct still made her reach out and push Chen Zhaoci away.
Fan Jia felt a sharp pain in his head and fell to the ground at the same time as Chen Zhaoci. She tried to get up, but couldn't. Blurredly, I only saw an extremely tall black shadow on the ground, right behind me.
Strangely, at this moment, she saw the eyes of Chen Zhaoci who was lying not far away. He also looked at her, tears welling up in his eyes. Then a bloody hammer was swung from behind and hit him on the head.
Volume 4: Dream of Homecoming
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