Lin Heyu and Yuan Maoqiu returned to the municipal bureau together. As soon as they stepped into the large office, they saw Deputy Chief Yuan Kang standing with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the most prominent white wall in the office.
This was a whiteboard wall, displaying the information and clue connections of major cases. Various bizarre thoughts and associations were noted, any one of which might be the key to solving a case.
Yuan Kang used to often contemplate this wall, burning the midnight oil for case progress. After being promoted and leaving the criminal investigation team, he no longer had to travel far and wide for cases, only needing to command from his office via phone. While his body relaxed, his mind grew increasingly empty, as if he could no longer find the passion to search through a landfill overnight for a clue.
“Chief Yuan.” Lin Heyu called out from behind.
Yuan Kang turned around, “Just checking on the progress. As long as that old villain isn’t caught and those kids haven’t returned home, I can’t sit easy in my office.”
“Compared to you, Chief Liu must be very relaxed. We’re lucky to see him either at a big meeting or on TV,” Yuan Maoqiu gave a thumbs-up.
Yuan Kang glared at him. This little rascal was his son, almost 30 years old, and still couldn’t control his mouth. If Liu Chenyi heard him being sarcastic behind his back, he would surely think it was instigated by Yuan Kang, causing friction between superiors and subordinates.
Someone in the team laughed, “Gardener, be careful, or you’ll be demoted to a mason!”
Yuan Maoqiu threw a small steel clip at him, “Mind your own business!”
Yuan Kang didn’t banter with these juniors but turned to the calmest person, Lin Heyu, “Heyu, you tell us.”
Lin Heyu pushed the pile of investigation materials on the table forward, gesturing with a “please” motion.
He had nothing to say. Everything he wanted to say was in there.
A couple of light chuckles came from the large office. Wen Huabei looked at him with pity, “Tsk, tsk, our Captain Lin is scared of taking the blame now, speaks as little as possible, leaving no ‘evidence’.”
“Right. Last time at the big meeting, Captain Lin only said, ‘Ensuring the safety of the hostages should be the primary task,’ and then during the rescue, a colleague got seriously injured, and it became a big deal.”
Zou Bin clasped his hands, “I really admire those who come up with these ideas, their thoughts are unique.”
Yuan Kang’s face turned a bit grim. He glanced at the stack of papers on the table, then back at Lin Heyu, “Heyu, don’t bring personal feelings into work. I’ve been through what you’re going through, and I know those grievances even better!”
Lin Heyu was calm, his expression somewhat puzzled, “There really is no new progress. I suspect they might have left Haijing. After all, we rescued a batch of hostages; they wouldn’t sit and wait to be caught.”
The oldest, Song Ping, stood up, “Xiao Lin is right. The mountains of Cheng’an are vast with many exits, impossible to guard all. If they climb from South Cheng’an to North Cheng’an and leave from Dengchang, where can we track them?”
“Sister Song makes sense, that’s what I think too,” Yuan Maoqiu said.
“Then send more people, seal all the possible exits, check every car on the highways and national roads. They’re like a moving army with those kids, they can’t just fly away, right?” Yuan Kang took a deep breath and paused, “You’re all under pressure, but so are we. The higher-ups are watching closely. Work hard, and once we catch them, you all can take a break!”
Everyone was surprised. “No need to wait for the case to be closed, just grab the person and let them go? Deputy Chief, you’re straightforward and humane!”
Lin Heyu sat down, opened the thick stack of documents, and began to study them intently.
Yuan Maoqiu sent Yuan Kang out, but with a glance from him, he was called outside. Yuan Maoqiu’s eyelid twitched. Damn, conversations not held in the office and not in front of the public usually aren’t good!
Yuan Kang, still with his hands behind his back, lightly coughed, “Xiao Qiu, you’ve been busy lately. We haven’t had time for a proper father-son chat.”
Yuan Maoqiu looked at him warily, his bad feeling growing stronger. “Dad, is there some decree you can’t wait to announce until I get home?”
“Cut the nonsense. I need to ask, you and your girlfriend, the violin teacher, did you break up again?”
Yuan Maoqiu dryly nodded. “Your information is really up-to-date.”
He hadn’t updated his social circle for a week, and his dad had already solved the case.
Yuan Kang slapped the back of his head. “You’re always messing around! Your mom asked me to tell you to focus on your job and take your relationship seriously. Running around with the nickname ‘Gardener,’ do you think that’s nice? You’ve embarrassed me!”
Yuan Maoqiu felt extremely wronged. “But it’s never me who initiates the breakups. This time it’s even worse. I’ve been working overtime so much that I lost my girlfriend.”
“I’ve worked overtime too! How come your mom is still with me?” Yuan Kang, infuriated, looked like he wanted to hit him with his shoe. “If you’re not serious about getting married, don’t date! Can’t you learn from Lin Heyu and do something proper like a man?”
Yuan Maoqiu was silent for a while before saying, “I really can’t learn from him. It would be problematic.”
Miaomiao had secretly told him in the car that Lin Heyu was “handsy” with a particularly good-looking man, completely ignoring the two kids as light bulbs.
He had to ask one day: sneaking around and changing your orientation, who exactly are you trying to scare?
–
Lin Heyu brought a lunchbox to the ICU at the First City Hospital. Jian Ru, from the second team, was sitting in the empty hallway. He had been keeping vigil for two nights, dozing off with his arms crossed, his head nodding like a pecking chicken.
The hallway was quiet. Even if Lin Heyu moved cautiously, his footsteps were enough to wake a well-trained detective. Jian Ru snapped awake instantly, raising his head. “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Lin Heyu handed him the lunchbox. “Eat and then go home to sleep.”
“Captain Lin.” Jian Ru stood up, took the lunchbox, then put it back. “Never mind, I’m not hungry. Luo Fei hasn’t woken up yet.”
Lin Heyu told him to stop fussing and eat quickly. There’s already someone here who hasn’t woken up; they don’t need another one collapsing. The team needed everyone, and having people continually ending up in the hospital was a joke.
Jian Ru opened the lunchbox, and his stomach began to growl. The aroma of braised chicken instantly awakened his appetite, and he began to eat heartily. He had been in a bad mood since visiting the chief doctor’s office at noon, not even wanting to drink water all afternoon. Now, with warm food in his stomach, he felt alive again.
Once he was almost done eating, Lin Heyu asked, “What did the doctor say?”
Jian Ru put down the disposable chopsticks, his expression turning gloomy. “Not optimistic. They said to be prepared. If he doesn’t wake up tonight, things could be bad.”
Lin Heyu was silent. Jian Ru looked through the glass at the young man lying in bed, sleeping peacefully, and sighed again. “Captain Lin, why is Luo Fei so unlucky? He wasn’t even at the front but still got shot. His life was saved, but he’s lying here immobile. It’s heartbreaking.”
Luo Fei was the colleague severely injured during a hostage rescue operation. They were leading the children out of a cave when they encountered two armed kidnappers delivering food. In the chaos, Luo Fei took a bullet to protect a little girl, the bullet hitting his lung from the back. By the time the ambulance got him to the hospital, he was near death, his heart stopping once en route, in critical condition.
After several hours of surgery, they pulled him back from the brink, but he remained unconscious. The doctors said they’d done their best, and whether he could pull through depended on fate. Luo Fei’s parents had passed away early, and he was raised by his grandparents. Concerned about the elderly couple’s well-being, Lin Heyu hadn’t informed them, arranging for team members to take turns watching over him.
“Everyone has done their best. Mentally prepare for anything. At this point, there’s no use in getting overly emotional. Just patiently keep watch,” Lin Heyu said, sitting beside Jian Ru. “We went to burn incense for our master today, hoping his spirit will help Xiao Luo through this.”
Jian Ru immediately put down his chopsticks, clasping his hands together in prayer. “Master Zhang, please watch over Luo Fei. He’s a rare young talent; we can’t lose him. If he wakes up, I’ll offer a lantern to you during the Qingming Festival!”
Lin Heyu pushed the takeout box. “Hurry and eat. Once you’re done, go home and sleep. Come straight to the bureau tomorrow.”
“Huh? If I go to the bureau, who’s coming here tomorrow?”
“Yuan Maoqiu.”
“Oh, the ‘Gardener.’ Right, he broke up, so he has plenty of time to keep watch. Good idea.”
“…How do you know?” Lin Heyu asked, curious for once.
Why did everyone in the team except him know that Yuan Maoqiu had broken up with the violin teacher? Yuan Maoqiu was always hanging out with him and hadn’t mentioned a word about the breakup. While he was in the dark, everyone else seemed to know.
“Does it even need asking?” Jian Ru widened his eyes. “With ‘Gardener’s’ usual behavior, he posts on social media whenever he eats or watches a movie. Even if he doesn’t see his girlfriend, he posts some corny quotes. The guy overdoes it. A week without any updates clearly means they broke up, right?”
“I don’t follow social media.” Lin Heyu felt deeply the sensation of being left behind by the times.
After Jian Ru left, Lin Heyu kept vigil in the hospital, sitting with military precision, as if on guard duty. Passing nurses would sneak a glance. The new guy seemed more reliable than the previous ones, quite handsome, but a bit stern-looking.
At six in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Heyu rushed to the nurse’s station. “Is the doctor here? Patient in bed 14, Luo Fei, has shown some response!”
The on-duty doctor hurried over and examined Luo Fei, telling Lin Heyu that he was not fully awake yet, but this was a good sign. If all went well, he might open his eyes tonight.
Lin Heyu let out a sigh of relief, his palms sweaty. A faint ray of morning light crept into the hallway through the window gap. He looked outside; despite the many clouds, the rising sun was faintly visible. After several days of continuous drizzling rain in early spring, it had surprisingly cleared up.
