CH 88

MAY 23, 2023 NYXBIRD 2 COMMENTS

“Any sign?”

“No, the first team will go three kilometers to the west, the second team will go north, and the third team will go to the village to ask the villagers if they have seen any unfamiliar faces recently. The others will follow me upwards and continue to search!”

“Yes, sir!”

The bearded man walked in the front, and the young policeman followed behind him. While searching, he couldn’t help asking: “Boss, do you think the information from that child is true or not? We have been searching in the deep mountains and old forests for more than two hours. I don’t even see the van, let alone a shadow of that man, maybe he made a mistake…..”

“Just keep searching.” The bearded man said without turning his head: “Also, he is not much younger than you, child, child, aren’t you a child as well?”

“Isn’t he still in school?” The young policeman said, “I’ve been out of school for two years, so of course he is a child to me.”

The bearded man pushed aside the weeds in front of him and stepped on the stones on the ground: “Okay, stop talking nonsense, and be careful.” The last part was spoken in a raised volume.

“Captain!” Someone shouted from behind: “There is blood here!”

The bearded man paused, then immediately turned and walked over there, followed by the young policeman.

“This bloodstain should have been left here for at least five hours.” The policeman squatting on the ground said: “The amount of bleeding is not small. Let’s look around. He shouldn’t be able to run very far.”

“Search!” The bearded man said loudly, “Don’t miss any trace!”

“Yes, sir!”

The policemen dispersed and began to search. The bearded man also bent over to search for traces carefully. The young policeman didn’t go far and shouted: “There are also bloodstains here!”

He pushed aside the grass that had clearly been crushed underfoot, and walked through a bush half a person’s height, when he suddenly heard the sound of water droplets falling on the ground. He quickened his pace, walked out into an open place, turned on the flashlight, and immediately rushed back:

“Found him! The suspect is in the cave!”

The scattered police quickly ran to this side, and the bearded man also jogged over quickly.

“Lead the way.”

The young policeman led a group of people through a small piece of bushes, revealed the cave covered by vines, turned on the flashlight and said, “In here.”

The bearded man stepped forward to check, frowned and said, “The man is dead, go and call the forensic doctor, and continue to send people to find the van.”

The young policeman looked around the corpse and said in a low voice, “Boss, did he die by himself or…..”

“Being able to escape so far is enough to prove his desire to survive. Let’s wait for the forensic doctor to come up with the specific situation.”

“But this person is dead, isn’t our trail of clues cut off?”

The bearded man said: “Who said the trail of clues is cut off? Isn’t there still Li De?”

“Li De?” The young policeman’s eyes lit up: “Do you also think that the suspect has accomplices inside Li De?”

“Not necessarily in Li De, but that person must have been in Li De that day.” The bearded man said in a deep voice, “This case is getting more and more difficult. You stay here and I will report the progress of the case first.”

“Yes, boss.”

The bearded man turned around and left the cave. Just after reporting the situation, a policeman came to meet him and said, “Boss, we found the van. It’s in an abandoned earthen house at the foot of the mountain.”

“Go, let’s go have a look.”

“Has the van driver been found?”

Jiang Chen handed the peeled orange to Yang Si, turned to old Mr. Xiang and said, “We found him, but the person is already dead.”

Old Mr. Xiang frowned: “Then the trail of clues is cut off?”

“Yesterday, Capt. Wang said that he was checking the internal monitoring of Li De that day, hoping to find the suspect’s accomplice.”

“What’s going on?” Yang Si took the orange and didn’t eat it, worried: “Why do they want to harm Chen Chen? The suspect is dead…..is the matter even more serious now? Will Chen Chen still be in danger in the future?”

Old Mr. Xiang exchanged looks with Jiang Chen, and then smiled kindly at Yang Si: “Xiao Yang, you have to believe that the police will find out the truth about this matter, and I assure you, there will be no more incidents involving Xiao Chen. We will send someone to protect him.”

“Mom…..” Jiang Chen grabbed Yang Si’s hand: “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Yang Si grasped Jiang Chen’s hand tightly, her eyes unable to hide her worry. Although she still didn’t know exactly what Jiang Chen was doing and researching, she was basically sure that what Jiang Chen was researching might be very important.

In the past few days, wave after wave of people came to visit the ward. Apart from the police officers who came over every day, there were also many important people who she had never thought of being able to meet face to face. Those people had a very good attitude towards Jiang Chen. If it was in the past, she would be proud of her son’s achievements, but now, she only hoped that Jiang Chen was just an ordinary teenager who could grow up safely.

“Mr. Xiang.” Yang Si shook her head: “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I’m really scared. These past few days, I just needed to close my eyes and I would end up thinking of that day. I originally thought everything would be fine if we caught the suspect, but now the suspect is dead, the police are saying there is an accomplice. What if his accomplice still wants to hurt my son? I hope you can understand my worry as a mother. If I can’t make sure that he is really safe, now I will even feel fear if he just walks out of the ward…..”

“Of course I understand you.” Old Mr. Xiang put away his smile and said seriously, “So I solemnly assure you once again that we will absolutely guarantee Jiang Chen’s safety. Please believe me on this point.”

“I am unable yet to tell you what Jiang Chen is researching, but I hope you know that what your son is doing now is of great significance to the whole country and even the whole world, and you should be proud of him.”

Seeing Jiang Chen nodding on the side, Yang Si looked away helplessly, and said slowly, “My husband and I have never restrained our child from pursuing his interests since he was young. We would support him unconditionally in whatever he wanted to do, because we never thought about how to make him into an excellent person. We only hope that he will grow up safely and healthily. But what he is doing now puts him in danger…..Even if you say that he is making great contributions to the country and the world, for parents like us, these things are not as important as the safety of my child.”

Old Mr. Xiang nodded: “I know what you mean, but…..”

“Please listen to me.” Yang Si said: “But like I said before, my husband and I have always respected every decision of our child, and it is still the case now. I can see that Chen Chen likes what he is doing now, and I also see the efforts he has put into it. As a mother, no matter how worried I am, I will choose to support him.”

Old Mr. Xiang was stunned for a moment, and his expression softened: “Jiang Chen being able to grow into such an excellent individual is closely related to the family education you and your husband have given him. Thank you for raising such a talent for our country.”

Yang Si shook her head with a smile, and said to Jiang Chen, “Aren’t you going back to school today? Go, don’t be late.”

Jiang Chen nodded and left with old Mr. Xiang.

On the way to send Jiang Chen to Yan No. 1 High School, old Mr. Xiang sighed, put his hands on Jiang Chen’s shoulders, and said in a tone of self-reproach, “I didn’t think carefully…..I didn’t pay attention to concealing your identity when I brought you to the research institute that day. Causing you to have to face such danger the next day.”

Jiang Chen shook his head: “Professor, this matter has nothing to do with the Institute.”

Old Mr. Xiang was about to speak, but when he saw Jiang Chen’s firm expression, he frowned: “Do you know who is behind this incident?”

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes coldly: “I guessed it to some extent.”

“Who is it?”

“There is no evidence currently.” Jiang Chen pursed his lips and said, “Besides, I still have some things to investigate, and I can’t tell you right now, so as not to startle the snake.”

Old Mr. Xiang disagreed: “What if that person wants to continue to hurt you? And you provided the direction so that the police could investigate better. No matter what you want to investigate, you must put your own safety first. Just now you also heard what your mother said, she is so worried about you, you can’t risk yourself.”

“Don’t worry, I can protect myself.” Jiang Chen chuckled lightly, “I even managed to come out with just a few scratches when a van rampaged after me.”

“Can you have such good luck every time?” Old Mr. Xiang glared at Jiang Chen, paused, and said earnestly: “I know your ability, plus that kid Shi Fengyue and the research and development project you are currently holding may indeed help you investigate some things, but this does not conflict with handing over the investigation to those professional police officers. The investigation progress can speed up if both sides participate, and the identification of the suspect can also ensure your safety.”

“Professor Xiang, the police won’t be able to find anything.” Jiang Chen said, “The matter I want to investigate is related to my future research and development projects. Trust me, I won’t mess around.”

Seeing his determination, old Mr. Xiang could only shake his head: “As you insist.”

The car stopped at the gate of Yan No. 1 High School. The bell for the first period in the afternoon had just rang, and there was no one at the gate.

Jiang Chen got out of the car and waved to old Mr. Xiang: “Professor Xiang, see you later.”

“Be safe.”

“I know!”

He family house.

Yang Yun changed her clothes again, came out of the walk-in closet, and said to He Yanfeng who was looking at the computer: “What do you think of my outfit?”

“Not bad.” He Yanfeng raised his head and smiled, “It makes you look very gentle.”

“Then do you think Xiao Chen will be more relaxed when he sees me dressed like this?”

Thinking of the news he had received in the past few days, and He Yanjun’s special reminder to him that the upper level attached great importance to Jiang Chen’s scientific research projects, He Yanfeng closed his laptop and said, “You just need to dress comfortably, Jiang Chen may not be nervous at all.”

“But what we’re going to talk to him about later might make him feel rejection towards us.” Yang Yun straightened her clothes and said, “I hope to look more approachable for him, maybe our talk will even go smoother.”

“Don’t worry.” He Yanfeng smiled: “Nothing will go wrong today.”

“I hope so…..” Yang Yun looked up at the door, then turned around and said, “Qian Jian had a fever last night, can we leave him at home alone today?”

“Isn’t there an auntie at home?” He Yanfeng stood up and said, “And he is a grown boy, how could he not know how to take care of himself well?”

Yang Yun nodded and looked away.

Since seeing the surveillance video of He Qianmin’s injury three days ago, even though the matter had not been investigated clearly, so long as she thought that he might have really done something to hurt He Qianmin, she would always get complicated emotions when seeing He Qianjian. It was now very difficult to look at him the same way she did before.

But no matter what, as her first child, He Qianjian, even if he was the wrong child, had a special meaning to her from He Qianmin and He Qianyu, because from the time she was pregnant with him to giving birth to him, it was during the most difficult time with He Yanfeng. Moreover before this, He Qianjian had always been the most sensible and well-behaved eldest son to her. Even if she knew that Jiang Chen and He Qianjian were switched, it was not as shocking to her as learning that He Qianjian might have hurt He Qianmin.

The two children were already adults, and while switching their identities back might have some impact on the two families, the children were still familiar to them. The whole thing could be taken as correcting a mistake, but it would not affect their relationship in the end. Yang Yun believed that it would be like once He Qianjian went to the Jiang family, the Jiangs would still recognize Jiang Chen as their son. Even if Jiang Chen came back to the He family, He Qianjian would still be their child.

But the latter was different. If He Qianjian had been deceiving them for so many years and had been hurting He Qianmin, then it meant that everything she had seen might be false. Not only was He Qianjian not the child she thought he was, but he might even be vicious, calculating and double-faced, his core somehow becoming rotten along the way.

The mistake of Jiang Chen and He Qianjian’s identity could be corrected, but if He Qianjian was not the child she knew at all, what about their relationship for so many years?

In the past three days, in order not to let herself think about these things, Yang Yun’s attention towards He Qianjian had been lowered again and again, so she didn’t even know that He Qianjian was drenched in the rain when he came home yesterday. So she couldn’t help but blame herself and worry when seeing him having a fever this morning.

If it was all just a misunderstanding, then she would do him a deeper injury by treating him this way.

“I’ll go to Qian Jian’s room to have a look.” Yang Yun was still worried, and said, “We’ll set off after seeing if his fever has subsided.”

He Yanfeng knew his wife’s character, and he was already quite surprised by her indifference to He Qianjian these days, so he just nodded after hearing her say that: “Go.”

Yang Yun knocked lightly on the door of He Qianjian’s room, but she didn’t get any response. After thinking about it, she opened the door carefully and walked in.

“It’s all over, do you know that! Don’t you know that if it’s found out, it’ll all be over!”

Yang Yun paused and looked up. The curtains of the room were all down, she could only vaguely see He Qianjian standing by the bed with his back to the door, slightly bowed and his tone hysterical.

[It is impossible for earthling police to follow the clues to find you here. I don’t know what you are worried about at all, and I reminded you from the beginning that that human is not a suitable partner for cooperation. It is not difficult to predict that he would fail.]

“Isn’t it because of you that I could only cooperate with him? If it wasn’t for your refusal to help, if it wasn’t for you insisting on abiding by that f**king rule, would I be in such a passive situation?”

[I must abide by the system’s rules, and your passive situation is also caused by you. I reminded you a long time ago, don’t waste time and energy targeting Jiang Chen, even if he is the real child of the He family, he is not a threat, but you? Fighting and scheming against him every chance you get, now that things have come to this point, you are to blame.]

“I am to blame?” He Qianjian growled, “If it wasn’t for your refusal to make a move! How could I target him all the time! Don’t you know if my…..”

“Qian Jian!” Seeing that He Qianjian was getting more and more excited, as if in the next moment he would hit the wall with his fist, Yang Yun hurriedly stopped him: “What’s wrong? Who are you talking to?”

“Mom?” He Qianjian shook and turned his head stiffly: “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see if your fever had subsided.” Yang Yun suppressed the worries in her heart and said, “Qian Jian, Mom has noticed that you have been under a lot of pressure recently and your mood is not stable. How about going to see a psychiatrist in a few days?”

“I’m fine.” He Qianjian breathed a sigh of relief, but his tone was still a little stiff: “Mom, what you just heard are the lines of our school’s drama club, did it scare you?”

“Lines?” Yang Yun was taken aback: “Then you were also memorizing lines when you spoke in your room a few times before?”

“You heard me before?” He Qianjian suppressed the panic in his heart and hurriedly said, “What did you hear?”

“Not sure, but I heard you seem to be throwing a table once.”

“That’s because the table needed to be thrown in that scene.” He Qianjian twitched the corner of his mouth, lowered his head and said, “Although I quit the drama club in my third year of high school, I like to recite lines every time I’m stressed…..”

Yang Yun pursed her lips: “In the past six months you seem to be more and more stressed, and your mood has been very unstable. Can you talk to Mom about the reason?”

He Qianjian’s tone was low: “Probably because a talented competitor suddenly appeared. I have been the best among my peers since I was a child, but after he appeared, not only do his grades far surpasses mine, even Qian Min and Qian Yu…..I know that my relationship with Qian Min has always been very rigid, and I have been trying to change this situation for so many years. I thought there was still hope, but with him showing up…..”

“Not only Qian Min, but even Qian Yu and Mom and Dad…..all like him so much.” He Qianjian smiled wryly: “Sometimes I wonder if I’m really inferior to him in everything, that’s why I have become like this. I am really afraid that one day I will lose everything…..”

“Mom, can you promise that you will never give up on me?”

Yang Yun paused, looked up to see He Qianjian’s pleading expression, and felt a tug in her heart. She concealed the emotions in her eyes, and said softly: “As long as you are always the kind and gentle child in Mom’s heart, Mom will never give up on you.”