CH 4

Lin Chen thought he had expressed his obvious aversion to the police. The strange thing about this person with mixed blood was; instead of getting angry when he wanted to take a bus home, the officer locked the door and said in a panic, “My mother would blame me if I let Mr. Lin go home alone at this hour.”

Without explanation, he drove the car in the opposite direction of the city’s experimental primary school.

As they passed countless neon lights, Lin Chen felt as if he was kidnapped by the police.

When the car stopped again, they had already arrived at the city’s most famous stall street.

“I took the liberty and asked you to go to the police station and help us with the investigation. I am very sorry, so I will treat you to a meal tonight. Please enjoy.” Mr. Officer said sincerely to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen opened his mouth but found himself speechless. No one could find the right words to refuse someone who spoke with such sincerity.

Instead, it was Fu Hao who put his hand on the back of a chair. “You’ve disturbed my brother today, and you’re just going to treat him with food from street stalls? Where’s your face, Old Lian?”

“What’s wrong with street stalls? Nowadays it costs 6 yuan a crayfish, you know?” Xing Cong Lian said with a pained expression, “The case isn’t solved so our bonus this month is gone. You gotta start saving.”

First, he was invited to have tea, and now it was dinner. Fortunately, it wasn’t a prison meal.

Although a typhoon approached, Hong Jing’s night market was still open.

The lights dyed the stalls’ smoke in neon colors.

Although he said the price of crayfish had skyrocketed, this Captain still heroically ordered 6 jin (3.6kg/8lbs) of crayfish.

The white plastic table quickly filled with bright-red, spicy crayfish.

The clinking of cups surrounded them. The stall owner sprinkled a lot of chili peppers into the hot wok, and the white smoke spread everywhere.

Fu Hao looked around, choked on the smoke, and coughed, “You’re someone of status, can’t you have taste?”

Lin Chen looked up and saw Cong Lian struggling with the crayfish. The man looked serious and focused.

At Fu Hao’s question, Cong Lian, having just picked up his beer, set it down gently and said seriously, “Spicy crayfish is the quintessence of national culture. Denying spicy crayfish means denying your culture, ah.”

Lin Chen just raised his eyebrows and reached out to pick a peanut. He peeled it and drank his beer from a disposable cup.

From Cong Lian’s perspective, Lin Chen didn’t seem all that difficult.

He peeled the crayfish carefully and meticulously. His drinking posture was upright. Even in the dim streetlights, his eyes were bright and clear, and his lips were red from the spicy crayfish.

“What do you think is going on?” Cong Lian picked up his cup and tapped it lightly against Lin Chen’s.

“I don’t know.” Lin Chen answered briskly and took a sip of his beer.

“The things at the hospital weren’t big. Even if some sicko wanted to dress up a corpse, this kind of thing isn’t enough to warrant a standard case file. But if we consider the corpse from the Chun Shui Street and the one from the park, things aren’t so simple, are they?”

Lin Chen felt too uncomfortable to continue eating under his gaze.

After all, Cong Lian’s eyes were especially good-looking, and with his racial advantage, his eyelashes were long. Because his head was raised at this moment, Lin Chen could see the contours of his bearded face.

It needed to be said: Xing Cong Lian was a handsome man.

Lin Chen removed his gaze and didn’t respond, but Cong Lian still persevered, “Then can you tell me what kind of a person would play with corpses like this?”

“The psychologically abnormal.” Lin Chen replied.

“Of course, it is. Can we not live without them in our lives?” Cong Lian slapped the table.

“Psychologically abnormal means the person’s behavior deviates from societal norms. You have to trace the reasoning behind their behavior.” Perhaps he was a bit tipsy from the alcohol, but surprisingly, Lin Chen explained the term to Cong Lian.  “There are three probable reasons. The first: it’s a ‘ritual’ that appeals to this person. The second: it’s a ‘hallucination’ caused by the imbalance of neuron activity in their brain.” Lin Chen paused, as if considering something, “And the third one is the most elusive: it being part of the crime itself.”

“What do you mean?”

Lin Chen looked into the distance. The cook poured finely chopped ingredients into the wok, and the smell wafted over. “Is it a potato stir-fry or green pepper? Do you know?”

His words were vague, but Cong Lian felt it was a hint about something.

The officer immediately picked up his jacket and said, “Let’s go to the hospital and see.”

Fu Hao reacted quickly this time. He grabbed him by the neck and shouted, “You really tried to escape again!”

“Professor Fu, Professor Fu, I really have no money, ah!”

“Laozi clearly saw the black card in your wallet. Don’t think I don’t know that’s the gold level for credit cards, you piece of shit!”

“That one’s painted with a black marker!” Cong Lian said innocently.

Professor Fu dragged him back to the table, but when they arrived, Lin Chen was nowhere to be seen.

Fu Hao went to find him, but Cong Lian stopped him. “Old Fu, tell me honestly. Who is he?”

“My senior brother!” Fu Hao feigned ignorance.

To put it another way, asking this question was the same as not asking.

Of course, Cong Lian wanted to ask more in-depth questions, such as: Then why are you an associate professor but your senior brother an elementary school’s dormitory warden? Or, why does your senior brother, who’s clearly good at this, refuse to make matters clear and won’t help us solve the case? And so on.

But he didn’t ask. After all, asking such questions would only make him look like a gossiper!

Under Fu Hao’s pressure, Cong Lian paid for the crayfish.

The weather that night was worse than in the daytime.

The trees’ shadows swayed. Perhaps, because of the approaching typhoon, the weather changed quickly. The atmosphere was damp, and the rain came down in a drizzle.

Lin Chen returned to the school, greeted the night guard, and opened the creaking door. His phone suddenly rang.

On the screen was an unknown number. When he saw the area code, Lin Chen hesitated to answer.

Both lines were silent for a few seconds after he pressed the “answer” button.

“Hello, Mr. Chen.” Lin Chen leaned against the wall of the guardroom, one hand holding the phone.

“Restless as ever, Lin Chen.” The voice was cold and drawn out, sounding particularly cruel.

“If the person reporting to you was careful enough, they must have mentioned I was brought to the station in handcuffs. Even if I assist with the investigation, it was clearly involuntarily. I hope you understand.”

“I heard you’re managing a dormitory now?”

Instead of paying attention to Lin Chen’s explanation, the other person changed the topic and became even more condescending.

“Yes, under your pressure, this is the most decent job I can keep. Barely.” Lin Chen’s head was bowed, his other hand in his pocket.

“Hah, I didn’t expect the Lin Chen from Yong Chuan University to be like this nowadays. Is your life difficult now?”

“Yes, my life is very hard right now. Having lost my dreams and my life’s goals, living like a humble ant every day, exactly as you wish.”

Lin Chen knew very well what this person wanted to hear. With every word he said, the breathing on the other line grew heavier.

Despite this, he wore a relaxed expression. The light from the guard room fell on him, making his clothing look transparent.

“You can’t hurt anyone anymore!”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“Ah, speaking of hurt, you’d better stay away from your foolish police friends, your good teacher, and your junior brother. If you ended up killing them this time, who knows how many years you would regret it. How can a person like you have friends?”

“Yes.”

Before he could say anything more, the call ended.

The rain fell on his hair and shoulders, cold with the chill of early autumn.

As if proving a point, the storm struck just as he entered the dormitory.

The rain fell heavily, droplets of water striking the trees like a wild beast howling.

Lin Chen turned and went upstairs. He got ready to arrange the students according to the management formula.

There weren’t many students living in the dormitory. Most of those who did were already picked up by their parents, so there were only a dozen students left.

He knocked on the door of every occupied room, counted their numbers, helped them pack their bags, and assisted in changing their clothes. Afterward, he took them to the large dormitory that had long been prepared.

This wasn’t the first time the children experienced a typhoon, so none were overly worried.

Children of various height and weight gathered in the dormitory. Perhaps because of the snacks and drinks prepared, the dark night and howling wind outside seemed less terrible.

The children fell asleep when it was near dawn, and after greeting the next shift’s manager, Lin Chen went to his room.

The wind grew stronger, and the rain slowed.

Outside the building, a banana tree shook under the fierce wind. Its large green leaves shook and rattled, casting turbulent shadows on the walls.

Lin Chen turned on the light, and the small space lit up instantly.

There was no other furniture in the room except for a desk and bed.

When the window in front of the desk was open, rain poured in, and the papers on the desk were drenched. The rain flowed in and formed a pool of water.

And there was a pink paper boat floating on the surface.

It looked like a letter, folded into a heart. Lin Chen stepped forward and picked up the letter.

The envelope was drenched, and when he saw his name on top, Lin Chen had a bad feeling about the letter’s contents. He fumbled around with the edge of the envelope, trying to open it. Once his hand was inside the envelope, he felt something hard against his fingers.

It was hard, yet also soft…

Lin Chen opened the letter and saw a mass of sand adhered to it.

The sand was pure white, but it looked hideous clumped together after being soaked by the rain.

Lin Chen frowned. He searched his room for a plastic bag, gently brushed the white sand off the paper, and the blurry writing underneath gradually became visible.

It was a poem. The edges of the characters were blurred, and the black ink seeped into the paper as if a mist surrounded the letter.

【My dear, I can finally face death calmly / I will hesitate no longer, no more cowardice and fear / Death’s arms are gentle and charming / His dark eyes are like blooming flowers in dew, and I can finally smell its scent / I can see numerous roots spread into the world when He reaches out His hands, can you touch it?】

At these blurred characters, Lin Chen felt a chill run up his spine.

Translator(s): Kuro

Editor(s): Lati, Bet