CH 54

For this thoughtless remark, the young, inexperienced policeman paid a heavy price. As soon as he disconnected the line, the esteemed Professor Yan smiled and waved at him, subjecting him to five minutes of his warm and cordial resentment.

From rhetorical descriptions to ‘a famous case in a certain place involved a vague remark that sparked a massacre’, etc. 

Even Zhou Jialing, listening to him from the side, kept startling, her face turning green.

After Yan Suizhi was done frightening them, he finally circled the topic back, topping it off with, “Don’t you think so?”

Due to the smile that never left his face the entire time, the young policeman who was the target of his resentment ended up so confused that he smiled along with him, nodding. “You’re right, thank you.”

Zhou Jialing, “…” 

“Then can I use my smart device now?” Professor Yan quickly struck while the iron was hot.

However, the policeman regained his wits, shaking his head and saying in a businesslike manner, “I’m very sorry, but procedure has to be followed. You can use it as you please after the statement is taken.”

Yan Suizhi, “…”

Fine. What a waste of my breath.

Fortunately, the police station was very efficient, quickly taking their statement. Even so, it was already eight by the time they came out of the police station.

Zhou Jialing slowed down her pace and walked alongside Yan Suizhi. The light from the police station lobby bounced off Yan Suizhi’s fair skin, and the contours of his facial features were further deepened by the dimness of the dusk, giving him an aloof yet gentle aura.

It was only human that she was more than happy to talk more to such a good-looking man and spend more time with him.

However, Yan Suizhi’s attention was fixed to his smart device the whole time. His fingers quickly skimmed across the virtual keyboard, busy sending a message to someone. 

As they were about to leave the gates of the police station, Yan Suizhi suddenly said to her, “Just a moment.”

Zhou Jialing gave a start.

Then she saw him look up at the streetlight. He tore the band-aid off his finger, throwing it into the disposal chute by the door. He also took great care to roll up the sticky side so that it wouldn’t cause a mess.

Following this, he took a photo of his injured finger in the light. 

From his technique, it didn’t look as if he often took selfies. The precision of the angle made it appear closer to that he was taking some kind of crime scene evidence photo.

He sent the photo over to someone. When it was sent, a little helplessness leaked into his expression, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of annoyance.

Put together with his previous treatment of that young policeman, Zhou Jialing felt that he ought to be explaining to his emergency contact that the wound on his hand was very small, and that he was completely fine.

If it weren’t his parents, then who could it be? 

Zhou Jialing asked, going by intuition, “Your girlfriend?”

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In truth, Zhang Jialing had already eaten a little salad for dinner before leaving her place earlier, but she didn’t mind eating more. 

The restaurant was chic and the music was relaxing. It seemed that no matter what topic was discussed in this ambience, there was always something to laugh about. Therefore, when Yan Suizhi politely apologised and made it clear that he had invited her for a meal as he had something to ask, Zhou Jialing simply laughed. “That’s what I was saying!”

She pointed at Yan Suizhi’s smart device and said, “Even if you don’t have a girlfriend now, you look like you’re soon to have one.”

Yan Suizhi, “…???”

“The smart device never vibrated, but your gaze would always glance over to it like this, and away, and back to it again, and away.” While Zhou Jialing said this, she even mimicked the action with her eyes. 

But it was clear that this lively young lady had the same habit as the young policeman—a penchant for exaggeration.

In any case, Yan Suizhi was certain that his motions when glancing at the smart device weren’t as conspicuous as she made it out to be. If Zhou Jialing hadn’t mentioned it, he himself wouldn’t have noticed that he had actually glanced at his smart device several times.

“In short, it’s obvious that you’re waiting for someone to reply to a message.” Zhou Jialing firmly laid down her verdict.

Yan Suizhi couldn’t decide between whether to find it more vexing or more amusing. 

But she had gotten something right. He really was waiting for a reply. The first thing he did once he could use his smart device was to send Gu Yan a message, giving a summarised account of how that policeman’s words were no more than an exaggeration, and the so-called cut hand was just a bit of broken skin. To substantiate his words, he even took an unprecedented photo of his own hand and sent it over.

But there wasn’t a peep from Student Gu, who was perhaps busy with something or other.

“That policeman’s wording made me a little worried—” Yan Suizhi suddenly paused here, as if suddenly losing track of his next words.

“Worried about?” Zhou Jialing asked. 

“Probably not. Forget it, it’s nothing.” Yan Suizhi smiled. “Let’s change the topic. Why don’t we talk about the club?”

Although people who left their sentences hanging were very easily flogged to death, good-looking people always had their privileges.

Zhou Jialing cooperatively stopped asking about it. “There isn’t really anything special about the club, the information online is all true, but there are also things not available online that only exist in hearsay.”

“Such as?” 

“Such as how those few rich kids who often come to play are the actual invisible bosses behind the club.” Zhou Jialing said, “But I don’t think so, or the boss would be frightened out of his wits by something happening to this bigshot. And if those people were really supporting the club behind the scenes, management wouldn’t be as messy as it is now.”

“How so?” Yan Suizhi ate unhurriedly, even cutting the fried cod into many tiny pieces, such that every mouthful was very small. It was slow and methodical. Every time before he spoke, he would always swallow down the food and take a sip of warm water first.

Zhou Jialing kept getting the sense that his every action was taken with great care, like a man who had never had to endure any hardship growing up, not at all like the terrified intern who had come to fight a case as he had claimed himself to be.

Seriously. There wasn’t any sign of terror at all. 

Her imagination ran wild in her mind. After spiralling a round in her mind, she regrouped herself and said, “Actually, I wasn’t always an instructor at Hardymont Club, but at a club called Champagne over at De Carma. You may not know of it, it’s not very well-known to the public. It takes the boutique route and is quite famous among certain circles. Back then, Mr Manson was a VIP at Champagne.”

Yan Suizhi nodded. “I do happen to know of it.”

“You do?!”

“I used to have a VIP card. But I stopped going a while back.” 

Zhou Jialing looked regretful. “I never expected that you actually know how to dive. You must have stopped going before I started working at Champagne. Something happened at Champagne later on that caused it to almost shut down; that was when it was acquired by Hardymont. After changing its name, they used it as a branch on that coast of De Carma.”

“Anyway, that’s how Hardymont got to where it is today. So, actually, this club is a bit of a mixed bag of people, with instructors of all backgrounds.”

Yan Suizhi, “Is Chen Zhang’s background complicated?”

“Oh, now that you’ve mentioned. Chen Zhang used to work at Champagne too,” Zhou Jialing recalled. “But he doesn’t usually mention it, only after he’s had a few too many drinks. He told me that he used to be a small-time instructor at Champagne, but was later asked to leave due to an accident that wasn’t his fault.” 

“What accident?” Yan Suizhi’s gaze jolted minutely, as if he had recalled something.

“He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask further.” Zhou Jialing said. “He was unemployed and out of work for a few years after that. His family background isn’t good, a few of them are quite ill, so those years were especially difficult for him. We missed each other in Champagne though, when I started, he was no longer there. I only got to know him in Hardymont. Purportedly, a powerful figure had helped him pull some strings, letting him settle down here. When I first met him, I thought he was a very hard worker. He accepted all kinds of private engagements. There were even times that I would doubt how much sleep he was actually getting.”

“Pardon, if you don’t mind,” Yan Suizhi considered before asking, “how much can private engagements bring in these days? You don’t have to give an exact figure, just a rough gauge will do.”

Zhou Jialing showed a number with her fingers. “Based on skill and experience, it fluctuates around this level.” 

“That’s very high,” said Yan Suizhi.

“Yeah. From what I understand, what we normally get from private engagements should be sufficient to cover his family’s medical bills,” said Zhou Jialing. “It’s quite horrifying, the amount of work he took on. It’s like those who do so for survival, as if he wouldn’t have a tomorrow. I don’t know if it’s the trauma of losing his job in the past or something else.”

Zhou Jialing was deeply sympathetic for Chen Zhang, her eyebrows drawing together as she spoke. Her hands cradled around a tall glass and she said, “He doesn’t get to rest much the whole day, so his entire person looks a little worn down. Not that he looks unkempt… just very washed out. He doesn’t speak much. At first, a lot of us thought that he had a bad temper and looked fierce. We only found out later that he is a good man.”

“If anyone asked anything of him, he would always try to help. He definitely isn’t someone who would commit crimes,” Zhou Jialing said. 

The police and Manson’s family had kept a tight lid over the information, but they couldn’t keep the club directly related to Chen Zhang in the dark, therefore it was easy for information about the investigation and evidence collection to circulate within.

However, they didn’t actually know many details as to what actually happened. All of them assumed that a problem had arisen during a dive that Chen Zhang was responsible for.

So, Zhou Jialing gave it some thought and helped to speak up for Chen Zhang. “He would sometimes get distracted if he didn’t get enough rest. He’s been like that a lot this year, even recently walking into a lamppost twice. Is it possible that… during the dive, he was also too tired? It shouldn’t have been on purpose or anything, right?”

Yan Suizhi nodded without commenting much on it. 

Zhou Jialing felt a trace of disappointment, but she quickly consoled herself. He was an intern, after all. Since he was a fresh graduate, it was impossible for him to beat his chest and guarantee anything. Also… it was true that they only saw the better side of Chen Zhang; maybe there really was another side of him?

This dinner didn’t last too long.

Although Zhou Jialing lived near the restaurant, Yan Suizhi still dropped her off at the entrance of her apartment complex before turning back towards the hotel.

On the way back, Yan Suizhi took another look at the screen of his smart device. Gu Yan’s message screen was still stuck on the photo he had sent, with no new replies. 

He turned the ring in thought for a moment, and still dialled the other person in the end.

The dial tone rang for a long time before stopping automatically.

No one answered?

As Yan Suizhi grew puzzled, his smart device suddenly began to buzz. He looked down and saw that Gu Yan had redialled him. 

“Why didn’t you answer just now?”

Gu Yan’s side quietened. There was the gentle rustle of fabric, as if he had switched locations. “I didn’t notice I had set it to silent mode.”

Yan Suizhi nodded. “Then you mustn’t have seen the messages I sent you either.”

Gu Yan said, “I saw it just before the call.” 

Yan Suizhi lifted his eyebrows. “That’s good, then.”

“You called just to say this?” Gu Yan’s voice was low and deep as it passed into his ear, exceptionally clear in the night.

“Yeah, lest I get branded for getting injured every time I step out the door again.” Yan Suizhi responded, then indistinctly heard what seemed to be the sound of vehicles and wind on the other side. “You’re out?”

Gu Yan paused for a moment before calmly saying, “Mn. There was a problem with the hotel’s coffee machine. I went out to buy a cup. Are you done with your day trip to the police station?” 

Yan Suizhi, “…” Can’t you say something more proper?

He huffily replied, “Yeah, it’s done. Alright, I’ll head back to the hotel now, I’m hanging up.”

In the second right before the communication line was cut, a short sentence from Gu Yan suddenly came through his earpiece, bringing with it the faint whistling of wind, making it sound as gentle and calm as water. “Stay safe.”

Yan Suizhi gave a start, but the line had already cut by the time he came back to his senses. It was a blanket of silence through the earpiece. 

He stood still for a while then broke into soundless laughter.

Student Gu saying something so normal was a once in a blue moon occurrence. This anomaly out in the wild, conversely, seemed more like a sign of trouble on the horizon.

When Yan Suizhi went to the detention centre the next day to see Chen Zhang at the appointed time, trouble indeed came knocking—

He sat down in the visiting room, drank half a glass of water, and waited for five minutes. In the end, the warden who was in charge of bringing the suspect over came back alone with bad news. “Chen Zhang said that he has nothing to say and won’t be seeing you.”