CH 64

Chen Shiming inexplicably felt something. Just as he was about to speak, Chen Qizhao had already passed him and walked directly into the house. He stopped and watched this figure move further and further away. Obviously, it was a very ordinary sentence and the two brothers had previously argued even more excessively, but Chen Shiming had an indescribable feeling.

Special Assistant Xu got out of the car and came over, “Boss, I just went to the garage to take a look. There are no other problems.”

“I see.” Chen Shiming glanced at the garage and suppressed the suffocating feeling in his heart. “You can get off work early.”

Special Assistant Xu was stunned for a moment. Then he saw that Chen Shiming had already walked back.

There were plenty of warm lights indoors in the Chen house. The bright light was different from the dim outdoors, giving a relaxing feeling.

Chen Jianhong hadn’t come back early because he was working overtime. The three people of the Chen family ate while not talking about work matters. Only Zhang Yazhi’s voice chatting with Chen Qizhao was heard from time to time.

Chen Qizhao’s performance was the same as usual, but Chen Shiming had only Chen Qizhao’s words in his mind.

Zhang Yazhi was very happy to see her children come home to eat, so she cooked a bit too much in the evening. She pulled Chen Qizhao and talked for a long time. “Mom has cooked so much. How can you eat this little?”

“I’m too full from eating at school at noon.” Chen Qizhao finished the soup. “I’ll go back to my room and do some homework.”

Zhang Yazhi looked at Chen Qizhao for a while. She saw that he had finished his soup before leaving. “Has your brother not been eating that much recently?”

“Yes.” Chen Shiming was thinking about something in his heart, but he still said, “The weather has changed a lot recently and it is normal to have no appetite. Don’t think too much.”

After dinner, Chen Shiming returned to his study and received part of the investigation results.

The driver, Old Lin, was honest and dull. He had been doing things at home as usual and no faults could be found at all.

In the past, Chen Shiming never paid attention to the people around him. Now the truth was gradually surfacing, as if a layer of veil he hadn’t seen before was lifted.

After the accident information of the Panshan intersection was released in the afternoon, he immediately asked people to check the incidents near the Panshan intersection and found many abnormalities one after another. Old Lin, a driver who usually looked normal, often stayed near the Panshan intersection in the past few years. Chen Shiming knew that his wife and child had died accidentally at the Panshan intersection, but the information he got from others was really unimaginable.

“This isn’t right.” Chen Shiming frowned slightly. “Someone isn’t just handling the accident information for Old Lin, but also other things.”

Moreover, there was a reconstruction plan near the Panshan intersection and many stores had moved away. Old Lin had acted abnormally in previous years, but since last year, he rarely went there. If not for a few store owners still having a small impression of him, this matter would’ve disappeared in two years and no one would’ve remembered there was a person with strange behavior staying at the intersection many times.

A person who might have mental problems often went near the intersection where the accident happened and had been involved in car accidents.

Now this person suddenly stopped going there, which was too abnormal. It was as if someone asked him not to go over there and cleaned up some traces for him, trying to make him look like a normal person.

The assistant in charge of the investigation on the other end of the phone was slightly stunned. “Boss, do you still need to follow this line to check.”

“Check,” Chen Shiming said in a deep voice. “There is someone behind Old Lin.”

In addition, was there really only the Panshan intersection? If Old Lin was mentally abnormal a long time ago and caused an accident in other places that the Chen family didn’t know about… the Chen family’s car was easy to check, but they wouldn’t be able to find some records if Old Lin drove another car.

—

Chen Qizhao didn’t turn on the light after returning to his room. He turned on the computer and the computer screen illuminated his face. The various materials collected in the past few days were imported into a private disk backup and the disk was removed.

He saw three red envelopes pressed under several documents and placed the disk next to these red envelopes.

There was no sound in the quiet room. He turned on the light in the bathroom and went to take a shower.

As he was dressing, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and the shallow knife mark on his slightly fair arm muscles. After a long time, he suddenly found that he seemed to have gotten used to this young face and was accustomed to the past that he could no longer mention.

He finished taking a shower and returned to the room. Not much time had passed.

Chen Qizhao sat in front of the computer. He looked at the densely packed text on the screen and leaned back slightly.

The computer switched to another interface, which was all the surveillance inside and outside the Chen family’s villa. Small boxes covered the screen and showed the corridors, living rooms and gardens… Chen Qizhao’s gaze stopped on the corridor of the servant’s rooms. He stared at the door of the driver’s room in the corner, Old Lin.

After sitting for a while, the addiction to smoking came up again. He lit a cigarette and put it aside.

He didn’t know how long he stared at the screen until there was a buzz.

The silent phone vibrated. He lowered his eyes to see that the message was from Shen Yuhuai.

He didn’t know why but during this period of time, Shen Yuhuai would send him messages every night, send him photos of the succulents he raised or reply to the messages when they half-chatted during the day. Chen Qizhao looked at the night scene outside the window and suddenly wanted to go to the beach to watch the fireworks.

For the first time, he really didn’t want to take the initiative to reply to Shen Yuhuai’s message.

Obviously, nothing happened but he was very sleepy.

A message notification popped up again.

Chen Qizhao reached out and picked up the phone. He opened it and saw it was a photo sent by Shen Yuhuai.

[Shen Yuhuai: I just finished my work and happened to be near you. Do you want to come out for a late-night snack?]

The photo was of a food stall in front of the school.

[Zhao: I’m at home, not at school.]

[Shen Yuhuai: Then it can only be next time.]

It was almost an hour’s drive from here to the school…

Chen Qizhao glanced at the time on the computer. It would be around 11 o’clock by the time he got there and it wasn’t impossible to have a late-night snack.

[Zhao: Are you alone?]

[Shen Yuhuai: I’m following Liu Sui.]

Oh.

Chen Qizhao held the phone and his eyes stopped on Shen Yuhuai’s profile picture. His fingers rubbed against the phone screen. The fireworks blooming on the seaside in his memory seemed to bloom one after another in front of his eyes. There was an impulse in his body and he suddenly wanted to call Shen Yuhuai to the beach.

This feeling suddenly stopped when he was about to make a video call.

Chen Qizhao seemed to realize something and exited the VX interface. He opened his phone album and stopped his gaze on the recently taken photos of Shen Yuhuai in the album. Shen Yuhuai who was eating in the restaurant, the hand taking care of the plant in the video screenshot… the photos stacked together and finally formed a scene.

In the hospital corridor, Shen Yuhuai rubbed his cold hands on Chen Qizhao’s face.

“Touch me.”

in the quiet room, Chen Qizhao suddenly said.

He didn’t know where this sudden possessive desire came from. He wanted Shen Yuhuai to stay by his side, just like before, touching his face and his forehead… the moment this thought rushed into his mind, there was an endless impulse and he grabbed his phone tightly.

At this time, there was a knocking sound on the door.

Chen Qizhao seemed to wake up from a daze and realized he was sweating.

The knocking continued. Chen Qizhao released the phone and it made a muffled sound on his desk.

He got up and went over to open the door.

The door opened. Chen Shiming stood outside with a glass of milk and could see the darkness in the room.

He frowned slightly. “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

“I forgot.” Chen Qizhao’s eyes stopped on the milk in his hand and he laughed. “It’s pretty good. Are you ready to go to bed?”

“I brought it for you.” Chen Shiming glanced over Chen Qizhao.

Chen Qizhao took the glass of milk in surprise. “If you have nothing to do…”

Chen Shiming asked, “Why haven’t you dried your hair?”

Chen Qizhao paused. “I’m lazy.”

“Go in and talk?” Chen Shiming’s eyes stopped on his face for a moment. “I have something to say.”

Chen Qizhao looked around and he made way for Chen Shiming. “Come in.”

Chen Shiming rarely entered Chen Qizhao’s room. The relationship between the two brothers wasn’t compatible before. Forget entering Chen Qizhao’s room. They could argue just standing at the door. Apart from when Chen Qizhao had a fever some time ago and he entered a few times, he usually wouldn’t step into this place.

He walked past Chen Qizhao and turned on the switch at the door. The dark room instantly brightened.

He hadn’t paid close attention before. Now looking at it, he found that the furniture in Chen Qizhao’s room was the same, but some fancy things were removed, making it simpler. He had only taken a few steps when he smelled smoke and he stared directly at the source of the smoke.

A cigarette was lit on the ashtray and the room was filled with the smell of nicotine.

Chen Shiming frowned slightly. He just wanted to speak when he turned around and saw Chen Qizhao closing the door. His wet hair was sticking against the side of his neck and he wore slightly loose pajamas, looking a bit empty.

Chen Qizhao said, “If you have anything to say then talk about it.”

He noticed Chen Shiming’s furrowed brow and suddenly remembered something. “Oh, wait a minute. I’ll go open the window to let in the wind.”

Chen Shiming didn’t speak. He watched Chen Qizhao walk over to open the window before finally saying, “You blow your hair first. Don’t you remember your fever a while ago? You have to…” He was halfway through his words when he saw Chen Qizhao stop in front of the computer, his eyes staring straight at the computer screen.

Chen Shiming was surprised and walked over to take a look, only to notice the dense surveillance on the computer.

Chen Qizhao told him, “There is movement.”

Chen Shiming paused for a moment as he stared at the cluttered surveillance screens on the computer. “What is moving?”

“He came out of the room.” Chen Qizhao pointed to a place diagonally.

Chen Shiming looked over. The driver Old Lin was walking in a certain corridor from one surveillance place to another. Finally, he disappeared from the indoor surveillance range.

“He took the bait.”