CH 49

“So you killed him because of this?” Song Qian asked, “You’ve already disposed of the body. Why did you keep his head then?”

“After he strangled the child he burned the body and buried the ashes in the bonsai, saying it would be good fertiliser……” Feng Tian was visibly agitated. “So I thought that since he likes fertiliser so much, I’d bury him too!” 

“If I hadn’t brought the child home, he wouldn’t have died. Some other kind-hearted person might’ve picked him up and brought him up. I regret that I didn’t expose him that year, I regret that I brought the child home, but I certainly don’t regret killing him!”

“You……” Song Qian shook his head and was at a loss for words for a moment. All the fury that had built up in him disappeared like a wisp of smoke. The deceased had first killed his own brother and was so cruel and heartless that he could even lay murderous hands on a child he did not like……

His attitude after killing had been even more chilling — that kind of indifference to life and cold-bloodedness, if described as scum, would be an insult to scum itself.

Gu Xizhou stared at Feng Tian for a moment before getting up and leaving the interrogation room. He patted Fang Zhi on the shoulder, “what is it?” 

Fang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and sighed helplessly.

“I’m going out for a smoke. Is the air-conditioning not on today? It’s so stuffy in here.” A few of the officers went out to smoke in the smoking area and chatted while leaning against the wall.

After a while, one of them said in a low voice, “it’s a pity for this girl.”

“I’m the murderer! I killed that bastard! Not my daughter!”

“It’s not my daughter — don’t believe her! I buried the murder weapon too! It’s all me! It’s all me!”

As the cries of the old man drifted over, the few officers halfway through their smokes pinched the cigarette ends between their thumbs and index fingers and looked over.

As Feng Sheng had diabetes amongst other age-related diseases, they had released him the moment his daughter Feng Tian confessed to her crime.

Feng Sheng sat opposite Feng Tian, his eyes tearing and his lips trembling. The tall old man grasped his daughter’s hands and wept silently, tears falling down his cheeks onto the table in the interrogation room.  

“Why did you have to confess…… why did you confess…… You promised to let Daddy help you, why would you confess!” Feng Sheng pounded his chest, “oh my silly daughter, you’re still so young……”

Feng Tian was crying her heart out as she reached out and held her father’s hands. She cried slowly and softly for a long time before she finally said, “Dad, if it should be me, it will be me.”

“All my life, I’ve never listened to you. I won’t listen to you this time either, don’t threaten me with your death again. They’ve got evidence, you can’t take the blame for me! Besides, I won’t let you go in and suffer for me.”

After Feng Tian finished her sentence, she did not speak for a long time. Feng Sheng’s hands shook as he sat there and just looked at his daughter. All of a sudden, he covered his face with his hands and began to cry. 

“Thank you, Dad.” Feng Tian hugged her elderly father and said in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.

Outside, Gu Xizhou patted Fang Zhi on the shoulder and said, “Come on, let’s go! It’s about time to go and see your sister at her school.”

Without giving Fang Zhi a chance to respond, Gu Xizhou continued, “Call your sister and tell her not to eat first. I’ll treat us to something good.”

“Ah? Oh…… okay, I’ll call Fang Shi now.” Fang Zhi took out his phone and sent a message to Fang Shi. “By the way, Gu Ge, are we going back today?” 

Gu Xizhou nodded and lowered his voice, saying to Fang Zhi, “Of course. You should be entering the next world these two days, there’s no time to waste here.”

“En…… Gu Ge, could you go with me to buy something before we go to the university?” Fang Zhi asked softly.

“Sure.” After a brief surprise, Gu Xizhou immediately agreed to Fang Zhi’s request.

Gu Xizhou parked the car in the underground parking lot of a shopping mall. About 20 minutes later, Fang Zhi came out carrying a bag and sat in the front passenger seat. While starting up the car, Gu Xizhou turned his head slightly and asked, “What did you buy?” 

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Xe Wlhtbe uijcmfv ja atf yju lc Mjcu Itl’r tjcvr, “j qtbcf?”

“Sc.” Mjcu Itl cbvvfv, “rtf rtbeiv erf j yfaafg qtbcf ktlif lc rmtbbi. Ktf bcf rtf’r erlcu cbk kjr ybeuta abufatfg klat wlcf.”

Gu Xizhou nodded. Fang Zhi’s phone was still a button contraption, a model from quite a few years back. “You should change yours too.” 

“I’ve got no money, hehe,” Fang Zhi said frankly.

Gu Xizhou made a sound of acknowledgement and changed the topic, “We’re almost there, tell your sister to come out quickly. We can’t park by the side of the road.”

Fang Zhi took out his phone to call his sister Fang Shi. When Gu Xizhou got to the school gate, she had already arrived, with three girls beside her. 

“They’re here. Fang Shi, don’t come back too late and please take care. The three of us are going to eat at the canteen……”  

Hearing this, Gu Xizhou understood. 

Worried that it would not safe for Fang Shi to be alone, her three roommates had come out with her to wait for them. Gu Xizhou said with a smile, “Why go back? Let’s eat together, it’s my treat today.”

As the car could not fit all of them, they called an additional cab and went to a speciality barbecue place nearby.

“Why don’t I have a brother who gifts me a phone too? I feel like I’m going to be a lemon!” The girls joked, making Fang Shi especially embarrassed.

“Don’t make fun of me……” Fang Shi blushed and said softly, “brother…… there’s no need to buy something so expensive…… Let’s return it and buy something else……”

Fang Zhi shook his head and said, “Just use this. This’ll be the last phone Brother’s buying for you.”

The two siblings talked for a while, with the girls chiming in from the side, before Fang Shi finally accepted the gift. Beside them, Gu Xizhou ate quietly, only occasionally talking to the girls. 

It was almost 11 o’clock by the time Gu Xizhou drove back from Xining after dinner.

Gu Xizhou could hear his dog son continually barking through the door, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw his dog son wagging his tail happily and trying to get out. Fortunately, Gu Xizhou was quick to grab hold of him.

“Stop running, come back!” Carrying the dog in one arm, Gu Xizhou closed the door and put the dog down in the house.

Gu Ji Ji wrote on the notepad: You’ve come back. How’s the situation? 

Entering the house, Gu Xizhou responded, “It’s okay. Our efforts weren’t wasted — we’ve found the murderer.”

“The deceased killed his brother for insurance fraud……” Gu Xizhou detailed the results of the investigation to Gu Ji Ji, “this guy’s really a sorry excuse for a human being.”

Upon finishing his retelling, Gu Xizhou completely slumped onto the sofa and complained, “The sofa at the hostel isn’t as soft as the one at home. This is much more comfortable to sit in. You’ve got a nice sofa.”

Gu Ji Ji did not respond to that. 

The dog son next to them crouched at Gu Xizhou’s feet, wagging his tail wildly at Gu Xizhou and gently nudging Gu Xizhou’s feet with his head.

“Woof woof woof!”

“Woof woof woof!”

Gu Xizhou raised an eyebrow, “Be quiet, doggo. The neighbours are going to knock on the door and tell us off.” 

“Woof woof woof!”

“Woof woof!”

Looking at the dog son, Gu Xizhou thought for a few seconds and asked, “What’s wrong with the doggo?”

Gu Ji Ji picked up his pen and wrote: He wants to go out. 

Gu Xizhou grabbed the dog son and rubbed his head, then shoved him onto the sofa and said while walking, “I’m tired, I’m going to shower.”

Gu Xizhou hastily grabbed his loungewear and rushed into the bathroom. It did not take long before he stopped hearing the barks of the dog son through the bathroom door.

After showering, Gu Xizhou came out and saw that the dog son was already sleeping on all fours in his little nest, with some leftover milk in the dog bowl.

On his bedroom door was a sticky note: Don’t forget to walk the dog tomorrow. 

Gu Xizhou, “……”

The next day.

Gu Xizhou arrived at the police station early in the morning and met the forensic doctor Xiang Yuan at the entrance.

Xiang Yuan slapped Gu Xizhou on the back and said, “You’re really something, eh, to have found out even this!” 

“It’s okay, nothing much.” Gu Xizhou said dismissively, “there aren’t any new cases these few days, are there?”

“Don’t worry, there aren’t.” Xiang Yuan waved a hand. He thought for a few seconds and said, “Why don’t we eat together tonight? I’ll treat. We haven’t had drinks for so long.”

Gu Xizhou raised an eyebrow, “Let’s not. We’ll be so tired after work. What’s wrong with going home and having a good rest?”

“Aren’t you lonely at home by yourself?” Xiang Yuan curled his lip and said in a low voice, “you haven’t found someone, have you?” 

Hearing this, Gu Xizhou looked at him for a moment and said, “Then…… how about we eat at my house as a celebratory feast? We’ve all worked hard during this period.”

“Ah, at your house? Won’t that be very troublesome for you?” Xiang Yuan asked.

“Come if you want,” Gu Xizhou glanced at him and curled his lip, saying under his breath, “you talk too much.”

“I’m going I’m going. See you after work!” 

Xiang Yuan hastily responded, then drank his soy milk while walking to his forensics office.

…… 

After work, Gu Xizhou parked his car in the neighbourhood parking lot. Everybody was still in uniform from work, carrying hotpot ingredients and takeaway dishes. Just when the lift doors were about to close, they heard a call.

“Wait up!” 

Xiang Yuan pressed the button and waited for a moment before the resident outside entered. It was a young man who looked completely dazed to see a lift full of police officers in uniform.

When the lift reached the seventh floor, Gu Xizhou and the others got off and entered his house together.

Xiang Yuan looked at the television in the house strangely, “Wow, don’t you turn off the TV when you go out?”

Gu Xizhou, “…… I forgot.” 

Gu Ji Ji who was watching the television: …… 

“All right, let’s get everything set up! I’m starving!” One of them urged.

A few of the guys set up the induction cooker and set out some wine, and they ate while cooking.

After everybody was full, Gu Xizhou sent them all downstairs before stopping Fang Zhi and asking in a low voice, “How much time do you have left?” 

Fang Zhi took a moment to check the floating countdown timer before whispering, “20 hours left……”

Gu Xizhou said, “Okay, I’ve got it. Tomorrow’s a holiday, so there’s no need to change shifts. I’ll pick you up at 10 tomorrow morning and drive to Si Yu’s.”

“Okay.” Fang Zhi’s face was a little red from drinking, so Gu Xizhou told him to be careful before sending him into the car of a female colleague who had not had any alcohol.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Gu Xizhou got home and found everything on the table cleaned up, with sounds of water in the kitchen. Gu Xizhou leaned against the wall and teased, “Ji Ji, you’re really a helpful elf. You’ve even done all the dishes!”

Gu Ji Ji, who was washing the dishes, ignored Gu Xizhou. After a while, he wrote a note and passed it to Gu Xizhou: Thank you.

Completely unperturbed, Gu Xizhou said, “Thank me for what? Your colleagues are so troublesome, insisting on eating at our house!”

Gu Ji Ji: ……  

“Ji Ji, you didn’t read too much into things, did you? Did you think I’d specially take these friends of yours home for you to see just so you won’t be lonely?”

Gu Ji Ji: En, you can go walk the dog then.

Gu Xizhou: “???” Wait, this was not what he had envisioned!!

By then, the door had already been opened, and the dog son shoved into Gu Xizhou’s hands. The ghost in the house was clearly asking him to go out. 

Glacestorm: Hi guys! So sorry for the late chapter release. As I’ve said, I’ll make this up to you guys somehow. Suggestions are welcome! Please post them in the comments below.

(Edit: I’ve noticed that many of you ship Gu Xizhou with Gu Ji Ji when the ML is actually Si Yu. I’m considering writing a oneshot fanfic for them. Do you guys have any ideas for scenarios you’d like to see?)

Also, this is more of a filler chapter. Please look forward to the start of the fifth mission world next chapter!