CH 53

Princess was the notorious lunatic of Southside Prison, because few people would actively try to increase their sentences. Ordinary fights and brawls would only result in confinement and other punishments, but back then, Princess had honest-to-god almost killed the third party that Xu Sheng had slept with.

Jiang Chijing had also heard the gossip from Luo Hai. Purportedly, the third party was the one who had actively sought Xu Sheng’s affections. It happened to be near the end of Princess’ sentence. He used this opportunity to nip any ideas that Princess might have and have him start afresh outside, but what he didn’t expect was that Princess would end up taking a knife to the third party, deliberately prolonging his sentence.

With a third party ending up in this state, he could only imagine how Old Nine, who had wanted to stab Xu Sheng to death, would end up.

If Princess murdered Old Nine in a moment of rashness, then in the following decades, prison walls would separate him from Old Nine.

Or maybe… for Princess, Xu Sheng wouldn’t be willing to leave prison.

The more he thought about it, the more chaotic his thoughts became. He was completely unable to predict what would happen next. And Zheng Mingyi’s ‘let things come as they may’ attitude made it seem like Princess’ revenge on Old Nine was only a matter of fact.

No, seeing Zheng Mingyi like this, Jiang Chijing kept feeling that he’d even lend assistance to Princess.

Really, they were just lining up one after another to give him a massive migraine.

Fortunately, Jiang Chijing received an update from Luo Hai at ten in the evening informing him that Xu Sheng’s operation went smoothly; he should be able to wake up tomorrow morning.

This finally gave Jiang Chijing the beginnings of an idea. He requested a half-day leave from the prison early the next morning and went straight to the district hospital to find Xu Sheng.

Since Princess wouldn’t listen to him, he could only relay Xu Sheng’s words to him. In any case, he wouldn’t let Princess be foolhardy.

“Officer Jiang, do you think he’ll listen to me?”

In a special ward where guards were stationed, Xu Sheng quietly listened to his account, but his reaction was not quite what Jiang Chijing was expecting.

“Can’t you persuade him?” Jiang Chijing frowned, saying, “He’s very likely to act rashly.”

“If he’s amenable to persuasion,” Xu Sheng’s body was still weak and he was unable to finish his sentence in a single breath. “Then he wouldn’t be in prison now.”

Jiang Chijing fell silent for a moment, then slowly spoke. “Touché.”

Xu Sheng had surely persuaded Princess to leave prison, but Princess still chose to stay by his side. It was just as Xu Sheng said. If Princess was someone who would listen, he wouldn’t have this nickname.

“Then are you not going to care what he does?” Jiang Chijing gradually recognised reality. He couldn’t stop Princess. And so, his tone of voice also calmed, tinged with regret.

“I can only trouble you guys to keep a closer watch on him.” Xu Sheng gazed at the ceiling, exhaling. “He’s impatient, he doesn’t like listening to lectures of morals or philosophy, he’s entirely driven by his emotions, sometimes there’s really no way to get around to him…”

As Jiang Chijing listened, doubt gradually clouded his mind. He hesitated for a moment before eventually asking, “If that’s so, then why do you still like him?”

“Because… that’s just the way I like him.” Xu Sheng smiled, looking at Jiang Chijing. He said, “Officer Jiang, do you think I’ve got a masochistic streak?”

A bit.

Jiang Chijing replied this in his head, but the words never left his mouth.

“Someone once said eating spicy food is a form of masochism,” Xu Sheng carried on, saying, “I like eating spicy food, and he’s my little pepper. If I say this, is it easier for you to understand?”

Jiang Chijing suddenly recalled Zheng Mingyi saying something similar. He liked to eat sweet stuff, and Jiang Chijing was very sweet.

Of course, Jiang Chijing didn’t believe that he was sweet in any way. But thinking about it from this angle, he could understand where Xu Sheng was coming from. There was nothing he could do about it; he liked Princess just the way he was.

“You don’t mind him…” The latter half was left unspoken, but Jiang Chijing knew that Xu Sheng would catch his drift.

“Cheating on me?” Xu Sheng said. “I was the one who was unfaithful first. I did sleep with someone else, so I don’t have any right to mind.”

Jiang Chijing pursed his lips. He didn’t know what to say. In his opinion, Xu Sheng had only slept with someone else once, whereas Princess had slept with many others. Using this metric, it didn’t seem fair to Xu Sheng.

However, considering it from another angle, the impact of cheating wasn’t quantifiable by numbers. Perhaps, the hurt that Xu Sheng had caused Princess by sleeping with someone else once was much greater than the hurt that Princess caused Xu Sheng from sleeping around with many others.

The only thing that could be said was that a relationship was exclusive to the two people involved in it. If one was willing to strike out and the other was willing to take it, then it wasn’t apt for Jiang Chijing, as an outsider, to pass comment.

“Officer Jiang,” Xu Sheng’s voice broke into Jiang Chijing’s thoughts. “I’ll have to trouble you guys to keep an eye for me until I get back. I’ll deal with Old Nine myself after that.”

“Wait.” Jiang Chijing raised his hand, stopping Xu Sheng from continuing. “You’re still planning to get even?”

Was this God serving him a headache buffet??

“Better me than him,” Xu Sheng said.

“Do you know the situation you’re in now?” Jiang Chijing was seriously about to combust. “The pardon letter has already been submitted to the courthouse. You can soon have your sentence reduced, and you still want to get even at this time?”

“Officer Jiang, some things must be done.”

Yesterday when Jiang Chijing brought up news of Xu Sheng’s sentence reduction to Princess, his first reaction wasn’t happiness but increased hatred for Old Nine. It was at that time that Jiang Chijing recognised the wide variations in mental outlook from person to person.

Now, Xu Sheng was the same. The matters that he and Princess viewed as important were incomprehensible to Jiang Chijing.

“Up to you.” Jiang Chijing stood up, his heart dead. “I’ll get my colleagues to keep a closer watch on him.”

“Thank you, Officer Jiang,” Xu Sheng said.

Actually, Jiang Chijing didn’t finish his sentence. When Xu Sheng returned, he would similarly get his colleagues to keep a closer watch on him as well. Regardless of who went to settle the score, the consequences would be unpleasant.

If Princess struck out, he would get his sentence increased. If Xu Sheng struck out, he wouldn’t be able to get his sentence reduced, and Princess would cause more trouble to increase his sentence as well. But all these were unnecessary.

Jiang Chijing smoked a cigarette in the smoking area outside the hospital. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t figure it out. Why did he have to stick his nose into this; it wasn’t as if either of those two misters would appreciate his kindness.

After stubbing out the cigarette, Jiang Chijing thought of heading back to the prison to start work. However, when he arrived at the hospital carpark, he ran into an unexpected person.

“Guan Wei?” Jiang Chijing was surprised. He said, “Are you here to see Xu Sheng?”

“You, too?” Guan Wei appeared surprised as well. “Those brothers of his got me to come.”

“He’s doing okay, it isn’t anything too serious,” Jiang Chijing said.

“That’s good to hear.” Guan Wei began to make idle chatter with Jiang Chijing. “Have you heard that his sentence is going to be reduced? I asked around yesterday; it’s very probable that he would be getting out in less than two months.”

“So soon?” Then, at the thought of Xu Sheng and Princess’ attitudes, he felt his head pound again.

“Also, about the case, help me pass along to Zheng Mingyi that I should be able to see some results within the week.”

“Do you mean,” Jiang Chijing mused, saying, “If it goes quick, Zheng Mingyi might be able to get out of prison by the end of the month?”

“Pretty much. His case will definitely have to be retried. Only…” Guan Wei paused here.

“Only?” Jiang Chijing asked.

“The evidence stacked against Wu Peng isn’t enough; it all depends on how useful the clues Zheng Mingyi has are.”

Jiang Chijing wasn’t worried about catching Wu Peng. He trusted that Zheng Mingyi would have his plans.

Translated on ninetysevenkoi.wordpress

After parting from Guan Wei, Jiang Chijing drove back to the prison.

During the afternoon break, Zheng Mingyi went to the yard first again. But absurdly, the one sitting next to Zheng Mingyi now had changed into Princess.

Jiang Chijing looked outside the window with his brows furrowed, completely unable to find the mood to appreciate this silent film.

Zheng Mingyi said that he would talk Princess around, but Jiang Chijing just had this niggling feeling that it didn’t seem like something Zheng Mingyi would do.

It took reason and emotion to convince someone. Based on Jiang Chijing’s understanding of Zheng Mingyi, he wouldn’t even bother to win people over with logic; he only made deals.

And from the present atmosphere of their conversation, it also didn’t appear to be one party persuading the other to listen.

Zheng Mingyi kept speaking with a blank face, and Princess would occasionally reply with a few words. But the latter’s expression wasn’t as impenetrable as during his conversation with Jiang Chijing. Rather, some delight and curiosity had leaked into it.

It didn’t take more than three minutes for Jiang Chijing to be completely sure that Zheng Mingyi was, indeed, proposing an idea to Princess.

At the end of the conversation, Princess concealed the emotion in his eyes, and his gaze turned unreadable again. However, not more than a moment later, he seemed to come to a decision, extending his right hand, saying four words to Zheng Mingyi.

If Jiang Chijing wasn’t mistaken, those four words should be: You’ve got a deal.

Zheng Mingyi reached out and accepted Princess’ handshake. At this time, Princess abruptly looked over at the library, impishly winking at Jiang Chijing, as if flaunting the closer proximity he had with Zheng Mingyi right now.

Zheng Mingyi let go of Princess’ right hand and turned his head this way as well, showing a faint smile, before walking straight in the direction of the library.

Even if Jiang Chijing was dying of curiosity on the inside, he still put on a calm facade, waiting for two o’clock to arrive.

The other inmates in the library slowly streamed out. Zheng Mingyi sat next to Jiang Chijing, and the first sentence out of his mouth was: “Is there any strawberry pie today?”

Jiang Chijing was already having migraines; who would even be in the mood to make strawberry pies? He calmly spat out a word. “No.”

“Oh.” Zheng Mingyi lazily answered, obviously losing the interest to talk.

It was silent between them for a while. In the end, Jiang Chijing was the first to crack, asking, “What did you suggest to Princess?”

Zheng Mingyi smiled, as though he was waiting for Jiang Chijing to ask, saying, “Nothing much. Just got him to take it easy a bit.”

“How is it possible that he’ll take it easy?” Jiang Chijing couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Old Nine had wanted to stab Xu Sheng to death. With Princess’ personality, even if he couldn’t kill Old Nine, he’d definitely turn him into a cripple at least.

“He—”

Before Zheng Mingyi even started, a figure suddenly streaked through the library door, interrupting the rest of his words.

Yu Guang flew up to the office desk, shouting at the two of them. “Big news, Princess has raped Old Nine!”

Hearing this, Jiang Chijing’s brain imploded. His eyes were wide as he shot to his feet, and the office chair slammed loudly against the wall behind him.

How did Princess get so keyed up that he raped Old Nine?!

Let alone that Old Nine was straight, he wasn’t young either. With his bald head and large belly, he was completely unable to arouse anyone at all.

Further, no matter how tolerant Xu Sheng was to Princess’ sleeping around, it was impossible that he could accept this. This taste was way, way, way too intense.

Jiang Chijing’s head had gone numb from this bombshell and now only saw Yu Guang panting, before adding, “…with a mop.”

Can’t you speak properly?!

Jiang Chijing slammed his notebook on the table. “That’s not called rape.”

One day after another, he was just about to get a heart attack from shock.

“Huh, it isn’t?” Yu Guang innocuously scratched the back of his head, without the slightest awareness of the shock he had induced.

Jiang Chijing sat heavily back down into his seat, drinking some water to assuage the lingering fear in his heart.

Princess seriously went tit for tat. Old Nine had used a mop to stab Xu Sheng; not only did Princess give him a taste of his own medicine, but the humiliation of having a mop shoved up one’s ass was even a hundredfold worse than being stabbed with it.

Wait.

Princess had always been crude and direct in the way he did things. How could he have thought of a method like this?

Jiang Chijing immediately looked at Zheng Mingyi beside him. Unlike the excessive shock he’d gone through, Zheng Mingyi merely shrugged. As though it didn’t concern himself, he said, “This is already him taking it easy.”