HC CH198
After the meeting, everyone split up to take action.
Ji Chenjiao was just about to leave with Liang Wenxian to go to the hospital where Yu Qianming was staying when Shen Qi came running over hurriedly. “Bro!”
Ji Chenjiao turned around. “Hmm?”
“I wasn’t doubting you just now,” Shen Qi said earnestly. “Bro, I don’t know what happened to you, or why our person in charge changed from you to Captain Xie, but you will always be the leader of our Serious Crimes Unit. Since you think Jin Liuyun hasn’t left the country, then I’ll listen to you and track him steadily. Whatever you need me to do, just rest assured and order me around!”
When it came to being like a puppy, Shen Qi was always a professional. Ji Chenjiao could almost see his tail wagging furiously. He raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder. “Brothers in the Serious Crimes Unit don’t need to say such superfluous things.”
Shen Qi smiled. “Then I’m going back to work!”
“Go on.”
In the VIP ward of the hospital, Yu Qianming was in a coma. All his vital signs were very weak; he didn’t have many days left to live.
Yu Yesheng was wiping tears at the side. “Where is Ling Lie? Why didn’t Ling Lie come?”
Of course, Ji Chenjiao wouldn’t say that Ling Lie had gone abroad on a mission. He asked, “Has he had any moments of lucidity in the past two days?”
The elders of the Yu family had passed away. Perhaps the only person left who knew clues about Yu Qin was Yu Qianming, her biological brother. But coincidentally, at this critical moment, he couldn’t wake up.
Yu Yesheng shook his head. “He woke up, but he wasn’t lucid. He couldn’t say anything.”
Ji Chenjiao frowned deeply. In the face of life and death, one feels a true sense of powerlessness.
“Is there anything I can help with?” After being saved by Ling Lie, Yu Yesheng seemed to have grown up overnight. “I will shoulder the burden of the Yu family. I will repay the sins committed by the Yu family. Just tell me what you need.”
“Yu Qin…” Ji Chenjiao started but stopped. When Yu Qin was still in the Yu family, Yu Yesheng hadn’t even been born yet. What could he know?
“Yu Qin isn’t…” Yu Yesheng realized. “Are you talking about the real Little Aunt?”
Ji Chenjiao nodded.
Yu Yesheng said with difficulty, “I’ve never even met her. How about this, I’ll go back to the old mansion to look. If I find anything related to her, I’ll bring it all to you!”
Ji Chenjiao already had plans to go to the Yu family’s old mansion, so he thanked Yu Yesheng. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a very low, soft humming sound coming from the ward. He quickly rushed in with Yu Yesheng, only to see Yu Qianming with his turbid, unfocused eyes open. The throat wrapped in loose skin was vibrating slightly, emitting an off-key humming.
Ji Chenjiao: “He’s awake!”
Yu Yesheng sighed. “It’s useless. The doctor said this isn’t truly waking up.”
Yu Qianming was completely unaware of the activity around him, like an insensate child, humming a song only he could understand. The doctor rushed over upon hearing the news, checked him, and shook his head. “Just let him lie like this. He can’t accept questioning.”
Ji Chenjiao sat down, looking at the old man who was about to die. He was his nephew. Between them lay a blood connection second only to parents and children. He didn’t look like Yu Qin, nor like Jin Liuyun, but instead bore a trace of resemblance to this uncle and his uncle’s youngest son.
Yu Qianming’s humming grew quieter and quieter until he fell asleep again. Yu Yesheng wept softly outside the ward. Ji Chenjiao gently closed the ward door and handed Yu Yesheng a tissue.
“He’s hummed that song several times recently, but I can’t tell what song it is at all,” Yu Yesheng said. “Do you know what song it is?”
“I don’t know.” Though he said that, Ji Chenjiao vaguely felt it was familiar.
Yu Yesheng looked at Liang Wenxian. Liang Wenxian also shook his head.
In the evening, just as Ji Chenjiao was hesitating whether to make a video call to Ling Lie, Ling Lie called him. Seeing this, Ji Chenjiao subconsciously wiped his face, as if that would make him look more energetic.
But Ling Lie’s observation skills were incredibly sharp; he saw the abnormality at a glance. “Xia Chengshi, why so listless?”
Ji Chenjiao let his shoulders slump. “Xia Chengshi has been laid off.”
Ling Lie’s eyes widened. “Huh? Who bullied my Xia Chengshi?”
Ji Chenjiao was silent for a while. “My DNA matched with Jin Liuyun’s. He is my father. Now he’s missing.”
The network seemed to freeze suddenly; Ling Lie didn’t move. A few seconds later, Ling Lie blinked, quickly digesting the situation. “Actually… we were both mentally prepared, weren’t we?”
Ji Chenjiao smiled helplessly. “And you still froze.”
Ling Lie: “Hey, the network was lagging. What does that have to do with me?”
Ji Chenjiao’s nerves had been tight all day. Seeing Ling Lie now, he finally relaxed, propped up his phone, and lay on the table. Ling Lie copied him; the two lay on their stomachs, looking at each other through the lens.
After a while, Ling Lie reached out his hand and touched Ji Chenjiao through the air. “Are you very sad?”
Ji Chenjiao shook his head. “Didn’t have time to be sad.”
Ling Lie said, “That’s good too. Keep your emotions locked up for now. When I come back, you’re allowed to act like a spoiled child.”
Just staying like this, it seemed no comforting words were needed for emotions to gradually calm down.
But the two didn’t forget that the video call was for exchanging intelligence. Ling Lie was the first to perk up. “Zhao Fan and I went to the biggest entertainment center in Salingauke City, the Alice Crown Carnival. Wonder has a very strange stronghold up there.”
Ji Chenjiao: “Stronghold? Alice again?”
Ling Lie then recounted how he had infiltrated the “Royal Court” nephew’s entourage and scouted the mountain.
“Snow field, hot springs, artificial, and a sculpture of Yu Qin… locals say that’s a Goddess statue.” Ji Chenjiao propped up his chin, pondering. “This shows it’s a place of great commemorative significance to Wonder and Yu Qin. But doesn’t it never snow in Country L?”
“Right, it can’t snow even on the mountain. If you want to see snow scenery, it can only be artificial. Even the hot springs are artificial.” Ling Lie said, “This carnival only started construction last year and opened this year. After the ceasefire in Country L, various gangs began to rake in money frantically. Before this, even the more powerful ‘Jasmine Tea’ didn’t have the capability to build these artificial landscapes. Rewind a few decades, and it would have been even more impossible.”
Ji Chenjiao said, “Yu Qin wanted to see snow, fantasized about it with Wonder back then? Wonder achieved it for her today? Artificial? Right! When Jin Liuyun went to see the Artificial Starry Sky, did he also have the idea of making one?”
Ling Lie fell silent. A trace of irrepressible excitement appeared in Ji Chenjiao’s eyes.
“Actually, deep down, you’re already leaning towards believing that Jin Liuyun and Duan Wande are the same person,” Ling Lie said. “Am I right, Xiao Ji?”
Ji Chenjiao calmed down. “Yes. Assuming they are the same person, then many contradictions find their explanation.”
Ling Lie said, “The news I gathered in Salingauke City is also that Wonder is currently not here. As for where he went, I’m afraid only the higher-ups of ‘Jasmine Tea’ know.”
Ji Chenjiao mentioned meeting Yu Qianming today and wanting to use the Yu family as the main breakthrough point to find Jin Liuyun. Ling Lie agreed. “What Jin Liuyun is looking for might be something very meaningful to Yu Qin, or a location? Wonder’s obsession can be said to be blatantly written all over the upper-class venues of Salingauke City.”
Ji Chenjiao: “Alice in Wonderland?”
Ling Lie: “Yes. Being here, I feel it very clearly, especially the snow field I saw today. Under what circumstances would a person develop such a powerful obsession?”
Ji Chenjiao thought for a while. “Maybe the snow field was what Yu Qin wanted most back then, but he couldn’t make it happen for her? But why would Yu Qin want a snow field? Could it be…”
Ling Lie said, “Yu Qin never went back after going abroad. Was the only thing she missed a certain snow field she had visited in China?”
Ji Chenjiao stood up abruptly. “Then will Jin Liuyun go to that snow field this time?”
Ling Lie cooled Ji Chenjiao down. “This is just one possibility. Finding an unknown snow field isn’t an easy task either.”
Ji Chenjiao: “There’s a snow field, and hot springs… maybe a beautiful starry sky can be seen there too. So Jin Liuyun is also interested in the Artificial Starry Sky?”
His train of thought gradually opened up. Ji Chenjiao seemed to see a blurry figure trudging alone in the white mist.
After the call ended, Ji Chenjiao went to the rest room of the Serious Crimes Unit and lay on the folding cot. He couldn’t be bothered to go back to the family quarters, so he made do here.
With the lights off, light from the corridor and outside the window shone in; it wasn’t completely dark. He closed his eyes and sorted through the series of clues again. Sleepiness rose like a tide, and the song Yu Qianming hummed echoed in his ears.
Half-dreaming, half-awake, the singing voice changed from an old, dying male voice to a gentle, wind-chime-like female voice.
He dreamed of that childhood dream again.
In the arms of a woman whose face was unclear, the scent of flowers all around, the wind very gentle, the swing swaying.
But this time he heard clearly that the woman was calling his name, Yu Ge. He also heard clearly the song the woman was humming.
He still didn’t know what song it was, but it was the same melody Yu Qianming hummed.
In the morning, Ji Chenjiao woke up, pressing his forehead as he thought for a long time.
Yu Qianming was already on his deathbed. When people are about to die, they recall the experiences of their life, things from their youth, joyful things, regretful things.
Yu Qianming and Yu Qin were siblings after all. They would hum the same song. Even if they grew apart for power and wealth as adults, Yu Qianming might have doted on this younger sister when they were little.
Did Yu Qianming teach the song to Yu Qin? Or did Yu Qin learn it somewhere and hum it to her brother?
Yu Qianming spent his life floating and sinking in the sea of commerce, undoubtedly a successful person. When he hummed this song, was he thinking of Yu Qin? Banishing Yu Qin to Country L back then—recalling it before death, was this a regret that could never be made up for?
It got light too late in winter. Ji Chenjiao hurriedly grabbed his coat and ran to the car parked downstairs. The headlights cut through the darkness in front of him. Icy rain fell, seeming to carry grains of crushed snow.
Xiarong City’s first snow of the year was about to fall.
Rain mixed with snow grit smashed onto the windshield; the city was shrouded in coldness and gloom. The wipers scraped back and forth. Ji Chenjiao stared firmly ahead, speeding up as much as possible.
Just as he was about to drive to the hospital, his phone rang. It was Yu Yesheng.
Ji Chenjiao’s heart sank heavily. Yu Yesheng had said he would go back to the old mansion to look for traces of Yu Qin, but calling at this time, it certainly couldn’t be because of Yu Qin.
He parked the car and answered the phone while rushing toward the VIP ward.
Yu Yesheng choked with sobs, “My dad is about to go. Can, can you come see him? He just called Yu… called Little Aunt’s name.”
Ji Chenjiao quickened his pace, bursting into the ward, his phone already set to recording mode. Yu Qianming’s eyes were not open, but two lines of turbid tears fell from the corners of his eyes. He was indeed still humming that song, only his breath was even weaker than yesterday, like a candle flame about to go out in the next instant.
Ji Chenjiao walked over and placed the phone on the bedside table.
Five minutes later, the humming stopped. Yu Qianming ceased breathing completely.
Yu Yesheng cried bitterly. Ji Chenjiao put away his phone. Doctors and colleagues from the Procuratorate were present to confirm Yu Qianming’s death.
Ji Chenjiao withdrew from the ward, hugging Yu Yesheng before leaving.
Municipal Bureau, Criminal Investigation Detachment Leader’s Office.
Xie Qing finished listening to the recording. “Could this be related to Jin Liuyun’s disappearance?”
Ji Chenjiao said, “I’m not sure. But this tune should be related to Yu Qin. What Yu Qianming couldn’t let go of before he died was the wrong he did to Yu Qin.”
Xie Qing asked, “What do you want me to do?”
“I compared this tune using amateur software, but couldn’t identify the song.” Ji Chenjiao said, “I want to know its exact origin.”
Xie Qing nodded. “I’ll find an expert and give you an answer as soon as possible.”
The citizens were all looking forward to snow, but the snow grit from the morning had completely melted by the afternoon. Raindrops danced in the air; who knew when the real snow would fall.
Ji Chenjiao stood by the window, looking at the grey world. The Yu family was now in chaos. Yu Yesheng said he would go back to the old mansion to look for clues, but he probably couldn’t get away at this moment. But Ji Chenjiao couldn’t wait; he had to leave as soon as possible.
Liang Wenxian walked over quickly, holding a freshly issued investigation warrant. “Let’s go. With this, we can go in and search even without the Yu family’s help.”
The Yu family’s old mansion was in Cangyuan City. They took an evening flight. On the way to the airport, Ji Chenjiao thought it over and called Yu Yesheng.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t come. Your father’s funeral arrangements still need you.”
Yu Yesheng was very low-spirited and didn’t give a clear answer before Ji Chenjiao hung up. But before boarding, he arrived, travel-worn, clutching a ticket, eyes red. “The funeral arrangements don’t need me; there are plenty of people. I’m just the most useless youngest son.”
“But Ling Lie saved me. At least… I want to be of some use to him, to you guys!”
Weather conditions affected the takeoff, and Ji Chenjiao’s group didn’t arrive in Cangyuan City until late at night. No one lived in the Yu family’s old mansion now. Yu Qianming and Sha Man had long been active around Dongye City and Xiarong City, only coming back to visit at the end of the year or during ancestral worship. There were a few housekeepers staying behind at the old mansion. They all knew the news of Yu Qianming’s death and had long known about the crimes committed by the Yu Group. Seeing Yu Yesheng return at this time, they were all very surprised.
The moment he walked into the old mansion, Ji Chenjiao had a strange feeling. As if he had been here before, spent a short and insignificant period of time here.
He indeed had been here, during those short months and years after Sha Man brought him back and before Yu Qianming took him away.
He looked somewhat entranced at the buildings in the night, subconsciously wanting to look at the location to the right of the main house.
Yu Qianming (Yu Yesheng?) said, “Do you still remember that side? You lived there when you were little.”
Ji Chenjiao’s voice was a bit dry and hoarse. “I’ll go over and take a look.”
Yu Qin’s small building used to be an exceptionally beautiful villa with a carefully tended garden, but now the garden had long been flowerless, and many lights in the building were broken.
Ji Chenjiao gradually recalled some blurry fragments, but these fragments had no warmth. Perhaps because the one who came back with him wasn’t his real mother, he received no care from relatives in this deserted estate.
He sat on the dusty sofa for a while, quickly detaching himself from personal emotions, and began the important mission of this trip—searching.
On the third floor, he saw the painting Ling Lie had mentioned. Teenage Yu Qin with permed curls, innocent and beautiful, looking as if she should have lived in the painting, untouched by the filth of the world.
He stood before the painting for a long time, raising his hand to gently touch the old frame.
Liang Wenxian searched the first floor. They were busy until 4 AM. When they met on the stairs, both revealed disappointed expressions.
There was nothing here they wanted to find. The traces of Yu Qin’s life here were reduced to only that painting which couldn’t be taken down. Sha Man had cleared away Yu Qin’s traces, and Yu Qianming had done the same. They each had their own motives, yet surprisingly tacitly erased Yu Qin. And now, they too were no longer of this world.
Liang Wenxian tossed him a cigarette. Ji Chenjiao lit it and said, “Not looking after your health anymore?”
Liang Wenxian laughed. “It’s almost dawn; what health is there to look after? Let’s hurry up and find clues. We can’t really let Jin Liuyun get away.”
After smoking, Ji Chenjiao said, “Brother Liang, rest for a bit. I’ll go chat with Yu Yesheng; he’s familiar with this place.”
Yu Yesheng hadn’t slept all night either. At first, he chatted with the housekeepers about Yu Qianming’s last few days. Later, he returned to his room, couldn’t sleep, and simply got up to organize Yu Qianming’s belongings.
Yu Qianming left very few things at the old mansion; most were unimportant and might be thrown away in a few years. As he looked through them, he started crying again. Among those things were homework assignments he and his older brothers had written when they were little, toys played with only a few times, and gifts they had given Yu Qianming.
If time in the old mansion moved slower than outside, he really wanted to lock himself inside and never go out again.
After organizing these, he opened another cabinet. Inside was a drawer that was locked.
It wasn’t a secure lock. He got the key from the housekeeper and quickly opened it.
In the drawer were some long-expired receipts and an envelope. Yu Yesheng took a photo out of the envelope.
The photo was very old. A brightly smiling teenage girl was holding the arm of a young Yu Qianming, looking very intimate.
Ji Chenjiao came upstairs and heard Yu Yesheng say, “I found a photo of Little Aunt and my dad!”