Chapter 106: The Ghost in the Heart

Jiang Shi’s face was pressed against the side of his neck, his breath melting into his skin. “Cheng Ye, did you kill Cheng Jianbin?”

Above them, the shadows of the trees separated their figures. Every step Cheng Ye took was steady.

“No.”

“I thought about killing him, but definitely not just a few days after Gao Lan came back. It would have been too obvious, my suspicion level would have been too high.”

“Perhaps heaven took pity on me. Before I could even make a move, he died on his own.”

He died from his most beloved alcohol, lying alone and forgotten in the fields. His eyes were closed, lost in a beautiful dream, as the cold gnawed at his body and white snow covered the filth bit by bit, until his corpse was unearthed along with the frozen, stiff soil.

Jiang Shi was right. The eleven- or twelve-year-old Cheng Ye might have longed for family affection, but the seventeen-year-old Cheng Ye absolutely would not.

When Gao Lan left back then, she had tricked him by saying she would come back for him. He was young then and still believed it, so he endured the beatings and waited day after day, waiting for Gao Lan to fulfill her promise. But the longer time went on, the thinner the lie became, like paper.

Cheng Ye didn’t need to ask Gao Lan for a clear answer; he poked through that paper himself. The world behind the paper was empty. Both of his parents were alive, yet he lived like an orphan.

But strangely, Cheng Ye didn’t feel sad. Gao Lan was right; he truly was a heartless monster.

In fact, by middle school, he already had the ability to support himself. He had also thought about just leaving. But a fire was pent up inside him. He couldn’t leave. If he left, wouldn’t that mean he was afraid of Cheng Jianbin, just like Gao Lan? He wanted to stand tall and defeat this man, not cowardly choose to run away.

When Gao Lan returned, he knew she definitely wasn’t there to take him away, so when he heard her conversation with Cheng Jianbin, Cheng Ye wasn’t surprised.

He stood at the door and finished a cigarette, stomped it out, the chill clinging to his shoulders, his black leather jacket stained with an irremovable filth on the back.

Cheng Ye pushed open the door with hands covered in frostbite.

The sound was loud, causing the two talking people to turn their heads.

The seventeen-year-old boy stood against the light in the doorway, his figure thin. The wind poured in from behind him as he lifted a pair of dark eyes.

He looked like a phantom.

Gao Lan screamed in terror. Cheng Jianbin was relatively calm, his face twitched, and he kicked a nearby chair.

“Didn’t I tell you to go cut pig feed in the fields? What are you doing back so early? Is your work done?”

Cheng Ye said, “The sickle broke. I came back to get another one.”

Cheng Jianbin indeed saw a broken sickle at the door. Before he could say anything, Cheng Ye turned his head to look at Gao Lan and revealed a smile. “Mom, you’re back.”

Gao Lan saw the boy opposite her pull at the corners of his mouth, but there was no smile in his eyes. The way he looked at her was like a wolf, with a faint, ghostly light.

Gao Lan let out another scream.

Cheng Ye found it boring.

Cheng Jianbin thought she was going crazy. Cheng Ye was her son, why did she look at him like she was seeing a ghost?

He reached out and pushed Cheng Ye. “Your mom has come to her senses and came home for a visit. Her business is shameful, so don’t spread it around. Alright, go get busy.”

The time pulled back to the height of summer in Jiangcheng in August. The cicadas chirped as Cheng Ye said, “You could say she’s stupid, yet she’s done all sorts of bad things. You could say she’s smart, yet she can’t hide anything. Not thoroughly stupid, not clearly bad.”

Jiang Shi asked him again, “Then why did she insist that you drugged Cheng Jianbin’s alcohol?”

Cheng Ye said, “I scared her.”

“After I went out, she was probably disciplined by Cheng Jianbin. When she came back in the evening, her attitude towards me was much better. A day passed like that. The next day, Cheng Jianbin was in a good mood. He gave me money and told me to go buy him some liquor.”

“There were many eyes in the village, so Gao Lan didn’t dare to stay long. She left after I did.”

“The liquor shop was on the street, and the place to catch a bus was also on the street. On my way, I ran into Auntie Zhang. She said the rats in her upstairs were a terrible nuisance. If it continued, the grain would be eaten before the New Year was even over. She asked me to bring back a bottle of Dichlorvos for her.”

“When I was buying the pesticide, I saw Gao Lan. She was sitting in a car. She saw me, and I saw her.”

“I scared her. I twisted open the Dichlorvos bottle in front of her…”

Speaking of this, Cheng Ye chuckled. “Who would have thought she was such a coward? A single bottle of pesticide scared her so much she never dared to return to Xiliu Village for the rest of her life.”

Jiang Shi’s mouth tasted a bit bitter. “Then what if Cheng Jianbin hadn’t had an accident…”

Cheng Ye hefted the person on his back, listening to the whistle of a steamship from the river and the beam of light from the lighthouse.

“If there had been no accident, maybe one day I would have given up and died together with Cheng Jianbin. Life was quite meaningless for me back then.”

Sensing the body on his back tense up, he added, “It’s different now. Now, I cherish my life very much.”

So much so that a person as stingy as him went for a medical check-up every year.

Jiang Shi felt like he wanted to cry, but was also a little speechless. “Since you remember everything, why didn’t you tell the police?”

“I couldn’t say.”

“Why?”

“Does Young Master want to hear the truth or a lie?”

Jiang Shi raised a fist the size of a sandbag at him. “I only speak with my fists.”

The young man’s fingers were long and slender, and when clenched, his knuckles were still pink. Cheng Ye glanced at them, then glanced again, and was successfully threatened.

“You’ll know when the investigation results come out in two days.”

After another two days, the results were finally out.

The police officer who had guided Jiang Shi before found them, a smile on his face. “Too much time has passed. We searched many places and finally found the surveillance footage from a clinic from back then.”

He asked Cheng Ye, “On the day Cheng Jianbin asked you to buy liquor, did you run into anyone?”

Cheng Ye shook his head blankly. “I was in a state of chaos during that time. I can’t remember many things.”

The officer said, “It’s normal not to remember clearly, after all, it’s been so long. The surveillance shows that you bought a bottle of Dichlorvos on the street that day, which happened to be seen by Gao Lan, who was in a car. She mistakenly thought you put the pesticide in the liquor for Cheng Jianbin to drink.”

“I asked a woman in the village with the surname Zhang. She said she did ask you to buy pesticide that day because of rats in her house. Do you have any impression of this?”

Jiang Shi glanced at Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye seemed to be recalling, and after a while, he said, “I remember now. Cheng Jianbin asked me to get liquor, and I met Auntie Zhang on the way. She said there were rats in her house and asked me to bring back a bottle of pesticide for her. But I didn’t expect she would think I…”

The officer patted Cheng Ye’s shoulder with sympathy. “Not all parents are fit to be parents, Mr. Cheng. Don’t be too sad.”

“In addition, Gao Lan has been detained by us on suspicion of human trafficking. Li Zong has been involved in many illegal activities over the years to make money, and according to your testimony, he was also involved in the trafficking. It might even be linked to bigger cases.”

Speaking of this, the officer sighed with some emotion. “That kid had such a vicious heart when he was only in middle school. If he grows up…”

He realized his slip of the tongue, stopped, and said goodbye to them. “Mr. Cheng, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back. Everyone has seen your hardship and difficulties over the years. Rest assured, we will definitely give you justice.”

The officer left, the main door closed, and light shone in through the window.

The sunlight shone in the living room, climbing onto the tips of Jiang Shi’s feet. A chill ran down his back.

He finally understood what Cheng Ye meant when he said he would understand later.

That day, the silence in the police station, the hesitant speech, and the repressed sorrowful narration of a child were all fake.

He had placed himself in the position of a victim, like a real seventeen-year-old boy, who longed for love but was pushed into the abyss step by step by the parents he loved.

In the eyes of the officer and everyone else, Cheng Ye had feelings and warmth. No matter how smart and calm he was, he was just a seventeen-year-old boy, so the Cheng Ye in their eyes would naturally not remember something as insignificant to him as buying pesticide.

He was like a spectator, separating himself from the situation, calmly analyzing how to act to gain the greatest benefit.

As cold-blooded and ruthless as Gao Lan had said.

And just as he had told Jiang Shi, he had never changed.

…

Cheng Ye reached out and took Jiang Shi’s arm. He didn’t speak, but the heat from his palm was scorching, so hot it felt like it could melt Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi turned and hugged him.

Cheng Ye stiffened for a moment, then hugged him back even tighter. His arms clamped around Jiang Shi’s waist and shoulders, as if wishing he could squeeze all his blood and flesh into him.

Jiang Shi buried his face in his chest and heard a low voice from above his head. “You’re not afraid of me?”

The hug was too tight for Jiang Shi to move. He could only shake his head slightly. After shaking it, he added, “I’m not afraid. You’re not like them.”

“How am I different?”

“They are purely bad. You’re different. You’re good.”

A laugh vibrated from his chest. “That’s because I’m only good to you.”

Jiang Shi asked him, “Then have you broken any laws or discipline?”

“Does skipping class by climbing over the wall and getting into fights count?”

“It doesn’t. So you’re a good person.”

After a thought, Jiang Shi stood on his tiptoes and ruffled Cheng Ye’s hair. “Don’t always say you’re cold-blooded and cold-hearted. You’re not. I’ve felt it. It’s clearly warm.”

The young master who was usually stern and cold-eyed with him was rarely this soft-tempered in comforting someone. Cheng Ye was quite pleased, and then couldn’t help but be mischievous.

The two figures, one tall and one short, were intertwined. Cheng Ye grabbed Jiang Shi’s hand and made him touch his body. Through the thin homewear, the outline of his abs could be felt under the palm.

“It’s warm. It only gets warm for you. Feel it.”

Jiang Shi curled his fingertips.

Cheng Ye said, “The part below is warm too. Not just warm, but hot. It even throbs when it’s excited, and spits water when it’s uncomfortable. You should touch it too.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Whether it was black or white, in Cheng Ye’s world, it was always yellow.

On the day of the trial, Jiang Shi and Cheng Ye went.

Gao Lan wore shackles, her expression even older and more haggard than before. She couldn’t find any defense and just sat in her chair crying.

Jiang Shi and Cheng Ye sat in the crowd wearing masks.

But Gao Lan was very sharp when it came to Cheng Ye. A single sweep of the crowd and she saw him. When their eyes met, she began to scream like a madwoman.

“It’s you… you’re the one harming me! You’ve come to take my life, haven’t you…”

After screaming, she cried again.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have… It’s not my fault, I beg you, let me go, I don’t want to die…”

A perfectly fine trial was thrown into chaos by her sudden madness.

Cheng Ye watched for a moment and then looked away. He pulled Jiang Shi out of the courthouse. Their car was parked at the entrance.

After getting in the car, Jiang Shi fastened his seatbelt, very curious. “Why is she so afraid of you?”

Cheng Ye pulled down his mask and leaned over to kiss him.

“She’s not afraid of me. She’s afraid of the ghost.”

The ghost in her heart.