*Ling, Ling........* My phone rang. I quickly jumped up and picked up the phone. It was from Dong Zi.
My identity had been exposed. I let him go to school today to look around especially Jiang Li's reaction. I prayed the brat was too busy with his school assignments to take note of the news these last two days. If he knew, I really did not know whether I would have the courage to stand in front of him and say sorry to him.
"Hello Dong Zi, how is it?"
"Senior Sister, that kid did not turn up for class today. I asked the teacher and was informed that he was sick. I had sent him text messages but he did not return any, so, probably he is really sick."
With a tight frown I hung up the phone and left without a choice, I switched on the phone that I had used as an undercover. My heart was unsettled. After a while, several text messages burst forth and all of them were text reminders from Jiang Li's phone, about four to five and then a text message prominently appeared: Why was it me?
I looked at the message for a long time, then came to my senses and with a guilty conscience, I quickly switched off the phone. It was early summer, the weather was hot but my hands and feet were cold.
This night I did not sleep well. The next morning I felt low-spirited and took a taxi to the Bureau. When I reached Lao Tan's office, he reprimanded and scolded me again and it seems that he was venting his frustration on me and finally he also criticized me. "As a dignified police officer you have committed a principle mistake and if the police in the bureau are all like you..... standing up for everyone, then what is the use of 110? *(this is an emergency number). A useless setup? Stupid behavior.....if the colleagues nearby did not arrive early, do you know the consequences? If anything had happened to you, how am I going to answer your father?"
Considering that I had done a meritorious service with this matter, Lao Tan let me off with mercy, did not stop my pay nor demoted me and only instructed me to hand over my gun.
Resentfully I sat in the office of Li Fang. Because of the old unsolved cases, the office colleagues were depressed and from time to time, some people would sigh. Even the elite police when they encountered such cases, no matter how good one's fists were, they would still feel frustrated.
Li Fang sneaked furtively over to me and told me in a low voice tone only I could hear. "Bureau Chief had made his move on Deputy Chief Tan and this time he is suspended."
"On what excuse?"
"The cases not solved and work performance not good. There are several wall vines that have begun to support Deputy Chief Zhang."
My heart became cold. With an expressionless face, I nodded, drank my tea and shook my head, then I decided to go home to sleep.
Outside the sunshine was dazzling and a group of girls was laughing shrilly as they walked passed. Their hands were carrying small bags and big bags and I realized that I have not gone shopping for a long time. But I was not enthusiastic in using my leisure time this way and feeling down-hearted, I stood for a while and was about to leave when I noticed a slender young man standing in the shadows across the street. Beautiful eyes looking at me from a distance, with a gloomy face.
Suddenly my heart jumped.....it was Jiang Li.
A 24 years-old woman met the eyes of the 18 years-old boy. I felt cowardly, with the impulse to turn and run away. But my feet stuck to the ground and watched in a trance as he crossed the road using the pedestrian walk. He stood proudly two steps away from me, just like in our first meeting. He raised his eyes arrogantly, putting no one in his sight and stood proudly like a little prince.
My heart felt bitter. In front of me was the original Jiang Li who was cold and alienated and that boy who had once smiled brightly at me, who had silently shown his concern for me had been strangled to death by me. I was guilty.
In the sun, his thin face was pale, the lock of black hair on his forehead moved with the breeze, emitting a feeling of sadness, he said. "I have waited for you here for the last two days."
"Why was it me? I cannot figure out. What can you get from me? Or what can you get from my family?"
He gave a cold humph with young people's self-mockery, his eyes without warmth and asked with a sense of suffocation. "Are you all fake? Name, number, family address, whatever story of your parent's divorce, ha......in the end, I was the silly one, I believed everything, I believed all your lies, Police Office Fang. You are very capable."
He gave me a cruel laugh and also a thumbs up. And I, Fang Liang Liang had, in the past, never been this embarrassed, never been so speechless. Every word that he said was like a big slap in the face, so painful that my ear tingled.
"Jiang Li, I......" At this time, I was so embarrassed that I could not find the right words to explain to him. The fact was too unbearable and really there was nothing to be said.
"Don't.....you don't .....I don't know you. I only know that girl, Jian Mei Da. So don't call my name. When I hear you call my name.....it makes me nauseous." From his lips came strong mockery. "When Police Office Fang calls my name, I will feel afraid. I am only 18 years old and has always been a good law-abiding citizen, not worthy of Police Office Fang's concern."
He moved a step closer to me, slightly squinted his beautiful cold black eyes and cruel words spewed from his mouth as if exhausting all his strength. "Fang Liang Liang, in future stay away from me, the farther, the better.....huh."
The boy's hurt and his pretense with putting up a front and his cold eyes still lingered. I was at a loss and as I stood in the sun, I felt that all my beliefs were exposed under the sun and also felt the emptiness in my heart. Jiang Li who had walked away a few steps suddenly turned. "Hey."
I looked up at him automatically and he said. "Who is that man, Surnamed Kang?"
I said. "He is my boyfriend."
I moved my lips with difficulty. After listening, his face turned ashen and he nodded his head.
"Sure enough." Jiang Li lowered his head ane he laughed. His eyes were cold. "Sure enough, it was only me that was foolish. Oh, so ridiculous."
"No, it's not like this. Jiang Li, don't say that. It was all my fault, I was in the wrong. I should be punished." I could not stand to see the hurt and sadness in the boy's eyes. I frantically pulled his clothes and bitterly begged. "Please do well in your entrance examination, okay? Don't think of irrelevant things because I deceived you. Right, just think that I am a scum, not worthy of you to hate me nor worthy for me to ruin your future or else......or else.......I will feel guilty for the rest of my life."
My cheeks were wet, my transparent tears dripped down onto the back of my hands and my feelings of guilt had made me shed tears. Jiang Li gave me a cold look. Unmoved by my tears, he forcefully pulled away from my hands that was clutching his clothes. "Let go of your dirty hands."
I slowly let go and bowed my head.
Above my head, the young man's tender voice floated to my ear. "I naturally will not waste my own future because of little people like you. Really Police Officer Fang, who do you think you are? What? You think I like you? Oh.....why don't you look in the mirror, wrinkles are slowly climbing up, old woman."
I was immersed in great depression. Before he left, his gentle voice, not light nor heavy, floated over and shook my heart. "Fang Liang Liang, I will not forgive you. Will not."
The young man walked farther and farther away until his back view disappeared around the corner. As I stood under the sun, suddenly I felt at a loss.
At night, I, Stone and Dong Zi agreed to meet up for a drinking session. Stone brought along his girlfriend who was learning ballet and sure enough, his girlfriend had a dimple when she laughed. She was a charming and likable little girl.
Dong Zi was depressed, apparently hiding something in his heart and was ashamed to talk about it. It was only today that I heard from Li Fang talking about Dong Zi's family matters. Originally, this guy seemed to be heartless but in fact, his family burden was very heavy. His mother's mental illness had dragged on for many years without any improvement and also he had an old grandmother. At a young age, he had to bear the burden of the family but Dong Zi had never complained to me. Every day he would be smiling, occasionally he would amuse others and act childishly, making everyone want to cry and laugh at the same time.
I used to think he was a timid mouse but today I looked at him differently and with better understanding.
Beside me, there are a lot of strong people and perhaps Jiang Li could also be strong to face the darkness of human nature, until the day he could see through everything.
I looked up at the bright moon in the sky and could only comfort myself.
Because of the matter that happened the last two days which made I and Fei Ge into popular figures, Stone was excited. He filled cup after cup of beer for me. "Lao Da, I am angry. The two of you does not treat me as a brother.....you did not look for me when you went for the bad guys. Did you consider Stone as your brother?"
A big man, once excited he would sob and upon seeing he was about to cry, his girlfriend who was attending to him widened her big eyes and unclear about the situation, asked repeatedly. "Shi Le, Shi Lei, what is the matter with you?"
Stone really cried with two drops of tears running down his face. He removed his glasses and used his sleeve to wipe them, pursued his lips and said. "Lao Da do not want me and don't regard me as a brother."
While talking, he began to whimper and wiped with his sleeve which gave me a headache. My hand stretched out, gave him a slap on his melon head and the guy cried out in pain. His girlfriend looked at me with her tearful eyes, showing me her tender censure.
I finished the cup of beer and started to him a lecture. "How old are you now? You still think about fighting? You think it is a small fight like during our high school? They were vicious desperate criminals and this time I and Fei Ge almost lost our little lives. That scene, I don't want to experience a second time, I'm not joking. As we grow older, we should cherish more our own life and with the knowledge that we can live a simple life is the greatest happiness. As for those excitement, those happy times, the experiences in high school was well worth it. At a certain age, we can only do certain things and that is the basis. Don't blindly wish for something."
I strongly and sternly gave them a lecture and intimidated the three young people who blankly nodded their heads. In fact, this reason I had only recently realized and it was better to realize this when one was still young. An adult should not be confused, for as we walked down a path, we get an insight, as we walk, we learn to love.....this was probably the wonderful aspect of life.
Halfway through the meal, Dong Zi had to leave early for another dinner appointment. Stone's girlfriend sat obediently beside him and helped him to crack groundnuts shells as I chatted with Stone. Stone was now in the education sector and the news that he got was a lot more. I gave him my attention and absorbed all the news that he shared with me.
"Lao Da, you and Jiang Lao Da's high school principal, isn't his surname Yang?" He sneakily leaned closer to me, waving his hand. "Lao Da, bring your ears closer, I'll tell you an exclusive news."
It was said, do not listen to the impropriety but when I heard it was regarding my favorite old principal, I hesitated and thought about whether I should listen to Stone or not. But if it was happy news that would be best and I might be able to give him a helping hand. So I perked up my ears to listen.
"The matter is like this, some time ago, a manager, also an old student of Principal Yang, who worked in my dad's hotel just came back from an inspection visit to Macau and said he saw Principal Yang in Macau."
"Principal Yang went there to gamble?"
"No. At first, the manager also thought the same, then when he saw the haggard look of the principal, he asked a local snake* and guess what?" (Local snake is a local bully who has connections with triads or gangs who control the local community)
"What?"
"Principal Yang's son went to Macau to gamble, owed people a lot of money, then don't know how he was kidnapped by the underworld and was taken to Bangkok. Principal Yang rushed over to Macau but did not even see anyone there."
I had a very strange feeling. My heart sank and continued to listen as Stone went on. "That manager asked around, it was said that his son lost 1 million, then re-borrowed on high interest which snowballed into something like almost 3 million, ai.....and this was several months ago. It is not known whether his son was saved and if not handled well, he may have died. Our school news channel mentioned something about Principal Yang and said that at a meeting, they saw he was inhumanely thin. His head was going bald, probably worried about his son."
I took a gulp of beer. "When did your manager meet the principal in Macau?"
Stone leisurely lighted up a cigarette and chewed on the peanuts that his girlfriend handed over to him. He recalled. "Probably in February, just after the New Year. I also heard the news during a dinner, that was only when my buddies casually mention it and I was not concentrating that time. Today, I'm telling you because it just came to my mind and anyway this happened quite some time back. I guess that now the problem has been resolved."
Stone and his girlfriend were in a discussion on the fragrant crispy peanuts and I absent-mindedly took a sip of my beer. Bad premonition filled my heart. I did not believe that based on Principal Yang's fixed salary, a normal elderly could come up with 3 million, such an astronomical figure......3 million is not a small amount. Unable to come up with the money was not just casual talk and this matter could not be easily settled.
Hacking off arms and legs, peeling off skin, the triad has their ways of making you obediently try to find ways to come up with the money. Like a vampire, they will slowly drain every drop of blood from you until they cannot get any more benefit from you. Once a person gets involved with these vampires, his life will be hell.