Chapter 94
Chapter 94
The work to salvage Luo Lang’s body did not go smoothly . The terrain was dangerous with rocks everywhere, and the SWAT team took an entire day to descend the cliff to the bottom . Moreover, the valley was extensive, the winds were very strong and the river was turbulent . To search for a body which might not exist at all was much easier said than done .
However, according to the forensic pathologist, judging from Luo Lang’s injuries, there was a very slim chance that he had survived . Possibly, he had one more life left to lose .
Many people were busy, many were anxious, and many were clapping their hands in excitement, ready to celebrate . The conclusion to this earth-shaking case shook the entire police world .
Yet, for the Special Cases Unit, previously the busiest among them, the atmosphere was extremely quiet and stifling .
In fact, from the day that Luo Lang jumped off the cliff, the atmosphere in the group had been terrible, too quiet .
In the gathering darkness, the night was desolate . The sky above the small town was exceptionally quiet and vast .
The wound on Fang Qing’s head was still bandaged . He sat by the window and lit up a cigarette before saying, “I have to go back to Beijing immediately . ”
An Yan played with the Rubik’s Cube in his hand; he had solved and re-solved it so many times that his interest had waned and he was sitting there, listless . When he heard Fang Qing, he also looked up and said, “Laoda, I also want to go back for a visit . . . Gu Fangfang has graduated and is looking for a job . . . I have not been back for so long . ”
Jian Yao also looked towards Bo Jinyan .
He was still wearing his sunglasses and a well-ironed suit; the electronic reader was still on his finger . The expression on his face was warm as he said, “No problem . We’ll arrange for a car early tomorrow morning, and you can all return to Beijing . ”
The other three did not speak for a moment .
“What about you?” Jian Yao asked .
Finally, they were back to the problem of the stalemate between the two of them .
Bo Jinyan leaned on his walking stick and said, with an indifferent expression, “I already have a very long-term work plan and arrangement . ”
Fang Qing said, “Eh?”
An Yan said, “You can’t go by yourself . ”
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Jian Yao said nothing .
Fang Qing took one look at the expression on their faces, then said, “Jinyan, I’ll only be gone for a few days . Even if you want to battle dragons and tigers, waiting a few days won’t make a difference . Wait for all of us to be present, then we can talk about it further . As long as we’re together once again, what obstacle can remain insurmountable?”
An Yan nodded continuously as he said, “I agree . ”
Bo Jinyan also laughed and said, “Naturally, I will need all your help . ”
At this, Fang Qing and An Yan felt more at ease .
However, Jian Yao looked at Bo Jinyan’s inscrutable face and kept silent .
——
It was night .
The police officers who had been working at a frenetic pace for the last half a month had all gone to sleep . However, the light was still on in Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao’s room .
A bedside lamp cast its illumination with a soft glow . This room in the guest house was very simple, but it held the warmest memories Jian Yao had experienced in the past year . After she had showered, she returned to sit by the bed to comb her hair . She noticed that Bo Jinyan had already changed into his pyjamas and was standing by the window, thinking about who knew what .
Was her Jinyan starting to worry about something?
She walked over to him and hugged him from behind . He lowered his head, smiled and said, “Hey, I’ve always liked your hugs . It’s like a little bird clinging on to me, and it’s also like a tree, sturdy and warm . ”
Jian Yao could not help but smile . She turned him around slowly in her arms, gazed at him and said, “Jinyan, do you have something to tell me?”
Bo Jinyan went quiet .
After a heartbeat, he said, “Jian Yao, I can’t tell you anything now . ”
Jian Yao’s heart wrenched . She unconsciously let go of his hand but he re-captured it . She said, “Let go!” He held it even more tightly and said, “I’m not going to . ”
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Jian Yao turned so her back was facing him . “You want to go off by yourself again, don’t you?”
Bo Jinyan said nothing . After a while, he hugged her and called out softly, “Wifey . . . ” Jian Yao ignored him and moved to push him away . However, every part of his body seemed to be glued to her . In the end, they both fell onto the bed .
He touched her face and said, “You don’t have to worry at all; I already have a foolproof plan . ”
Jian Yao laughed bitterly . “If I’m not by your side, watching you, how can you say it’s a foolproof plan?” Bo Jinyan bit his lower lip, then kissed her . Their slightly cool, dry lips collided and sought each other . Jian Yao’s hand gripped his shoulder for no reason . She said softly, “Jinyan, what are you searching for in this life?”
He replied, “What I’m searching for, what I’m protecting, will never change . Even though I can no longer see, even though I left you once, I pledge to be faithful . ”
Jian Yao looked at his pale face, his delicate features, his jet-black hair like floating clouds, and felt what seemed to be endless pain in her heart . She said, “Then, don’t leave me any more . How can you leave me again?”
A sharp pain attacked Bo Jinyan’s chest like a bolt out of the blue, and attacked his eyes as well . He enclosed her hands in his and said, “Jian Yao, I will definitely return . This is my promise to you . ”
Jian Yao’s tears rolled down her face . There was only one thought in her mind: she had to bring him home .
She just wanted to bring this lonely person home .
——
The next morning, a car was parked outside the guest house .
Fang Qing and An Yan were already seated inside . Although travel-weary, they were duty-bound not to turn back .
An Yan kept distractedly looking out of the window to the room where Bo Jinyan had spent the night, but did not say anything . Fang Qing stuck his head out and looked at Jian Yao while asking, “Are you not leaving with us?”
Jian Yao smiled and nodded . “Don’t worry, just go . I will wait with him for you guys to return . Let’s show off the power of the Special Cases Unit . ”
Fang Qing also nodded, but his tone became a few shades deeper . “I’ll come back as soon as I’ve settled matters with Xiaozhe . Tell Jinyan, this enemy is not his alone, but also ours . This entire year, I’ve thought about capturing those beasts and bringing them to justice . Three people of mediocre talent can work together to best Zhuge Liang* . You must wait for us to return . ”
*T/N 三个臭皮匠，抵个诸葛亮 (san ge chou pi jiang, di ge Zhuge liang) – literally, three smelly cobblers can defeat Zhuge Liang . Zhuge Liang is acknowledged as the best strategist of the Three Kingdoms era . The analogy describes how three ordinary people, working and brainstorming together, can surpass the master strategist . It also carries the idea that two (or whatever number) heads are better than one, or that the wisdom of the masses exceeds those of the wisest individual . Read more about Zhuge Liang here .
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An Yan said, “Sister-in-law, I’ll be faster than him, I’m just going to take a look at Fangfang, then I’ll return . ”
Jian Yao laughed and said, “Ok, ok, you guys just go, don’t worry about it . ”
They finally left in the car .
Jian Yao returned to the room, which had one person less, Bo Jinyan . Early that morning, he had left without a sound – while she was in a deep sleep due to her having cried until she was exhausted . Just like the first time, he left quietly and cleanly, taking only some clothes, his walking stick, his electronic reader, his sunglasses, and a handgun .
Jian Yao leaned on the doorframe for a while . Then she took her luggage and walked out . Her face was calm . It was not worried, not angry, not sorrowful, not ready to blame .
A few hours later .
It was some city in some county in some province in southwest China, in some small, dirty, noisy train station . In this day and age, there were still ‘green leather trains’* running here, but there were already fewer of them than before . Those trains only went to the most remote and backward places .
* T/N 绿皮火车 (lü pi huo che) – literally, green leather trains . This probably refers to slow trains that typically are not equipped with air-conditioning .
He sat on a chair in the waiting room, not moving a muscle .
Young workers, farmers and the occasional backpacker walked by, and most of them stole a glance at him . Even though he wore a casual jacket and track pants, the walking stick in his hands and the sunglasses on his face still attracted attention, especially as his face was pale and he exuded a chilly aura . Although he carried a backpack, he seemed to be different from all the rest .
The sun gradually declined and the sky grew dark . It was almost time for the train to depart .
He looked extraordinarily quiet and patient .
Until footsteps came unhurriedly towards him .
The other people looked at him once again, curiosity in their eyes . After all, a woman walking towards a blind man with every appearance of being a very refined individual was a rare sight in such a place .
However, that woman’s gaze was calm . She appeared to be in her twenties, and walked along as if she were on an ordinary street, not looking at the people around her .
She walked to the blind man and squatted in front of him, lifting her head to look at him, then holding his hands . Her clear and peaceful eyes differentiated her from all the other women in the world .
They were whispering, but no one could make out what they were saying .
“Jinyan, I’ve told you before, I want to be the only person in the world you don’t have to protect, but the one who protects you . ”
He had been sitting alone for too long . His fingers were icy, and he remained silent .
She said, “You have your plan, and I have mine . I pledge to be faithful . My plan is to be with you . ”
She said, “I will go with you to the places of danger . Wherever you go, I will go . A day, a year, a lifetime; as long as we’re together . ”
Bo Jinyan bowed his head . His sunglasses covered his moist eyes . He let go of his walking stick and hugged her tightly .
“Jian Yao . . . I promise you, we’ll never be separated again . ”
Ah, I have no interest in dating, but if you kiss me every 10 minutes, I will do anything with you .
You can’t see anymore, so let me be the one to kiss you . I will kiss you every 10 minutes, I will go with you to deal with all the dangerous things in this world .
. . . .
That man living a solitary existence in a villa deep in the mountains,
That man who took such a long time to propose* with a red face .
*T/N 牵着乌龟 (qian zhe wu gui) – bringing a turtle along; probably part of the saying 牵着乌龟去散步 – bringing a turtle along for a walk . Obviously, this is going to be a slow walk . The idea seems to be that taking a slow walk helps one to realise the beauty that is in the world, and that one does not have a lead a frantic, ambition-fuelled lifestyle . Jian Yao probably is only referring to Bo Jinyan being very slow in proposing .
All the bright eyes in this world cannot compare to the bright moonlight in your heart .
Please don’t leave me again .