64 Chapter 63

"Why is it the word on the street?"

"Because I don't especially believe it." Fei Du reached out his legs and stretched in the spacious passenger's seat, causing a tear to appear in his "good student" disguise, a very Fei Du carelessness showing its head. "If there were such a person, the Zhou family would have acknowledged him long ago. Anyway…"

Luo Wenzhou instinctively felt that what came after wouldn't be anything nice, and he was already prepared to interrupted him. But Fei Du, as if suddenly remembering something, voluntarily cut himself off.

Lang Qiao followed up uncomprehendingly, "Anyway what?"

"Anyway…the Venerable Zhou conducted himself rather properly in recent years. Even if there had been some indiscretion in his youth, it must have been only once. He's done a great deal of public good over the last few decades. It's something like the return of the prodigal son. His wife passed away many years ago, so there would be no one to say anything about it. Nobody's perfect. Doesn't it seem even more praiseworthy to have done wrong and then turned yourself around?" Acting as if he were in deadly earnest, Fei Du said to Lang Qiao, "Given the Venerable Zhou's accomplishments, I don't believe he had any need to cover up his past."

Lang Qiao nodded her head repeatedly at this, thinking that Fei Du really wasn't like the "domineering director-general" in pornographic novels. He could be rated as a model of virtue for the age.

Luo Wenzhou gave Fei Du a faint glare of warning. He'd heard the subtext hidden under his virtuous expressions—among their crowd of rat bastards, illegitimate children meant nothing, especially at Zhou Junmao's level. Never mind that his wife had abdicated long ago; even if she'd been living and firmly attached to the man, she still couldn't have done anything about him fathering any number of illegitimate children.

"Although that's an empty rumor, that doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing to this." Fei Du changed the subject, saying, "Zhou Huaixin was making sense when he said that cars are a flagrant murder weapon. Why don't you look into the driver of the responsible vehicle some more?"

As soon as he'd spoken, a phone call came from Xiao Haiyang.

Xiao Haiyang had been dispatched by Luo Wenzhou to understand something of the responsible driver Dong Qian's personal circumstances from his colleagues.

Xiao Haiyang may or may not have had a driver's license; anyway, this Little Glasses perhaps didn't know the meaning of putting on the brakes. Luo Wenzhou felt that even the phone signal was palpitating from the tornado-like speed of his speech. "Captain Luo, I've already spoken with Dong Qian's coworkers, the situation is about the same as Lao Qiu said. There's no referential value. So I took the initiative to look into his bank account, assets, medical history, and family background. Should I report?"

"…Specs, he's already dead, and we aren't in a rush. Come on, take a deep breath and speak a little slower." Luo Wenzhou felt like he was having auditory hallucinations. "You've investigated so much in such a short time? You've even gone through Dong Qian's physicals?"

Xiao Haiyang said, "Dong Qian resided in this city. He was married. His wife died. There were no old people at home. He was a widower raising a daughter. The daughter is called Dong Xiaoqing, twenty-four years old, unmarried, already graduated, works as an accountant at a department store. There's nothing unusual about the father or daughter's bank accounts or assets. All their expenditures basically accord with their income and living standard. Dong Qian had no unsavory habits and lived rather plainly. His income was pretty good. The family had a six-figure sum in savings and owned a house. His most recent physical exam showed he had somewhat elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, but all other indications were normal.—Oh, right, Captain Luo, I also found a person at his daughter's place of work. Dong Xiaoqing's colleagues confirm that she hasn't made any large expenditures lately, hasn't found a boyfriend, and hasn't been ill. She's also very emotionally stable."

Luo Wenzhou had put him on speaker. All three people in the car were shocked by Xiao Haiyang's "eating grapes without spitting out the skin" skill at pouring out words.

Lang Qiao whispered, "My goodness, how very…"

Xiao Haiyang gave a muddled "ah." "Don't we need to rule out the possibility that he was a contract killer? I don't think my train of thought was wrong?"

Luo Wenzhou gestured at Lang Qiao, indicating that she shouldn't waste words and should learn something from the fellow. Then he asked Xiao Haiyang, "According to what you've said, he had neither young nor old dependents, the family had no debts, and they were fairly well-off financially—so was it just chance that he was for once doing a job with such a short timeframe and such a strenuous assignment, or was it normal?"

Xiao Haiyang paused. "Well…"

"Haiyang, it's in fact very common among long-haul truck drivers to drive when exhausted. The old drivers all know how to doze a little with their eyes open without their foot pressing on the gas pedal." Luo Wenzhou said very patiently, "Since Dong Qian has driven trucks this many years without incident, and there's been nothing unusual about his health or emotions lately, why would such an accident happen today? You want to find out whether he was a hired assassin and use the method of exhaustion to eliminate every circumstance you can imagine one by one. This isn't a very rigorous method of investigation, because there are things in this world you can't imagine. If possible, the best thing would be to find a cause for the accident that's supported by evidence."

Xiao Haiyang hastily said, "All right, Captain Luo, I'll go investigate right now!"

"Wait, I was just saying that. We still haven't determined that this was murder. First, why don't you…" Before Luo Wenzhou could finish speaking, Xiao Haiyang had already energetically hung up the phone.

Luo Wenzhou: "…"

He thought he'd understood why Xiao Haiyang hadn't been well-liked at the Flower Market District Sub-Bureau. Aside from being especially bad at conversation, this Little Glasses had just the sort of passion for his work that made it seem like he was ready to seize the throne at any time. In the eyes of Wang Hongliang and the others, he must have been a tremendous hidden security risk. No wonder they hadn't thought at all of bringing him into their own circle.

The person who'd reported the case wasn't being clear about it, all the other individuals concerned were still hurrying towards Yan City, and the medical examiners hadn't yet reached any conclusions, either. Aside from the hot-blooded Comrade Xiao Haiyang, running around seeking the truth, the others had nothing to do. Luo Wenzhou dropped Lang Qiao off on the way and drove back towards the City Bureau with Fei Du, where each would change to his own car and go to his own home.

Refreshing his phone, Fei Du found that the news about Zhou Junmao was omnipresent. He scrolled through a couple of pages. "As expected, someone at the Zhou family is on top of things.—If I call people and tell them to short sell the Zhou Clan while the US markets haven't closed yet, would that be too kind-hearted?"

There was some traffic to make a U-turn at the intersection. Luo Wenzhou gave him a doubtful look. "Are you talking about that Zhou Huaixin?"

"The lead story says 'Chairman of the Zhou Clan Conglomerate Mr. Zhou Junmao has died in a car crash. The circumstances are suspicious, and his second son has already called in the police.'" Fei Du read the headline aloud with a trace of teasing. "What do you think, just making trouble, right? With Zhou Junmao's sort, even if he died a natural death, everyone would still imagine a wealthy family drama, let alone a real accident. Zhou Huaixin is one of the Venerable Zhou's heirs, and he just happens to be the only one currently in the country. If he hadn't come crying and howling to the police right away to demand a thorough investigation, what role would he be cast in by others? After all, everyone thought that Malcolm and Donalbain had killed their benevolent father."

The line of car headlights up ahead was like a dragon with its head stretching away into the distance. Luo Wenzhou pretended not to notice that these words were alluding to him. As if nothing were the matter, he asked, "What was Zhou Huaixin and the Venerable Zhou's father-son relationship like?"

"An unworthy son, living outside of the mainstream, out of tune with the whole Zhou Clan, with his decathlon-running big brother above him to compare him with." Fei Du shrugged. "What could it be like? If you think about it, you'll know there was considerable strain."

"And what about you?" Luo Wenzhou asked quietly. "As far as I know, you didn't go out of line when you were a teenager, and you're an only child. Why was your relationship with your father strained?"

At first Fei Du froze. Then he turned to Luo Wenzhou and slyly dodged the subject. "Hm? Is Captain Luo so interested in me? I've heard that according to the unspoken social rules in our country, people only ask after others' family backgrounds when they regard someone as a potential mate."

As he spoke, he half-turned, leaning a little closer to Luo Wenzhou. "Are you sure you want to know? I catch your drift, then."

Just then the car in front of them shuffled forward. Luo Wenzhou stepped on the gas and leapt forward, then put on the brakes, sending Fei Du crashing back against the passenger's seat.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't talk about it," Luo Wenzhou said dully. "Don't give me any of that."

Fei Du laughed, not speaking.

The two of them sat in mutual silence for a while. The stoplight at the intersection went through a cycle, and the traffic in the U-turn lane stopped again. They'd have to wait for the next opportunity. The impatient drivers all around honked their horns one after another. Occasionally someone would roll down a window and look out; samples of all kinds of music leaked out of their cars.

The smile on Fei Du's face gradually disappeared. Perhaps it was because the night was thick, and perhaps it was because the densely packed crowd had a particular feeling of loneliness. He suddenly spoke: "I sometimes find that it can be very difficult for a person to escape his parentage and the surroundings he grew up in."

Luo Wenzhou looked at him.

"Thoughts, habits, disposition, manners, level of virtue, cultural accomplishments… These things, which can be altered later, are like the branches and leaves of plants. As long as you're willing, you can prune yourself into any direction." Fei Du leaned back in his seat, looking out into Yan City's night sky with his eyes narrowed. "But the deeper levels, the most essential things, are very hard to alter. The things you encounter in the earliest surroundings of your childhood, when you have no notions about the world, settle into your unconscious mind. Traces of these things will be hidden in all the abstract concepts you take in through your native language. You won't notice it yourself, but those things will shroud your whole life."

At this point, it was as if Fei Du had exhausted his greatest efforts. There was a door in his mind, a very thick door with its hinges mottled with rust; even using all his strength, he could only open it this little crack.

Luo Wenzhou waited patiently for a while, but he didn't continue.

Fei Du said, "Captain Luo, could you lend me your hand?"

Following this advance notice, all the nerves in Luo Wenzhou's entire body instinctively collected in his right hand laying at his side. Then, Fei Du very slowly and gently covered the back of his hand. His fingers were long and slender, ice cold, but the palm of his hand was warm. He didn't press hard, leaving him the opportunity to draw back at any time.

An indescribable feeling meandered up from Luo Wenzhou's right hand. The temperature in the car abruptly went up at least two degrees. The muscles of Luo Wenzhou's forearm instinctively tensed, but he somehow didn't pull back his hand. Fei Du bent his head, carefully holding his hand, making Luo Wenzhou think of Luo Yiguo, startled awake by some nightmare, running to his pillow in the middle of the night.

Suddenly, the car behind them honked impatiently. Luo Wenzhou gave a start and found that the light had already changed and there was an empty space ahead of him, inviting others to cut in line.

Fei Du's momentary fragile expression softly vanished in thin air like steam. The ends of his peach blossom eyes turned up, and he quickly bent his head and kissed the back of Luo Wenzhou's hand, fingers lightly brushing the most sensitive place on his palm. When Luo Wenzhou immediately pulled his hand away, Fei Du blinked innocently at him. "Goodness, I'm sorry. Captain Luo's charms are truly too powerful. I accidentally advanced a little too far."

Luo Wenzhou: "…"

This joker really had seduction down to a military strategy.

Luo Wenzhou lost his temper. As he drove through the difficult intersection, he said, "Fei Du, have I spoiled you too much?"

Fei Du considered his expression, felt that he'd gone overboard, and thereupon shut his mouth, not pouring any more oil onto the fire. As Luo Wenzhou irritably left the flow of traffic for the west entrance, he held tightly to the handle of the car door as they dizzily flew back to the City Bureau.

"We 'normal people,' proper or not, aren't in the habit of getting it on with our acquaintances." Luo Wenzhou, his face slightly grim, indicated that Fei Du should get out of the car. "If you're hard up, go find your picture-painting little skeleton of a drinking buddy."

Then he shut the car door, turned, and left.

Fei Du sat alone in the service car among the unpleasant smelling aromatherapy, sampling the discomfiture Luo Wenzhou had left behind. He thought that the "taste" was unusually potent; he very much wanted there to be a continuation.

Xiao Haiyang pushed up his glasses and jogged all the way to the hospital, pulling out his ID as he ran, flashing it at a girl who seemed to have lost her soul. "Are you Dong Xiaoqing? Hello, I'm…"

Dong Xiaoqing's cold gaze interrupted him.

"The police?" Her eyes were red and her voice was thickly nasal. "I know. Didn't you also go to my job to investigate? What, you didn't find anything, so you came to interrogate me, too?"

Xiao Haiyang wasn't very good at talking to people. He didn't know for a time how to respond. Flustered, he cleared his throat, then very obnoxiously said, "I was only getting an understanding of the circumstances…"

Dong Xiaoqing stared at him stubbornly.

Xiao Haiyang racked his guts and belly for an age, then very unskillfully opened his mouth and asked, "Did Dong Qian ordinarily take on this sort of difficult job? As far as I know, your family…"

"My family doesn't have any high-interest loans, no one has an incurable illness, and my dad wasn't a gambling addict who couldn't pay his debts. We may have been poor, but we got on all right. We didn't need to kill someone for a bit of money!" Dong Xiaoqing grabbed her phone; the popular topic was fermenting online, opening its bloody maw towards the girl who was alone in the world. She abruptly hurled the phone at Xiao Haiyang.

"My dad was in an accident. It was his fault, his responsibility. If there's money that needs to be paid to compensate, I'll undertake to pay it. If I don't have enough, I can borrow it. Even if I have to work back-breaking labor all my life, I'll still return it. But you can't slander him like this out of nowhere! He's dead, he has no mouth to speak for himself. Must you dip your buns in human blood to eat them?"

Xiao Haiyang silently picked up Dong Xiaoqing's phone, not quite knowing what to say. "Well…"

"My mother died in a car crash. Because of that, he didn't dare to touch a car for a whole year before finally getting back behind the wheel." Dong Xiaoqing's tears rolled down in a torrent as she glared hatefully at Xiao Haiyang. "Now you're saying that he crashed into someone for money? How can you be like this? How can you people be this bad?"

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