3:15 pm, Cottage on the outskirts west of Gao Lan Qi, Meng Xiang Province.
The cottage was an elementary school classroom before the school moved into the city, after which the classroom was converted into a house for rent. It was the hottest time of the day, even though the temperature remained at sub-zero. The entrance of the cottage was covered with frozen water droplets.
A black Jeep, accompanied by the sound of a car’s engine, came driving down the narrow alley towards the cottage. Its wheels came to a stop on the surface of the ice. Under the weight of the car, the ice cracked and murky water began to splash everywhere.
The driver’s door opened. Like a scene from a movie, Miao Ying stepped out. She was wearing a black trench coat and reflective sunglasses. She took a deep breath to steel herself from the nervousness she felt. Just to be sure, she took out her pistol and headed towards the cottage.
The old classroom was shabby. The tiles on the eaves were severely broken and looked as though they could crumble at any time. The chimney was smoking, so it was obvious someone had started a fire inside.
“It’s alright, darling, there’s no danger! Come in!” someone called. Hearing the familiar voice, Miao Ying pushed open the door to see Zhao Yu, whose face was covered in soot from fanning the flames. “It’s way too cold. Luckily I learned how to start a fire in a fireplace when I was younger!” Zhao Yu said as he watched the chimney begin to smoke. He turned to smile at Miao Ying.
“Zhao Yu!” Miao Ying kept a grip on her gun and removed her sunglasses. She was relieved to see Zhao Yu unharmed.
“Ah…” Zhao Yu wiped his dirty hands and stepped forward with his arms open. “C’mon, give me a hug! I missed you so much!” Miao Ying sighed after seeing Zhao Yu’s signature perverted look and gave him a tight hug.
After hugging him, Miao Ying couldn’t contain her anger. “Zhao Yu, do you mind explaining what you were doing? Why are you in such poor condition? I’m not asking you not to follow Jiang Ke, but why didn’t you at least contact me? And… what’s with this fire?” she asked.
“Listen to me, I really didn’t have a choice!” Zhao Yu explained. “I thought since the mystery man helped Jiang Ke escape from jail they would be close. But who would have known they were strangers to each other! Jiang Ke and I were both just pawns in his game!” he said.
“Since the situation wasn’t what you expected, why didn’t you call it quits earlier? When you were following them, you had tons of opportunities!” Miao Ying grumbled.
“How could you think it would be so simple?” Zhao Yu continued explaining. “When I followed them to the outskirts of Jin I accidentally entered a hideout, and later when I spotted an opportunity, I called Li Luoyun for help since you were so far away. After that, I thought the mystery man was one of the investors who Jiang Ke had met so I followed them to the nightclub, and only then did I found out that the man who helped Jiang Ke escape was not among them! So, I got Li Luoyun to ambush them and arrest them all!”
“Well, if that was the case,” Miao Ying said shaking her head, “then your mission was complete. Why are you here in Gao Lanqi?”
“I’m getting to the crucial part!” Zhao Yu said, helplessly shaking his head. He knew that without Zhu Sunfeng and Buzzcut, he would have to continue lying to complete the story. “When the police caught Jiang Ke, I saw two suspicious people with guns and since they appeared in the area where Jiang Ke was arrested, I thought they were either connected or trying to kidnap him.”
“After that… I somehow got into their car and followed them all the way here. Then, I encountered a fire…” he continued. To make his story more credible, he decided to add one more sentence “And hey! Guess what! I made the correct decision to follow them because I actually saw Yu Fusheng at the cattle farm!”
“You’re rash, way too rash,” Miao Ying complained. “You knew they had guns and yet you entered their car. Are you tired of living? What if they had caught you? If you had just called Li Luoyun they would have been arrested and interrogated!”
“No!” Zhao Yu said, dismissing her thought with a wave of his hand. “My phone ran out of battery, so they would have escaped by the time I contacted Li Luoyun! Besides, think about it, even if they were caught would they speak the truth? At most, you would be able to charge them with carrying an illegal weapon.” Zhao Yu felt bad for lying to Miao Ying, but even he found the part where he changed his face too ridiculous. There was no way for him to tell the truth.
“Zhao Yu, what do you want me to say?” Miao Ying asked worriedly. “You’re no longer a young guy capable of making rash decisions like this. Why do you insist on being the hero? Do you know the impact of you helping Jiang Ke escape jail? The entire investigation office is a mess!”
“All of our colleagues thought you were sacrificed and were in low spirits. The superiors didn’t know whether to refer to you as an accomplice or a martyr who died for his country!” she stated.
“Of course I know the consequences of my actions!” Zhao Yu said seriously. “But my dear, you of all people must understand how I felt at that time. I was watching someone point a gun directly at Jiang Xiaoqing, what was I to do? Ignore it? Do you know what was going through my head when the mystery man sent me a bunch of photos of my friends and colleagues? Should I have become a loner to solve the case and become a detective? Do my friends and colleagues amount to nothing more than stepping stones? Miaomiao, if you were me, what would you have done? If that gun was pointed towards me, what decision would you have made?” Zhao Yu asked, shaking his head.
“Zhao Yu!” Miao Ying was trembling. “You keep asking me to understand you, but have you thought about me even for a second? There were videos captured on the bridge. I watched Jiang Ke push you down into the Hong Ming river with my own eyes! Can you imagine how I felt watching that?”
“This…” Zhao Yu was taken aback.
“Yes!” A tear rolled down from Miao Ying’s eyes. “I support and understand you. Of course I don’t want your friends to be put in danger because of you, but you know what I’m afraid of the most? It’s you getting into an accident!” Miao Ying hugged Zhao Yu tightly as she tried to suppress her tears.
At that moment Zhao Yu felt a spark of electricity. The feeling of someone caring for him warmed his body. He hugged the beauty in his arms tightly and gently said, “It’s okay, I will be okay. Miaomiao, I promise you I will not play with my life like this again. I was wrong this time, okay? Miaomiao, when I was younger, I was part of the national diving team. Nothing happened to me even after 20 days of diving. Hong Ming river is nothing…”
Zhao Yu’s ability to brag was second to none and with a few shameless words of comfort, he had Ms. Miao smiling from ear to ear. “Anyway, speaking of which…” Now that Miao Ying had stopped crying, Zhao Yu moved back to the original topic. “The fire at the barn was really abnormal!”
“Oh? How was it abnormal?” Miao Ying asked as she wiped her tears.
“The fire spread really quickly. The area became a sea of fire in the blink of an eye! The flames seemed to have the ability to burn everything to ashes. I’ve never seen anything like it!” Zhao Yu said, recalling the fire with fear.
“Oh?” Miao Ying pouted and asked seriously, “So did you manage to take the opportunity to practice Fiery Eyes?”
“About that…” Zhao Yu raised a brow, patted his chest and said, “No. But I did manage to save the dairy cows from the shed and was crowned Savior of the Cows!”
3:15 pm, Cottage on the outskirts west of Gao Lan Qi, Meng Xiang Province.
The cottage was an elementary school classroom before the school moved into the city, after which the classroom was converted into a house for rent. It was the hottest time of the day, even though the temperature remained at sub-zero. The entrance of the cottage was covered with frozen water droplets.
A black Jeep, accompanied by the sound of a car’s engine, came driving down the narrow alley towards the cottage. Its wheels came to a stop on the surface of the ice. Under the weight of the car, the ice cracked and murky water began to splash everywhere.
The driver’s door opened. Like a scene from a movie, Miao Ying stepped out. She was wearing a black trench coat and reflective sunglasses. She took a deep breath to steel herself from the nervousness she felt. Just to be sure, she took out her pistol and headed towards the cottage.
The old classroom was shabby. The tiles on the eaves were severely broken and looked as though they could crumble at any time. The chimney was smoking, so it was obvious someone had started a fire inside.
“It’s alright, darling, there’s no danger! Come in!” someone called. Hearing the familiar voice, Miao Ying pushed open the door to see Zhao Yu, whose face was covered in soot from fanning the flames. “It’s way too cold. Luckily I learned how to start a fire in a fireplace when I was younger!” Zhao Yu said as he watched the chimney begin to smoke. He turned to smile at Miao Ying.
“Zhao Yu!” Miao Ying kept a grip on her gun and removed her sunglasses. She was relieved to see Zhao Yu unharmed.
“Ah…” Zhao Yu wiped his dirty hands and stepped forward with his arms open. “C’mon, give me a hug! I missed you so much!” Miao Ying sighed after seeing Zhao Yu’s signature perverted look and gave him a tight hug.
After hugging him, Miao Ying couldn’t contain her anger. “Zhao Yu, do you mind explaining what you were doing? Why are you in such poor condition? I’m not asking you not to follow Jiang Ke, but why didn’t you at least contact me? And… what’s with this fire?” she asked.
“Listen to me, I really didn’t have a choice!” Zhao Yu explained. “I thought since the mystery man helped Jiang Ke escape from jail they would be close. But who would have known they were strangers to each other! Jiang Ke and I were both just pawns in his game!” he said.
“Since the situation wasn’t what you expected, why didn’t you call it quits earlier? When you were following them, you had tons of opportunities!” Miao Ying grumbled.
“How could you think it would be so simple?” Zhao Yu continued explaining. “When I followed them to the outskirts of Jin I accidentally entered a hideout, and later when I spotted an opportunity, I called Li Luoyun for help since you were so far away. After that, I thought the mystery man was one of the investors who Jiang Ke had met so I followed them to the nightclub, and only then did I found out that the man who helped Jiang Ke escape was not among them! So, I got Li Luoyun to ambush them and arrest them all!”
“Well, if that was the case,” Miao Ying said shaking her head, “then your mission was complete. Why are you here in Gao Lanqi?”
“I’m getting to the crucial part!” Zhao Yu said, helplessly shaking his head. He knew that without Zhu Sunfeng and Buzzcut, he would have to continue lying to complete the story. “When the police caught Jiang Ke, I saw two suspicious people with guns and since they appeared in the area where Jiang Ke was arrested, I thought they were either connected or trying to kidnap him.”
“After that… I somehow got into their car and followed them all the way here. Then, I encountered a fire…” he continued. To make his story more credible, he decided to add one more sentence “And hey! Guess what! I made the correct decision to follow them because I actually saw Yu Fusheng at the cattle farm!”
“You’re rash, way too rash,” Miao Ying complained. “You knew they had guns and yet you entered their car. Are you tired of living? What if they had caught you? If you had just called Li Luoyun they would have been arrested and interrogated!”
“No!” Zhao Yu said, dismissing her thought with a wave of his hand. “My phone ran out of battery, so they would have escaped by the time I contacted Li Luoyun! Besides, think about it, even if they were caught would they speak the truth? At most, you would be able to charge them with carrying an illegal weapon.” Zhao Yu felt bad for lying to Miao Ying, but even he found the part where he changed his face too ridiculous. There was no way for him to tell the truth.
“Zhao Yu, what do you want me to say?” Miao Ying asked worriedly. “You’re no longer a young guy capable of making rash decisions like this. Why do you insist on being the hero? Do you know the impact of you helping Jiang Ke escape jail? The entire investigation office is a mess!”
“All of our colleagues thought you were sacrificed and were in low spirits. The superiors didn’t know whether to refer to you as an accomplice or a martyr who died for his country!” she stated.
“Of course I know the consequences of my actions!” Zhao Yu said seriously. “But my dear, you of all people must understand how I felt at that time. I was watching someone point a gun directly at Jiang Xiaoqing, what was I to do? Ignore it? Do you know what was going through my head when the mystery man sent me a bunch of photos of my friends and colleagues? Should I have become a loner to solve the case and become a detective? Do my friends and colleagues amount to nothing more than stepping stones? Miaomiao, if you were me, what would you have done? If that gun was pointed towards me, what decision would you have made?” Zhao Yu asked, shaking his head.
“Zhao Yu!” Miao Ying was trembling. “You keep asking me to understand you, but have you thought about me even for a second? There were videos captured on the bridge. I watched Jiang Ke push you down into the Hong Ming river with my own eyes! Can you imagine how I felt watching that?”
“This…” Zhao Yu was taken aback.
“Yes!” A tear rolled down from Miao Ying’s eyes. “I support and understand you. Of course I don’t want your friends to be put in danger because of you, but you know what I’m afraid of the most? It’s you getting into an accident!” Miao Ying hugged Zhao Yu tightly as she tried to suppress her tears.
At that moment Zhao Yu felt a spark of electricity. The feeling of someone caring for him warmed his body. He hugged the beauty in his arms tightly and gently said, “It’s okay, I will be okay. Miaomiao, I promise you I will not play with my life like this again. I was wrong this time, okay? Miaomiao, when I was younger, I was part of the national diving team. Nothing happened to me even after 20 days of diving. Hong Ming river is nothing…”
Zhao Yu’s ability to brag was second to none and with a few shameless words of comfort, he had Ms. Miao smiling from ear to ear. “Anyway, speaking of which…” Now that Miao Ying had stopped crying, Zhao Yu moved back to the original topic. “The fire at the barn was really abnormal!”
“Oh? How was it abnormal?” Miao Ying asked as she wiped her tears.
“The fire spread really quickly. The area became a sea of fire in the blink of an eye! The flames seemed to have the ability to burn everything to ashes. I’ve never seen anything like it!” Zhao Yu said, recalling the fire with fear.
“Oh?” Miao Ying pouted and asked seriously, “So did you manage to take the opportunity to practice Fiery Eyes?”
“About that…” Zhao Yu raised a brow, patted his chest and said, “No. But I did manage to save the dairy cows from the shed and was crowned Savior of the Cows!”
