Five Cases - CH 13

“Mm.” Lu Hui finished off the last beer, then fished his wallet out of his pants pocket, “How much is it?”

“I’ll pay.” Ji Fanyang said, lowering his head to open his wallet.

Lu Hui pulled out his signature sarcastic smile: “Does the runaway child have enough money?”

“I’m not—wait, you know?” Ji Fanyang lifted his head in distress, his forelock swaying slightly with his movements, making him seem both young and innocent.

Lu Hui waved him off, not planning to pry: “How much?” He asked again.

“Eighty five.” Ji Fanyang answered.

Lu Hui combed through his wallet for a while, then took out forty five yuan and put it on the table: “Here’s half. I don’t like to owe people, and I don’t like people to owe me.”

Ji Fanyang had no objections. He took the forty five yuan, added his own forty yuan, then stood up to give the money to the owner.

Lu Hui silently stared at Ji Fanyang’s back. His irises were quite dark, faded around the edges, and when they moved about, they looked like the eyes of a wolf waiting for an opportunity to strike. As the dusky yellow light under the street lamps reflected onto his face, the tall bridge of his nose divided his face into halves; one half was concealed in darkness, while the other was exposed to the light. Within his gaze was both full comprehension and nothing at all.

Ji Fanyang finished paying and turned around. As he walked back over step by step, he was like a sun dispersing the darkness inch by inch. Given his previous experience with four ex-girlfriends, Ji Fanyang could attest that Lu Hui was the most mysterious and most pained person he had met. Beneath the exterior shell of the lunatic investigator who was seven years his elder were the howling cries of a warped soul.

Ji Fanyang stood in front of the table: “Let’s go.”

Lu Hui nodded, stood, then slipped his wallet back into his pocket: “Mm.”

As they walked back to the hotel, Lu Hui said nothing, like a specter. Ji Fanyang also said nothing, following quietly in Lu Hui’s steps.

They showed their badges at the front desk, received their room cards, then took the elevator to the fourth floor.

‘421’ was written on the card.

Ji Fanyang pressed the card to the scanner, and with a “ding”, the door opened.

Ji Fanyang stepped into the room, but Lu Hui stood stiffly in place.

Lu Hui does not like living in strangers’ rooms. He was particularly adverse to places with unfamiliar scents. He shifted on his feet, revealing some anxiety.

Ji Fanyang paid attention to these small movements, and he didn’t press. He took two steps back, giving the wild wolf ample space and time to sniff out its territory. Since the last time, when Lu Hui hesitated to step into his house, as well as when he fled faster than the speed of light afterwards, Ji Fanyang secretly remembered.

Lingering at the entrance, Lu Hui looked around carefully at the room’s furnishings; starting from the wall-mounted TV to the cupboards, heater, chairs, windows, decorative curtains, black-out shades, two single beds, carpets, and washroom, as the items reflected into his eyes, he swiftly cataloged each one to determine what could be used to escape and what could save his life.

He shifted on his feet, then focused on the only living thing in the room—Ji Fanyang. He made it very clear: he did not trust Ji Fanyang.

And he did not trust this situation.

Ji Fanyang waited for a bit, and when he saw that Lu Hui was staring directly at him, he asked hesitantly: “Can we close the door? It’s a little awkward like this.”

Lu Hui was stunned for a moment, then took his first step inside, then another. He closed the door and his back against it, his muscles pulled taut.

Ji Fanyang swapped out his shoes for slippers then walked into the washroom and shut the door with a ‘click’, leaving Lu Hui in the room by himself.

Lu Hui released a breath, relaxing a little bit. He shuffled forward four or five steps and sat down on the bed closest to the door. The cleaning workers had done a good job; the cotton sheets and mattress smelled of detergent.

The rushing sound of water in the washroom stopped, and Ji Fanyang walked out with a bath towel draped over him. His damp hair stuck up messily as he blow dried his hair.

Lu Hui walked in, then hurriedly closed the door.

Ji Fanyang, who had never been treated with this much vigilance before, shook his head. He sat in the chair at the head of the bed, waiting for his hair to dry.

Once he finished washing up, Lu Hui also walked out with a bath towel around his shoulders. His muscles were very solid, but he was rather like a wild wolf patrolling out in a forest.

The two of them laid on their beds, and Ji Fanyang fell into a deep slumber.

Lu Hui tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The unfamiliar smell made his entire body uncomfortable; he laid there stiff as a board regulating his breathing, and after an hour had passed, he finally sank into a light sleep.

【”Lu Hui! Lu Hui!” A young boy was curled up in a corner, his expression pained and vicious, “I want to die, I want to die.”】

【”Let me out, Fei Yang, let me out!”】

【An adolescent little boy grabbed the enormous iron lock with a ‘bang’, turning his head and saying with a warped smile : “Now, it’s only the two of you left.”】

【The mingled odors of dark blood, dampness, as well as a foul stench—likely rat and bat excrement—crashed over him wave by wave, like a vast tide.】

【Two boys, but only one drew breath.】

“Chief Lu, Chief, Lu.” Ji Fanyang stood anxiously beside Lu Hui’s bed and called out to him softly.

Lu Hui gritted his teeth, his eyes screwed shut tightly as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His body was soaked with sweat as he breathed heavily, confirming that his dreamscape was not at all pleasant.

“Chief Lu!” Ji Fanyang raised his voice.

Lu Hui suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. His wolf-like eyes focused on Ji Fanyang as his chest moved up and down, obviously awakening from a nightmare.

“Chief Lu, are you okay?” Ji Fanyang glanced at the display on his phone: two twenty-five.

Lu Hui grabbed two napkins and wiped the sweat off his neck and forehead: “I’m going to shower.” Then he rushed unsteadily to the washroom.

Ji Fanyang laid back down on his bed. He frowned; he could not sleep, either.

Waiting for Lu Hui to exit the washroom after his shower, Ji Fanyang reclined on his bed without moving, quietly listening to the sounds of Lu Hui’s movements.

Lu Hui changed into clothes for going out and lightly opened the door.

“Where are you going?” Ji Fanyang sat up.

“Going out for a walk.” Lu Hui said.

Ji Fanyang disapproved, saying: “I’ll go with you, it’s not safe by yourself.”

Just as Lu Hui was stepping over the threshold, his movements halted. He retracted a step and turned around, “Okay.” He said.

Ji Fanyang thought that, if it wasn’t for his nightmare, Lu Hui definitely would not have agreed. He put on a short-sleeved shirt and long pants, then grabbed the room card: “Let’s go.”

Two people, one in front and one behind, walked onto the elevator. Ji Fanyang broke the silence: “Do you have anything you want to talk about?”

Lu Hui was quiet and conflicted. The elevator descended one level, and Lu Hui said: “No.”

Always a refusal. Ji Fanyang was a little weary, so he nodded, not asking a follow up.

Lu Hui’s train of thought wandered off to a distant place. The end of July was the most difficult time of the year for him to get through. He would have nightmares, often sleeping only lightly. He would go out for walks by himself, taking deep breaths of the cold night air to purify his airways, as well as his heart.

He was like a hyena, a solitary one, roaming in the wilderness, with scars covering his entire body. His words were suppressed, everything heavy and dark buried at the bottom of his heart as he waited for the morning sun to rise. He was also that Bastard Lu, who aimed to provoke everyone’s anger.