Silent Reading - Chapter 34: Humbert Humbert One

In a sub-par analogy, what Luo Wenzhou felt like at that moment was about the same as what Zhao Haochang experienced when first heard that his secret at the Fengqing Winery has been unearthed – as if struck by the lightening.

No room for denial, he was caught right on scene – the cute white flowers were still basking in the rain.

Luo Wenzhou mumbled: “I……er……actually…….I was just stopping by on the way.”

On the way to where? If so, our mighty captain Luo was only possibly running away to North Korea.

Before Fei Du started mocking, Luo Wenzhou realized that his excuse was so bad that it’s almost “Zhang Donglai-ish”.

Even if his skin was as thick as the Great Wall, it couldn’t have possible fenced off Fei Du’s razor-sharp looks. Luo Wenzhou was quite embarrassed and tried to avoid making eye contact. He forced some casual chats, and was eyeing for an opportunity to sneak away.

“You two go on.” said Luo Wenzhou, “I’ve got work tomorrow. Peace off.” he stepped out and was about to run into the rain. The next moment, that large black umbrella followed like a shadow.

Fei Du didn’t move his body, only slightly extended the arm that was holding the umbrella. In no time, his other half shoulder was soaked. A light mist enshrouded him.

“So the flowers were from you?” He asked softly.

For seven years, Fei Du came to the cemetery on his mothers’ death anniversary. Sometimes when he was a little late, he would see a small bunch of tasteless white flowers. The cemetery was an open space where many people come and go, and the gate keeper wasn’t much help in naming the secretive visitor.

It looked like the visitor meant no offense, so Fei Du didn’t mind. He thought of many possibilities, none of them came even close to Luo Wenzhou.

“Yup.” Luo Wenzhou admitted very awkwardly, then, trying to change the subject: “Just a courtesy. Um…… I thought you were gone already?”

Fei Du replied with an even more perplexing look: “How do you know that I was gone?”

Luo Wenzhou: “……”

Great. He now completely understands the feeling of Zhao Haochang when he slipped out the truth.

Fei Du casually shoved the umbrella to him, and bent down to pick up the scarf that fell by the tomb stone: “I forgot to take this.”

Luo Wenzhou was “appointed” the umbrella duty by the young master. It felt wrong abandoning post, but staying just meant more awkwardness. Reluctantly, he ended up following Fei Du while pretending to be admiring the scenery around.

The pictures of the dead were lining up around them, some solemn and some friendly but all were greeting them with stares. The heavy rain seemed to have formed a curtain connecting the heather sky with the rolling hills far away. Squirrels have all returned to their tree trunks — Luo Wenzhou scanned around and finally admitted that the only living being to look at was the one next to him within the umbrella-shaded tiny space.

To his surprise, this living being was quite pleasant to look at – so long as he doesn’t glaringly belittle the law and order. A tall and slender young men, Fei Du wore a finely-ironed dark grey shirt that day, which got wet on one side of the waist. The wet shirt gently hugged his waist and, to someone with a taste in men, it was almost flirty. Very pleasant to look at.

Suddenly, Fei Du turned around. His eyes caught those of Luo Wenzhou, and the latter lost a heart beat. But Luo Wenzhou quickly calmed down and snatched his wandering mind back to earth. After clearing his throat, he said: “Can I have a word with you? Brother to brother.”

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Fei Du finally gave that usual fake smile again: “Cap Luo, are you always so brazen?”

The familiar mock from Fei Du somehow broke the awkwardness in the air and made Luo Wenzhou more at ease. He pointed at the steps beneath the tomb stone: “Let’s wait here: it’s not safe to take the mountain road back to the city in this weather.”

Fei Du made no comments, but sat down as told.

Holding the heavy carbon umbrella, Luo Wenzhou felt like a large blooming mushroom. He turned and slightly nodded at the women on the tomb stone, and sat down next to Fei Du.

Fei Du usually gave the impression – at least to Luo Wenzhou – of something delicate but cold, just like the metal-framed glasses that he occasionally wears.

However, now that they were trapped under the same umbrella, Luo Wenzhou was surprised at how warm this man’s body actually was.

The summer rain quickly washed away the steaming heat and left behind cold and wet air, which made the man’s body seem even warmer.

“I sometimes would visit here. ” Luo Wenzhou started, “After all, it was the first murder case that I was involved in.”

Fei Du: “So it left a deep mark and you couldn’t let go?”

“Yes.” Luo Wenzhou nodded quickly, and then fell silent for quite a while. Then, “But it wasn’t your mother that I couldn’t let go.”

Fei Du didn’t mind: “I’m sure Cap Luo has seen all kinds of bodies. Of course……”

Luo Wenzhou: “It was you.”

Fei Du’s sentence was choked off, and he almost choked himself. He turned around and looked at Luo Wenzhou to see if he was going nuts.

Luo Wenzhou didn’t realize that he was misunderstood. He was rubbing the umbrella handle slowly with his fingers, staring at the flat stony steps in front: “I remember that the weather wasn’t very good that day. Tao Ran and I were calling for instructions from the senior officers while rushing to your house. We didn’t know if it was a murder, and the killer could have been close by still. Since you refused to leave the scene, we were worried for your safety. ”

Fei Du seemed a bit moved. His fake smile faded.

“When we finally arrived, you were sitting on the front steps of your house. just like that.” said Luo Wenzhou, “You heard our footsteps and looked up. I could never forget that look.”

It was a look drenched with pleading and hope – although the young boy’s manner was restrained and aloof.

“You reminded me of a story that my mentor once told.”

“It happened when he was still young — You probably weren’t even born yet — There was a big case of missing children. One by one they went missing, all were girls around 10 years old. They got off school like in every other days, but never returned home – as if they disappeared into thin air. Back then, the technology was very limited – no one even heard of DNA testing. To identify a body we could only rely on blood type and the information about the victim provided by family and friends. It remained an outstanding case, and none of the six missing girls were found, not even their bodies. One of the victims’ father couldn’t take it and lost his mind, literally. ”

Fei Du did not interrupt. He sat there and listened quietly.

“He came to the police for updates for at least a hundred times. But there were nothing. Other cases piled up and every single one demanded attention. With this one getting stuck for so long, the police resources gradually shifted elsewhere. They sent a senior officer who’s good with his words to explain to, and to some extent, to get rid of, the clingy old man. That officer was my mentor. He very much felt his pain, and offered all his patience and ears. He tried persuading him to look forward, not back. If possible, have another child or adopt one. But that wasn’t what he was looking for. The father never gave up on the case, and went on investigating on his own. A couple months later, the father told my mentor that he had nailed down the suspect. ”

Luo Wenzhou paused, and turned to look into Fei Du’s eyes.

Their shapes still vaguely resembled those in his memory, but what’s inside has completely changed. Since when do they start looking dull and indifferent? Sometimes even when he was wearing his courteous gentleman mask and smiling at others, those eyes weren’t even focused on anything. They were instead cold and aloof. There was no trace of the sincere, headstrong, and almost impulsive young man anymore.

Perhaps those crystal eyes only existed in Luo Wenzhou’s mind. Perhaps they were nothing but his hallucination.

He was lost in his thoughts and staring for a little too long. Fei Du interrupted it with a tease. ” Please, Cap. With your age and experience you should’ve known this…Don’t you realize that you’re asking for a kiss with that look?”

And experienced he was, Luo Wenzhou wasn’t easily abashed. He coolly replied: “Don’t you worry. Not with you, little brat.”

Another war was underway, and they both felt the tension. Yet this time they were trapped under the same umbrella without Tao Ran’s helpful interference. So, with much self-control to act the sensible way, they both decided to shut up.

Quite a while later, Fei Du finally broke the silence. With a half-raised eyebrow, he asked impatiently: “What does the case have to do with me?”

“My mentor described his eyes to me. They were like a cold cave lit with two burning stacks, fueled by a yearning soul and a glimpse of hope. When I first saw you, you reminded me of these words somehow. ”

Fei Du’s half-raised brow was fully raised now. He sneered: “Must have been your poor eyesight or wild imagination. And then?”

“The suspect he gave was a well-respected middle school teacher with a speckless reputation, and had a dozen awards for good working ethics and for doing charity work. ” said Luo Wenzhou, “Although it seemed crazy, my mentor still investigated along this line.”

Fei Du: “In private?”

“The suspect was a teacher. If the fact that he went under police investigation for the missing children case leaked out, even if he were fully innocent, his reputation would have been smeared, and his normal life would be over. So my mentor could only secretly carry out the investigation. But nothing useful came out. At that time my mentor was more convinced that it was probably just the father’s obsession, and he stopped spending more time on it. But soon after……a murder case broke out. The father poked the teacher in the guts and killed him.

“Hah”, joked Fei Du “You can rest assured that I won’t do the same. I’d more likely pay someone else to do the killing.”

Luo Wenzhou didn’t reply to his provocation. “But what’s appalling was that the police later found clothings that belonged to the missing girls in the teacher’s basement, together with another girl that passed out.”

Luo Wenzhou paused, and took a long long breath. He thought of what his mentor repeatedly cautioned him: “If someone look at you in that way, it means that he has high hope in you. No matter what the outcome is, do not let down of that hope. ”

Fei Du listened to a startling story but wasn’t startled one bit. He asked, curiously, “You had a mentor?”

“Back when I was just starting out, yes. We all had a senior officer as mentor.” said Luo Wenzhou, “I don’t know if Tao Ran mentioned this to you – a couple years ago he died while fighting a suspect.”

Fei Du pondered a bit: “Was it three years ago?”

“How do you know?”

“Because I don’t remember hearing about it.” said Fei Du, “Three years ago was when my father had the accident and I was quite caught up. That was the only period when I didn’t contact Tao Ran that much.”

A question suddenly emerged from who-knows-where, and before he knew it, Luo Wenzhou had already let it out: “Are you really having a crush on Tao Ran?”

Fei Du was in a very relaxed pose, with legs casually crossed and fingers resting on his knees. He smiled back and asked half-jokingly: “What now? Tao Ran’s almost married, and you still want a duel with me?”

Luo Wenzhou chuckled. He suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if the long history of bickering between him and Fei Du had faded away with the smile. He sought for his cigaret case, then remembered Fei Du’s allergy and fought back the urge. But before he put down the hand, Fei Du spoke again: “Go ahead.”

Surprised, Luo Wenzhou asked: “Don’t you have that respiratory problem..?”

Fei Du shrugged: “Nah. I was just trying to give you a hard time. ”

Luo Wenzhou: “……”

A son of a… after all.

He held back the swearing, given the surroundings. Instead, he threw a punch at Fei Du’s shoulder. To his surprise, Fei Du was a real “gentleman”, too “gentle” for such a sudden attack. He lost balance at once. Rushing to catch himself, Fei Du had to sacrifice one hand into the mud.

Luo Wenzhou obviously didn’t plan to apologize. Worse, he found it quite amusing and started laughing out loud.

Fei Du: “……”

What a Savage.

It was a rare peaceful moment between the two. The rain gradually died out, and Luo Wenzhou handed the umbrella back to Fei Du: ” Tao Ran’s new apartment is almost done refurbishing. He’s going to move over the weekend, and there’ll be a house-warming party. Come.”

Fei Du didn’t respond, only stared at him with a poker face. Luo Wenzhou felt that Fei Du was, to some extent, a lot like his cat Luo Yiguo: no matter what crazy shit is happening out there, they would always be able to stay out of it and stay cool, minding their own business. Luo Wenzhou found this analogy quite funny. Wearing a wide smile, he dashed into the drizzle.

Finally, all of the truth had been unveiled. Seemingly.

The wrapping up part was going on quite smoothly. With Wang Hongliang and his culprits’ testimony, the police had completely cleared up He Zhongyi’s suspicion in drug involvement. As for that mysterious text message, no one was able to trace its origin. Together with the two pinhole cameras discovered near the scene, they were all considered part of another great act of the “Best Lead Actor” Zhao Haochang.

Even though he most firmly denied it.

After a couple days in jail, Ma Xiaowei was about to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility, together with Wu Xuechun. They were ready for the next chapter of life.

Luo Wenzhou went to see them go. At departure, Wu Xuechun seemed to have lended him a deep and perplexing look. Wenzhou gave her a light nod, and rubbed Ma Xiaowei’s newly shaved kiwi-like head: “You’ve survived the worst part of the storm, and I’m sure something good will follow. Now YOU be good and be smart!”

After the car had vanished, Luo Wenzhou lit a cigaret by the street and sighed. At least for now, he had to temporarily put aside the two unexplained pieces of the puzzle – they had been sticking in his throat like a stubborn fishbone – Was the death of Chen Zhen really an accident, as Huang Jinglian had insisted? And how in the world would this wary and untrusting Uber driver decide, and manage to blow the whistle under such extreme surveillance of Wang?

After all, shouldn’t he be worried that those up top were the same pack of scums?

The answers just might’ve been buried forever with Chen Zhen’s death.

Ma Xiaowei could still feel the warmth from that young officer’s palm on his head. He silently sat in the car and watched the billboards fly by.

At a stop light, he noticed that the window on the adjacent car was lowered by a slit, and a cellphone screen flashed. The screen was protected by some kind of screener and could only be seen from a certain angle, which happened to be the angel from Ma Xiaowei’s seat. He peeked at the screen and felt a chill down his spine: “Well-done.”

Before he was able to see the hand holding the phone or the face behind it, the window was rolled up, and the car departed to a different direction at the next crossing.

A week later, Fei Du officially ended his many years of psychological counseling sessions, and Tao Ran moved into his new apartment – finally a place that really belonged to him in this City. A large group of colleagues went for the house warming party.

The apartment was…Okay-looking, but was actually a very old and outdated built that had been dressed up for resale.

“Cap Tao, you should consider putting an antique clock at the entrance. Hang it from the wall like those ones in the old European train stations, you know? You can check time on it, AND it’ll look really chic…And over the corner you can hang some succulents – in glass eco-balls. Pair that with a whole set of Mori-style cookware……” Lang Qiao is an ardent fan of home make-over shows, and couldn’t stop touring every corner of the apartment and contributing her “two cents” ever since she arrived, until she bulged into the kitchen and saw Luo Wenzhou commanding the kitchen. Luo Wenzhou was faced away from her and putting together some sauce in the pan. Lang Qiao was in shock: “My my……look who is the chef today!”

“Who did you expect? Your Cap Tao? You want to have instant ramen for the whole meal?” Luo Wenzhou threw her a cold-shoulder, “move away you, if you can’t make yourself useful here.”

Lang Qiao hurried back out and stayed by the kitchen door. The sauce was poured onto some steamed dish, and hot oil was poured on top. Instantly, tantalizing, mouth-watering aroma filled the whole room. Lang Qiao sneaked over to steal a bite, but was cut off by Luo Wenzhou, who, even facing away and tending the last main dish, kept eyes open on his back.

Lang Qiao: “Then why did you always eat at the cafeteria at work?”

“As opposed to?” Luo Wenzhou fluently diced the onion and tossed them into the boiling pot of curry chicken, “Go home and cook a table-ful, then eat it with the cat? I am not going nuts, thank you.”

Lang Qiao’s eyes lit up: “Right! you have a cat! Boss, you are really the sweetest work-mate. Let me see the meow-meow kitty pie! PLEEEEASE….”

“Speak Chinese…” Luo Wenzhou couldn’t stand her cat-talk, and took out his phone while turning down the heat for the curry. He opened the pet-surveillance App: “Help yourself. He might not be in his cat bed though. When would you young people stop worshiping cats and do something productive with your time…”

Lang Qiao religiously took his phone with both hands. The moment that she was connected, a giant cat face filled the screen.

Luo Yiguo stared at the surveillance camera for quite a while, as if he really saw something interesting in there. Then, the “master” leaped onto the windowsill and started butchering the orchids there in bare daylight in front of his audience.

Luo Wenzhou accidentally witnessed the whole process of the nibbling and scratching, and watched how the pot was thrusted on to the ground and broke into eight pieces.

Lang Qiao: “……”

A cat with characters, just like its master.

She handed back the phone sheepishly: “Um…… My condolences…….?”

As the man of the house, Luo Wenzhou felt the urge to be a runaway for a second.

At that moment, Tao Ran stuck his head in: “Did Fei Du say whether he’d stop by? Can he find the place?”

Luo Wenzhou looked down from the kitchen window and saw the large and showy SUV parked downstairs – The other “Yiguo” has already arrived. His nerve twitched: “He’s here. I saw his car.”

It is customary to bring a small gift when attending house-warming parties around here, usually a small household appliance or something useful to the host. Fei Du thought of the sesame-oil-flavored instant coffee machine at the YCPD office, and decided to buy a high-end all-in-one coffee brewer.

The packaging was almost three feet high, and was quite heavy. Master Fei obviously rarely did any blue-collar physical work. This time, for the sake of Tao Ran, he carried the thing into the elevator room……only to find a broken elevator and a couple old man sitting around who went dog walking earlier and were too old to take the stairs.

Baffled for a small while, he finally realized what was going on and took out his phone: “Ge, which floor are you on?”

“Twelfth,” said Tao Ran lightheartedly, “The elevator is broken today though. You might need to take the stairs.”

Fei Du: “…….”

He looked at the gigantic box.

Fxxk.