Volume Two: Second Scroll
The End of the Green Duckweed (7)
In the end, everyone got what they wished for, yet they all went against their original intentions.
“Lin-jie, do one, do one!” Song Yuhang heard the cheers from downstairs before she had even finished walking down the stairs.
She leaned over the railing and glanced down.
Lin Yan had lost a game and her forfeit was to do a pole dance.
“Isn’t this a bit much?” The woman leaned against the liquor table, standing lazily with a glass of wine in her hand. Her gaze was rippling; she seemed a little drunk.
The crowd whistled and jeered. “You have to be willing to bet and accept the loss1.”
“Exactly, and it’s a rare chance with Captain Song not around.”
“Besides, it’s just a dance. Just now, what’s-his-name, Xiao Wang, lost and had to pick up Lao Zhang face-to-face.”
Two men had already done a face-to-face carry around the room. Given the occasion today, she didn’t want to be a wet blanket.
Lin Yan placed her wine glass on the table, flicked her long hair back, and loosened her tie. She went ahead and unfastened her discipline button2 as well, revealing the slender, fair column of her neck.
“Alright, then. It’s been a while since I’ve moved around anyway. Time to stretch my muscles.”
The music started. Lin Yan leaped onto the stage, and with her high heels, lotuses bloomed with every step3. With her every move, her shirt became slightly disheveled; the spring scenery that the uniform buttons couldn’t contain at all was ready to come out at a call4. Added to that was her fiery gaze; every gesture exuded the fatal charm of a mature woman.
Song Yuhang ground her teeth.
Damn it, I look away for one second and she’s out there seducing people again, and again, and again, and again!
The people below cheered along, shouting their approval, raising their phones to take pictures, and waving their flashlights.
Lin Yan was just getting into it when she suddenly felt a wall standing behind her. Her eyes darted around, and she let go of the pole, smoothly climbing onto the person instead. Her slender hand slid gently across her shoulder, from left to right.
Song Yuhang’s eyes followed her every move.
Lin Yan danced her way in front of her, the corners of her lips curling into a mischievous smile. She placed both hands on her shoulders; their distance was intimate without any gap.
She swayed to the beat of the music, her lips brushing faintly against her chin.
Song Yuhang reached out to grab her waist, but she slipped away like a swimming fish.
The police officer, thoroughly teased, felt a fire ignite in her heart. She simply grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
Lin Yan smoothly arched her back in her arms, her waterfall of long hair whipping through the air.
The hem of her shirt was also pulled out, revealing a perfect mermaid line5.
The audience below stared, their eyes nearly popping out.
Song Yuhang frowned, tightened her grip on her waist with a bit of force, and pulled her back up.
Lin Yan leaned into her embrace, panting slightly. Her pupils were dark and bright, a smile played on her lips, and she slowly extended her tongue to lick her lip.
Fuck.
Song Yuhang swallowed hard, a thin sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead. She hadn’t done a thing, yet her heartbeat was like a pounding drum6.
Sweat trickled down her chin.
Lin Yan’s fingernail lightly scraped across her Adam’s apple.
Song Yuhang’s breathing suddenly grew ragged, and her grip on her hand tightened.
Lin Yan then shoved her away again.
Song Yuhang staggered back two steps. Watching her flip and spin around the pole, she seethed with frustration.
She took the initiative and stepped forward to become the pole herself, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind and swaying along with Lin Yan’s movements.
Song Yuhang ground her teeth by her ear. “You just wait for me when we get back to the room.”
Lin Yan didn’t shy away, but instead played along with her.
“I’ll wait, then. What new tricks could you possibly have?”
Song Yuhang’s eyes narrowed slightly as she executed a hip-thrusting move common in partner dances.
“Last time, seven days…”
Lin Yan’s face flushed red, and she stomped down with her high heel.
“Shut up!”
Song Yuhang chuckled, swept her up into a princess carry, and jumped straight off the stage.
The onlookers were not happy, howling in protest.
Duan Cheng teased, “Captain Song, Captain Song, that’s not very sporting of you! Lin-jie was being a good sport. What a rare opportunity! We won’t get to see this again in the future, right?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
“A penalty, a penalty!”
Song Yuhang put Lin Yan down, picked up the glass of wine Lin Yan hadn’t finished, and with a heroic air, downed it in one gulp. “Fine, I’ll drink!”
Lin Yan rolled her eyes at her repeatedly, but she acted as if she didn’t see. Every time Lin Yan tried to raise a glass, someone would snatch it away.
In the second half of the game, she didn’t even manage to finish a single glass of wine; Song Yuhang had blocked them all for her.
The group partied until late at night before they finally went home, satisfied.
Lin Yan supported her as they shuffled along. Song Yuhang stuck close to the wall, occasionally bending over to dry heave.
Lin Yan scolded her while patting her back. “You can’t even hold your liquor, yet you drank so much. What if you have an allergic reaction again?”
Song Yuhang wiped her lips. Perhaps she was very drunk, as her eyes shimmered with moisture. “It’s fine, I’m happy… Besides, I’m… not allergic anymore…”
Lin Yan froze, remembering what Duan Cheng had told her.
“After you left, Captain Song always went drinking alone. Our patrol officers picked her up from bars and off the streets several times.”
A person who couldn’t drink well and was allergic to alcohol—what kind of mood must she have been in to drink all that liquor?
When she was passed out drunk on the street, was there ever a moment when she wished she could just sleep forever?
Lin Yan’s eyes grew hot. She helped her up, slung an arm over her shoulders, and stumbled toward their room, cursing under her breath.
“Damn it, you’re happy, but on our wedding night… you get this drunk for this old mother7… and I still have to take care of you…”
Song Yuhang thought she was genuinely angry. She lifted her up and pinned her against the hotel room door, pressing their foreheads together and smiling apologetically.
“I’m sorry… hic… I’ll… listen to you… From now on… I’ll never do it again…”
Lin Yan pinched her nose in disgust and turned her head away. “Get lost. Stay away from me, you stink.”
Song Yuhang held her with one arm and turned the doorknob with the other, staggering backward into the room.
Lin Yan’s heart was in her throat.
“Left, there’s a shoe cabinet on the left! Go right! Don’t hit the coat rack! The bed! The bed is over there!”
After several near-disasters, Lin Yan was terrified she would fall and take her down with her. Song Yuhang carried her as she stumbled around the room for what felt like an eternity before finally bumping into the edge of the bed. Her knees buckled, and she fell backward onto it with Lin Yan.
With her as a human cushion, Lin Yan was naturally unharmed. Before she could get up, Song Yuhang rolled over on top of her, nuzzling against her like a large canine, her voice sticky and sweet.
“Lin Yan, Lin Yan, Lin Yan… Yan Yan… Wife… we’re married.”
Lin Yan was successfully grossed out. A blush rose on her cheeks as she pinched her ear. “Tsk, tsk, Song Yuhang, your drunken behavior is just terrible.”
Song Yuhang slapped her hand away and buried her head in her chest again, smacking her lips.
Lin Yan couldn’t take it anymore. She lifted her head up and said through gritted teeth, “Go. Take. A. Shower.”
Song Yuhang’s eyes were hazy, but her heart was like a bright mirror8.
“Together, together.”
Lin Yan could almost see a tail wagging behind her.
“Do you want to sleep in this bed or not?” she sneered.
Song Yuhang nodded eagerly. “I do~”
“Then hurry up and go!”
Lin Yan was furious. Song Yuhang looked aggrieved. “But I want to go with you…”
Lin Yan grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. “You think I don’t know what you’re thinking?! Who wants to soak with you when you stink like this! We’ll talk after you’ve showered!”
Song Yuhang looked pitiful at the first half of the sentence, but her eyes lit up at the second half. She scrambled to her feet in a flash.
“Okay, I’ll go right now!”
Lin Yan’s roar followed her from behind. “The bathroom is that way!!!”
“Oh—” Song Yuhang drew out the sound, retracting the hand that was about to open the walk-in closet, and shuffled into the bathroom while holding onto the wall.
After she left, Lin Yan picked up the landline and called the hotel’s front desk, asking them to send up a bowl of sobering-up soup.
A short while later, the doorbell rang. She took the bowl from the waiter’s hands and noticed it wasn’t very hot. She frowned but didn’t say anything, letting the waiter leave. She turned around and put it in the microwave, setting the time and temperature so it would be ready for Song Yuhang to drink after her shower.
The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.
While waiting for her to shower, Lin Yan lay on the bed with nothing to do. Her gaze fell upon a file placed on the nightstand.
The official seal on the cover read: Binhai Provincial Public Security Department.
Lin Yan reached out and picked it up.
When Song Yuhang came out of the shower, the file was back on the table, untouched.
She walked out wrapped in a bathrobe, drying her hair.
Lin Yan sat on the bed, playing with a U disk9. Without looking up, she said, “The sobering-up soup is in the microwave. Drink it.”
Song Yuhang obediently went to get it. The temperature was just right, perfect for drinking.
She gulped it down in a few mouthfuls, then went to rinse her mouth before walking back to sit on the edge of the bed.
The shower had sobered her up considerably.
Song Yuhang: “You saw Jingzhe?”
Lin Yan didn’t hide it, still fiddling with the U disk, spinning it between her fingertips.
“How did you know?”
Song Yuhang smiled faintly and plucked a short red hair from her shoulder. “This is the physical evidence.”
Lin Yan glanced over. “Oh, not bad. You’d be a good fit for our Technical Investigation department.”
Song Yuhang’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint in them.
“However, this also means that you two… had close contact.”
It probably got on her when she grabbed the other person’s collar.
Lin Yan looked up and gave her a provocative smile. “Since you’re so smart, why don’t you guess just how close our contact was?”
Song Yuhang ground her teeth. “Lin. Yan.”
She knew perfectly well it was a sore subject, yet she still had to poke the bear. This woman was really asking for it.
Before she could launch a retaliatory strike, Lin Yan had already grabbed her collar and pulled her close. Her hound-like nose sniffed at her neck, her gaze as sharp as a sword.
“You disappeared suddenly during the banquet, so there must have been a compelling reason. Besides the scent of your shampoo, there’s also a trace of cheap men’s cologne. The other person isn’t well-off, likely one of the waiters present today. Tell me, who was he?”
“And, this file. Explain.”
Song Yuhang was dumbfounded. She had already showered, how could she still smell that?!
Lin Yan shoved her away and snorted coldly. “All those years as a forensic medical examiner, you think they were for nothing?”
Song Yuhang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that in a marriage between two police officers, there were destined to be no secrets.
“It was Guo Xiaoguang. I also saw Director Feng. He gave me the file.”
Thinking about what Guo Xiaoguang had told her, the smile on Song Yuhang’s face faded, replaced by a touch of melancholy.
“He and his mother are still alive. Zhao Junfeng helped them get a hukou10 and change their identities.”
Her gaze shifted back to the file.
“There’s one more thing, I…”
Lin Yan knew what she wanted to say. “You’re hesitating, right?”
Song Yuhang nodded, taking her hand and clasping it in her own. “Yes. I’m afraid I won’t be able to take good care of you. If something happens, I’ll be leaving you all alone.”
The fact that she had brought the file back meant that she had already made up her mind deep down, but her concern for Lin Yan was making her reluctant to finalize the decision.
Lin Yan knew that this was the moment she needed to give her some confidence and encouragement.
She looked up along their joined hands, gazing into those deep eyes, a pleasant smile gracing her lips.
“But I still love the way you look when you’re in your uniform, catching criminals. It’s especially beautiful.”
And especially handsome. She was the light in her heart, and her faith.
Song Yuhang’s throat moved. She pulled Lin Yan into her arms, stroking her hair intermittently.
“What about you, then? What will you do?”
“Me?” Lin Yan clutched her clothes, rubbing against her with a sense of attachment, and took a deep breath of the faint fragrance on her.
“Although the Chunan case is solved, I often think about people like Mother Chen and Guo Xiaoguang and his mother. There are still so many of them. Their faces constantly appear in my mind. I’m still willing to fight for the truth.”
“If the world is destined for darkness, I want to be the sharp sword that cleaves through the chaos.”
Song Yuhang’s eyes grew moist, and she kissed the crown of her head.
“I’ll be with you.”
After a moment, she noticed Lin Yan was still playing with the U disk. Song Yuhang cupped her face.
“Jingzhe gave it to you?”
Lin Yan gave a faint “mm.”
It must be related to Lin Youyuan.
Song Yuhang knew this was a hurdle in her heart.
“Do you want to watch it?”
Lin Yan was silent.
Song Yuhang stroked her head. “No rush. If you want to be alone for a while, I’ll go out for a smoke and wait for you.”
Lin Yan still didn’t answer, her expression deep and pensive.
So Song Yuhang got up, tied the belt of her robe, and picked up a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from the nightstand.
Lin Yan’s hand reached out and hooked the corner of her robe, as if clinging tightly to a life-saving straw.
“Don’t go. Stay here with me.”
When the U disk was inserted into the computer, Song Yuhang glanced back at her. Lin Yan nodded slightly.
She clicked open the file.
After a long darkness, the past raised its curtain.
The summer of 196611.
Lin Youyuan was twenty years old. Relying on his father’s government position, he was living a life where the wind rose and water swelled12 in the Ten-Mile Foreign Ground13.
He was a natural-born hooligan who bullied the good and feared the wicked, bullied the weak and feared the strong14, and had gotten countless young women pregnant.
He finally slipped up once, messing with another rich second-generation’s woman. That woman had a face like a flower and looks like the moon15, her figure graceful and charming. She was also a Pear Garden16 actress, whom the rich and powerful scion had long since chosen to make his outside room17, but he was the swift-footed who climbed first18.
That night, as he emerged from the restaurant, drunk and disheveled, he was cornered in an alley.
The other party had brought many people.
Lin Youyuan lazily raised his eyes, tightening his belt. “Yo, what’s this? Looking for a fight?”
The others rushed him with clubs. He was drunk, after all, and dizzy, so he took several hits.
Lin Youyuan kicked away the person in front of him and turned to pick up a fallen wooden stick. Unexpectedly, he was struck hard on the back of the head. He pitched forward and fell like a dog gnawing on mud.
“Damn it, beat him!”
The rich scion was furious and started kicking him.
The sharp sound of a whistle came from nearby. “What are you doing?!”
A beam of a flashlight shone in their faces as a patrol officer in a dark brownish-green uniform ran over.
“Why are you hitting him? If you have a problem, come back to the police station with me to sort it out.”
The group of young delinquents slung their clubs over their shoulders and looked at him, laughing.
The leader who had been hitting him took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and blew a smoke ring at the young patrolman.
“Do you know who I am? Stop meddling. Grandpa here is going to beat him to death today.”
Lin Youyuan, lying on the ground, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. A tooth had been knocked out and came out with it.
The young patrolman waved the smoke away, sized him up, and shook his head with straightforward honesty. “I don’t. You were hitting someone, so you need to come with me to the police station to explain the situation.”
The man threw his cigarette on the ground. “Damn it, doesn’t know how to appreciate a favor. Get him!”
The young patrolman probably didn’t react in time. He saw that this man was dressed impeccably, in the shape of a person and the manner of a dog19, so how could he just start a fight like that?
By the time he came to his senses, he was surrounded by the group.
The man lit another cigarette, watching the patrolman get beaten and occasionally cheering.
Lin Youyuan picked up a brickbat20 from the ground and smashed it directly onto the back of the rich scion’s head.
“Damn you, you son of a bitch, you dare hit me!”
The brickbat split in two in his palm, and the rich scion fell straight down.
The young patrolman, bruised and swollen in the middle of the encirclement, turned his head. Lin Youyuan spat on the ground.
“Pah!”
The rich scion lay motionless on the ground, it was unclear if he was dead or alive. The group looked at each other, and their hands that were beating the patrolman slowly stopped.
Lin Youyuan shot a cold glance in their direction.
A few of them took a few steps back, swallowed hard, and ran away, dropping their wooden sticks.
Lin Youyuan grabbed a weapon and staggered forward, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It had rained the night before, and they were stained with mud and blood.
“Come on!!!”
The young man roared with all his might. A few of them looked back, then fled in terror.
He spat again in the direction they fled. “Pah! Bunch of cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong!”
Turning back, Lin Youyuan looked at the patrolman with a somewhat disdainful and roguish expression.
“With skills like that, you dare to be a cop? Aren’t you afraid of getting beaten up by thieves?”
The young patrolman smiled honestly, snapped a pair of handcuffs onto his wrist with a click, as if he hadn’t heard the sarcasm in his words at all.
“Not afraid. I’m thick-skinned, anyway.”
Lin Youyuan hadn’t been on guard against him and was cuffed unexpectedly. He immediately started cursing. “Untie me, you motherfucker! Do you know who I am, who my dad is?”
The young patrolman shook his head and took out his walkie-talkie to call for backup.
“I don’t. You hit someone, so you have to come with me.”
Back at the police station, the man had woken up. His injuries weren’t serious, and he sat with a bandage wrapped around his head.
Lin Youyuan hadn’t been sitting in the interrogation room for long before someone came in, bowing and scraping, offering him a cigarette. “My apologies, Young Master Lin. My subordinates had eyes but didn’t recognize Mount Tai21. They didn’t know you were Secretary22 Lin’s second son. The great flood washed away the Dragon King’s temple23…”
Lin Youyuan propped his leg nonchalantly on the table in front of him, letting the man light a cigarette for him. “Is my older brother here?”
“He is, he is. The Eldest Young Master is waiting for you at the entrance.”
Only then did he get up, sling his jacket over his shoulder, and follow the man out.
After leaving the interrogation room, he hadn’t walked more than a few steps when he saw a tall man in a gray suit standing in the lobby with his back to him, speaking to the police station staff. His profile was as gentle and warm as jade24, with a hint of apology.
A look of joy spread across Lin Youyuan’s face. “Ge25.”
The man turned around and, in front of everyone, flicked him on the forehead. “Fighting again. Come home with me.”
A red mark appeared on Lin Youyuan’s forehead. He muttered under his breath but didn’t dare to protest loudly. “Fine, we’ll go home. Did you tattle on me again…”
Lin Jueshui26 said his goodbyes to the station chief, presented several cartons of expensive cigarettes, and led his good-for-nothing brother outside.
“Ha, as if I needed to tattle. The infamous name of the Lin family’s Second Young Master has already spread across half of Jiangcheng City, okay?”
Lin Youyuan was defiant. “What did I do? What did I do? I just liked a woman, and it was mutual. It’s nobody’s business. But that kid had to be a fool and come pick a fight with me, so naturally I had to make him carry it away if he couldn’t eat it all27!”
As he spoke, he kicked a pebble on the road, which rolled into a nearby corner.
Lin Youyuan’s gaze followed it. In the shadow of the two-story police station, two people were standing.
The scolding police officer was slapping the patrolman’s head as he spoke. The patrolman was hunched over, his hat having fallen off.
“Do you have any idea who those two you brought in tonight are? One is the mayor’s second son, the other is the eldest young master of Xinhui Industries28! If either of them so much as breathes hard, our entire Jiangcheng City has to tremble!”
“No hair on the lip, unreliable in doing things29. You little bastard, all you do is cause trouble for me!”
He cursed harshly. The patrolman shrank back, picked up the hat that had fallen on the ground, and brushed the dust off the national emblem.
“But… they were fighting with weapons, which violates…”
The superior officer slapped him again.
The young patrolman turned his head, his eyes red.
“Then let them fight! It’s just when a dog bites a dog, it’s a mouthful of fur30. All we need to do is clean up the mess. Was it your place to be a dog catching mice, meddling in others’ business31? You don’t catch the fox and end up covered in stink!”
Lin Jueshui stopped and waited for him. “What are you looking at? Mother made dinner and is waiting for us at home.”
Lin Youyuan looked away, disinterested. In his mind, he labeled the man: either a madman or an idiot.
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
The two walked to the car. The secretary opened the door for them. Just as Lin Youyuan was about to get in, the rich scion came limping out from inside. His gaze was sinister and vicious, sticking to the two brothers like a viper.
“Lin Youyuan, you won’t be arrogant for much longer. Sooner or later, you’ll kneel before me and call me ‘Granddaddy’.”
Lin Jueshui frowned. He felt there was a hidden meaning in his eyes, and his words made his heart pound.
He was about to speak when Lin Youyuan had already started whistling. “Yo, a Tu’er Ye32? Are you skilled in massage or singing?”
The other man flew into a rage, shot him a few more venomous glares, and stormed off to his own car.
The Lin family’s car also slowly drove away.
Lin Jueshui looked back at his brother, who idled about and was not engaged in proper work33 all day, and frowned slightly. “Why must you provoke him? It’s just a woman…”
Lin Youyuan, with his jacket draped over his shoulders, shot up straight, licked his lips, and spoke with animated delight, his eyebrows flew and his face danced.
“You don’t know, that Xinhui young master is a pervert. Not only…”
Lin Jueshui’s gaze grew sterner.
Lin Youyuan coughed lightly, swallowing the vulgar words that were about to escape his lips, and resorted to hand gestures instead.
His left hand made a ‘three’ to indicate the number of people. His right hand slapped over, pinching the fingers and kneading them.
“What woman could have a good end in his hands?”
Lin Jueshui found it amusing and turned away. “That’s not for you to manage either.”
Lin Youyuan leaned over the front seat. “Hah, I don’t want to manage it either, but the beauty was shedding tears, looking so pitiful and lovely, I had to…”
Lin Jueshui shot him a look. “You’d better think about how you’re going to explain this to Father when we get back.”
The thought of this gave him a headache. Lin Youyuan felt his back molars ached34 and muttered, “Why bring him up? It’s not like he comes home more than once every ten days or half a month.”
Lin Jueshui reached out and flicked his forehead again, though much lighter than before.
“Don’t talk nonsense. When we get home and Dad scolds you, don’t talk back.”
Lin Youyuan was still thinking about what he had said about their mom making dinner for them.
“Let’s not talk about that. What delicious food did Mom make?”
Lin Jueshui smiled faintly. “I don’t know. I just got back from the university and received your call before I even made it home.”
Lin Youyuan was dissatisfied. “So you didn’t go back? I thought you might have brought me something to eat.”
“Hungry?” Lin Jueshui took out a small bag of lotus flower crisps35 wrapped in a handkerchief from his coat pocket and handed it to him.
“Here. I brought them back from that shop by the University of Technology’s36 gate.”
Lin Jueshui’s university was in Shanghai. When he went to register, Lin Youyuan had tagged along to have fun. He had tried the lotus flower crisps at the shop by the school gate once and fell in love, never forgetting them since.
Although that old, time-honored pastry shop always had long lines and limited supply, Lin Jueshui never failed to bring back lotus flower crisps every time he returned. It had been like that for years, without exception.
Back then, he was just a half-grown kid. Now, he was almost as tall as his brother.
Lin Youyuan sounded disdainful, but his eyes were fixed on the pastry. “I’m not a child anymore…”
Lin Jueshui closed the handkerchief. “Fine, don’t eat it.”
The person in the back seat snatched it away. “I’ll eat it, I’ll eat it! Thanks, Ge!”
At that moment, the two Lin brothers had no idea that what awaited them at home was not their mother’s sumptuous meal, nor their father’s stern criticism, but a catastrophe.
As Lin Youyuan spoke to this point, his hands, resting on the armrests of his wheelchair, trembled slightly.
Lin Yan saw him close his eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to recall that scene from so many years ago.
“That night when I got home…”
“Mom, Mom, I’m back! What delicious food did you make!” Lin Youyuan slung his jacket over his shoulder, his eyes full of excitement, and pushed open their home’s ornate iron gate with a bang.
Lin Jueshui smiled and shook his head, following behind him.
The sight before them made the blood in the brothers’ veins run cold.
A courtyard full of soldiers, with red armbands37 on their arms and long rifles in their hands, turned their heads in unison.
Kneeling before them were the maids and servants of the household, each holding their head, their faces ashen. Many were weeping.
The young man’s blood boiled. He threw his jacket aside, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to charge forward. “Fuck your mother, you dare touch our family’s people!”
The butt of a rifle smashed into his head.
Lin Youyuan staggered back two steps, touched the blood on his forehead, gritted his teeth, and was about to charge again, but was held back by Lin Jueshui.
He held his arm tightly, his face grim.
“Ge, don’t hold me back! Who are these people? How dare they come to our house and cause trouble? How dare they hit me?!”
Lin Youyuan spat on the ground. “Pah!”
“What the hell do you think you are? This isn’t over today!”
The other person said in a strange tone, “We’re just hitting reactionaries.”
“I…” A demonic fire shot straight to Lin Youyuan’s head. Just as he was about to charge again, the villa’s door opened.
Several gendarmes escorted his father, who was trussed up like a pig38, out of the house, followed by his mother, who was stumbling and crying out.
As she was about to run down the steps, several more rifles blocked her path.
In Lin Youyuan’s memory, his mother had always been dignified and elegant. He had never seen her cry in such a heart-rending and lung-splitting way.
His own heart was torn apart by her cries.
Full of youthful bravado and boiling blood, Lin Youyuan pushed aside the people blocking him and rushed forward. “Dad, Mom! Let them go!!!”
Lin Jueshui also lunged forward, and fists rained down on the two of them.
Their mother’s cries grew even more hysterical.
Lin Youyuan was beaten to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face bruised and swollen.
Through a puddle of water in front of him, he saw his father, who had always been dignified and great in their hearts, kneel down and kowtow, begging for mercy.
“Stop hitting them, stop hitting them! I beg you, let my family go! I did everything myself, I admit it, I admit it! They don’t know anything, don’t hurt my family!”
The sound of the kowtows echoed in his heart.
Lin Youyuan’s head was pinned to the ground by a foot, and tears rolled down his face.
The leader saw that they had been beaten and scolded enough. His eyes darted over the confiscated gold and jewels, and he picked up a pearl necklace, stuffing it into his coat.
“Alright, I believe Secretary Lin is telling the truth. Let the others go.”
Only then did the person holding him down let go.
Lin Jueshui crawled over to help him up. “Da Yuan, how are you? Are you okay?”
Da Yuan was his childhood nickname.
Lin Youyuan’s voice was hoarse as his gaze shifted. “Ge… Dad… Mom…”
His father looked over, his lips moving. “I beg you, have mercy, let me say one more word to them.”
The man wiped a snuff bottle39 he had just found while ransacking the house and held it up to the streetlight. “Fine. Your family has to come with us tonight anyway. If not the women, then the men. If not the older one, then the younger one. We’re not afraid of you delaying. We brothers have plenty of time.”
The meaning was clear: besides their father, one more person had to go with them for investigation.
Their father turned his face to look at his two sons.
The elder son was studying in Shanghai, about to graduate with a master’s degree from one of the country’s top universities, with a boundless future.
The younger son ate, drank, whored, and gambled. He was uneducated and unskilled, just waiting to die.
It was a choice that was both easy and difficult.
Lin Youyuan finally opened his eyes. “It was supposed to be me. Lin Jueshui went voluntarily. That was the first thing I wronged him for.”
“After that, my father was imprisoned, and he was taken for investigation. No visits were allowed, and there was no news. Our home was ransacked clean, with nothing left behind. My mother and I depended on each other, barely finding a shack to live in.”
“My mother’s health was poor, and she had suffered a great shock. I sold all my valuables to buy medicine for her, but she still passed away from hunger and cold.”
“Before Lin Jueshui left, he said that if it was short, he would be back by the time I finished the lotus flower crisps. If it was long, it would be three months at most. Then he would take me and Mom to Shanghai to live right next to the university, and we would eat lotus flower crisps every day.”
“But he broke his promise. By the time I wrapped my mother’s already stinking corpse in a worn-out straw mat and threw it onto the mass burial mound40, he still hadn’t returned to see her one last time.”
“That was the first thing he wronged me for.”
“After that, I met two more people. One was your mother, and the other was…”
He paused for a moment, as if he could see through the camera who was sitting next to Lin Yan.
“You should have guessed. It was Song Yuhang’s father.”
Song Yuhang’s whole body jolted. She remembered what Feng Jianguo had said when he handed her the gun.
“The ballistics comparison results are in. This gun is identical to the one your father lost back then.”
Lin Youyuan continued, “Thinking back on it now, although I was destitute, it was still a very happy time. During a street fight, I was seriously injured and was picked up by Song Yuhang’s father, Song Yiwu41, and taken to the hospital. There, I met your mother, who was an ordinary nurse at the central hospital at the time…”
“Bed thirteen, time to remove your stitches. Remember not to get the wound wet for three days after you go home. If you feel any discomfort, come back to the clinic immediately.”
The nurse spoke as she gently held his head and removed the gauze wrapped around it.
Being so close, Lin Youyuan could see the two simple characters on her name tag: Su Yue42.
He could also smell the faint fragrance on her.
Ever since the Lin family had fallen from grace, the flock of women who used to surround him had vanished. He hadn’t been near a woman since.
The young man swallowed, the heart of an ape and the mind of a horse43 running wild. He said a few more vulgar things to tease her, making the young nurse blush. She threw the gauze into the tray and turned to leave.
“Head nurse, that patient in bed thirteen is at it again…”
“Sigh, that guy. He’s a famously rascally scoundrel, even the police can’t control him. Just get him discharged and out of here quickly.”
Listening to the medical staff’s quiet complaints from behind the curtain, Lin Youyuan whistled smugly and slipped the wallet he had just lifted from the young nurse into his pocket.
A short while later, the same young nurse came in.
“The paperwork is done. You can go.”
Lin Youyuan limped off the bed and out of the hospital room door. At the last moment, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he asked an extra question.
“What about my medical bills?”
The young nurse said irritably, “The police officer who brought you in that day paid them.”
Lin Youyuan immediately felt his back molars ache.
“There, that’s him.”
Song Yiwu was still wearing his yellowish-green uniform, holding a notebook as he walked over.
Lin Youyuan leaned against the wall as they passed each other. “Don’t think I’ll be grateful just because you paid my medical bills. You gave me that money voluntarily, so I’m not going to pay you back.”
Song Yiwu stopped in his tracks, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Of course, he still remembered the scene of him shouting and ordering people around at the police station not long ago.
He had been reprimanded for it, but the young man didn’t take it to heart. He was broad-minded and open.
“I don’t need you to pay me back. But the people who were fighting you back then haven’t been caught yet. I need your help with the investigation.”
Before he could finish, Lin Youyuan had already walked far away, leaning against the wall.
The police officer shook his head, tapping the notebook in his palm twice. The young nurse saw it was really him and came over, her face joyful.
“Officer, our department discussed it. We can’t take your money. We’re going to refund it to you.”
Song Yiwu waved his hands and backed away. “No, no, how can you see a doctor without paying…”
Only then did Su Yue remember her wallet. She reached into her pocket, and it was gone. Her face turned pale.
“My… my… my money is gone…”
Song Yiwu frowned. “It’s okay, don’t worry. Tell me slowly what happened.”
The young nurse stammered, “I… I’ve been in the hospital all morning, I haven’t been out… My wallet was in my right pocket. It also had donations from other colleagues to give back to you…”
Song Yiwu bit the cap off his pen, listening and taking notes. “Who have you been in contact with since this morning? Especially outsiders who could get close to you.”
As she listened to him, the young nurse suddenly remembered how, when she was changing the patient’s dressing earlier, Lin Youyuan had leaned against her chest, his hands restless.
She had thought he was just copping a feel, but who knew he was…
The young woman’s face turned beet red. Song Yiwu also looked down the corridor behind him, thinking of the figure that had just walked past. He snapped his notebook shut and broke into a run.
“Stop, thief!”
Su Yue also ran after him, shouting at the top of her lungs.
Lin Youyuan heard the commotion behind him and scrambled down the stairs, falling at the hospital entrance before getting up and sprinting forward.
He was injured, after all. He didn’t get far before he was tackled and pinned down by a flower bed.
Song Yiwu snatched the wallet from his hand and gave it to the nurse beside him. “Give me that. Check it, is anything missing?”
It wasn’t much of a wallet, just a handmade flannel pouch.
Su Yue held the somewhat old and dirty cloth bag, pulled open the drawstring, and burst into tears of joy.
All the money was there. Most importantly, a two-inch photo inside was also safe. It was the only remaining photograph of her late mother.
The young woman looked at it again and again, brushing away non-existent dust before putting it back inside.
“Not a single cent is missing. Thank you, Officer Song.”
Song Yiwu cuffed him. “You, I’m telling you, you do nothing proper all day. If it’s not stealing chickens and snatching dogs44, it’s fighting with weapons. Can doing this stuff fill your stomach? Huh?”
By then, the young man was destitute. His hair was a matted mess, and the hospital gown he was still wearing was too short, revealing hands and ankles covered in frostbite. Having not bathed for a long time, he emitted a foul odor.
Lin Youyuan roared with red eyes, “None of your business! What the fuck which spring onion45 are you…”
Before he could finish, a luxury car pulled up at the hospital gate.
The rich scion opened the car door and helped a glamorously dressed woman out—it was the Pear Garden actress.
The moment their eyes met, the woman looked away uncomfortably.
The man threw his cigarette butt at his head. “Yo, isn’t this our Jiangcheng City’s famous Second Young Master Lin, Young Master Lin? How have you fallen to such a state? Even got yourself handcuffed, tsk tsk tsk, truly pitiful.”
“I just wonder if your dad and your big brother will still stand up for you this time?”
It would have been better if he hadn’t mentioned it. The mention of them sent a monstrous wave of hatred through Lin Youyuan’s heart. His blood boiled, and he struggled to crawl forward, his eyes glared as if to split46.
“It… it was you who framed my dad! Where’s my brother?! Why isn’t my brother back yet?!”
“Who knows? Maybe he’s dead. But then again, what does that have to do with me?” the man said, squatting down and patting Song Yiwu’s shoulder.
“I say, Officer, this man has a record. His father and brother are still under investigation. You can’t be careless. You have to investigate him thoroughly. Do a good job, and you’ll get a promotion, your future…”
Before he could finish, the young woman came running over, her eyes wide and round, a trace of anger on her face.
“Just because he has a record doesn’t mean he committed a crime now! You misunderstood today. The wallet is still here, he didn’t steal it. If you take him in and pin a baseless charge on him, then you’re the one breaking the law!”
The young woman said this entirely because she was thinking of her own mother who had died unjustly, a feeling of shared hatred.
But Lin Youyuan never expected that someone would be willing to speak up for him.
He was stunned, looking at her small back. In that instant, an infinite strength burst forth, shaking his heart.
Perhaps when you’re young, the ways you express gratitude and affection are always clumsy and cautious.
Lin Youyuan started thinking about her, frequently loitering around the city’s central hospital, waiting for her to get off work, and then silently walking with her for a stretch.
“Why do you keep following me?!” the girl said angrily.
Lin Youyuan smiled roguishly. “I live around here too.”
“You’re full of it! Officer Song said you don’t live here at all. If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”
Lin Youyuan gritted his teeth. Damn it, him again, a lingering ghost that won’t disperse, ruining people’s romantic prospects.
“So I didn’t live here before, that doesn’t mean I won’t live here in the future. There’s no law against moving, is there?”
Lin Youyuan, with his bleached yellow hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and a sidelong smile, blocked her path.
The young nurse stomped on his foot, smacked him away with her bag, and continued walking. “Scoundrel, hooligan!”
Lin Youyuan held up his cigarette and watched her retreating back with a wicked smile. “Hey, this hooligan likes you! How about it, want to consider it?”
The person had already vanished in a flash.
Lin Youyuan threw the finished cigarette on the ground and then turned to leave.
Not long after that.
A rainy late night.
Su Yue got off work as usual. He didn’t follow her anymore.
The girl felt a slight sense of relief, but on her way home, she encountered a knife-wielding robber. At the critical moment, it was Lin Youyuan who rushed out and subdued the assailant. Song Yiwu, after receiving a report from a citizen, brought them both back to the police station.
The girl sat inside giving her statement.
Song Yiwu poured him a cup of water, glanced inside, and gestured with his chin.
“It’s rare for you to be in the station for something other than petty theft. What, you like her?”
Lin Youyuan held the paper cup with his teeth, took a sip of water, and slouched in his chair, unable to sit or stand properly.
“Bullshit, me like her? Can’t I be seeing injustice on the road and drawing my sword to help47?”
Song Yiwu smiled faintly and patted his shoulder.
“Honestly, if you really want to pursue a girl, the way you are now, without a proper job, it’s not going to work.”
Lin Youyuan muttered, “What’s wrong with me? When I’m full, my whole family is full…”
The iron gate clanged shut.
The girl came out.
Lin Youyuan caught her in his peripheral vision, quickly put down the paper cup, and shot to his feet.
Song Yiwu walked them to the door. “There’s a theft ring operating in the district recently. You two be careful. Here’s my contact information—”
He handed each of them a business card, but the last part was directed at Lin Youyuan.
“If you have any leads, you can also find me.”
After all, he moved in the streets and alleys, had contact with the three religions and the nine schools of thought48, and had a wide range of information sources.
Lin Youyuan took the card, looked it over, still acting improperly. “What, if I help you officers catch a criminal, is there any reward?”
Song Yiwu smiled faintly. “Since they’re wanted, if you provide a lead that leads to a successful capture, there will naturally be a bounty.”
Outside the police station, Lin Youyuan swaggered ahead. A light drizzle began to fall from the night sky again.
He looked up, and an umbrella shielded him.
The girl handed him a blue handkerchief. “Here, for you. Wipe yourself.”
Lin Youyuan wiped the wound on his forehead. There was blood on his fingertips. He smiled. “No need…”
Before he could finish, the soft cloth was already in his hand.
The girl’s face was slightly red. “Thank you for today.”
That was the first time Lin Youyuan had felt the joy of being a good person.
The young man’s eyes curved into a smile, but he didn’t want her to see it too clearly, so he desperately suppressed the grin on his face and turned to leave.
“Hmph, no need to thank me. I told you, my home is over there too. I was just passing by, a small effort.”
“The rain is getting heavier. I’ll take you home first,” the girl said, holding the umbrella handle, walking with him.
Lin Youyuan stuck his hands in his pockets, staring at the raindrops splashing in the puddles in front of him. “There’s no logic in a woman walking a man home. You go back first, I’ll walk by myself.”
“No way. You have a wound. What if it gets infected?”
Lin Youyuan frowned and snatched the umbrella from her hand. “What’s with all the nonsense? Lead the way. I’ll take you home first, then I’ll take this umbrella and return it to you another day.”
“After that, me, Song Yiwu, and your mother, the three of us became good friends. Later, Zhao Junfeng joined us. At that time, he had just started his job. Because he was from the countryside, he was taciturn and didn’t talk much. As Old Song’s partner, he had gone through birth and death with us a few times, and we quickly became a tight-knit group…”
In his slow narration, Lin Yan could almost see that era filled with laughter, blood, and tears.
Lin Youyuan used the information he gathered from the streets and alleys to help them, and even the police, catch many wanted criminals, theft rings, and murderers.
Walking the line between the light and the dark like this, he was naturally not well-liked and was often beaten black and blue.
But it was only when he was injured that he would receive certain special treatment.
When she wasn’t on the night shift, the group would meet at Su Yue’s house, bringing a few bottles of wine and pooling their money to buy some meat and vegetables for her to cook a meal.
They would gather around the dining table, drinking and playing finger-guessing games. Even the most introverted Zhao Junfeng would often end up red-faced from drinking.
Su Yue, wearing an apron, bustled around the stove. The earthen stove was smoky, and pots and pans clattered. She would chop a large handful of peppers and green onions, toss them into the hot oil, and serve the dishes while covering her mouth and coughing from the fumes. There was braised pork, chicken legs, and a full plate of river shrimp, a dazzling array on the table.
“Yo, not bad! We actually have shrimp today. Tell me, did you get a raise again?” Lin Youyuan had just picked one up when his hand was slapped away by a pair of chopsticks.
“Go, go, you have a wound, you can’t eat shrimp. Eat some vegetables. I made this radish soup especially for you.”
Su Yue placed a large basin of soup on the table.
Song Yiwu lit a cigarette and smiled. “Su Yue is right, you’d better eat less of it, in case it acts up again. It’s not even the New Year yet, but we got our allowance, so we thought we’d eat something good to treat everyone.”
Zhao Junfeng grabbed a shrimp with his hand and put it in his bowl, and greatly moved his cheek muscles49, making him drool.
“Early this morning, Brother Wu and I went to the farmer’s market to buy them. They’re fresh and delicious. Yueyue’s cooking is really good!”
Lin Youyuan gritted his teeth and tapped his hand with his chopsticks. “Eat, eat, eat, all you know is how to eat! You didn’t even save any for me!”
Su Yue, carrying a dish from the kitchen, kicked him.
“All you know is how to bully honest people. Drink your soup!”
Lin Youyuan reluctantly sat back down. After a while, he winked and nudged. “Hey, you spend all your salary on treating us to meals. Where are you going to get the money to marry a wife?”
Song Yiwu was getting on in years, and his family was worried about this matter.
He stubbed out his cigarette on the table and swatted at him with the sole of his shoe. “Eat your food. Can’t you just say a few less words?”
One chased, the other fled. Zhao Junfeng was also forced to join the fray, and the whole room erupted into chaos.
Su Yue pointed out the window. “Look, fireworks!”
The group of big boys rushed up to the rooftop.
Su Yue’s house was by the river, an old house left by her grandmother. At that time, the riverside wasn’t like it is now, with river-view houses that were shockingly expensive. The people who lived here were fishermen or the poor. Her mother used to teach at the village elementary school and, like Lin Youyuan’s father, was taken in for investigation and never came out.
As for her father, he fell into the water while fishing one day. When he was pulled out, his whole body was tangled in fishing nets.
Since then, Su Yue had never left this place. She had always guarded this old house, waiting for her parents’ souls to return.
The group leaned on the rusty railing. Below, in the fishing village, only a few lights were on, and dogs barked occasionally.
In the alley, a group of children ran past, pushing iron hoops. The man next door was scolding his wife.
In a lit room not far away, a black-and-white television was on, and faint moaning sounds could be heard.
A long whistle from a steamship echoed across the river.
Fireworks rose into the night sky, illuminating the opposite bank with brilliant lights, as if it were daytime. There were already tall buildings there. That was where the rich people lived, a difference between heaven and earth from here. It was also Lin Youyuan’s former home.
The young man’s eyes grew moist as he watched. He smashed his wine bottle and pointed to the heavens.
“I, Lin Youyuan, will definitely be rich!!!”
Su Yue also faced the wind and mimicked him, shouting, “I, Su Yue, will definitely have a good marriage!!!”
Song Yiwu put his fingers to his lips and whistled. “I, Song Yiwu, will definitely be a good policeman!!!”
Zhao Junfeng scratched his head. “I… I don’t have any big wishes. I just hope my family is safe and sound.”
At that time, the youths had met in their humble beginnings. A few lonely and fragile souls gradually drew closer. In that moment, looking at each other’s flushed faces, they all felt they would be friends for life.
But what they didn’t know was that on that winter night in 1967, the youths who had stood on the rooftop, making wishes to the river and the fireworks, would in the end all get what they wished for, yet they would all go against their original intentions.
The author has something to say:
The flashback kill50 is here. There are only a few chapters left, so cherish them while you can.
To reiterate: This story is fictional, this story is fictional, this story is fictional.
Also, you can add the “Next Book” in my column to your collection so you don’t get lost when the new novel comes out.
Mwah mwah to everyone, see you another day~
LP: Re-translated on October 02, 2025
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