The End of Memories (1)
After Su Yue tucked him in, she left.
Zhao Junfeng, however, couldn’t sleep, staring at the ceiling, those words repeatedly echoing in his ears.
The opponent had viciously kicked him in the ribs.
“Do you even know what kind of trash you are, and you still dare to come and investigate us? Oh, you still dare to glare at me, boys, beat him up!”
The other side had the advantage in numbers and strength, and after a round of punches and kicks.
The leader of the men stomped hard on his finger bones, grinding his toe into the ground.
“Do you know why no one else came and you were the one sent? Because you’re just a useless piece of cannon fodder.”
“Are you wondering why the top-secret operation was leaked? Guess who told us? Was it your good brother or your comrade brother?”
A gleaming knife blade was slapped against his face.
“Kid, whoever cuts off my income, I will kill their entire family. You better be smart, be a wise person, and also, don’t look at me with those eyes. Get angry, feel uneasy, harbor hatred, you have to become stronger to kill everyone who stands in your way.”
“Today I’ll give you a lesson…” The man made a cut on his face with the knife and withdrew his foot.
“Don’t just run forward when you hear orders. Think about whether it’s helping you or harming you. If you fall into my hands again next time, it won’t be this easy.”
——You have to become stronger to kill everyone who stands in your way.
Zhao Junfeng chewed on these words, his gaze sweeping across the room. An IV drip tube that Su Yue had just inserted was attached to the back of his hand, and the things Lin Youyuan and Song Yiwu had bought were on the bedside table next to him.
The liquor was so expensive that they had previously only dared to look at it in the store.
The boy smiled slightly; he knew it wasn’t them.
He didn’t know the true identity of the thugs, nor did he know who had leaked the information, but the thug had one thing right: to protect the ones he loved, he had to be stronger than his enemies.
Brother Xiaolin, despite his father’s achievements, did not receive fair treatment.
Brother Yiwu had been in the police force for so many years, starting as a patrolman, and he was still just a team leader. His name never appeared on the promotion lists each year.
Parents and relatives back home who were eagerly hoping he would make something of himself.
Ordinary people like Sister Yueyue, who were kind-hearted and enthusiastic.
They shouldn’t have to be like this.
……
The boy’s throat moved, his bandaged hand crumpling the bed sheet, spots of blood seeping out.
Who could have thought that decades later, Zhao Junfeng, who would be widely criticized online by the media as a “bloodsucker,” “corrupt official,” and “scum among public servants,” had at this moment, his initial thought was merely to protect his friends.
“Lin Jueshui always traveled back and forth to Shanghai several times a month. He said it was for work, and I never doubted him until later I found out he was forced to marry his classmate’s sister. Her family was wealthy, with a father who was in the import-export business and had some connections, and they were also entangled with foreign criminal gangs.”
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“They valued his smart mind and skills. The best way to pull someone into their gang is not through coercion or inducement, but by making him truly one of their own.”
“They used freedom, the safety of his parents and me, to exchange for a shackle that Lin Jueshui could never escape for the rest of his life.”
As Lin Youyuan spoke, his brow twitched slightly as if gritting his teeth, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.
“The situation developed to this point, and it’s still my fault. If it was me who went in at the beginning, he might not have faced such a difficult choice. But what he shouldn’t have done was to fall in love with Su Yue…”
Some say that there is always a strange connection between brothers and sisters. The tacit understanding between him and Lin Jueshui was not only in daily life but also in the people they liked.
After all, who wouldn’t like a girl like Su Yue?
Calm as water, lively as a rabbit, understanding and gentle. Most wonderfully, she and Lin Jueshui had a bit of intellectual sympathy.
After all, being the child of a teacher’s family, the Su family was poor but never poor in education.
Su Yue had been well-read since childhood, knowledgeable and with a good memory. When she talked with Lin Youyuan, saying “One or two miles away, four or five houses in the smoke village,” he might only respond with “Five chief heads, six six six, seven clever ones, eight immortals…”
But it was different with Lin Jueshui.
He had the scholarly temperament she admired, capable of talking on grand topics as well as about small bridges and flowing water.
At that time, Su Yue looked at his refined and gentle face and felt a soul connection, a feeling that made her heart beat faster.
When she turned and ran out, she happened to bump into Lin Youyuan, who quickly hid the floral cloth he had torn behind him.
“Hey, why are you running so fast, are you rushing to be reincarnated?”
Su Yue stomped her foot angrily, her face a bit red.
“If you can’t speak properly, then shut your mouth. I made some braised pork for you this afternoon and brought it over. Good intentions are treated like donkey’s liver and lungs!”
With that, she ran off again in a flash.
Lin Youyuan watched her disappearing figure and scratched his head with a smile: “Silly girl, she never used to come so often.”
Lin Jueshui heard the commotion and came out of the house, seeing the floral cloth in his hand, a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
“For Su Yue? You…”
Lin Youyuan exaggeratedly made an O shape with his mouth: “Me? Her? Bro, don’t joke around. I would like anyone but her, that fierce shrew.”
“Fierce?” Lin Jueshui recalled her every smile and movement: “A pretty gentle girl.”
Lin Youyuan threw the cloth into his arms: “This is just a thank you gift for taking care of me when I was injured. If she comes by next time and I’m not home, just give it to her for me. I don’t want to owe people favors.”
Love comes quickly and always inexplicably. Even though Lin Jueshui repeatedly warned himself to stay away from Su Yue, he still inevitably fell into love, especially after hearing his brother’s response.
He relaxed inside, thinking of helping the people in Shanghai with the last batch of goods, then he’d retire, divorce that woman, and openly pursue Su Yue, while also finding a good marriage for his brother.
At that time, Lin Jueshui had not yet lost the last shred of hope for this world. He firmly believed that as long as he worked hard enough, he could break through the darkness and move towards the light.
He just needed time before that.
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Three to five years passed in the blink of an eye. Song Yiwu followed his family’s arrangement and got married. His bride’s family was not wealthy, coming from a poor peasant background, but she was very cute, with a cheerful and lively personality.
Lin Youyuan, munching on sunflower seeds, asked him, “What exactly do you like about her?”
The usually honest and straightforward man blushed, “Just… just… well… I don’t know!”
Zhao Junfeng chimed in, “I know, I know! Before they got together, she would bring lunch to the police station every day…”
Song Yiwu, dressed in his groom’s attire, rushed over to cover his mouth, “You know too much for your own good!”
Su Yue pushed the dressed-up bride into the room, “Time to pay respects, everyone make way!”
They all drank quite a bit at the wedding that night.
Lin Youyuan was catching his breath on his balcony when Song Yiwu brought in another jar of liquor and handed him a porcelain bowl.
The man glanced up weakly, waving his hand, “Hiccup, no more, I really can’t…”
Lin Youyuan, acting as the best man, had shielded him from a lot of drinks at the wedding banquet. Song Yiwu smiled faintly and poured some soup from the jar.
“Your sister-in-law knew you drank a lot, so she made some sobering soup. The guest room is ready for you, drink this and get some rest.”
“Sister-in-law cares about me,” Lin Youyuan squinted and smiled. Though he was holding sobering soup, he still clinked bowls with him as if it were wine.
Song Yiwu took a sip of the sobering soup his wife made, leaning on the railing to catch the breeze, “I heard that Xiaozhao also has someone he likes. What about you? Are you still… with Su Yue…”
Lin Youyuan turned over, leaning on the railing with his elbow, looking at the distant streetlights, “You know, I’ve mentioned it more than once.”
Song Yiwu: “What I mean is, why don’t you formally express your feelings to her…”
Before he could finish his sentence.
Lin Youyuan’s gaze shifted to the circle of light under the streetlamp.
In the long, quiet alley, two people stood silently.
Su Yue handed an envelope to Lin Jueshui and, summoning her courage, stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.
Lin Jue Shui was slightly stunned, and she turned and ran away.
Song Yiwu tilted his head to look at him, “What’s wrong with you?”
Lin Youyuan withdrew his gaze, turned around, and drank the sobering soup in the bowl in one gulp, tasting a hint of bitterness. He handed the bowl back to him.
“All full, time to go home.”
“After that, Lin Jueshui and I had the most intense argument we’ve ever had. I wanted him to marry Su Yue, but he refused and wouldn’t tell me why. In a fit of anger, I hit him, just as Su Yue was passing by after work and saw it…”
“Lin Youyuan, stop it, have you gone mad?!” The moment she rushed over, the stick he held up stopped mid-air.
Lin Youyuan panted heavily, “Get out of the way. Today I’ll beat him to death…”
Su Yue glanced at the bloodied Lin Jueshui lying on the ground and rushed over to grab his arm, “Why? What did your brother do to deserve this? He’s so good to you!”
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Lin Youyuan shoved her away, “Get lost, it’s none of your business. If you try to stop me again, I’ll beat you too!”
Su Yue’s eyes reddened with anger, “Lin Youyuan, you’re a lunatic!”
Lin Youyuan also flew into a rage, “I’m a lunatic? Only a lunatic would like you! Hah! Look closely, what’s so good about him? Flirting with you but not willing to marry you? Su Yue, are you out of your mind?!”
Su Yue was stunned, her face turning pale, tears falling before she could speak.
Lin Jueshui got up from the ground, pulled her behind him, “Yueyue, don’t interfere, this is between me and him.”
Lin Youyuan looked at his bloodied face, then at Su Yue, who was silently crying but still resolutely standing by his side.
He gritted his teeth, threw down the stick, and turned to leave.
Lin Jueshui staggered and took a couple of steps after him, “Dayuan, where are you going? Listen to me…”
Lin Youyuan turned back to look at him, and through his figure, he also looked at Su Yue.
“Don’t worry about me, take good care of her, or you’ll answer to me.”
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