Orange
She was about to kneel and kowtow when the police helped her up.
“Are you a family member of the victim?” the police officer asked.
The woman nodded in a daze, then shook her head, “Not yet… not dug out…”
The police officer nodded, and the breath he exhaled turned into a cloud of white mist, “I see. What’s your man’s name? I’m a forensic expert. I’ll let you know as soon as we have the results.”
“His name is… Yu Xinye.”
The woman took three steps and turned to look back at the mine, where she saw the police officer still standing in the snow, waving at her. She then turned around, holding her child, and bowed before reluctantly departing.
On the fifth day.
The bowl of millet that Auntie Yu had given her last time was also finished. The child was starving and crying incessantly. She had no choice but to go from house to house, begging people to spare some leftover food or rice. She even hoped that some lactating women would be willing to share some breast milk.
“Sorry, we really don’t have anything left at home. It’s getting tough for us too.”
“If any of the folks in the village had something, they’d surely share it with you if they had it.”
“Hurry and take this, go somewhere else.”
A household threw out a stiff and moldy steamed bun. Before the woman could pick it up, a stray dog searching for food by the roadside snatched it away.
The woman pounced on the dog, trying to take the food back, shouting, “Give it to me, give it to me, you beast!”
There was a flurry of dog fur, her hands were covered in fresh blood, and it was unclear whom she was cursing at.
* * *
She was speaking while the investigators were taking notes.
Zhang Jinhai: “What happened later? How did Li Hai get out?”
The woman cried with her face covered for a while, and no one rushed her. A female police officer handed her a tissue.
Wei Lihong wiped her nose, her eyes were red, and there were some wrinkles on her face, but even when a beautiful woman gets old and cries, she’s still beautiful, and her youthful charm remains.
During the interrogation by the criminal police, she briefly thought about her daughter, but the reason it was brief was that she later had a son.
She had invested a significant amount of time, energy, and money in only this son. In rural areas, isn’t there a saying?
“Raise a son to provide for old age.”
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
A married-off daughter is like pouring water away.
So when Li Hai told her that she should abandon her daughter and go back to the city with him to live a better life, she hesitated.
He raised his fingers to the sky and swore, “Fengzhen, believe me, I will treat you even better than Xinye does. We will return to the city, meet my parents, ask them to arrange our marriage, and you will wear a bright red wedding dress to marry me openly and honestly. You won’t have to suffer or be poor anymore…”
As he spoke, he snatched the spoiled steamed buns from her hand and threw them away, saying, “Stuff like this, don’t even think about eating it. I won’t ever let you see it again!”
Later, she had also inquired about the whereabouts of Yu Xinye and Li Yang, but every time, she received vague answers.
Seven days later, on the day they were supposed to return to the city and when she had reached the end of her rope, there was still no news from the mine.
Li Hai got up from her bed and fastened his pants.
“Let’s go, don’t hesitate any longer.”
It wasn’t until ten years later that Li Yang found her again, and she still felt like it was all a dream, a never-ending nightmare.
He had come for revenge.
Just thinking about it, Wei Lihong couldn’t help but tremble, and the investigators, thinking she was scared, reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. Honesty is the best policy. Resisting will only make things worse for you in court.”
Wei Lihong was indeed afraid, but she wasn’t worried about herself; she was afraid for her son.
She remembered what Li Yang had told her, “Experienced detectives can see through anything. Don’t try to lie to them. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, you don’t know. That’s the safest way to answer.”
Wei Lihong shook her head honestly, “I really don’t know how he managed to come out from under the mine.”
She genuinely didn’t know. The only ones who knew this secret now were Yu Xinye, who was resting beneath the earth, and Li Yang, who was living a half-human, half-ghost existence.
Song Yuhang and Lin Yan were remotely monitoring this interrogation from inside the police car.
As soon as Wei Lihong finished speaking, Song Yuhang furrowed her brow.
Lin Yan keenly noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and continued to listen to Zhang Jinhai.
“Is this number your late husband’s?”
Looking at the number card that had been pulled out in front of her, Wei Lihong nodded.
“Every month, you use this number to contact the boss of the small workshop and order a batch of γ-butyrolactone to be delivered to the guardhouse at the entrance of the Beidou Industrial Park. This is an invoice. Is there anything else you want to say?”
Wei Lihong shook her head, her face pale. “I have nothing else to say.”
Zhang Jinhai slammed the table, saying, “Over a dozen lives, and you say there’s nothing to talk about?! Why did you get so much γ-butyrolactone? Tell the truth!”
Wei Lihong finally lifted her gaze to look at him, her expression very calm. “To make γ-hydroxybutyric acid, which can be used as an anesthetic.”
“You’re a rural woman; who taught you this?”
“My husband was a doctor. I learned as I watched.”
“Are you involved in the deaths of these people?”
Several photos were laid out one by one on the table, all depicting young teenagers, very young.
Wei Lihong glanced at them and then withdrew her gaze indifferently. “Yes, I started by posting online to attract the attention of people who wanted to commit suicide. After getting to know them, I would arrange offline meetings, give them medication to cloud their minds, deepen their depressive tendencies, and eventually drive them to commit suicide.”
“What was your motive?”
She shifted slightly in her seat, and in the dim light of the interrogation room, her face became somewhat chilling.
“Why should my son want to live and can’t live, while they have their health, happy families, but want to die? If they want to die, then I’ll help them.”
Wei Lihong leaned forward, resting her body on the table, laughing uncontrollably, tears streaming down.
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From between his teeth, Zhang Jinhai muttered, “Madwoman.”
Song Yuhang took off her headphones and threw them on the seat. The car had stopped at a gas station for refueling, and the others also got out to stretch their bodies.
She opened the car window a bit and stuck her head out to ask Duan Cheng, “How much longer until we reach Jiangcheng City Center?”
Duan Cheng checked his watch and replied, “It’ll take over two hours to reach the City Center of Jiangcheng, if the traffic is good.”
Song Yuhang nodded, and on the other side, the interrogation had also taken a brief break.
She finally had the chance to turn her head and look at Lin Yan. “What are you thinking?”
Lin Yan leaned back in her seat, her face somewhat pale, and she had been staring out the window.
Only when she heard Song Yuhang’s question did she snap out of it. “I’m thinking about the case. I feel like Wei Lihong is lying. Even though it seems seamless on the surface, upon closer examination, the logic doesn’t add up.”
She seemed somewhat uncomfortable and furrowed her brows slightly.
Song Yuhang felt the same way, “Even if the explanation for γ-hydroxybutyric acid makes sense, the process isn’t something an ordinary person can carry out.”
Finally, seeing her discomfort, she rolled down the window a bit more, “Feeling carsick? Wait a moment—”
She looked around in all directions, as if searching for something, and through the car window, she spotted villagers selling oranges on the mountain road outside. Excited, she quickly jumped out of the car.
Lin Yan couldn’t stop her in time and exclaimed, “Hey—”
Sure enough, she went to buy oranges with the money she borrowed from Fang Xin.
Lin Yan shook her head and rummaged in her backpack, pulling out a gum bottle. She took out two pieces and started chewing on them.
By the time Song Yuhang came back, she had already swallowed them with a sip of mineral water, and she still had the gum bottle in her hand, not having a chance to put it away.
Lin Yan jiggled the bottle at her, “Want two?”
Song Yuhang was taken aback. There hadn’t been much opportunity for conversation with a crowded car all the way, and they had finally gotten out of the car.
She cleared her throat, “Are you offering me some?”
Lin Yan pretended to smack her, but Song Yuhang took them herself, saying, “Hey, hey, don’t throw them. I can do it myself.”
Lin Yan’s pupils constricted, and she snatched them back, saying, “Who gave them to you? You think… Mmm…”
The sweet and sour juice of the oranges burst between their lips and teeth, perfectly offsetting the bitterness of the medication.
Lin Yan was taken aback, and Song Yuhang peeled another segment of the orange for her. “You’re so stingy, carrying candy with you and guarding it so closely. Are you a child?”
With a mouthful of orange, Lin Yan didn’t want to talk to her. She swallowed it down and then spoke, “Do you have a problem with having a childlike heart?”
“No, no,” Song Yuhang became more obedient and didn’t confront her. However, she still hadn’t handed over the orange segment she held.
Lin Yan had one, and wanting more, she reached out to take it. Song Yuhang dodged, saying, “Want some? Open your mouth, and I’ll feed you. I’m very generous.”
Song Yuhang was sitting on the outer side near the car door, and Lin Yan’s attempt to grab the orange segment looked as awkward as if she were hugging her from the side. It seemed uncomfortable no matter how you looked at it.
As her spoiled personality flared up, Lin Yan decided to sit back down, thinking, “I won’t eat it then, damn it!”
Who cares about your stupid orange!!
I’ll buy a whole orange grove when I get back and eat as much as I want!!!
Lin Yan was gritting her teeth in frustration, while Song Yuhang was savoring the orange with delight, peeling another piece and placing it in her mouth.
“Mmm, it’s delicious. Truly, these oranges, grown by the farmers themselves, are both sour and sweet. They’re not at all bitter, and there’s no pesticide taste.”
The unique fragrance of the oranges filled the car.
Lin Yan swallowed her saliva and turned her head away.
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Song Yuhang chuckled, still holding a segment of orange, and brought it to Lin Yan’s lips. “Ah, it’s a real shame that someone isn’t enjoying this. When we get back to Jiangcheng, there won’t be oranges as tasty as these.”
That cool, moist thing kept inching toward her lips, but Lin Yan resisted. Nonetheless, she was fed several pieces.
Song Yuhang enjoyed seeing Lin Yan’s resigned and helpless look as she ate, and it made her smile broadly.
“Hey, this is the last one.”
Lin Yan looked at the smiling face in front of her, which seemed increasingly annoying. She decided to play a little prank on her.
When it came to flirting, the spoiled princess was not one to be outdone.
Her red lips gently parted, and she ate the orange slice along with Song Yuhang’s fingers.
Song Yuhang “gulped” and swallowed hard, her throat moving up and down, rendering her speechless.
The car door was half-open, and the glass was transparent. Colleagues could come up at any moment.
She imitated a certain ambiguous action, different from the last time when she helped her remove the congestion from her finger. This time, it had a deliberate hint of seduction.
When her tongue lightly brushed the thin callus on the inside of Song Yuhang’s index finger, Song Yuhang couldn’t help but tremble.
An electric current surged up her spine.
She felt an itch all over her body, and her free hand clutched the fabric at her knee tightly, twisting the sturdy training suit into a tangled mess.
Time seemed to stand still, but the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
While Lin Yan proceeded deliberately, Song Yuhang became somewhat impatient. She both hoped that someone would come over quickly to end this somewhat lengthy torment for her and wished they wouldn’t come over.
So that Lin Yan could have more time, a bit more time with her…
Lin Yan observed her reaction, and her eyes sparkled gently, radiating a watery glint. She seemed overwhelmed by this action, and the orange juice flowed down her chin, slipping into her collar.
For a brief moment, Song Yuhang wanted to rush forward and wipe it off for her.
Faint voices could be heard from behind. Lin Yan let go of her, licked the corner of her lips, and her gaze was both seductive and haughty.
“Thanks for your hospitality, Officer Song.”
Fang Xin noticed that her ears were all red as soon as she came up. “What’s wrong, Captain Song? Not feeling well?”
Lin Yan sat next to her, playing with her phone calmly. “Feeling hot, aren’t you?”
Song Yuhang pulled her hat down over her face. “I’m fine…”
LP: My body felt hot reading that (⊙_⊙)