Silent Reading

TL: QuantumC

07-04-2020

Bonus update for the holiday :)

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Dong Qian lived in the "Lan-wan" neighborhood.

It was a newly-built residential area. Just a couple years ago, the place was still an old dingy alley. But it soon benefited from the sweeping flood of city-reconstruction projects and consequently, Dong Qian and his daughter got to move into a remodeled modern apartment built at the same place of their demolished alley hut.

These young apartments were equipped with many high-end technologies such as the floor heating system, central AC, air circulation and purification systems, etc. Merely a couple years ago these were still fancy terms, yet today they have become the new standard. The rising middle class in this city wanted to purchase a quality life by seeking tranquility, good service, and a convenient location for their home. Meanwhile, the old occupants seemingly got a free ride to the same 'quality life' by unwittingly signing a contract to trade in their land. But of course, only after moving back to the new apartments did they realize that it all just 'seemed' beautiful.

Their apartments and those built for sale were separated by a thick concrete fence, one side of which was heavily decorated by flowers and bushes, while the other side was left barren. The hierarchy couldn't be made more apparent.

When Xiao Haiyang and his colleague left Dong Qian's home, they found their police car surrounded by onlookers.

"It's parked here since early morning." An old man walking his dog pointed to the vehicle and said, "I saw it when I came down to buy breakfast. God knows what is taking them so long to investigate."

"Haven't you heard? A murderer used to live here. I saw his leaked address online, and it's this building." A young student showed the oldman his phone, the later squinted his eyes and seemed awed by the information tornado that swept the internet - what he wasn't familiar with.

"Look, are those two police officers?"

Before Xiao Haiyang made it to the car, he was almost drowned by the mouths and tongues of the people.

"Uncle Policeman, I heard that the murderer driver lived here. Are you here for that case?"

Xiao Haiyang was taken aback at first, but then quickly shook his head: "No, we're not. Stop guessing. Please let us pass."

The young boy holding his cellphone asked curiously: "Was there really an illegitimate son?"

Before the question finished, the boy was cut off and dragged aside by a well-groomed lady: "Quit being so nosy! If you keep reading about this nonsense online, I will not allow you to use your cellphone anymore --- Officer, I just want to ask a quick question: did the driver die? If not, was he arrested? Imagine being the next door neighbor to a murderer..."

Xiao Haiyang's hand briefly paused on the door handle. But he quickly pretended that he heard nothing, and went in the car silently.

"Wait...are you leaving? What does it take to answer a question, huh? It's an important public safety question!"

A man was parking his car on the other side. He complained to himself: "What did I say about buying an apartment next to these trade-in ones? You never know what kind of people would live next door..."

Xiao Haiyang stepped on the gas before the colleague even closed the door properly. As if being chased, he rushed out of the parking lot. At the exit of the residential block they ran into a minivan with the logo of a local media. The colleague saw the logo from afar and quickly tapped Xiao Haiyang: "Make a turn here... Let's keep away from the trouble."

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Xiao Haiyang quickly turned into a side alley. From the side mirror he saw some reporters and camera men jumping out of the minivan and trying to chase behind them. Luckily, they soon realized it was impossible and gave up. Instead, they snapped some shots of the police car swooshing away.

The colleague turned around and checked nervously. Seeing that the 'trouble' was far behind them, he finally relaxed and said: "The news travels fast. Haiyang, you see: it's all so different now compared to before. If you see something like this in the future, make sure to hold your tongue. If you do know how to play Tai-chi (1), then better run fast. No word should be leaked to the press besides ones coming from the official spokesperson. This is a very important discipline. Otherwise, wait for a good scolding from the big boss."

Play Tai-chi: it means 'to beat around the bush'. When playing Tai-chi, one diverts the blow from the opponent with strategic moves. This is similar to when some politician or spokesperson dodges questions with pretty talks..

Xiao Haiyang first nodded absentmindedly. Then, after a long while, he suddenly asked: "Can Dong Xiaoqing still live here?"

The colleague first replied with a confused "Huh?", then quickly realized what he meant and waved his hand indifferently: "It will be tough, for a while. But it will pass. After all, everyone is so busy with their own shitty lives. Who would remember this for long? Don't worry, after a month or two everyone will forget about it."

Xiao Haiyang agreed arduously. His driving wasn't like his blunt and hasty personality at all. Quite the opposite, he drove very cautiously -- perhaps too cautiously. He started breaking for a changing light long before reaching the crossing. The shaggy police car slowly came to a stop and barely jolted.

"But she will never forget it." Xiao Haiyang suddenly replied.

The colleague looked at him in surprise.

"If we couldn't find clear evidence to prove Dong Qian's innocence, then this page will never be turned in her heart. At first, when others question her she would argue back and defend her father's innocence. But it will remain like a fish bone in her throat that pokes out every so often. It will be like Schrodinger's box."

The colleague didn't expect such deep reflection from him. He asked back: "Schrodinger? You mean the cat?"

"The box that holds the cat." Xiao Haiyang's eyes remained on the traffic light. His glasses were slightly drooping. The top of the thick frame covered his eyes -- those sad, gloomy eyes: "So long as you don't open the box, you'll never know if the cat is still alive. The box will be stuck in your heart forever and will take up all the space and nothing else could fit. Every night you will doubt yourself. Everyday your thoughts will be occupied by it...the long and slow pain is like a sword that hangs above your head."

Ordinary people typically chat about daily hassles or discuss work related matters with their colleagues. In the Eastern culture, discussing one's feelings with a colleague, especially one that you don't know well, seemed a bit out of the ordinary, and it more or less made the colleague a bit uncomfortable.

He stammered. Not knowing what to say to this philosophical remark, he gave a hollow laugh.

On the other side, Xiao Haiyang seemed to still be lost in his own thoughts. He did not sense the awkwardness of his teammate at all, nor did he really expect any answers from him. After delivering the remarks, he shut his mouth and sunk deep into his own thoughts again.

Meanwhile, inside the Lan Wan residential district, Dong Xiaoqing sat in the living room alone, holding the phone. The TV was on and the local news program was showing updates on Zhou's case in a program re-run. The driver "Dong"'s name frequently flashed in some corners of the screen. On the tea table, there were three cups of tea that had already gone cold, indicating that some guests were here minutes ago.

The person over the phone talked very nicely. It was her HR manager: "Xiao Dong, you see...lately so many things were going on with your family. It's the peak season but everyone is very considerate about what happened. I've talked with the big boss already, they all agree that you deserve some time to rest and adjust. Don't worry about coming back to work for now...If there is any difficulty, do let us know. The company will try its best to help you out. Alright?"

They were firing her, politely. Dong Xiaoqing got the message. She didn't want to lose her grace. It took her all the strengths to control the trembling in her voice: "Okay. Manager Wang, sorry for the trouble."

"Ahem...there is no trouble at all." The HR was pleasantly surprised for how easy it went. Seeing how cooperative and understanding she was, his voice grew even softer: "I wish I could be more helpful, truly...I just filed a report to the big boss and applied for an additional quarter of wage and benefits for you..."

There was a persistent knocking on the door: "Miss Dong, are you home? We are from the Yan-Capital Evening News. We would like to ask you some questions."

"...when it's approved, I will mail you the check in one go. Although it's not much, it is better than none. If you need recommendation letters in the future, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Miss Dong! Miss Dong? I heard your voice already...Hello? Anyone home?"

Dong Xiaoqing struggled to take a deep breath, and hid her head in her arms.

Those loud voices were like water. Water flows in and out, following the momentum. It doesn't mean good, and it doesn't mean evil. But only those stuck in the whirlpool know how it feels to be suffocated.

Yet she can not blame this water drop, nor that one, for the suffocation. All the drops of water are innocent.

Then who could she blame?

No one has figured out the answer, not even over a thousand years.

Dong Xiaoqing didn't know how she managed to finish the call with HR. She had turned into a walking dead. After god knows how long, she finally regained consciousness. By then, most of the people at her door had left. Her plastic phone cover was somehow cracked. The attention-seeking news program has ended too, and an entertainment show was now playing.

She unintentionally curled herself up into a little ball. Her unfocused eyes landed on a slip of paper left on the tea table --- it was left by that policeman. He asked her to reach out to him anytime if she thought of something, or if she needed anything.

Fake. Dong Xiaoqing thought, expressionlessly.

At that time, the rowdy doorbell suddenly rang again.

Dong Xiaoqing almost jumped. Her rage and frustration was rekindled. She shot up, grabbed a cup on the table and threw it at the door. However, an angry curse was stuck at her throat, because she heard:

"Package --- anyone home?"

Dong Xiaoqing froze. The cup didn't make it to the door, and water spilled all over the sofa. The delivery man at the door knocked again. Then, following a faint murmuring was the squeak of the storage closet door: he left the package inside the cupboard at her entrance, and left in a hurry.

Dong Xiaoqing roughly pressed some napkins on the sofa to soak up the tea. After a short hesitation, she went to check through the peephole. Seeing that no one was outside, she quickly opened the door ajar and took in the package.

It was very light, but very heavily wrapped. She didn't remember buying anything online lately. Who would mail her anything at this time? Dong Xiaoqing confusingly checked the writing on the package. Then she froze again---

It was from the address of Dong Qian's truck carrier. Both the sender and the receiver names were 'Dong Qian'.

Since Zhou Junmao died and Dong Qian became the suspect, every single belongings of his, both in his office and at home, had been thoroughly screened by the police. Everything that is, except for this slow package that took three days to arrive even for a same-city delivery.

Dong Xiaoqing ripped the package apart with her shaking hands. A black-and-white picture of a woman fell out first. It was the same photo as the one hanging on the wall of her living room --- her long deceased mother. There were also some gruesome shots of the car accident that took her, and a death certificate provided by the hospital.

On the backside of the death certificate, there were collages of newspaper articles of the car accident.

Dong Xiaoqing first thought that these were her father's cherished memory of her mother. Right when she was about to put them away, she noticed a line on the old newspaper. It was like someone had poured a barrel of ice water over her head: she suddenly 'woke' from the trance --- the main character of those reports were not the poor woman who lost her life in the accident. Rather, it was a quite famous local entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur was driving his car and suddenly got rear-ended by a large freight truck. The car lost control and headed to the opposite lane, crashing into another truck. It had resulted in multiple collisions. The entrepreneur and the freight truck driver were killed on scene. One unfortunate vehicle on the opposite lane carried Dong Qian and his wife. Both were heavily wounded and rushed to the hospital. The wife did not make it.

Dong Xiaoqing shook the package upside down. Everything fell out: some random maps with marked routes, some hand-painted diagrams, a photocopy of a very large bill, and many close-up shots of license plate numbers and a stack of personal information of some strangers.

And one of them was Zhou Junmao!

Zhou Junmao's paper had a picture stuck on the back. It was exactly the Bently that the old man rode when the accident took place.

Dong Xiaoqing's heartbeat thundered. Her hands shook uncontrollably. She found a small envelope buried inside the stack of papers. On top, it was the scribbling of Dong Qian that said "To Xiao Qing".

Days soon passed, but the talk about Zhou Huaijin's abduction case not only didn't subside, but even heated up more intensely. The ancient photos and news reports about Zhou Huaijin attending public events were all dug out and scrutinized. Even the mysterious founder of the Zhou's Empire was frequently discussed, despite decades of absence from the public's eyes.

"This man's Chinese name is "Zhou Yahou"...Jeez, a handsome one..." Lang Qiao paced around the office, "He was half-Chinese and half-White...well, slightly more Chinese than White. He married a Chinese wife too. He was a second generation immigrant from a well-to-do family, dropped out from Ivy-league to start his own company --- Zhou Junmao was merely a minor sidekick of his back then. Zheng Kaifeng wasn't even a sidekick. When Zhou Yahou started his company, Zheng had just stowed away to America and was still living in hiding.

Tao Ran asked, surprisingly: "Zheng Kaifeng was an illegal immigrant?"

"Ran away when he was a teenager," Lang Qiao continued, "worked under some people smugglers, then somehow got a legal identity after meeting Zhou Junmao. Seeing him now and seeing his poor early years...tut tut...fate is such a naughty player..."

Someone objected: "Qiao-qiao, could you stop pacing around already? You're making me dizzy."

"I am staaarving to death, my dear camarad." Lang Qiao moaned, "The feeder is 10 minutes late already. My stomach is currently digesting itself..."

Before she finished, the aroma of fried pancakes seeped in from the hallway. Lang Qiao dashed towards the entrance and greeted the food bearer like people in the occupied region welcoming the liberation troops: "Boss--!"

Luo Wenzhou stepped aside to avoid collision: "Mind your manners."

"A hungry child knows no manners." Lang Qiao picked through the food he brought, "Wow, why so many varieties today?"

Luo Wenzhou didn't answer. He thought: Who knows what that drama queen does not eat.

It was a Friday, the day that Fei Du came in. Luo Wenzhou at first bought breakfast for the team as usual, but then thought of this and went back to buy some more. So he accidentally ran a little behind.

He pretended that nothing happened, and nonchalantly walked into the office, but only to see Fei Du's empty desk. His face immediately straightened: "Didn't I already stress on the rules? Now this? Tao Ran, give him a call right now. Look what the time is already! Where the heck is he fooling around this time?"

Tao Ran: "..."

Luo Wenzhou finally realized the weird expression on everyone's face: "What are y'all staring at?"

Lang Qiao made an exaggerated mischievous face and pointed at the coat on Fei Du's chair. Using a whisper that's loud enough for everyone to hear, she said: "He arrived half an hour ago...just left for Chief Lu's office..."

Luo Wenzhou: "..."

Tao Ran added, word by word: "Oh, and, Chief Lu called the office just now looking for you. I picked it up, got quite a scolding, and was asked "Can Luo Wenzhou ever quit his slacking and lack of discipline? Ever?"

Luo Wenzhou: "..."

The whole criminal investigation unit, while enjoying Captain Luo's food, gave him a loud and unanimous "boo --- "

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Many exciting things happen starting the next Chapter (wink