Chapter 39: Standing in the Wind, A Sudden Reunion
“The deceased is a male, an employee of the Operations Department at Huaying Media. His name was Lou Qilei. He was divorced and living in Ning City alone, raising a daughter who has been hospitalized with a severe illness. Aside from her, he had no other relatives in the city, which is why no one noticed he had been missing for over a week.”
While the police discussed the case outside, inside the interrogation room, Jiang Si was dutifully explaining the sequence of events.
“Just now, I thought I saw a human hand in the gap between the elevator doors. I have a background in fine arts, so Iām very sensitive to human anatomy. It felt wrong, so I called the police immediately after getting out of the elevator.”
The officer nodded. “Right, I checked your background. Didn’t you already resign? Why did you suddenly come back here today?”
“I came to discuss work with the company,” Jiang Si replied.
“What work?”
“Issues regarding the copyright ownership of a film.”
“Do you know the young woman outside?”
“She’s a former colleague. She was responsible for receiving me today,” Jiang Si said.
“Did you know the deceased?”
“Iāve seen him before. He was also a colleague, though we weren’t in the same department, so we never spoke.”
The officer compared the statement with his notes repeatedly. Finding no discrepancies, he finally nodded. “That’s all for now. You can go.”
As he finished, he recalled how hard Zhao Susu had been cryingālike a pear blossom bathed in raināand couldn’t help but add, “Is the pressure at your workplace really that high?”
“?” Jiang Si looked puzzled.
“That girl was frightened out of her wits. She kept saying there was a ghost in the elevator or something. Tell her to get some rest when she goes back. Try to cut down on the overtime; health is what matters most.”
Jiang Si sighed. “To be honest, our boss is a total slave driver. Overtime is practically corporate culture here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have quit.”
The officer expressed sympathy and understanding, though there was nothing he could do about it.
“It’s like that everywhere these days. We have to work overtime often, too.”
Outside, Zhao Susu sat on a bench, her eyes rimmed with red. She had just barely managed to control her emotions when she saw Jiang Si come out. She went up to greet him. “Brother Jiang.”
A fresh graduate witnessing a ghost and then stumbling upon a colleague’s corpseāit would be strange if she wasn’t traumatized.
“Why don’t you go back and rest?” Jiang Si frowned. It was hard to understand why she was still thinking about work when she looked so haggard.
“I just passed my probation period. Asking for leave now… it wouldn’t look good.”
“Even if you perform perfectly, Ge Kai isn’t going to give you a raise,” Jiang Si said coldly. “Go home. If he asks, tell him you were keeping me company at the police station and that if he has an issue, he can come find me.”
Zhao Susu hesitated. “Then… thank you, Brother Jiang. I’ll set up another time with you later.”
“Mhm.”
Watching her leave, Jiang Si was just about to hail a taxi back to his hotel when his phone rang.
He picked it up casually. The person on the other end remained silent for a long timeāso long that Jiang Si thought it was a pocket dial. Just as he was about to hang up, the voice suddenly spoke.
“Jiang Si?”
Jiang Siās expression froze. Within a few breaths, he guessed the identity of the strange male voice. “It’s me.”
“…Shen Hu said you came to Ning City. Are you free right now? I’d like to treat you to a meal so we can talk.”
“…”
The wind lifted the stray hairs on Jiang Si’s forehead. In front of the police station, traffic flowed like a river.
Nearby, someone impatiently leaned on their horn, rolling down the window to shout at pedestrians blocking the way. Further out, vendors yelled from the roadside, busy packing goods for customers. Even further away, a row of homing birds glided across the sky, turning into black dots before vanishing into the mist-shrouded forest. Under the sky filled with drifting clouds, the mortal world was alive with the smoke and fire of daily life.
“I’m in front of the police station on XXX Road. Come find me.”
Hai Di paused, then hurriedly asked, “Did something happen to you?”
“I’m fine,” Jiang Si said. “Just come pick me up.”
He had imagined their reunion many times. That bit of artistic romanticism in his bones hadn’t been completely erased by reality yet. He had even thought that if filmed through a lens, it would either be a dramatic descent from the sky in a heart-stopping scene, or a quiet gaze shared across a crowd of thousands.
But he never expected it to be him standing in front of a police station, watching Hai Di get out of a car holding an umbrella.
The two looked at each other for a long time. Hai Di didn’t remember Jiang Si’s face, yet he locked onto him the very first second.
A light drizzle began to fall in the deepening evening, the chill soaking in with the wind. Jiang Si trotted over, his smile flawless. “Hai Di, long time no see.”
A single drop of water hung from Jiang Si’s long eyelashes. As he blinked, it rolled down the corner of his eye, leaving a long, winding trail across his fair skin.
Yet he seemed unaware of it, standing under the umbrella, looking at Hai Di.
“You…” Hai Di pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, reaching out to wipe it away. But just as he touched the warm face, he suddenly stopped. Awkwardly, he said, “I’m sorry, that was presumptuous of me.”
But since his hand was already out, it was hard to take it back.
Jiang Si asked, “Is there something on my face?”
“A drop of rain.” Hai Di gently wiped it twice before retracting his hand. The patch of skin on Jiang Si’s face turned slightly red, making Hai Di’s heart skip a beat.
“I’ve booked a restaurant. Let’s get in the car first.” Saying this, Hai Di opened the door for Jiang Si.
The heater was on inside. As soon as Jiang Si got in, the chill lingering around him vanished, replaced by a dry warmth.
With a driver in the front, Hai Di sat down next to him. Once the car started, the interior fell into an awkward silence.
Jiang Si cleared his throat, breaking the quiet. “How is your health these days?”
“Much better, thank you.” Hai Di hadn’t expected him to ask that. Turning his head, he saw the genuine concern in Jiang Si’s eyes and felt slightly moved.
“I apologize. I don’t really remember the things between us. Shen Hu said… we are friends?”
“Something like that,” Jiang Si smiled, saying no more.
The atmosphere returned to how it was before, perhaps even stiffer.
Hai Di vaguely sensed something was wrong. Did he say something incorrect?
The driver turned on the interior lights. The warm yellow glow illuminated Jiang Si. That tuft of highlighted hair, having gotten wet, curled up even more, casting a rebellious shadow.
Unknowingly, Hai Di’s gaze was drawn to it. He suppressed the urge to reach out and smooth it down. Searching for a topic, he asked, “I forgot to ask earlier, what were you doing at the police station? Did something happen?”
Jiang Si glanced at him sideways and said calmly, “I found a corpse, called the police, and went there to give a statement.”
“Where did you go that there was a corpse?” Hai Di was astonished.
Jiang Si gave a strange smile. “What’s so rare about corpses? With streets full of people, once they die, aren’t they all just corpses?”
The driver in the front row couldn’t help but glance at him through the rearview mirror, wondering why this person spoke so aggressively.
“It seems you’ve seen a lot of them.” Hai Di, for some inexplicable reason, had no temper with him at all. He remained gentle. “I was worried you might have some psychological trauma, but now it seems you don’t.”
“Who said I don’t?” Jiang Si fell silent. “Trauma is the kind of thing where, if I don’t say it, could you tell?”
“Sorry,” Hai Di apologized immediately.
“What are you apologizing for? Is it related to you?”
“…I thought you were angry.”
Jiang Si found this amusing. “Why would I be angry? You didn’t mess with me.”
Hai Di was rendered speechless. He had lived for over twenty years, surrounded by people fawning over him wherever he went. People always tried every trick in the book to keep a conversation going with him; no one had ever spoken to him like this.
But strangely, his subconscious felt that Jiang Si should have this kind of personality.
At first glance, one would be stunned by that face.
At second glance, one would assume his personality was as lovely as his appearance.
Only after getting familiar would one realize the vibrant soul beneath the looks.
A beautiful man with a poisonous tongue and a soft heart.
Jiang Si realized his emotions were off. He was taking his anger out on Hai Di, even though the amnesia wasn’t something anyone could have predicted.
The fact that Hai Di had taken the initiative to contact him was already surprising enough. Not to mention that he was sitting right next to him, alive and well.
Wasn’t that enough?
Just as Jiang Si had told Shen Hu before: As long as he’s alive, nothing else matters.
“Too many things happened today, I’m just in a bad mood,” Jiang Si said. “I wasn’t targeting you. Seeing you safe and sound… I’m already very happy.”
“It’s okay.” Hai Di shook his head. “I should be the one thanking you. Shen Hu said you saved me.”
“Is that what he told you?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Si listened as he continued, “He said that for my sake, you sought help every day, fed me incense worth a fortune, and in the end, disregarding your own body, you let your blood flow to use a forbidden technique that nearly cost you your life… Is your body okay now?”
“…” Jiang Si wanted to speak but stopped. How was Hai Di easier to fool as a human than as a ghost? Although, what Shen Hu said wasn’t technically wrong.
It was just slightly exaggerated.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Si responded after a few seconds of guilty conscience.
The car soon arrived at the destination. Not knowing what Jiang Si liked, Hai Di had chosen a restaurant serving cuisine from Jiang Si’s hometownāthe safest bet.
Jiang Si was a bit touched. “This is rare. I thought I’d be eating takeout again today.”
“Eating takeout isn’t good for your health,” Hai Di said. “If you like it, we can come here often. The food here is decent.”
Jiang Si waved his hand. “I lived in Ning City for seven or eight years, so I’m familiar with this place. Mainly, I can’t cook, so I rely on takeout to survive.”
“You worked in Ning City?”
“Yeah, went to school and worked here.” Jiang Si sighed. “I thought it would be my second hometown.”
Hai Di frowned slightly. “If you have any difficulties, tell me. If I can help, I definitely won’t refuse.”
Jiang Si turned to look at him. The expression on Hai Di’s face didn’t look like a joke. He asked, “I forgot to ask, how old are you this year?”
“…27.”
“I thought you were thirty-five and up. You talk like an old veteran cadre.” Jiang Si’s mouth was as sharp as ever.
Hai Di pretended not to hear and walked ahead to lead the way.
Jiang Si quickened his pace, tugging at Hai Di’s fluttering coat tail. When the man turned around, Jiang Si curved his eyes into a smile. “Don’t be like that. Angry already?”
From the rebellious tips of his hair to his smiling brows, Hai Di looked at him inch by inch. His brain reacted before he could think, blurting out, “No.”
“That’s good.” Jiang Si let go and entered the private room to take a seat.
The waiter served the dishes quickly. The chef’s cooking was quite authentic. As long as he didn’t have to cook himself, Jiang Si wasn’t picky at all and ate with gusto.
After a while, Hai Di couldn’t help but ask, “…Where are you staying now?”
“A hotel,” Jiang Si said frankly. “I came here to handle some business. I’ll head back in a few days.”
“What business? Can Iā”
“Brother Hai, don’t worry. If I need something, I won’t be polite,” Jiang Si deliberately pitched his voice, amusing himself as soon as the words left his mouth.
He sighed with emotion, “I never thought there’d be a day when I could cling to a sugar daddy’s thigh.”
“Mhm.” Hai Di pursed his lips, putting on a serious expression.
Jiang Si’s mood remained fairly good until he received a call from Ge Kai.
Ge Kai immediately lashed out, demanding to know why Jiang Si hadn’t kept his promise and stood him up.
Holding a spoonful of soup, Jiang Si listened while he drank. Only after Ge Kai finished his rant did he speak. “You’re right, I did it on purpose. I have things to do tomorrow too, so how about we talk in a couple of days?”
“You! Jiang Si, do you not want to survive in this industry anymore? Do you believe I can have you blacklisted?!”
“Oh my, I’m so scared,” Jiang Si said expressionlessly. “If you had that ability, you would have used it already. Let’s see who listens to you outside of your little department.”
“I thought that after three months, you might have improved a little. I didn’t expect you to still be this brainless. They say smart people go bald, but you seem to defy normal human physiological development. You went bald, yet you have no IQ. Youāre practically dragging down the average level of humanity. Did you forget that you are the one begging me for something by coming to Ning City?”
Several muffled grunts came from the receiver. Ge Kai was furious but had to swallow his rage to communicate rationally. “Can you come over tomorrow? Let’s solve the problem quickly so no one wastes time.”
“I…” Jiang Si noticed the gaze falling on him and nodded at Hai Di. “We’ll see. I’ll look at the situation tomorrow.”
With that, he hung up the phone directly.
On the other end, Ge Kai was so angry his blood pressure shot straight to his brain. Dizzy, he collapsed into his chair, forcing himself to take several deep breaths before he could recover.
Zhang Shuo, who had heard the whole thing, sneered when he saw this. “Looks like Jiang Si really doesn’t take you seriously.”
“This is simply… simply lawless! What is wrong with him!”
Jiang Si didn’t go back to his hometown; he must have gone for advanced training in savagery. How could one mouth be so toxic?
He had always been blunt, but after resigning, he was like the Monkey King without the tightening circletācompletely unleashed.
“Why did you have to provoke him when things were fine?” Zhang Shuo finally vented some of his spite. The scene of Ge Kai humiliating him in public a few days ago was still fresh in his memory.
Back in the restaurant, Jiang Si explained innocently, “I’m usually not this direct.”
At most, he was just passive-aggressive.
Hai Di, having witnessed his skills, felt helpless but inexplicably fortunate.
Luckily, my family upbringing was strict, and I don’t have a young master’s temper.
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