Breaking Through the Clouds

Every year, Yan Xie’s birthday is home. On that day, uncles, aunts, aunts, cousins, cousins, etc. who he may not see twice throughout the year will come to eat. There are thirty or forty relatives, and there is a garden downstairs There are three long dining tables, which are spectacular to look at.

Yan Xie drove in, but before the car stopped, Ms. Zeng Cuicui, who was dressed as if she was ten years younger, quickly came up to her with an emerald crocodile leather Kelly handbag. The first thing she said was: "Where's Xiao Lu?"

Yan Yan got out of the car, expressionless, and said casually, "Oh, he's not feeling well, he won't be coming."

Yan's mother was taken aback, and asked cautiously, "Is there a fight?"

"—Where is it, where did you think about it." Yan Yan laughed now, and stuffed the red wine brought from home into his mother's arms: "Your son is so charming, and it's too late for my daughter-in-law to love me. Xiongxin Leopard dares to quarrel with me?"

Ms. Zeng Cui rolled her eyes restrainedly, and saw Yan Yan walk in the door without stopping, shouting "Hi uncle!", "Good cousin!", "Yes, second aunt is young again!" Like a whirlwind, it passed through the crowd and reached the storage room on the second floor.Zeng Cui thought he was looking for something, but after a while, he saw him blowing down the stairs again like a whirlwind, holding a mahogany box in his hand, walking out without stopping.

"You prodigal bastard!" Zeng Cui chased after him and shouted, "You took out your father's treasure collection again, didn't you?"

Yan Yan didn't turn his head back: "My dad said, everything about him will be mine in the end!"

Ms. Zeng Cui had her hands on her hips, and when she was about to scold her son, Yan Yan added another sentence from a distance: "Except for his favorite wife!"

"..." Ms. Zeng Cui's pretty face flushed, and she forgot about all the yelling and cursing in her stomach. After a while, she said angrily: "The old and the young are not serious." Then she went back to the house to find her husband secretly happily. .

Yan Xie put the mahogany box containing four pieces of tea cakes into the glove box under the co-pilot, clapped his hands and closed the car door, thinking that this would at least keep Jiang Ting's soul in his dreams for a whole year—but according to Jiang Ting's style of acting, I must be reluctant to open the second cake for a while, I guess I will drink other cheap tea for a few weeks, and then in the dead of night, I will secretly open the old colleague behind his back and drink it, satisfied He licked his mouth and pretended nothing happened.

After all, Yan Xie was still young, and when he thought of Jiang Ting, his heart became slightly hot, and he didn't realize that the corners of his mouth had turned up.

"Hello third uncle and third aunt!"

"Hey, thank you, aunt!"

"Hmm, my cousin has grown taller again, how much did you pass in the final exam?"

……

It is a fixed process every year, and Yan Yan has already handled it very skillfully.

The real person in charge of the Yan family is Yan Yan's parents. He himself does not participate in the business at all. In the future, he is destined to be a hand-off shopkeeper who hires a professional manager. All kinds of interest disputes and business dealings are almost not involved in him.The main purpose of his appearance at the family banquet every year is to declare that he is still alive, neither died in the line of duty, nor was he temporarily kicked out by his parents because of being an older leftover man, and that was enough.

The third aunt leaned over from the other side of the dining table, and said earnestly: "Yan Xie is one year older, not too young, you should pay attention to starting a family and starting a business!"

Yan Yan smiled and said yes.

"Seeing that your second cousin has already found a girlfriend, and your first cousin is pregnant soon, why are you still single? If your job is dangerous, you should start a family early. A man needs to be safe in the future before he can concentrate on his career, understand?"

Yan Yan: "Yes, yes, yes..."

Every time at this time in the past, Yan Yan would be scolded by the elders, but this year, Yan's father had quarreled with his brother-in-law twice, and suddenly put the bowl away, and said straightforwardly: "Who said my son can't be successful?" Home? My son is already dating!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the third aunt was almost startled.

"The partner is also from the Municipal Bureau. He has a very good job, is about the same age, and is very handsome! He even cooked dinner for us at home yesterday!" Father Yan showed off calmly in the eyes of all the relatives around: "If you don't believe me, ask Cui Cui, right Cui Cui?"

Yan Yan: "..."

Yan's mother never loses Yan's father's face in front of people, and immediately took out her mobile phone under the shocked eyes of her surroundings, opened the photo album, and brought up the oil-fried prawns, potato stewed beef, tomato scrambled eggs, and ribs soup that were taken at Yan's house yesterday ... and so on, the picture with eighteen layers of filters was added, and the relatives at the table circulated it one by one, cheering one after another, and all kinds of polite praises were endless.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's just that there may be a lack of fertility." Yan's mother and the seventh and eighth aunts said modestly: "But I have already agreed to go to the United States to carry three children as a surrogate, so that both children will be good! I agree that they have a child who can be named ever……"

All kinds of complex feelings surged out from the bottom of Yan Yan's heart, and it was hard to tell whether it was funny or emotional.At this moment, the little cousins ​​and cousins ​​screaming and running around, the little niece crying in the next table, and the distant future brothers-in-law and daughters-in-law who couldn't even recognize each other all made his heart suddenly shudder. There was a trace of strange yearning and melancholy, although he himself couldn't tell where the confusion came from.

Yan Yan stood up quietly, exited the hall, stood by the porch of the backyard and lit a cigarette, stared blankly with her mobile phone for a long time, and finally opened WeChat.Countless unread messages are tinkling red dots, which are birthday congratulations from colleagues in the Municipal Bureau, Deputy Director Wei, Gou Li, Qin Chuan, Technical Detective Huang Xing, Ma Xiang, Gao Panqing...

Yan Xie clicked on "surnamed Lu", hesitated for a long time, entered and deleted several times, and finally pressed the send button:

【where? 】

Jiang Ting did not reply immediately.

Sounds of persuasion, yelling, loud talking and laughing, and mutual teasing came from the direction of the hall. Although there were all kinds of quarrels and unpleasantness in private, they were still lively and lively when they got together, like a big family.

Yan Xi took the mobile phone and walked down the porch aimlessly.It was already late at this time, the lights were on on the porch, the water lilies in the garden wafted a slight fragrance, and the nocturnal insects huddled among the grasses and chirped long and short; I don’t know when Yan Yan walked to the door of the back kitchen, through the glass window, only There is a carefully prepared three-layer cake on the round table, the beautiful decoration is like a handicraft, and the fresh cream is slightly orange under the light.

With a thought in his heart, Yan Yan picked up his mobile phone and took a picture, and sent it to Jiang Ting.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ting's reply just came at this time:

【at home. 】

After the three-tiered cake under the light was successfully sent, only three seconds later, Yan Yan's phone vibrated again——

The one surnamed Lu: [Happy birthday. 】

[From now on, every birthday should be safe and happy. 】

Yan Yan's heart burned, and all the internal organs were ironed out at that moment. Indescribable comfort burst out from every pore on the whole body. Spark countless fireworks of joy.

The desire to see that person suddenly exploded like a tsunami. In Yan Mao's more than 30 years of life, there had never been any impulse so anxious and urgent that it shook every nerve and even the eardrum.

He couldn't even wait for a moment, he hurriedly put the phone in his pocket, turned around and ran back to the lively hall.Yan's mother was looking for her son to come over to toast, and she saw Yan Xi striding towards her, with a smile on her handsome face, reflecting the bright lights in the room, which made her stunned for some reason; She was stopped by Yan Yan, and shouted in the noisy background: "Mom, you eat first, I'm going back!"

Yan's mother asked in amazement: "The cake hasn't been cut yet, where are you going? Cut the cake for me!"

Yan Xie casually thought of an excuse: "The city bureau has a temporary emergency..."

"If you have something to do, you will cut the cake for the old lady. Do you think that thing is cheap?!"

Yan's mother shouted to her cousins ​​and cousins ​​to help push the cake up from the kitchen, grabbed her son's hand, held his head down, and cut them piece by piece among the birthday songs around her, putting them in stacks of silver cakes. In a small dish.As soon as the children left with the cake in their hands, Yan Xie immediately put the knife away and stuffed the cake decorated with cherries to his mother: "I'm leaving!"

Yan's mother let out a hey, and saw Yan Xie rushing up to hug his father, and walking out with his head in his arms.Father Yan was confused by his son's sudden enthusiasm, before he had time to ask, he rushed out of the gate without looking back.

"You bastard!" Yan's mother chased after her to the door, shouting, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Where are you going, be careful driving at night!"

"I know!" Yan Xie started the car, turned around beautifully in a triangle, poked his head out of the car window and said with a smile: "Mom, I love you! See you later!"

Da Ben roared and went away, Yan's mother stood on the steps inexplicably, and only a trail of smoke was left in the front yard slowly drifting among the street lamps.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the traffic flow in the city center eased slightly, the commercial district was feasting and feasting, and the unique fragrance of the metropolis at night wafted from the half-opened car windows.

Da Ben stopped slowly in front of the red light, Yan Yan casually glanced at the rearview mirror, took out his mobile phone from the side of the car door, and sent a voice message to "the one surnamed Lu": "Guess where I am?"

The upper part of the screen shows inputting, Shaoqing stopped again, and what Jiang Ting sent back was also a voice:

"on the way home?"

The smile on the corner of Yan Yan's mouth deepened, and before he said anything, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a brightly lit cake shop on the opposite corner of the intersection, and turned a corner as soon as he reached his mouth: "Well, I brought you a birthday cake."

He could almost imagine Jiang Ting's dumbfounded expression, and soon he heard the man answer with a smile on his face: "Okay, drive slowly, there is no rush."

The red light turns green and the car in front starts to move.Yan Xie put away his mobile phone, quickly glanced left and right, took advantage of the few seconds when the right-turn lane was still empty, quickly turned on the light to change lanes, made a beautiful dash, roared onto the cross street, and then made a U-turn. At the entrance of the circuit, it stopped firmly in front of the cake shop.

A few minutes later, he walked out of the store with a sliced ​​cake wrapped in a white paper bag, put the paper tray on the passenger seat, and was about to start the car when he caught a glimpse of something from the side window and paused.

——Under the red light at the intersection where he temporarily changed lanes just now, an ordinary silver Hyundai parked on the side of the road, neither moving forward nor flashing twice, as if it was waiting for someone.

A strange feeling suddenly appeared in Yan Mao's heart: Did I see this car in the rearview mirror just now?

This idea is actually a bit absurd. Household mobility scooters like this are very common on the streets of Jianning City. They all look alike. If you don’t look closely at the license plate, you can’t tell who’s who.But after all, Yan Xie has been a criminal policeman for so many years, and he has an inexplicable sensitivity to certain things, as if some shadow quickly passed over from the deepest part of his heart.

Beep--

The horn sounded from behind, Yan Xie frowned, stepped on the accelerator and turned right.

His pause just now was only a matter of a few seconds, and no one could see anything unusual.Yan Yan also intentionally did not show any abnormalities, and after going on the road again, he always paid attention to the rearview mirror and sideview mirror. Not long after, he saw a silver body flashing again in the left lane with a distance of tens of meters. shadow.

Yan Xie's eyebrows twitched slightly.

It's the Hyundai.

Such a coincidence?

Yan Mao has lived for more than 30 years, and the last thing he believes is a clever word.He stepped on the accelerator slightly, and the S450 with the modified engine made a dull roar. He suddenly accelerated and changed lanes, bypassing the car in front and speeding through the traffic lights; at the next intersection where he should continue to drive, he turned on the light and turned right. Turn a corner while glancing into the side mirror.

The silver car not far away turned on the right turn signal, and it was obvious that it was going to follow!

——Someone is deliberately following!

Who is bold enough to follow the car of the deputy head of the criminal police?

"Grandson looking for death..." Yan Yan cursed in a low voice, deliberately slowed down the speed of the car, held the steering wheel with one hand, and at the same time took out the phone without looking at it and dialed: "Hey Ma Xiang? Is anyone still in the bureau?" ?”

"Brother Yan, happy birthday—!" Ma Xiang's enthusiastic voice came from the opposite side: "I'm here, I'm in the bureau, and I'm about to start a fight with Brother Gou, Brother Qin and the others. Oh, we miss you so much if we don't see each other for a few days It's..."

"I'm being followed." Yan Xie interrupted him, his face sinking like water: "I'm now east of Gonggong Avenue, near the exit of Jindao Road, and the follower is a silver Hyundai Elantra, whose license plate number is temporarily unclear. I Now I will send you the location immediately, you go to the traffic police brigade to lock the target car number and track it back, hurry up!"

On the opposite side of the phone, Ma Xiang's elated expression was gradually replaced by seriousness, and when Yan Xi finished his last word, he had already got up and rushed out of the office door, leaving only a short and powerful sentence: "Yes!"

Workers' Avenue ends in a blink of an eye, and the farther away from the downtown business district, the fewer vehicles on the road. On both sides of the window of the S450, street lights and trees swept back smoothly and quickly. Yan Xie raised his eyes and stared at the rearview mirror, only to see the headlights flashing again, and the silver car followed again.

who is it?

What do you want to do?

He doesn't usually drive this S450, who would have known it was his car?

All kinds of questions on the surface quickly quieted down, and deeper in my heart, a terrible guess vaguely emerged.

But Yan Yan wasn't surprised at all, or he had already prepared himself subconsciously, and he didn't feel the slightest surprise when things actually happened. Soon he led the Elantra through three green lights in a row , until Ma Xiang's phone rang again: "Hello?"

"Brother Yan, I just contacted the traffic police brigade, and the nearby traffic police and special patrol police immediately dispatched to intercept. Be careful not to leave the current jurisdiction of the sub-bureau, and do not reduce or increase the speed of the vehicle, we will be there later!"

Yan Yan uttered a word: "Okay." Then he hung up the phone, switched to WeChat, clicked on the top dialog box, and said close to his mouth: "I suddenly remembered that there was a document left in the office, and I have to stop by the Municipal Bureau , may be late to get home."

At the same moment, on the sofa in the apartment, the phone screen fluorescently reflected Jiang Ting's slightly frowned eyebrows: "What the hell are you..."

But immediately he swallowed the words back, and sent another voice, this time only four simple words:

"Drive carefully."

--Drive carefully.

The short four words without any fluctuation in tone, but for some reason made Yan Mao's heart palpitate.

When he found out just now that he was being followed, even in some more dangerous situations before, Yan Xie had never felt such weightless palpitations in his heart, as if Jiang Ting had already felt something.

Without further explanation, he closed WeChat and returned to the address book. He continued to drive forward and dialed Ma Xiang's phone again. At the same time, he raised his head and looked in the rearview mirror. After a few seconds, his pupils shrank suddenly——

The stalker disappeared.

He happened to be in the middle of a two-lane straight road, the front and back were flat and bright, and the visibility was excellent.The rearview mirror can see at least 200 meters behind without hindrance, but apart from a few taxis and pickup trucks, there is no shadow of the silver modern car.

"Brother Yan!" The phone was connected at this time, and Ma Xiang asked eagerly: "Are you still on Jindao Road? I have already set off from the Municipal Bureau!"

"...he's gone."

Ma Xiang didn't respond: "What?"

The S450 slowed down, passed the long street smoothly, and stopped slowly under the red light.Not far away, the trucks and taxis on the other lane stopped one after another, and the space beyond was flat, and the elusive stalker had quietly disappeared.

There was a trace of coldness in Yan Yan's voice, and he said in a low voice: "He suddenly gave up."

Red and blue police lights were on in the distance, and a nearby police motorcycle was rapidly approaching Jindao Road.On Ma Xiang's side, there was a noisy background, and there was a rattling sound of the turn signal, and he must also be rushing to the scene.

Corresponding to this uproar was the long and heavy silence between the two of them.

——The stalker's methods are clumsy, the technology is jerky, and they can't even hide their tracks well.But the visitor was able to choose to give up decisively at the same time as the police dispatched. His keen sense of smell and precise timing made people feel terrified as soon as they thought about it.

"...Don't worry about Brother Yan," Ma Xiang's deliberately lowered voice finally came from Bluetooth, with a hint of worry: "I'll notify the traffic police brigade to call the surveillance cameras on Workers' Avenue, no matter what the other party is People, they must be able to extract the license plate number."

Yan Xie took a breath, the bright neon lights of the urban night sky passed through the car window, illuminating half of his tough cheeks, and cast a shadow on the corner of his lips, while the other half was hidden in the deep darkness of the car.

"Don't let too many people know about this matter, especially Director Lu and Deputy Director Wei." After a pause, Yan Yan continued: "Be careful."

Immediately he hung up the phone.

·

Four 10 minutes later, the apartment complex.

The S450 drove into the gate of the community, and before entering the garage, he saw a familiar figure standing under the streetlight from a distance, Yan Yan immediately stopped and lowered the side window: "Why are you waiting here?"

Jiang Ting put his right hand in his trouser pocket, and his left hand held his mobile phone. He didn't know how long he had been standing there.His expression was always calm and unchanged, but for some reason, when Yan Yan saw him, he seemed to be slightly relieved.

"Come down and walk around." Jiang Ting moved his shoulders habitually, and his joints made a clicking sound after a long period of tension and then suddenly relaxed, but he didn't seem to care: "Are you okay? Why did you delay so late?"

Indeed, for a few seconds, Yan Xie looked at him, and suddenly felt an urge to tell everything.

But at the same time as the words "I'm being followed", another scene suddenly appeared in his mind, as clear as it was happening at this moment - that was actually yesterday in the bathroom, Jiang Ting grabbed Holding his arm, his lips seemed to be trembling slightly, before he said softly after a while: "You will regret it..."

- will I?

Or do you already think I will?

The brief impulse just now was suddenly pushed back by a stronger force, and disappeared in an instant.Yan Yan looked at Jiang Ting from the car, smiled slowly, and then stretched out his hand from the car window with such a smile, and shook his slightly cold fingertips firmly.

"It's okay." He said gently, "I couldn't find the materials in the office, so I was delayed for a while."

Half of Jiang Ting's brows were still slightly wrinkled.

"Come get in the car, I brought you a cake." Yan Xie leaned forward and opened the door of the passenger seat, motioning for him to come up: "Come on, let's go home together."