dead innocent

The heavy rain continued until two o'clock in the morning, with a pause in the middle, and then began to fall again at three o'clock in the middle of the night, and it didn't completely die down until after six o'clock in the morning of the next day.

The next day, the morning light was shining, the clouds were blooming and the rain was coming, the air was humid, and the sunshine was clear. The small town in the south of the Yangtze River in autumn added a bit of coolness.

He Cheng got up earlier than him, went to a men's clothing store next door to the hotel, bought a suit of clothes, bought them back, went into the bathroom to change, walked out to show Chu Xingyun, and immediately drove Chu Xingyun's sleepy bugs away .

He was wearing a thin light gray knitted sweater, cut loose and easy, with a simple style.The only bright spot is that the collar is opened into a collar, revealing some shoulders.A pair of black slacks with slender and straight legs, and the original sports shoes on the feet.

In fact, they are all very simple basic autumn clothes, but they are unspeakably good-looking on him, and street stalls can also give him the feeling of being customized by a big brand. Maybe it is the reason why he always wears suits and leather shoes instead of private clothes. In short At this time, He Cheng's eyes lit up, and he couldn't look away for a long time.

He Cheng put on his glasses, went to the bed and sat down, kissed the corner of his lips, and asked with a smile, "Looks good?"

Chu Xingyun leaned against the bedside shirtless and smoked, with only a thin quilt on his waist. Hearing this, he took a deep puff of the cigarette, then slowly spit the white mist on his face, and raised the corners of his lips and said: "Looks good, looks good I want to strip you alive."

He Cheng leaned forward and laughed softly: "Come on, I'll let you peel."

Chu Xingyun gritted his teeth and squeezed his jaw: "You are a fucking goblin."

After speaking, he picked up the pants from the ground, stuffed them under the quilt, put them on, then lifted the quilt and got out of bed.

Yesterday sent Chen Jing home, He Cheng memorized the route along the way, took the car rented by Chu Xingyun, and arrived at the community where Chen Jing lived in less than 10 minutes.

Before getting off the car, Chu Xingyun made one last effort and asked him: "Are you sure you want to go with me?"

He Cheng opened the car door, and replaced answers with actions.

Chu Xingyun sighed heavily in his heart, got out of the car and walked a few steps to catch up with He Cheng who had already crossed the road.

After a little inquiring in front of the breakfast shop at the entrance of the community, I found out which unit and room number Chen Jing lived in.

He Cheng originally planned to come to the door today, and he had inquired about it two days ago, Chen Jing was closed every Wednesday, that is, today.

In front of Gate 501, Chu Xingyun rang the bell installed on the anti-theft door, and a gentle female voice came out from inside: "Who?"

Chu Xingyun took a deep breath first, and then said: "Police."

Chen Jing opened the door a crack, looked around Chu Xingyun, saw He Cheng standing behind him, and asked in surprise: "Xiao Chu?"

Chu Xingyun: ...

He Cheng took a step forward and said, "We have something to do with you."

"wait a moment."

While Chen Jing was closing the door, Chu Xingyun looked at He Cheng with a half-smile: "Xiao Chu? When did you take your husband's surname?"

He Cheng was no longer in the mood to argue with him, and looked at the closed door with a heavy expression.

About a minute later, Chen Jing opened the door again: "Come in."

Chu Xingyun and He Cheng sat down in a small living room, Chen Jing went back to the bedroom and took out a small wooden box, sat next to He Cheng, and said very kindly: "You young people may not like this, but this string Buddha beads can ward off disasters and bring good fortune, so they are very effective, so keep them well."

As he spoke, he stuffed the wooden box into He Cheng's hand.

He Cheng took it and squeezed it in his hand, and said in a low voice, "Thank you."

Chen Jing patted the back of his hand lovingly, and then looked at Chu Xingyun: "You just said that you are a policeman?"

Chu Xingyun quickly entered the role, put on an expressionless and meticulous face, and said, "Yes, I am here today for your daughter, Chen Yunan."

When he said the three words Chen Yunan, the loving and gentle smile on Chen Jing's face quickly fluctuated, revealing a sad and resentful she-wolf face, looking at Chu Xingyun as if he were an enemy, his eyes A layer of violently trembling tears condensed in his eyes, like a sunny winter suddenly ushered in.

"What do you want to do? After so many years, what do you want to do?!"

He expected that Chen Jing's mood must be unstable, but he didn't expect her to be so excited.

Before Chu Xingyun had time to appease her, he glanced at He Cheng worriedly.

He Cheng lowered his head, his eyes fell on the wooden box containing the Buddhist beads, as still as still water.

Chu Xingyun suddenly felt that the scene in front of him was very cruel, and regretted not insisting on keeping He Cheng in the hotel, but it was too late to regret, no matter if there were thorns or swamps ahead, they had to bite the bullet and rush forward.

"Sorry, we—"

"Xiao Nan is dead! Why are you talking about her again?!"

Chen Jing seemed to be blown by the cold wind, wrapped her sweater tightly around her body, curled up in the corner of the sofa and shivered.

He Cheng silently put the wooden box on the coffee table, picked up the kettle, poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it in front of her, licked his dry lower lip, just about to say something, when Chu Xingyun gently pulled his hand , so he was silent again.

Chu Xingyun tried his best to put his tone in a soothing and gentle manner: "Auntie, I'm sorry about Chen Yunan's matter, I—"

"You don't have to regret it!"

Chen Jing jumped up and hugged her skinny body tightly, her face was covered with deep creases like cracks, making her look ten years old in an instant, she cried and said: "You don't need to regret, and I don't need you Condolences, please leave my house and don’t come again.”

He Cheng finally couldn't keep silent any longer, stood up with some difficulty on his knees, his back that was always broad and straight couldn't be straightened at this moment, and said: "Auntie, we got news that the person who took your daughter away back then may have He is still alive, so we need you to cooperate with us to identify whether the suspect who was executed that year is the murderer you have seen."

Chen Jing was stunned for a moment: "You? Are you also a policeman?"

He Cheng bent his back as if being crushed by a boulder, lowered his head deeply again, and bent down.Like a penitent Japanese, he repented for Chen Yunan's death and for his own survival.

"I am the child who was locked up next to you and rescued by the police."

Hearing this sentence, Chu Xingyun was in pain like being whipped by an iron whip in his heart, his complexion turned pale and his whole body trembled from the pain.He couldn't bear to look at Chen Jing's face, let alone He Cheng's.He could only accompany He Cheng, and bowed down to the mother who was suffering at this moment and was going through the disaster again, and offered a trivial apology.

Chen Jing was stunned for a long time as if petrified, and then suddenly rushed towards He Cheng.

He Cheng thought she would be punched and kicked, but she picked up the wooden box on the coffee table, took out the Buddhist beads from the box, and pulled it with both hands, dozens of Buddhist beads scattered on the ground like rain— —

He Cheng was in a trance for a while, his eyes trembling with the prayer beads bouncing on the ground.

Chen Jing wrapped her clothes tightly and fled back to the bedroom as if avoiding a scourge.

"Sorry, we just want to see Chen Yunan's picture!"

Chu Xingyun's voice chased after her the moment she closed the door, and what responded to him was a sound of closing the door.

The more than an hour of waiting in the living room was the most difficult moment they had ever experienced.

He Cheng squatted on the ground looking for scattered Buddhist beads. Chu Xingyun did not participate in the whole process, but stood by and watched quietly, and only occasionally helped him lift the corner of the sofa or table.

About half an hour later, He Cheng stopped searching and put the beads into the wooden box.

"Is it ready?"

Chu Xingyun squatted in front of him, watched him place the beads one by one, and asked.

"Alright, 23 pieces."

Chu Xingyun looked at his face and saw that his face was pale and abnormal, and the sweat was rolling down on his forehead. He suddenly felt extremely distressed, and at the same time, he was extremely grateful that he arrived in time and did not let him He Cheng endured this heartbreaking calamity alone, but he hoped that he was the only one in this room at this moment.

"Don't think too much."

Chu Xingyun reached out to wipe off the cold sweat on his face, and said softly: "You are also a victim, and the situation at that time did not allow you to make a choice."

He Cheng seemed to have listened, but he didn't seem to have listened, and only smiled slightly, as if to comfort him in turn.

Chu Xingyun held his shoulder and decided to give him a strong dose of medicine, forcing him to look up at himself, gritted his teeth and said: "Just like you and He Ying back then, I can only take one away. There is no choice."

He Cheng's scattered eyes gradually narrowed, finally fixed on his face, and asked ravingly: "You don't have a choice either?"

Chu Xingyun knelt on the floor with both knees, grabbed his shoulders, as if he had returned to the afternoon when he received the white bear, and swore to him: "If I had a choice, how could I leave you alone? You don't know how much I want to stay by myself and let you go."

"At that time, you also wanted to take me away and save me?"

"I swear, I never thought of abandoning you. I wanted to go back and call someone to save you, but I was one step too late. When I returned to that abandoned garage, you were gone—"

Chu Xingyun's eyes were blurred, and the sky was spinning for a while, as if he was afraid that he would not be able to catch him, he seemed to crush his shoulder bones with all his strength.

"do you hate me?"

he asks.

He Cheng stared at him blankly for a long time, then shook his head and chuckled as if it was funny: "Before, I always thought that I hated you, but actually I didn't. Even during the year I was imprisoned, I never hated you, I just wanted to You, I miss you every day, hoping that you can find me. Later—I was angry with you, not because you didn’t choose me at the beginning, but because you left Yinjiang, left me, and went to school in other cities. I I am not only angry with you, but also angry with myself. I think I forced you away, so I dare not contact you. I just wait for you to come back to me. But I didn't expect that you really came back Yes, I realized after you came back that I don't hate you at all, and I'm not angry with you anymore, I want to love you more than hate."

There was a bitter smile on the corner of Chu Xingyun's lips, he stroked his face and said: "If I say, I have been thinking about you since I left Yinjiang, and it was because of you that I did everything possible to transfer back from the capital, would you believe it? "

Without hesitation, He Cheng said, "I believe."

"Do you really not hate me?"

He Cheng shook his head.

Chu Xingyun sighed as if he was relieved, then looked into his eyes and said solemnly and seriously: "Since you didn't hate me from the perspective of the victim, then who else, with what standpoint, can To hate you?" As he said that, he grabbed He Cheng's shoulders even tighter, as if forcefully instilling his own thoughts into him, and said with great force: "You are also a victim, no one can stand No one can hate you from any standpoint."