sincerity of lies

The first thing the 80-year-old man did when he stood up tremblingly from his chair was to boil a pot of water for them.

In the dimly lit room, in front of the only Eight Immortals table, the two sat on the bench, taking the water glass handed by the old man with both hands.The old man then sat down, her lips fluttered a few times, but there was no sound, and the eyes hidden under the shrugged eyelids looked forward with hesitant expectations, looking forward to getting good news about her son's case from them.

Natural expectation.

But they were destined to disappoint her, and it was not her son's case that they wanted to communicate with her, but another case.

The mug in my hand became hot and heavy.

Ji Xun realized that this was because he sympathized with the elderly and felt responsible.

Ridiculous.

He pulled away from evaluating his state of mind at the moment.

He did tell Yuan Yue that he would investigate this case together, and he did push it back and forth because of various things in his life until he resigned from the police force.

I am no longer a police officer.

I don't need to take care of this case anymore, and I don't need to take care of any other cases.

There will be more cops doing this for me, and the earth won't stop just because someone disappears.

But the pressure was mounting, there was a mountain on his shoulders, a sea at his throat.

Ji Xun remembered the files he saw when he was learning about the case.

The cold files, the cold words, the cold photos, everything is cold, because these are dead things, the wreckage left by wronged souls.

Only one thing is alive inside.

Wang Caixia, mother of Tang Zhixue.

On the dossier, there was a short line of records, which was not very important. When he looked at ten lines at a glance, he skipped them lightly, but up to today, it has become the old man sitting in front of him.

An old man with flesh and blood, still breathing, waiting to solve the case with his life.

She sat there, just waiting quietly, but her figure pierced into Ji Xun's heart like an invisible sharp sword, tearing to pieces the calmness that he had been accustomed to facing the murder case for a long time, leaving only the warm blood flowing .

That kind of heat circulated unscrupulously in his body, and wherever he went, he felt burning shame.

He who used to be a policeman made a promise so easily, but didn't fulfill it.

Ji Xun's hands trembled slightly, and he felt his mouthpiece slightly open, wanting to say something.He actually knew what to say, they shouldn't just let the old man sit there and speculate meaninglessly.

He should be like a policeman, explain his intentions, appease the families of the victims, and then try his best to solve the case, let the souls rest in peace, and let justice be manifested.

He couldn't say such simple words anymore.

The boulder had already blocked his throat, and it hadn't loosened over the years.

At this time, a hand was stretched out from the side.

Huo Ranyin's hand rested on the rim of the cup and his hands, this calm palm suppressed the trembling of Ji Xun's hand, then firmly took the cup out of Ji Xun's hand and put it aside.

"The water is too hot, put it away first."

Huo Ranyin then turned to the old man: "Old man, it's like this. We have a case in hand, and someone in it knows your son. We want to know him from you. Is it convenient?"

A gust of wind blows.

The flame of anticipation in the old man's eyes was shaking, like a bean-like candle that was blown by the cold wind in the deep night. The candle was extinguished several times, but when the wind passed, it still re-ignited firmly.

"Of course, of course..." the old man agreed, "Who do you want to know?"

"Xin Yongchu, do you know him? He is 42 years old this year and 20 years old then. He should have a good relationship with your son."

A trace of confusion flashed in the old man's eyes, she pondered for a long time, and slowly recovered her memory:

"Is that... the kid who is good at running?"

Accompanied by this strange adjective, the old man stood up and took out a thick book from the corner of the bed.

When the book arrived in front of the two of them, Ji Xun opened it, and unexpectedly found that it was a photo album, filled with black and white photos, which were group photos of Accountant Tang and various children.

The old man said: "My son and daughter-in-law are not lucky. They had a boy, but he was mischievous. When he was 12 years old, he ran to play in the reservoir. He was gone. But life had to go on, and he gradually transferred his feelings to Other children in the county. At that time, the county was poor, and everyone didn’t care about studying. Some poor people dropped out of school. He couldn’t think about it. How could the children not study? He used the money in his hand to help these children. These photos Most of the children in the village were taken care of by him... The Xin Yongchu you are talking about should be this."

Elderly man pointing finger on a photo.

At the first glance Ji Xun saw, he could hardly equate the photo with the reality.

Back then, Xin Yongchu was still young, with a bald head with only a layer of blue skin shaved, one hand in his pocket, leaning against the wall, standing loosely, Tang Zhixue put his hands on his shoulders, he was not happy, his bare hands twisted The face, the eyes look to the side, leaving only a glimmer of light to the camera, and in the corner of the eye, it is also full of rebelliousness.

Xin Yongchu was surprising when he was young.

But if you think about it carefully, the past and the present have their own context.In the past, Xin Yongchu's rebelliousness and sharpness were all written on his face, but now, these have not disappeared, but have only sneaked into his bones and blood, becoming the hatred that brought destruction.

"Xin Yongchu's family is not good." The old man said a little ramblingly, "He is an illegitimate child, and he never knew his father since he was a child. Later, when he was 14 years old, his mother also remarried. The 14-year-old half-child was not familiar with him, and He wants to go to high school and college, and he will have to ask for a wife in the future. Which man has so much money to waste. He is not very popular, and he has a stubborn temper. People who mix with others and become thieves. Steal from my son."

"My son went after him, and he ran all the way. Both of them were stubborn, and ran more than half a circle around the county."

The two listened quietly.

Tang Zhixue failed to catch up with Xin Yongchu and get back his wallet.

Xin Yongchu ran too fast. The 14-year-old boy seemed to be equipped with a motor on his legs, and he could run forward tirelessly and swiftly.But it didn't end, and one day, Tang Zhixue saw this boy again in an alley on his way home.

At that time, Xin Yongchu was lying on the ground with a bruised nose and swollen face.

It is said that he stole to the head of another gangster gang, and his gang gave him up. He was beaten up and abandoned here like a stray dog.

Tang Zhixue felt compassion, took the boy home, applied medicine to him, and had dinner with him. He asked Xin Yongchu to recuperate at his home for two days, but early the next morning, Xin Yongchu had disappeared.Three to five days later, when he opened the door, he saw a fruit basket at the door.

He looked left and right, and saw a flickering hem of clothes at the corner of the alley.

He is familiar with this corner of the clothes, and the torn patch on the top was mended by his wife.

Xin Yongchu is only 14 years old, a 14-year-old child has too high self-esteem and simple morality, he can walk around the streets with gangsters, steal and rob, he thinks they are brothers; he will also save him because of Tang Zhixue And to repay Tang Zhixue's kindness, he also felt that it should be done.

It's not an out-and-out bad boy.

After Tang Zhixue went to inquire about Xin Yongchu's situation, he stayed in the streets and alleys for a few days, and he found Xin Yongchu.

This time, he directly asked Xin Yongchu: "Would you like to live with me?"

……

Xin Yongchu came to Tang Zhixue's home. The couple lost their son. Whether it was for Xin Yongchu or the other children supported by Tang Zhixue, they had the same patience and care for their beloved son.

Xin Yongchu lived with Tang Zhixue, and received the most patience and care.

Tang Zhixue paid Xin Yongchu's tuition and asked Xin Yongchu to go back to school.Xin Yongchu was not happy, his grades were not good, he had no interest in going back to school and had no future, so he might as well go to work instead.

This is an objective fact.

It is indeed difficult for Xin Yongchu to get good grades in the subsequent high school entrance examination.

Tang Zhixue ran to the school for a few days, asked Xin Yongchu's head teacher and several other teachers, and finally came up with a solution.

He had seen Xin Yongchu's running speed before, and decided to let Xin Yongchu run in the direction of the sportsman.

No matter what, you have to go to school, read all the way up, read, learn, and run to a future.

From 14 to 15, from 15 to 18.

Every morning before other people got up, Tang Zhixue called Xin Yongchu out to practice running; every afternoon when others rested after school and work, Tang Zhixue also called Xin Yongchu out to practice running.

For four full years, Tang Zhixue supervised and accompanied Xin Yongchu's running training regardless of the weather.

Another photo entered the eyes of Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin.

Still a black and white photo.

In the photo, it should be the time when the sun was setting. The sun disappeared half of his body on the distant horizon. Tang Zhixue was whistling in his mouth, with one arm raised high and his hand clenched into a fist. His eyes were fixed on Xin Yongchu, and he turned his back to The camera; Xin Yongchu is running in front, he raised his arms and raised his thighs, sweat rolled and swayed on the well-developed leg muscles trained in running.

It was time for Jin Wuxi to sink outside the window.

The sky turned red, and the red light dyed Ji Xun's fingers pinching the photo, and at the same time dyed this black and white photo, the dull black and white began to back away timidly, and the golden light ignited this photo like a fire, and everything became vivid and real:

Amidst Tang Zhixue's loud whistle and loud urging, in the days when the setting sun was burning like a flame.

Xin Yongchu ran with his head buried.

Every drop of sweat swayed on his body, facing the sun, a bright rainbow flashed.

The rainbow hoists him forward.

Work hard, work hard, work harder, the future is at the end of your runway.

"He went to a high school and went to college." The old man said, "He didn't forget this place when he went to college. He often wrote letters back. Later, my son was killed. Most of these children who were sponsored by him came here. I was very sad, and he cried heartbreakingly, but after this day..."

The old man thought hard.

"I haven't seen him again, and I haven't heard anyone say that I have seen him. He doesn't seem to have come back to this county. How is he now?"

Xin Yongchu's affairs were roughly like this. When it was about to end, Ji Xun asked extra: "Old lady, do you know someone named Liandazhang?"

"I know. At that time, the police station didn't catch him, so the case was shelved. His mother said every day that his son was very good, and he was worried about the county, so he could help. We wanted to find a lawyer and see if he could Help or something...but he didn't see us at all."

The old lady lowered her head.Lian Dazhang's reputation here is much more than Ji Xun thought.

"Later, I thought about it. Maybe he doesn't like our family very much." The old lady said, "Xiao Xin was a demon king in the past, and he also wandered around in school. It is said that he even beat up a practicing lawyer. Maybe it was because of this reason."

This intersecting line surprised Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin.

But with this past, the possibility of targeted poisoning is even higher.

The two said goodbye to the old lady.

The old lady got up and sent them all the way to the door. Finally, she held on to the door frame with her slack hands, hesitated to speak.

She wanted to ask about her son's case, and her son's case was a heavy stone hanging in her heart.

She was still looking at them expectantly, so the heavy stone followed her expectation and appeared on Ji Xun, crushing him into a thin sheet of paper.

He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't move his eyes.

Expectation is sometimes a closed and airtight cage that locks people to death, but as long as he can open his mouth and promise, he can open a window for breathing from the inside.

He'd always known how to save himself—but he couldn't, never could.

Because he no longer believes in himself.

Until Huo Ranyin turned around, stood in front of him, and said what he wanted to say but couldn't say anymore.

Huo Ranyin lowered his head at this moment.With the gentleness of the night in his dark pupils, and the comfort that makes people sleep, he promised: "Don't worry, your son's case is under investigation. We will not let the murderer go unpunished, we will catch the murderer. You have to take good care of him." Wait until we come back with the answer."

The old lady laughed.

The haze of worry on her face was gone, she just wanted a promise from the police, which has been the case for 22 years, and the promise was enough to keep her life full of hope:

"Okay, okay, you go slowly, then I will wait here for you to come back."

Air suddenly rushed in to relieve the constricted heart and lungs, and Ji Xun let out a long breath.

When I went in, it was a thicket of reeds, and when I came out, I still had to pass through the fluffy reeds that swayed like a dog's tail.

The two returned to the car, and the driver's seat was replaced by Huo Ranyin. When Huo Ranyin pulled the seat belt, Ji Xun said:

"Brother policeman."

"Don't call me brother." Huo Ranyin lowered his head to start the car and said coldly, "I don't want to be your brother."

"You are so handsome today." Ji Xun looked at him and smiled.

Huo Ran used too much force with his fingers to start the ignition, and the key slipped from the lock.

He bowed his head to pick up the key.His lips were pursed, hiding a trace of embarrassment and shyness in the corners of his mouth, and then the corners of his mouth were raised, revealing a slight pride and excitement that had been accidentally leaked.

Just in time, Ji Xun, who was about to help Huo Ranyin, saw this rare scene and raised his eyebrows: "So you like me to praise you?"

"There's nothing I like or don't like."

Huo Ranyin immediately became serious. He stared straight ahead with a calm expression, and finally emphasized casually:

"Also, what I just said was us."

Together we promise and solve cases together.