never forget [criminal investigation]

September NO.17 is Xiang Hai's birthday.It was Friday, less than two weeks away.

The days slipped away in a hurry, and every day, Xing Yue wished he could split himself into two people for use.

Going out early and returning late is commonplace, and sometimes I can't even go home for several nights in a row.It is very difficult for Xiang Hai to meet him in the bureau.

At this time, Luo Meihua started the first phase of chemotherapy, and Xing Yue only showed his face in the hospital for the first few days.

Xiang Hai goes there almost every day.He made some appetizing and nutritious things in different ways, watching Luo Meihua eat and spit it out.

Later, Luo Meihua simply refused to ask him to come.In this state of my own, even my own son would not want to see more.But Xiang Hai still came secretly.

The work of rescuing abducted and trafficked children is very difficult, even more difficult than Xing Yue expected.

In the past ten days of hard work, the whole team felt that their mouths were worn thin, their legs were thinner, and some even had their hair bald.

Humanity and law are like two trains running towards each other. The moment they meet, the repulsion between them becomes stronger, and any individual who tries to maintain a balance between them will be torn to pieces.

If you choose a platform on one side, you are no longer a fellow traveler in the opposite direction.

Therefore, when these evil spirits who disregard human feelings, destroy other people's families, and even kill people's children and grandchildren appear, the better ones, the whole family hugs the children and cry at them; the more serious ones, the white-haired grandparents embrace They cry on their laps, or simply lie down under the wheels of the police car; what's worse, they serve with force.

Every day besides being rescued, I was on the way to rescue, and what lingered in my ears was crying and cursing.Living this kind of life for a long time will make people feel unspeakably tired and irritable.

Xing Yue originally planned to find a baking studio or something, learn how to make a cake by himself, and surprise Xiang Hai on his birthday.It was later discovered that this was not realistic at all, and he didn't even have time to go to the cake shop to pick out a finished product.

Romance doesn't have to cost money, but it must take time.

Xing Yue felt that he was destined not to be a romantic person.

Fortunately, Xiang Hai is also not romantic.

Recently, Zhou Xun seemed to have been beaten to death, dominating the meeting room almost every day for everyone to hold meetings.Summarizing new clues, analyzing the case, and assigning tasks...Xiang Hai felt that he spent more time with him than with Xing Yue every day.

"Meet."

Today is Wednesday, Zhou Xun was the last one to walk into the meeting room as usual, and closed the door behind him.

He didn't talk nonsense, and got straight to the point, "I just received the news this afternoon that Zhao Lang recently bought a large piece of land in the western suburbs, built a warehouse, and several bungalows."

"After the house was built, there were a lot of cars going in and out, mostly trucks."

"They were seen moving buckets from the truck into the warehouse."

"Come on, let's have a discussion, what is this old boy doing?"

After finishing speaking, someone below immediately raised his hand, "Could it be that he intends to produce and sell it himself!"

Zhou Xun didn't express his opinion, just lit a cigarette and smoked, and continued to listen to other people's opinions.

"It's very possible. The supply of goods in Guangdong is cut off, and the new supply cannot be connected, but he has to make money."

"That barrel after barrel must be the raw material for drug making."

"Fuck, the nature of this has changed."

"If he is really allowed to do this, Dongjiang will become a den of poison."

"However, isn't he doing too much fanfare?"

"Why don't you say that they are crazy, obviously they don't pay attention to us."

"Is it possible to check from the direction of the raw material channel?"

"Then we must first confirm that those are the raw materials for making drugs."

"Maybe it's just his blindfold?"

The meeting suddenly fell silent, and everyone including Zhou Xun looked at Xiang Hai.

Xiang Hai glanced at Zhou Xun, and saw that he signaled him to continue, so he went on to express his opinion, "This person knows that we are staring at him, and made such a big noise on purpose, which is very doubtful."

"Drug production must be behind people's backs, but the place is too remote, like the land that Zhao Lang bought, with only a few houses in a few kilometers, it is eye-catching."

"In addition to raw materials, reagents, and solvents, the drug production process has high requirements for water, electricity, and gas emissions. If that remote place is really his den, even if the problem of water and electricity is solved, the discharged waste water and waste gas It’s also easy to get people’s attention.”

"Based on Zhao Lang's current demand for drugs, small workshops will definitely not be able to meet them. But once they scale up, they will be even harder to hide in that kind of place."

"Besides, we also need to consider Zhao Lang's character." Xiang Hai pursed his lips, a rare cunning flashed in his eyes, "This man is ruthless and crazy, and he will take revenge."

"We caused him to lose his business in Guangdong, and even lose his face. Will he want to get revenge after suffering a terrible loss?"

"How to retaliate? It is not only to continue the business, but also to make it bigger, and to keep it under our noses."

"So my idea is, if he doesn't do it or does it, he will definitely find a cover that can hide the truth."

"The so-called great hermit hides in the city," Xiang Hai clenched his hands into fists, and looked around, "Perhaps, he is hiding beside us."

After finishing speaking, everyone here was like a bully who was suddenly attacked by a scumbag, and everyone was stunned until Zhou Xun took the lead in applauding to express encouragement.

"Okay, kid, where did you learn all this?"

He likes Xiang Hai's work attitude very much, and appreciates his seriousness.For newcomers, this is rare, even more valuable than simple bravery.

Xiang Hai was a little embarrassed, "I read it from the book."

Zhou Xun nodded, "Well, it's good."

After smoking a cigarette, he pressed his hands on the conference table, "Let me tell you what I think."

By the time Xiang Hai returned to the office from the conference room, it was already past the time to get off work.

Only then did he see the message that Xing Yue sent him 10 minutes ago.

-Xiao Hai, I have a task, I will be outside today and tomorrow.I will come back the day after tomorrow to celebrate your birthday.

Xiang Hai hurriedly replied to him:

-Ok, I will wait for you.

-be safe.

Then he posted an emoji of two big frogs kissing and hugging each other.

Soon, Xing Yue's news came back, it turned out to be a selfie.

Xiang Hai quickly ran out with his mobile phone, found an empty corner in the corridor, clicked on the photo, zoomed in, and took a closer look.

Xing Yue was sitting in the car, leaning against the car window, lowering his head slightly, his golden outline was outlined by the slanting sunlight.

To be honest, the angle of this photo is weird and a little blurry, that is to say, Xing Yue's appearance can hold up.If you ignore the "yeah" hand, you can barely score 90 points.

Xiang Hai stared at his phone for a long time until there was a new message.

- look silly?Don't be amused, go home and take a look.

- If you miss me these two days, come out and kiss me.

Xiang Hai leaned against the wall, covered his face with his mobile phone, and smiled vigorously.

After laughing enough, I saw Xing Yue talking again.

-Can't you offer to send me one too?

So he quickly adjusted his expression, grabbed his bangs twice, stared at the screen, made a "V" with one hand, and pressed the shutter with the other.

Xing Yue leaned on the back seat, holding his mobile phone, looking at the selfie sent by Xiang Hai endlessly.

So lovely.

With the same gesture, Xiang Hai looked much more natural.Pretty cute?

"Brother Xing?" Zhang Xiaowei smiled and looked at him in the rearview mirror while driving.

Xing Yue put away his phone.

Zhang Xiaowei stopped looking at him, and began to shake his head like a half-immortal, "Brother Xing, I found out, you don't call your partner, but it's more boring than Zheng Shuanghe calls his partner every day."

"Drive well!" Qin Peng yelled at him beside him, "You don't look at the road, why are you groping around?"

Just now, just before get off work, Xing Yue received the news.A trafficked child was found in a village more than 600 kilometers away from Dongjiang in the hinterland of a neighboring province.So he immediately took Qin Peng and Zhang Xiaowei and set off.

According to the navigation display, after running the high-speed and provincial roads, there are tens of kilometers of winding trails.If there are no accidents on the road, they can reach their destination before three o'clock in the morning tomorrow.

Xing Yue only hopes that this trip will go smoothly, so that he can come back on Friday to celebrate Xiang Hai's birthday.

"Brother Xing, didn't Bureau Xu say that the provincial department attaches great importance to this case?" Zhang Xiaowei controlled the accelerator and followed closely behind the rear of the car in front.

It was rush hour right now, and it had been almost half an hour since they got out of the bureau, and their car was still stopping and going.

"What's wrong?" Xing Yue asked him.

"When we get all the children back and the case is closed, can you give us a collective second-class merit or something, and give us more bonuses."

"I don't know how much I can pay." Zhang Xiaowei has already looked forward to the loan, "Can I have [-]?"

"It's hard to say, I advise you better not to worry about it."

"Oh!" Zhang Xiaowei sighed, "Ten thousand is fine. I'm almost dying of poverty."

"Where's your money? Why did you spend it?" Qin Peng asked him.

"I'm saving. I'm going to buy a house, and I'm saving for a down payment."

"Your parents finally kicked you out?" Qin Peng found this topic interesting.

"I'm the one who wants to come out, okay?" Zhang Xiaowei rolled his eyes at him, "I really can't stand them, they talk about me every day, and I don't like what I do."

When it comes to this, Zhang Xiaowei feels aggrieved, "I'm at home, just say that I know how to play games when I'm on vacation, and don't say that I go out to get together with classmates, let them introduce someone or something."

"Let me go out, and said that I can't take a rest. I don't want to go home, so I know it's nothing serious to be wandering outside."

"Hey, old Qin, what do you think you old people are thinking? Let people live, huh?"

Qin Peng chuckled, "Then how much have you saved now?"

"It's only two square meters." Zhang Xiaowei continued to sigh, and then glanced at the rearview mirror, "Hey Brother Xing, don't you plan to buy a house? If you don't buy it now, you have to buy it when you marry your partner ?”

He knew that Xing Yue moved out from home a while ago, and has been living in the rented house ever since.

marry?

Xing Yue was stunned.He never thought about this question.

Yes, get married, start a family... Even if you are not married, you should have your own family.

A house that belongs to him and Xiang Hai.

So he turned on his phone and checked the balance of his bank card.

"Fuck me?"

Is that number serious?

"What's the matter Xing team?" Qin Peng turned to look at him.

"It's okay..." He put away his phone, lost in thought.

Where the hell did all the money go?

It was almost midnight, and the number of cars speeding on the expressway did not decrease at all, especially there were many large trucks and trailers, and the armored beasts roared past my ears.

For the last 200 kilometers, Xing Yue will drive.

Qin Peng sat in the back row and probably fell asleep.Zhang Xiaowei kept nodding on the co-pilot.

"Lie down and sleep for a while." Xing Yue poked his arm.

Zhang Xiaowei opened his eyes with a "hmm", "No, no, I'm not sleepy."

"I'll chat with you for a while, so as not to make you sleepy."

Overtaking two large trucks one after another, the rumble was endless, and Xing Yue couldn't hear what Zhang Xiaowei was saying at all.

It wasn't until he got a little farther away that he said again, "Go to sleep, I'm not sleepy."

Zhang Xiaowei yawned for a long time, tears came out of his eyes, "Brother Xing, why don't you smoke a cigarette?"

"Row."

Zhang Xiaowei handed him a cigarette and lit it for him.

Xing Yue took a deep breath and tilted his head, "Tsk, you put on your seat belt."

"It's okay," Zhang Xiaowei smoked listlessly, "I'm wearing a tight belt."

"Stop talking nonsense, fasten it." After speaking, he shouted to the back, "Old Qin, Lao Qin?"

"Put your seat belt on."

Qin Peng was sleepy and staring, agreed, grabbed the seat belt and buckled it up.

This is a race against time and fate.

An extra day, or even a few hours, may change the fate of the child.

Arriving 1 minute earlier is more sure, so they dare not stay for a moment.

Smoking, Xing Yue felt more refreshed, so he planned to increase the speed of the car again.

But there is always a semi-new van pressing down in front of me, and I can't pick up the speed.

The car had probably just been hit by a crash, the rear of the car was dented in a large area, one side of the tail light was out, and the other side was barely fixed with thick scotch tape.

The van was like a drunk hooligan, back and forth between the two lanes, several times holding back Xing Yue who was about to change lanes.

"Fuck, I'm sick!" Zhang Xiaowei was also shaken soberly, "The brake light is not on, how dare you run at a high speed?"

Xing Yue also frowned, and continued to follow behind it.Only the two dim taillights remained in sight.

There was another violent roar, and a large truck that looked like Optimus Prime passed by.

Feeling the speed of the van slow down, Xing Yue turned on the turn signal, intending to follow behind Optimus Prime and pass the van.

But at the moment when he stepped on the accelerator and turned the steering wheel, the van suddenly changed lanes without warning, rushed ahead of him, and followed Optimus Prime.

Xing Yue quickly stopped the accelerator and turned the steering wheel back.

The highway is very dark, only the lampposts of the cars are bright, and there are blue-gray smoke and dust rolling inside.

The moment the van moved away, the rear of a long car suddenly appeared in front of Xing Yue's eyes.

No taillights, no marker lights, nothing that should shine.Like a portal to the underworld, nothing but darkness.

She just waited motionlessly for him to approach.

The moment is very short, short enough to just press the brakes to the bottom.

It seems very long, because the time seems to be cut into a frame-by-frame picture.

Xing Yue saw that the space in front of him was shrinking little by little, and the front of his car got into the chassis of the long car inch by inch.

He heard the hoarse sound of the wheels rubbing against the road, the painful "squeak" of the metal being twisted, and Zhang Xiaowei's changed tone of "Fuck----"

There was even time for a thought to flash through his mind: Xiao Hai, farewell.Don't forget me so quickly!Oh, forget it, forget about me as soon as possible.

All this chaos didn't stop until he was severely restrained by the seat belt.

The ear-piercing sound of whistles behind them was rapidly approaching them, and finally passed by with a "hum".

Xing Yue didn't have time to think about it, so he quickly tried to start the car again.Fortunately, the engine was not damaged.

He turned on the dual flashers, glanced quickly at the rear window, and reversed the car at the same time.

It wasn't until he drew a safe distance from the Nether trailer and pulled on the handbrake that cold sweat broke out all over his body.

"Xiaowei! Old Qin! Are you all right?" He unbuckled his seat belt and checked the two people one by one.

Zhang Xiaowei opened his mouth, his breath was weak, and it took him a long time to snort, "Ah, ah, my □□ ancestor!"

Qin Peng was falling asleep when he was suddenly restrained by the seat belt, and he was also very frightened.

He rubbed his aching chest, "No, it's okay, I'm fine!"

"Captain Xing, are you okay?"

Xing Yue shook his head, then looked behind the car, "You two get out of the car quickly."

"Old Qin, put up the warning sign, and Xiaowei will call the police. There must be something wrong with the car in front, I'll go over and have a look."

After speaking, he opened the car door.

The long black trailer just lay on the driveway, letting the long and short cars speed past it.

Xing Yue jumped onto the front of the car and slammed on the door of the cab.

The driver of the long car was sitting in it on the phone.Hearing someone knock on the door, the glass was lowered.

Xing Yue wanted to pull him out of the car window and throw him on the ground, "What the hell are you doing? Don't want to live anymore? What's wrong with your car?"

The driver had a bitter face, "The car broke down, I'm on the phone right now!"

"Fuck! Where's the headlight? Where's the warning sign? Do you know how dangerous it is to park in the dark?"

"The lights are not on." The driver was about to cry, "I don't know when the warning sign was lost, it was lost."

Xing Yue gritted his teeth, "Come down! Go outside the guardrail and wait for rescue!"

Without saying a word, the driver obediently followed him to climb out of the car, ran to the outside of the guardrail of the expressway, and met Qin Peng and the others.

"Did you call the police?" Xing Yue asked.

"It's been reported." Zhang Xiaowei wiped the cold sweat off his face, and caught sight of the shivering driver, "Fuck! You must be sick! You almost made me proud, you know!!"

"Oh, that's enough, let's go!" Qin Peng came over to pull him, "We can't afford to waste time with him."

If the car can still move, you have to keep going.

Not only to drive, but also to get back the lost time.

Xing Yue told the driver, "Don't go back into the car, just wait for rescue here, do you hear me?"

The driver nodded desperately, and his head was also full of sweat.

The three returned to the car.

Fortunately, except for the bumper falling off and the hood bulging a lot, the car is still holding up.

Zhang Xiao grabbed the seat belt and buckled it up, sniffing non-stop, "Brother Xing, you saved my life."

"My father and mother almost lost my son!"

Qin Peng was also very emotional. He almost couldn't wait for his son to go to college.

Xing Yue also fastened his seat belt, and then silently started the car.

The long trailer in the lamp post was still hideous, like a blind demon, and a pair of black holes stared at them from a distance.

Xing Yue turned the steering wheel and passed by the long trailer, suddenly feeling nauseous.

On Friday, September [-], the weather was not sunny.

Xiang Hai got up early and went to work alone.

Today is his birthday.He felt that Xing Yue would come back no matter what.

When I arrived at the office, I was called into the meeting room before I could sit still.

"I just received news from the Mingzhou Municipal Bureau." Zhou Xun said with a serious expression, "They arrested two people last night, and they held them down during the transaction."

"According to the preliminary confession of these two people, their drugs came from Dongjiang."

The expressions of the people in the room changed instantly.

"The Mingzhou Municipal Bureau also confirmed that the fineness and purity of this batch of drugs is different from what they seized in the past." Zhou Xun said in a low voice, "This situation is very important."

After thinking for a while, he raised his eyes and pointed at Xiang Hai and Li Chao, "You two go and ask the comrades in Mingzhou to cooperate, and then have a good interrogation of the two suspects."

"Then bring back some samples of the drug."

Zhou Xun said, looking at the time, "Let's go now, and try to come back at night!"

"Yes!" Li Chao immediately agreed.

Xiang Hai hesitated for a moment, then straightened his back, "Yes."

The two drove straight to Mingzhou.

On the way, Li Chao tilted his head and looked at Xiang Hai, "You don't talk much today, what's wrong? Is there anything wrong?"

"No." Xiang Hai smiled, "Aren't you driving a car, you need to concentrate."

Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Li Chao didn't ask any more questions.Turn on the radio casually, and pick a relaxing music station, "Then you can turn it on, we will change when we are tired."

"Row."

There was a brisk rhythm floating in the carriage, Li Chao leaned on the seat, closed his eyes and rested his mind.

The sign on the roadside flashed: Mingzhou 90km.

Xiang Hai squeezed the steering wheel tightly.

The journey went smoothly, and they arrived at the Mingzhou Municipal Bureau before lunch.

The comrades from the Municipal Bureau entertained them briefly in the cafeteria, and then the interrogation officially began.

The interrogation also went relatively smoothly and lasted about three hours.

From the transaction method, the transaction person, the transaction location, to the transaction price, both of them explained clearly.

It's just that they mentioned another person in the process.

This person is more familiar with Dongjiang, he can be regarded as their introducer, and he is currently serving his sentence in Mingzhou Prison.

In fact, the three of them were former inmates, and they exchanged a lot of experience with each other.The two of them were released from prison first, but they were arrested again in less than a month.

Li Chao immediately proposed to interrogate the prisoner in Mingzhou Prison.Minnesota police say no problem.

He stood up, but found that Xiang Hai was still sitting, "Let's go, what's the matter?"

He frowned, "Xiang Hai, why do you look so ugly, are you sick?"

He reached out and touched Xiang Hai's forehead, "Fuck, it's cold!" He touched his hand again, and it was even colder.

"You are sick!" Li Chao went to help him.

The comrades from Mingzhou also came to help after seeing this, "Hurry up and lie down on the sofa for a while, and I'll get you a cup of hot water."

"Did you catch a cold? We have medicine here, let me get you something to eat."

But Xiang Hai sat without moving, just waved his hands, "It's okay, it's okay."

"I'll just sit there for a while."

The policeman in Mingzhou brought a cup of hot water, but he just held it in his hand.

After a while, he raised his head, with beads of sweat on his forehead, and pleading eyes, "Brother Chao, I'm sorry, I, I may not be able to go to prison."

"It's okay, I'll go by myself." Li Chao smiled, "Just rest here, I'll come back to you when I'm done."

Xiang Hai pursed his lips and nodded, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, you're so funny." Li Chao patted his head, "What a big deal, I'm sorry, it won't happen."

"But are you here alone?"

"Okay." Xiang Hai stood up holding the water glass, "I'll wait for you here."

"Okay, then I'll go back quickly. You rest, ah!" After speaking, Li Chao and the Mingzhou police left in a hurry.

Xiang Hai was the only one left in the office.

He couldn't control himself anymore, his hands began to shake desperately, and the shaking became more and more severe.The hot water in the cup spilled out and poured on the back of his hand.

His hands were hot and red, but he didn't feel any pain at all.

This city, this place, was the source of all his nightmares.

I thought I would never set foot here again in this life.But he came anyway.

He mustered up the courage to come to Mingzhou, but he didn't have the extra courage to enter Mingzhou Prison.

There, another Xianghai was buried.

All the pain, anger, hesitation, shame and fear of the past ten years have all surged up in one brain, like a bloody tide, pouring into the nose and nose, reaching the top of the head.

He felt suffocated.He was sinking silently to the bottom.

No one noticed him, and no one could save him.

This feeling is exactly the same as it was ten years ago.

The water in the cup was already cold and turned into his body temperature, but it was still held in his hands like a baby.

Until the phone rang suddenly.

He put down his cup and looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen.

"Hey?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Xiang Hai?" The other party was a girl with a clear and enthusiastic voice.

"I'm."

"Oh, hello, Mr. Xiang, the flowers you ordered have arrived. I'm downstairs in your unit right now, could you please come out and pick them up?"

"Flowers?" Xiang Hai squeezed the phone tightly.

"Yes!" The girl seemed to be talking with a smile, "One hundred blue roses, September No. 17 at four o'clock in the afternoon, delivered to the downstairs of Zhenhua Branch of Dongjiang City Public Security Bureau on time, right?"

Xiang Hai bit his lips tightly, his voice trembling, "But I, I am not at work right now."

"Oh, what should I do?" The girl paused, "Then can your colleague help to collect it?"

"Okay," Xiang Hai took a deep breath, "I'll ask someone to help me get it, please wait a moment."

"No problem!" The girl laughed again.

"Thank you." Xiang Hai said sincerely.

The girl laughed even happier when she heard that, "You are too polite!"

"By the way, happy birthday to you!"

"Thank you..." Xiang Hai hung up the phone.

After 10 minutes, the WeChat group of "No Toxic Man" exploded.

[email protected] Xiang Hai, today is your birthday!Happy birthday!

-Happy birthday!Happy birthday!happily!

- Team Zhou said that he will treat you to a cake when he comes back. @ Zhou Xun

- when did i say that

[email protected]Xiang Hai, because of you, I saw 99 roses for the first time, and because of you, I saw 100 roses for the first time, and they were still blue!

- blah blah.

- are there really blue rosesIs it dyed?

- The girls from the logistics and archives are here again!

Birthday wishes and blue rose petals filled the phone screen so full it seemed to overflow.

What a beautiful flower.

Xiang Hai's fingers caressed those petals, as if smelling that unique fragrance.

He can breathe again.

Xing Yue probably hasn't come back yet, otherwise he would definitely call him.

Xiang Hai clicked on the selfie that Xing Yue sent him again, put it on his lips, and kissed it lightly.

Brother, thank you.

When it was dark, Li Chao came back.

He walked in and said, "Hey, Xiang Hai, today is your birthday! Why didn't you say it earlier?"

"Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you Brother Chao." Xiang Hai smiled.Today's blessings made him overwhelmed.

"How are you? Are you feeling better?" Li Chao observed his expression, it looked much better than when he left.

"It's ready." Xiang Hai was a little embarrassed, "I'll drive back later."

The two of them applied to the Mingzhou City Bureau to collect some drug samples, and then they were waiting to go back to work.

On the way back to Dongjiang, Xiang Hai insisted that he drive, so Li Chao stopped arguing with him.

"Brother Chao, has that person confessed?"

"It's all explained." Li Chao briefly explained to him.

"This trip went pretty well."

After a while, Xiang Hai asked, "Brother Chao, the warden of Mingzhou Prison is...Yuan Guoping."

Li Chao glanced at him, and didn't know why he suddenly talked about this, "It doesn't seem to be the case."

"I heard the comrades from the Mingzhou Municipal Bureau mention it. It seems... surnamed Chi. What's it called... I can't remember. It's not Yuan anyway."

Xiang Hai didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded.

It turned out that my uncle had already become the warden.

There are not many people with the surname Chi, so there should be no mistake.

His uncle's name is Chi Yu.When Xiang Hai left Mingzhou, he was only the deputy head of the prison.

What about Yuan Guoping?

Maybe, already dead?

Xiang Hai hoped so.

On the way back, I encountered a car accident and was blocked for a while.

When Xiang Hai finally returned home, there were less than 17 minutes left on September No. 10.

He was sitting on a chair on the balcony, smoking a cigarette, and looking at the beautiful bouquet of roses.

When the clock struck midnight, he spent his 23rd birthday alone.

"Happy birthday."