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A Lunatic Says He Loves Me: Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Dense Fog 1
After Ge Jiaqi and his group disappeared from view, Han Rong let go of Ling Feng and asked, “You don’t seem like an impulsive person. What’s going on?”
Ling Feng remained silent, his eyes bloodshot and dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a long time, and the anger on his face wouldn’t go away.
Yuan Fei said, “Ding Ding is still missing and we don’t know if he’s alive or dead. Sir Ling wants Ge Jiaqi to reveal Ding Ding’s whereabouts.”
Han Rong sighed, “He didn’t speak even after you beat him badly, so he probably won’t say anything. It’s often said that foolish people have good luck; Ding Ding should be fine.”
Yuan Fei scratched his head, “Isn’t it that foolish people have foolish luck?”
“Before the incident, Wildfire sent me a fax. It didn’t say anything, just two numbers.” Ling Feng pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket with 7/8 written on it.
Yuan Fei leaned in to look, “Seven out of eight? What does that mean?”
Han Rong asked, “Where did the fax come from?”
“From Wildfire’s rented place.”
Ling Feng drove them to an old neighborhood, “People like them who are undercover don’t have a stable place. They change their living place with each new target.”
Wildfire lived on the thirteenth floor. The old building was narrow and complex, and didn’t have an elevator. Yuan Fei, who hadn’t been exercising much since joining the anti-vice team, was out of breath after climbing only a few steps. He looked up and saw Han Rong ahead, who wasn’t sweating or out of breath. Yuan Fei wondered how Han Rong, who had been in the hospital for seven years, could have better physical fitness than him and couldn’t help but admire him more.
“We’re here.”
This time, Ling Feng didn’t pry open the lock but used a key to open the door.
“When I joined the Serious Crimes Unit, Wildfire was already a veteran. Because of his special position, he couldn’t have much contact with us. But when I first came, not knowing anything, he privately taught me a lot.”
The rental place was small and could be seen from one end to the other; it was simply furnished with just a bed, a cabinet, and a bathroom.
“He was a very responsible officer, always on call 24/7 with almost no days off. I heard from the unit that about seven years ago, he was so exhausted that he took a month off, which was the only time he ever took sick leave. People at the bureau said he’d work himself to death eventually.”
Han Rong opened the drawer of the nightstand and found an ordinary calendar. He took it out and asked, “Did Wildfire never marry?”
“Undercover work has one of the highest death rates among police jobs. He didn’t want to delay anyone else’s life, so he stayed single. Actually, he was a very traditional and devoted man.”
“What about his parents?”
“They passed away a long time ago.”
“Alone, with no burdens or weaknesses, he’s indeed a good candidate for undercover work.” Han Rong flipped through the calendar, each day marked with a cross. The last few months were blank; his time had stopped forever.
Han Rong stopped at August, his hand sliding to the number 7 circled in red ink by Wildfire. He asked, “Is August 7th a special day for Wildfire?” Seeing the confused expressions on Ling Feng and Yuan Fei, he rephrased, “Special days are usually related to important people. Did Wildfire care about anyone in particular?”
Yuan Fei said, “He was a lonely old bachelor; who would he care about?”
Ling Feng frowned, searching his memory, “I remember last year-end, I stayed at the unit. After work, I ran into Wildfire on the way and invited him for a drink since he was alone too. After a few rounds, he drunkenly told me he cared about someone, a girl from his childhood neighbor’s family. His family was poor and couldn’t afford enough food, and the girl, feeling sorry for him, would sneak him food from her family’s meals, either a bun or a meat bone. I asked where she was now. He said she fell seriously ill six years ago, and her parents sold their house in the city for her surgery. She barely survived and returned to her hometown to recover.”
Han Rong casually said, “Yuan Fei, find all the information about this girl within half an hour.”
“…”
Han Rong smiled at Yuan Fei, who was speechless, “I believe in your ability. If you can’t do it, bring your head to me.”
As an information officer, connections are essential resources that can be lifesaving, like now. Yuan Fei accessed Wildfire’s file from the internal database, found his childhood address, and called a contact at the Land Management Bureau. After some persuasion and the promise of a meal at Haidilao, the contact agreed to provide the property ownership information of the plot next to Wildfire’s old home within ten minutes.
“The head of that household is named Wang Mian, and they have an only daughter named Wang Yun, born on August 7th! But why did Wildfire send Wang Yun’s birthdate to Sir Ling? Han Ge, what are you looking for?”
Han Rong was pacing the room, inspecting it, “Where is the fax machine Wildfire used to send the message?”
The room was only 20 square meters, fully visible, and there was no fax machine.
Ling Feng said, “It should have been destroyed by him.”
Yuan Fei pondered, “He destroyed the fax machine after sending the date… The next day, he went on a mission to track Ge Jiaqi. It seems like Wildfire knew something would happen to him and notified Sir Ling in advance.”
Han Rong said, “Wang Yun was Wildfire’s only concern in this world. If he knew this mission was a matter of life and death, he sent her birthday to Officer Ling beforehand. Either it’s a way to entrust someone to take care of her or Wang Yun has something very important.”
On the way back, Yuan Fei, pulling at his hair, asked, “I still don’t get it. Why would just tracking Ge Jiaqi at a book signing be so dangerous?”
Han Rong replied, “Either there’s something wrong with the book signing, or there’s a new problem we don’t know about yet that posed enough of a threat to Wildfire’s life.”
Wildfire’s old home was in a small village in Yucheng, about a two-hour drive on the highway. Han Rong texted Ji Yan saying he wouldn’t be back that night, receiving only a response to “eat on time.” Looking at the succinct message, Han Rong could almost picture Ji Yan frowning, frustrated but helpless, and couldn’t help but smile.
From the rearview mirror, Yuan Fei quickly glanced at Han Rong, deeply feeling that Han Ge looked like the foolish son of a wealthy family.
Ling Feng scolded, “Focus on your driving! Stop looking around! The village has many people!”
“There’s no one around!” Yuan Fei glanced at the navigation, “We’re almost there, it’s nearby, take a look.”
Just as he said that, they heard the sound of drums and wailing from ahead. Soon, a procession of people in mourning clothes came around the corner, white paper money floating in the wind. The woman at the front was holding a photo frame. Yuan Fei took a look and suddenly widened his eyes, pointing at the black and white photo, “Is that Wang Yun?”
Ling Feng nodded with a grim expression.
In southern rural areas, funerals also involve a feast called “tofu rice,” which anyone can attend, symbolizing longevity. The three of them joined a table in the corner. The villagers were simple and didn’t say much even though they were unfamiliar faces. An elderly woman at the next table sighed, “Such a good girl, how did she get such a disease…” She said, her eyes turning red and tears falling.
The three of them ate in silence, but their ears were keenly listening for information from all around. It turned out that Wang Yun had passed away due to a recurrence of cancer.
As they were finishing, a family member came over to thank the guests. The woman who had been at the front of the procession came over to hand out cigarettes. Seeing the three of them, she asked in confusion, “Who are you?”
Ling Feng said, “Do you know Liu Zhizhou, who used to live next door to this family?”
Liu Zhizhou was Wildfire’s real name.
The woman suddenly understood, “Oh! You must be Liu Ge’s friends. Where is Liu Ge?”
“He’s busy with work and couldn’t come, so he sent us to pay our respects. Our condolences.”
The woman sighed, “Even though the surgery was successful, with this kind of illness, we were prepared for it. Thank you for coming from so far away.”
As the banquet ended, Ling Feng called out to her again and handed her a stack of money, which she quickly declined.
Yuan Fei said, “This is for the uncle and aunt. They sold their house to pay for her treatment, right?”
The woman said, “You mean the house in the city? We were going to sell it, but then the hospital said they received a donation from a kind person, so we didn’t have to sell it. Their pension is enough for them to live on. Our relatives also help take care of them. Thank you.”
Ling Feng said, “Please accept it. It’s Liu Zhizhou’s intention. He won’t feel at ease if you don’t take it.”
Seeing his insistence, she accepted the money, “I’ll let the uncle know.”
As she turned to walk back into the courtyard, Ling Feng and the others left. Just as they reached their car, they heard hurried footsteps behind them. Looking back, they saw the woman running up to them, stopping in front of them, panting, “I’m glad I caught you!”
Yuan Fei asked, “What is it?”
“Just now, I told the uncle that Liu Ge’s colleagues had come. The uncle said that before my sister passed away, she gave him a box to pass on to Liu Ge. The uncle didn’t know where Liu Ge lives, but you can take it to him. I’ll be off!” She shoved the box into Ling Feng’s hands and ran back.
Once in the car, Ling Feng opened the box to find a card with “Lanhu Community 601” written on it.
Han Rong said, “Set the GPS to that address. Let’s drive over and take a look.”
Lanhu Community opened in 2011, making it an older community by now, but its serene environment had kept property prices rising over the years.
“Is this the important thing related to Wildfire?” The three took the elevator to the sixth floor and arrived at apartment 601.
“We’ll find out once we’re inside.” Han Rong swiped the card near the smart lock.
Beep—
The door opened.
The three entered and looked around. It was a well-decorated three-bedroom apartment, with the master and secondary bedrooms and the study all looking very cozy.
“It looks quite new, like no one’s lived here.”
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