Soul Patch

Chapter 104 Cheer Up (Bonus Chapter for Donations)

His nostrils twitched slightly, and the discomfort caused by the blood was dispelled.

On a yellowed piece of art paper, neat small characters are written line after line.

Like a bloodied rose exhaling its fragrance, or like crushed youth lamenting its sorrowful cries...

Jia Nan felt a chill run down her spine.

He was a cold-hearted person, and thought that apart from the tragic death of his brother Jia Song, nothing in this world could stimulate his numb nerves.

But the words that Cheng Xiaohui wrote with her youth and life are like weeping and lamenting, like resentment and longing.

It still brought tears to his eyes.

On that drunken night, Cheng Xiaohui was alone on her way back to her dormitory and was sexually assaulted by a thug.

Having grown up in the countryside, she had no experience with men and women and held very conservative views.

This stain made her contemplate suicide.

She chose to cut her wrists...

He didn't die; he was spotted by a professor who was at the school for an academic exchange.

It saved her life.

Now, she is preparing to marry that professor, and a wedding invitation has been attached.

Through her blurry, tear-filled eyes, Jia Nan turned the yellowed page and saw a young boy hand-drawn on the back of the blood-written letter.

Jia Nan raised her hand to cover her eyes, and tears streamed down her face through her fingers.

Even someone as aloof as him has tears that are scalding hot.

Cheng Xiaohui's painting depicts Jia Nan at age 16.

Little did she know that that fleeting glance back then would determine the course of her tragic life.

Officer Zhang sat down opposite Jia Nan, watching her deep in thought, without intending to disturb her.

When Jia Nan saw that a different policeman had come in, she twitched the corners of her mouth and revealed a faint smile:

"Officer, can I and the guy next door leave now?"

Officer Zhang nodded calmly: "Let me take a look at the statement. If there are no problems, you can sign it and leave."

He picked up the notebook in front of him and read it carefully again.

Seeing him intently reading the transcript, Jia Nan grew a little impatient.

Actually, as soon as Xiao Zhang came in, he lowered his eyes and glanced at the contents of the transcript.

After reading it, he turned the notebook around and pushed it in front of Jia Nan.

Jia Nan picked up her pen, ready to sign.

"Wait..." Xiao Zhang suddenly pulled the notebook back.

Jia Nan looked up at the police officer in front of her, puzzled. She couldn't understand why he was asking her to sign something one minute and not the next.

Xiao Zhang pointed to the first question in the transcript, frowned, and asked, "Regarding the cause of the incident, do you want to think about it again?"

Jia Nan shook her head slightly and reached out to press down on the notebook clipboard.

The two of them remained locked in this stalemate, each holding onto one side of their notebooks...

Xiao Zhang gave Jia Nan a deep look and released his hand from the notebook.

Jia Nan wrote her name and signed the date.

After finishing writing, he asked casually:

"Can you go?"

The tone of his voice made it seem as if he didn't consider this a police station at all, as if it were no different from a farmers' market where people could come and go as they pleased.

Xiao Zhang fiercely snatched the signed transcript, watching Jia Nan turn and leave, his hand unconsciously clenching the transcript.

Regarding the cause of the incident, the record simply stated three words: "She's gone mad."

Xiao Zhang could almost imagine how disdainful Jia Nan must have been when she said those words.

Regardless of her abilities, a woman who can be hired as a manager in the planning department of Huahai Technology Company is certainly mentally sound.

He left the interrogation room, only to find that Jia Nan hadn't left.

Standing outside Wenjie's interrogation room, I leaned against the wall and waited silently.

The two of them didn't speak a word the whole way. What... were they going to travel back together?

Xiao Zhang felt that things weren't as simple as they seemed on the surface.

He took off running towards the elevator.

……

It was 9:30 p.m., downstairs at the police station.

Before Old Li had even stepped out of the police station corridor, he kicked the wall in the corridor.

"It's so frustrating! I thought we'd finally caught them and they wouldn't be able to escape!"

Team Leader Wu walked ahead of Old Li, remaining silent as he descended the stairs.

He knew that if he missed this opportunity, getting back with Jia Nan would be virtually impossible.

Hearing a "thump" behind him, he stopped and turned to look at Old Li, who was squatting on the ground rubbing his feet, and then at the shoe prints on the corridor wall.

"Um...did you kick all of these?"

“Uh…” Old Li turned his head and looked at the wall next to him.

Haha ...

He laughed to himself.

Team Leader Wu laughed along with him.

Old Li got up, limped forward a couple of steps, and patted Captain Wu on the shoulder.

The two were long-time partners, so they didn't need many words. Just a glance at each other was enough for them to guess what the other was thinking.

"You've probably watched the surveillance footage from the villa's backstage area several times, haven't you?"

Team Leader Wu stared ahead, watching the neon lights of the city buildings in the distance.

No matter how glamorous the city appears on the outside, how much crime breeds in the dark corners and filth hidden behind it.

"..."

Old Li simply nodded silently, without saying a word.

He followed Wu Dui's gaze and looked into the distance.

At this moment, M City is peaceful and beautiful, but they are still working overtime in the evening to interrogate people because of the case.

There are so many crimes to be punished, and so many bad guys waiting to be caught.

Hey!

He sighed vaguely.

"So... Cheng Xiaohui's injury today has nothing to do with Jia Nan?" Captain Wu glanced at Lao Li beside him.

"Yes, it's unrelated. Cheng Xiaohui pounced on Jia Nan as soon as she saw him, but Jia Nan only tied her hands and feet?"

Presumably to prevent her from screaming, they eventually gagged her again… It was the young man who arrived later who shoved Cheng Xiaohui. Cheng Xiaohui's head hit the floor hard and she lost consciousness.

Old Li spoke slowly, gazing at the distant city lights.

Team Leader Wu took out a cigarette and offered one to Old Li.

Old Li looked down at the cigarette, smiled, and took it.

The two men faced each other, each breathing out flames.

After some time, I heard footsteps behind me.

The two turned their heads almost simultaneously and saw Xiao Zhang running towards them.

Xiao Zhang seemed to be in a hurry, running out of breath. When he reached them, he panted and said:

“Jia Nan signed the statement but didn’t leave; he was waiting for Wen Jie, who was taking the statement.”

Xiao Zhang hesitated as he spoke, speaking slowly and seemingly unsure of what he was trying to say.

However, due to my professional sensitivity, I felt that something was not quite right.

He took out a voice recorder and played back the conversation between Wenjie and Wang Hui.

He then handed the phone to Captain Wu and found the short video that had been hastily recorded.

As Captain Wu and Old Li watched, a glint appeared in their eyes. Captain Wu then gave Xiao Zhang a heavy pat on the back.

"Well done!"

Old Li, with a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes slightly narrowed, looked at Xiao Zhang and said, "You're starting to look more and more like Captain Wu when he was young."

"Stop talking nonsense, tonight's events have only just begun," Captain Wu said, turning to look at Old Li with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Alright!" Old Li tossed aside his cigarette and turned to walk toward the police car.

"Xiao Zhang, you and Lao Li are in charge of keeping an eye on Wen Jie."

"I'll keep an eye on Jia Nan!"

(End of this chapter)