“What’s your next step?” Ji Fanyang sits in the passenger seat, his right elbow resting on the car window, watching Lu Hui’s handsome profile.
“What else can I do? Seek revenge,” Lu Hui looks straight ahead, tapping the steering wheel. “I’m going to dig up their ancestors’ graves.”
“…So?” Ji Fanyang asks.
Lu Hui sighs, “First, find the body of Du Chengwu.”
“Du Chengwu?” Ji Fanyang frowns.
“Du Chengxian’s elder brother. He’s dead, all for that video tape,” Lu Hui says. “Wang Jing came to me before, as part of the exchange.”
“Weren’t they listed in the witness protection program? Dead?” Ji Fanyang says.
“Yeah.” Lu Hui hits the steering wheel, exiting the highway. “I really want to know where Wang Jing is now, and that girl.”
“The person you killed was named Liu Huairui,” Ji Fanyang says. “The second son of Liu Wei.”
“Oh…” Lu Hui muses. “I took his hair and blood, sent it to the forensic department, but found no match. And Liu Huairui is the son of Liu Kai, so…”
“There’s a mole in the Public Security Bureau, or Liu Huairui’s DNA information is fake,” Ji Fanyang says.
“Yeah, it’s possible.” Lu Hui says. He turns into a more secluded street, parking the car by the side of the road. “I know the owner of this place.”
“Oh? No need to show your ID?” Ji Fanyang opens the door and steps out.
“You don’t need to show your ID,” Lu Hui says. He locks the car, crossing the road. Both of them enter the hotel lobby. Lu Hui leans his arms on the front desk. “A standard room.”
“Sure, please show your ID.” The young man at the front desk says.
Lu Hui frowns, “Is your boss here today?”
“…Huh?” The young man is puzzled.
“Ask him to come out. I’m an old acquaintance,” Lu Hui says.
The young man looks at Lu Hui with suspicion, then turns and walks into the inner room. In a short while, a middle-aged man wearing an old shirt and flip-flops appears. He sees Lu Hui, shakes his cigarette, and looks more serious. “Captain Lu, why do you have the leisure to come here today?”
“I’m now Song Qingchuan,” Lu Hui says. Impatiently, he knocks on the counter. “Get me a standard room; I’ll stay for two days.”
“What’s going on, special circumstances?” The boss picks up a pen and casually writes out a receipt. “Since that’s the case, forget about showing your ID. Just don’t break my shop again.”
“I won’t, last time was an accident,” Lu Hui says. “If anything happens, the city bureau will reimburse you.”
“Okay, go in.” The boss, holding a cigarette, puts on slippers and walks back into the inner room.
Lu Hui takes the room key card and goes upstairs with Ji Fanyang.
“Your colleague from the Public Security Bureau?” Ji Fanyang asks.
Lu Hui nodded, “A partner got into a bit of trouble, and I helped him out.”
Opening the door, Lu Hui surveyed the facilities in the room, ensuring there was no damage, and then called Gao Ju, “We’re in the city. Where should we meet?”
“Linshan Jingting, you know that teahouse, Chu Tian Ge,” Gao Ju said.
“Well, quite elegant,” Lu Hui smiled, “Okay, we’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Alright,” Gao Ju hung up.
“Let’s go, kiddo,” Lu Hui said, “Gao Ju is treating us to tea.”
“You tricked Gao Ju again,” Ji Fanyang washed his face, walked out of the washroom, “Wei’s got a good eye, seeing Gao Ju as an easy target.”
“If Gao Ju had a bad temper, we would argue enough to dismantle the city bureau twice a day,” Lu Hui said, “We made a bet, and he has to lose.”
Ji Fanyang walked beside him, “What bet?”
“We bet on whether you’d hit me when we meet,” Lu Hui closed the door, put the key card in his pocket, “He lost miserably.”
“What if I hit you now? Is it too late?” Ji Fanyang asked, “I also want to place a bet.”
“It’s too late. I knew you love me,” Lu Hui joked, “Reward you with ordering dishes.”
“… Alright,” Ji Fanyang was easily bribed with no stance.
Driving to Linshan Jingting, Lu Hui handed the car keys to the attentive doorman. The two went upstairs and entered Chu Tian Ge. Lu Hui pushed the door open, and he paused, “They’re all here.”
Ji Fanyang followed behind him, only then noticing that besides Gao Ju, there were Wei Congjia, Rao Feifei, and Yang Jie. He greeted, “Good morning.”
“Don’t just stand there. Sit down,” Gao Ju said, “We’re waiting for you to order.”
“Little Ji, order. The chief is treating,” Lu Hui slyly smiled, “Pay up. Little Ji didn’t hit me.”
Ji Fanyang pulled out a chair and sat down, taking the menu.
Gao Ju’s suspicious gaze fell on Ji Fanyang, “Really?”
Ji Fanyang nodded, “I was too angry and forgot to hit him.”
“See, I told you he loves me,” Lu Hui leaned back in his chair with arms crossed, triumphantly smiling, “Pay up, pay up.”
Gao Zhengcheng begrudgingly looked at Ji Fanyang, who was buried in the menu, “Alright, this meal is on me.”
“Ji Fanyang, order abalone,” Lu Hui said, “This opportunity doesn’t come often. Let’s make the chief kneel at home and scrub the washboard.”
“… Alright, alright, taking advantage of Chief Gao’s good temper,” Wei Congjia couldn’t stand it and waved his hand, “If it goes on like this, I’ll call your sister.”
Lu Hui stopped teasing and turned to the main matter, “Chief Gao, in a few days, have any team search the lake behind Zhongchuan.”
“That lake doesn’t fall under Lin Hua’s jurisdiction,” Chief Gao said, “What happened?”
“Fan Zhe is dead, Ji Fanyang’s fake identity,” Lu Hui said, “Otherwise, tomorrow, we’ll have someone report a case in Zhongchuan City. We need to create a false case.”
Wei Congjia disagreed, shaking his head, “Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
“Should Fan Zhe die in vain?” Lu Hui asked.
“Lands’ team wants a reason to investigate the Liu family,” Ji Fanyang said.
Lu Hui nodded, “I also got some news. In that previous case of identical twins, remember, Du Chengxian died.”
“The living suspect?” Chief Gao asked, “Isn’t he in the protection program?”
“We need to contact Lian Gang City Public Security Bureau,” Rao Feifei said.
“Fan Zhe can’t die for nothing,” Lu Hui said, staring at Wei Congjia, “You lead a team to search.”
“Search for what? How do you search for a fake identity?” Wei Congjia frowned, “You want to pressure Liu Wei?”
“Liu Kai is in the hospital now, paralyzed, and his speech is unclear,” Yang Jie said, “The Liu family is in chaos.”
“This won’t work. We need to add fuel to the fire,” Lu Hui said, “Pretend to search the lake behind the mountain, then go find Du Chengxian’s body. I want reporters to follow and report.”
“Be careful,” Wei Congjia reminded.
“I’ve died once. What’s there to be afraid of?” Lu Hui said, “They’ll be desperate, and we can get more clues.”
The ordered dishes were gradually served, and everyone finished discussing and started chatting about some unrelated matters.
“What has Yang Ge been doing for the past two years?” Rao Feifei curiously asked.
“Getting married,” Lu Hui said.
Ji Fanyang sighed, “Don’t listen to him nonsense. I became a psychologist.”
“Little Ji escaped his engagement banquet for me,” Lu Hui said.
“Really?” Rao Feifei asked in surprise.
Ji Fanyang thought for a moment, and Lu Hui seemed to have not said anything wrong. He awkwardly coughed, “It’s a long story, not that kind of story. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”
“Don’t ask,” Lu Hui teased, “Later, he’ll have to crawl under the table.”
