Myriad Calamities - Chapter 30
After thinking for a moment, he decided to visit the orphanage where he had lived for seven years.
Uncle Hong, the former gatekeeper of the orphanage, was too old and had retired. The creaking wooden dormitory he remembered was now a pink-walled, green-windowed structure. Only the playground retained some of its original appearance. He walked to the place where he first met Fang Li and stood there for a moment, as memories of the past sprouted up like grass touched by a spring breeze.
The canna lilies that used to grow in the backyard had been moved to a corner of the playground, where several iron swings still hung, their chains worn smooth. Xu Haicheng sat on one of the swings next to the canna lilies, slowly smoking. The canna lilies had probably had their roots damaged during the transplanting; they had been wilting ever since, [ book] even in summer, let alone winter. The withered yellow leaves made Xu Haicheng wonder if they would survive next year.
A group of orphans emerged from the building and frolicked on the playground, still forming their own cliques. One little girl left the group and ran to a swing beside him, swinging softly, her voice hoarse with unspoken loneliness and helplessness. A few moments later, several older girls ran over, pulled her off the swing, and took it for themselves. She fell onto the sand, neither crying nor making a fuss, but stood up, brushed the sand off herself, and walked away. No matter how newly built the orphanage's dormitory and office buildings were, the social dynamics remained the same: bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Xu Haicheng's gaze followed her as she walked away to play hopscotch. His eyes inexplicably welled up with tears, as if he were seeing Fang Li from years ago again.
The children played on the playground for a while before being called back by the aunties. The playground returned to its quiet and deserted state, with a cold wind sweeping through from time to time. Xu Haicheng smoked one cigarette after another, watching his shadow grow longer and longer in the setting sun, watching the lights in the quiet orphanage be lit one by one, and then night gracefully descended. Only then did he leave, find a place to eat something haphazardly, and the days without having to think about the case felt like an eternity.
He strolled along the street, watching couples stroll hand in hand, seeing beautiful wives and loving children, while he himself was all alone. Then he saw a bar, pushed open the door, sat down at the bar, ordered a drink, and sipped it slowly. Because of his work on cases, he was a heavy smoker, but rarely drank alcohol.
A moment later, someone sat down next to me and said, "I'd like a glass of tequila."
Xu Haicheng recognized the voice and turned to look, only to see Hawke smiling slightly at him. A little surprised, he said, "It can't be that much of a coincidence?"
"Of course it's not such a coincidence. I was driving past on the street just now when I saw you open the door, so I came in to find you." Hawke saw Xu Haicheng raise his eyebrows in confusion and quickly added, "I was just curious why Captain Xu, who is so busy with work, would come in to drown his sorrows."
"Captain Xu is human too; sometimes he wants to get drunk."
Hawk smiled, raised his glass, and said, "Come on, let me get drunk with Captain Xu."
Xu Haicheng raised his glass to clink with his and said, "I heard you're doing very well in America. What made you decide to come back?"
Hawke said sadly, "My mother's health has been poor ever since my sister left, and she doesn't like staying abroad."
"Your sister...is gone?"
"Yes." Hawke took a big gulp, and perhaps because he drank too fast, he coughed a few times and covered his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You love her very much."
"yes."
The atmosphere suddenly became somber, and the two drank in silence.
Suddenly, a hand landed on Xu Haicheng's shoulder, followed by a face close to his ear, whispering, "Handsome, can you buy me a drink?"
Xu Haicheng and Hawke both turned their heads and saw a heavily made-up face, exaggerated smoky eyes, and blood-red lips, giving Xu Haicheng a flirtatious look. Xu Haicheng put an arm around Hawke's shoulder and pulled him closer, saying, "Sorry, my friend will be jealous."
The girl, feeling as if she'd swallowed a fly, could no longer manage a charming smile. She quickly withdrew her hand from Xu Haicheng's, held her head high, and swayed away. As soon as she was out of sight, Hawke burst into laughter, looking at the still-serious Xu Haicheng, and said, "I never expected Captain Xu to be so humorous."
Section 57: Chapter Ten, Part Three of the Cataclysm (3)
Xu Haicheng frowned. "Do I look old-fashioned?"
Hawke said, "No, it's just that you're too serious, sometimes making me forget you're only thirty."
Xu Haicheng chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Sometimes I even forget myself." Feeling inexplicably irritable, he downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and ordered another.
The conversation stalled again, but thankfully the drinks kept the atmosphere from becoming awkward. Hawke noticed the book on the bar, "Ancient Ritual Culture," and looked at Xu Haicheng with surprise, saying, "You study this?"
"At the beginning of this year, someone was disemboweled and their heart was placed in the shrine. At the time, we couldn't find any clues. Fang Li said it should be related to the sacrifice, so he gave me this book to look at."
Hawke opened the book, staring absently at the signature above the title page: "Was that case ever solved?"
"It's solved. Humans believed the best way to communicate with the gods was through sacrifice." Xu Haicheng took a sip. "It was this idea that helped me understand the motive."
"Your bureau chief seems to dislike Fang Li very much."
"Probably. He always thinks Fang Li is holding me back."
"Do you think so yourself?" Hawke asked, staring intently at Xu Haicheng.
Xu Haicheng thought about it very seriously for a moment, then said, "When I first entered the orphanage, I felt very sad. I didn't know what my future would be like. I happened to see someone bullying Fang Li, so I stood up for her..." His gaze traveled through the wine glass, melting into the golden liquid. "I greeted her, but she ran away. I chased after her and found her hiding in a canna lily. She was so lonely. I thought to myself then and there, I can never let her be lonely again."
Hawke's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't speak; he simply drank his wine.
"But in the following years, we were like two gears, inseparable yet constantly meshing together, which was really exhausting." Xu Haicheng sighed, finished the rest of his drink in one gulp, and raised his empty glass to the bartender. The bartender immediately came over and refilled his glass.
"Then why don't you give her up?" Hawke's voice carried a chill. "Let her bite someone else."
"I don't know, I've never thought of it that way." Xu Haicheng lit a cigarette, holding it in one hand and swirling his glass of wine in the other. "Maybe it's my own fault too. I unconsciously continued to act like a policeman in front of her. Especially with the Jiang Meihui incident, I was so afraid she was the one who did it that I didn't dare ask her. Now that I think about it, why did I think she was the one?"
"Subconsciously, you think she's the kind of person who's capable of doing that kind of thing."
Xu Haicheng patted Hawke on the shoulder and said, "You really are a psychologist; you hit the nail on the head. Yes, without realizing it, I treated her like the others in the orphanage, like an outsider, like a dangerous person. She must have sensed it, which is why she was so cold to me later. She has a strange personality; the more others misunderstand her, the more she goes along with the misunderstanding. I know this is related to the suffering she endured as a child. The more she tried to explain herself, the more she was beaten and tormented." The image of the lonely girl he had seen that afternoon flashed before his eyes, and Xu Haicheng felt a pang of sadness. He took a few more big gulps of his drink.
"So that's how much she suffered. No wonder she's so cautious..." Hawke murmured, swirling his wine glass.
Xu Haicheng felt there was something strange about what he was saying, but the alcohol had already taken effect, and the thought quickly passed. Besides, he felt a strong urge to confide: "I used to have a smooth life, I never knew being misunderstood was so painful and so difficult to defend yourself. My misunderstanding of her must have caused her so much suffering. Jiang Meihui bullied her from childhood, and she's been tormented by her conscience ever since she didn't save her. Fang Li, she's always been a kind person..."
"She was always a kind girl..." Hawke lowered his eyelashes sadly, downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, and ordered another.
As night deepened, the bar gradually became lively. Xu Haicheng and Hawke drank more and more, and talked more and more, their words becoming increasingly incoherent. Sometimes they laughed loudly, sometimes they put their arms around each other's shoulders, sometimes they raised their glasses to clink... and then they got drunk together in the night.
Xu Haicheng couldn't remember how he got home last night. He only knew that when he woke up, his head was spinning. He drew back the curtains; it was midday. He squinted uncomfortably at the mess in the room, and his head started to throb. After learning about the murder from Ma Junnan that day, he lost his composure for the first time in his life, tearing open cabinets and smashing things. He stayed at the police station for the next few days, so trophies, medals, and photos were scattered all over the floor of his house.
He picked them up one by one, wiped them clean, and arranged them neatly. However, the "Best Shooting Award" had been smashed flat, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't restore it to its original state. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful, as it was his first award in his police career. He was overjoyed at the time and wrote a letter to Fang Li boasting that he was a sharpshooter.
After tidying up the room, I smelled a strange odor on myself, a mixture of alcohol and cigarette smoke. I quickly took a shower, which finally relieved my hangover. I sat on the sofa, smoking, and casually turned on the TV.
Section 58: Chapter Ten, Part Three of the Calamity (4)
"Dear viewers, the long-awaited Mansi Cultural Festival is just three days away from opening. The city government has announced that the entire city will be closed on opening day. Let's take a look at the weather forecast for November 10th..."
Let's switch channels. It's a public service program: "...What are the five 'firsts' at the cultural festival? Those who know can send a text message to win a prize. Mobile users, please send to 9688..."