Chapter 54: Where Has the Time Gone

Taking advantage of the morning still having time, Yu Dazhang went to the police academy he had once attended.

If his mother had come to the school a year ago to inquire about his whereabouts, she would definitely have gone to the teachers first to ask.

That's right, he still couldn't fully trust Zhou Zizhe.

It's just like solving a case—no matter how truthful something sounds, it still needs evidence to back it up.

Arriving at the school, Yu Dazhang went straight to the teacher who had once taught him, and the result was exactly the same as what Zhou Zizhe had said.

He found two other teachers, and they all gave the same answer.

Then this matter can't be faked.

Zhou Zizhe doesn't have that kind of ability to make the police academy teachers help him lie together.

In the afternoon, back at the detachment, Yu Dazhang helped the task force members organize the evidence, then did some auxiliary work.

All team members, including Lu Zhongxin, could tell he was a bit absent-minded.

Sometimes they'd call him several times before he'd react.

This inevitably made them feel puzzled.

What's wrong with this fatty?

He was perfectly fine when he came in the morning, went to the detention center, and came back in the afternoon like he'd lost his soul.

Lu Zhongxin even specifically called him outside alone to talk.

But Yu Dazhang just shook his head and said he was fine.

He knew clearly in his heart that telling his master about what happened a year ago would be useless—Lu Zhongxin didn't even know him back then.

Around a little past four in the afternoon, Lu Zhongxin saw he wasn't in a good state and let him leave early.

None of the team members had any objections either; they just figured Yu Dazhang had been under too much pressure before, and now that he'd suddenly relaxed, his mind had gone a bit fuzzy.

Has this kind of situation happened before?

Not only has it happened, it's happened a lot.

Back home.

Yu Dazhang sat on the living room sofa and glanced at the clock on the wall.

5:10.

Mom gets off work at five, and counting the time to buy groceries, she'll be home in at most another fifteen minutes.

He ran through the whole thing in his head, so when Mom came back he could pick out the key points to ask about.

First, confirm one thing: he himself had gone missing a year ago.

His body getting fat also happened after the disappearance.

Two, what happened before he went missing?

Or rather, what abnormal behavior did he have at the time.

Why think this way?

Because Yu Dazhang had ruled out the possibility of being kidnapped.

Not to mention anything else, kidnappers don't just kidnap anyone—with his family's conditions, those kidnappers wouldn't even give him a second look.

Let alone fattening him up and then letting him go.

What, kidnappers have a special fetish for fattening people up?

No matter how you think about it, it doesn't make sense.

So it must be that his past self had actively done something, which led to the disappearance.

Three, why is there no memory of this past year?

The current Yu Dazhang really wants to sing out loud: Where has the time gone—I haven't even properly enjoyed the food yet and I'm already fat~

Is it that there's no memory of this past year, or no memory of this life?

He carefully recalled for a moment.

Finally, he confirmed it.

His past self before the disappearance was completely identical to his previous life.

In other words, all the changes happened within the past year.

This rebirth of his is kind of interesting, huh—it even comes with a blackout.

Just as he was feeling a bit amused, the sound of a key turning came from the door, then the security door opened, and Li Xuehe walked in carrying several shopping bags.

The moment she came in, she saw her son sitting on the sofa, staring at her blankly.

"Why are you back so early today?" Li Xuehe asked.

"Mom, come sit here first." Yu Dazhang watched her change her shoes, then patted the sofa beside him. Seeing her son hadn't answered but instead told her to come over, Li Xuehe immediately realized he had something to ask.

She first took the shopping bags to the kitchen, then washed her hands, dawdled for a minute before coming out.

Arriving in front of the sofa, she sat down diagonally across from Yu Dazhang:

"What happened? Why such a serious face?"

Mom, you've given yourself away!

Yu Dazhang had clearly seen just now that when his mother spoke, her eyes glanced to the left, but her right hand pointed to the right.

Although the movement was very small and very casual.

But he knew this was an unconscious little gesture people make when thinking up a lie.

Also, when she came to the sofa just now, she took half a step back before sitting down.

This was an unconsciously made protective gesture, also mentally preparing for the lie about to be told.

Playing psychological games with his own mom is really awkward… Yu Dazhang asked directly:

Please... save... 6... 9... book....!

"A year ago, did I go missing?"

Perhaps guessing her son would ask this, Li Xuehe wasn't too surprised and instead asked back:

"Did someone tell you, or did you remember it yourself?"

Yu Dazhang told the truth, but didn't mention Zhou Zizhe—only said he learned it from a teacher at the police academy.

This was one of his habits: never discuss cases at home.

Hearing it came from someone else, Li Xuehe sighed and said:

"Son, does it really matter whether you know or not? You're doing fine now, aren't you? Our whole family is safe and sound—that's enough."

She doesn't want to talk… Yu Dazhang quickly read his mother's state of mind.

This was his own mother—no room for scheming or tricks—so he decided on a flanking tactic, changing the subject:

"Dad knows about this too, right?"

Li Xuehe didn't answer, just nodded once.

"Our teacher said a lot of classmates suspect I did something wrong and got locked up."

This part he just made up on the spot.

Sludge his own name, strike a chord with his mother, make her drop her guard.

Actually, this had a pretty big logical hole, but it didn't matter.

Rumors—truth doesn't matter, as long as they stir up emotions.

Sure enough, the moment Li Xuehe heard this, her face changed at once:

"They're talking nonsense! How can people say things like that? Your dad and I just asked them if they'd seen you."

"Besides, if you'd done something wrong, could you still be a cop? Don't they use their brains at all?"

The flanking tactic was working… Yu Dazhang immediately went full award-winning actor, instantly switching to an anxious, heated look.

He sprang up from the sofa, feet five centimeters off the ground, and landed before he even took off.

Even so, it still went "Thud—."

"A rumor takes one mouth to spread, but legs to run off debunking it!" he said, fuming:

"Right now I just want to hit back at them, but I don't even know where to start. What if there's a class reunion later? How could I ever show my face!"

Saying this, he sat back down on the sofa, hands covering his face, not letting his mother see his expression.

That was a bit overacting just now… Yu Dazhang reminded himself.

Try not to make eye contact, so as not to give himself away.

"Th-that… I didn't expect it to turn out like this either." Li Xuehe stammered, seeming to regret having gone to the school to ask around back then.

"Then just tell me—what exactly happened a year ago?" Yu Dazhang shifted his tone again; one could hear how desperately he wanted to know the truth.

Seeing her son so worked up, Li Xuehe's heart ached, and she said in as gentle a tone as she could manage:

"On April thirtieth last year, you suddenly told us you needed to go out for a bit. We asked where, but you wouldn't say—just that you'd be back in three days at most."

"But then you left… and that was it—no word at all."

(End of chapter)