Chapter 158

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the summary of clues on the small blackboard.

"The girl who sleepwalked and nearly jumped off a building, whom Runsheng and Yinmeng saved, went to Luo Xindao Amusement Park yesterday."

"The husband of the criminal suspect in the wife-murder case from the case file Tan Wenbin brought, who insists he only had a dream, is an employee at Luo Xindao Amusement Park."

"The Zhou brothers work part-time performing lion dances at Luo Xindao Amusement Park on weekends."

They had already mentioned this during the meal with the Zhou brothers last time.

The brothers' family situation wasn't exactly poor; they were from a family with a tradition and a craft, but unfortunately, their family members were a bit rigid in their thinking, overlooking the difference in living costs between being away from home and being at home.

The family thought the money they provided was enough for the brothers to live comfortably in Jin Ling, perhaps even touching upon a life of luxury.

In reality, because the brothers were martial artists, their appetites were far greater than ordinary people, so the living expenses were truly not enough for them to eat, forcing them to often take on performances outside to subsidize their food costs.

Once, a city leader who had brought his children to play at Luo Xindao Amusement Park on a weekend was amazed by the brilliance of the lion dance performance. After learning they were university students, he arranged for them to participate in the upcoming university student arts festival in the city.

A leader speaks a word, and those below run their legs off.

But in fact, it was just such a simple matter. Given the friendship from having eaten together before, Lin Shu only needed to go to their school and sit down for a chat with the Zhou brothers to get the complete clues.

Instead, he inexplicably got into a fight with them, then traced the source step by step, first going to the relevant leaders in charge of program selection at their department, then going to the event organizers, just happening to run into the former organizing an exchange meeting with a martial arts school and the latter preparing for related competitions for the city's martial arts association.

Lin Shu, who was supposed to be conducting a covert investigation, found himself in fights everywhere.

The three groups had left the school at roughly the same time that morning; the others each had simple records with space to spare on a single sheet of paper, yet it was Lin Shu's experience that was the most rich and convoluted.

If Lin Shu had been replaced by Tan Wenbin, Li Zhuiyuan would have thought Tan Wenbin had grasped his intent and was deliberately taking the long way around to cause more trouble for that hand.

But since it was A-You, Li Zhuiyuan felt he was just being himself, and he was very diligent.

Li Zhuiyuan drew a circle around "Luo Xindao Amusement Park" and tapped it:

"Clearly, the trap of clues that hand has laid for us is in this amusement park."

Immediately after, Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell upon the three records written down before him.

"The fifth wave has already been taken by me; the opponent is the form-spirit of Bo Qi."

"There is good news and bad news."

"First, the bad news: we have not yet received any river water from Bo Qi's form-spirit."

"Now, the good news: Bo Qi feeds on dreams, and its form-spirit should possess the same characteristic."

"So this time,"

"we don't need to change the content of the script, we only need to change the title."

Li Zhuiyuan wrote "Dream Ghost" and "Bo Qi" separately on the blackboard.

The boy picked up the blackboard eraser, first erased "Dream Ghost," and then drew a line from each of the three clues written on the blackboard, pointing them toward "Bo Qi."

Tan Wenbin understood, a smile appearing on his face.

This time, unlike last time where they needed to manufacture causal clues themselves, they could directly apply the fake clues that hand had already prepared for them.

Things like truth and falsehood can only be confirmed when the lid is opened, and the one who opens the lid is the river water.

That hand wants to guide them to find the "Dream Ghost," but they only need to shout that they are looking for "Bo Qi." Under the influence of the river water, whether it is a "Dream Ghost" or "Bo Qi" no longer matters.

Because that behind-the-scenes mastermind will naturally be defined as the evil force controlling the dead-fallen ones.

Just like last time, when Xiong Shan's team was about to fail, their team went up; it is the same here. Even if they were to fail, there would be other teams taking over the relay.

That hand, which wanted to perfectly extract itself, will instead become the one sitting at the table on the river water, forced to continuously endure the impact of wave after wave of river water.

Tan Wenbin felt this move was truly brilliant; what is borrowing a knife to kill? This time, Little Yuan is borrowing the river to exterminate a sect!

Yin Meng pondered, then nodded silently.

Lin Shu had just finished reading what Little Yuan had written, meaning he had just become familiar with the background summary. He didn't fully understand it yet, but that didn't stop him from nodding thoughtfully and adding, "Oh~"

Runsheng spoke up: "Little Yuan, you didn't have to tell us these things."

Tan Wenbin nodded upon hearing this: "Right, it would have been better not to tell us."

Lin Shu: "Right, um, indeed."

Runsheng meant that if Li Zhuiyuan hadn't told them about the "Dream Ghost" and "Bo Qi," and had only written down "Bo Qi's form-spirit," then apart from Little Yuan, the team would only know about a "Bo Qi form-spirit."

There would be no need to change the script title, as there wasn't one to begin with; they would only need to add it on and say that's what it was.

That way, it would be more convenient for everyone to push the river water.

In Runsheng's view, being an unwitting tool wasn't such a bad thing.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down and picked up a cloth to wipe the chalk dust from his hands.

Runsheng was absolutely right.

He really shouldn't have told them. Telling them made it easier to spoil things, easier to make the progression of events less than perfect.

His fingertips were wiped until they were bright red.

He wiped with extra force, because only in this way could he shift the pain that might appear on his face.

As long as he can retaliate, as long as he can step over this wave, as long as he can achieve his goal, using partners as tools to be utilized and sacrificed is not wrong.

Everyone was waiting for Li Zhuiyuan to speak.

The boy was barely able to hold his expression steady; that sense of repulsion and loathing was rising rapidly in his heart.

Self-consistent, self-consistent, self-consistent...

Li Zhuiyuan dropped the cloth, clenched his hands into fists under the table, looked up, scanned the crowd, and said:

"We're nowhere near that point yet. Everyone has potential; even if I were to use you as tools, I'd have to wait until you are more mature and have higher value later on."

"Killing the chicken to get the eggs, draining the pond to catch the fish—only fools do that."

After saying these words, the discomfort in Li Zhuiyuan's heart subsided significantly, and he let out a long breath.

Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and Yin Meng all laughed, and Lin Shu let out a collective laugh as well.

If it were any other leader saying such things, it would easily damage morale, but for Little Yuan to say it, and to be willing to provide a reason to explain it, was already rare.

You couldn't expect Little Yuan to say that he was willing to risk a lower success rate just to increase their survival rate.

If he were to say that, Little Yuan would likely go mad with pain.

Li Zhuiyuan treated his partners as the grass he used to stabilize the sand, and these grasses had already become familiar with the sand they surrounded.

"The Dream Ghost must be extremely powerful."

"Luo Xindao Amusement Park is the home field chosen by that hand; there must be more arrangements, such as powerful formations and eerie feng shui patterns."

"But we must still take the initiative to throw ourselves into the net, and we must be fast."

"We are currently like people burning with fire; we must seize the time to bring these sparks to them. This is the only means we currently have to contend with them."

"I won't be naive enough to think that once this matter is done, it will be enough to annihilate a family or sect with deep foundations. Existences of that level are by no means so easily annihilated."

"But at the very least, we must make it hurt, make it howl, and make it cut off its own arm to survive!"

"This is the first claw reaching out at us from the shadows."

"Only by chopping it off fiercely,"

"can we minimize the trouble that might appear in the future."

After saying this, Li Zhuiyuan took a stack of calming talismans from his pocket, and then, from his collar, took off a pocket watch he had been wearing around his neck, placing it along with the chain onto the talismans.

The pocket watch was new and not precious; he had just taken it from the shop earlier, produced by the Jiangnan Watch Factory.

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan reached out to touch the translucent, lustrous bone ring on his finger—a gift from A-Li. Not only was it a gesture of her heart, but the craftsmanship was also impeccable.

"Tan Wenbin, stay behind. Everyone else, go upstairs and wait. After Tan Wenbin comes out, the next person will go in."

The yellow pickup truck was parked outside early. Tan Wenbin sat in the driver's seat, while Lin Shu and Runsheng sat in the truck bed in the back.

Li Zhuiyuan and Yin Meng walked out of the shop.

Yin Meng raised her hand to shield her eyes: "The sunlight today is so blinding."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Because we stayed in the basement for too long."

After getting into the car, Li Zhuiyuan said to Tan Wenbin: "Drive slowly, be careful."

"Don't worry, understood." Tan Wenbin started the car.

The destination: Luo Xindao Amusement Park.

The journey wasn't too far, but to prevent fatigue, Li Zhuiyuan had Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin take turns driving halfway.

The amusement park was on an island in the middle of a lake. One could buy a ticket to take a tourist boat to the island, or of course, there was a bridge that allowed cars to drive directly onto it.

At this end of the bridge, there was a guard booth where an old guard with white hair sat, holding a white porcelain tea mug.

Seeing a car approaching, the old guard shouted: "Closed for the day, not open today."

Outside the guard booth was a notice board that read: Facility maintenance, temporarily closed to the public.

This was mainly due to several accidents that had occurred in the amusement park recently.

Tan Wenbin poked his head out of the car window, patted the car door, and said: "Master, can't you tell? We've been dispatched here to do maintenance."

"Oh, is that so?"

The yellow pickup truck looked like a construction vehicle, and the two in the back indeed looked like capable workers.

"Then go on in."

The old guard raised the barrier and signaled them to pass.

Tan Wenbin stepped on the gas and drove in.

But soon, Tan Wenbin saw in the rearview mirror that the old guard was waving his hands and stumbling as he ran after the car, shouting something, but the wind outside the window was a bit strong, so he couldn't hear clearly.

"Little Yuan, that old man seems a bit strange. Should we stop the car?"

"You go down and take a look."

"Mm."

Tan Wenbin stopped the car and opened the door to get out.

Immediately, a heatwave that shouldn't have appeared in this season rushed toward him, and along with it, sand that stung his eyes.

"Beep!!!"

A large truck sped past him, kicking up dust. The scorching sun hung in the sky, making him feel a surge of irritability in his heart.

"Hey, don't run, don't run! School hasn't let out yet, you little brat!"

Tan Wenbin looked back and saw the old school guard chasing after him. In the distance was the gate of Shigang Middle School.

He felt a bit dizzy, as if he hadn't slept well last night and had been studying until late.

Then, Tan Wenbin laughed.

How could he have been studying until late? He had been up all night reading martial arts novels and comics.

Tan Wenbin scratched his head. Having just climbed over the school's outer wall and run onto the road, he had almost been hit by that arrogant truck, and he had actually forgotten his purpose for climbing the wall.

Oh, he remembered.

Damn it, he had to hurry!

"Grandpa, I'm not feeling well, I'm going to the hospital for an IV!"

After saying this, Tan Wenbin took off running.

The old guard panted, his hands on his knees, watching Tan Wenbin run away in an instant, and cursed:

"That little brat is lying! If you're sick, how can you run so fast?"

Tan Wenbin ran all the way to the entrance of a pool hall. Inside, several young men in black short-sleeved shirts with tattoos were playing pool. Standing in the corner was Zheng Haiyang, who was crying, his face covered in clear slap marks.

Zheng Haiyang's parents were sailors with high incomes, so he had plenty of pocket money. But because his parents were away all year round and he lived with his grandparents, he had gradually developed a timid personality.

With lots of money in his pocket and a soft nature, he naturally became the perfect fat sheep for thugs to extort.

This morning, Zheng Haiyang hadn't come to school. Tan Wenbin had thought he was sick, but other classmates told him they had seen Zheng Haiyang being dragged away by Lin Sanhou and his gang.

"Damn it, I said it before, Zheng Haiyang is under my protection!"

More immediate than this sentence was Tan Wenbin's flying kick.

There were three of them, and he was alone, so he had to knock one down first.

"Bang!"

A flying kick landed squarely on one's waist, knocking him to the ground, unable to get up for a while.

Immediately after, Tan Wenbin grabbed a pool cue and whipped it toward another's face with a "swish."

"Bang!"

That guy let out a scream, covered his face, and fell to the ground.

The third guy, who had been on the other side of the pool table, jumped onto it to get across.

Tan Wenbin grabbed a billiard ball from the table and smashed it directly into the guy's crotch.

"Clack!"

"Oh!!!"

The guy covered his crotch and started jumping around on the table, causing the felt to dent.

Tan Wenbin took the opportunity to grab the guy's ankle and pull him down, causing him to fall onto the table.

"Damn it, you like bullying people, huh?"

Tan Wenbin grabbed the guy's hair, lifted his head, and slammed it against the edge of the pool table—slam, lift, slam, lift!

The guy's nose started bleeding immediately, and his consciousness began to blur.

By now, the two who had been knocked down were crawling up and rushing toward Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin let go of the one in his hand, stepped forward, slammed his shoulder into the chest of one, grabbed his arm, pulled it back, and simultaneously kicked his knee, causing the thug to kneel and be completely locked by Tan Wenbin.

"You like bullying people, huh? I'll show you bullying!"

Tan Wenbin pressed his knee against the guy's neck, forcing him toward the wall.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Bloodstains appeared on the wall.

The third thug, seeing this, started trembling in fear.

As Tan Wenbin raised his head to glare at him, he was so scared he didn't dare to step forward and instead turned and ran.

Bullies who pick on the weak are often the first to turn tail when they meet a truly ruthless character.

Tan Wenbin let go, and the guy under him fell forward and passed out.

He reached out, picked up a pack of cigarettes from the pool table, pulled one out, lit it with a match, and took a drag.

"Hiss... Phew~"

In the corner, Zheng Haiyang asked in surprise: "Bin-ge, when did you become so powerful?"

Bin-ge had always been brave, daring to step in to protect classmates, but usually, it was just brawling. Unlike today, where he had solved the problem with a few quick moves.

"Powerful?" Tan Wenbin looked at the two unconscious thugs on and off the table with some doubt. "Yeah, I seem to have become more powerful. Or have they become trash, so unable to take a hit?"

Tan Wenbin took another drag, and as he exhaled, he looked at the cigarette in his hand: Huh, when did I start inhaling?

Before, he had often stood in front of the mirror at home, styling his hair like an adult.

He had also bought cigarettes, pretending to be cool as he lit them, but he would cough and gag whenever he inhaled, so he only kept the smoke in his mouth before blowing it out to create a more concentrated shape.

"Are you okay?" Tan Wenbin looked at Zheng Haiyang.

"I'm fine, Bin-ge, hehe."

Tan Wenbin reached out to touch Zheng Haiyang's face.

Zheng Haiyang's face had been slapped hard, and he gasped in pain when touched, but he didn't pull away.

Tan Wenbin touched it again and again, until Zheng Haiyang was in tears from the pain.

"Bin-ge..."

"Oh, it's good you're fine. Let's go back to school."

"Don't you dare leave! My pool table, pay up, pay up!"

The auntie from the pool hall came down from upstairs, screaming.

She tried to block Tan Wenbin, who wanted to leave, reaching out to grab his collar.

Tan Wenbin glared at her and took a deliberate step forward, and for some reason, the auntie was so scared she backed away repeatedly.

"Go find those two bastards to pay for it! I didn't break your table!"

Afterward, Tan Wenbin took Zheng Haiyang and left.

To leave school, one had to climb the wall, but to enter, one could just walk through the main gate; the guards wouldn't stop students wearing school uniforms from entering to attend class.

However, just as he reached the classroom door, he saw the class monitor, Zhou Yunyun, walking out with a stack of homework.

Tan Wenbin raised an eyebrow at Zhou Yunyun and praised: "Class monitor, you have an inexplicable sweetness today."

Zhou Yunyun's face, which had been tense, flushed red. She lowered her head, composed herself, glared at Tan Wenbin, and cursed: "Phew, a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!"

"You really do look good today. Youth, it's truly great, sigh."

Tan Wenbin sighed, not knowing why he was sighing.

"Tan Wenbin, if you keep talking nonsense, believe it or not, I'll report you to the teacher!"

Tan Wenbin frowned. What was wrong with him? He used to just like bickering with the cold-faced class monitor, acting like a thorn in her side to annoy her. Why was he saying these things today?

He himself felt that what he had just said was too flippant. If he fought, his dad would just beat him with a belt; if he harassed female classmates, his dad would likely hit him with a police car.

At the thought of his own father, Tan Wenbin couldn't help but shiver.

Avoiding Zhou Yunyun, Tan Wenbin returned to the classroom.

Zheng Haiyang had returned first and told everyone about Tan Wenbin's heroic deeds. The boys in the class cheered as he walked in.

Tan Wenbin raised his left hand and covered his chest with his right, signaling everyone to keep a low profile.

Then, he vaulted over his desk and sat in the first row by the window.

Looking over, he saw a classmate sitting at the desk next to him, and Tan Wenbin asked curiously:

"Why are you sitting here?"

The student was confused and replied: "This is my seat."

"Your seat?"

At this moment, a short female student who had just finished using the restroom walked over and said timidly: "Why are you sitting in my seat?"

"Your seat?"

Tan Wenbin looked to the left of the podium—the familiar desk, the familiar arrangement of books, and the familiar tin soldier legion in the drawer.

He had indeed sat in the wrong seat.

Tan Wenbin got up and left, returning to his own throne.

Zhou Yunyun returned from delivering the homework, and as she passed Tan Wenbin, she sneered: "The head teacher has already called your dad."

"Oh."

Tan Wenbin nodded, rested his chin on his hand, and began fiddling with his eraser.

He didn't listen to the rest of the class, just continued to stare blankly.

The teacher on the podium knew he was daydreaming, but in every class, there was always a small group of people like that. As long as they didn't disrupt the teaching order, the teacher wouldn't care what they did.

The bell rang for the end of class, and Tan Yunlong's figure appeared at the classroom door.

Tan Wenbin looked at Tan Yunlong, walked up, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and handed it to him.

"Dad, open your mouth."

Tan Yunlong's mouth twitched, and then he was amused to the point of laughing.

The others behind them let out "wow" sounds.

"Come home with me."

"Oh."

His dad's motorcycle always drove very fast.

Today's speed was even faster than usual, revealing an urgent longing for home.

Opening the door, Zheng Fang, wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen. Seeing the father and son return, she asked: "Son, what happened?"

Tan Yunlong didn't say a word, just silently unbuckled his belt.

Zheng Fang stepped back.

The couple didn't really count on their son's studies anymore—unless the top scorer in the college entrance exam could tutor him all day, but how was that possible?

Therefore, their son's character was what the couple valued most now. He could be bad at studying, but he couldn't grow crooked; he couldn't be someone who didn't follow the rules.

Tan Wenbin was taken into the room by Tan Yunlong.

Zheng Fang returned to the kitchen and pushed the green peppers she had intended to slice away from the cutting board. She had originally planned to make shredded pork with green peppers, but considered it unnecessary to make two identical dishes for one meal at home.

The dish was cooked, and as she was boiling soup, the door was knocked.

Zheng Fang opened the door; it was Zheng Haiyang.

"Haiyang."

"Auntie."

"Wait a moment, Binbin is busy right now."

"Auntie, I came to tell Uncle about today. Bin-ge did it to help me."

"It doesn't seem to be about that today." Zheng Fang looked at her husband's expression when he came home; it should be that her precious son had added some new tricks besides his daily mischief.

However, out of maternal instinct, Zheng Fang still shouted: "Binbin, Haiyang is here to play with you!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Responding to her was a series of screams.

But even so, they were interspersed with friendly greetings to his good friend:

"Ah! Haiyang, there are apples in the living room! Ah! You eat first, and I'll play with you when I'm done! Ah!"

The father-son intimate activity concluded.

Zheng Fang kept Haiyang for dinner.

Tan Wenbin habitually squatted in a horse stance and picked up his bowl and chopsticks.

Now, his butt absolutely could not sit down.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Tan Yunlong's pager on his waist rang. He looked down and said: "Something happened at the station."

Scooping a bit of soup into his rice bowl, Tan Yunlong quickly finished his meal and left home.

Tan Wenbin said: "Mom, Dad is never home all day. What do you see in him?"

Zheng Fang: "What do you mean?"

Tan Wenbin: "I support you in pursuing your own happiness."

Zheng Fang: "Do you want to get beaten again? Your dad is busy with work."

Tan Wenbin: "No matter how busy he is, he can't neglect his wife. I definitely won't be like this in the future."

Zheng Fang glared at her son: "I hope you keep your word to your future partner."

After dinner, Zheng Haiyang stayed with Tan Wenbin for a while before returning to school for class.

Tan Wenbin lay face down on the bed. At first, he flipped through a novel, but after a while, he tossed it aside and opened a comic book, which he also found boring after a few pages. Finally, he took out the adult magazine he had hidden under the bed, but what he had once found exciting now felt tasteless.

He continued in this restless state for the whole afternoon, and by dusk, a sharp knocking on the door came.

Zheng Fang had been off work all afternoon and had stayed home, so she went to open the door.

When the door opened, a voice choked with sobs came:

"Sister-in-law, something happened to Team Leader Tan!"

Tan Yunlong had sacrificed his life.

Tan Wenbin stood blankly by the bed, where the body of his father, who had been declared dead after rescue efforts failed, lay.

Knowing he was surrounded, the fugitive had taken a hostage in a desperate attempt to go down fighting. Tan Yunlong had been shot by the fugitive while trying to save the hostage.

Tan Wenbin didn't dare to lift the white sheet covering his father, fearing he would see the terrifying bullet hole.

The lingering pain in his butt made him hope his father would climb up; he was still itching for a beating, wanting to be hit again.

After tensing up for a while, his mother collapsed by the bed, crying her heart out.

Tan Wenbin took a deep breath. He wanted to cry too, but found he couldn't find any tears.

He could only step forward to comfort his mother, and then, when the station leaders and town leaders came to visit, he stepped forward to ask about the martyr's honor and funeral arrangements.

If the public sector was involved, it wouldn't be appropriate to follow too many folk customs; it had to be more solemn and simple.

His grandparents and maternal grandparents also came. His grandfather and maternal grandfather were better, just standing silently on the side, holding back tears with effort, while his grandmother and maternal grandmother hugged his mother and cried bitterly.

Time passed in a daze.

Tan Wenbin attended his father's funeral. Many of his father's former leaders and colleagues from the station and the city came to pay their respects.

Tan Wenbin accompanied his mother, returning their bows one by one.

During this time, his mother's body was too weak, so Tan Wenbin told her to focus on accompanying her husband on his final journey, while he took care of the social aspects.

He arranged everything in perfect order.

The city bureau leader shook his hand warmly, offering comfort and expectations.

His grandfather and maternal grandfather stood beside him, accompanying him in silence but with a resounding presence.

Father-son succession is easily criticized by public opinion, but there is one exception.

Many classmates also came to the funeral; Zheng Haiyang came, and Zhou Yunyun came too.

At the end of the funeral, Tan Wenbin took Tan Yunlong to the crematorium.

He was very surprised: how could his dad, such a big person, fit into such a small box?

He held the urn, got into the car, and went home.

His father's portrait was placed in the house.

Tan Wenbin cooked some noodles and ate with Zheng Fang.

Zheng Fang: "Son, did you put salt in? It's tasteless."

Tan Wenbin: "I think it's just right. If you don't believe me, ask Dad..."

Zheng Fang and Tan Wenbin subconsciously looked together at the empty seat at the table. In a family of three, everyone's seat at the table is usually fixed.

Following the direction of the empty seat, they saw the black-and-white portrait.

Zheng Fang lowered her head, eating while crying. Her tears fell into the bowl, so there was no need to add salt anymore.

After the meal, Zheng Fang returned to her room to rest, and soon, suppressed sobbing came from inside; she was hiding under the quilt.

Tan Wenbin took out his cigarette box. For every cigarette he smoked, he lit one in the incense burner in front of the portrait.

He even deliberately held the cigarette high, provocatively challenging his father in the portrait.

But after challenging him again and again, he soon felt it was boring.

After all, his dad couldn't crawl out of the portrait to knock the cigarette out of his mouth.

The sobbing in the room gradually faded. He knew his exhausted mother had finally fallen asleep in her grief.

Tan Wenbin stayed in the living room, changing his sitting posture. He really wanted to take advantage of the quiet of the night to talk to his father again.

But after thinking about it, he found there was nothing to say.

Because he felt he was a failed son, with nothing to show for himself to make his old man proud.

Finally, the rain that had been slow to fall finally began to drip down.

Tan Wenbin wiped his tears and said:

"Old Tan, all that extra credit you helped me get for the college entrance exam was wasted. Your son is a loser; even with the extra credit, I can't get into college, sigh."

Resting his head on the edge of the table, Tan Wenbin drifted into a half-sleep.

In his daze, he seemed to hear a "thump" from the room.

He immediately struggled to stand up and walked to the door of his parents' bedroom, knocked, and asked:

"Mom, are you okay? Mom?"

There was no response from inside.

He continued to knock and call, but there was still no response.

Tan Wenbin tried to open the door and found it locked from the inside.

"Mom! Mom! Mom!"

Tan Wenbin realized something was wrong and began to ram the door.

"Bang!"

The door was rammed open.

Tan Wenbin turned on the light and saw his mother lying on the ground with foam at her mouth, and an empty pesticide bottle beside her.

"Mom!"

Tan Wenbin bent down to pick his mother up. He had to get her to the hospital immediately. As long as he got her to the hospital in time, it would be in time—it would definitely be in time.

As he moved, his foot kicked the empty bottle, which hit the bed leg and rolled back.

Tan Wenbin's gaze fell on the label of the pesticide bottle, and his eyes widened immediately.

He knew that if this pesticide was ingested, even if she had her stomach pumped and received treatment in time, she would only recover normally for a few days before she couldn't be saved.

It gives you time to regret, but it doesn't give you a chance to live.

Tan Wenbin's body trembled, and his face began to contort, but he still held his mother and woke up the neighbor who had a motorcycle, begging him to drive them to the hospital.

In the middle of the night, outside the hospital operating room, Tan Wenbin sat there.

The doctor had just come out, hesitating to speak, wanting to explain the situation to him.

He told the doctor he knew the result in his heart.

The doctor nodded, sighed helplessly, and left.

Tan Wenbin knew that when dawn came, his mother would wake up. She would be able to eat and laugh, and she would be able to hold him, stroking his face and head.

She might say she regretted it, that she wouldn't do something so foolish again, that she would accompany him well, accompany him until he was fully grown, accompany him through work, accompany him through marriage, and later bring up his children.

These gentle words and expressions he could imagine would turn into the sharpest pain that would pierce him not long after.

Tan Wenbin held his head, lowered it, and opened his mouth wide without making a sound, as snot and tears dripped down continuously.

A figure walked down the hallway; it was Zheng Haiyang.

He sat down beside Tan Wenbin and patted his back lightly:

"The doctor said the rescue was very successful; Auntie will be fine."

Tan Wenbin turned to look at Zheng Haiyang.

Zheng Haiyang looked into his eyes and said to him: "Bin-ge, don't worry, no matter what happens, I will be by your side."

Tan Wenbin shook his head and said: "I just thought of something."

Zheng Haiyang smiled: "It's good that you've thought it through. Everything will pass, really."

"My mom is very strong; she wouldn't commit suicide. After my dad left, she would take on the responsibility of accompanying me. She has been a police wife for so many years; she has this psychological preparation."

Zheng Haiyang: "Even the strongest people can have moments when they break down. Bin-ge, this isn't Auntie's fault."

Tan Wenbin: "Who put that bottle of pesticide in her room?"

Zheng Haiyang said in surprise: "Bin-ge, you suspect someone deliberately..."

Tan Wenbin brought his face close to Zheng Haiyang's, very, very close. He looked carefully into Zheng Haiyang's eyes and asked:

"Other than calling the neighbor to take us, I haven't told anyone that my mom had an accident. Why did you appear here so promptly?"

Zheng Haiyang was stunned for a moment, then retorted: "Bin-ge, how could you think of me like that!"

"Otherwise? Shouldn't I?"

Zheng Haiyang said very angrily: "Bin-ge, how could you think of me like that!"

The next moment,

The aggrieved and angry expression on Zheng Haiyang's face transformed in an extremely smooth way into extreme mockery:

"It was me who put the pesticide there, and I even wrote the suicide note in Uncle's tone for Auntie, hahahaha!"

Tan Wenbin grabbed Zheng Haiyang's arm and shook him desperately: "Why did you do this? Why!"

Under the violent shaking, Zheng Haiyang's head began to sway back and forth, and a tiny turtle crawled onto the top of Zheng Haiyang's head at some point.

The turtle's mouth and Zheng Haiyang's mouth opened simultaneously,

laughing:

"Because I'm unbalanced in my heart. Why do you have a mom and dad by your side, while I don't?"

(End of chapter)

(End of chapter)