Skin - Chapter 34
Chapter 34 – Drunk Lu Shichen
“Yes, I specially hired a top student from Harvard to be my consultant.” Meng Zhao lied with his eyes open without stuttering at all.
Lu Shichen just glanced at him, not exposing him.
”No wonder the temperament looks different. Captain Meng, you are so impressive. How is everything now? Have you been promoted to captain?”
”There’s nothing special.”
”What do you mean by ‘nothing’? It’s only a matter of time. I came here specially to have a drink with you,” the boss put the wine in his hand on the table, “It’s our newly brewed plum wine. Captain Meng, you have to give me some face.”
”The bureau has just issued a new rule this year. Drinking alcohol while on duty has its consequences. Besides, I drove here,” Meng Zhao picked up the glass of water in front of him, “This glass still needs to be clinked, but I can only use water instead of wine. Brother Wei, please forgive me.”
Brother Wei said, “Don’t you think I don’t know how much you can drink? Just one drink won’t delay your ability to solve the case. As for driving, I’ll call a designated driver for you later. The Municipal Bureau has moved away, and you don’t even give your brother Wei any face.”
Meng Zhao couldn’t drink or not drink. Before the city bureau shifted, because his barbecue restaurant entertained all kinds of customers and was well-informed, Lao Wei was considered a rare informant for the bureau and helped them a lot. Even after the bureau moved away, Lao Wei still provided crucial clues to their Narcotics Department in order to solve several drunk trafficking cases.
Lao Wei is a social person. To put it bluntly, he is a bit gangster-like. When this kind of person persuaded others to drink, he would definitely be unhappy if the other party did not listen. In the future, if their unit asked him for help again, he may not be so easy to talk to.
Seeing that Meng Zhao was reluctant to drink the glass of wine, Brother Wei added another sentence, “If you don’t drink this glass of wine, then, Captain Meng, we can’t be brothers anymore.”
‘Forget it, or I’ll drink it first and report it later.’ Meng Zhao analyzed the pros and cons of the situation in his mind. The Municipal Bureau had moved out of Baoyue District, so Lao Wei’s information would be more useful and they would even have to reach out to him more often in the future. It would not be easy to find such an informant who could do both black and white…
He was just weighing the pros and cons, when unexpectedly, Lu Shichen across from him stretched out his arm and picked up the glass of wine: “I’ll drink it for him.”
”Oh, why not,” Brother Wei smiled happily when he heard it, “I’ve never had a drink with a top student from Harvard in my life.”
Lu Shichen’s words slightly startled Meng Zhao and he couldn’t help but look at Lu Shichen. Lu Shichen was holding the glass, with no expression on his face, looking like he was hiding something.
【”I don’t drink often”】
【”I’ve almost never gotten drunk”】
Meng Zhao thought about what Lu Shichen had told him minutes ago.
The three of them clinked their glasses. Meng Zhao drank the water in his glass, and Lu Shichen across from him drank the glass of plum wine. Brother Wei finally gave up: “Captain Meng, I’ll let you off this time. Next time you come to my place, you have to drink with me.”
”Don’t worry, I will.” Meng Zhao smiled.
After Brother Wei left, Meng Zhao looked at Lu Shichen. He noticed that Lu Shichen’s face didn’t look very good when he put down the wine glass just now.
”How does this plum wine taste? Better than beer?”
”Very hot.” Lu Shichen said, “Are you familiar with him?”
”An informant,” Meng Zhao whispered, “He’s not a bad person, but he loves to get me drunk. Thank you for this, otherwise I might be punished when I go back.”
”How will you thank me?” Lu Shichen looked at him.
‘Isn’t that the end of the thanks…?’ Meng Zhao originally only planned to thank Lu Shichen, but he didn’t expect Lu Shichen to put forward a question like that. He had no choice but to say, “I’ll thank you however you want me to, okay?”
”Then, just owe it for now.” Lu Shichen said.
Seeing that the food on the table was almost empty, Meng Zhao ordered some more and took it back to the bureau. When it came time to pay the bill, Lao Wei refused to take the money and insisted that he was treating them for the meal. Meng Zhao had no choice but to stuff the money into the waiter’s hand.
After grilling the skewers that Meng Zhao ordered, the waiter packed them up and handed them to Meng Zhao.
Meng Zhao picked up the lunch box and looked at Lu Shichen: “Let’s go?”
He stood up from his chair, and Lu Shichen also stood up.
But as soon as he stood up, Lu Shichen swayed unsteadily, then quickly supported the table with one hand and raised the other hand to rub his temple.
When Meng Zhao saw his actions, he subconsciously asked, “Headache again?” Perhaps it was because Lu Shichen’s headache was really distressing every time. When he saw Lu Shichen showing signs of a headache, his own temples began to throb heavily.
Lu Shichen shook his head, and after a moment he said, “Dizzy.”
”Dizzy?” Meng Zhao glanced at the half-empty beer on the table, and the empty glass. “Are you drunk?” He picked up the glass and sniffed it, and a strong smell of alcohol hit his nose. Brother Wei’s newly brewed plum wine… is strong enough. He may not get drunk even if he drinks it. But Lu Shichen doesn’t drink often…
Meng Zhao glanced at Lu Shichen. Lu Shichen had his fingers resting between his eyebrows, as if trying to keep himself awake.
‘Really drunk?’ Meng Zhao came closer, stared at Lu Shichen and asked, “Who am I?”
”Meng Zhao.” Lu Shichen put down his fingers and looked at him.
”When were we classmates?”
”High school.”
Really drunk. Meng Zhao was sure this time.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Shichen would not answer every question obediently.
Chapter 38
‘He got drunk so silently…’
Half an hour ago, Meng Zhao thought that Lu Shichen was a hidden talent, but now he was sure that Lu Shichen’s alcohol tolerance was indeed not very good.
”Are you really drunk?” Meng Zhao walked closer, “Shall I help you get in the car?”
”No need,” Lu Shichen stopped rubbing his forehead, “I’m not drunk.”
”Okay,” Meng Zhao put down the hand he was about to raise to support him, “Then you can walk by yourself.”
”Yeah.” Lu Shichen stood up and walked out of the barbecue restaurant with Meng Zhao.
Perhaps because he felt dizzy, Lu Shichen walked slower than usual, so Meng Zhao also slowed down his pace.
He was obviously drunk but insisted that he was not. It seemed that all drunk people are the same, and Lu Shichen was no exception. Meng Zhao found it quite interesting.
However, Lu Shichen did not show any signs of drunkenness when drinking. Apart from walking slower than usual, there was almost no sign from the outside.
When Meng Zhao was observing Lu Shichen in a casual manner, Lu Shichen’s hand suddenly covered his wrist.
Meng Zhao was slightly startled. He turned his head to look at Lu Shichen. There was no abnormal expression on Lu Shichen’s face, as if his action was normal.
Lu Shichen’s grip was too low and weak, creating an illusion that the two were holding hands. Meng Zhao noticed that Lu Shichen’s palm was slightly cold, cold enough for the temperature to almost seep into his bones along his skin and flesh.
Pedestrians were passing by on the roadside, and some of them looked back. Their looks reminded Meng Zhao of the day when he and Lu Shichen walked at the intersection with their hands cuffed to each other’s.
Lu Shichen was still the same as he was that night, acting as if no one was around.
‘Is it because he was dizzy and walking unsteadily that he held it?’ Meng Zhao thought, ‘forget it, just let it be as it is.’
”What are we eating next time?” Lu Shichen asked.
”Hmm?” His question had the same effect as the question 【”When will we meet next time?】” from that day. Meng Zhao didn’t know how to answer it for a moment. “Next time… hot pot? How about it?”
”Anything is fine.” Lu Shichen said.
Lu Shichen didn’t let go until they walked to the car.
The two got in the car, Lu Shichen sat in the passenger seat, and fumbled to recline the seat back a little.
”Seat belt.” Meng Zhao reminded me.
Lu Shichen closed his eyes and touched the seat belt again. When he tried to pull the seat belt over, Meng Zhao saw that he seemed to have difficulty exerting force with his hands, so he reached out to help him pull the seat belt and inserted it into the buckle: “Sleep for a while, I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
Lu Shichen, “Hmm”.
The nights in Baoyue District were much more prosperous than those in Huai’an District, and correspondingly, the traffic jams were also more serious.
The light turned red, Meng Zhao stopped the car and turned to look at Lu Shichen next to him.
There was a faint smell of alcohol in the car. Lu Shichen’s face was tilted towards the window, as if he had fallen asleep.
The car drove for half an hour before Meng Zhao broke out of the traffic jam in Baoyue District and drove into Huai’an District.
He first went to the Municipal Bureau and handed out the midnight snacks he had brought back to his colleagues in the office who were working overtime.
Just as he parked his car downstairs of the Municipal Bureau building, took out his cell phone and was about to call Cheng Yun, Lu Shichen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, woke up.
He said something in English, his voice low and with a hint of sleepiness: “Are we there yet?”
Meng Zhao understood that Lu Shichen was asking if they were there yet.
It seemed that Lu Shichen was really drunk enough to think that he was still in a foreign country.
Meng Zhao glanced at him and said, “We’re almost there, go get some more sleep.”
Lu Shichen finally sobered up a little, opened his eyes, turned his head and looked at Meng Zhao: “Sorry, I…”
”You thought I was your driver, didn’t you?” Meng Zhao answered him. “It’s okay.”
After he finished speaking, he called Cheng Yun’s cell phone.
Two minutes later, Cheng Yun ran out of the Municipal Bureau lobby.
Meng Zhao got out of the car and handed her the midnight snack in the back seat: “Go back and microwave it.”
”I told you, Brother Zhao, that you wouldn’t just eat for yourself,” Cheng Yun flipped through the few lunch boxes with her hands, “You would definitely leave some for us.”
”Is this what you call leaving a hole for me? How are you framing me behind my back?”
”Zhou Qiyang said that you abandoned us and went to live with other little fairies…” As Cheng Yun spoke, she saw someone sitting in the passenger seat. The person looked familiar, so she took a few more glances, “…Isn’t that Lu Shichen?”
”Is there such a big goblin?” Meng Zhao was too lazy to pay attention to them. “How did the investigation at Lin Lang’s house turn out today?”
”It’s not going smoothly… Lin Lang’s parents seem to be hiding something.” Cheng Yun became serious when talking about the case. “I suspect that Lin Lang is not just suffering from mental illness. In other words, her mental illness is a bit strange. There must be other reasons behind it that her parents want to cover up, but I haven’t been able to get the specific details from them…”
Meng Zhao nodded: “I’ll talk to you when I come back. You can take the things upstairs first.”
After driving out of the Bureau, Meng Zhao continued to think about what Cheng Yun had told him.
Lin Lang had been staying indoors for ten years and had become mentally ill. Her parents were very evasive when talking about her. What on earth had happened to Lin Lang that had led to this situation…
It only took two minutes to drive from the Municipal Bureau to Yuhu Bay. During these two minutes, Lu Shichen had closed his eyes again.
Meng Zhao parked the car in the parking space under Building 3. Seeing that Lu Shichen didn’t move, he turned his head and called out, “Lu Shichen.”
”Are we there?” Lu Shichen spoke in Chinese this time.
”We’re here. Let’s go. I’ll take you upstairs.” Meng Zhao said as he pushed the door and got out of the car. He walked to the passenger seat and helped Lu Shichen open the door.
Lu Shichen got out of the car and raised his hand to rub his eyebrows, as if trying to sober himself up.
Meng Zhao noticed that Lu Shichen’s phone fell in the car. He leaned over to pick it up, then stood up and looked at Lu Shichen: “Should I give you a hand?”
This time, Lu Shichen did not insist that he was not drunk. Meng Zhao put the phones in his pocket, intending to return it to him when he went upstairs. Then he lifted Lu Shichen’s arm and put it on his shoulder.
The scene was very similar to the time when they were in the nursing home in high school. He helped Lu Shichen sit down on a nearby wooden chair in the same way.
After twelve years, Lu Shichen had a very light sandalwood scent mixed with the smell of alcohol. It made Meng Zhao very clearly realize that Lu Shichen had become a mature man, and this man’s appearance and temperament were quite superior.
After getting off the elevator, Meng Zhao carried Lu Shichen to the door of his house. Lu Shichen unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and Meng Zhao pushed the door open.
As soon as he entered the door, Lu Shichen’s dog came to greet him. After seeing an uninvited guest breaking into the house, it barked twice at Meng Zhao.
Meng Zhao carried Lu Shichen to the sofa and sat down with him. The dog also ran over, digging its knees with its two paws, as if it wanted to sniff the unfamiliar smell of alcohol on Lu Shichen.
After sniffing Lu Shichen, it went around to sniff Meng Zhao. Meng Zhao raised his hand and touched its head. It could be noticed that the dog’s fur was shiny and smooth, indicating that it had been carefully fed.
Just as Meng Zhao leaned his head back on the sofa, planning to take a breath before talking to Lu Shichen again, Lu Shichen’s hand slid from Meng Zhao’s shoulder, first resting on his side, then turning his palm over and holding Meng Zhao’s wrist.
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