Skin - Chapter 49

Chapter 49 – Lin Lang Opens the Door

　　On the way to Lin Lang’s house, Meng Ruoshu asked Meng Zhao to take a detour back home. She didn’t say what she was going to do, and Meng Zhao didn’t ask.

　　The car stopped downstairs. Meng Ruoshu was about to push the door and get out, but Meng Zhao raised his hand to stop her.

　　”What’s wrong?” Meng Ruoshu sat back down.

　　Meng Zhao leaned over and took out the monitoring equipment from the storage box in front of the car: “Put on the headphones.”

　　Meng Ruoshu took the wireless headset and said, “Aren’t you going to follow me?”

　　”I won’t go. Lin Lang might be wary of the opposite sex. If you convince her to open the door, and she sees a strange adult man standing outside, all your efforts might be wasted.”

　　”Then, will you eavesdrop downstairs?” Meng Ruoshu had an embarrassed expression on her face, and it seemed that she obviously didn’t want to be eavesdropped by Meng Zhao.

　　”Lin Lang has been mentally unstable since the accident. Put on this headset. I’ll keep it on all the time, and you can turn it on or off as you like. If anything unexpected happens, turn it on and contact me immediately. Don’t worry, I won’t eavesdrop.” Meng Zhao finished speaking, and then reminded Meng Ruoshu, “Be smart, be flexible, and protect yourself.”

　　”Got it,” Meng Ruoshu pushed the door and got out of the car, “Don’t worry, brother, I promise to complete the task.”

　　Watching Meng Ruoshu walk into the corridor, Meng Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not feel relaxed at all.

　　Meng Zhao recalled what happened to his uncle, Meng Xiangyu, twelve years ago. At that time, Meng Ruoshu was sexually assaulted and the rapist died mysteriously. All the evidence pointed to Meng Xiangyu. If Zhou Mingsheng and Lu Chengze had not helped to overturn the case, Meng Xiangyu would have been imprisoned. However, the real murderer has not been found yet…

　　‘Who is the murderer? Why did he kill the rapist? Did he frame Meng Xiangyu for the murder just to clear himself of suspicion?’

　　‘I always feel that this matter is not that simple. After this case is over, I must carefully review the case files from that year to find out the truth.’

　　Meng Zhao picked up his phone and sent a message to Cheng Yun: “Xiao Shu has gone upstairs. If Lin Lang is willing to open the door later, please pay attention to the situation outside the door and notify me immediately if there is any situation.”

　　•=•=•

　　”Cheng Yun!” There was only one flight of stairs left. Meng Ruoshu raised her head, put her hands to her mouth, and called out for the female officer in a low voice.

　　Cheng Yun was looking down at the message sent by Meng Zhao, wondering why Meng Ruoshu was here, when she heard Meng Ruoshu calling her.

　　Cheng Yun walked downstairs with light steps and asked in the same whisper, “Why are you here?”

　　”Didn’t expect me?” Meng Ruoshu smiled. She leaned close to Cheng Yun’s ear and said mysteriously, “My brother found me to come and help out. I came here to do something important.”

　　After hearing this, Cheng Yun showed a slightly surprised expression on her face. She thought Meng Zhao would ask the senior female police officers in the bureau to help, but she didn’t expect that he would find Meng Ruoshu.

　　But she believed in Meng Zhao. Since Meng Zhao did this, he must have his reasons.

　　”Has Brother Zhao told you about Lin Lang’s situation?” Cheng Yun asked in a low voice.

　　”He told me on the way,” Meng Ruoshu pulled Cheng Yun’s arm, “Let’s go up, my brother has told me everything.”

　　The two walked to the door. Meng Ruoshu stopped, took a deep breath, and said, “Lin Lang, are you listening?”

　　Lin Lang didn’t say anything. It was her brother who spoke: “She’s listening. Go ahead.”

　　”My name is Meng Ruoshu. I’m not a policeman, but I have a brother who is a policeman. However…actually, it wasn’t my brother who asked me to come here. I accidentally found out about your situation and insisted on coming here to talk to you.” After Meng Ruoshu finished speaking, she paused subconsciously.

　　There was no movement behind the door.

　　After waiting for a while, Meng Ruoshu realized that there would be no response from behind the door, so she continued, “About twelve years ago, I had an experience similar to yours. I was only ten years old that year. I remember it very clearly. That day was the first day of school. After school, I was waiting in the classroom for my dad to pick me up after work. A boy came over and told me that the head teacher wanted to see me for something. I followed him, but he took me to a storage room where a strange man was standing. Then I encountered that incident.” Meng Ruoshu calmly narrated her experience.

　　Cheng Yun, who was standing by, was slightly surprised when she heard Meng Ruoshu speak. She understood why Meng Zhao had asked Meng Ruoshu to help. Cheng Yun quickly came to her senses and focused on the movements behind the door.

　　”This is a photo of me when I was ten years old. It was taken before that incident.” Meng Ruoshu squatted down and slid a photo under the door. The photo showed a little girl with twin ponytails and a bright smile. “I’ll show you how I looked before that incident.”

　　‘Ten seconds, twenty seconds… one minute, two minutes…’ Cheng Yun counted the seconds silently in her heart. Just when she thought that Meng Ruoshu’s words were powerless, the photograph pressed under the door was pulled away. Lin Lang inside took the photo.

　　”This is me after that incident,” Meng Ruoshu shoved another photo under the door. It showed a little girl with gray skin and dim eyes. “It was taken when I went to the police station as a witness. At that time, I suffered from stress aphasia. I was mute for two years. I could only nod or shake my head to answer all the questions the police asked me.”

　　”This is me now.” Seeing the photograph being taken away again, Meng Ruoshu slid in another. She didn’t use the photographs of herself with exquisite makeup, but only took a photograph of graduation in which she wore a bachelor’s gown.

　　At the beginning, Lin Lang hesitated for two minutes before taking out the photo. For the last photograph, as soon as Meng Ruoshu put it in, Lin Lang took the photo away.

　　”Would you like to hear my story?” Meng Ruoshu squatted at the door and said, “However, if we talk on the stairs, others might hear us. Although I have moved on from it, I still don’t want to talk about this past with too many people. If you are willing, can you let me in so I can tell you?”

　　There was no movement behind the door. Meng Ruoshu waited patiently. She had a hunch that Lin Lang would open the door.

　　No one present spoke. After the silence lasted for a few minutes, a sound came from behind the door, which seemed to be the sound of the door lock turning. Then the door opened, revealing a small gap. Lin Lang finally opened the door.

　　Meng Ruoshu and Cheng Yun looked at each other, and Cheng Yun mouthed “come on” to her.

　　Meng Ruoshu pursed her lips slightly and nodded at her.

　　Then she took a step towards the crack in the door and looked at the girl standing inside. The crack in the door was so narrow that she could only see one of Lin Lang’s eyes. She asked in a gentle voice, “Let your brother come out first, and let me go in instead, okay?”

　　After a while, the door opened a little wider and Lin Lang’s younger brother walked out.

　　Meng Ruoshu turned sideways and squeezed in through the crack in the door. Before entering, she exchanged a glance with Cheng Yun and then closed the door.

　　Waiting is always anxious. Meng Zhao sat in the car, tapping on the door with his fingers, making a light “da da” sound.

　　Meng Zhao couldn’t help but wonder what the situation was upstairs, whether Lin Lang was willing to open the door, and whether her emotions were stable.

　　The headphones were quiet. As long as Meng Zhao wanted, he could hear everything happening upstairs through the headphones without Meng Ruoshu noticing.

　　But Meng Zhao knew that the conversation between two hurt girls would not want to be heard by a third person.

　　There were two “buzz” sounds and the phone on the center console received a text message.

　　Meng Zhao took the phone and Cheng Yun sent a message: [Lin Lang opened the door, Xiao Shu has already gone in.]

　　Looking at this text message, Meng Zhao let out a long sigh. Although he didn’t feel relieved yet, there was finally a glimmer of hope in this case.

　　‘We have done our best, now everything depends on God’s will.’

　　Only when the door closed did Meng Ruoshu see clearly the girl standing in front of her.

　　She was very skinny with shoulder-length, dry hair. The ends of her hair were uneven and clumpy, and it was obvious that she had cut her hair herself with scissors.

　　She was still holding the three photos that Meng Ruoshu handed to her. She had her back slightly hunched and looked timid. Her eyes were also shrinking. She looked at Meng Ruoshu warily like a small animal that had lived in a cave for a long time.

　　She didn’t look like a twenty-six or twenty-seven year old girl. At first glance, she seems like a timid little girl who has never entered society. But if one looked closely, perhaps because she had not left home for ten years and neglected exercise, her shivering posture even made her look like a little old lady.

　　The room was filled with a stale smell, the curtains were closed, and the light was dim. When she suddenly entered, Meng Ruoshu’s first feeling was fear. She tried her best to stay calm, looked at the girl, and whispered her name: “Lin Lang?”

　　Lin Lang didn’t say anything. She still looked at Meng Ruoshu vigilantly, as if she was ready to escape at any time.

　　Meng Ruoshu approached tentatively. With every step she took towards Lin Lang, she could sense that Lin Lang became more alert.

　　Fortunately, Lin Lang did not hide. Meng Ruoshu walked up to Lin Lang and tentatively held Lin Lang’s hand.

　　Her palms were soft and warm, and she could feel Lin Lang’s cold, dry hands trembling slightly. Meng Ruoshu whispered, “Lin Lang, don’t be afraid.”

　　After a long while, Meng Ruoshu warmed Lin Lang’s hand with hers, and when she noticed that the hand was no longer shaking, Meng Ruoshu spoke again: “Let’s find a place to sit down, okay?”

　　This time, Lin Lang responded. She nodded, then took Meng Ruoshu’s hand and slowly walked to the living room.

　　They sat down on the sofa, and Lin Lang looked at her, her eyes less vigilant and more curious.

　　The light in the living room was slightly brighter, so Meng Ruoshu could see Lin Lang more clearly.

　　Putting aside her timid temperament, if you look closely, Lin Lang is actually a very beautiful girl. Even though her hair is cut in a mess and she looks extremely unkempt, judging from her pointed chin and deer-like eyes, Lin Lang must have been very beautiful ten years ago when she had not been violated.

　　”When you look at me like this, you look like a kitten.” Meng Ruoshu smiled at her.

　　Lin Lang seemed to not know how to communicate with others, and looked away evasively.

　　”It’s okay, you don’t have to speak,” Meng Ruoshu comforted her, “Twelve years ago, I suffered from stress aphasia, and I know the feeling of not wanting to speak.”

　　”Just listen to me. Let me think… where should I start?” Meng Ruoshu fell into deep thought. “I don’t really want to recall that experience. Let’s start from the day after it happened…”

　　This is a very long story. Meng Ruoshu started from when her father Meng Xiangyu was wrongfully imprisoned, and went all the way to when Meng Xiangyu was sentenced to fifteen years in prison in the first instance.

　　”When things got to this point, I thought I might never be able to speak again, and my dad would spend the next 15 years of his life in prison. Those were the best 15 years of his life. If he was to spend them unjustly in prison, it would be too despairing… But I didn’t expect that my brother’s action at that time would change the course of the incident.”

　　Meng Ruoshu paused here, trying to calm herself down before continuing. Unexpectedly, Lin Lang, who was sitting next to her, looked at her and took the initiative to speak. Her voice was a little hoarse and a little timid: “What action?”