Skin - Chapter 65 PT1

Chapter 65 PT 1 – Xu Yingying Wakes Up

　　Lu Shichen had another dream.

　　The dream took place in a small house. A family of three was standing on the porch in front of the door. A child of four or five years old was squatting there, tying his shoelaces with his clumsy fingers.

　　”Xiao Chen is amazing,” the woman next to him bent down and looked at the child, “He just learned how to tie it yesterday, and he tied it so well today. Come, put on the scarf.”

　　She half-knelt down, put the scarf around the child’s neck, and kissed the child on the cheek.

　　”Where’s my dad?” The boy looked up at the tall man and turned his face to the other side.

　　The man was young and handsome. He carried his wife’s bag in one hand and his son’s school bag in the other. He squatted down and looked at the boy waiting to be kissed. He also turned his face to the side like him: “Give dad a kiss, okay?”

　　”Okay.” The boy agreed immediately and gave the man a big kiss on the face.

　　The man laughed heartily, while the woman next to him smiled gently.

　　The family of three went out and walked down the stairs. The boy held his father’s hand and asked, “Dad, when will you come back next time?”

　　”Soon,” the man said, “if you listen to your mother, your father will be back soon.”

　　”I’m very obedient!” the boy said immediately.

　　Gradually, the three people walked down the stairs, walking farther and farther away, and the laughter became farther and farther away.

　　His fingers were gently rubbed and bitten, and Lu Shichen opened his eyes.

　　Lu Xiaodao was rubbing his hand with its head, reminding him that it was time to get up and go out for a walk.

　　Lu Shichen touched its head, supported himself on the bed with his uninjured hand, and sat up.

　　A brand new dream. He leaned against the head of the bed and realised that the young Lu Chengze appeared in the dream for the first time.

　　‘Are the scenes in the dream real?’ Freud said that the material of dreams is a collection of mental remains and memory traces. According to this explanation, these dreams should be fragments of his memories before he was ten years old.

　　Now another piece of the fragment had appeared. At this rate, would it be possible to piece together all his memories before the age of ten in this lifetime?

　　Lu Shichen got out of bed, walked to the window, opened the curtains, and looked at the Municipal Bureau not far away.

　　‘But why do people have the desire to kiss?’

　　‘The kiss between parents and children, and the kiss I kissed unconsciously last night, are they from emotions or instincts? Can they be attributed to a manifestation of desire?’

　　Lu Shichen raised his hand and rubbed his lower lip with his fingertips, recalling the moist and soft touch.

　　‘Why did I have the desire to kiss at that time? Was it because of the kissing clip I accidentally saw on TV when I was in the hospital? When I saw that clip, I felt that human behavior was really strange. Why were they arguing in the last second and kissing in the next second?’

　　However, Meng Zhao’s reaction after being kissed was very interesting. Meng Zhao, who was still indulging in desire a second ago, seemed to wake up immediately, with a look of shock in his eyes. So what was the meaning of a kiss to Meng Zhao?

　　Lu Shichen lowered his head and looked at his fingers. The throbbing and swelling feeling seemed to still be there. In any case, the pleasure of venting his desires made him almost addicted, although the form of venting last night was not the one he wanted most.

　　•=|=•

　　After a good night’s sleep, Meng Zhao’s irritability did not ease much. Instead, thinking that he might have to meet Lu Shichen in the bureau today, he felt it was quite troublesome.

　　‘Lu Shichen might not come to the bureau, right? Such a financial elite should be busy with all kinds of things. Consultant? Most likely he is just a figurehead to deal with Director Xu, right?’

　　In the past, when he was on duty at the bureau, he would bring a change of clothes in advance, but last night his mind was in a mess, and he only thought that Lu Shichen had just been discharged from the hospital, and if something happened, it would be more convenient for him to rush over to the city bureau. As for a change of clothes, he didn’t think so much. Looking at the two sets of clothes in front of him, Meng Zhao fell into a dilemma.

　　The police uniform had not been washed. It was covered in water and showering gel from giving the Border Collie a bath last night, and now it looked wrinkled.

　　As for the set of clothes sent by Lu Shichen, it could solve the urgent problem – as long as Lu Shichen did not come to the Municipal Bureau today.

　　The bureau didn’t have a rule that consultants had to go to the bureau and get off work and leave on time like everyone else. After what happened last night, Lu Shichen might feel embarrassed. So they shouldn’t meet today, right?

　　Meng Zhao took out the clothes that Lu Shichen sent from the paper bag. They were the clothes that Lu Shichen usually wore, a smoky gray shirt and black trousers. The faint sandalwood scent seemed extremely ambiguous.

　　‘Wait, there’s also… a pair of underwear?!’ Meng Zhao’s breathing hitched.

　　He breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the label on it- new, never worn.

　　After changing his clothes, Meng Zhao walked out of the lounge.

　　Lu Shichen didn’t come to the bureau all morning. Meng Zhao focused on the work of the task force and didn’t think about this matter for the time being.

　　By noon, Meng Zhao felt much more at ease. He realized that Lu Shichen would probably not show up, and it would be great if he could avoid the awkward situation of the two of them meeting.

　　But in the afternoon, he began to feel vaguely worried. Lu Shichen had just been discharged from the hospital and his body had not fully recovered yet. He had been silent for a day. Could something have happened to him?

　　As soon as this thought came to his mind, Meng Zhao became more and more worried that something might happen to Lu Shichen. Especially since Lu Shichen’s life had been threatened before, what if he went out alone…

　Thinking of this, Meng Zhao took out his phone and called Lu Shichen.

　　The call was connected, and Lu Shichen asked on the other end: “What’s the matter?”

　　Meng Zhao breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Lu Shichen was safe, but then the embarrassment reappeared.

　　Unable to show that he was worried about the other person’s safety, Meng Zhao asked stiffly: “Why didn’t you come to the bureau?”

　　”I thought consultants only appear when they are needed,” Lu Shichen paused, “Why? Does Officer Meng need me?”

　　Meng Zhao’s face changed. Two seconds later, he asked, “Is it so easy to be a consultant? You can come and go as you please. Is the Municipal Bureau your home? You must report here at least once a day. If you don’t come, you must ask for leave from me. This is the rule!”

　　After Meng Zhao finished speaking, he hung up the phone without giving Lu Shichen a chance to speak, and then let out a breath.

　　‘It’s really embarrassing,’ Meng Zhao thought.

　　Lu Shichen was indeed experienced. Even after this happened, his tone was no different, as if nothing had happened. Meng Zhao’s fingers clenched as he held the phone. He thought of the girl named Qiao Yu. So before Qiao Yu, how many people had Lu Shichen had this kind of relationship with?!

　　Now it seems that Lu Shichen is unisex(T/N : I know it seems out of place, but I couldn’t find any substitute, so I left it as it is), eating both meat and vegetables, and has been severely corrupted by capitalism. This must be corrected, Meng Zhao cracked his knuckles.

　　Yuhu Bay is very close to the Municipal Bureau. Half an hour later, Lu Shichen appeared at the Municipal Bureau.

　　Meng Zhao was leaning on the edge of the table, looking through the statement materials of “Dark Cage”, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his smooth and beautiful muscle lines.

　　It is common for people to come and go in the Criminal Investigation Office. At first, Meng Zhao did not notice Lu Shichen coming in.

　　But then, a figure slightly taller than him stood beside him. Meng Zhao noticed something was wrong. He raised his eyes from the materials and saw Lu Shichen standing in front of him.

　　”Why are you here?” Meng Zhao asked subconsciously.

　　”Aren’t I supposed to report to you?” Lu Shichen looked calm, as if what happened last night didn’t bother him at all. “When you say report, do you mean I need to show up at the Municipal Bureau every day, or in front of you?”

　　“…Just show up at the Municipal Bureau.”

　　Lu Shichen nodded: “How is the case going?”

　　Mentioning the case, Meng Zhao felt more comfortable with Lu Shichen. He put down the stack of materials in his hand and said, “The only solid evidence against Wu Weihan is in the Dark Cage case. The evidence for Lin Lang’s case is not enough, but it can be counted. As for the truth about the imprisonment in the basement of the sanatorium and Zhao Tong’s suicide, he still refuses to confess.”

　　”After all, he has Wu Jiayi as his backer.”

　　”Yes, it’s hard to say what kind of punishment Wu Weihan will get in the end based on the evidence we have now. If Wu Jiayi hires a strong lawyer during the prosecution and insists that Wu Weihan had nothing to do with the basement of the sanatorium, then the sentence the court will give him…” Meng Zhao said, and cursed, “Damn it, according to all the crimes Wu Weihan has committed in the past ten years, he should be sentenced to death.”

　　At this moment, Meng Zhao’s cell phone rang.

　　He took it and saw that the caller was Director Cheng, who was responsible for rescuing the girls in the basement of the nursing home.

　　Meng Zhao picked up the phone: “Director Cheng, is there any new situation?”

　　”Captain Meng, the girl named Xu Yingying is awake,” Director Cheng said, “She showed signs of waking up in the middle of the night yesterday, and she had woken up completely. Do you want to come and see her?”

　　”How is she doing?”

　　”She can speak and is mentally clear, but her legs are still paralyzed by the drugs, so she is temporarily unable to move. But after a few days of recuperation, she should be able to return to normal.”

　　”I’ll be right there.” Meng Zhao said, pulling Lu Shichen’s wrist and walking out.

　　After walking a few steps, he let go of Lu Shichen’s wrist again.

　　After last night, it seemed like any physical contact seemed a little weird.

　　When he went downstairs, Cheng Yun was holding the documents and walking upstairs: “Captain Meng, Consultant Lu, are you going out?”

　　”Let’s go to the hospital,” Meng Zhao said, “You come with us and help us record the statement.”

　　”I’ll be right there,” Cheng Yun quickened her pace up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, “Put the things back and I’ll be right there.”

　　After getting in the car, Meng Zhao started the car.

　　While waiting for Cheng Yun for a few minutes, Lu Shichen said, “It’s quite suitable.”

　　Meng Zhao was thinking about the questions he would ask while taking Xu Yingying’s statement. Hearing this, he casually asked, “…What?”

　　”The clothes.”

　　Lu Shichen took the initiative to lift up his clothes, and the ambiguity and awkwardness immediately spread in the cramped car.

　　After a moment’s silence, Meng Zhao felt it necessary to talk about what happened last night. Otherwise, there would be so many times they would spend time together in the future, and it couldn’t be so awkward every time, right?

　　”What happened last night…” He had just started to speak when Cheng Yun ran over breathlessly, opened the car door and got in.

　　Meng Zhao immediately stopped talking and drove out of the municipal bureau.

　　No one spoke along the way. Cheng Yun felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, but she didn’t know what was going on.

　　She consciously took on the responsibility of livening up the atmosphere and joked, “Brother Zhao, is this your dress? It doesn’t look like your usual style. At first glance, I thought there were two consultants Lu sitting in front of me.”

　　Meng Zhao: “…”

　　Then, Lu Shichen also laughed and made a very light sound.

　　Meng Zhao grabbed a handful of bread from under the center console- it was what he used to satisfy his hunger at any time, and threw it into the back seat: “Eat yours.”

　　”I’m not hungry…” Cheng Yun came forward and continued, “You look good, and the outfit makes your legs look very long.”

　　Lu Shichen also said “hmm”.

　　”Is that so?” Seeing someone agreeing, Cheng Yun became even more excited, “Brother Zhao, look, even Consultant Lu agrees.”

　　Meng Zhao: “…”

　　”Hurry up and think about the statement,” Meng Zhao glanced at Cheng Yun in the rearview mirror, “If you don’t do your job properly, I won’t bring you with me next time.”

　　”Oh.” Cheng Yun fell silent immediately.

　　Meng Zhao turned on the car radio to ease the embarrassment in the car.

　　The news channel was broadcasting the “Dark Cage” case, and many citizens were indignantly accusing Wu Wei Han and hoped that the police would publish a list of all the participants of the Dark Cage.

　　•=|=•

　T/N :

Just informing y’all that this chapter is by far the longest chapter of Skin that I’ve edited. It’s like 6.3k words long, so I’ve split it into three parts. Pretty sure no one’s gonna be enthusiastic enough to read 6.3k words at a single stretch. The whole chapter splitting thing had me working for like 30 minutes, of course, minus the editing work load. So, I hope you like it. Do buy me a coffee if you can~

~Yours Truly,
K. Ruel