Skin - Chapter 73

Chapter 73 – Tooth Marks

　　The next morning, Meng Zhao woke up first.

　　They both were drunk the previous night and stayed up too late, so they just fell asleep on the sofa.

　　Meng Zhao wanted to get up, but he found that their bodies were pressed against each other, which was almost like a pull on one hair to move the whole body. But this posture seemed too intimate, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

　　Lu Shichen’s face was turned to him, and his warm breath hit his face again and again. Meng Zhao turned his head to look at Lu Shichen, who had his hand on his waist, breathing slowly. He looked like he was sleeping soundly.

　　At this moment, Meng Zhao still felt excited.

　　In the past few years, he had always been curious about what kind of person he would be attracted to, but he never had any idea. It was only now that he had a concrete idea of the person in front of him. Life is full of unexpected things, Meng Zhao was a little emotional.

　　Seeing that Lu Shichen was sleeping soundly, Meng Zhao lowered his eyes and observed the postures of the two. He thought about the disassembly steps in his mind, then raised his hand, held Lu Shichen’s wrist and gently moved it away. He took one leg away from Lu Shichen, and when he was about to pull out the other leg, Lu Shichen’s eyelashes moved slightly, then he opened his eyes and woke up.

　　Meng Zhao paused and looked at Lu Shichen, and Lu Shichen also looked at him.

　　For a moment, Meng Zhao’s embarrassment resurfaced. Although he had accepted it, two men sleeping together so intimately, and with what happened last night, Meng Zhao still couldn’t fully adapt to the abrupt change in his relationship with Lu Shichen.

　　”Awake?” Meng Zhao pretended to pull his legs away naturally and stood up from the sofa. “I’m going to take a shower. Do you want to sleep a little longer?”

　　”I’m not going to sleep anymore.” Lu Shichen said, and sat up on the sofa.

　　Both of them were disheveled, with some ambiguous traces left on their bodies, clothes, and the sofa. Lu Shichen spread out his palms, stared at them for a moment, then looked up at Meng Zhao, his voice a little hoarse: “What happened last night?”

　　”Huh? You don’t remember?” Meng Zhao was slightly stunned. “Did you forget everything after drinking?”

　　”I don’t remember clearly.” Lu Shichen raised his hand and pinched his eyebrows.

　　Meng Zhao heaved a sigh of relief – that’s great, Lu Shichen didn’t remember it, and he didn’t have to be so embarrassed.

　　”Nothing happened,” Meng Zhao said, “Don’t think about it. Thinking about these things right after waking up will give you a headache.” As he spoke, he walked towards the bathroom.

　　Meng Zhao quickly finished his shower, wiped his hair with a towel, and pushed the door open to walk out of the bathroom.

　　Lu Shichen sat on the sofa, seemingly still recalling what had happened the previous night.

　　Meng Zhao came out and said to Lu Shichen, “Don’t you want to freshen up? Go take a shower.”

　　”Yeah.” Lu Shichen got up from the sofa and walked into the bathroom.

　　Meng Zhao walked to the water dispenser and got a glass of water. At this time, Lu Shichen, who had just walked into the bathroom, opened the door and looked at him: “Are you okay?”

　　”What do you mean?” Meng Zhao looked up at Lu Shichen. He was confused at first, then realized what Lu Shichen was talking about. “Are you referring to the suspension? It’s been two days since the incident. It’s all right now.”

　　Meng Zhao sat back on the sofa with the cup of water, tilted his head back and took a few sips of water.

　　”I mean,” Lu Shichen paused, “Are you okay? Last night…”

　　”Cough, cough, cough…” Meng Zhao was drinking water when he suddenly realized why Lu Shichen asked this question. He immediately choked on a large mouthful of water and coughed. After finally stopping the cough, he quickly explained, “No, don’t get me wrong, nothing happened last night…”

　　Lu Shichen looked at him and said nothing.

　　”It can’t be said that nothing happened. Anyway, it’s not what you think…” Seeing Lu Shichen frowning and looking a little puzzled, Meng Zhao felt that this matter must be explained clearly, “I’m not down there!… What are you thinking about, Lu Shichen? If you can’t remember, don’t think about it, okay?!”

　　”Then this…” Lu Shichen raised his hand and pressed a tooth mark on the side of his neck.

　　”You bit me too, okay?!” Meng Zhao rolled up the sleeves of his T-shirt to his shoulders, revealing the marks on his shoulders.

　　Lu Shichen: “…”

　　”Go take a shower.” Meng Zhao waved the back of his hand, signaling Lu Shichen to go into the bathroom quickly.

　　As soon as the bathroom door closed, Meng Zhao leaned his head back against the sofa and picked up a pillow from the side to cover his face.

　　Ten minutes later, Lu Shichen came out of the bathroom.

　　The two of them were silent at first, sitting across from each other at the table eating the breakfast that Meng Zhao ordered. When Meng Zhao finished eating and was about to get up, Lu Shichen said across from him, “I remember what happened last night.”

　　Meng Zhao paused and said, “Well, it’s good to be able to remember it.”

　　After that, there was another moment of silence.

　　The atmosphere was a little awkward, Meng Zhao got up and went to the bedroom to change his clothes. When he came out of the bedroom, Lu Shichen had finished his meal.

　　”Are you going out today?” Lu Shichen looked at him and asked.

　　”Yes, let’s go to the Municipal Bureau.”

　　”What are you going to do?”

　　Meng Zhao came over and sat on the sofa, his expression becoming a little serious: “Didn’t I tell you last time that I saw Wu Jiayi’s photograph in my mother’s diary? I later found the diary, and I confirmed that my mother did investigate Wu Jiayi before her death. I think my mother’s death was very likely man-made. While I am suspended from work, I plan to investigate this matter thoroughly.”

　　Lu Shichen thought for a moment, looked at him and asked, “Just because Wu Jiayi’s photo appeared in your mother’s diary, you concluded that her death was related to Wu Jiayi?”

　　Meng Zhao didn’t plan to reveal the other information he got from the diary to Lu Shichen yet, but he didn’t plan to lie to Lu Shichen either: “Of course I can’t be sure, but things that didn’t seem wrong before are now related to Wu Jiayi, and I always feel that something is a little strange.”

　　”What do you mean?” Lu Shichen walked over, picked up the half-drunk glass of water that Meng Zhao had drunk on the table, drank the rest, and then sat on the sofa.

　　”I told you that my mother passed away in the line of duty, but I think I never told you how she died.” After a moment of silence, Meng Zhao continued, “I was in the fourth grade at that time, and my mother’s daily route was basically to send me to school and then go back to the Municipal Bureau to work. That day was June 2nd. On the way back to the Municipal Bureau after sending me to school, a human trafficker on a motorcycle openly snatched a little girl from her mother’s hand. My mother immediately chased after him.

　　”The trafficker was in a panic and fled to a remote road on the outskirts of the city. According to the criminal police who were in charge of the investigation at the time, after my mother cornered the trafficker, the two had a fierce fight. The trafficker stabbed my mother with a knife, and my mother tried her best to lock the trafficker’s throat and subdue him.”

　　”By the time the city police arrived, the little girl had been rescued, but my mother and the trafficker were both seriously injured. The trafficker died on the way to the hospital. My mother was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, but she was injured too seriously and lost too much blood, so she could not be saved in the end.”

　　”This is the general information that I know,” Meng Zhao clasped his hands together, the back of his hands bulging with strength, “Now that I think about it, there is too much room for maneuver. My mother’s daily commute is very fixed. If a little girl is snatched away in front of her, she will not sit idly by. However, although I have read the case file and remember the general circumstances of the case, if I want to find any doubts, I still have to read it again in detail. I have already called Zhou Qiyang and asked him to help retrieve my mother’s case file from that year.” Meng Zhao stood up and said, “I’m going to the Municipal Bureau now.”

　　”I’ll go with you.” Lu Shichen said.

　　”Ok.”

　　The two went out together and drove to the Municipal Bureau.

　　When they were still a few hundred meters away from the Municipal Bureau, Meng Zhao suddenly stopped the car on the side of the road.

　　”What’s wrong?” Lu Shichen glanced at him.

　　”Wait for me in the car.” Meng Zhao said, pushed the door, got out of the car, and walked straight to a pharmacy.

　　A few minutes later, he walked out of the pharmacy, got in the car, and threw a box of Band-Aids over to Lu Shichen: “Put it on.”

　　”Um?”

　　”That’s it… Never mind, I’ll help you put it on.” Meng Zhao took the box of Band-Aids and tore off a piece from it. “Turn your neck over.”

　　Lu Shichen turned his neck towards him. His skin was cold and pale, and the slightly reddish teeth marks were particularly eye-catching.

　　Meng Zhao tore off a Band-Aid and put it on the tooth mark. One couldn’t cover everything, so he had to tear off another one and put it on.

　　After applying the band-aids, he stared at the two band-aids, feeling that the more he tried to cover up the problem, the more obvious it would be. But if he didn’t apply the band-aids, the marks would be too ambiguous.

　　”Is it okay now?” Lu Shichen raised his hand and touched the Band-Aid.

　　”Well,” Meng Zhao had no other choice but to say, “Let’s do it like this.”

　　Lu Shichen looked at him and whispered, “Wild dog.”

　　Because he still remembered what Lu Shichen told him the previous night, so when he heard the word “wild dog”, Meng Zhao couldn’t get angry at all. He just said “shut up” and continued driving.

　　The car arrived at the gate of the Municipal Bureau, but Zhou Qiyang had not arrived yet.

　　Meng Zhao took out his cell phone and called Zhou Qiyang, but the call rang for a long time but no one answered.

　　A voice prompt “The other party is temporarily busy” came from the receiver. Meng Zhao was a little confused: “What’s going on? He didn’t come out nor was he answering the phone. Nothing will go wrong… right?”

　　After waiting for about twenty minutes, Zhou Qiyang finally ran out of the Municipal Bureau.

　　He ran to the gate and first looked around for Meng Zhao’s car. After finding it, he ran over, opened the door and got in.

　　”Brother Zhao,” Zhou Qiyang sat down and greeted the two people sitting in front of him, “Consultant Lu is also here.”

　　”Have you got the case file?” Meng Zhao turned to the back row, “Why is it taking so long?”

　　”You have no idea how difficult it is for me to check a case file now,” Zhou Qiyang sighed. “The day after you left, Director Xu announced that Deputy Director Yu would temporarily take over as deputy director of the special case team. Not only that, Xiao Song, Cheng Yun, and almost everyone else who had a good relationship with you had their jobs adjusted, leaving us to take charge of some marginal work…”

　　”Have you been marginalized?” Meng Zhao frowned.

　　”Well, don’t you have to go through Director Xu to transfer case files? I thought Director Xu would definitely not agree, so I privately found Xiao Yuan from the Archives Department. Do you remember Xiao Yuan? That girl you fangirled over… When she heard that you wanted your mother’s case files, she agreed without saying much.” Zhou Qiyang started to gossip, “Brother Zhao, if it were me, I would have just gone along with that girl. After this incident, you still can’t tell that Director Xu may want you to be his son-in-law at all. Even if Xu Yan likes you, if Director Xu doesn’t agree, you two will have a bumpy road in your relationship in the future. Look at this girl Xiao Yuan, she’s beautiful, she’s righteous, and more importantly, she’s devoted to you. She went to bring you lunch boxes as soon as she got off work, and she knitted a scarf for you by herself. She even asked you to go to the movies on Valentine’s Day…”

　　Seeing that Zhou Qiyang was joking at first, but the more he talked, the more he really meant to bring them together, Meng Zhao bent his fingers and tapped Zhou Qiyang’s forehead hard, making a crisp “bang” sound: “You are the only one talking too much.”

　　”Ah…” Zhou Qiyang rubbed his forehead and looked at Lu Shichen aggrievedly, “Consultant Lu, please judge for yourself. I kindly provided mate selection information to Brother Zhao, but he hit me…”

　　Unexpectedly, Lu Shichen had no intention of judging him, and just asked, “What happened next?”

　　”Later? You mean Xiao Yuan?” Zhou Qiyang put down his hand. “Later, Brother Zhao told her that the Archives Department was too idle. He asked her if she wanted him to contact the higher-ups to transfer her to the field. The girl was so scared that she didn’t dare to come the next day.”

　　”Why are you joining in the fun?” Meng Zhao glanced at Lu Shichen, changed the subject, and asked Zhou Qiyang, “She allowed you to bring the case file out without following the procedures?”

　　”She didn’t allow me to bring it along. She found the case file and I took a photo.” Zhou Qiyang took out his cell phone and showed him the photo. “I’ll send it to you.”

　　The phone in Meng Zhao’s hand vibrated twice, and he received the photographs sent by Zhou Qiyang.

　　He didn’t rush to open the photo, but looked at Zhou Qiyang and said, “Next time you encounter something like this, tell me in advance. Once you are caught checking the case files privately, not only will you be punished, but Xiao Yuan may also lose her job. If you tell me about this kind of thing in advance, I will find a way to get it myself.”

　　”Got it.” Zhou Qiyang pursed his lips.

　　”Go back quickly.” Meng Zhao said again.

　　”Then Brother Zhao, I’ll go back first.” Zhou Qiyang pushed open the car door and was about to get out, but then he remembered something and sat back down. “By the way, Cheng Yun asked me to tell you that she will be getting a permanent job next month, so you must come back to sign for her.”

　　”Even if I don’t come back, there will always be someone to sign for her.”

　　”She said that if you don’t come back, she doesn’t plan to stay in the Municipal Bureau,” Zhou Qiyang imitated Cheng Yun’s tone, “People who uphold justice are implicated because of justice, and the leader I have always admired has fallen from the altar. This is not a place I want to stay.”

　　”Then tell her to stay put and not be stupid.” Meng Zhao said seriously, “Things are not that simple. Don’t let her act on her own will.”

　　”Also, Brother Chao also asked me to tell you something,” Zhou Qiyang changed his tone again, “Come back quickly and return the USB drive!”

　　”The USB drive is in the drawer to my right. Go back and get it and give it back to him…”

　　”Brother Chao also said that you must return the USB drive in person, and if you are late for one day, you will be charged one day’s interest.”

　　Meng Zhao lowered his eyes and smiled, shook his head, and looked up at Zhou Qiyang: “Okay, I’ll remember that. You go back quickly.”

　　Watching Zhou Qiyang walk into the Municipal Bureau, Meng Zhao stared at the door of the Municipal Bureau for a while before looking away.

　　He took the phone, opened the photographs sent by Zhou Qiyang, and quickly browsed through them.

　　Seeing Meng Zhao’s frown getting tighter the more he looked at it, Lu Shichen asked, “Is there a problem with the case file?”

　　Meng Zhao finished looking at the last few pictures, slid the pictures to the front, thought for a few seconds, and said, “If you look at something without any clues, it may not be easy to find any problems. But once you find a breakthrough, find a problem, it may lead to more and more problems. Before Wu Jiayi became the focus, everything was submerged, but since we found Wu Jiayi as a breakthrough, I think a lot of the truth behind it will surface.”

　　”You mean, Wu Jiayi planned the murder of your mother?” Lu Shichen looked at him, “Tell me your doubts.”

　　”Take a look.” Meng Zhao handed the phone to Lu Shichen. “The main suspicion is focused on this human trafficker. After my mother’s accident, the police from the Municipal Bureau also investigated this human trafficker, trying to find a human trafficking chain through this person, but they did not find any past criminal records of this human trafficker, nor did they find any trading chain behind him. This is the first suspicion. Is this human trafficker really a human trafficker?”

　　”Second suspicion: Generally speaking, in order to hide their crimes, human traffickers would choose to abduct children in secluded areas. However, this trafficker chose to openly abduct children during rush hour, in a busy area near a school. This is not in line with the usual practices of human traffickers.”

　　”Suspicion three, why would a human trafficker carry a knife? The reason why human traffickers become human traffickers is that they are after money. After being discovered by the police, the wisest thing for them to do is to run away immediately. However, this human trafficker did not choose to run away. Instead, he chose to fight with my mother. This shows that his target is most likely not the little girl, but my mother.”

　　”Suspicion number four, my mother’s fighting skills are very high. I remember her colleagues saying that many male police officers in the city police station were no match for her. Although it is not ruled out that the human trafficker used the little girl as a hostage to threaten my mother, causing her to be seriously injured, I still think it is not easy to kill my mother. This human trafficker is very likely to have high fighting skills and may even have received professional training.”

　　As Meng Zhao spoke, Lu Shichen also turned to the last photo.

　　On it was a small flower drum found on the human trafficker.

　　Meng Zhao stared at the small flower drum, and another suspicious point about the case emerged in his mind.

　　”Wait, this little flower drum… The case file says that the girl who was kidnapped was nine years old. Would a nine-year-old girl be interested in this little flower drum?”

　　”Small Flower Drum?” Lu Shichen shifted his gaze from the case file and looked at Meng Zhao.

　　”You may not have seen this thing. It is not very common now. We had more of it when we were young,” Meng Zhao explained. “When you turn the joystick, the drum will make a sound. This thing should be attractive only to very young children…”

　　”You think this little flower drum is not used to seduce the girl, but has another purpose?”

　　Meng Zhao shook his head slightly: “It’s just a guess.”

　　After Lu Shichen finished browsing all the photos, he returned the phone to Meng Zhao: “What are you going to do next?”

　　After thinking for a few seconds, Meng Zhao said, “The trafficker is dead, so we can only start with his relatives. Although the police had already investigated 20 years ago and found that the trafficker only had a mentally retarded mother who could hardly provide any useful information, the clues that did not appear 20 years ago may not be lost 20 years later. Some clues will slowly surface over time. I plan to check again.”

　　”I’ll go with you.” Lu Shichen said.

Meng Zhao turned to look at him: “This time we are going to another place, very far away.”

　　”Um.”