Skin - Chapter 74

Chapter 74 – “I Want To Sleep With You.”

　　On a high-speed train to Yancheng, Meng Zhao looked out the window. He thought about how 20 years ago, when there were no high-speed trains, Meng Jing took the green train¹ and made several trips to Yancheng, wanting to find out the truth about the suicide of Chen Yu, a migrant worker.

　　Twenty years later, he also boarded a train to Yancheng, wanting to find out the truth about Meng Jing’s death.

　　The connecting point of all this is Wu Jiayi.

　　This time they were going to Xiaohe Village in Yancheng, the hometown ofZhang Linqing, the human trafficker. According to the information in the case file, Zhang Linqing’s mother suffered from congenital intellectual disability and could hardly communicate normally with others. Apart from her, Zhang Linqing had no other social connections.

　　Meng Zhao himself was not sure whether he would find any useful clues on this trip to Yancheng.

　　Lu Shichen sat next to him, browsing through the financial news on a pad. Meng Zhao readthe news with him for a while, but the screen full of words quickly gave him a headache.

　　”Is it interesting?” Meng Zhao looked at him for a while and asked.

　　”Work is not that interesting,” Lu Shichen glanced at him, “Is solving a case interesting?”

　　”I can’t say it’s interesting,” Meng Zhao thought for a moment, “but it can be considered meaningful.”

　　He looked out the window and said, “Speaking of meaningful things, the lawsuit your father fought in Yancheng 20 years ago became a national sensation. He stayed there for eight years, I don’t know if he ever brought you here.”

　　Lu Shichen also turned his head to look out the window. The trees were rapidly retreating. Suddenly, a voice flashed through his mind:

　　”You want to stay here and go to school?” The young man laughed. “What about your mother?”

　　”Bring mom here too,” a boy said in a childish voice, “We’ll all live here.”

　　Not getting a response from Lu Shichen, Meng Zhao turned around and saw Lu Shichen with his head lowered and his fingers pressing hard on his temples.

　　”Another headache?” Realizing that Lu Shichen had a headache again, Meng Zhao held Lu Shichen’s wrist and took his hands away, replacing them with his own, controlling the strength to help him rub his temples, “How is it? Are you feeling better?”

　　Someone nearby glanced at the two people whispering, but Meng Zhao didn’t bother to respond.

　　”It’s okay.” Lu Shichen closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, took Meng Zhao’s hand and held it in his palm, “I just remembered a fragment from the past. He should have brought me to Yancheng.”

　　”Your father?”

　　”Um.”

　　”Don’t think about it for now.” Noticing that Lu Shichen’s fingers were very cold, Meng Zhao turned his hand over and held his hand, “You will remember it one day.”

　　”What would it be like if I remembered everything?” Lu Shichen whispered.

　　”Maybe if all your memories are back, your emotions will also be revived. Don’t you think so too?” Meng Zhao said. “I’m looking forward to what that day will be like.”

　　Xiaohe Village is not far from the high-speed railway station. Meng Zhao checked some information before coming here. The village has developed quite well in the local area because it is close to the transportation hub.

　　It is said that in China, an average of 100 villages disappear every day. Twenty years have passed, but fortunately Xiaohe Village still exists. Meng Zhao felt that he was lucky.

　　According to the address recorded in the case file, Meng Zhao and Lu Shichen found a bungalow. Compared with the surrounding houses, the gray-white low bungalow in front of them looked simple and dilapidated.

　　There are two Spring Festival couplets pasted next to the iron gate. Judging from the degree of fading, they should have been pasted this year.

　　The door was wide open, Meng Zhao walked into the hallway, raised his hand to grab the iron ring on the door and knocked twice, but there was no movement from inside, so he took a few steps in. When he walked into the yard, he found an old lady who looked down and out sitting in the corner.

　　The old lady had extremely messy gray hair and wrinkles on her dry face. She sat on a small stool in the corner, chewing on a piece of bread.

　　Seeing two tall men approaching her, the old lady was immediately frightened. She hid the bread behind her and muttered something, as if she was afraid that the men would snatch the bread from her.

　　”Hello,” Meng Zhao realized that she seemed to be easily frightened and tried to calm her down. “Excuse me, are you Zhang Lin…”

　　Before she finished her words, the old lady stood up in a panic, hunched over, took small steps, and quickly hid in the inner room. Because of her panic, she even knocked over the small stool under her buttocks.

　　It seemed that this old lady really did not have the ability to communicate normally with others. Meng Zhao walked over a few steps and saw the old lady huddled in a corner of the house, looking at them in horror. He did not enter the house, but only looked through the window to see the situation inside.

　　The room was fairly tidy, and looked like it had been tidied. There were a lot of biscuits, shaqima, and bread scattered on the bed…

　　At this moment, a muddy laugh sounded above my head: “You are talking to a fool², she can’t understand you.”

　　The two looked up in the direction of the voice and saw a man in his forties or fifties standing on the roof of the bungalow next door, apparently drying something.

　　”Uncle,” Meng Zhao raised his voice, “We have something we want to ask you. Can we come over to talk?”

　　”What’s going on?” The uncle asked as he was tidying up the things on the roof with a broom in his hand, “Come over here.”

　　Two minutes later, Meng Zhao and Lu Shichen entered the bungalow next door. The man also came down from the roof, dusting himself off while asking, “What do you want to ask?”

　　Meng Zhao walked up and handed over a pack of cigarettes he had just bought on the way. “You’ve been neighbors for a long time, right? Can you tell me about the old lady next door?”

　　The man took the cigarettes and saw that it was a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes³. His eyes lit up and said, “What a good cigarette.” Then his tone became more enthusiastic, “What are you talking about? She has always been a fool. She doesn’t understand human language. No one can understand what she says.”

　　The man said, pushing the door open and entering the room: “Come in and sit down.”

　　Meng Zhao and Lu Shichen sat on the sofa, and the man lit a cigarette and started smoking: “My mother told me about that woman. Even several decades ago, when she was young, this old lady was a fool. No one knows how she ended up in our village. The family living next door at that time was poor, and the son was disabled. He couldn’t find a wife, so he picked her up. From that time to now, she has been like this. Every day, she goes to pick up garbage to earn some money, and she can’t do anything else.”

　　”What about her husband?” Meng Zhao leaned forward slightly, leaning his elbows on his thighs. “Is there anyone else in her family?”

　　”That man died a long time ago,” the man said as he exhaled a puff of cigarette. “She gave birth to a son when she was young, but the villagers said he committed some crime and died. Now she is the only one left, and no one cares about her.”

　　Thinking of the scene in the old woman’s house, Meng Zhao asked, “I just took a look from the window. Her house is quite clean and there seems to be no shortage of food. It doesn’t look like she is unattended, right?”

　　”It’s not like she’s completely unattended. The village committee still helps her out. My family feels sorry for her, so we usually help her with her meals.” The man thought for a moment and continued, “There’s also a woman who comes every now and then to bring her some food and help her clean up the house.”

　　‘A woman?’ Meng Zhao immediately realized that this might be a new clue and asked, “Who is this woman?”

　　”I don’t know what kind of relationship they have,” the man shook his head. “I asked her before, but she didn’t say anything. Maybe she’s a distant relative. Otherwise, who would care about a silly old lady?”

　　”How old is this woman?”

　　”About 40 years old, and she looks quite respectable. She must be from the city. She always brings something when she comes here, and she seems to be quite wealthy.”

　　”So how often does she come over?”

　　”It’s hard to say, once in ten days or half a month?” The man turned his head to look at the calendar hanging on the wall. “It’s been a while since I last saw her. If things go as they were before, she should be here soon.”

　　”Okay, thank you,” Meng Zhao stood up, “We won’t bother you any more then.”

　　Stepping out of the man’s house and walking a little further away, Meng Zhao said, “Would a mentally retarded woman who was lost when she was young suddenly have a distant relative who shows up after so many years? And she came all the way from the city… This seems quite unusual.” He looked at Lu Shichen, “What do you think?”

　　Lu Shichen pondered for a moment and said, “You are right. The clues that were not found 20 years ago may have appeared now. This woman is about the same age as Zhang Lin. They are very likely to have a close relationship, or even a marital relationship. If this is true, then the little flower drum found at the crime scene could also be explained. The trafficker may not only have a wife, but also children.”

　　”I think so too,” Meng Zhao nodded. “The most important thing now is to find that woman first. If they were really husband and wife back then, then she should have some clues.”

　　Lu Shichen looked at him: “How are you going to find it? Go to the police station and ask someone to check?”

　　”Squat down.”

　　”Squat down?” Lu Shichen looked at Meng Zhao, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, “Are you going to wait here forever?”

　　”Yes,” Meng Zhao sighed, “I am now under suspension and have even handed in my police ID. How can I let Brother Chao find out all the information with just a flick of his finger like I did in Mingtan?”

　　Meng Zhao raised his hand and put it on Lu Shichen’s shoulder: “Consultant Lu, stay with me and squat. I will let you experience the hardships of grassroot police officers. Then you will come to the mortal world to overcome the tribulation, ah.”

　　Lu Shichen: “…”

　　•|•

　　Before coming to Yancheng, Meng Zhao booked a homestay online. After dinner, the two contacted the owner and went to take a look at the homestay.

　　The room was spacious, with two bedrooms and a living room, and was decorated in a fairly stylish style, just as Meng Zhao had expected.

　　The two put down the suitcases, Lu Shichen worked in the living room, and Meng Zhao went to the bathroom to wash up first.

　　Coming out of the bathroom, Meng Zhao saw Lu Shichen still working. He did not disturb him and took the initiative to choose the smaller second bedroom.

　　He half-layed on the bed, closing his eyes while sorting out the details of the case in his mind, and he was slowly getting sleepy. The sound of running water came from the bathroom, and Meng Zhao felt more sleepy.

　　Just as he was about to raise his hand to turn off the light, the bedroom door was pushed open. Meng Zhao opened his eyes and saw Lu Shichen walking in.

　　”What happened?” Meng Zhao was a little surprised.

　　”I want to sleep with you.” Lu Shichen looked at him.

　　Meng Zhao: “…”

　　Lu Shichen spoke so bluntly that Meng Zhao didn’t know how to respond for a moment. By then, Lu Shichen had already opened the door and walked to the bed, and picked up the bottle of mineral water that Meng Zhao had placed on the bedside and drank it.

　　”…Don’t you think it’s a bit too fast?” Meng Zhao sat up and leaned against the bed, still speaking out his thoughts.

　　”Just sleep,” Lu Shichen held the water bottle and looked down at him, “If you don’t want to do it, we can wait.”

　　The other party looked calm, but Meng Zhao’s breathing stagnated. It sounded like they would definitely do it, it was just a matter of time, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed that what he said was not wrong?

　　”I don’t sleep well by myself. I think I will be able to sleep better with you.” Lu Shichen said again.

　　Meng Zhao looked at him for two seconds, then admitted defeat and said, “Alright.”

　　Watching the other person sitting on the edge of the bed, Meng Zhao didn’t know what to think. This was the first time in his life that he was in a serious relationship, and the other person didn’t play by the rules at all.

　　If Lu Shichen was a girl, Meng Zhao would have already stuffed him next door without saying anything, but Lu Shichen was not only a man, but also seemed to want to suppress him…

　　Meng Zhao lay down with mixed feelings. Lu Shichen on the other side leaned over and touched his shoulder with his fingers.

　　Realizing that he was touching the ambiguous bite mark, Meng Zhao looked at him: “What are you doing?”

　　”Did I bite this?” Lu Shichen asked.

　　”It was bitten by a dog.”

　　He thought Lu Shichen would respond with a sarcastic remark, but unexpectedly he actually laughed and seemed to be in a good mood.

　　Then, Lu Shichen lowered his head and gently touched his lips.

　　Now, Meng Zhao is no longer sleepy.

　　After turning off the lights, the room was dark and the surroundings were silent. After staying in the bustling Mingtan City for a long time, Meng Zhao felt a little uncomfortable when he first arrived in the remote suburbs.

　　He was still thinking about the kiss. If the first kiss was driven by desire and the second kiss was driven by drunkenness, then what was Lu Shichen thinking about during this sober kiss? Did this person really have emotional cognitive impairment?

　　The breathing sounds next to him gradually became slower and slower, and it was obvious that Lu Shichen had fallen asleep in a very short time.

　　‘What happened to the bad sleep you said? You must be kidding, right?’ Meng Zhao complained in his heart.

　　He turned over. ‘Wait… where did the sleepiness that I had just managed to build up go?’

Glossary:

Green Train – These are the slow old passenger trains which were particularly common in communist nations during the World War. They are green in colour with yellow stripes. They are slow and share the memories of previous generations, making them a part of the culture.

Fool – Here, refers to a mentally retarded/intellectually disabled person. I have left it as it is since it seems to suit the context, considering that the speaker is an old rural man.

Zhonghua cigarettes – It’s a brand of cigarettes, very popular in China. It comes in a red packet and is considered as premium cigarettes.

T/N:
Guys, I’ve posted the continuation of the first uncensored part (ch64) on my KoFi account. I’ll drop a note each time I release a part. Please do support me. Below is the direct link to it

Skin@kruel