Only then did Chen Zheng grab Ming Han. Ming Han opened the bag and showed him the braised pig tails inside.
“Oh no.” Lu Hejun looked genuinely annoyed. “I only stewed one pigeon. There won’t be enough for both of you. Zhengzheng, why didn’t you tell me you had a friend over?”
“Pigeon?” Ming Han squeezed past Chen Zheng before he could answer. “That smells amazing. Auntie Lu, how do you make it?”
Lu Hejun had stewed pigeon for Chen Zheng countless times, and Chen Zheng had only ever eaten it without once asking how it was made. Ming Han asked the moment he arrived. Lu Hejun beamed and immediately began explaining, “Our family makes it sweet. You need to use…”
Seeing the two of them enthusiastically discussing pigeon stew in the kitchen, Chen Zheng smiled and leaned against the doorway to watch. Ming Han was always dependable when it mattered, and he had a real knack for winning over elders. By comparison, Chen Zheng almost looked like the less-favored son.
Lu Hejun did not stay long. Before leaving, she once again lamented that she had only stewed one pigeon. Patting Ming Han on the shoulder, she told Chen Zheng, “Xiao Ming has never had it before. Zhengzheng, give him half later.”
Chen Zheng said, “Okay, okay.”
Ming Han obediently said, “Don’t worry, Auntie Lu. Tomorrow I’ll buy another pigeon and make up Brother’s half!”
The two of them walked Lu Hejun to the elevator. For the first time in the past two years, Chen Zheng saw simple, uncomplicated happiness in her eyes when he saw her off.
Naturally, Chen Zheng still ate most of the pigeon. Ming Han ceremonially gnawed on one leg and praised it nonstop. “I thought sweet pigeon meat would be some kind of cursed cuisine. So this is what it tastes like.”
Chen Zheng said, “Cursed cuisine? You were laying it on pretty thick flattering Madam Lu just now.”
“You have to coax elders a little. Everybody ends up happy.” Ming Han said, “I really am going to try stewing pigeon. No, two pigeons. One sweet, one savory.”
Chen Zheng could not help sighing. “How come when my grandmother made pigeon for me as a kid, all I knew how to do was eat it, but when your grandmother made pickles for you, you learned how?”
Ming Han said smugly, “Because I’m more domestically gifted.”
Chen Zheng said, “Oh, so you’re calling me lazy.”
Ming Han said, “Bro, where did your mind go? One domestically gifted person in a household is enough.”
By this point in his recollection, Chen Zheng had already changed into proper clothes for receiving a guest and tidied the living room too. Before long, the doorbell rang. He opened the door to find Liang Yueze outside carrying fruit, his brows faintly knitted with concern. “Zhengzheng.”
Chen Zheng smiled. “Do you have to be this formal? You came over, fine. Why bring fruit?”
Liang Yueze said, “Your cold has to be from overworking yourself and wearing down your resistance. More oranges won’t hurt. You only came back to stay a few days, so you definitely couldn’t be bothered buying fruit…”
Before he finished, he saw the oranges, apples, and kiwifruit already filling the fruit basket on the coffee table. He paused, then smiled. “You bought this much?”
Chen Zheng did not want him to feel awkward, so he quickly took the oranges from him. Liang Yueze’s reasoning had actually been correct. Chen Zheng truly could not be bothered buying fruit. But he was not the only one staying here now. The first day he came back from his IV, Ming Han had bought all kinds of seasonal fruit, also saying Chen Zheng’s resistance was low and he needed more vitamin C.
Liang Yueze had been to Chen Zheng’s home several times and knew it fairly well, so he immediately noticed that quite a few things had changed. Most obviously, there was more stuff around, and there were two drinking cups now.
Chen Zheng volunteered, “A friend’s been staying with me lately.”
Liang Yueze raised an eyebrow. “A friend? Do I know him?”
Chen Zheng poured him water. “A new friend. My teammate.”
Liang Yueze nodded and did not pursue the subject. Instead he asked about Chen Zheng’s health. Chen Zheng said he was almost recovered, then joked, “You sound exactly like the doctor. Why don’t you open a clinic too?”
“How would I have that kind of free time? There’s more going on at the group every day. It wasn’t easy carving out these few hours.” Liang Yueze asked, “Now that you’re back, are you leaving again?”
Chen Zheng nodded. “I report to Zhuquan now.”
Liang Yueze asked, “What kind of case would bring you and your teammate all the way to Luocheng? I haven’t heard about any trouble in Zhuquan lately.”
Chen Zheng opened his mouth but nothing came out. In the past, he and Liang Yueze sometimes talked about work. Chen Zheng knew where the boundaries were and only mentioned things that were not confidential, while Liang Yueze complained to him about the treachery of the business world and how he was going to go bald sooner or later.
But now, Chen Zheng discovered he could not say anything at all. Confidential or ordinary, he had put an invisible lock on all of it.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Liang Yueze said, “You came back for a reason. Forget it, we won’t talk about that.”
Chen Zheng shook his head. “It’s fine. I haven’t been in great shape lately. My superiors told me to rest for a few days.”
After chatting for a while, Chen Zheng went to wash fruit in the kitchen. Liang Yueze followed him and was surprised by the pickles in the glass jar. “You know how to make these?”
“My friend made them.” Thinking of Ming Han’s smug expression, Chen Zheng could not help smiling.
Liang Yueze caught that smile. “This friend of yours is pretty talented.”
Chen Zheng remembered that Liang Yueze used to like pickles, especially pickled cabbage.
“How about giving me some?”
“Want to take some home?”
They spoke at the same time.
Liang Yueze laughed. “Perfect. Next time I’ll treat your friend to dinner.”
Boss Liang’s time was precious. Chen Zheng walked him downstairs, planning to pick up a package from the parcel station at the same time. Ming Han also happened to return then carrying two pigeons. He ran into Liang Yueze in the parking garage. Ming Han was still in the car while Liang Yueze was about to get into his. Liang Yueze looked at him through the window. Their gazes met briefly. Then Liang Yueze looked away and opened his car door.
The luxury car drove out of the garage. Only then did Ming Han get out, his brow faintly furrowed.
Chen Zheng was carrying his package when he heard Ming Han call him. His eyes immediately landed on the pigeons. “You left work early to stew pigeon?”
Ming Han said, “If I hadn’t left early, I wouldn’t have known your childhood friend came over.”
“You saw Liang Yueze?” Only after asking did Chen Zheng realize something was off. “How do you know him?”
Ming Han gave a small snort. “The Mobile Unit has a duty to understand the backgrounds of the officers we work with.”
Ming Han had said similar things before, but this time Chen Zheng could clearly smell sourness in the air. “What exactly are you jealous of?”
Ming Han refused to look at him. “I’m not.”
Back home, Chen Zheng opened his package by the door while Ming Han went into the kitchen to prepare the pigeons. Suddenly Chen Zheng heard a shout. Thinking Ming Han had cut himself, he hurried into the kitchen, only to see Ming Han holding the glass pickle jar. “Bro, you gave our pickled cabbage to your childhood friend?”
For some reason, Chen Zheng actually felt a little guilty this time. “Yeah. He said it looked good, got a craving, and wanted to take some home.”
Ming Han sighed and folded his arms, staring at Chen Zheng. “I’m very angry.”
Chen Zheng: “…”
A few seconds later, Chen Zheng walked over, pried Ming Han’s folded arms apart, and hugged him instead. “I’ll remember next time. No giving away your pickles without your permission.”
Ming Han lowered his head and laughed. “Bro, you’re mocking me.”
Chen Zheng patted him and pushed him toward the counter. “Go make your pigeon.”
Ming Han put on an apron and started washing the pigeons. Chen Zheng was not the sort to sit around waiting to be fed, so he helped from the side. As they chatted, the topic still revolved around Liang Yueze.
“Bro, how did the two of you meet?” Ming Han asked. “Other than the people at the Municipal Bureau, is he the friend you’re closest to?”
Chen Zheng thought about it. “Yes. Liang Yueze is the friend I’ve known the longest.”
Ming Han found two earthenware pots and put one cleaned pigeon in each. Chen Zheng talked about playing with Liang Yueze when they were children, which inevitably brought up the Liang family accident on Jinsi Island in Country M.
Ming Han said, “I know that case. Bro, do you think it was really an accident too?”
Ming Han had used the word case. Chen Zheng answered cautiously, “The local police concluded it was an accident.”
“The people who died were the person running the Liang family at the time and the next-generation successor. A group as big as the Liang family nearly collapsed. If they hadn’t transformed in time, Yunquan Group might not even exist now.” Ming Han said, “Looking at what that accident caused, I find it hard to believe those people simply had bad luck.”
Chen Zheng fell silent. Even now, he also believed the car crash that killed Liang Yubin and the other two had not been a simple accident. But it happened overseas. Country M itself was unstable, and some regions were still controlled by private militias and criminal groups. There was little domestic police could do. At the time, Chen Zheng was still a student. He had watched Liang Yueze change from a cheerful, warmhearted rich kid into someone sunk in despair, and all Chen Zheng could do was comfort him. The local police had already closed the case when Liang Yueze, eyes red, asked him whether his younger brother, younger sister, and second uncle had been murdered.
Chen Zheng could never forget that hysterical Liang Yueze. It was almost as though the Liang Yueze who had grown up beside him had already died. Liang Yueze believed even less than he did that it had only been an accident. What Liang Yueze wanted from Chen Zheng was an answer.
Chen Zheng had an utterly terrifying premonition: if he said they had been murdered, then without needing a shred of evidence, Liang Yueze would be set alight by hatred and turn completely monstrous.
He could not do that. Leaving aside the fact that he was a police officer in training and had no right to mislead a victim’s family before there was evidence, even simply as an ordinary person, he did not want to push Liang Yueze off the cliff he was already standing on.
“The police there said it was an accident.” He gripped Liang Yueze’s shoulders and spoke forcefully.
“It was an accident. An accident.” The hatred boiling inside Liang Yueze seemed to recede in an instant. A faint smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth as he nodded repeatedly, then gently pulled free of Chen Zheng’s hands. “Right. It was an accident. Nobody killed them. Xiaobin, Xiaoqing… your brother is useless. What am I supposed to do…”
What Chen Zheng feared most was Liang Yueze collapsing completely and going down a crooked path. Yunquan Group might have been in trouble, but the wealth it had accumulated was enough for every member of the Liang family to live comfortably. Chen Zheng had known Liang Yueze for years and knew he could never shoulder the entire group the way his second uncle had. Yet Liang Yueze not only pulled himself back together, he pushed Yunquan Group to new heights.
Chen Zheng did not regret what he had told Liang Yueze back then. He had not thrown more fuel onto Liang Yueze’s hatred. Otherwise, Liang Yueze would inevitably have gone down a path of hunting for an enemy who might not even exist.
“Then did Liang Yueze really accept it?” Once the pigeons were stewing, there was nothing else to do. Ming Han leaned against the wall. “If I were him, I don’t think I could ever let it go. The people who died were his closest family.”
Chen Zheng sighed. “Right. He already had his own answer. If even an outsider like me has trouble convincing myself it was a simple accident, it would be even harder for him. He just wanted to hear an answer from me that would let him keep going. Whether he can let it go or not, Yunquan Group is on his shoulders now. He can’t just abandon it and stop caring.”
“Bro, you say you know this friend of yours, but actually you don’t know him that well,” Ming Han said.
Chen Zheng paused. “Hm?”
“You said he was a spoiled rich kid who could never take over Yunquan Group, but not only did he take it over, he transformed the entire group.” Ming Han narrowed his eyes slightly. “You don’t truly understand him, so you can’t judge what a man who has kept hatred buried inside him all these years might do now.”
Chen Zheng looked at Ming Han. After a moment, he nodded. “Maybe that’s true. Our relationship might not be as close as I subconsciously think it is. I really… don’t understand him.”
More precisely, he did not understand the Liang Yueze who existed after Liang Yubin and the other two died.
Life was not short, but neither was it long. It was made up of many segments that seemed everlasting yet were actually brief. Each segment had its own unique friends, but once people left those segments behind, they acquired another name: passersby.
Even the closest friends from childhood and adolescence had already set out on different roads and would only travel farther apart in the future. Yet people were nostalgic. Loss left them melancholy, so at certain moments they always wanted to pull distant friends back toward them. Meet up. Talk for a while.
Chen Zheng felt that was what he and Liang Yueze had become.
But Ming Han’s words, you don’t truly understand him, reminded Chen Zheng that he did not just fail to understand the Liang Yueze of the present. Even during their visit just now, Chen Zheng had instinctively examined every word he himself said. That was vigilance. He had been guarding against this old friend who had shared such a long stretch of his life.
The truth Lu Hejing gave him had allowed him a brief moment of release, but once that release passed, the pressure doubled. He had to keep pretending he had been devastated and still hated Han Qu. He knew someone had to be watching him, but he did not know who. That meant everyone except Ming Han and a handful of others had been placed inside his circle of suspicion. Liang Yueze was no exception.
When Liang Yueze mentioned work, Chen Zheng showed nothing on his face, but his mind immediately tightened to the extreme. He scrutinized his friend with the gaze he would use on a stranger, judging whether Liang Yueze was trying to probe him.
“Someone like Liang Yueze is frightening,” Ming Han suddenly said, breaking Chen Zheng out of his thoughts. Chen Zheng asked, “Are you investigating him?”
“Not really. But think about it. Before he’d even formally entered society, he went through something enormous enough to change his entire life. His old creed was to treat life like a game. Now he’s a pragmatic corporate leader. He was able to completely change himself for Yunquan Group and develop it to where it is today. That kind of temperament is extraordinary. That’s what I mean when I say he’s frightening.”
The pigeon soup bubbled, steam nudging the lids so they rattled softly. Chen Zheng said, “That’s true.”
“And a man like that, who doesn’t believe his closest family died in an accident, would really do nothing?” Ming Han shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Chen Zheng asked, “Then what do you think he would do?”
“Investigate who was behind it in secret? Take revenge in secret?” Ming Han shrugged. “I don’t know.”
The pigeon soup was ready. They poured the two pots into large soup bowls. Both broths were golden under the light, especially beautiful. Chen Zheng was about to start eating when Ming Han stopped him and took out his phone. “First, let’s show our Madam Lu.”
Chen Zheng said, “When did you add my mother?”
“When she was teaching me.” Ming Han smiled. “Auntie Lu’s about to praise me.”
Chen Zheng took out a small plate of pickles in case the soup got too rich. Ming Han showed him Lu Hejun’s reply, looking delighted. “Auntie Lu says thank you for taking care of you.”
Chen Zheng rarely ate savory pigeon soup. He took a sip and frowned. Ming Han watched him closely. “Bro, is it bad?”
“No. I’m just not used to it.” The first taste had seemed strange, but Chen Zheng adjusted by the second. “I should thank you too.”
“You’re welcome.” Ming Han smiled and started eating too.
The first thing to disappear was not the pigeon but the pickles. Ming Han went to get more and discovered there were none left.
Chen Zheng: “…”
Ming Han returned holding the empty bowl. “How did I forget? The owner of the house already gave the pickles away.” He even shot Chen Zheng a sidelong look.
Chen Zheng put down his chopsticks and adopted a properly serious attitude. “Sorry. Next time I’ll ask Master Ming before giving them away.”
Ming Han waved a hand as though magnanimously letting the matter go.
Chen Zheng had been resting for several days. He looked idle, but his mind was still on the case. Add in the conversation about the Liang family’s accident on Jinsi Island, and the taut string of the criminal investigator inside him tightened again.
“What did Captain Tang say?” Chen Zheng asked. “What are we supposed to do next?”
Ming Han paused. “Actually, I got in touch with Bu Yangyun today.”
Chen Zheng immediately asked, “How did he react?”
They still had no clear motive for Heaven-Measuring Ruler targeting Ming Han. After eliminating possibility after possibility, only one remained: the problem lay with his father, Bu Yangyun. While Chen Zheng was still sick, Ming Han had tried contacting him, but the call would not connect and there was no one familiar over there. Today Ming Han called again. Bu Yangyun’s housekeeper answered, and before long, Bu Yangyun’s voice traveled across the ocean into Ming Han’s ear.
An aging, unfamiliar voice.
In that instant, all the words Ming Han had prepared suddenly jammed in his throat. Since childhood, he had never regarded Bu Yangyun as a father. Bu Yangyun had done none of the things a father should do. Ming Han had watched his mother wither away because of this scumbag and eventually choose a road of no return. In his heart, he had cut Bu Yangyun to pieces a thousand times.
But only now did Ming Han realize that the hatred he once felt toward Bu Yangyun had long since faded. This man was nothing more than a stranger to him, without any extra significance. Ming Han had contacted him not because of family affection and not because he missed him, but because Ming Han was a police officer, and he needed to uncover the truth about the criminal organization Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
Bu Yangyun was clearly shocked. He repeatedly confirmed that it truly was Ming Han, then gradually sounded smug, assuming that after all these years Ming Han had finally contacted him because he needed something.
Ming Han sneered inwardly. Neither of them even remembered the other’s voice. He had no idea what Bu Yangyun was so pleased about.
Ming Han went along with him and made small talk for a while. Bu Yangyun began rambling like an ordinary old man, saying police work was too exhausting and a human life only lasted a few decades, so it was better to enjoy oneself and so on.
Ming Han moved to the point. “I went back to Nanshan City recently and investigated a few cases. Do you remember those business friends of yours from back then?”
Bu Yangyun was quiet for a moment, then laughed. “I knew you didn’t call me to play at being a loving father and filial son. Go ahead. What case?”
Seeing that Bu Yangyun was at least willing to cooperate, Ming Han said, “Do you remember Zhan Fuhai?”
“Zhan Fuhai?” Bu Yangyun said. “The arts guy? I know who he is, but by the time he came to Nanshan City, my focus had already shifted elsewhere. What happened to him?”
Ming Han did not continue down that line and instead asked, “What about Luo Yingqiang? You must know him.”
“Boss Luo. We ate together a few times.” Bu Yangyun’s tone showed no obvious reaction. “What happened to him?”
Ming Han said, “He was murdered.”
Bu Yangyun fell silent. Ming Han could not see his expression, so he continued, “While investigating that case, we happened to uncover a lead connected to you.”
“Connected to me?” Bu Yangyun’s laugh sounded dry and unpleasant. “I stopped getting involved in domestic business years ago. What could it have to do with me?”
“More than ten years ago, during the internet boom, quite a few Nanshan companies came to Luocheng looking for expansion opportunities. You and the Fan family were among them. Before you entered the market, the Fan family’s business was doing the best. But you crushed them aggressively. You didn’t just defeat them in Luocheng, you made it impossible for them to retreat to Nanshan City and rebuild.” Ming Han said, “The Fan family never recovered.”
Bu Yangyun said, “I’d almost forgotten about that until you mentioned it. What, do the police regulate winners and losers in business competition now too? Under the circumstances back then, if I wanted to grow, I had to cut my competitors off at the root. Either they went down or I did. Is Old Luo’s case connected to the Fan family? So now you’re investigating me? You want me to take responsibility?”
“Not exactly.” Ming Han said, “I’m just curious. You had already taken down every competitor in Nanshan City and secured the Luocheng market. Your prospects were excellent. So why did you suddenly withdraw? Is that your idea of making it big?”
Bu Yangyun suddenly stopped speaking, but his gradually quickening breath came through the line. Ming Han immediately pressed on. “Dad, after all these years I still don’t understand it. Now I understand it even less. What exactly was so attractive about Country G? From what I can see, your business over there isn’t even as strong as it was back then. Why did you leave?”
After another stretch of silence, Bu Yangyun ended with, “What does a kid know?” and hurriedly hung up.
Chen Zheng looked as though he had just heard a story with the ending ripped off. “He just hung up?”
“Yeah. And when I called back, nobody answered.” Ming Han said, “Looks like I was right. There was something seriously wrong with him leaving the country right when his company was at its strongest. From what I know of him, the thing he values most is himself. Money comes second. He’ll do anything for money, but if his personal safety is threatened, he can abandon the money too.”
“He didn’t abandon money completely. He only gave up the chance to make much more of it domestically.” Chen Zheng thought for a moment. “He had to leave. But when you mentioned the Fan family, he sounded arrogant and dismissive. So it wasn’t because of them.”
“He must have screwed over more people than just the Fan family,” Ming Han said. “Whatever he’s afraid of, the fact remains that Heaven-Measuring Ruler attacked me, and his reaction now is enough to show there was something wrong with him giving up his domestic business. Unfortunately, we don’t have a cooperation agreement with the police in Country G, so for now we can’t go there and investigate him directly.”
Chen Zheng asked, “What did Old Tang and the others say?”
Ming Han paused. “I want to go to Country G.”
Chen Zheng immediately said, “No.”
Ming Han met his gaze for a moment, then looked away with a laugh. “I used to hear people say nephews take after their uncles and never believed it. Now I do. That expression you just made was exactly the same as our uncle’s. He said no too. He said Country G definitely has a trap waiting for me and that investigating Bu Yangyun has to be planned carefully. Even if someone gets sent over, that person won’t be me.”