Chapter 392: 392
Zheng Sanpao waved his hand; he had cald down and said to Ye Tian, “Really, it wasn’t you?”
“Not .”
Zheng Sanpao sighed. He hadn’t really thought it was Ye Tian, but when he left the police station, he felt stifled with vexation compounded by the recent frustrating days which made his temper flare even larger. Seeing Ye Tian just after being aggravated by Cheng Gong in the police station, his anger exploded, which is why he had confronted Ye Tian so doggedly.
Now that he had cald down, he realized his own two sons must have run into trouble. All he could do now was to offer incense to the Bodhisattva at ho, and then go donate a couple of door sills to the temple.
Seeing his previously fierce gaze suddenly soften, revealing exhaustion that deeply struck Ye Tian’s heart, displayed a man’s most vulnerable mont.
“Have a cigarette. No matter how big the problem is, we must approach it slowly; hurrying will only delay matters.”
Accepting the cigarette Ye Tian passed to him, Zheng Sanpao lit it for himself, took a drag, and said, “Actually, I was just montarily blinded by urgency. It’s your bad luck to have run into , but if it were anyone else, I’d have acted the sa.”
“You know now, that’s good.”
After smoking for a while, when Ye Tian saw that his mood had started to stabilize, he tentatively said, “Tell about it, see if I can offer any suggestions.”
“Forget it.”
Without any pretense of respect for Ye Tian, Zheng Sanpao glanced at him and continued smoking sullenly on the edge of the bed.
“Fine, forget it, I’m not begging you. It’s not my son who’s missing.”
In a huff, Ye Tian also sat down on a chair, leaning back and smoking. Soon, the two of them had finished half a pack of cigarettes.
“Smoke mine.”
Seeing the two-yuan-fifty-cent Red Mountain Tea cigarettes Zheng Sanpao pulled out, Ye Tian waved his hand, “Forget it, my throat hurts, I won’t smoke anymore.”
“Look how pathetic you are, still trying to give advice, can’t even handle a cigarette.”
Taking a cigarette, Ye Tian didn’t forget to tease back, “If I had two sons to buy Red Mountain Tea, I wouldn’t need others, I’d head straight up and give them both a good smack on the ears!”
Zheng Sanpao’s face turned red, but he didn’t retort, and simply sighed, “There’s an old saying, ‘The faults of the son are the father’s failure.’ These two boys turned out this way; it’s my fault as their father. To save money, I didn’t let them attend school. The teacher ca to our ho four tis for a talk, yet I resolutely refused and even chased him away with a kitchen knife. The elder one is okay; he’s clever, knew this was no way to live, and stubbornly worked on a construction site for two years before buying a position as an auxiliary police officer, later becoming a formal one and securing his future. But the younger one, he’s ruined. The boy is smart; he could write by age three and recite poems by five. If only his grandmother hadn’t directed his cleverness down the wrong path. He’s always causing trouble for , even once beat up the district chief’s kid, and it’s only thanks to that family’s generosity… or else, humph, I’d have to move, live in Daxing among animals.”
He bowed his head, smoked, and after a long while, he finally exhaled the smoke.
“As ti went on, the true nature of these two boys beca more apparent. The elder one is still good, not decent but knows his limits, understands how to handle social interactions, can’t rise any higher but also isn’t soone people can just trample on. The younger one is completely lost; works as a bouncer, fights and cuts people, and only just manages to turn a blind eye, but if he ever dared touch those white powders, I’d personally cripple him without a word!”
Ye Tian smirked, “That’s you, just bluffing.”
“I’m his father, so taking his life is justified. I gave him life, now taking it back is only natural.”
Both fell silent, imrsed in a deep quiet.
After they finished the second cigarette, Zheng Sanpao stood up from the bed, patted his trousers, “Alright, that’s enough for today. If you feel uneasy later, just co find . Ready to fight, ready to scold, I won’t hesitate.”
“You’re leaving just like that.”
“It’s getting late, the wife is waiting for to co ho for dinner.”
“Aren’t you looking for your sons anymore?”
“Life and death are destined, wealth is in heaven’s hands; too many wrongdoings, even God can’t stand it anymore. No matter what happens this ti, I’m not getting involved any longer.”
Watching a sowhat dejected Zheng Sanpao, Ye Tian montarily couldn’t reconcile the tired old man before him with the Zheng Sanpao who had once fiercely fought him with a sickle.
He followed him all the way out of the hotel before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After seeing off Zheng Sanpao, Ye Tian didn’t head back to the hotel imdiately, but instead walked to the public phone booth outside, inserted his IC card, pressed the buttons, and dialed a number.
“Hello, this is Xiao Jian, who’s this?”
“It’s Ye Tian. What are you doing, have you eaten yet?”
On the other end, Xiao Jian, hearing this voice, thought to himself, with everything that’s happening, you’re still asking about als, then said, “Not yet. Wanna treat ? Sure, let’s go to Beiping Hotel. Are you coming?”
Ye Tian smirked, “Forget it, I can’t even afford my own als, let alone treat you. I just want to discuss sothing with you, do you rember Zheng Dazhi? That police officer, from the police station, the one who dealt with He Biandan’s case, the one who detained soone privately.”
Xiao Jian said, “I rember, what about him? Oh right, I’ve got so good news, want to hear?”
“Wait with your news. I’ve got so myself, not so good, but quite significant. Help analyze this.”
“Alright, tell , I’m listening.”
Ye Tian organized his thoughts and said, “Ergou has gone missing, so has Zheng Dazhi, and so has Chuanzi. These three people, vanished mysteriously over three consecutive days. What do you think?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, then a sharp intake of breath, “Sss! This is not good. I guess you’ve had a rough ti too?”
Ye Tian nodded, then realizing it was a phone call and the other couldn’t see, he added, “Yes. Soone ca looking for trouble, but I managed to drive them away.”
“You’re tough!”
“Enough flattery, just focus on the issue. Do you think these incidents are connected?”
“Definitely. You think… nevermind, it’s not clear over the phone. Where are you? I’ll co find you.”
Ye Tian looked around, noticing the sky had noticeably darkened, and said, “Co over tomorrow morning. Oh, and by the way, Mo Yan’s back. I’ll invite her too, how about that?”
Hearing that Mo Yan was back, Xiao Jian’s heart leapt with excitent, nodding vigorously, “I’m in!”
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