BL Ch132

The atmosphere in the ward immediately became strange. Yu Duqiu, with his penchant for stirring up trouble, wore a subtle, silent smile that made the answer to the question even more ambiguous.

He refrained from revealing the truth purely to savor the kaleidoscope of panic on a certain little police officer’s face.

Bai Zhao never liked meddling in other people’s affairs. If Yu Duqiu wasn’t saying anything, neither would he.

The three of them fell silent simultaneously: one at a loss, one gloating, one indifferent.

“…” Mu Hao felt as though he had touched upon a sensitive topic. He immediately mobilized his sharp mind, and after careful consideration, reached a conclusion he believed was highly probable. Lowering his voice cautiously, he asked, “Does it involve some important figure? Is it one of Du Shuyan’s clients? Don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll find a way to bring him down. No official is above the law and justice.”

He spoke so earnestly that Yu Duqiu finally burst out laughing, “Hahaha… Ow… Mmm…”

Bai Zhao covered his mouth, forcing him to quiet down, lest he aggravate his injuries with his laughter.

Mu Hao was puzzled, “Duqiu, what are you laughing at? Was I wrong?”

Yu Duqiu pulled Bai Zhao’s hand away, stifling his laughter, “Don’t worry, in a small place like Pingyi, there isn’t anyone so important that even I can’t handle them. As for the answer to your question… it’s not convenient for me to say. Explore it yourself. What I can tell you is that it has little to do with the case, only with you.”

Mu Hao was even more confused after hearing this, “Nothing to do with the case… but related to me? Then who could it be… I don’t seem to have any enemies outside of criminals.”

Yu Duqiu: “Who said it has to be an enemy? Maybe it’s a secret admirer—”

“Alright, alright! Stop talking nonsense!” Ji Lin stepped forward, blocking the wheelchair, his back to Mu Hao. His flushed face was full of embarrassment and annoyance as he glared at Yu Duqiu. “You rest up. I’ll take Mu Ge back to his ward. If there’s anything else, I’ll come and tell you.”

Just as he finished speaking, something happened.

A woman’s angry shout suddenly came from outside the hospital building, accompanied by faint sobs. Then another male voice joined the fray.

The two seemed to be stopped by the bodyguards at the entrance. The two sides were in a stalemate downstairs. Lou Baoguo and Zhou Yi could be heard persuading them to leave.

“It’s Lingya and Pei Zhuo. They must be here to visit their respective brothers.” Yu Duqiu, unable to move in bed, tilted his chin at Bai Zhao, “Go help get rid of them. Don’t let them know too much before the case is closed, so as to avoid further complications.”

Bai Zhao was about to agree when Ji Lin, looking out the window, waved his hand, “It’s alright, Dr. Sun is going to appease them… Hmm? Who’s that elderly gentleman next to him? Why are your two bodyguards bowing to him?”

Bai Zhao’s fist tightened, and he instantly straightened his back.

Yu Duqiu’s eyes lit up. “What does he look like? Silvery white hair, rimless glasses, around seventy years old?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Bai Zhao! Go and invite my grandfather up!” Yu Duqiu became like a seven or eight-year-old child, so excited he wanted to jump out of bed to greet him personally, but his physical condition wouldn’t allow it. “Honestly, not even a word… Bai Zhao, did you hear me? Go quickly! Remember to be polite and courteous, make a good impression on my grandfather.”

Bai Zhao’s expression was slightly solemn. He responded with a “Yes” and went downstairs to receive Yu Youhai.

Mu Hao watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.

Yu Duqiu hadn’t seen his grandfather in over a year. When he was young, his parents were busy with their business and didn’t have much time to look after him. He had spent most of his childhood with his grandfather, so they were especially close. He was more excited to hear about his grandfather’s arrival than he was to see Yu Jiangyue.

Bai Zhao quickly returned, but alone.

Yu Duqiu was puzzled, “Where’s my grandfather?”

“He said he has something to do. He has to go to the court to ask when Ms. Cen’s case will go to trial. He’ll come to see you after you’re discharged and back home.”

Yu Duqiu sighed in disappointment, “My mom seems to have gone to the prison to see Pei Xianyong too. They’re both more concerned about Ms. Cen than me.”

Ji Lin interjected, “Your mom probably went to scold him. You don’t know yet, do you? Team Xu told me, about the kidnapping when you were a child, and Pei—”

Bai Zhao shot him a cold, warning glance. Ji Lin felt a chill down his spine, suddenly realizing that revealing the truth might cause Yu Duqiu further trauma, so he shut his mouth.

However, Officer Mu, with his excellent reasoning skills but lacking empathy, immediately deduced a guess from his few words. With the professional attitude of getting to the bottom of the case, he asked, “Duqiu’s kidnapping was related to Pei Xianyong? He bribed the driver, right?”

“…” Ji Lin was both impressed and troubled, “Mu Ge, you really didn’t have to say it out loud…”

Yu Duqiu waved his hand magnanimously, “It’s fine, I’m not an idiot. I understood what Bai Zhao said to Fei Zheng on the yacht. Brother Yang… Yang Yongjian, he must have lied to me.”

His voice trailed off, his eyelashes drooping heavily, a faint, melancholic smile on his lips, “Whether he was forced or tempted by money, I’ll never know… but since he brought it upon himself, I don’t need to feel burdened anymore.”

Despite his words, Yu Duqiu’s tone wasn’t light.

Ji Lin and Mu Hao were equally untalented at comforting people. They looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously turned to Bai Zhao for help.

Bai Zhao lived up to their expectations and took on the task. He reached out, took Yu Duqiu’s hand, and gently squeezed it, “Do you think you being sentimental over him is fair to me?”

Yu Duqiu’s attention was drawn back by this remark, bewildered, “What does this have to do with you?”

“If he hadn’t died, you might have. Then I wouldn’t have met you. How is it not related to me?” Bai Zhao reasoned, “I don’t sympathize with him at all, and I don’t want to hear you mention his name.”

Yu Duqiu was stunned for a moment, then slowly realized his intention—to cheer him up.

His mood instantly brightened considerably. Yu Duqiu tilted his chin up, “That possessive, huh? I can’t even mention him?”

“You can only think of me.” Bai Zhao leaned closer and closer.

Ji Lin cringed, “Hey, Mu Ge and I are still here. Can you two restrain yourselves a little? Do you still want to hear the details of the kidnapping case?”

Yu Duqiu gave Bai Zhao a peck on the cheek before calming down. Holding his hand, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Tell me? I can handle it.”

Bai Zhao simply sat on the bed, carefully helping Yu Duqiu up so that he could lean against his chest. He wrapped his arms around him, avoiding his injuries, providing him with the greatest sense of security.

Yu Duqiu lay comfortably in his boyfriend’s arms, feeling that even if Ji Lin announced a magnitude ten earthquake in the next second, he wouldn’t be shaken in the slightest.

Ji Lin summarized the key points, mostly relaying Yu Jiangyue’s account.

The truth of a past event, concealed with good intentions, had resulted in malicious consequences. But if Yu Jiangyue had revealed the truth to the public back then, could the young Yu Duqiu, after witnessing the killing, have withstood the secondary blow of betrayal? Would Pei Xianyong have taken even more insane actions to cover up his crimes? At that time, the Yu family was inferior in wealth and prestige. Yu Jiangyue’s choice to suppress the situation as much as possible and protect herself was perhaps the wisest decision she could have made at the time.

“My mom isn’t the type to yield easily. It was really difficult for her to tolerate it to this extent for my sake,” Yu Duqiu sighed. “My grandfather also started to withdraw from then on, but he must still be holding onto it. I’ve seen stacks of letters in his study a few times when I went home. They had no signatures, but he must have been in contact with someone. I didn’t ask much, but for him to be so preoccupied… I guess it could only be Ms. Cen’s case.”

Bai Zhao held him, stroking his arm, whispering, “These matters will soon be settled.”

Since both injured parties needed to rest, Ji Lin didn’t stay long and soon left, pushing Mu Hao’s wheelchair.

The wheelchair rolled across the smooth floor tiles, almost silently, but Ji Lin’s heart was still pounding. His palms, gripping the handles, were covered in a thin layer of sweat. Fortunately, Mu Hao was immersed in his own thoughts and didn’t notice his abnormality…

“Ji Lin.” Mu Hao suddenly called out.

Ji Lin immediately stiffened, “Yes!” His mind raced, calculating how to answer the previous question about the “fish that got away.”

However, Mu Hao didn’t continue dwelling on that question. He frowned and asked, “Don’t you think… Bai Zhao’s expression was a little off?”

He was usually oblivious to social cues, but he was extremely sensitive to unusual phenomena, as if he was born to be a criminal investigator. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been assigned to the city bureau immediately after graduation.

Ji Lin had witnessed his superb investigative abilities regarding conspiracies and schemes during their time at the Public Security University. Hearing him say this, he was seven parts convinced. Putting aside his distracting thoughts for the moment, he bent down and asked, “What was off?”

Mu Hao recalled the scene in the ward, “When Duqiu asked him to find his grandfather, Bai Zhao’s face was very tense, but when he came back, he was very relaxed.”

“Maybe… he was nervous? It’s normal to be anxious when meeting your partner’s family for the first time.”

“But he always controls his emotions very well. I feel like he’s the type to be calm and collected. It doesn’t seem like he’d lose control of his expressions just from meeting a family member. With such poor psychological quality, how did he work undercover in the Pei family?” 

Mu Hao looked at the various people passing by, the light and shadows in his eyes flickering. 

“Also, when Duqiu mentioned Cen Wan just now, the look on his face was almost identical to Duqiu’s expression when you mentioned Yang Yongjian. I’ve seen many family members or close friends of victims with that look. If I’m not mistaken, Bai Zhao’s background… must be complicated.”

“He’s always been complicated.” Ji Lin added, “Remember what I told you, Mu Ge? He was only eight years old when Bai Zhiming adopted him. How could a child have the idea to bring down a major drug lord? And how did he obtain the evidence to send Pei Xianyong to prison six months later? There must be someone behind him, but Bai Zhao won’t say, and Yu Duqiu doesn’t want to force him. This question remains unanswered.”

Mu Hao couldn’t help but laugh, “Duqiu suspects him yet protects him, just how much does he like him… I trust Duqiu’s judgment. Bai Zhao probably doesn’t have malicious intentions, but this matter is definitely related to the case, it’s best to investigate it thoroughly.”

“Alright, I’ll ask Old Peng later. He was in charge of Cen Wan’s case. He seems to know something, and he trusts Bai Zhao a lot, but he just won’t tell me…” Ji Lin said dejectedly, “Now that I’m suspended, he’ll probably be even less willing to tell me.”

Mu Hao raised his hand and patted his drooping head, “It’s okay, I’ll ask Team Feng for help. This is important, he shouldn’t refuse.”

Ji Lin stopped walking, and the wheelchair stopped along with him. He looked up in astonishment, staring blankly at the thin man in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Hao asked.

“Mu Ge, you… haven’t done this in so long… why…” Ji Lin stammered.

The last time Mu Hao had patted his head like this was at their graduation ceremony at the Public Security University. While patting him, he had said, “I won’t be by your side anymore, you have to work hard. If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to ask for my help.”

At that time, Mu Hao was handsome, strong, and full of spirit. As an outstanding graduate, he was personally selected by Feng Jinmin to join the city bureau’s criminal investigation team. Many classmates came to congratulate him at the graduation ceremony. After a few drinks, someone asked him what kind of policewoman he liked. Mu Hao, straightforward as he was, said without hesitation, “I like those who are fair-skinned and upright.”

At that time, Ji Lin, who hadn’t yet secured a job, glanced at his own tanned skin from years of training. He tightened his grip on the cold beer bottle, brushed away the hand on his head, and went to a corner to silently drink three beers by himself.

Near the end of the ceremony, Mu Hao found him on the playground’s lawn, where they had first met.

In his hazy memory, he seemed to have hugged Mu Hao’s arm and cried. His pathetic appearance was just like four years ago, when he had just entered the academy and was criticized and punished by the instructor, running alone on the playground, feeling wronged and struggling. Mu Hao had suddenly appeared beside him and told him, “It’s okay, I’ll run with you.”

The feelings he hadn’t expressed for four years burst out with his tears at that moment.

He’d forgotten what drunken nonsense he’d spouted, but Mu Hao must have sensed something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have slowly distanced himself afterwards.

After joining the force, Mu Hao lived up to expectations, participating in solving one major case after another, his future bright. Even Ji Lin, stationed in a small branch bureau, often heard his name mentioned by others. If it weren’t for the case that happened last year, their paths might never have crossed again.

Now, seeing Mu Hao repeat that intimate gesture, Ji Lin’s mind went blank for a second, then instantly flooded with various possibilities as to why he was doing this, including but not limited to: Mu Hao had forgiven him for his past transgressions because of his dedicated care these days; Mu Hao had been imprisoned for too long, his nerves damaged, and he’d forgotten what he’d said before…

However, Mu Hao didn’t give him much time to think, stopping his wild thoughts with a simple answer, “No reason, just wanted to comfort you.”

Ji Lin bit his lip, thinking he might as well die knowing the truth. The words he hadn’t asked a year ago, having been delayed until now, were finally time to be resolved, especially since Mu Hao had already started to suspect.

“Mu Ge… I…” His head drooped lower and lower, almost burying itself in Mu Hao’s shoulder. “That night at our graduation ceremony, did I… uh… say any nonsense?”

He carefully observed Mu Hao’s expression.

Mu Hao clearly hesitated.

Ji Lin’s heart instantly sank.

Interrogations and cases were one thing, but in everyday life, Mu Hao was someone who rarely hid his feelings. His thoughts were all written on his face. This hesitation was equivalent to an admission.

“You just said, ‘Don’t leave me.’” Mu Hao wasn’t good at lying either, at least not about something like this. “But all good things must come to an end. I can take care of you for a while, but not forever. You have to grow up on your own and become a capable police officer… and you did it. All these years, including the past six months when I was gone, haven’t you been doing well? You even managed to find me… You don’t need me anymore, Ji Lin. Don’t rely on me too much.”

If Yu Duqiu were here, he would definitely curse, “What a blockhead.” Unfortunately, he wasn’t. Even understanding this ridiculous truth, Ji Lin could only smile wryly, “You think I said that because I was relying on you?”

Mu Hao nodded.

It turned out that what was worse than unrequited love was the other party not even noticing, not even thinking about it in that way.

People came and went in the hospital. They’d been standing there for too long, heads close together, already attracting strange looks.

Ji Lin tightened his grip on the handles, started walking, and continued pushing the wheelchair towards the ward. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Honestly, I sometimes envy Yu Duqiu.”

Mu Hao turned his head, “It’s normal to envy him, but after envying him, you still have to return to your own life. Very few people are as rich as him. Most of us are ordinary people.”

“I don’t envy his wealth.” Where Mu Hao couldn’t see, Ji Lin sniffed slightly, swallowing the indescribable bitterness in his throat, trying to keep his voice steady. “I envy him for being able to disregard the world’s opinions, for being able to love someone freely, and… for being able to have that love reciprocated.”

“You can too.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Ji Lin ruffled his hair irritably, saying vaguely, “Because of his special status.”

Mu Hao turned to look at him in surprise, “You have someone you like?”

Ji Lin nodded, staring straight ahead as he pushed the wheelchair, not daring to look back, “He’s very capable, and his family is wealthy. We originally had nothing in common, but recently he’s been very close to me… but I don’t dare tell him. I know he won’t be with me. He has his own career, his own pursuits, and his own family to take care of. I can’t… ruin his reputation.”

Mu Hao froze, combining all these conditions in his mind, vaguely reaching a shocking conclusion. His eyes widened suddenly, and he asked incredulously, “…The person you like, could it be…?”

Ji Lin quickly nodded, simultaneously pushing the wheelchair to the ward door, opening it, and pushing Mu Hao inside. Then, as usual, he helped Mu Hao to the bed to rest.

Mu Hao, however, raised his arm to stop him.

“It’s okay, I can do it myself… I want to be alone for a while, you can go and do your work.”

Ji Lin saw the flickering in his eyes and understood that he was probably being politely rejected.

Mu Hao knew he was suspended, what work could he possibly have? Saying this… was just to get rid of him.

It was fine. It was an unrealistic hope to begin with. The sooner Mu Hao cut off his thoughts, the sooner he could move on.

“Okay, get some rest.” Ji Lin tactfully replied, then picked up his things and left without another word.

This parting, he wondered, would it lead to another six years of distance and waiting?

If so, he didn’t know what to do.

He wasn’t outstanding in any particular aspect, he didn’t have what it took to attract someone better than him, nor did he have Yu Duqiu’s arrogant disregard for the world. Only his courage and perseverance were slightly better than others, but these weights always seemed to fail in front of Mu Hao.

The more he didn’t want to lose, the more timid and cowardly he became.

Heaven had been so kind to let him meet this person, and yet so cruel.

The ward, now empty, suddenly became very quiet.

Mu Hao sat in a daze for a long time, slowly recovering from the shock. Then he picked up his phone from beside his pillow, scrolled to a familiar name, pressed the voice button, swallowed, and hesitated about whether to speak.

After two or three seconds, he made up his mind.

Such a big matter had to be communicated. Moreover, if Ji Lin was on the wrong path, he had to intervene.

So he cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone, carefully choosing his words, “Duqiu… Ji Lin, he said he has someone he likes. Based on his description, I think… uh, although my guess might not be accurate, I think… it’s very likely to be your mother. We have to correct him on this…”