"If I need anything, I’ll find you." The car was parked properly, and he glanced at another SUV parked next to it. "This car?"
"Oh, that’s City Police Departnt’s Captain Wu’s car. She ca over this morning and is now following your guy near the brickyard factory."
"Now?" Hua Qingyi looked up at the sky; it was already dark. "When did they go over there?"
"Oh, it’s already dark, and they’ve been gone for nearly seven or eight hours!"
"Damn it, didn’t you suspect there might be a problem? Is anyone else with them?" Hua Qingyi grabbed Director Zhao by the collar. "If anything happens to them, you’ll have to use your head to pay tribute!"
Director Zhao was either scared stiff or shocked dumb; he collapsed to the ground and couldn’t stand up. As for when Hua Qingyi left, he lost consciousness, and by the ti he ca to his senses, Hua Qingyi was already gone.
"Young Master Hua!" Director Zhao ran towards the guesthouse direction, unsure of how to explain the situation.
"What’s the matter?" Hua Qingyi, who had just finished handling the paperwork, t Director Zhao at the entrance. Seeing his panting state and sweaty head, the running speed must have been impressive.
"I... I want to explain sothing about this afternoon..."
"There are guests here, discuss your issues upstairs."
The guesthouse beca lively during weekends, with the n going in and out, including so foreigners. The restaurant wasn’t far from the reception desk, and several tables of guests, who looked like students coming in groups, were already seated and staring at them. Director Zhao awkwardly scratched the back of his head and followed Hua Qingyi upstairs.
"Young Master Hua!" Without Hua Qingyi’s directive, Director Zhao didn’t dare sit down, resembling a child who had done sothing wrong.
"As a local officer, have you done your duty?" Hua Qingyi, usually free from airs of authority, glared nacingly at Director Zhao. "Wu Shuang is the future bureau chief candidate of the City Police Departnt. Do you know your negligence could cost the municipal governnt valuable talent? Do you understand how much financial and emotional investnt our country makes to train a civil servant?"
"Young Master Hua, I didn’t know they were going there. I thought they had returned already." Director Zhao felt aggrieved. Hua Qingyi seriously scrutinized Director Zhao’s eyes, and the grievance seed genuine. Was the Director Zhao in front of him the one they knew? "Maybe they’re having a al sowhere, don’t you think?"
"I just asked the owner here, and in fact, they haven’t returned." Xiao Lin hasn’t been in the room since last night, and according to Director Zhao, this afternoon Wu Shuang and Xiao Lin appeared at the police station and went to the brickyard. "How far is it from here to the brickyard?"
"A few kiloters, I guess!"
"Captain Wu’s car is in the yard. How did they get there?"
"This..." Another sharp glare was directed at Director Zhao. "I drove them there."
"You ca back by yourself?"
"Your friend said they might need to stay for quite a long ti and told to co back first, saying they’d figure out a way back on their own."
"Fine, you take there again now."
"Young Master Hua, don’t joke around; it’s dark out there, and even if you go, you won’t see anything." Director Zhao raised his hands. Going to the brickyard now was like entering a ghost cave — pitch black, like the mouth of a demon. He had been there before and had no desire to experience it again.
"Just drop where you left them and co back on your own."
Ah, there it was again — this phrase. Hearing it now, how could Director Zhao dare to leave? With two people missing from just an afternoon, if he went missing as well, wouldn’t the Hua family turn the whole Yanjing upside down?
"Young Master Hua, please don’t scare this old body of mine any more. What are you doing going there in the dead of night? I absolutely won’t let you go." He spread his arms to block the doorway. "If you must go, wait until daylight."
"The abandoned brickyard. That should be easy to find." Hua Qingyi said, picking up his phone and entering the na into the navigation system — several possibilities appeared naturally on the map.
"I’ll take you," Director Zhao sighed, realizing Hua Qingyi’s resolution, and reluctantly agreed.
Taking a spare searchlight and batteries from the police station, he drove the police car towards the abandoned brickyard. "Young Master Hua, that place isn’t auspicious. Soone died there before, it’s better to carry so kind of weapon for self-defense." Director Zhao advised while driving.
"It was Ah San who died there, wasn’t it?"
"Not just him. Long before, during the factory’s construction phase, soone already died."
"Director Zhao, have you thought it over these past two days when I wasn’t around?" Changing the topic, Hua Qingyi rested one hand on the car window, tilting his head to look at Director Zhao’s profile.
"Heh, Young Master Hua jests. We’re just small fry, not the big shots who earn much more — it would be easy for you to catch us. I know what’s going on; Xiao Lin being caught makes it clear what he might say. You’ve co here for this, haven’t you? Asking if I want to cooperate is flattering."
"Director Zhao, how do you find the northern district? Is it poor?"
"Poor, how can it not be poor?" Director Zhao agreed with a nod.
Hua Qingyi smiled indifferently and turned his gaze to the darkness outside the window. As the car moved forward, the road beca bumpier, and the surrounding light dimd. From his perspective, he could still see the environnt — they were entering an industrial zone.
"We’ve left the northern district now, why would they co here?"
"Captain Wu wanted to examine Ah San’s cri scene again; he was dismbered at the brickyard."
"Is there any news about the woman by the river? Is it Xiao i?"
"How do you know this person?" It startled Director Zhao to suddenly hear Xiao i’s na from Hua Qingyi, causing the car to jolt on a rock.
"No need to be nervous, Director Zhao. It’s very dark; drive carefully, or I might get hurt before we even reach the destination." An oncoming vehicle just passed, creating a risky situation.
"Ah, sorry, I’m just a bit surprised." Director Zhao gripped the steering wheel firmly, wary of making another mistake. "You’ve only been here a few days and already know about Xiao i, which surprises ."
"I heard Xiao i had quite a special relationship with Ah San; you described yourself as a father figure to Ah San, so you must be aware."
"I do know a bit. With a girl like Xiao i, how could Ah San asure up? It’s uncertain who seduced whom. But after only a few months of dating, she was gone." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welco to vote for it on Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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