Memory Lost

The atmosphere at the square is bleak.

Su Mian has her hand in her pocket standing beside the “A” mark as she thinks deeply while frowning her eyebrows.

At a distance outside of the yellow tape, there are many bystanders holding up their cell phones and taking photos. They haven’t been successful in asking them to leave. And behind her, Han Chen and the others are examining the area with a large group of forensic investigators. They’re picking up the tiny pieces of flesh one by one off of the ground.

A perfect performance. An absurd murder——

These two phrases flash across her mind.

And during the time of murder……she lifts her eyes again. A had to have been among the crowd admiring in excitement and absorbing the feeling——it’s too much of a temptation for him to resist. It’s so much fun! Therefore, with no doubt, he must have been at the scene.

It’s just that there were too many people and he’s very cunning, as well as cautious.

Su Mian lets out a “hmph!” turns around and leaves. The bystanders notice the movement of this beautiful looking female officer, so sounds of camera shutters go off behind her back, “click, click, click.” Su Mian doesn’t mind too much. She takes two steps and her body trembles suddenly. She recalls his words from that day: I am your most beloved little brother, A.

She pauses her footsteps. A shocking thought flashes across her mind——right now, could he be among the crowd admiring her feeling vexed by the case?

A cold breeze blows into her heart slowly.

The answer is obvious. It’s very possible!

The chance may slip away at any moment. She turns around quickly and walks toward the crowd. Her bright shining eyes look like water covered in icy air as they sweep across the people. The bystanders see her come, so they start chatting, take pictures, and make room for her. Su Mian doesn’t bother with them. She zigzags through the crowd in search for him.

Tall, short hair, long legs, crisp voice, and a pair of clear yet lazy looking eyes. If she sees him again, she will definitely be able to recognize him.

But she can’t find him.

Whether it’s tall, short, chubby, or thin, they all look at her with excitement, but none of

them has those pair of eyes.

She searches for a while and the people gathering around her are increasing. She stops and pants.

“Officer beauty, who are you looking for? You’re not looking for the suspect, are you?” someone asks.

These words make the crowd a bit uneasy, “That can’t be, can it?” “You’re kidding, right? There really is a suspect?”

Su Mian glances at the person who asked the question. It’s a man in his thirties who has a pair of wretch-looking eyes and his wardrobe makes others feel uncomfortable. Therefore, she answers annoyingly, “Bulls.hit! I spotted a friend just now so I came to look for him. Have you see a guy who’s about this tall. He’s very young. He’s wearing a cap and he’s not bad looking. He was taking photos of me just now.”

Everyone looks around, exchange gazes and shakes their head, “I didn’t notice someone like that.” “There are too many people. There’s no way I would have noticed.” Someone even teases, “There were a lot of people taking photos of you.”

Su Mian doesn’t say anything. She knows that he must have left already.

“You all should leave,” she tells the crowd, “There’s nothing here to see.”

The crowd stops gathering around her and disperses. Just as she turns around lifting her head, she spots a white colored item on top of a fake scenic hill behind a few people.

Her heart pounds. Blood seems to rush throughout her whole body——that looks like……

She rushes over. It’s an envelope. It’s got a nice texture accompanied by an elegant pattern. It looks exactly the same as the envelope from last time. Su Mian’s heart is beating fast. She looks up and around her with full of alertness.

No one notices her. And no one is looking over this way. 𝐟re𝐞w𝐞𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝚎𝒍.c૦𝚖

She picks it up, opens it and there is a thin piece of paper inside just like before.

But the writing inside is completely different.

“Big Sister, that man was a bastard. There’s no need to feel sorry for killing him, so don’t be unhappy.

——A”

The writing is slanted and croaked; just like an elementary school student. Therefore, Su Mian can be sure that it is A’s own writing. The ink is dry already; he has left the scene for a while.

_____

Su Mian holds the letter in

in her hand and walks back to the square slowly.

“What’s the matter?” a deep voice says above her head.

She looks up and her eyes meet with Han Chen’s.

He’s wearing a pair of black gloves with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looks at her calmly.

Su Mian hands him the letter.

He reads it and doesn’t show any expression on his face. Su Mian has nothing to say either.

Han Chen calls over a forensic investigator and gives the letter to the person. He then turns to look at her, “The victim came to the square himself.”

“Hm?”

He stuffs both hands into his pockets and watches the people come and go on the sidewalk not far away with her, “There was a witness who spotted the victim walking into the square’s entrance by himself around 7 am. He was already wearing the clown outfit by then.”

Su Mian thinks for a moment, “How did A abduct him and threaten him?”

“We’ll find out once we investigate him.”

Su Mian responds, “Okay!”

They remain quiet for a while. Han Chen turns to look at her. In the autumn breeze, her long hair is spread across her shoulders accenting her fair white and delicate face; her lips are red like a rose; she looks especially cold yet refined.

Those pair of dark brown eyes is glistening with spirit.

The corners of Han Chen’s mouth curve upward.

He pulls off his gloves and grabs her hand that is resting on her side. Su Mian feels warm in her heart as she looks into his eyes and squeezes on his hand. They both look at each other and don’t say anything.

_____

The first victim’s name is Liu Yao Hua, 42 years-old, can be considered self-employed who owns two small sized supermarkets. His family is wealthy but not extremely rich. He can be considered as an average person in this city.

They’ve been able to gather his complete records quickly after some investigating. It’s actually just like what A said in the letter. Although he’s not some big wicked and evil person, he’s quite a bastard——

He has a wife who’s the same age as him, and a daughter in her teens. However, he doesn’t stay home a lot and whenever he returns, he would hit and scold his wife and daughter. The money he gives

he gives them is very little. He’s been keeping all of the money to himself and even has a mistress.

“I’ve long considered him dead,” his wife says, “If it wasn’t because I contributed my money in opening those two supermarkets and needed to find a way to get it back, I would have divorced him long ago.” Although she says this, hearing the news of his death still brings tears to her. Their daughter, who’s in middle school, says cooly without showing any emotion, “I haven’t recognized him as my dad long ago. So be it if he’s dead.” ƒ𝗿e𝘦𝚠𝗲𝚋n𝚘ν𝙚𝗹.𝑐o𝙢

Based on the information they’ve gathered regarding Liu Yao Hua’s parents and friends, their attitudes are the same. No matter how hard his parents cry, their neighbors all say, “It’s good that this unfilial son is dead!” It turns out that Liu Yao Hua hasn’t visited his parents for years. Whenever his parents are sick or in pain, it is always the neighbors who help them. And the money saved up by his parents has long been taken away by him.

And the friend who once partnered up with him to open a business, after hearing the news of his death, albeit a little shocked, he still despises him and is full of resentment, “He said we would partner up, where he would take care of the finance, but the numbers never added up. At the time, my wife was pregnant and I couldn’t spend too much of my time to manage the business. And in the end, he told me we were in debt. My $150 thousand was down the drain. A year later, he opened a new supermarket himself. I couldn’t sue him since I had no evidence. This man……hmph, he was so sly. We were friends for years but that was the end of it.”

As for Liu Yao Hua’s mistress. She’s a woman in her thirties who is timid and afraid of trouble. They can’t find any suspicious evidence in their apartment. She only knows that Liu Yao Hua left the place last night around 8 pm. He said he was going for a massage but never came home. She thought that he was out having fun again and didn’t pay special attention nor called him. But who knew that the news of his cruel death awaited her……

_____

Outside of Liu Yao Hua’s apartment community area, beside two police cars.

It’s already />

It’s already noon; 5 hours after the three incidents this morning.

Chatterbox and Cold Face light up their cigarettes leaning against the side of the car. Xiao Zhuan is holding a pile of documents, and Han Chen and Su Mian are leaning against another car. The five of them have a brief meeting together.

“F–k! How are we supposed to investigate this case?” Chatterbox murmurs.

Cold Face and Su Mian remain quiet. Xiao Zhuan also feels annoyed and depressed so he nods his head fiercely.

“Why can’t we investigate it?” Han Chen lifts his eyes and looks at them.

Both of his hands are in his pockets while one of his feet is stepping on the car’s tire. His expression is a bit cold.

Chatterbox and Xiao Zhuan shut their mouths right away.

Han Chen glances at the others, “Afraid? You’re paralyzed after these few shows that they set up?”

No one speaks.

Su Mian raises her head and looks at him with her dark brown eyes, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Regardless of how showy, gruesome, and how much commotion they bring, I will only focus on the evidence. As long as it’s evidence proving it’s their work, they will never lie. They will help us catch them. At this point, whether it’s to catch them or a normal criminal, my work is no different.”

Her words and her tone of voice causes Chatterbox’s and Xiao Zhuan’s hearts to shake.

Han Chen glances at her and then places his hand on top of the car, “What she said is exactly how I feel. The evidence is the same. This case seems difficult on the surface. But no matter how skillful the seven-member organization is, the evidence won’t lie. There is no such thing as a perfect crime. We just haven’t found the evidence,” he stares at Su Mian and repeats her words, “There isn’t much difference in my work.”

Su Mian stares at his pitch-black pupils and feels her heart pound.

Nothing is warmer than showing sincerity for one another.

Cold Face on the side says calmly, “Persist with our original intentions. Stay calm.”

Chatterbox and Xiao Zhuan are already feeling moved.

“Persist with our original intentions.”

“Yes, no matter how big their crimes may be, as long as we persist with our original intentions, we will be able to catch them!”