Memory Lost

The night scenery is still and beautiful yet noisy. Su Mian and the other two girls are standing beside the white fences at the lakeside chit-chatting.

But all this time, her eyes are fixed in the direction of where Han Chen is.

The water on that side is even darker and quieter. He and the other guys are sitting at the farthest end with just a dim lamp above their heads. She can't see their faces clearly, but she can see him grabbing Monkey by the collar suddenly. His standing figure looks as if it's covered in coldness.

Su Mian has a bad feeling surging inside as her heart aches at the same time. She stares at the dark water surface and lets out a long sigh. She fixes her eyes on them from afar and becomes more focused and determined.

_____

On this end, right after Monkey finishes speaking, Da Wei scolds, "Monkey!"

"You shut up!" Han Chen roars without looking at Da Wei. He grabs Monkey by the collar and his face is cold like ice, "What did you say? Who died five years ago?"

Monkey's expression turns dismal and answers in a daze, "Five years ago……Five years ago……you, you and she were both injured in the explosion incident! You were in a coma for a year and she disappeared! It was more than half a year later that we found a body below a cliff nearby! The body looked exactly like the woman whom you brought with you today! We all thought she died. We all thought she died at the time! Is the woman you're with now really Su Mian? Are you sure? Are you sure she's not just someone who looks like her?"

Han Chen feels pain in his heart but reveals a slight smile on his face, "Was a DNA test done? Was there a match with her fingerprints? Was it really Su Mian who died?"

"We couldn't obtain fingerprints," Da Wei, who has been quiet all this time, says suddenly. His face is gloomy like thick grey clouds have gathered above his head. He raises his head and stares directly at Han Chen, "Both hands of the body were gone. We could only conduct a DNA test. And the results from the test matched with the hair sample that was taken from Su Mian's home."

Han Chen stares back at him.

In a blink of an eye, all the evidence and suspicion crisscrossed each other. The outline of the event floats into his mind——

That year, he was part of the seven-member group investigation case. And for some unknown reason, Su Mian became an undercover, which was why they were in danger and were injured by the explosion.

And it was at that time that her identity was swapped. She was in a coma for a year and hidden away in some place.

The body that was later found was the real "Bai Jin Xi." He remembers very well that when he looked up on Bai Jin Xi's profile a couple of months ago, many people around said that she became more and more beautiful and always had makeup on.

Therefore, Bai Jin Xi was probably already under the seven members' control. Cousins have similar facial features; she underwent plastic surgery to look just like Su Mian and became the scapegoat.

As for the DNA samples obtained from Su Mian's home, they were possibly switched with samples from Bai Jin Xi, which explains why it was a perfect match. Due to her facial features and DNA samples, the police officers at the time didn't suspect otherwise and believed that Su Mian had died.

And then Su Mian, who lost her memory, woke up and under somebody's arrangement, she started living as Bai Jin Xi.

……

Da Wei's and Monkey's expressions are perplexed, emotional, and depressed.

But Han Chen isn't planning to explain to them about the conspiracy. He stares at the two of them and continues asking what puzzles him the most:

"Even if you guys thought that she died, why did you have to lie to me about her existence?"

Da Wei freezes. Monkey downs another bottle of beer and smashes the bottle to the ground. He's going all out.

"It's because she betrayed you!" he roars raising his head and revealing his red eyes to Han Chen, "Before the accident, she had already broken up with you! She dropped out from the police school and started hanging out with a group of people! She's not a good woman! Since you had already forgotten about her, why should we mention it?"

Da Wei remains quiet. Han Chen raises his eyebrow slightly and stares directly at Monkey, waiting for him to continue.

The instant Monkey finishes speaking, he seems to regret it. He turns around to look at the surface of the lake and says coldly, "Actually, the things I said just now regarding her death, I heard it from others. But you guys did indeed break up. At the time, you were on a big case and closed yourself off for several months. It was at that time that she was expelled from police school. Before you left, you asked us to help you take care of her. That was fine, we went to visit her and she left in a sports car that was worth millions. And then we heard that you two broke up. You stopped talking to us about her," he pauses and then says ruthlessly, "For this kind of woman, is it worth it, Han Chen? We feel bad for you!"

As if he has finally vented out everything inside his heart, Monkey falls into silence after speaking. He opens another bottle and starts drinking from it.

Han Chen doesn't say anything.

Da Wei has his head down and is smoking fiercely.

After a long while, Han Chen pulls out his wallet, takes out a couple of bills and throws it on the table. He doesn't make eye contact with anyone and stands up.

"I will be marrying her soon. I won't send you two invitations so that you won't feel bad."

He says these words calmly, but it pains Da Wei's and Monkey's hearts. Han Chen stuffs one hand in his pocket, picks up the glass that he had poured for himself and downs it.

Seeing that he is about to leave, Monkey lifts his eyes and looks at Da Wei.

They exchange gazes.

Da Wei looks at his glass of beer which hasn't been touched. His hands on his lap are turning purple due to his tight grip. He suddenly reaches forward and downs the drink.

Han Chen has already walked a few steps toward the exit. He raises his head to look at the lakeside; Su Mian is standing not far away. Da Wei looks up at his back and says finally, "Han Chen, if you still consider us as your buddies, come back now! You must not marry her, and you must not be with her!"

Han Chen's back stiffens. He stands still in the light for a few seconds before turning around.

In the lonely lighting, the two of them look at each other quietly.

Han Chen says slowly and clearly, "Why?"

Da Wei's breathing pauses for a second. He looks at Han Chen, this buddy of his who has become colder and maturer than he was years ago, and the image from five years ago floats into his mind.

At the time, Han Chen was carried out from the explosion scene by others. He was unconscious and it was uncertain whether or not he would live. His group of buddies were anxious and worried at the same time.

It was then on a certain night, he secretly snuck into his dad's study room and flipped through the case documents related to Han Chen. He wanted to see what it was that had caused this harm to his buddy.

But he couldn't find anything related to the case. Instead, he saw another file.

The criminal investigation team who was in charge of the case found evidence of another person's crime.

……

Da Wei closes his eyes, reopens them and says slowly, "Regardless of whether or not this Su Mian is the real one, you shouldn't marry her. It's because, at the time, I read a document from my dad's study. In that document, it wrote: Su Mian was involved in a murder case. There are lives lost in her hands. She's a murderer!"

Monkey's face is red. He clearly knew about this but didn't have the courage to say it to Han Chen.

But Han Chen snickers after hearing this.

"That's it? The thing that you guys worry and are afraid of all these years is this?" he turns around and looks at the blurry lights reflecting on the lake surface. And then he turns to look at Da Wei with a cold smile, "It's because she was an undercover policeman at the time! The most f–king pitiful undercover! Getting expelled from school was fake, breaking up with me was fake, so obviously, the murder was also fake! It was all done so that she could be accepted into the criminal organization and be undercover!"

With a loud thump, Da Wei pushes the table away, stands up, rushes over to Han Chen and holds him by the collar. His face is extremely pale, "Of course I f–king know that she was undercover! The document stated that explicitly! She started out as an undercover policeman, pretended to be a psychopath and joined the criminal organization. But later……later she changed! Changed! She was brainwashed by them and went overboard! She really became a part of them and a serial killer!"

Han Chen fixes his eyes on him, his reacts quickly and grasps Da Wei by the wrist. Da Wei moans from the pain and Han Chen releases his hand. Almost instantly, Han Chen moves his hand and grabs him by the collar instead. He stares at him with cold and emotionless eyes, "She's a serial killer? A serial killer my f–king a–!"

But Da Wei doesn't flinch. He stares back at Han Chen and says while trying to suppress his roar, "Han Chen, I don't know who it was that died five years ago. And I don't know where you found this person! But I read that document very clearly and remembered it very well! It's because her disappearance, her death and everything about her were never concluded. The case was simply concealed. But all the evidence in the document pointed to her! Otherwise, why do you think the case had been classified for this long? Even after so many years have passed, why hasn't the security bureau honored her as an 'undercover' police officer? Why else would we have lied to you? And why else would your mom and dad think that her existence is their worst nightmare? Do you think that we don't know how much you love her? Since you lost your memory after waking up and she was already a deceased criminal, why should we tell you this damn cruel truth?"

……

The lake surface is still and quiet. A night boat travels across from afar, rippling and disrupting the calm surface. f𝘳ℯℯ𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧oν𝑒Ɩ.c𝑜𝙢

The three men confront each other quietly like this for a long time. No one speaks.

And a couple hundred meters away by the lakeside, Su Mian is watching the outline of the three of them. She's worried and anxious but undisturbed at the same time.

She believes that no matter what he finds out from the two of them, whatever it is that broke them up back then doesn't actually matter anymore.

It's because he and she are ready for it. The two of them will stick together as one; no matter how hard it will be, they will find the members of the seven-member organization, unveil the truth and have them receive the punishment that they deserve!

……

The night is cold as usual. The sky is pitch black like a bottomless pit.

Some people are singing, some are laughing, some are observing others, and some are in pain;

Someone finally opens his/her eyes which have been sealed for a long time. He/she looks and observes his/her opponent carefully who's not far away.

The sun is covering up secrets while bodies are buried underneath the ground. The biggest lie in the world is a laughing joke that will be exposed with a poke of a finger. But yet someone continues to try and hide it and stitch it up just to cheat for a while longer.

But the truth, regardless of anybody, any relationship, any persistence or pain and suffering……it will not change because of them. Just like this clear and reflective water surface, after the ripples calm down, it will return to its original state slowly inch by inch, and piece by piece. It will quietly and brightly reveal itself in front of everybody.