On this year's Children's Day, Lao Gao finally took a day off to watch his beloved daughter's performance at school.
Although the two of them were merely playing a pair of silent little elves, Lao Gao still took countless photos and posted seven or eight moments on his social media.
When the performance ended, Lao Gao heard his wife sigh in relief.
"Look at how nervous you were."
He teased his wife, "There were no lines, and you were scared like this?"
"Heh."
Lao Gao's wife scoffed, "I was nervous about this? I was afraid that before our daughter got on stage, you would be called away by a phone call. If you don't come to watch the performance this year, by next year, you won't even know where the school gate is."
Lao Gao was speechless for a moment, embarrassed, "I specifically took a day off, there won't be any problems."
His wife: "Which year didn't you take a day off?"
Lao Gao: "......"
In such matters, he was always in the wrong. He wisely changed the subject, "Recently, the sub-bureau has recruited new people, and we are not so short-staffed. Being late by an hour or two doesn't matter. Besides, there's Ji Feng."
Speaking of him, Lao Gao's wife was also quite concerned, "Is he alright now?"
"He's been recuperating for half a year, he's getting better."
His wife then said, "He needs to recuperate well. You didn't take care of yourself back then, and you cough at the slightest wind. Have you been drinking the lung nourishing tea I bought for you?"
Lao Gao perfunctorily replied, "I drank it, I drank it."
His wife scoffed, "You don't take my words seriously, do you? Wait until you get old, you'll regret it."
"I wouldn't disregard anyone, let alone you."
Lao Gao hugged his wife's shoulders, lowering his voice, "After we drop our little ones off at their grandmother's, shall we go out for a late-night snack?"
His wife: "Eat what? I'm exhausted."
"Let's go, I don't usually have time to accompany you."
Lao Gao said, "It's a rare opportunity. I heard there's a new place that does a great tofu noodle dish. The beef is well-braised, and they also have stir-fries. You like crayfish, right? Let's have some."
His wife was moved.
"That's settled then."
Another performance ended, and the couple clapped along with the crowd.
The silly dad behind them repeated what Lao Gao had done earlier, "That's my daughter, the one in the middle with the braids, isn't she particularly beautiful?"
After a lively half of the night, the Children's Day performance finally ended.
Lao Gao and his wife didn't have to coax the children much. As soon as the twin girls got in the car, they fell asleep. When they arrived at their grandmother's house, the two children held hands and obediently went to sleep with their grandmother.
It had been a long time since the couple had a date without the children and work. Today, they managed to recapture the feeling of dating, sneaking into the car and heading straight for the late-night snack shop.
It was past ten o'clock at night, all the other shops on the street were dark, only one small shop was brightly lit, with cars parked outside and a constant stream of people.
Just as the couple was about to queue up, they suddenly saw the focus of the crowd, Jian Jing waving at them, "Officer Gao, come sit here."
"Oh, you two are here."
Lao Gao, holding his wife's hand, sat down in the two empty seats at the square table, "What a coincidence?"
Ji Feng said, "What coincidence, didn't you know from the public account that Teacher Jian shared?"
Lao Gao: "......"
Lao Gao's wife, Jiang Lu, ignored them, giving Jian Jing several glances, "You're Jian Jing, the author, aren't you?"
Jian Jing propped up her head, turned and smiled, "Yes."
Unexpectedly excited at meeting a celebrity, Lao Gao's wife said, "I've read your books and seen your TV dramas."
"Thank you."
She smiled.
Jiang Lu usually followed celebrity gossip, but the impact of seeing a celebrity in person was entirely different. She felt as if she was sitting next to a radiant being, a mix of admiration for the beauty and a sense of self-consciousness.
She had nothing to say, so she peeled peanuts to eat and listened to their conversation.
Lao Gao asked, "Nothing planned for tonight?"
Ji Feng rested his forehead in his hand, "Don't remind me, remember the case from yesterday afternoon, the drowning one?"
Lao Gao nodded.
Yesterday afternoon they received a report of a child's body floating in a pond, discovered by a few uncles fishing.
Summer is a high-risk period for child drownings, no matter how much they warn and emphasize, there are always a few reckless children who go swimming in the wild and tragically drown.
The medical examiner determined that the child drowned before death, it wasn't a case of discarding the body after death.
But since they hadn't found the spot where the child fell into the water, they couldn't determine whether it was murder or an accidental fall.
Jian Jing said, "A reader sent me a letter, saying his friend disappeared. The description of his last outfit matches exactly with the photo in your report."
Ji Feng added, "I spent the whole day with Jian Jing tracing the child's movements."
They started discussing the timeline, deducing the mental journey from chat records, checking surveillance, investigating the route, and finally debating whether the child was alone when he reached the riverbank.
Jiang Lu was only half-following, focusing on eating her noodles.
The tofu noodles were really delicious.
When they were almost finished eating, Ji Feng concluded, "After all the hustle, it turned out to be an accident after all."
Jian Jing frowned, "Drowning while swimming in the wild, and planning to fake a fall into the water, but accidentally turning it into a real tragedy, are completely different."
"Yes, they're different," Ji Feng agreed.
Her face darkened even more.
Lao Gao tried to lighten the mood, "But your day was quite eventful."
Seeing his wife left out, he quickly added, "Right, honey?"
Called out, Jiang Lu hurriedly said, "Yes, your date was quite unique."
"Date? That's an interesting topic."
Jian Jing pondered, "A date with murder?"
Jiang Lu: "?"
Ji Feng explained, "Jian Jing is working on a script for an interview show."
Jian Jing complained, "They want me to talk about the original cases, without revealing any victims, and make it less bloody. I regretted it immediately, I thought it was just a chat over tea."
"It's a reading program for teenagers on Channel C."
Ji Feng said, "You have to be careful, or parents will complain about you."
Jian Jing glanced at him, "You seem experienced, often get complaints?"
Ji Feng chuckled.
Lao Gao chimed in, "No kidding, it's very common. When I was working at the police station, I was threatened with complaints every now and then."
The conversation veered off to the daily hassles of grassroots police officers.
Before they knew it, the late-night meal was over.
On the way home, Lao Gao was driving his wife, Jiang Lu. Still high on the adrenaline rush, he wanted to continue discussing his clever life. However, Jiang Lu was not at all interested in her husband's antics, she asked, "What's going on with those two?"
Gossip lover Lao Gao was also interested, he perked up, "Do you think there's something between them?"
"Hard to say."
Jiang Lu hesitated, "Sometimes it seems like there is, but at other times, it doesn't."
Lao Gao sighed with disappointment and shook his head, "I also find it difficult."
In front of his wife, he had nothing to hide, he spoke frankly, "Ji Feng definitely likes Teacher Jian, I've partnered with him for three or four years, I'm absolutely sure about this."
Jiang Lu: "Doesn't Teacher Jian like him? It doesn't seem like it, a woman who is not interested in a man would not stay with him for so long."
"Right?"
Lao Gao agreed, but also admitted, "But just being interested is not enough to be together. Sometimes I worry for Ji Feng, his and Teacher Jian's conditions are too far apart."
He detailed, "Teacher Jian recently changed her car again, she drove it to our bureau the other day, my goodness, I thought some wastrel had been caught. Didn't she move before? She moved into a small western-style house, oh my, we passed by the other day, it looked good just from the outside."
Jiang Lu remembered, she laughed and said, "Isn't this normal? There was a rich writer's ranking last year, she seemed to be ranked fifth? The copyright fees are several tens of millions."
Lao Gao gasped.
The couple fell silent for a while, reaching a consensus on this.
"The conditions are not equal, indeed it's difficult."
Lao Gao concluded first, then started diverging, "Wife, if your family was rich, would you choose a poor guy like me?"
Jiang Lu pondered.
"Wife? Lu Lu?"
Lao Gao raised his voice.
Jiang Lu slowly said, "Well, if I have money, it doesn't matter whether the man has money or not, don't get unnecessarily excited."
Lao Gao's voice weakened, he forced himself to keep up the momentum, "Where am I excited, I'm just casually chatting, so?"
"It still depends on the person."
Jiang Lu glanced at him, "What do you think?"
Lao Gao: "Of course it would still be me."
Jiang Lu: "......Hehe."
*
On National Day, Jian Jing's new book was released, and it once again topped the trending list.
But this had nothing to do with Ji Feng, other colleagues either wanted to go on a trip or accompany their children, he stayed behind to work as he had countless times before.
Lao Gao felt bad, he asked him, "Why don't you go to the signing event, I'll stay here this year?"
"Aren't you going to the zoo?"
Ji Feng waved his hand, "It's okay, I can handle it alone."
Lao Gao: "Go on, buy a new book from Teacher Jian to read."
Ji Feng: "I've already read it."
Lao Gao: "?"
"It's for Yun Yun, it was delivered to my house, I read it first."
He shamelessly said, "Want a spoiler?"
Lao Gao: "Get lost!"
On National Day, the sub-bureau was deserted, while the friend circle was either stuck in traffic or taking group photos, it was exceptionally lively.
Ji Feng made himself a cup of tea, opened the office system, and considered which reports he had not written. Take advantage of today's light workload and finish them quickly.
Perhaps it was the tranquility of the air, or maybe it was still hot in October, causing a sense of drowsiness and lethargy.
After writing just a few lines, his mind began to wander.
He appreciated Lao Gao's kindness, but they all didn't know that since the New Year, up until June, Teacher Jian had ignored him for months.
Only after finishing "The Demon Doctor 4" did she mercifully remove him from her blacklist.
Then, it was as if nothing had happened, as if nothing was amiss.
He usually had a good grasp of her thoughts, but this time, he was completely clueless.
However, even if he couldn't figure it out, he could make some guesses.
If certain words were left unsaid until one's dying breath, who would believe they ever existed?
But Ji Feng didn't regret his choice. If given another chance, he would still choose silence.
He had heard too many regretful messages.
"Tell so-and-so that I love her, and she should marry a good man."
"I'm sorry, mom and dad, for not being a good child."
"Tell my son that his dad doesn't blame him."
"Baby, mommy can't be with you on your birthday."
These words would always be met with tears of regret from the living.
They would be in agony, blaming themselves for not cherishing every day in the past, even regretting why the last words before parting with the dying were not "I love you."
But what's the point?
The deceased are at peace, leaving without regrets, but those who remain can never forget.
So, a long time ago, Ji Feng decided never to leave any so-called last words, unless it was to identify the murderer, which would be a different matter.
This ending, it's not bad, but fate is a strange thing, he survived.
Everything sank into oblivion because of silence.
Well, looking on the bright side, it's good enough to be alive, there's no need for other extravagant hopes. At this moment, being able to work overtime in the office, instead of visiting graves during Qingming, is already a great fortune.
At most... he'd be on duty every year from now on.
That would be fine too.