Things were completely out of control, beyond Chu Jiajun's original plan. All they had now was this truck, two or three broken guns, and a hostage.
When Ji Yongtao woke up, he could hear Chu Jiajun mumbling to himself, nervously mumbling something. Seeing Ji Yongtao awake, the man muttered a few more incoherent words, and then, in a tone that was strangely gentle, he said: "I really want to finish this job and then call it a day."
Chu Jiajun: Why do you treat me like this?
Cheng Jiu, who was in the driver's seat, cursed: "What the hell did we even finish this job?! Where else can we go now?!"
Chu Jiajun's tone suddenly became angry and sharp: I'm talking to Brother Yong, not you!
In despair, his emotions completely lost control. He pulled out his gun and pressed it against Ji Yongtao's forehead. "He's right. What's the point of me saying more to you? We've been apart for so many days, and when we meet, you ask about the people I killed. Have you ever asked about how I'm doing? A bunch of dead people are more important to you than me?!"
Ji Yongtao's forehead was bruised by the muzzle of the gun. His accomplice next to him finally lost his patience and said: "There's no way he can escape, so let's shoot this cop!"
The atmosphere in the car suddenly froze.
The next second, the door of the carriage was suddenly opened by the man, and Ji Yongtao was kicked out of the speeding truck. He rolled a long distance on the ground, and there was a sound of bone cracking in his shoulder. His head hit the ground, and there was suddenly a ringing in his ears.
Amid the ringing in his ears, he heard gunshots. Several gunshots came from the speeding truck, followed by the roar of the truck losing control and crashing, and finally stopped there.
A figure covered in blood walked out of the darkness inside the carriage door.
Chu Jiajun holstered the gun he had used to kill his accomplice and ran towards the unconscious Ji Yongtao. The blindfold had come off, and Ji Yongtao saw that he was surrounded by a suburban road. On both sides of the bumpy and rugged road were endless, half-human-high weeds.
Chu Jiajun walked towards him, his blood staining the weeds red. Covered in blood, he held the man tightly in his arms: I won't let them touch you. Anyone who touches you will die.
His tone was completely off, like a violin out of tune.
Chu Jiajun's next words were filled with pitiful tears: "Brother Yong, please don't arrest me, okay? Just pretend you don't know about my affairs, and let's run away together, okay?"
——
To be continued
Love River Mystery Record: Bound Ears 21
The truck crashed into a rocky pier on the side of the road, shattering the left headlight and leaving a dent in the front. Chu Jiajun dragged the bodies from the truck and kicked them into the grass. The bodies were instantly swallowed by the tall, dense grass.
He encountered some trouble when dealing with the body of his nephew, Chengjiu. The huge corpse looked like a mountain of fat and was beyond his reach.
He had to cast his eyes on that person. That look was just like the one Xu Fei gave him every time he forgot to bring his keys and rode his bicycle to the office to look for Ji Yongtao.
Chu Jiajun: Brother Yong, can you lend a hand?
Ji Yongtao didn't answer.
Chu Jiajun: I can't move it by myself, this fat guy is too heavy.
Chu Jiajun: Brother Yong, can I help you untie it? Please help me, otherwise there is no way to get it out.
Chu Jiajun: Brother Yong? Brother Yong?!
He rushed to Ji Yongtao's side and found that the man was unconscious.
Chu Jiajun took a half step back in shock, then squatted on the ground in a daze. He didn't know how to deal with the situation, and he didn't know whether to wait for the man to wake up on his own or send him to the hospital.
At this moment, two hands holding stones hit his head; Chu Jiajun reacted quickly and barely dodged, and found that it was Ji Yongtao who was pretending to be dead and wanted to attack him.
Chu Jiajun snatched the stone: I think you really want to die!
-
Ji Yongtao took Xu Fei shopping and passed by a department store. He saw a small TV in the window. This expensive small appliance was his income for several months. Many people looked at the window with envy when passing by.
A bonus of five hundred dollars arrived last week. Normally, the brothers would go out for a nice meal the day they got their bonus. But if they save the money, maybe they'll have enough to buy a small TV this year.
But even then, saving up for a cell phone is a long shot, and buying a car is a distant dream. More and more people are going into business. The Aiyahe neighborhood is allocated housing by employers, and half the residents are employees of the cotton mill. Lately, there's been some anxiety. Apparently, the mill's performance is failing, and they're considering a merger with the textile market, but they can't find anyone to take over.
Ji Yongtao exhaled a puff of cigarette. Never mind. This kind of thing wasn't his place to worry about. Even if the sky fell, the police had a stable job.
Passing by a supermarket, Chu Jiajun wanted to use his pocket money to buy imported chocolate. Ji Yongtao was not surprised, as this guy spent all his pocket money on food, drink and entertainment.
He went home first, washed and cut vegetables, and started cooking. After a while, his younger brother came back.
Chu Jiajun: Guess what I won in the lottery when I went to the supermarket to buy chocolate?
Ji Yongtao shook the water off his hands and turned to see him standing at the kitchen door. Chu Jiajun was holding a small gift box and pulled out a small TV. It was brand new, only the size of a palm, with a long antenna extending out.
For some reason, Ji Yongtao was speechless. He watched Chu Jiajun throw away the small TV and take out a rectangular gift box from behind him: Guess what else I won?
The scene in the kitchen changed, transforming into a train. Passengers on both sides were trembling, their heads in their hands. Chu Jiajun stood in the middle of the aisle, took a rifle from a gift box, and walked towards him leisurely. With each step, he fired in both directions, and blood splattered from the windows from far to near.
He walked towards Ji Yongtao, with corpses lying on the ground behind him. When he walked in front of the man, he pointed the gun at the man's eyebrows.
Chu Jiajun asked, guess what you drew again?
He suddenly felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows. He woke from a nightmare. In front of him, Chu Jiajun was hesitantly touching the wound between his eyebrows with a finger, but when she saw that he was awake, she withdrew her finger.
Ji Yongtao was dragged into the car by him. The fat man's body had been taken out. Chu Jiajun tied a rope around its ankles and tied the other end of the rope to a stone pier on the side of the road. Then he opened the rear door and started the car.
Ji Yongtao was the only person in the blood-stained trunk. It was pitch dark, pitch dark, and they had no idea where the car was going.
The car used for the crime had brown stickers on the windows, making it impossible to see inside from the outside. It was so dark outside that for a few minutes, Ji Yongtao almost thought he was dead and had gone to hell, where he would stay in this endless darkness.
No one spoke at first. Chu Jiajun tied him to a chair and fed him some water. It was too dark for Ji Yongtao to see clearly, but he tasted a fishy taste in his mouth before realizing it was blood.
He vomited it out. Chu Jiajun advised him: You have to eat it, otherwise you will die.
Ji Yongtao refused to eat the food he gave him.
The car drove for a long time in the endless darkness and entered a forest. There were trees all around, and we were stuck in the middle.
Chu Jiajun stopped the car, stared out the window, waiting for dawn.
Ji Yongtao heard him say: I thought you were dead.
Ji Yongtao also thought he was going to die. When Chu Jiajun hit him with the stone in his hand, he thought he would lose consciousness and then die.
But the man only hit him once, and seeing that he was unconscious, he didn't dare to do anything else.
During the brief period of calm, Ji Yongtao rarely took the initiative to speak to him.
Ji Yongtao: Why did you pretend to be Xu Fei at that time?
Chu Jiajun: I have to leave the train station.
Ji Yongtao: Where did you leave Xu Fei?
Chu Jiajun: Maybe a little past Taizhou Station.
Ji Yongtao: You do remember it.
Chu Jiajun: ...I wouldn't have remembered it originally, but I was afraid you would ask.
Ji Yongtao: Is it really near Taizhou Station?
In the darkness, Chu Jiajun nodded.
Ji Yongtao: Okay, I understand.
Chu Jiajun took the last two cigarettes from the pack and gave him one first. In the dark carriage, two red dots flickered, and the air was filled with the smell of tobacco.
After a while, Chu Jiajun's voice came out softly: I want to be a good Xu Fei.
Ji Yongtao: But you use his name and do all kinds of bad things. You can't be a good person.
Chu Jiajun: That's because no one taught me. If I knew how to be one, if someone taught me, I would definitely be able to do it well.
Ji Yongtao: Are you really going to college?
Chu Jiajun nodded.
Ji Yongtao: Not a gangster anymore?
Chu Jiajun nodded.
Ji Yongtao: Then you'll be like me, earning a few hundred yuan a month, commuting to crowded buses, drinking cheap alcohol, and smoking domestic cigarettes. You'll only go to the imported supermarket once a year, and you'll have to count your money.
Chu Jiajun's tone changed, as if she was crying: It's all fine.
Ji Yongtao: Why is it possible now but not before?
Chu Jiajun lowered his head, and the red dot of the cigarette trembled slightly in the darkness: Because I want to be Xu Fei forever.
His voice was murmured with tears. "I know you treat me well because I'm Xu Fei. It's been because of this from the beginning. If you knew from the beginning that I wasn't Xu Fei, you wouldn't have taken me home."
Ji Yongtao did not answer.
Chu Jiajun: Why? Why does Xu Fei have it, and why don't I have these good things? I know Xu Fei is not wrong, but what can I do? If I surrender to you right away, will I not be shot? Tell me the truth.
The red dot of Ji Yongtao's cigarette slowly shook from side to side.
Chu Jiajun: So tell me, what should I do? I've tried so hard to be Xu Fei, can you let me continue? Let's find a place where no one knows us and continue being Xu Fei. Then I'll go to school, learn English, and find a job. I won't rob anymore, I won't shop at imported goods stores, and I don't want a big house. I don't want anything anymore, can you let me continue being Xu Fei? I beg you...
Ji Yongtao: I have been to Li Village and know about your situation.
Ji Yongtao: Do you still remember your mother?
Chu Jiajun shook his head. He didn't remember anything. His adoptive father didn't allow him to mention his previous home. He never mentioned it, never thought about it, and gradually forgot about it.
Ji Yongtao: That's fine, it's sad to remember it.
Chu Jiajun: Brother Yong, if we leave together, will your company still pay you every month?
Ji Yongtao: No. The way the company works is that you have to work for them before they pay you.
Chu Jiajun: Then who pays the company?
Ji Yongtao: Country.
Chu Jiajun: Then who gives money to the country?
Ji Yongtao: ...people across the country.
Chu Jiajun: Then who will give everyone money?
Ji Yongtao: Unit.
This mysterious cycle first appeared in Chu Jiajun's mind, and it began to spin like an endless circle. He then asked: Why do some units pay more and some pay less?
Ji Yongtao: Some units earn more.
Chu Jiajun: Then why don't those who earn less try to rob those who earn more? How foolish!
Ji Yongtao used a powerful logic to end this vicious cycle: because robbery is illegal and the penalty is execution, no one wants to be executed, and no one wants to flee. Everyone wants to be Xu Fei and live a peaceful life, so everyone can live a good life.
Not knowing how much he understood, Chu Jiajun was stunned for a long time and nodded slightly.
Chu Jiajun: If you run away with me, do you have to change your unit?
Ji Yongtao: We have no identity and cannot enter any unit, so we can only work illegally.
Chu Jiajun: Working illegally means the things I did on the street, right?
Ji Yongtao: Yes.
Chu Jiajun: If you don't want to work illegally, Xu Fei can't work illegally either.
Ji Yongtao: Yes.
Chu Jiajun: ...If you sell me to your company, how much money will your company give you?
Ji Yongtao: ...
Chu Jiajun: Will your company like you very much?
Ji Yongtao: ...They will give you a little money, maybe a few hundred yuan. And then they will give you an honor, or maybe not.
Chu Jiajun: What is honor?
Ji Yongtao: They will call me a hero or something.
Chu Jiajun: "What what" hero?
Ji Yongtao: ...protecting the safety of people's lives and property...and so on.
Chu Jiajun: Is this a great honor?
Ji Yongtao: Very big.
Chu Jiajun: Are you going to sell me to the company in exchange for this thing?
The red dot on Ji Yongtao's side fell down and disappeared.
Ji Yongtao: I won't sell you. If you were Xu Fei, why would I sell you?
Chu Jiajun: What if I were Chu Jiajun?
Ji Yongtao was silent for a long time. The night wind howled through the wild woods. In the moonless night, everything in the car was immersed in a gentle and silent dream.
In the silence after the wind stopped, Ji Yongtao's voice was very soft: Then I will take you on your way.
Chu Jiajun: Why don't you just say kill me?
Ji Yongtao: They're different. Killing you is hoping you won't come back; sending you to death is hoping you'll have a good sleep, wake up, and start over again.
Chu Jiajun's cigarette burned out, and the red dot drifted on the ground like red petals, submerged in the muddy darkness:...Why are you crying?
Ji Yongtao couldn't hold back his tears anymore: Because I wanted to save you, I wanted you to start over again, and you should have everything you deserved because I felt I had let you down, because I didn't recognize you at the train station, and didn't end it all before it all started; I said I would give you a home, but I couldn't give you anything.
Ji Yongtao: Xiaofei, I beg you, give me the gun and I'll send you off. It'll only take a moment, it won't hurt. Just close your eyes, open them again, and when you wake up, you'll be a new person, remembering nothing. You'll have a dad, a mom, and a school to go to. They'll work hard to buy you KFC, Coke, and a big house... They'll cherish you and won't let you suffer even a little...
The wind rushed in from the open window, ruffling Chu Jiajun's long hair. He leaned over, and a moment later, the ropes around Ji Yongtao were cut.
-
At daybreak, the truck was parked in the weeds.
The sky and earth stood at the border of gray and black, the outlines of all things just beginning to emerge. In the distance, by a shallow river, reeds grew so tall that they almost obscured the sky. The ground was covered with soft reed feathers, like a cashmere blanket.
Chu Jiajun knelt by the river, looking at his own reflection in the water. He washed his face and hands, cleaning off the blood. Ji Yongtao stood behind him, his dark hair drifting into the water.
The hair, severed by the blade, hung unevenly beside the ear in a somewhat disheveled manner. The clump of hair drifted away with the water, and Chu Jiajun watched it drift away, silent. That face, usually smiling, now, on the riverbank at dawn, exuded a tranquility even clearer and colder than the water itself.
Chu Jiajun's lips trembled slightly: What should I do if you are not there?
Ji Yongtao: Leave two bullets in the gun.
The gun was casually thrown to the ground, no longer a target for grabs. Chu Jiajun picked up the gun, inspected it skillfully, and then fired into the air.
The sound of several gunshots startled countless birds from the bushes, their wings covering the sky and the ground, wandering north and south. He knelt there, head tilted up, staring blankly at the flock of birds.
Ji Yongtao finished trimming his hair, put down the knife and picked up the gun.
Ji Yongtao: When you go on a journey, you have to take something with you, otherwise you won't be able to live a peaceful life.
Ji Yongtao: You have nothing left, so just take me with you. When you leave, I will follow you, and you will take me with you.
Chu Jiajun: ...What if I don't want to be a human being anymore?
Ji Yongtao: It's good to be a human being, why don't you want to be a human being anymore?
Chu Jiajun raised his head, his bright eyes reflecting the flock of birds in the gray sky: It would be better to be a bird.
Chu Jiajun chuckled: Life is so hard. I have to learn English and also learn how to work.
Ji Yongtao: What would happen if a bird became part of KFC?
Chu Jiajun: Why don't you go to KFC? That will be fine.
They both laughed. The birds dispersed, and once again only the swaying reeds swayed by the river. Reed feathers fell all over him, clinging to the bloody spots.
Ji Yongtao: Tell me when you are ready and I will tell you too.
Chu Jiajun was still looking at the sky, but there were no birds there.
His lips opened and closed, whispering something.
Ji Yongtao: What do you want to say?
Suddenly, the man turned to look at him, his eyes wide open, with a strange and cold look.
Chu Jiajun: I don't want to die.
The next moment, Ji Yongtao opened the gun in his hand with a stone, and his figure slipped into the reed marsh like a ghost and disappeared.
After getting his high blood pressure medication from the hospital, Ji Yongtao returned to his residential complex. He walked slowly, his shadow, with the setting sun behind him, weighed heavily on the concrete steps of the hallway.
There were a few people at the entrance of the corridor, seemingly visiting relatives. Their children were pushing a medical wheelchair, with a white-haired old man sitting in it. Ji Yongtao passed by them and couldn't help but glance at the old man a few more times; he thought he looked familiar.
The old man's hair and beard were completely white, his eyes were cloudy and dull, and he had a breathing tube in his nose. But when he and Ji Yongtao saw each other, they were both slightly stunned.
The old man's daughter embarrassedly stepped in and said, "Excuse me, my dad has Alzheimer's and always stares at others. We brought him back today to visit his old colleagues and are getting ready to leave."