12 - We're all people and none of us should be made to feel wronged!

Zhou Yanling sat in bed for a while longer. He was unwilling to leave the quilt, still warm from Wu Fegrong’s body. Abruptly, his self-confidence increased. He had a premonition that the next calamity wouldn’t be able to knock him down. The heavens had sent Wu Fengrong to help him, an ineffable destiny.

Thinking about this calmed him, and his train of thought returned to the case. They’d had a setback since Blue Jacket was merely a thief and had had nothing to do with the Tongzhou murder case. The investigation was back to looking for possibilities from among Wu Fengong’s list of suspects. Zhou Yanling couldn’t go and talk to these people himself. He was dreadfully worried that the murderer would recognize him. But then, what could he do?

He took out his cell phone and deliberated over the two text messages sent from the unknown number before he decided to take the initiative to contact this unknown number and see what type of reaction that would get. He quickly composed and sent out a message reading: “I need more clues.”

Ten minutes later, his inbox pinged with a new message–

“You 1 must find the clues yourself. Sometimes it’s not the process that’s important, but rather the results.”

Result-oriented. It was like that fucking business leadership bullshit. He could almost believe that it was his boss on the other end, admonishing him. When investigating, it was inevitable that drastic measures would need to be used. Still, Zhou Yanling wanted to investigate without creating much difficulty for others. As an insurance claims investigator, especially when there were contradictions that appeared during the course of an investigation, he would want to carefully consider whether or not to use an illegal method just in case it caused trouble for the company. If he did create a legal liability for the company, he would have to bear the blame.

That was another reason why Wu Fengrong was a help. Wu Fengrong was the conductor. While it would be inappropriate for Zhou Yanling 2 to interfere in some of these matters, Wu Fengrong would be able to do so smoothly. For instance, for Wu Fengrong, checking the passengers’ information was merely one of his responsibilities as a conductor. For Zhou Yanling, if he looked up this information in the railroad’s database, he would be both violating personal privacy as well as illegally hacking into a government system.

Finally, when the time came to do what was necessary, it wasn’t that Zhou Yanling wouldn’t choose between different methods, it was merely that he didn’t want to go to extremes.

Zhou Yanling’s eyes froze on the name “Huang Ye”, and a thought that he couldn’t grasp flitted about his mind. He got out of bed and was about to open the door, but someone was already there. Zhao Xintao’s face had already appeared in the doorway as he ducked inside. The door closed with a bang. With his robust and stout build, he blocked the doorway with the imposing manner of someone collecting a debt. Even a fool like Zhou Yanling would be able to feel the hostility emanating from the deputy conductor.

“Where’s RongRong?” Xintao impolitely asked: “If you’re injured you should go to the infirmary to lie down. This is the conductor’s bed.”

Zhou Yanling didn’t want to make Wu Fengrong lose face: “He didn’t say where he was going. He forgot to take his coat so I was going to try to look for him. You 3 could guide me. I don’t think he’s gone far.” He spoke as he took off the military coat.

Zhao Xintao’s expression became uglier. He seized the coat, but Zhou Yanling didn’t relinquish it immediately.

“I won’t trouble you 4 , Mr. Zhou. I’ll bring this coat to him. I’ll have to ask you 5 to please leave.”

“How could I be so shameless? The conductor has taken such good care of me that of course I should convey my gratitude.”

In this way, the clothes were stretched in a tug-of-war between the two men. Zhao Xintao wanted to speak but, because of this, couldn’t. Suddenly, he threw a punch at Zhou Yanling’s face! Zhou Yanling reared back to avoid the blow and fisted his hand into the other man’s clothes. Surprised, Zhao Xintao was dragged forward a step, then was thrown face-down onto the floor. The corner of Zhao Xintao’s 6 mouth twisted into a mocking sneer, which he didn’t bother to try to hide, and he bluntly tore into him, showering him with abuse: “How arrogant you are! I know what evil you’ve done. You’re a killer and you’re still trying to lead RongRong astray? I won’t let you! What type of person is he to you? You’re dishonest. If you dare to harm him, I, Zhao Xintao, will fight you with my life! 7 ”

While the words were intimidating, his appearance was really too embarrassing. Zhou Yanling could see that he wasn’t a fighter. His heart was a little disturbed and he let him grab the overcoat. Zhao Xintao seized the overcoat, with something of a self-satisfied expression, and turned around to open the door. A feeling of mischievousness rose up in Zhou Yanling. He swept his leg horizontally and, with a clang, kicked the door shut again. Zhao Xintao was angry. Completely unsurprised, he turned, his fists clenched. Zhou Yanling nimbly ducked underneath his arm and easily grabbed the overcoat from the crook of his arm. Then he shook it, deliberately dangling it in front of his eyes, taunting him.

The door was still open a crack since there hadn’t been enough time to close the door entirely. From outside, footsteps could be heard from time to time, yet no one was aware of the fierce fight being waged inside. Zhao Xintao fought fiercely to get the overcoat back. His eyes were red with anxiety and his posture was like that of a tiger caught in a trap as he pulled on Zhou Yanling’s hair. Zhou Yanling retreated to the door and, in no time at all, Zhao Xintao’s fist caught up with his eyelid.

There was a loud bang! The door flew open and a man’s body flew out and landed on the floor opposite. The man lay there for a good while before standing. This frightened a school girl who, at that point, had been just passing by. She jumped. Her scream echoed far and wide.

When Wu Fengrong heard the scream, he had been on his way back to the conductor’s office to fetch his forgotten coat. He sped up and accidentally bumped into Zhao Xintao, standing in the doorway with his hands clasped together and eyes red and panic-stricken. To the side, Zhou Yanling was lying on the ground, a hand covering his nose and his breathing labored.

“What are you doing? What do you think this looks like to the passengers?”

His tone was so severe, it was frightening. Zhao Xintao had already gone over to help Zhou Yanling up.

“RongRong, your deputy conductor’s fists are really difficult to defend again, a,” Zhou Yanling was gasping for breath as he forced himself to stand, “Where did you learn martial arts? I’ll practice some moves so if I run into this knife 8 again I’ll be able to defend myself.”

As Zhao Xintao stood up, he shouted: “Bullshit! I didn’t hit you! You fell yourself!” His protest was a little weak. He wasn’t sure at all whether or not he had actually landed a hit. He hadn’t felt his fist connect, but Zhou Yanling really had suddenly fallen to the ground. At that time, the door hadn’t been closed, so it was possible that, when he fell against it, the door had opened.

“Zhao Xintao!” Wu Fengrong shouted angrily.

Zhao Xintao instinctively trembled, the flesh of both cheeks wobbling.

“You’re an adult. Who taught you to brandish your fists at passengers? How could you want to fight someone who’s already laid out on the ground? Do you want me to provide you with someone to test your martial arts on?” Wu Fengrong’s face was livid. His expression couldn’t get any worse, “ If you can’t remember what the uniform you’re wearing represents, give it to me right now and get off the train.”

These words were already very harsh and were meant to force someone to before they acted. Zhao Xintao’s head was buzzing, and he instantly went cold from head to foot. He really hadn’t thought that venting his feelings would escalate into such a bad situation. He had originally only wanted to warn Zhou Yanling that he mustn’t do anything to Wu Fengrong. Now, his mind was overwhelmed by the fact that, since Wu Fengrong was his superior and the conductor of this train, as his subordinate, he had disgraced Wu Fengrong and had shamed all his fellow crew members.

He was obliged to apologize, he had to apologize. Any explanation that he gave would be useless. Zhao Xintao closed his eyes and bowed at his waist.

“I’m sorry. I’m really, incredibly sorry. I was too reckless and completely overlooked my responsibilities as a member of the crew. This is entirely my fault and I won’t use violence against Mr. Zhou again. This was a serious dereliction of duty…..”

Wu Fengrong coldly reprimanded: “I don’t consider you to be reckless but arrogant.”

“Yes, yes, yes. It was entirely my own fault. Not only did I neglect my duties but I was also arrogant and ignorant. I am really, very sorry. I’m unworthy. I will reflect. I’m willing to do anything…..”

Wu Fengrong interrupted: “Okay.” He turned to Zhou Yanling and bowed: “Mr. Zhou, as the conductor I apologize on behalf of my crew for this serious incident that has occurred on my train. I was negligent in my supervision. I am very sorry. For any harm done, I take full responsibility and I will compensate you 9 . Xintao is my subordinate, so he doesn’t have the authority to take responsibility. He doesn’t have the right to promise compensation either. As the conductor, I guarantee that you have the legal right to make a complaint and to claim compensation. I also promise you that this will not happen again.”

He spoke in a cold tone of voice that wasn’t any gentler than the way he had spoken to Zhao Xintao. On the surface, it was an apology. But actually, it was meant to protect Zhao Xintao, to keep him from shouldering the responsibility. Zhou Yanling had no other choice but to angrily say “forget about it, it’s nothing”. Just a moment ago, he had attempted to fake that fall. He had left that door open on purpose and had then fallen. Zhao Xintao felt that he harbored wicked intentions and that he was fleeing from his crime. He could suffer losses, but he won’t suffer just anything. Faking his fall was a little underhanded but it was just meant to show that he wasn’t one to be bullied.

Wu Fengrong was not a fool. He knew that it was unlikely that Zhou Yanling was completely innocent. A retired armed police officer versus a member of the train’s crew. It was clear who would come out on top. But, in front of an outsider, he had to make the appropriate gestures or else he would lose reputation as a conductor. Zhou Yanling would have no other choice but to settle this behind closed doors. The situation wasn’t really as serious as described. Most of all, Wu Fengrong didn’t like others pretending to be simple-minded towards him. Zhou Yanling would not want this trivial matter to cause a disagreement between the two of them.

Zhou Yanling still wanted to say more, but Wu Fengrong told him to leave first. Only Zhao Xintao remained.

The atmosphere between the two was a little heavy. Wu Fengrong lit a cigarette. He felt really twitchy and his head hurt so much it was difficult to endure. If he hadn’t been able to keep a somewhat cool head, then he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep from cursing. Zhao Xintao’s expression already looked much better. Although he was always a couple of steps behind, he wasn’t really stupid. He had managed to understand Wu Fengrong’s intentions, so his mind was already at ease. When all was said and done, he and Wu Fengrong were “teammates”. No matter how arrogant Zhou was, Wu Fengrong would still protect Zhao Xintao 10 causing Zhou to feel bitter.

“Tell me what’s going on.” Wu Fengrong said.

Zhao Xintao forced a smile: “You can just think of me as a stupid fatso, ba. I’ve already lost face.”

“If you’re ashamed now, why weren’t you ashamed when you hit him?”

“When I saw him here, I just saw red. You and he……are in that type of relationship, ba? The two of you kissed in front of everyone. Do you think I’m blind, ma? Early this morning, I saw you cleaning his wounds, and I thought it was strange. And sure enough, it was like this!”

“It’s not like you didn’t know from the start that I like men.”

“Is that really the same as this? He could’ve killed someone! It’s all over the TV and all the police in this country are already trying to find him, but you already trust him this much? How do you know that he’s not harboring evil intentions? RongRong, as I’ve said, this isn’t the time to want to play around. I thought that you were going to behave appropriately.”

Wu Fengrong removed his cigarette from his mouth and stayed silent. Even without speaking, he knew Zhao Xintao already had a rough idea of his answer. He was unable to clearly explain the emotions attached to this matter, and the two of them were only just becoming aware of the feelings between them. Zhao Xintao wouldn’t be able to understand. Zhao Xintao was well-intentioned and he was right to take precautions against Zhou Yanling. He’d only meant that fight as a warning to Zhou Yanling. Of course, he was incorrect in the way he’d gone about it. Wu Fengrong wasn’t a child in need of protection, and he could handle Zhao Xintao’s doubts about his judgment. But striking someone without first speaking to them was the actions of someone who was too self-righteous. Zhao Xintao was a conductor, not an imperial bodyguard. He didn’t need to impatiently rush to the front lines to protect anything.

“You really like him? Zhao Xintao asked.

Wu Fengrong tossed away the cigarette butt and laughed brokenly: “I like a lot of people. If sometimes the people I like are scum, isn’t that normal?” Without waiting for Zhao Xintao to speak, he continued: “This old fucker is running around in the mountains all day and night. It’s only natural to want some fun. Think of this as a new dick 11 . Maybe tomorrow I’ll switch to someone else. When have you ever seen me go steady with someone?”

Zhao Xintao listened and couldn’t continue. Wu Fengrong had never dissembled, not even in front of a superior. There was nothing he had ever avoided.

“No matter how fond you are, you can’t mix it with work. Isn’t it easy for you to find people? Quickly switch this old dick for a new one before it’s too late.”

Wu Fengrong let out a long sigh: “I want to give him a chance.”

Zhao Xintao asked: “Do you have any proof or are you just fixated?”

Wu Fengrong spoke: “If I must have a reason, it will be difficult for me to provide you with one. Xintao, he’s in a difficult spot right now, and I could ruin his life with only a snap of my fingers. It would be easy to turn him over to the police, ma? Think I can’t do it, ma? Of course I could. I don’t have to take on this responsibility. I don’t have to take this risk. I might even get another commendation. The country’s second most wanted is in my grasp. Still, for what do I want another golden badge? Then, wouldn’t it be better if I just tattooed the words ‘achievements and virtue’ on my forehead? But I’m not someone who can do something like that. Exchanging his life for achievements and virtue is impossible for me. If there’s even a hint of his innocence, I’m willing to go and double-check. I can only ask for you to give him a chance. If it turns out that he really did kill him, I, Wu Fengrong, will take responsibility and resign. I absolutely won’t say otherwise. This is an oath that I’m willing to swear.”

“You!” Zhao Xintao was breathless with anger: “It would be best for almost everyone if he was handed over to the police now. The police can still investigate even if he’s innocent, ya. Don’t tell me you’re even better than the police? That you’re even more discerning in these criminal matters?”

“Already at the station, he was almost stabbed after he exchanged a few words with a guard. I fucking wish we could just wait for the police to investigate.”

“He’s conning you! Call everyone here and we can vote on it.”

Wu Fengrong’s eyes narrowed and his face was as dark as ink: “Are you talking to me of democracy? Zhao Xintao, think about this: how did you come to be the deputy conductor? If I hadn’t forcefully pushed management, you would still be in the damn boiler room shoveling coal! Don’t talk to me about the majority and minority. We’re all people and none of us should be made to feel wronged!”

Zhao Xintao was immediately silenced by his shouting. When he was promoted to deputy conductor, it was because Wu Fengrong had earnestly gone to talk to management to protect him. It was only because of Wu Fengrong that he was promoted, because Wu Fengrong had been partnered with him for so many years and because the two of them worked together so well. It was only natural that the person he trusted most would be his second-in-command. At that time, public opinion was strongly in Wu Fengrong’s favor. He had recently gotten a commendation, so management valued him highly. As such, it was only natural that the subordinate he was fond of followed him. Otherwise, no matter the qualifications, the ability, and networking, Zhao Xintao would have been unable to reach this position.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. RongRong, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just afraid…..and I don’t think it’s necessary…..” Zhao Xintao, distressed to his core, spoke: “If you’re not willing to part with him because you feel he was wronged, then it doesn’t matter if you play with him to amuse yourself.”

“What are you saying. You’re talking as though I’m a fatuous and self-indulgent ruler.”

Zhao Xintao laughed together with him for a bit as the tension in the air eased.

The author has something to say

Zhou · Professional Accident Stager · The Real Trickster · Yanling

Zhao Xintao is a good man. He’s just too loyal and protective of his master. Don’t worry~

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T/N:

courteous you added for clarity courteous you informal informal the author had originally written Zhou Yanling (I believe by accident) informal ‘you’s throughout this paragraph Thank you to @Daed informal ‘you’ throughout paragraph added for clarity 新鲜黄瓜: cucumber