ECG -Chapter 106 Don’t Wait Anymore, They Won’t Be Coming Back

The winter vacation was very short. Once the first month of the lunar year ended, school started again. Lin Hao, Wu Xiaozhou, Bai Zhitao, and Xia Yumeng took a hard sleeper train back to school together.

Lin Hao had originally contacted Zhang Sisi ahead of time, but seeing her hesitant attitude, he knew she wanted to travel with Li Yibo, so he let it go.

The sleeper compartment lights had gone out. Lin Hao and Xia Yumeng sat side by side on the lower bunk, whispering to each other. Across from them were Wu Xiaozhou and Bai Zhitao, who were clinging to each other affectionately.

In the darkness, Wu Xiaozhou’s hands were wandering around, and he was having the time of his life.

Lin Hao was experienced and steady-minded. Besides, he and Xia Yumeng had not known each other for very long, so he wasn’t as impatient. He only held her slender waist.

At this very moment.

A figure jumped into a residential house in the provincial capital.

He Qing had gone to a dinner gathering that evening. After the meal, someone had tried to drag him along to play mahjong, but he refused.

He had been having fun throughout the entire first month of the lunar year and was indeed a little tired. He just wanted to go home and have a quiet night. On the way back, he called his younger sister as well. He hadn’t been able to catch sight of her since the New Year started, and since no one was at home, he wanted to chat with her.

His wife Shang Na had taken their son Nannan back to her parents’ home, leaving the house quiet and peaceful.

After changing into cotton pajamas, he first went to offer three incense sticks at the memorial tablets of his two younger brothers. Then he walked over to the tea table by the floor-to-ceiling window, sat down, and started boiling water to make tea.

The electric kettle rumbled. He Qing lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, feeling a heavy sense of suffocation.

Every year around this time, he especially missed his two younger brothers. If they hadn’t died, the children would probably be running around their knees and playing together by now.

He sat there in a daze for a long time. When the water boiled, he was just about to straighten up and pick up the kettle when he suddenly felt something cold pressed against the back of his head. His whole body instantly tensed.

He Qing didn’t move. A few seconds later, he let out a soft sigh.

“Chen Yu?”

“Big brother, Happy New Year!”

A low, hoarse voice sounded. Then Chen Yu stepped around in front of He Qing, but the pitch-black muzzle of the gun in his hand remained aimed at him.

Chen Yu was wearing a worn-out padded railway worker’s coat. A layer of short stubble had grown back on his head. His visibly thinner face and dirty-looking clothes showed how much he had suffered.

“You really did come running back after all.” He Qing sighed.

Chen Yu grinned, revealing a row of neat, white teeth. He reached out, picked up a pack of Soft Zhonghua cigarettes from the tea table, pulled one out, put it in his mouth, then lit it and took a deep drag.

“Good stuff!” He grinned. “It’s been a long time since I smoked such a good cigarette!”

“Before the New Year, Xiaoyun bought you four cartons, didn’t she?” He Qing asked curiously.

“Big brother, you’ve been inside before too. You think those Zhonghua cigarettes would actually end up in my hands?”

He Qing suddenly understood. He reached up and touched his head, laughing at himself.

“That was how many years ago? I’d almost forgotten. Next time, next time I’ll tell Xiaoyun not to buy such expensive ones!”

Chen Yu shook his head and said word by word:

“There won’t be a next time.”

The room fell silent for a long while.

The electric kettle sensed that the water temperature had dropped, so it started boiling again, making a “whoosh” sound.

“For these past two years, I haven’t had a single proper night’s sleep. I’ve had to constantly guard against someone making a move on me from the shadows.”

Chen Yu smoked, his tone as calm as if he were talking about someone else’s story.

He Qing picked up the tea container, grabbed a handful of black tea, and placed it into a red clay Xishi Yixing teapot.

“Zheng Wei and Liu Wenguang boasted to me that they could make you close your eyes forever within a month. What a pity. They’re just two useless guys who look impressive but are actually worthless. When they come back…”

“No need to wait. They won’t be coming back.”

Chen Yu’s tone was still as casual as ever.

He Qing’s hand holding the purple clay teapot trembled, and the tea spilled outside the cup.

The front door sounded.

He Qingyun’s voice came from outside:

“Brother, you’ve really improved! How come you didn’t go play mahjong today?”

……

Lin Hao and the others arrived at school at 6:30 in the morning. Wu Xiaozhou and Bai Zhitao went back first. Lin Hao took a taxi to send Xia Yumeng to the Normal University before returning to his own school.

That evening, Lin Hao once again carried some local specialties from Chunhe. He first went to visit Fan Gang, then went to Dean Li Bohan’s house, and finally went to his counselor Wu Shanliang’s home.

When he returned to the dormitory, Wu Xiaozhou had just come back as well. Lin Hao had forced him to visit their professional teacher Wang Leping’s house and the counselor’s house too.

Cui Gang and Fatty Meng were both practicing in the training room, while Wu Xiaozhou was sprawled on his own bed reading music theory books.

Lin Hao was washing his feet when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Zhou Dongbing.

He found it strange. Why would Brother Zhou call him this late at night?

“Brother Zhou.”

“Haizi!” Zhou Dongbing’s deep voice came from the phone. “I’ve come to the provincial capital!”

Lin Hao was stunned. He didn’t understand why Zhou Dongbing had come to the provincial capital. Calling him so late at night, could it be that he wanted to invite him and Wu Xiaozhou out for drinks?

“Brother Zhou, did you come here for a meeting? Are you trying to let me play host?” Lin Hao joked while holding the phone in one hand and using a towel to wipe his feet with the other.

“Old Qing and Xiaoyun are dead!”

“Who?”

Lin Hao was so shocked that he almost dropped his phone into the wash basin. With a loud bang, his other foot kicked the basin over, spilling the water everywhere.

Wu Xiaozhou hurriedly got up to grab the mop, muttering, “You even say I’m reckless and careless? Look at yourself. Every single day you’re the one making a mess…”

“Brother Zhou, you’re not joking, right?”

Lin Hao’s mind went completely blank. It felt too unbelievable. On New Year’s Eve, he had still spoken with Fourth Sister on the phone and they had even agreed to go eat barbecue together. How could she possibly be dead?

“Let’s talk when we meet. I haven’t entered the city yet. I was just passing by your school, so I called you.”

“Okay, wait for me at the main entrance. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes!”

After saying that, Lin Hao hung up.

Wu Xiaozhou was still holding the mop and wiping the floor. When he saw Lin Hao start putting on his socks, he asked curiously, “What happened?”

“Fourth Sister is dead!”

“What?”

Wu Xiaozhou was also shocked. “How is that possible?”

“Are you coming? Brother Zhou is here!” Lin Hao asked him.

“Wait for me!”

Wu Xiaozhou threw down the mop and hurriedly went to put on his clothes.

The two of them ran out of the school in less than ten minutes. A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class was parked by the roadside near the entrance.

Seeing someone vaguely sitting in the front passenger seat, Lin Hao reached out and opened the rear door.

Zhou Dongbing turned his head and said, “Get in.”

Lin Hao and Wu Xiaozhou quickly jumped into the car. He saw that the person in the front passenger seat was the bespectacled, fat man with the surname Hu, so he greeted him.

“Hello, Brother Hu.”

Hu Zhigang nodded. The road from Chunhe to the provincial capital was difficult to travel, and the two of them had taken turns driving for more than seven hours. At this moment, both of them looked exhausted.

“Brother Zhou, did something really happen to Fourth Sister?”

Lin Hao still couldn’t believe what he had heard.

“Yeah. As soon as I got the news, I rushed over here.”

Zhou Dongbing drove with a serious expression.

Lin Hao felt as if he were in a dream. How could this be possible?

“When did it happen? How did she die?” he asked again.

The streetlights and trees on both sides of the road quickly flashed past outside the car. The vehicle was silent for a while before Zhou Dongbing finally said in a low voice:

“Last night around ten o’clock. At Old Qing’s house. The scene had the bodies of Old Qing, Chen Yu, and Xiaoyun. All three of them were dead.”

Wu Xiaozhou asked, “Who is Chen Yu?”

“Xiaoyun’s boyfriend. He was sentenced to twenty years, but he escaped.”

Zhou Dongbing answered.

Lin Hao’s nose turned sore. He held back his tears. He knew this wasn’t the time to discuss the details, so he asked:

“Where are we going?”

“Old Qing’s house.”