SFTD -Chapter 267 John in the Wind

As the entire June 12th Lin illegal organ transplant case was handed over, Zhou Hai and the others finally reached a temporary stopping point in their work. After all, the special investigation task force still had to continue its inspections. Following a few days of rest, Zhou Hai led his team through the seven districts and five cities of Dongnan to begin a large-scale review, with their first stop being Mocheng City.

Early in the morning on June 23rd, Zhou Hai departed with Zhao Xinli’s group, along with Huang Zhongsheng, Da Zhao, Xiao Hu, and ten other officers, heading straight for Mocheng City.

Captain Xu had already sorted through the archived case files beforehand. Two old cold cases had been fully organized, and unsurprisingly, both were homicide cases. One was an extremely old dismemberment case from November 7th, twenty-five years ago, while the other was the December 9th family massacre case from 2010.

For the entire day, Zhou Hai and the task force examined both case files along with the related evidence, while also discussing details with Captain Xu. Unfortunately, Xu himself had never participated in either investigation, so they could only invite officers who had originally worked the cases to recount the events.

In the end, they decided to begin with the December 9th family murder case. As for the dismemberment case, too much evidence was missing, the crime scene had already been demolished during redevelopment, and many witnesses had already passed away, making further investigation impossible for the time being.

It was past nine in the evening by the time everyone finally returned to the hotel.

After showering, the exhausted Zhou Hai picked up his phone and dialed Father Lu’s number.

It had already been four days since they last contacted each other, and he couldn’t help feeling worried. The entire purpose of their trip to America had been to help them relax and stop drowning in the grief of Lu Xi’s death.

After seven or eight rings, Father Lu answered.

“Father Lu, it’s been several days since we last talked. Which city are you in now?”

What Zhou Hai truly wanted to ask was whether they had met Teacher John, but asking so directly felt inappropriate, so he chose casual conversation instead.

On the other end, Father Lu seemed to step out of the room. After the sound of a door closing, he finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.

“We arrived in California the day before yesterday, spent a day sightseeing, and only got to Palo Alto last night.”

The moment Zhou Hai heard this, he instantly grew tense.

They had already reached Teacher John’s home. Since they arrived last night, did that mean they hadn’t met him? And why did Father Lu’s voice sound like that? Could it be…

“You weren’t able to contact Teacher John? Or perhaps Lawyer William’s phone couldn’t get through? If something happened, you can tell me directly. It’s alright.”

Father Lu let out a long sigh.

“We contacted Lawyer William as soon as we arrived here. Your teacher John passed away last Wednesday. According to his final wishes, his body was donated to Stanford University’s medical school for scientific research. As for his assets, they were all donated to the medical school as well.”

Zhou Hai instantly stood up and gripped the phone tightly.

“He passed away? How could that happen? Wasn’t he hospitalized because of a fracture? It wasn’t a fracture?”

“Mm. William originally planned to finish handling everything before traveling to China, but then we arrived unexpectedly.

He said Old John didn’t want you all to feel sad, so he never told anyone about his illness. It was liver cancer with bone metastasis. The earlier hospitalization was because he had already lost the ability to walk. At that point, surgery no longer had any meaning.

He said you should take good care of Luoluo. Whenever you miss him, stand on a hillside and look toward America. If a gentle breeze brushes past you, that means he’s smiling at you.”

Zhou Hai understood immediately that Teacher John had arranged everything intentionally, simply hoping that both he and Luoluo would suffer a little less grief.

A man without family had donated both himself and everything he owned to the field he loved most. In a sense, that was a fulfilled life. At that moment, Zhou Hai no longer felt overwhelming sorrow. Teacher John had truly seen life clearly.

“How’s Luoluo after hearing the news? Is she alright?”

“She’s okay, just not eating very much. She said she had already guessed it long ago. But seeing her act so calm somehow makes us feel even worse.”

Zhou Hai sighed softly.

“Don’t be sad. This was the best choice, and exactly what Teacher John hoped for. If your schedule allows it today, take Luoluo around Stanford University for a while. After that, just continue your trip however you planned. She’s a strong child. Since she already guessed it, she should be able to adjust herself. Living well is a better tribute to the departed than grieving together endlessly.”

Father Lu fell silent for quite a while.

“You don’t need to worry about us here. Today we’re planning to tour Stanford, and tomorrow we’re going to Hollywood. Luoluo booked it last night. What worries me more is you. No matter how busy work gets, you have to take care of yourself. Luoluo told me you’ve been taking a lot of sedatives and sleeping pills. You should try to control that. You’re a professional doctor—you understand this better than we do.”

“Alright. I’ll listen to you.”

“Okay then, I won’t delay our departure any longer. I’m hanging up.”

Xu Biao had heard everything clearly from the side. As soon as Zhou Hai hung up, he quickly leaned over.

“How about I go grab a couple bottles of beer and some snacks? We can have a drink?”

Zhou Hai looked puzzled. Glancing at his watch, he saw the hour hand already pointing at ten o’clock.

Midnight eating and drinking? That was basically a direct route to weight gain.

“You’re hungry? You already ate two bowls of rice earlier, and now you still want food? That’s way too fattening.”

Xu Biao squinted his tiny eyes. He had originally approached cautiously, but after hearing Zhou Hai’s response, he became completely speechless at Zhou Hai’s emotional intelligence.

“Fine then, guess I’m meddling for nothing! I just wanted to drink with you and help you drown your sorrows a little. But listening to your words—every sentence stabs the heart, every word cuts deep. My self-esteem is shattered. I’m going to sleep.”

Seeing the grievance written all over Xu Biao’s face, Zhou Hai finally burst into laughter.

“Forget the drinking. My behavior when drunk is terrible. Have you ever seen me drink at dinner before?”

Xu Biao blinked rapidly.

“That just makes me more curious! I really want to know what you’re like when drunk. How about we try it?”

“No regrets?”

Zhou Hai looked at Xu Biao’s eager expression, then nodded.

“Fine.”

The moment Zhou Hai agreed, Xu Biao jumped up and rushed out of the room. Less than ten minutes later, he returned sneakily with a huge bag in his arms. He laid everything out one by one on the tea table: a case of beer, fried peanuts, canned yellow croaker, and a bag of meat snacks.

He hadn’t felt hungry before, but now that the food was spread out in front of him, it suddenly looked surprisingly appetizing.

Zhou Hai sat down on the sofa. Xu Biao cracked open a beer and handed one to him, then opened another for himself. They clinked cans before tilting their heads back to drink. The icy sensation made Xu Biao narrow his eyes in satisfaction.

Zhou Hai also took a large gulp.

Honestly, the taste wasn’t bad at all.

“The last time I drank was back in university. After Teacher John helped me transfer departments, we went out to celebrate and I drank a few glasses.

As for how I got back afterward, or what I did later, I honestly can’t remember any of it.

The next day, Teacher John wrapped an arm around my shoulder and said, ‘Zhou, from now on, don’t drink alcohol anymore.’

Then all the classmates started laughing. No matter how much I asked, nobody would tell me what I did that night. After that, my life became like a constantly spinning top—I never really had time to think about drinking again.”

Xu Biao instantly perked up and leaned forward excitedly.

“You threw up?”

“No. The room was spotless.”

Xu Biao tossed a handful of peanuts into his mouth and thought for a moment.

“Who shared a room with you? Did you get drunk and start hitting people? Or maybe you sang songs, talked nonstop, screamed your head off, tortured everyone?”

Zhou Hai shook his head again. He lifted the beer and took another sip. On an early summer night, cold beer really did feel pleasant. Adjusting his sitting position, he grabbed a handful of peanuts as well and continued reminiscing while eating.

“No. I slept at Teacher John’s house that night. Who would I even torture?”

“And then?”

“And then I woke up the next day remembering absolutely nothing. I kept asking them what I’d done, but nobody would say anything. Still, from then on, nobody ever encouraged me to drink again. Teacher John just said my drunken behavior was terrible and warned me never to drink alcohol again.”

“…”