Qinghong

After chatting with Captain Lu, we went back to the hotel to rest for the day, and met them at the Public Security Bureau tomorrow morning, and went to the college to pick up Xiao Ke.

It was a rest, but Zhou Jiangyong and I sat under the tree at the entrance of the hotel and smoked in depression.

I haven't smoked for a long time. Since I read Ning Qing's letter, I seem to have discarded most of my emotions. I can't feel emotional fluctuations, so I can't think of smoking.Now I feel a little powerlessness, and let me pick up the cigarette again, using nicotine as a channel of catharsis.

"Do you know, Teacher Zou." Zhou Jiangyong said, "Many policemen at my age have retired to the second line."

"Then why did you stay?" I asked.

"Because I want to get something..." Zhou Jiangyong breathed out a puff of smoke, "doing something worthwhile and influencing a few people will make me feel meaningful."

"You want..." I tried to understand him, "participation?"

"Yes, if something bad happens, I can step in and change its course." Zhou Jiangyong said, "I don't want to be a helpless bystander."

"Even if it's a small thing." Zhou Jiangyong grabbed a piece of dog's tail grass, "It's so small that it can help a child find his dog." He shook the fluffy dog's tail grass, "Or give a cat to a litter of cats on a rainy day." Hold an umbrella."

Zhou Jiangyong's words reminded me of Ning Qing. I haven't thought of Ning Qing for a long time. They are similar people with the same characteristics. They help others, gain recognition, and then feel happy.I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said, "You are like a friend of mine."

"Really?" Zhou Jiangyong laughed, with four or five layers of wrinkles on the corners of his eyes, "Tell me?"

"He was an anti-narcotics policeman. He died on duty at this time last year..." I began to chat about Ning Qing's past. This was the first time I really realized that I was about to climb out of Ning Qing's pit.I called Ning Qing "my friend", and I told Ning Qing's story as if I was chatting, and there was no tearing sadness in my heart, only regret.

"...We are very good friends." I flicked the cigarette ash, "I admire him and thank him." No matter how deep the wound is, as long as it is not fatal, it will heal slowly with the passage of time, leaving a scar in the end. The dark scar reminds me that Ning Qing has been here.I tell his story to prove that I am no longer stubborn to keep his shadow in my heart, I am willing to let more people know about him, and I will cherish the memory of the deceased hero together with them.

"Sometimes I also wonder, in case I have an accident one day, will anyone remember me and tell my story." Zhou Jiangyong pressed the cigarette holder on the bare ground of the tree pit.

"Yes," I said, "I'll remember."

Zhou Jiangyong said with a smile: "The more you talk, the more unlucky you are, let's talk about something else."

We sat under the tree and chatted with each other until the sun was setting, Zhou Jiangyong stretched himself: "Let's go to eat."

The evening breeze in early spring was cool, and I said, "It's a bit cold, I want to eat beef noodles."

"There is a Lanzhou ramen shop ahead." Zhou Jiangyong pointed across the road, "Let's go."

The next day, we gathered at the entrance of the hotel at nine o'clock and took a taxi to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Captain Lu and the fat policeman who entertained us yesterday stood at the door, Xia Xianxian asked in a low voice, "Is the junior still alive?"

Lu Dui glanced at her but didn't answer, he looked at Zhou Jiangyong and said, "Get in the car."

We got into a seven-seater Buick commercial vehicle, the fat policeman drove the car, Lu Dui took the co-pilot, and the car drove smoothly.Team Lu turned to us and said, "Sit in the car for a while, don't get out, we will take your students out."

"Don't roll down the window, it's all one-sided glass, they can't see you." The fat policeman answered.

The four of us looked at each other and nodded silently.

The car stopped at a corner not far from the gate of the college. Captain Lu and the fat policeman got out of the car. With a "click", the car door was locked.

I was a little nervous, Zhou Jiangyong followed Lu Dui's back closely.

He Xue said, "We are like thieves."

"That's right." Zhou Jiangyong said.

We waited with bated breath for about half an hour. From a distance, we saw Captain Lu and the fat policeman leading a limping man towards us.

"That's..." Xia Xianxian took a quick breath, as if being strangled.

Team Lu walked up to him, pressed the car key, and the door unlocked.I couldn't wait to open the car door and look at the thin figure behind them, it was Xiao Ke, Xiao Ke who was so skinny and listless.

He lowered his head and pursed his lips, shrunk his shoulders timidly, and looked at me cautiously, with a gleam of light in his dark eyes: "... Teacher Zou?"

"Yeah." I reached out and grabbed his wrist, "I found you."

Suddenly, his eyes were red, and he slammed into my arms with a hoarse voice, crying: "Teacher."

I pulled him into the car, closed the door, and patted him on the back like a child.

He curled up in my arms, hugging my shoulders, weeping repressedly, like a wronged rabbit, with his big ears drooping on his back, and his face buried in my neck.

"The man has been found." Captain Lu said to Zhou Jiangyong, "You can go back to Tianjin so that you can meet with business."

"Yes, thank you." Zhou Jiangyong said.

I hugged Xiao Ke, who was tired from crying, and quietly looked at the street trees speeding past outside the window.I was a little scared, I was afraid that after he vented his emotions, he would return to his senses and ask me about Qingxin Cultivation Academy.

I can't answer, I only brought him out.And instead of walking into the college openly, they were sneaking around in the car on the corner, like a gang of thieves.As if the Academy is the party of justice and we are the thieves who stole the gold coins.

The car stopped at the entrance of the hotel, Xiao Ke sniffed, raised his head, and stared out the window blankly.

I opened the car door, Xiao Ke got out of the car, he held the corner of my clothes, I took a step and he took a step, relying on me very much.

"Let's go to lunch," I said. "What would you like to eat?"

Xiao Ke thought for a while, then whispered, "Dumplings."

"Okay, let's eat dumplings." I agreed.

Zhou Jiangyong said: "Then you guys eat dumplings, and I eat pot stickers."

He Xue and Xia Xianxian said, "Let's eat pot stickers with the police uncle."

I realized that they wanted me to have a good talk with Xiao Ke, which was a tricky thing, but the best candidate was me.I saved Xiao Ke twice, and he trusted me extremely.

I led him into a dumpling restaurant in the innermost alley. He ordered a plate of three fresh dumplings, and I ordered a plate of pork and fennel dumplings.We sat at the table, spread out two plates, and poured vinegar and chili.

Xiao Ke didn't speak, and kept looking at the birds outside the window.

"Xiao Xiao." I said, "Do you want to talk about your life these days? If you don't want to talk, you don't have to talk about it."

"Talk, I want to talk." Xiao Ke's eyes returned to me, he picked up the chopsticks, picked up a dumpling and put it in the bowl, the dumpling rolled, dipped in vinegar and chili oil, he picked up the dumpling Fill your mouth.

He chewed the dumplings earnestly, with no expression on his face, and his pupils were not as agile as before. Plainly, I felt his nostalgia.

"I went home during the winter vacation and told my dad that I'm gay and I like men." Xiao Ke said in a flat tone, as if telling someone else's story, "My dad hit me like crazy, he kicked me out of the house, and Hit me in the corridor." He sneered, "He doesn't accept that his son is a pervert, the kind that can't be changed."

"Someone gave my dad a business card, saying that my neighbor was cured in this college." Xiao Ke said, "He spent 12 yuan to send me in in an attempt to cure my 'disease'."

"You're not sick." I couldn't help but say.

Xiao Ke looked at me, the light in his eyes softened: "I know, teacher, I have never wavered."

"The treatment methods in the college are simple and crude. They shouted slogans over and over again to brainwash them, and wrote self-criticism. If they disobeyed, they would be beaten, electrocuted, and locked up in a small dark room." Xiao Ke said lightly about the cruel punishment, "I was imprisoned. Twice, once because my review was not sincere enough, and the second time because I stole a mobile phone and wanted to make a call."

I bowed my head and ate the dumplings, my heart was filled with guilt. If I had discovered Xiao Ke's disappearance earlier, maybe I could have prevented him from suffering these hardships.

Xiao Ke said: "We live in a dormitory with six people. Except for me, all of them have tried to commit suicide."

"I don't want to die, I want to live to see you." Xiao Ke said, "Mr. Zou, thank you for coming to save me."

"I actually didn't..." No effort.I thought to myself, Zhou Jiangyong was the one who really helped, and my role was minimal.

Xiao Ke interrupted my explanation. He looked at me and asked, "Teacher, will that academy be shut down?"

My breathing was slightly stagnant, and my mind was blank. Facing his eager eyes, I said with difficulty: "In a short period of time, no."