After hearing Ji Yinbing’s analysis, Xiao Li did not deny or confirm her words.

  Ji Yinbing asked her, “Am I right?”


  Xiao Li smiled and said, “I thought that people like you who are focused on research are stupid. I was wrong.” She did not answer.

  Ji Yinbing said, “As expected.”


  Xiao Li suddenly stood up, walked to the bed, and touched Zhuang Long’s head.

  Zhuang Long’s temperature had decreased quite a bit. He still had a fever, but it was not serious. His tense heart finally relaxed. Xiao Li looked down at her watch. It was already four in the morning. Xiao Li turned around and said to Ji Yinbing, “He should be fine. I have to go back.”


  “Aren’t you going to stay and leave when he wakes up?” Ji Yinbing disagreed with her.

  What was this? A living altruist like Lei Feng?

  Xiao Li said, “I still have to go back and make breakfast for Qilin. I make breakfast for him every Wednesday and Friday.”


  When Ji Yinbing heard this, her heart ached. “You’ve worked hard too.”


  “Not at all.”


  Compared to Zhuang Qilin, the days after giving birth to him were really not hard. Back then, when she was pregnant with Zhuang Qilin, her pregnancy reaction was especially big. She lay in bed in the hospital for seven months. During those seven months, she almost vomited and ate with a frown.

  Other people could gain 20 to 30 pounds when they were pregnant. Before she was pregnant, she weighed 104 pounds. The next day after giving birth to Zhuang Qilin, she weighed 80 pounds. Xiao Li was 1.7 meters tall, and she was only 80 pounds thin. One could imagine how hard it was for her to give birth.

  Watching Xiao Li drive away, Ji Yinbing turned around.

  She walked to the bed and stared at Zhuang Long for a while before saying, “She’s already gone. You can open your eyes now.”


  Actually, Zhuang Long had woken up long ago. When Ji Yinbing and Xiao Li talked about meeting in the Middle East, he woke up. He just did not dare to open his eyes. Firstly, he wanted to hear Xiao Li tell him about their reunion. Secondly, he hoped that Xiao Li could accompany him for a while.

  Seeing that Ji Yinbing had realized that he was pretending, Zhuang Long opened his eyes.

  He said to Ji Yinbing, “I think I might have forgotten a lot of things.”


  Ji Yinbing nodded. “In my opinion, your guess is right.”


  He must have known Xiao Li before, but he could not remember. “It seems like I have to see a neurologist.”


  “Better go take a look.”


  Ji Yinbing thought of something and asked Zhuang Long, “What happened? Why did you faint?” Zhuang Long thought about it carefully and said, “I can’t remember clearly. I only remember that I was talking to Xiao Li and fainted as I spoke.” However, he forgot that he had almost hurt Xiao Li.

  “Who sent me back?”


  “Uncle Jimmy and Xiao Li from next door.”


  “Oh.”


  Zhuang Long asked Ji Yinbing a question. “Why do you think she divorced me?”


  “Why don’t you ask me what the welfare lottery number is tomorrow?” Clearly, to Ji Yinbing, Zhuang Long’s question was even more difficult to guess than the winning number tomorrow.

  Zhuang Long sighed.

  “You should rest too.”


  “…Okay.”


  …


  Zhuang Long’s illness lasted until the end of May.

  After he recovered, the first thing he did was bring the biscuits baked by the chef at home and the tea leaves he bought from China to Uncle Jimmy’s house next door.

  Rachel opened the door.

  “Good afternoon, Rachel.”


  The May afternoon was already a little hot. Rachel, wearing a white strapless dress, gave him a cheerful smile. “Ah Long? Please come in.”


  Zhuang Long handed the tea leaves and biscuits to Rachel. As he and Parker interacted, they walked into the house and asked, “Where’s Uncle Jimmy?”


  “He’s fishing by the lake!”


  From their house, they drove east for about ten minutes before there was a lake. In the afternoon, there were always people who were not afraid of the heat going to the lake to fish. Upon hearing this, Zhuang Long said goodbye to Rachel and brought Parker to the lake to look for Jimmy.

  This lake was called Lake Neil, and there were willows surrounding it.

  Jimmy was sitting on a small wooden bed. He was dozing with his eyes closed. The fishing hook moved, but he didn’t bother to look at it. Zhuang Long found a small boat by the lake and leaned towards Jimmy. His arrival finally disturbed Jimmy.

  Jimmy took off his fisherman’s hat and looked at him.

  He narrowed his fierce eyes and sized up Zhuang Long.

  Zhuang Long saw it and was fearless.

  He jumped into Jimmy’s boat and patted his shoulder. He smiled and said, “Uncle Jimmy, don’t look at me like that. You’re a police officer. Looking at me like that always makes me think you’re interrogating a criminal.”


  Jimmy looked away.

  He chuckled and asked Zhuang Long, “Have you recovered?”


  “After lying down for so many days, I’m finally alive.”


  “Very good. Congratulations.”


  Zhuang Long saw that the fishing rod was moving. He helped Jimmy reel in the line, took off a palm-long fish, and threw it into the bucket of water. Then, he reassembled the bait and threw the hook into the lake. Only then did he say, “Thank you. Sorry to trouble you that night.”


  Jimmy waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing.”


  Zhuang Long squatted by the bed and looked down at the scenery in the water. The water was very clear, and he could see a few centimeters long fish swimming away from the lake. Zhuang Long reached out and deliberately stirred up waves in the water, scaring the fish into scurrying around.

  Jimmy half-closed his eyes, but he was actually sizing up Zhuang Long.

  He looked at the mischievous man and thought of something. He could not help but sigh.

  Zhuang Long gradually lost interest in teasing the fish. He lay down on the small bed, narrowed his eyes, and placed his hands under his head. He said, “It’s so boring.”


  “Then go back?”


  Zhuang Long suddenly said to Jimmy, “When Uncle Jimmy was a police officer, he must have encountered many soul-stirring cases. Anyway, since you have nothing to do, share with me those unusual cases you’ve encountered.”


  Jimmy hesitated.

  After a short silence, he asked Zhuang Long, “Do you really want to hear it?”


  “I have nothing to do anyway.”


  “Alright, I’ll tell you one.”


  Jimmy spent a few minutes sorting out the contents of the case he wanted to talk about. After thinking about it, he told Zhuang Long about the first case in his career.

  “When every police officer first joined the force, the first case they would get would be minor, but I was more unlucky. The first case I was in charge of was more shocking.”


  “Huh?” Zhuang Long thought that Jimmy was being mysterious, so he asked him, “How scary?”


  “Listen slowly and don’t interrupt.” Jimmy was like a teacher lecturing a disobedient student.

  Zhuang Long nodded and crossed his legs. He narrowed his eyes and bathed in the sunlight as he listened to Uncle Jimmy’s story.

  “At the start of the case, a young man called and told us that his wife, who was about to marry him, was missing. When we received the report, two other colleagues and I were responsible for investigating the whereabouts of the missing lady.”