The Hope You Gave Me: 65-Xujiazhuang

"I'm here to accompany you." Min Hui's voice was as light as a feather. She didn't dare to leave, for fear that Xin Qi could not think of any accident.

The air between them gradually froze, as if a sudden smog suffocated her for a while.

The moonlight shone down coldly, leaving only a gray shadow of the tall buildings in the distance. Xin Qi stood motionless, with a hard back like a high wall standing beside her, a strong shadow overshadowed the starlight in the night sky.

She panicked inexplicably.

"No, go back and prepare your luggage." His voice was surprisingly calm, "If it wasn't for Su Tian, ​​we'd be right back. If so, we might stay there for two days to deal with the funeral."

"Are you going all the way too?" She glanced at the Lego on the coffee table, two-thirds of a dinosaur had been spelled out.

"He won't go. Yun Lu and Shen Han will take a look for me and inform the nanny."

She looked down for a moment, looked up, and before she could catch his chin, he turned her head away.

She had to say, "Okay, see you tomorrow morning."

"We'll pick you up at 7:10." He escorted her to the elevator door.

Min Hui said "good night" and returned to Mingsen Community. In fact, she doesn't need to pack her luggage. She just came back from a business trip, and she has all the travel supplies. She opened the suitcase, took out all the dirty clothes and stuffed them into the washing machine, and found three black T-shirts and a black dress from the closet and put them in the suitcase. Her heart was so chaotic, and the house had not been cleaned for a long time, so she washed a rag and wiped the table carelessly.

She hopes that the day when the truth will come to light will come sooner, and she also hopes that it will never appear, so it's good to live in a daze like this.

In the four years that Su Tian was away, life was like driving in the fog, and I could only see ten meters ahead.

The series of big and small events overwhelmed her.

After dealing with everything, the day is over, she is so tired that she just wants to sleep and has no time to think about the future.

If Su Tian is still alive, no matter what happens, Xin Qi will marry her, give her a home, and they will have many children and live happily together.

If Su Tian dies, this tombstone will forever be on the hearts of her and Xin Qi, and neither will let it go easily. They will drift apart and become strangers.

No matter what kind of ending, Xin Qi will not have too much relationship with her. Anyway, she and Su Quan can continue their lives. But Xin Qi will never let go of this son...

Thinking of this, she secretly condemned herself: at least she can still struggle and choose, but Su Tian has lost even the opportunity to struggle and choose.

She took a deep breath, ready to take it all.

After cleaning, she felt extremely tired, turned off the lights and went to bed, unable to sleep for a long time. After tossing and turning for an unknown amount of time, the phone suddenly rang, and the caller ID was Xin Qi.

"Are you asleep?" he asked.

"No."

"I think I'll leave now. If I drive, I'll be there in four hours." Xin Qi said, "The train will arrive at noon tomorrow, which is a waste of a morning."

"Is it safe to walk at night?" Min Hui counted the time in her heart, "If you leave now, it will be two in the middle of the night when you get there—where do you live?"

"The hotel has been booked." The voice over there was firm, "I need you to come with me, because only you can identify the bracelet and the photo of the body. You are the last person to see Su Tian. ."

"Okay, just wait five minutes for me, I'll be fine right away."

"My car is downstairs."

Min Hui quickly went downstairs after changing her clothes. She didn't expect Xin Qi to drive the car this time. In the large SUV, there is no Deng Chen and Jiajun. She put the suitcase away and sat in the passenger seat, pulling her seat belt: "Let's go?"

"Deng Chen and Jia Jun take the train tomorrow."

"What about all of them?"

"Yun Lu is accompanied by a nanny."

Just as Xin Qi was about to start the ignition, Min Hui inadvertently glanced at the rear-view mirror in the middle, and suddenly made a "huh", pointing at his right eye: "You have a big red spot in your eye, what's wrong? What? A blood vessel burst?"

The erythema occupies almost half of the white of the eye and looks terrifying.

He looked into the car mirror and didn't care: "It's the blood from the ruptured tiny blood vessels under the conjunctiva. It's fine, it will be absorbed slowly in a few days."

His eyes were red and swollen, obviously he had cried, but he cried until the blood vessels in the fundus burst.

"No."

The car started, drove out of the community, and swiftly turned a corner and drove towards Chengxi Expressway.

"Xin Qi," Min Hui asked, "Where's your driver?"

"I didn't call him, I wanted to drive myself."

"I think it's better to call the driver, or Deng Chen."

"In the middle of the night, is it okay to trouble others?" The dark voice showed obvious anger.

"And your eyes," Min Hui said again cautiously, "Would you like to go to the hospital for an examination, in case the situation is more serious than you said?"

Xin Qi had undergone surgery on both eyes and had crystals implanted. Min Hui thought worriedly, could this bleeding cause infection? He already has a serious heart disease. If he can't see, how will he live in the future?

"I'm not going." He couldn't help growling, "Can you say a few words less?"

Min Hui shut up.

As soon as the car enters the freeway, it travels around the maximum speed limit. Every 20 kilometers over the speed limit, Min Hui would remind her in a low voice.

No further words were said beyond that.

It was a brand new expressway. It was only half a year old. Even at night, there were many vehicles on the road, especially big trucks.

Xin Qi kept changing lanes, darting to and fro, almost always overtaking every car.

The scene reminded her of the racing games she used to play. She didn't dare to make a sound, her hands clenched tightly on the armrest, her palms sweating with nervousness.

Xin Qi's driving skills are good, and he must turn on the turn signal when changing lanes. The two-hour highway finally passed without any danger.

In the dark night, the car turned into a country road with nine and eighteen bends. Xin Qi had no choice but to reduce his speed.

On the way, there is only the starlight overhead except for my own headlights.

After driving for about half an hour, a white Geely Boyue appeared on the road ahead. For some reason, it was driving so slowly that Xin Qi was forced to slow down.

This situation lasted for ten minutes. The Geely car drove slowly at a speed of less than 50 kilometers per hour. If the driver was not asleep, he should be able to see a black SUV behind him.

After driving for another ten minutes, the Geely car still has no plans to speed up.

"FUCK." Xin Qi's face was already red with anger, and he cursed fiercely.

Min Huidong looked around: "Did we read the speed limit card wrong?"

"No. The speed limit on this road is 70 kilometers." Xin Qi said decisively.

There is only one motor vehicle lane in the same direction on the highway, with a single yellow solid line in the middle, and Xin Qi cannot overtake.

"Let's remind him?" Min Hui suggested.

Xin Qi flashed the light to indicate that the Geely car didn't pay attention at all. In desperation, he honked the horn. The owner seemed angry and drove more slowly.

Walking like this for another fifteen minutes, Xin Qi was so mad that he clenched the steering wheel with both hands, and the veins on his forehead were sticking out. Seeing this, he wished he could hit him with a car—

At this moment, Min Hui suddenly said: "Look, there is a dotted line ahead, overtaking."

In a second, Xin Qi quickly overtook the car and was about to drive away when the Geely car seemed to wake up, chasing it from behind, ignoring the yellow line ahead and running alongside them. The driver in the window scolded: "Super Laozi's car? Fuck, are you rushing to reincarnate?"

The man had a shaved head and a savage face, and spat fiercely at Min Hui.

Before they could react from their surprise, the Geely car quickly overtook them and started to slow down again.

Xin Qi was forced to slow down and said angrily, "What the **** is this!"

While speaking, the Geely car suddenly stopped suddenly.

Xin Qi was forced to follow the emergency brake, and angrily pushed open the car door to rush out, but Min Hui held him tightly: "Don't go! It's probably a robbery!"

Before he finished speaking, the bald driver pushed open the door and came out, holding an iron rod in his hand, and rushed towards them fiercely.

Min Hui couldn't help screaming: "Xin Qi! Let's go!"

Xin Qi reversed the car quickly, changed gears, and regardless of whether it was a double yellow line or a single yellow line, the SUV rushed past Geely and flew away.

Geely is in hot pursuit.

Min Hui took out her phone to zoom in on the map, looked at it quickly, and said, "We can't listen to the navigation, turn left 200 meters ahead, and try to get rid of him."

"Are you sure you can get rid of it?" Xin Qi glanced at her, "The road is a mountain road, is it safe?"

"I helped a company design a driving route optimization model in college, trust me."

He didn't speak any more, listened to her instructions, and drove into a rough road, Min Hui "manually" navigated while looking at the map.

——"One hundred meters ahead, turn right."

——"Go straight, keep going straight."

——"Turn right when you see the intersection. Go ahead 600 meters and turn left."

——"Go past the next intersection, then turn left."

The Geely was trailing and disappeared after a few turns.

Xin Qi looked at the rearview mirror and asked, "Did it go away?"

"Not yet," Min Hui said. "He followed closely. I could hear the engine. His car should be nearby."

Xin Qi had to follow Min Hui's instructions and kept turning. After ten minutes, Min Hui pointed to a shadow in front of him and said, "Did you see that wood? Quietly drive over."

There is a natural hiding place in the woods, and Xin Qi's car slid into it silently.

"Stop, turn off, turn off lights."

They lurked in the woods for five minutes when the Geely car appeared, passed them and headed forward.

Seeing that the car was far away, they quietly got out of the woods, changed a route, continued driving for half an hour, and entered the national road again.

Xin Qi's mood gradually calmed down, took a sip of water and asked, "Have you ever tested your IQ?"

"Tested, 131. How about you?"

"120. - Obviously, you're smarter than me."

"Don't be sad, you are richer than me."

He hummed.

***

At ten in the morning, the navigation took them to the entrance of Xujiazhuang's village. The two got out of the car and looked around.

Xu Zhihua is right, this is a small village, located by the Mushui River.

Min Hui followed Xin Qi a few steps, the night was terribly quiet, she pulled his sleeve tightly, her heart was pounding, but her mind was at a loss.

The Mushui River flows quietly under the starlight, sparkling and smashing the moonlight.

The wind blows the tree branches, making a harp-like sound.

A large depression can be seen on the left bank, covered with tall reeds. If you guessed correctly, Xu Zhihua's body was found there.

"The hotel you booked is in the village?" Min Hui was so sleepy that she yawned. She glanced at the low farmhouse and found nothing resembling a hotel.

"Let's go see Xu Zhihua first to see if that person is Su Tian. Then we'll go to the hotel. It's a 20-minute drive north from here."

Min Hui said in surprise, "Is this inappropriate? It's two o'clock in the middle of the night, and everyone is asleep."

"Then wake him up."

"Xin Qi, why are you messing with him at this time? He's a man with a criminal record."

"So what?" His tone was fierce, "I just buried someone without saying a word, and I haven't asked him to settle the account yet!"

"Then did you bring a check?" Min Hui asked again, "He should have come for your bounty."

"Bring it. He asked for a cash check. If it was confirmed that it was Su Tian, ​​he asked not to notify the police. It was unavoidable and asked not to mention his name, saying that we found it ourselves."

"You agreed?"

"Well. I just want to make sure it's Su Tian as quickly as possible."

About hearing the footsteps of strangers, the dogs in the village barked, and the lights in several rooms suddenly turned on.

Xu Zhihua's home is at the entrance of the village. The two took out their flashlights to identify the house number one by one, and they quickly found it.

Xin Qi slammed the door, and after a while, a tall man in a denim jacket came out, yawning and saying, "Who are you looking for in the middle of the night?"

"I'm looking for Xu Zhihua."

The man froze for a moment, then nodded: "I am."

"I'm Xin Qi and this is Min Hui. Deng Chen is my friend. We contacted yesterday."

"Are you looking for that girl? What's her name, Su Tian?"

"Yes, we want to confirm whether the evidence in your hand is Su Tian's relic."

"Deng Chen said that you will arrive at noon tomorrow?"

"I can't wait."

Xu Zhihua glanced at Xin Qi, saw that his eyes were red and swollen, and then looked behind him, convinced that there was no one else, so he said, "Come in."

The light in the room is dim, and the concrete floor is full of gaps. Apart from two rattan chairs, a table, and four benches, there is no decent furniture in the living room.

Xu Zhihua asked them to sit down, went to the inner room and took out a small box, from which he took out a bracelet and a photo.

"If it's a photo - girls don't look at it." He said lightly, "There are a lot of fish in the river, the face is unrecognizable, and the clothes are still there, can you take a look?"

Xin Qi handed the bracelet to Min Hui, took a deep breath, glanced at the photo, and suddenly flipped the photo over.

Min Hui took out a silver cloth from her pocket, wiped the silver fish on the bracelet, put it under the flashlight to observe, and nodded after a minute: "The bracelet is right."

"How do you know?"

"The bracelet my dad made for me has seventeen scales on the whitebait. The average whitebait has only nine. The eyeballs are bulging. Other whitebait, the eyeballs are concave."

He covered the head of the photo with his fingers and handed her the body part: "What about this dress? Is that what she wore that day?"

Min Hui looked at it for a long time and said softly, "I didn't pay attention to what kind of clothes she was wearing...I only knew that she was wearing a yellow jacket."

The upper body of the body is a white T-shirt, of ordinary style, without any markings. Below is a pair of loose-fitting striped cropped trousers. She couldn't remember whether Su Tian wore them in the bus. The shoes were no longer there, and only a pair of bare feet remained - probably bitten by a fish, with pits and scars on them.

"So you don't have any impression of what she was wearing that day?" Xin Qi couldn't help sneering.

"It's not like these pants are on the bus," she murmured.

"What color pants are those?" he demanded.

"I don't remember." She thought hard for a long time, and finally shook her head, "After she checked into the hotel, she took a shower, and when she was talking to me, she wrapped a towel around her body. Later, she fell asleep with her upper body on. I only wear a suspender, and the lower body is underwear..."

He studied the clothes on the photo and muttered: "Well, there is indeed a suspender in the white T. These pants..." He suddenly remembered something, took out his mobile phone and called up Su Tian's profile in the circle of friends. After flipping through several photos, I finally pointed to one of them and said, "Look, she does have pants like this."

This is a half-length photo of Su Tian, ​​standing under a magnolia flower and making a V with her hand. Because the focus is on the upper body, the pants are less than one centimeter in the picture. Xin Qi zoomed in on the picture and compared the stripes on it, Min Hui also put her head close: the stripes on the trousers have three colors: one ink blue, one light purple, and one sandy yellow. The proportions are exactly right.

"Yes." Min Hui nodded, "It must be her trousers. And the hairstyle is right. She had a perm, a cold perm, and it curled so badly when wet, it hung on the back of her head like a a little spring."

"If you really can't confirm it, you can also check the DNA." Xu Zhihua added.

"We will." Xin Qi looked at him and asked, "Where did you bury her?"

Xu Zhihua was silent for a while, then smiled: "Brother, I understand your mood. But it's not easy to walk there, it's midnight again, the sky is dark and the road is slippery, and it's not good for anyone to fall. It's better to wait until dawn. Let's go again. Besides, I've been working on the farm all day, and I'm so sleepy that I want to sleep a little longer."

His words sounded high-sounding, but Min Hui felt that it was implying that Xin Qi gave him a check and did not point the way when he saw the money.

Xin Qi also understood, sneered, and said, "Tell me earlier, wouldn't it be better to get the money earlier? I want to take her bones now."

"It's not about money, bro. She's been lying there for over four years, and she doesn't care about an extra day or two, isn't that the case?"

"I care!" Xin Qi roared in a low voice, "I can't lie down for more than a day."

After saying that, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to him: "Here, your cash check."

Xu Zhihua opened it and checked it. After confirming it was correct, he stood up and picked up two shovels and a bucket from behind the door: "Follow me."