Chapter 153 (1/2)

Jiao had left them now. As such, Dr. w.a.n.g handed the newly-born baby to Cui Jing. He was healthy and full of energy, as if his mother was still secretly protecting him from somewhere nearby.

On the third day after Jiao’s death, Jiang Zhengkai was finally released from the prosecutor’s office, with the investigation against him being dismissed. Yao Tianyu’s political intervention and the severe backlash from the general public had both played a significant role in this. After all, the law ensured that a single department or even a single person could not manipulate it like that without repercussion.

As soon as he was released, Jiang Zhengkai went to the hospital morgue and saw Jiao. Her body almost seemed as if it were merely asleep. Nevertheless, Jiang Zhengkai could see the residual regret etched into her body. If she were sleeping, it was a troubled sleep from all the words left unsaid to him. However, G.o.d, or more specifically a man, had not given her a chance to say them.

Jiang Zhengkai didn’t cry after seeing her. He just held her body in his arms and sat in the morgue for a whole day, until dawn the next day in silent vigil. He knew that Jiao was gone, but he couldn’t follow her into the afterlife because Jiao had left a child behind. He had to raise and take good care of their son.

In the end, Jiang Zhengkai buried Jiao next to Tao. While they had been alive, they had always wished to be brother and sister. Now that they were dead, they could finally accompany each other forever.

After going through this incident, Jiang Zhengkai declined Yao Tianyu’s promotion offer. He told him that all he wanted to do was raise the child in peace. He hoped that the child would grow up safely and for him to not become a policeman; instead, he hoped for him to take up painting like his mother and perhaps become a painter himself one day.

As a means to that end, Jiang Zhengkai submitted his resignation from his post. He didn’t want his son to ever find out what a useless policeman his father had been — one who couldn’t even protect the woman he loved. Yao Tianyu, as reluctant as he was to do so, had no choice but to accept Jiang Zhengkai’s resignation. He knew that Jiang Zhengkai would never emotionally recover from the blow of Jiao’s death, and that there was nothing he could do for him.

Life in the city didn’t change just because there was one less policeman around or just because a woman had died; it callously continued on its normal course as methodically as ever.

Three days before Cui Jing and Meng left for Paris, they went to visit Jiang Zhengkai and his child. Accompanied by Jiang Zhengkai, Meng went to the cemetery to pay his respects while Cui Jing stayed at Jiang’s place to look after his child.

“I wasn’t there to protect her!” Meng mumbled regretfully as he stood in front of Jiao’s grave. The day the incident had taken place, he had been in Beijing taking care of a few bureaucratic procedures for his impending departure.

“It was my own fault. I don’t blame you,” Jiang Zhengkai calmly replied.

“Here, take this,” Meng said as he produced an envelope from his pocket. “In it, you will find two cards and a key left behind by Brother Tao. One of the cards is for Jiao, and the other is for running the business. Besides that, the key is for the safe in the Internet café, and you’ll find the permit for the premises, some bonds, and other things inside.”

“All this…” Jiang Zhengkai received the envelope from Meng’s hand, and wanted to say something, but was unable to say it in the end.

“Just take it!” Meng glanced at Jiang Zhengkai and then said, “Brother Tao entrusted me with all this back when he was still alive! Everything he owned was transferred to Jiao. Don’t worry! The money, properties, and bonds are all already registered under Jiao’s name. The money has been thoroughly laundered by our brothers too, so the police won’t give you any trouble.”

“I believe that they should need it more than I do, don’t they?” Jiang Zhengkai sighed as he looked at Meng.

“I thought so too!” Meng turned around, talking as he walked to the foot of the hill, away from the cemetery. “But now, I think that it might be you who needs it more. However, I also think that they need you, and that maybe you will need them too.”

Jiang Zhengkai stood there, dazed, as he clutched the envelope in his hand. After a while, he fished out another key from his trouser pocket. It had originally belonged to Sui Zhongyi or, one could say, to Sui Dequan. However, it now belonged to him too. Maybe they did need him…

The night before Meng and Cui Jing left, the peace of the city was shattered once again.