Coming to Myself

Gan Hongyi, the only younger brother of Gan Hongying. Their parents passed away early, and the two siblings relied on each other since childhood.

Gan Hongyi had always been a good student, raised single-handedly by his elder sister, who was ten years older than him. Gan Hongying stayed in their border hometown, running a small convenience store to make ends meet. Two years ago, Gan Hongyi was admitted to a university in Kunming and is currently a sophomore.

Last month, Gan Hongying was raped and murdered, and her store was set on fire and burned down.

When Gan Hongyi rushed home, all he saw was a charred and horrifying corpse.

Guo Xing, as an undercover agent, did not commit the murder but failed to prevent the crime. According to the information Jing Ping had, Guo Xing asked his superiors to donate several months of his salary to support this young man. Whether the two had any private interactions beyond that was unknown to outsiders. However, Guo Xing and another accomplice were officially listed as wanted in the case.

Gan Hongyi and his accomplices all confessed. The two accomplices were filled with deep regret. As college students, they had acted impulsively out of righteous indignation, influenced by Gan Hongyi's words to avenge his sister.

In the interrogation room, however, Gan Hongyi appeared remarkably calm. According to his confession, after his sister's death, he had printed out the wanted notices of the two enemies and carried them with him every day. He had never seen the other person, though.

As for Guo Xing, Gan Hongyi had unexpectedly encountered him at his sister's grave and had been keeping an eye on him ever since.

“Was that the only time you saw him before you killed him?” Xu Mengshan probed.

Gan Hongyi’s expression then turned somewhat strange: “...No.”

“What else?”

Gan Hongyi remained silent for a moment before saying, “Last month, I tried to kill him once, but I failed.”

It happened outside a bar, a few days after his sister’s death. Gan Hongyi had followed Guo Xing and waited for him to be alone. Then, armed with a dagger, he lunged at him. Gan Hongyi was a strong athlete in school, agile and powerful. Yet, before the dagger could even touch Guo Xing’s body, Guo Xing had already seized his wrist and pinned him to the ground.

When Guo Xing saw it was him, a flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes. He then released the boy and said coldly, “Don’t come again! Otherwise, I won’t let you off.”

Gan Hongyi’s eyes reddened, and he grabbed his dagger and ran away.

But what kind of feeling was that? The desire for revenge and the intense hatred were only sharpened by the guilt he saw in that man’s eyes.

You shouldn’t feel guilty. You should be a ruthless demon who kills without blinking. You destroyed the only family I had left.

Yin Feng’s deduction was correct: Gan Hongyi was an extremely clever child. After his first attempt failed, he knew he couldn’t confront Guo Xing directly and decided to outsmart him instead. He even hired two or three street kids in his hometown to keep watch in areas where the gang often gathered and near Guo Xing’s home. No one would suspect children, not even criminals.

When he learned that Guo Xing had secretly traveled north, he asked an old classmate to find out Guo Xing’s train schedule and discovered he had come to Xiangcheng. Gan Hongyi immediately followed him to Xiangcheng.

Later, he planned the murder at the fish farm.

...

You Mingxu thought that Guo Xing might have always known about the boy’s stalking but probably didn’t take it seriously. He might have even intentionally made some contact with the boy. Or perhaps, driven by his own guilt, Guo Xing also sought some unspeakable solace from this child.As for Gan Hongyi? From his demeanor and behavior when mentioning Guo Xing after his arrest, and from his confession, You Mingxu could tell that he clearly saw Guo Xing's guilt and soft-heartedness. That's why he jumped into that pond, wasn't it? He was an extremely intelligent and sensitive child—what made him so certain that Guo Xing would definitely save him if he jumped?

But no one could have predicted, and Guo Xing himself certainly never expected, that an undercover agent who had endured humiliation to carry out a critical mission—who hadn't died at the hands of criminals or been mistakenly killed by his own comrades—would instead die at the hands of a victim's family member he wanted to protect.

After leaving the interrogation room, You Mingxu leaned against the railing to catch the breeze.

Whenever she felt down, she needed a cigarette.

She pulled out her lighter, held the cigarette between her lips, and was about to light it when someone approached.

Jing Ping also gazed into the distance without speaking.

You Mingxu patted his shoulder: "Old Jing, really feel like hitting someone, don't you?"

Jing Ping's lips twitched: "Yeah, and I can't even give them a good beating. If I were Old Guo, I'd be so furious I'd jump out of my grave."

You Mingxu said: "You're not him."

Jing Ping turned to look at her: "What's the difference?"

You Mingxu replied: "Not sure, but I just feel like you two should be different."

Jing Ping fell silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "Who do we even blame for this?"

"Blame the drug trafficking organization," You Mingxu said. "Otherwise, how could Old Guo be burdened with crimes he didn't commit, with no chance to defend himself?"

"Mm." Jing Ping lit a cigarette for himself. "Blame them." He reached over to light You Mingxu's cigarette. She didn't resist, lowering her head to bring the cigarette to the flame. Her lips were beautifully shaped—a small mouth yet full, red lips gripping the white cigarette, revealing a glimpse of teeth. Jing Ping glanced twice before putting away the lighter.

"Still haven't found the missing evidence?" You Mingxu asked.

Jing Ping answered: "No. Gan Hongyi and the other two didn't notice anything unusual. They only took cash from Guo Xing. We searched all their belongings and residences—nothing. I'm inclined to believe they're telling the truth. Even if they had gotten hold of that thing, I doubt they'd know what it was."

You Mingxu thought for a moment and asked: "Could Old Guo have hidden it somewhere?"

Jing Ping said: "Possibly. It's a troublesome matter."

You Mingxu said: "As long as it hasn't fallen into the hands of the criminal organization, there's still hope. He gave his life for it—we have to do everything we can to find it."

"Mm."

They both fell quiet for a while before Jing Ping said: "Can you stop calling me Old Jing?"

You Mingxu glanced at him: "Then what should I call you?"

Jing Ping asked: "What does Xu Mengshan call me?"

Brother Jing.

For some reason, You Mingxu didn't want to call him that and found it a bit hard to say. Even though she didn't want to bring up that person, she still said: "Doesn't Yin Feng also call you Old Jing?"

Jing Ping smiled, tilting his head slightly: "Oh, so are you following Yin Feng's lead or Mengshan's?"

You Mingxu shot him a look and turned to leave: "Can't be bothered with you. Whatever. Brother Jing it is, then."

"Mm." His voice was faint as he acknowledged, seemingly still carrying the scent of tobacco. For no particular reason, You Mingxu smiled, realizing how sharp he was—he'd probably noticed her tension with Yin Feng and was deliberately teasing her.

But speak of the devil. Just as You Mingxu was about to head back to the office, she saw Yin Feng emerge from the restroom, wiping his hands with a tissue.The two came face to face, and You Mingxu walked straight ahead without glancing aside.

Yin Feng glanced at Jing Ping not far away and let out a soft "tsk."

You Mingxu stopped and turned her head. "What are you tsking at?"