Despite his destitution, Yin Chen's mind remained sharp; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to acquire such a large sum of money earlier—it was just his luck that had been poor. Soon, he noticed something peculiar about this woman.
She worked in that profession, yet he had never seen her bring a man home. Of course, there were nights when he saw her heavily made up, dressed provocatively. On such evenings, he would stand on the balcony, watching coldly as she stumbled upstairs, drunk after accompanying someone.
But the next day, when he knocked on her door with a few fresh apples, his expression stern, he would find her clear-eyed and gentle, a stark contrast to the disheveled woman of the night before. She would take an apple, take a small bite, and say, "Thank you, Xiao Chen." And when he left her home, he often carried a bottle of milk she had given him.
At that time, Yin Chen didn't know that it was precisely because his physique and age didn't match the killer's profile that You Ruixue treated him with such leniency. In the eyes of 31-year-old You Ruixue, Yin Chen, barely in his twenties, was just a homeless child.
But he didn't want to be seen as a child by her.
During that period, he began following her around, intentionally or not. He was penniless, having once gone two days without food or water. Driven by some mix of resentment and recklessness, he started mooching meals at her place. But after eating, he would silently take the cleaning tools and thoroughly tidy her home, inside and out. And whenever he managed to get money from outside, he would toss it all into her house. At such times, You Ruixue would look at him with the helpless expression of an adult watching a child and finally say, "I'll save it for you."
But this money she saved for him never had a chance to be returned to him later.
You Ruixue, alone in Xiangcheng under a false identity to investigate the case, was actually lonely too. She was a single mother, and even though she risked her life with her colleagues, she wasn't close to anyone. A boy like Yin Chen—pretty, frail, and seemingly covered in thorns—filled a void in her heart. And to be honest, she had her own motives: while undercover in this slum where the killer might appear, having Yin Chen around helped her avoid unnecessary harassment and blend in better. As for the gossip about the two of them circulating in the neighborhood, she paid it no mind.
Yin Chen seemed indifferent too, calling her "Sister You" each time. Occasionally, when some foolish man in the building tried to harass You Ruixue, Yin Chen—taller now and having regained some weight—would step forward with a dark expression, deterring many.
Thus, two people who had met by chance cared for each other like an unconventional pair of siblings.
Once, forgetting how the topic came up, Yin Chen casually asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
You Ruixue replied calmly, "I'm married."
Yin Chen: "Oh. Then why have I never seen your husband?"
You Ruixue didn't answer his question directly but said, "I even have a child, a girl, seven years old now, though she's not with me."
Mentioning her child, an unprecedented tenderness appeared on You Ruixue's face, as if it were something profoundly beautiful. For some reason, Yin Chen silently noted this detail. She had a child, a girl, seven years old.
...So, Yin Feng was right. You Mingxu could never truly replace her, nor was she his best choice.
He wasn't even sure whether, if that moment really came, he could actually bring himself to kill her child.
She was the only tenderness he held toward this world.
Gathering his thoughts, Yin Chen realized he had been distracted and inwardly cautioned himself. He glanced at Yin Feng in the rearview mirror again and saw him still slumped weakly, his expression unchanged, showing no sign of deliberately trying to lure him into conversation. Yin Chen snorted coldly but no longer allowed his mind to wander to the past. His icy eyes focused intently on the thick darkness ahead.
Unexpectedly, after a while, Yin Feng spoke again: "Brother, do you hate Mom and Dad?"
Yin Feng laughed softly and said, "What about you?"
"I do."
Yin Chen didn't respond.
"This is our fate," Yin Feng murmured as if talking to himself.
Yin Feng snorted with a laugh: "You believe in fate?"
"I believe, but I don't accept it."
Yin Chen fell silent for a moment and didn't reply.
After a while, Yin Chen asked, "Aren't you the least bit worried about your own situation?"
Yin Feng replied, "I sought benevolence and found it. What is there to worry about?"
Yin Feng sneered: "You're truly devoted to her."
Yin Feng said, "Just like you were to You Ruixue. Even after 20 years, or a lifetime, my heart won't change. She is irreplaceable."
Yin Chen fell silent once more.
Now he was truly certain that Yin Feng was doing this on purpose. This kid had always been cunning. He would strike ruthlessly without showing any signs, and even now, trapped in his grasp, unable to even crawl, he still wouldn't truly behave.
He had studied psychology for a while under Fan Shuhua. He was well aware that after suffering such a catastrophic blow as the Punisher's destruction, his psychological fluctuations and emotional instability were normal. Yet Yin Feng had brought up You Ruixue again, causing his mind to waver once more. The pain of unrequited longing, the youthful passions of love and hatred, and the final image of her lying on a stretcher, her face covered by a white cloth, her body stained with blood—all seemed to flicker before his eyes. Suddenly, Yin Chen felt a tightness in his throat. Those long-dormant feelings, which had once faded to near nothingness, could still resurface with such clarity and pain in his heart. Steadying himself, he roared, "Shut up. Say one more word, and I'll break your legs first. Wouldn't it be interesting to have you crawling in front of me from now on?"
Yin Feng wisely fell silent.
The car immediately sank into stillness.
Only Yin Feng's deep, sharp eyes, hidden from Yin Chen's view in the back, were lost in thought.
And so, on this inevitably turbulent night, a car carried two brothers—one as the butcher, the other willingly the lamb—each lost in their own thoughts, driving silently onward for a long time.
So long that even Yin Feng felt a flicker of distraction, a thought crossing his mind: Yin Chen was nearing madness and loss of control, capable of mutual destruction at any moment. Perhaps in this life, he would truly never see You Mingxu again?
But this gloomy thought was fleeting. In the next moment, he recalled the icy, frost-laden gaze You Mingxu had exchanged with him and the tear at the corner of her eye. He knew then that she would surely come, that she would surely find him. All he had to do was believe and wait.Waiting for her return, waiting for the dawn, trusting in the police's capabilities. And even... the corners of his lips unconsciously curled up, waiting for that woman's outburst, just like in the past, to unleash her power and sweep through all obstacles, to drive away all demons and monsters for You Yingjun, to bring him back to a safe place, where there would be no more fear or sorrow.
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