She is in the fog

2024 8 Month 18 Day.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. A few eerie crow calls echoed through the sky. He Xi swallowed, gripped the gun in his hand tighter, and pointed the muzzle straight at Ren Yan in front of him.

Ren Yan raised his hands and challenged indifferently: "Come on, Officer He, shoot, shoot me to death, so as to avenge Ming Mei."

He Xi did not respond to him. The wind was still blowing and the leaves were falling sporadically.

Ren Yan gave a sarcastic smile: "Come on, arrest me, righteous Officer He, and let me accept the punishment of the law."
He stretched out his hands in front of him, sighed and continued, "It's a pity. When Mingmei died, she was just 18 years old, which was the prime of her youth..."

"Stop it! I told you to stop!"
He Xi's hand holding the gun trembled slightly. She opened her eyes wide, and the red bloodshot in her eyes became more and more obvious. She roared: "Do you really think I dare not kill you?"

Ren Yan opened his chest, pointed to his heart, and said with a smile: "Come on, Officer He, shoot here, just like I stabbed the dagger into her heart, shoot the bullet into my heart."

He Xi's eyes turned red, he bit his back teeth and pulled the trigger.

"boom--"

A bullet flew out from the muzzle of the gun, shining silver in the moonlight, as bright as a meteor across the sky.

The scene around him changed rapidly. Ren Yan in front of him suddenly turned into Ming Mei. Seeing the bullet about to shoot into Ming Mei's heart, He Xi shouted, "No——"

Then, He Xi woke up at the desk in the study.
She breathed heavily and took a piece of paper from the desk to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

As a police officer of the Nanzhou City Public Security Bureau's Anti-Drug Team, He Xi had just solved a major case two days ago and was approved for a week's vacation.

He Xi threw the tissue into the trash can beside him and picked up the glass photo frame on the table with an expressionless face. The soft light shone on it, making it look both desolate and warm.

The girl in the glass frame is bright.

He Xi remembered that it was the school's 80th anniversary celebration. The school specially held a party in the auditorium. Mingmei had a solo program. She wore delicate makeup and a red off-shoulder puffy dress, which made her skin look as white as snow. She had a slender neck and an elegant figure. Standing under the spotlight on the stage, she looked like a noble princess, sacred and inviolable.

After Mingmei finished her singing, thunderous applause broke out from the audience. She then slowly walked off the stage, lifting the hem of her skirt. Her movements were light and her temperament was graceful. Without the spotlight following her, she looked even more mysterious and elegant.

He Xi thought the scene was too beautiful, so he raised his cell phone and tried to secretly take a picture of this beautiful scenery while the lights in the auditorium were dim. Unexpectedly, Ming Mei walked up the steps in the aisle and turned her head, just in time to see He Xi's movements. So she cooperated and stood there, staring at the camera motionlessly, with a smile on her face and a clear look in her eyes.

He Xi remembered this smile from the age of 18 to 28.

"Ten years of life and death are boundless, without thinking, I will never forget..."
When He Xi first learned this poem by Su Shi, he was only in the second grade of junior high school. Being young and ignorant, he only felt that it was somewhat sad and beautiful, but could not deeply appreciate the emotions contained in it. Now when he reads it, every word is truly heartbreaking.

She put the photo frame back on the bookshelf, took out a transparent cube-shaped glass bottle from the drawer, and took out a red paper crane from the glass bottle.

This thousand paper cranes was given by Mingmei herself at the high school graduation party.

She said: "He Xi, do you know the meaning of the thousand paper cranes? They represent good wishes. I give you my favorite red color, wishing you peace, happiness and a bright future."
She said: "He Xi, I have been waiting for you to apologize."
She said: "He Xi, although you didn't apologize, I forgive you."
She said: "He Xi, let's make peace."

He Xi regarded this paper crane as a treasure. He was afraid of breaking it, so he bought a glass bottle to put it in overnight. He was satisfied just by looking at it through the glass bottle.
If she had known that day would be their final farewell, her eyes would never have left Mingmei.

"Meow--"
A cat's meow brought her back to reality.

He Xi lowered her head and saw a fat tabby cat rubbing its head against her calf, with a look of enjoyment on its face.

This tabby cat was originally a stray cat in the community. Once, it was seriously injured and almost died. He Xi rescued it, took it home and raised it, naming it "Xiao Li".

But she is also a very busy person. If she encounters a major case, she may not be home for a long time, so she gave the spare key to her neighbor Granny Jiang and asked her to come and feed the cat often.

It seems that Grandma Jiang takes good care of Xiaoli. Xiaoli has become fatter than when he first came.

He Xi placed the paper cranes on the table, stretched out his right hand and touched Xiaoli's head. At this time, the cell phone rang.

She picked up: "Hello."

"He Xi, long time no see."

Is this... Wen Wan's voice? He Xi was a little surprised. After Ming Mei passed away, Wen Wan went abroad and there was no news from her. Unexpectedly, ten years later, she would take the initiative to contact her.

"You are... Wen Wan?" He Xi couldn't help but want to confirm it.

"It's me. I just returned home yesterday." Wen Wan paused for a moment, then said, "Would you like to have a cup of coffee?"
Without waiting for He Xi to answer, she continued, "I'll wait for you at the Green Star Cafe near your home."

Ten minutes later, He Xi arrived at the Green Star Cafe.

Wenwan sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, with her long hair draped over her shoulders. She turned her head to look at the passers-by outside the window. Her every move was no longer as carefree as she used to be. She had become gentle and virtuous.

He Xi walked over to the seat opposite her and sat down, saying "Long time no see".

Wen Wan turned around and called the waiter. She ordered a cup of signature coffee for He Xi, then said with a smile, "Why don't you go to the wedding? I waited for you at the entrance of Sunshine Hotel for a long time, but you didn't show up."

It turned out that the wedding invitation was made by Wen Wan. He Xi smiled calmly: "Don't joke, they are all fake."

Wen Wan snorted coldly: "Look, you clearly know it's fake. Mingmei has been dead for ten years. He Xi, people should look forward!"

He Xi did not face the question directly, but asked: "What do you plan to do after returning to China?"

"What else can we do? We just muddle through." Wen Wan picked up her coffee and took a sip. "When I was abroad, I heard that you applied for the police academy. Where are you enforcing justice now?"

"You don't have to be a police officer to study at the police academy, but it's just a way to make a living."

Wen Wan stared into He Xi's eyes and asked, "Drug enforcement officer?"
Seeing He Xi hesitated for a moment, she sighed and continued, "I knew it. I wouldn't stop you even if you didn't want to die. If it weren't for the fact that we're classmates, I wouldn't want to see you at all. But I didn't expect that after so many years, you're still the same as before, inferior and cowardly, always avoiding things! You hide everything you do!"

He Xi remained silent.

Wen Wan continued to say in a disappointed tone, "You are already 28 years old, but you have never been in a relationship. Do you dare to say it is not because of Mingmei? Do you dare to swear to heaven that you no longer like Mingmei? Do you dare?"

Of course not.
He Xi was speechless and continued to remain silent.

In the second year of high school, when Mingmei just transferred to the class, she was so confident and bright. All the qualities in her were what He Xi did not have at that time but longed for. The moment He Xi saw her for the first time, he fell in love with her uncontrollably.
But He Xi at that time was so inferior and cowardly that he could only secretly peek at her in a corner where no one was around. Once their eyes met, she would immediately look away so that no one would notice. Wen Wan snorted coldly: "To say that you are cowardly is true, but not quite right. After all, you are not afraid of death now, but you are afraid of accepting the facts."

He Xi raised his head, a strange movement flashed in his eyes, and he pursed his lips, but didn't know what to say.
Someone once said: "Death is not the end, forgetting is."
He Xi stubbornly believed that as long as there was one person who remembered her, she was not truly dead.

Wen Wan sighed: "You didn't cherish me when I was alive, and now you act like you are deeply affectionate after I die. What's the point of that, other than to impress yourself?"
He Xi lowered his head again and fell silent.

Seeing He Xi's silence, Wen Wan could no longer bear it and yelled, "Look at you! You are always like this. Don't you even have the courage to answer questions? Since you like Ming Mei so much, why didn't you confess your feelings? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid?"
Wen Wan became more and more excited as she spoke. She simply stood up and pointed at He Xi and asked, "Even if you don't dare to confess your feelings, why don't you dare to respond to Ming Mei's confession? Why do you want to leave regrets in her short life?"

"Mingmei confessed to me?" He Xi frowned and looked at Wen Wan in confusion.

Wen Wan sat back in her seat, but her tone was still very excited: "I admit that I am shameless, mean, and I have no good intentions. I stayed by her side as a close friend, and I could get in touch with her in the most intimate way. But in fact, I had other intentions. I don't know when it started, but I found that I fell in love with her. This kind of love is not an ordinary love, but a serious, resolute, heartfelt love, regardless of gender. I desperately want to be with her and take care of her for the rest of my life, but I never dared to express my feelings to her. I was afraid that I would scare her and that she would find me disgusting. But later, she told me that she seemed to like a girl. Do you know how happy I was at that moment? No matter who she likes, I don't care. She likes girls, which means I have a chance, do you understand? But why did she like you! What did she like about you at that time? What on earth makes you worthy of her? It was obviously me who knew her first, why did she like you? I really don't understand!"

He Xi was even more confused: "Mingmei, do you like me?"

Wen Wan widened her eyes: "You don't know?"

He Xi shook his head blankly: "I don't know."

"The contents of the paper cranes," Wen Wan said anxiously, "didn't you say you had read it?"

He Xi was stunned for a moment before he suddenly woke up from his dream.

"Sorry, I have to leave you first!" After saying goodbye to Wen Wan, she hurried back to her home.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the corridor, he smelled a burnt smell. Coincidentally, at this moment, Grandma Jiang came out of the room. When she saw He Xi, she acted as if she had seen a life-saving straw.

"He Xi! There's a fire!" Grandma Jiang shouted at her.

He Xi hurriedly picked up the fire extinguisher in the corridor and rushed into Grandma Jiang's house.

It turned out that the power strip in Grandma Jiang's house had been used for more than ten years and was already old and in a mess, but Grandma Jiang was reluctant to replace it with a new one because she was stingy with money. As a result, it suddenly caught fire and ignited the cardboard box next to it. Grandma Jiang tried to put out the fire with clothes but failed. Instead, the fire got bigger. Fortunately, Grandma Jiang was still rational and did not pour water on it directly, otherwise it would have been terrible if the circuit had come into contact with water.

He Xi was not afraid of danger. She quickly put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, helped her mother-in-law deal with the scene, and opened the windows for ventilation to let the gas dissipate. She let her mother-in-law rest in another room, gave her some knowledge about electricity and fire fighting, and she felt relieved for a long time before returning home.

After entering the study, He Xi was stunned by everything he saw.

The thousand paper cranes that Mingmei gave somehow fell into the transparent water cup, while the little fox was licking the water on its paws as if nothing had happened.

He Xi's heart sank, and he hurriedly took out the paper cranes from the cup and carefully tore off two pieces of paper to absorb the water on them.

Sure enough, there were some black ink marks on the paper of the thousand paper cranes that was soaked by water.
She carefully unpacked it bit by bit. The ink was blurred by the water, and the small tentacles that stretched out looked very much like black albizzia flowers.

After seeing the words written on it clearly, He Xi was dumbfounded, as if someone had pressed the pause button and he stood there motionless.

"He Xi, I like you. If you like me too, please arrive at the Early Summer Bar before 6:10 on June 19th, and I will know your answer."

The brushstrokes are vigorous and penetrating, and it is indeed a bright handwriting.

These few short lines of words brought a great shock to He Xi's heart. During those ten or so seconds of daze, countless images flashed through her mind.
At that time, He Xi was called "a rat in the gutter" by He Sicheng, and Ming Mei was the sun that she could not reach. Even her love for her was buried deep in her heart.
She regarded the thousand paper cranes she gave as treasures, so how could she bear to easily fold up this blessing?

No wonder Mingmei could see He Xi at first sight in the dim auditorium, no wonder she stood there cooperatively after noticing He Xi taking pictures, no wonder she folded her favorite red color into a thousand paper cranes and gave them to her...

It turned out that her sun had already been shining its rays on her.
It turns out that the eighteen-year-old Ming Mei also likes the eighteen-year-old He Xi.

He Xi's eyelids twitched, his heart twitched violently, and a feeling of heartache and regret instantly surged up.
It was like a building collapsing, and He Xi's eyes were dim.

She never dared to ask for anything more from Mingmei, she just hoped that she could live a happy life, but unfortunately things did not go as she wished.

He Xi has never regretted any of the countless decisions and choices she has made in her life, but if she had the chance to do it all over again, she hopes that the 18-year-old He Xi would personally say to the 18-year-old Ming Mei, "I like you, too."

No! If there is a chance to start over again, the 18-year-old He Xi will forget all the past and abandon all the inferiority and cowardice...

"Clang-"

He heard the sound of glass breaking and looked towards the source of the sound. He saw Xiaoli standing on the bookshelf licking his paws as if nothing had happened. There was a mess under the bookshelf and the glass photo frame was broken into several pieces.

He Xi hurriedly walked over and picked up the photo frame, completely ignoring the broken glass and quickly took out the photos inside, anxiously checking whether the photos were damaged.

Fortunately, it was not broken. He Xi breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed the upper right corner of the photo. When he took his fingers away, he suddenly discovered a new world!

When looking at this photo before, He Xi's eyes were always focused on Mingmei, so she didn't pay attention to the surrounding environment. But now she discovered that there was a pair of eyes in the upper right corner of the photo staring at Mingmei's back, and the eyes were very strange and scary, like a dormant tiger or leopard, waiting to hunt prey.

Moreover, He Xi vaguely felt that this pair of eyes looked like he had seen it somewhere before!
Ren Yan!

Although the person in the photo looks different from the wanted fugitive Ren Yan, He Xi feels that their eyes look too much like the same person.

Ten years ago, Mingmei was murdered by a stranger at her birthday party.

Police investigation found that the murderer was named Ren Yan, who had a history of drug abuse, but had no connection with the victim.

The police issued a Class A arrest warrant, but Ren Yan seemed to have disappeared out of thin air, and there has been no news of him. Ten years have passed, and he has still not been arrested.

He Xi looked at the face in the photo and always felt that he seemed to be the same person as the wanted criminal Ren Yan.

At this moment, news came from the undercover colleague. He not only accurately informed the transaction location and drug storage den, but also sent back a photo of the criminal group leader "Yanhuo".

He Xi picked up his phone and looked at the photo of "Yanhuo". He felt that something was wrong. It seemed that he should not have such a face...

As a drug enforcement police officer, she needs to be sensitive.
Although Yan Huo, Ren Yan and the person in the photo in the auditorium look different, their eyes never lie, and that weird and scary look is almost exactly the same.

She was shocked and had an unrealistic guess in her mind: Could the man staring at Mingmei's back in the school auditorium, Ren Yan who killed Mingmei, and the head of the criminal group codenamed "Yanhuo" be the same person? He just had plastic surgery and faked his identity?
If this is true, then the police investigation's finding of "no connection with the victim" is actually wrong. The murderer actually knew Mingmei and had been planning this for a long time?
But if this is true, which one is the real him?
(End of this chapter)