Silver Snow Line [Criminal Investigation]

"I picked up the boy with shaking hands and threw him into the sea of ​​fire! As my vision gradually cleared, the fire devoured its prey.
"I turned around, and behind me, I saw the child I had stolen!
"The person lying there, burning, is my own son!"
——《The Flame Is Burning》

"The criminal in this case was not liked by her father in her childhood because of her gender. Her mother also vented her dissatisfaction with the long-term suppression in the family on her. Therefore, in order to cater to her mother's crying, "It would be better if you were a boy," she began to dress herself up according to masculine standards and behave like boys of the same age. She did not receive proper guidance from female elders during her adolescence.

"Influenced by her upbringing, she naturally has a desire to protect weak women, especially when facing a weak-willed girl like the victim. She would unconsciously put herself in the position of a knight and gradually take care of her friend as a lover. Later, her friend had a boy she liked, and in order to dispel his idea, she tried to become the boy's girlfriend, but even so, she could not stop her friend from getting close to other boys, and she felt very jealous and angry.

"After repeated threats failed, she killed her best friend herself. During the interrogation, I asked her why she killed someone. She told me that she couldn't accept her best friend's 'betrayal' and felt that her feelings were betrayed, so she killed someone on impulse.

"In the criminal investigation process of this type of case, first of all..."

After class, Xie Qingfei changed back into casual clothes and went to a nearby shopping mall to have dinner.

It gets dark early in winter, which makes people lazy. It was only six o'clock and she already felt bored. When she thought about having to spend time alone when she got home, she started to miss Wei Cheng strangely.

Sometimes you have to admit that two people together is much more interesting than one person. Occasionally, when she is not so busy, she can go home and watch a movie and chat with him, which is fulfilling. Now she has a lot of free time, but no one is around her, and she feels a little lonely.
But after all, she was the one who drove the person away forcefully. It was a bit unreasonable for her to think of the good things about him now.

Xie Qingfei shook off all the distracting thoughts in his mind, bought a cup of hot milk tea along the street, and slowly walked to the intersection to consider whether to go home or go shopping again, when a familiar figure approached from the side.
If you really say Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive.

She stood there quietly for a while and didn't hear Wei Cheng take the initiative to talk to her.
After looking at him a few more times and seeing that he didn't look away and didn't react, Xie Qingfei couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Wei Cheng still said nothing and stood there silently as if he didn't see her.
Xie Qingfei noticed something was wrong. When he approached him, he smelled a faint smell of alcohol. He stretched out his hand and waved it under his eyes, asking curiously, "Did you drink too much?"
His vision interrupted, he finally lowered his head to look at her, but quickly retracted his gaze and continued to stand grimly on the side of the road with his hands in his pockets like a statue.

"Are you so cool after drinking?" Xie Qingfei was surprised and circled around him to make sure he was not pretending. "If you can't even recognize me, do you know your name?"
Perhaps he was annoyed, Wei Cheng fanned his eyes a few times like dusting off dust, with a bit of dissatisfaction in his misty eyes. But this dissatisfaction was obviously not directed at Xie Qingfei, because he knocked his head again the next second, with a look of "Why is my brain broken?"

Xie Qingfei was immediately delighted. This boring night became so interesting because of Wei Cheng's arrival.

Since the last time he had dinner with Xie Yinan and his wife, they hadn't seen each other for more than half a month, and there was no contact on WeChat. The only time they met at the police station, he took a long detour and deliberately didn't face her head on. Wei Cheng was a very trustworthy person. He promised to reduce contact with her and he would do it obediently. It can be seen that he really didn't know her when he approached her at this time.
Xie Qingfei had no idea how much Wei Cheng could drink. He almost never drank when they were together before. Although he came from a high-profile family, his only ambition was to be an ordinary doctor. He never participated in any social activities. This was the first time she saw him drunk.

Xie Qingfei approached him and asked kindly, "How are you going to get home like this? Is there anyone coming to pick you up?"
Wei Cheng stood still, as if he had closed his ears.
Xie Qingfei had no choice but to take out his phone, take a picture of him, and send a message to Xi Ming: [We found a person, please come and claim him. ]
Xi Ming: [? How did you two get together again? ]
Xi Ming: [Wait, something is wrong... Why does my brother look a bit stupid? Did you put a curse on him? ]
Xie Qingfei: [Yes, I ordered half a pound of white wine.]
Xi Ming typed hesitantly for a long time, and finally replied: [I can't leave here, can you take him away? ]

Before Xie Qingfei could reply, he said he had no time to chat as he was on a mission, totally disregarding the life or death of the homeless family member.

Xie Qingfei asked him several question marks in a row, but of course no one answered her. She raised her phone to Wei Cheng with a smile on her face, "Look, your brother doesn't want you. Remember to settle the score with him after you sober up. I'll get you a taxi. Is it okay for you to go home by yourself?"
Wei Cheng blinked, with a clear stupidity in his eyes. He looked at the phone screen, then at her. His eyelids drooped, and he looked a little pitiful.
Xie Qingfei: "..."

"Don't look at me like that. Do you expect me to send you off in person? I'm very busy. When I go back later, I not only have to prepare lessons, but also... prepare lessons. In short, I definitely don't have time to send you off."

Wei Cheng seemed to understand. He tilted his head and sighed in frustration.

Was this guy a soldier in his previous life? He would resort to self-torture tactics when he was drunk.
Xie Qingfei really wanted to twist his shoulders and shake them hard to see how smart he was to be able to easily sway her even when she was unconscious.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard someone calling Wei Cheng's name behind him.
The man was slightly startled when he saw her, then nodded and said, "Thank you, officer."
The person who came was Wei Cheng's childhood friend Chi Zhengdu. Xie Qingfei also greeted him: "Are you guys together?"
"Yeah, he ran away before I knew it." Chi Zhengdu said, "He was yelling that it was time to pick up his girlfriend from get off work, even though he was so drunk that he didn't know where to go."
Wei Cheng recognized the man and spread his palm towards Chi Zhengdu: "Car keys."
Chi Zhengdu said: "Drunk driving is against the law."
Xie Qingfei asked in confusion: "Where did he get his girlfriend?"
Chi Zhengdu asked Wei Cheng: "Where did you get your girlfriend?"
Wei Cheng responded to him seriously, and even turned the tables: "Xie Qingfei. You must have drunk too much to even remember this."
Xie Qingfei: "..."

Chi Zhengdu was amused and speechless, and said to Xie Qingfei: "He doesn't have any logic in his mind right now, maybe he forgot that you two have broken up."
Xie Qingfei didn't really bother with Wei Cheng, he waved his hand and said it was okay, thinking that since he had someone to accompany him, he didn't need to worry about it anymore. Just as he was about to leave, Chi Zhengdu suddenly touched Wei Cheng's head lovingly: "He drank a little too much because it was his birthday today, he's not like this usually."
Xie Qingfei was stunned and asked in surprise: "Today is already the 25th?"
I looked at my phone and found that it was indeed the case.

Wei Cheng, who was standing by, had no sense of being the birthday boy. He left a room full of friends celebrating his birthday and was only thinking about one thing - picking up his long-lost girlfriend from get off work. He was unable to provoke Chi Zhengdu, so he got anxious and tried to grab his car keys.
Xie Qingfei didn't know what to say for a moment. When he was unsteady, she supported him. The man naturally hung on her, so heavy that he was simply repaying kindness with enmity.

"Officer Xie, if it's convenient, could you please take him back?" Chi Zhengdu said helplessly, "If he insists on going to pick up his 'girlfriend', I'm afraid it will be very difficult for him."
Xie Qingfei thought, as the saying goes, the one who understands the bell must be the one who tied it. It was really hard to trouble Chi Zhengdu about the matter between her and Wei Cheng, and it didn't seem like a big deal to send him off. Even if it was an ordinary colleague who needed help, she would not refuse.

And today is Wei Cheng’s birthday.

It’s okay to help.

It doesn't mean she means anything else.

This way, even if he wakes up, it will be easier for me to explain.

Xie Qingfei nodded.
Chi Zhengdu said with satisfaction: "Okay, thank you, Officer. See you next week."
Xie Qingfei said: "I wish you a happy wedding in advance."

Ten minutes later, Wei Cheng was pushed into the car.
"You're a pretty good drinker." Considering that he had been very cooperative and didn't make any noises, Xie Qingfei patted him on the chest with satisfaction after he fastened his seat belt, "Let's go, I'll take you home."
Wei Cheng shook his head: "Go to the Public Security Bureau."
Xie Qingfei was stunned: "Why are you going there?"
Wei Cheng said: "To pick up my girlfriend from get off work."
Xie Qingfei endured it, and couldn't think of the reason why he was ignored that night, so he turned sideways to face him: "Then who am I?"
Wei Cheng looked at her seriously for a few times and said firmly, "It's an illusion."

It turns out that he was so arrogant just now and really didn't treat her as a human being.

Xie Qingfei was amused: "How do you know that I am hallucinating? Can hallucinations talk to you?"
Wei Cheng looked as if he didn't want to pay attention to her and tapped the dial with his fingertips, meaning that if you really are Xie Qingfei, you should be working overtime in the bureau at this time instead of following me around the streets.
Xie Qingfei said: "I don't work overtime every day. I go home early occasionally. Besides, I'm not on the front line anymore. I'm tired of having so many holidays. Your news is too late."

It was not very confident to say this, after all, when they were together, they did not have the good days of Captain Xie. The police never get off work, not to mention that the criminal police team is always busy. She only went home before dark a few times, and sometimes she went on business trips and might not come back for three or five days. It was not that she was not at home on purpose.
As expected, Wei Cheng acted as if he had seen through everything and straightened his back and gave orders: "Go to the Public Security Bureau."

boring.
Xie Qingfei really didn't want to pay attention to him, so he stretched his arm across and pushed him back onto the chair: "Sit tight, and you'll have to pay 200 yuan for vomiting on the bus."
Then, while scolding him, he turned at the intersection and drove to the police station. When they arrived, they thought Wei Cheng would try to get out of the car again, but he didn't make any noise until the car was turned off. Xie Qingfei saw him take out his phone and open the chat page with him. He hesitated for a long time with his fingers hanging in the air, but in the end, he didn't say a word. He stared at the screen until it turned off automatically. He put the phone back in his arms, lowered the car window and looked outside as if he was not afraid of the cold.

On the other side was the office building, majestic and solemn, and the police badge hanging in the center also looked cold in the cold winter night. Xie Qingfei followed his line of sight and saw nothing but sporadic lights.

Her heart moved slightly, and she asked in a low voice: "You don't come here at this time every day, do you?"
Wei Cheng thought for a moment and said, "When I'm not on duty, I come here every day."
Xie Qingfei couldn't help but said, "You must be lying. I haven't seen you once."
Wei Cheng didn't say anything.
Xie Qingfei asked again: "What are you doing here?"

The cold wind blew straight into the car from the window, stabbing people's cheeks like a sharp knife. Wei Cheng even faced the wind vent, as if he wanted to stare through the building. Xie Qingfei couldn't bear it and pulled him inside. This time he didn't insist, he raised the window himself, closed his eyes and relaxed, then said: "Let's go."

"Oh." Xie Qingfei responded, and couldn't help but linger on his eyes for a moment.

He said he came every day, but I don't know if it was true or not. I didn't hear him say that when we were in love, and after we broke up, I wasn't narcissistic enough to think about it. Seeing him was only once, but how many times could he not see? He could come all spring, summer, autumn and winter.
But what can we wait for? Waiting is always the most futile thing. What we get is often nothing. There is no point in persisting.

Xie Qingfei suddenly felt a little dry, and also felt that the heater in the car was burning. He secretly glanced at him in the rearview mirror and asked shyly, "Do you... have any birthday wishes?"
Wei Cheng's gaze fell on the profile of her face.
Xie Qingfei: "Well, you'd better stop talking. I'm just asking casually. I don't intend to help you realize it."

Xie Qingfei was no longer in the mood to tease him along the way. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had taken the person to the garage in his own community.
The familiar environment completely confused the timeline of Wei Cheng, who was already unconscious. He got out of the car calmly, walked to the elevator door as if he knew the way, and pressed the floor button. Xie Qingfei chased him into the elevator, and now there was no chance to chase him away.

When he got home, he swaggered in.
Just as Xie Qingfei took off his coat and hung it up, and turned around to make some rules with him, his wrist was suddenly pulled by a strong force.

Her back suddenly pressed against the door, and his soft palm rested behind her head. The smell of alcohol on him was not unpleasant, and only his hot breath revealed that he was drunk. This heat hit her behind her ears at this moment, making her almost gasp.

"I want to hug you." Wei Cheng said.

The room was dark, and the faint orange light from the entranceway cast a shadow on the overlapping figures.

"My birthday wish is to hug you."

Xie Qingfei was filled with his breath, familiar and nostalgic, and forgot to struggle for a moment. And he used a lot of strength to almost hold her whole body in his arms.

Touching her waist and pinching her face, Wei Cheng said distressedly: "You seem to have lost weight."
Xie Qingfei: "It's all muscle."
"Haha..." He couldn't help laughing and tightened the hug.

"Wei Cheng," Xie Qingfei let him hold her for a while and reminded her, "It's almost done."
He refused to let go.
She reached out and pushed his chest again, but her hand was also grabbed.

Never mind, today is his birthday.

Xie Qingfei used this reason to persuade herself again. Just when she had coaxed herself, Wei Cheng saw that she had stopped struggling, and became unhappy again. He thought that her bad attitude was purely to perfunctorily deal with him and to show her disdain for him.

"What are you doing?" The willfulness that he never showed when he was sober now came out all at once. Wei Cheng buried his head in her shoulder and said aggrievedly, "Why do you only know how to bully me?"

Xie Qingfei completely lost his temper and went along with him, "How did I bully you? I let you hug me, do you want to sleep with me again like last time?"
Wei Cheng immediately raised his head and said, "I won't sleep with you."

"Haha." Xie Qingfei didn't expect him to refuse so decisively. He was amused for a moment and said unconvincedly, "What did you say? Why don't you want to?"
Wei Cheng: "I just don't want to, don't even think about sleeping with me."
Xie Qingfei: "That's funny, do you think I really want to sleep with you?"
Wei Cheng's cheeks were red, and he looked clumsy and harmless due to his drunkenness. Now he looked even more embarrassed.
Xie Qingfei: "...Don't make that expression, it's as if I have to do something with you, I don't want to sleep with you in the first place, okay!"

He was so disturbed by alcohol that he even had a weak ability to read her expressions. He tilted his head and looked at her for a long time, thinking that she was throwing a tantrum, and coaxed her in a gentle voice: "Recently, you really can't. You can't resume sexual life for at least one month after the operation, otherwise it will still be risky for you."
He lowered his voice for the rest of the sentence, more like he was warning himself, so Xie Qingfei didn't hear clearly: "What did you just say one month?"
Wei Cheng: "Nothing, I said if you want to sleep with me, you have to wait a month."
Xie Qingfei: "..."
"I'm not interested in your schedule in this regard," she turned her head and said stiffly, "Anyway, I don't have this idea, don't twist my words. Can you let me go now?"
Wei Cheng was slow to react at the moment, and was particularly sensitive to her unhappiness. He was stunned for a while before replying: "Xie Qingfei, don't be angry, I'm still angry."
Xie Qingfei snorted, "Why are you so angry? You are not sober-minded and you have taken advantage of others. Don't regret it tomorrow when you sober up."
"Of course I'm angry," Wei Cheng said in a muffled voice, "If I don't go to see you, you won't take the initiative to come and see me? I didn't forbid you to come to see me. I miss you so much, and the thought of being angry makes me want to die."

"You are so heartless, Xie Qingfei. How can you just say you don't want me?" He accused her while grabbing her chin fiercely with his free hand. He didn't even allow her to look away, and had to ask her with their eyes facing each other, "Do you really not like me at all?"

Xie Qingfei's breath was choked: "I..."

When dealing with ordinary colleagues, she is of course willing to lend a hand when they need help, but she is not so kind as to take them home. Her patience is not enough to support her to communicate with a drunkard in a friendly manner, or even to condone his overstepping behavior.
Among the many reasons why she decided to break up with him, this was the only reason she didn't like him.

"I actually..."

"Forget it," Wei Cheng suddenly lost his strength, "You are just my hallucination, and your words don't count. But fortunately, you are just an hallucination. If Xie Qingfei really heard me say these words, I would be too embarrassed."

After saying that, he took two steps back, stood up, straightened his coat with the collar rubbed askew, and said very politely: "Hello, I'm drunk."

Then, before Xie Qingfei could react, he raised his head and fell to the ground with a bang.

(End of this chapter)