Silver Snow Line [Criminal Investigation]

[Team Pu found me and said she was your master.]

After Wei Cheng sent this message, Pu Yu, who was sitting opposite him, propped up her chin and looked at him with a smile: "You are quite sensible. You know how to report your itinerary."
"You came to me just to talk about her affairs, which involve her privacy. Shouldn't you ask for her consent first?" Wei Cheng said bluntly.

His attitude towards her was even colder than towards strangers, simply because Xie Qingfei had said that he hated her. However, Pu Yu seemed to be used to being hated, and was not angry at all, still looking at him with her eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.
Wei Cheng was stared at by her for a long time like a sketching model. She thought silently that she and Xie Qingfei were quite similar in some aspects. It seemed that she could deduce what he had for breakfast yesterday in the next second.

At this time, Xie Qingfei replied and she sent an emoji of sweating soybeans.
[Ignore her, just go on your way.]
Wei Cheng was about to reply when the “typing” button at the top of his head jumped again.
[Forget it, she's just talking to you about the same old shit.]
[Just listen and see what new excuses she comes up with.]

Wei Cheng turned off his phone and looked up at Pu Yu: "Go ahead."
Pu Yu's eyes moved from his phone to his face, revealing her satisfaction with him without any concealment: "You are so obedient, Xiao Qingfei must like you very much."
No way, Wei Cheng thought to himself.

Pu Yu stopped laughing and asked, "I heard she was sick last year. Is she better now?"
Wei Cheng said: "Post-traumatic stress disorder is not a terminal illness."
Pu Yu's expression eased a lot.
Wei Cheng stared at her and said, "If you are so worried, why didn't you come to see her when she was sick?"
Pu Yu clasped her hands together on the table and rubbed her thumbs awkwardly. She gradually lowered her head with a bitter smile on her lips: "She is already in a bad mood. If I go, I am afraid it will only add fuel to the fire."

"When I first met her, she was only 18 years old, and I was the same age as she is now. At first sight, I knew she would be a good police officer." Pu Yu lowered her eyelashes, "I may have a bad habit of being a teacher. I felt that with such a good seedling in front of me, I must train her well and make her my favorite student."

Wei Cheng frowned almost imperceptibly.

At that time, Xie Qingfei was only polite to Pu Yu as an elder. After all, compared with other big men whose names were written in the textbooks of the Public University, she was too young and had no reputation worthy of admiration. She did not meet Xie Qingfei's dating standards. Both of them were arrogant and their personalities were not compatible. Xie Qingfei looked down on Pu Yu, and Pu Yu, with her desire to conquer, insisted that she be convinced.

"It was really hard to make her obey me," Pu Yu recalled the past and couldn't help laughing, "So when she called me master for the first time, I was very happy. It was more of a sense of accomplishment than solving a big case."

"I have been working away from home for the past few years and have not had a vacation for several years. I can't find a chance to come back. I only heard about her illness from Director Huang a while ago, and she was suspended for cooperating with the investigation.
"Although only a few people know about this, given her personality, I'm afraid she will still be disappointed. I heard from Director Huang that she has not made it clear that she wants to continue working in the bureau... She is a good police officer, I'm afraid she is disappointed and doesn't want to do this job anymore."

"She's a good police officer," Wei Cheng said, "but it doesn't depend on whether you want her to be. She'd be a good teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, or anything else. What you want is a good apprentice who can be your favorite student, not a Xie Qingfei who is excellent in himself and can do everything to the best of his ability."

Pu Yu was stunned and did not refute.
She recalled the last words Xie Qingfei left her: "What master-disciple relationship, what inheritance? What disgusts me most is people like you who form cliques and factions."

After a moment, she shook her head gently: "Maybe you are right, this is also where I went wrong at the beginning."

"Back then, because of my arrogance, I misjudged the situation and caused them to be caught in an explosion." Pu Yu pinched his fingertips and breathed slowly. "Qing Fei and another policeman were trapped at the two ends of the same floor. During the rescue, I had to... I had to make a choice."

Most of the ice in the drink cup in front of him melted, and the water droplets hanging on the wall of the cup suddenly slid down.

Xie Qingfei threw the milk tea cup into the trash can.
The snow outside has not stopped falling. The white snow matches the Christmas lights on the trees very well. Pedestrians can't help but slow down their pace to take pictures of the huge Christmas tree erected in the center of the square.

Xie Qingfei put her hands in her pockets, regretting not driving when she came out. The temperature was colder than she had imagined.

Suddenly, a snowball hit her back with a "bang".

Xie Qingfei frowned and turned back. After a brief moment of stunned silence, a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Lei Heng!"

Her former partner and the first colleague with whom she had a close relationship, Officer Lei Heng, was standing two steps away and looking at her with a smile. The man had a neat crew cut, his brows were relaxed, his eyes were bright, his broad shoulders and long legs were wrapped in his down jacket, and at first glance he looked like a very refreshing handsome guy. However, he was leaning on an old and worn crutch in his left hand, and the hem of his down jacket was empty, with only his right leg still there.

The cold wind blowing in her face made Xie Qingfei's eyes hot. She tried her best not to look at his legs. She squatted down, made a snowball and threw it back to him without any hesitation.
The aim was so accurate that Lei Heng's face was tilted. He laughed and scolded, "You hit me so hard. I thought your temper would improve after not seeing you for a few years."
Xie Qingfei also laughed: "You still have the nerve to say that. You haven't contacted me for several years. You are really hard-hearted."

Lei Heng walked very slowly, and his crutches dug into the snow, leaving small holes. Xie Qingfei was always worried that the snow would make him slip and fall, and he didn't dare to take his eyes off him for a moment. The two of them entered a coffee shop on the corner of the street, and Lei Heng sat down, holding onto the table, with his crutches placed against the wall.

Xie Qingfei asked: "Have you had dinner?"
Lei Heng raised his eyebrows: "You're treating?"
"Okay," Xie Qingfei pushed the menu in front of him, "order whatever you want."
Lei Heng didn't bother to be polite with her and told the waiter a few things.
Xie Qingfei had a lot to talk about with him, but he couldn't think of the best way to start, so he could only ask dryly: "What have you been doing all these years?"
Lei Heng saw her trembling all the way and said with a smile: "Okay, I know what you are thinking. I broke a leg, but at least I am alive. I have time to love life. I am not as fragile as you think."

"As for me, my life as a non-policeman is much easier than yours. I traveled to the north about this time last year and ate the most distinctive barbecue there. At the beginning of this year, I lived in Yunnan for two months. There were not many people in the off-season, so it was a good time to relax alone. By the way, I also plan to go to the beach in a while. Although it is winter, it should have a unique scenery." Lei Heng said, and asked, "How are you?"

Xie Qingfei finally put his mind at ease after hearing him talk about how colorful his life was. "I recently encountered a rather difficult case, and there are a few issues I haven't figured out yet."

The waiter brought the dishes one by one. Lei Heng took two bites of pasta and finished it. He asked, "Are there any questions you can't figure out? It seems that the opponent you met this time is not ordinary."
Xie Qingfei agreed: "Yes, he is very cautious and has strong anti-detection capabilities. At present, the only things I can confirm are his physical features and a certain motive for committing the crime."
Lei Heng paused holding the fork and asked curiously, "If we can determine the motive for the crime, we can find the perpetrator, right? Is it a revenge?"
Xie Qingfei: "This murderer must have been bullied by others, and his life was not going as he wished. He was dissatisfied that the people who bullied him were better off than him, so he wanted to seek justice for himself. Of course, this is just my guess."
Lei Heng thought for a moment, "But the mentality you mentioned can really lead people astray."

Xie Qingfei glanced at him, his eyes brightened: "I have a technical question I want to ask you, are you interested?"
Lei Heng raised his eyebrows: "It's rare that there is something I can help you with, tell me."
Xie Qingfei looked around, took the sticky note on the table for writing messages to guests, and drew a sketch for Lei Heng: "The murderer broke into the house and killed people. I have seen the door locks of several scenes, but I don't know how to open this one. You taught me the skill of unlocking. Can you see if there is a way to unlock this structure?"
Lei Heng glanced at the sketch, frowned and thought for a moment, and drew a few strokes next to her drawing: "Probably like this. I'm not sure, if I had the real thing in my hand, I could try to open it."
Xie Qingfei: "I have a replica. I'll try it when I get back. I'll call you if I don't understand it."
Lei Heng: "Okay."

He agreed so readily that Xie Qingfei breathed a sigh of relief: "You haven't contacted me for these years, I thought you would never see me again. I'm sorry, I..."
"Stop being so cheesy, okay?" Lei Heng interrupted her, with an expression that said "I really can't stand you". "That incident can't be blamed on you. Aren't you also injured and almost became deaf?"

How can this be compared? Losing your hearing for a few months is like a mosquito bite compared to losing a leg forever and never being a police officer again.

Xie Qingfei bit her lower lip. She couldn't suppress the guilt she felt when facing Lei Heng.

And...how can you not blame her?
Lei Heng was unconscious after the explosion. She stayed awake and waited for the rescue, then shouted at the top of her lungs for Pu Yu to take people to rescue him. She couldn't hear what the rescuers said to Pu Yu, but she only remembered that everything had changed when she woke up again.

Xie Qingfei's eyes involuntarily fell on the crutch, which was the one she gave him that year, and now it has been worn and faded.

Just as I was lost in thought, my cell phone rang.
Xie Qingfei glanced over and saw that it was Wei Cheng who said he had finished talking with Pu Yu.
Lei Heng noticed her expression and jokingly asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Xie Qingfei: “I guess so.”
"Oh, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Lei Heng thought she was shy, "It's normal to fall in love. You're not a child anymore."
As he spoke, Xie Qingfei glanced at his left hand and asked suspiciously, "Where's your ring?"
Before the accident, Lei Heng already had a fiancée and had even sent an invitation to her at work.
Lei Heng curled his fingers and said calmly, "I'm a bachelor, how can I have any ring?"
Xie Qingfei guessed something and didn't ask any more questions.

After dinner, the snow outside had become much lighter, and the two walked slowly along the street.

After a long while, Lei Heng said, "Qing Fei, I know it's not easy for you these days. No matter what... just keep going. Just think of it as doing it for me, and do your best."
Xie Qingfei was stunned: "How do you know that I..."
Before he could finish his words, a huge force hit him from the side. Xie Qingfei staggered and then heard someone shouting "Grab the bag". In a blink of an eye, Lei Heng beside him rushed out quickly.

A once outstanding criminal policeman, even losing a leg did not affect his agility. Only a dozen meters away, when Xie Qingfei caught up with him, Lei Heng's crutches were thrown aside, and his empty trouser legs were touching the ground. His other leg was kneeling in front of him for support, and he twisted his body to fold the right wrist of the man who snatched the bag onto his thigh.
Standard police grappling and fighting posture.

Xie Qingfei suddenly remembered the bruises on Zheng Yuxuan's right arm.

Lei Heng had subdued the man swiftly. Seeing her standing there in a daze, he reminded her, "Call the police, or just take him away directly?"
Xie Qingfei called the police from the nearby police station and said hurriedly, "I have something urgent to do and need to go back to the bureau. Can you..."
"Sure," Lei Heng agreed without asking any questions, just like he had covered for her countless times before, "Just go ahead."

Xie Qingfei stopped a car on the roadside and rushed back to the police station.
She felt that if this speculation was true, it would be even more absurd, and that was why she had never dared to think about it in this direction.

Walking into the office, he met Lu Shaohui who was also coming back from outside and shaking off the snow at the door. Xie Qingfei casually lowered his head and saw a series of wet footprints on the ground, and asked, "What shoes are you wearing?"
"What shoes?" Lu Shaohui asked blankly, "Just the sports shoes issued by the company."
Xie Qingfei's heart sank suddenly, and he stared into his eyes: "Do you remember the murderer's footprints we found on the terrace of Du Manhe's house?"
Lu Shaohui blinked.
Xie Qingfei: "He...may be a policeman."

(End of this chapter)