My girlfriend died in the past

Chapter 320: Old Things in Memory
"Not simple?" Dong Zeyu was puzzled. "Why is it not simple?"

"A gentleman judges by deeds, not by intentions. Even if we assume that the female hostage was indeed your mother, your father did objectively save the hostage."

Zhuang Xiao explained to him, "To be honest, I don't think there's anything to be embarrassed about. Do you really think that Li Ming and your mother are embarrassed and keep it a secret because of this kind of thing?

"Even if they were really too kind and couldn't tolerate even a grain of sand in their eyes, what about the others? Why did the others also hide this matter? Even the news media at that time were not allowed to publish the facts?
"Even if you don't reveal your real name, you can at least hide your parents' names and say that the police rescued the hostages."

The more Dong Zeyu listened, the more he felt it made sense, "It's true."

After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Zhuang Xiao and said, "Brother Zhuang, should I go back and ask my mother?"

"Forget about it. Auntie finally came out of this situation. Don't go back and cause trouble for her." Zhuang Xiao decisively denied him. "Besides, you won't be able to find out anything if you go back. Auntie hasn't said anything yet. It doesn't make sense for her to tell you now if you ask her. This is not the Conan set."

Dong Zeyu looked unwilling, "No, then just wait? We have to do something!"

"That's not the case." Zhuang Xiao snapped his fingers. "Li Ming will definitely call you within ten minutes, believe it or not."

Dong Zeyu was full of suspicion. "Not really. If Uncle Li wanted to say it, he would have said it just now. There's no need to wait until I left to find me."

"If you don't believe me, we can try it." Zhuang Xiao invited.

"Okay! Let's bet on who will pay the bill tonight!" Dong Zeyu said he would follow, "I bet no!"

"Okay, I'm going to have a big dinner tonight, and I'll also invite Yueyue and Xiaodie along." Zhuang Xiao was happy, "Do you have enough money in your bank account?"

Dong Zeyu's face suddenly became uncertain, "No, Brother Zhuang, could it be that Uncle Li would really contact me?"

Zhuang Xiao was full of confidence, but he made him less confident.

"Just wait for the result, why panic?"

Zhuang Xiao took out his cell phone and said, "Let's play the king first."

Dong Zeyu thought so too and decided to fight him.

Eight minutes later, when the crystal was pushed away, Dong Zeyu's cell phone rang.

Dong Zeyu was shocked, "What the hell! It's really Uncle Li calling!"

He looked up at Zhuang Xiao.

Zhuang Xiao raised his chin towards him and said, "Answer it. What are you looking at me for?"

Dong Zeyu quickly answered the phone.

After a while, he hung up the phone, then looked up and said, "Uncle Li said that his shift is over today and he will come out after the handover. What do you say?"

"Just wait. It's a good opportunity to ask me if I can go with you." Zhuang Xiao yawned. "I need to know exactly what he said before I can make an analysis."

"Okay, I'll ask later." Dong Zeyu didn't say anything more.

Just at this moment, Zhuang Xiao's cell phone vibrated.

He took it out and took a look at it, his eyes moved slightly, but he put the phone back without saying anything.

Not long after, Li Ming walked out of the back door of the Municipal Bureau and came to the parking lot.

Coming to the car, Dong Zeyu rolled down the window.

After seeing Zhuang Xiao, Li Ming was stunned for a moment, then hesitated a little, "This..."

"Uncle Li, this matter is also related to Brother Zhuang, and I would like Brother Zhuang to help me with some advice, is that okay?" Dong Zeyu asked.

Li Ming hesitated for a moment, but still pulled the car door and got on the back seat, "Let's go to my place."

Ten minutes later, the car stopped at a roadside parking space at the entrance of an old residential complex, and the three got out and walked into the complex.

After entering the house, Li Ming tidied up the sofa, then took two bottles of purified water from the refrigerator and handed them to the two of them, "My wife has sent my child to a cram school, so it's a good opportunity for us to talk about this. You wait a moment."

As he said this, he went back into the room and rummaged through the drawers, then came out with a very old-fashioned black-covered notebook.

The outer cover of this notebook is in very poor condition. It is obvious that it has not been well maintained and is at least ten years old.

"This is what Master wrote. He gave it to me for safekeeping. Now it's time to return it to you." Li Ming sighed. "I originally thought that I would never show it to you, but since you asked about that incident, you must have known something."

Dong Zeyu nodded. "I accidentally saw the news at that time. I always felt that there was something wrong with it. The news was written a little weirdly."

After saying that, he was about to get his notebook, but was held back by Li Ming.

Dong Zeyu looked up in confusion.

Li Ming took out a cigarette box and handed it to Zhuang Xiao, but Zhuang Xiao waved his hand to refuse. So he handed one to Dong Zeyu, and they both lit up. "Don't worry, wait until I finish talking before you decide whether to read it or not."

Dong Zeyu wanted to say something else, but Zhuang Xiao patted him on the shoulder.

He turned around and met Zhuang Xiao's steady gaze, and Dong Zeyu's heart calmed down a lot.

"Uncle Li, tell me what you want. I can handle it."

Facing Dong Zeyu's earnest gaze, Li Ming remained silent for a long time and just kept smoking.

He really didn't know what to say.

Zhuang Xiao suddenly spoke up, "Uncle Li, the mentally ill man who took hostages in the mall, could he be Dong Zeyu's father?"

Dong Zeyu suddenly raised his head, and stared at Li Ming with his bloodshot eyes.

Li Ming was startled and asked subconsciously, "How did you know?"

"It's easy to guess, right?" Zhuang Xiao shrugged. "Although the mall collapsed in the explosion, at least the criminals and Dong Zeyu's father died. Even if this kind of thing is not publicized, there must be a commendation or something.

"Even if it was to save his wife, it is not worth suppressing for both public and private reasons, and the victims' families are unwilling to talk about it.

“I believe there are people in the world who are truly selfless and would feel guilty about being rewarded even if it’s just for a little selfishness, but I don’t believe that everyone is like that.

"And you've never wanted to talk about it, obviously because it wasn't very glorious at the time."

Li Ming was puzzled, "Just like that?"

"Of course not." Zhuang Xiao took out his cell phone and flashed it. "I sent someone to investigate the situation back then and found out that three months after the incident, there was a selection of people who moved Luoyang, but Dong Zeyu's father was not selected.

"I just wonder, is his father really a martyr?"

"Of course." Li Ming blurted out, "This is 100% certified."

"Then I understand." Zhuang Xiao understood immediately, "Uncle Dong said he found something, and everyone thought he was mentally ill, so he was pushed to the brink of madness and kidnapped his wife, and then said that there was something wrong with the mall and forced the people to evacuate. "Then after the people really evacuated, he released my aunt, and it turned out that there was really a problem there."

After a pause, he added, "Maybe he said there were explosives buried there."

So he was recognized as a martyr, but it was difficult to say it openly.

"Xiao Zhuang, are you sure you didn't study at a police academy before?" Li Ming opened his eyes wide.

This is a bit too outrageous!

Can so many clues be analyzed from such a small number of clues?

It was almost exactly the same as the scene he had experienced originally!

If Li Ming didn't know Zhuang Xiao's age, he would have doubted whether Zhuang Xiao was also at the scene.

"I'm not that smart, I just like reading mystery novels." Zhuang Xiao laughed.

He had some talent in this area to begin with, and with so many "trainings" from An Lan and Shu Die, he could analyze an event with so many clues in just minutes.

Dong Zeyu's eyes were red, and he was very depressed. "Uncle Li, is it really the same as what Brother Zhuang said?"

"Almost the same, but there are some differences in the details." Li Ming said: "In fact, Master didn't know there was explosives there."

His eyes were blurry, as if he was recalling something.

"Don't worry, let's talk slowly."

Zhuang Xiao was not shy either. He simply got up and went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of purified water, unscrewed it and handed it to Li Ming.

Li Ming took a few sips and then said, "I was still young at that time, and had just been transferred back from the military. I was assigned to work under Master, and he took me under his wing.

"How should I put it? Master is a typical veteran policeman. He is usually very friendly at work, but when he is outside, he is always frowning and frowning, and he sees everyone as a suspect.

"But it's true. One time, after finishing our shift, we went to eat clay pot noodles in the middle of the night, and we happened to catch a fugitive. It was because my master thought that the man looked like a wanted criminal, and it turned out to be true!
"That was the first time I made a contribution after I was demobilized!"

Li Ming became more and more excited as he talked about the past.

However, Zhuang Xiao found out that he used to be a soldier and joined the Municipal Bureau after returning from military service.

However, after demobilization, he was able to go directly to the Municipal Bureau. It seems that he was doing well in the army.

No wonder he is not much younger than Dong Zeyu’s father, but he is his apprentice.

"Anyway, I felt at ease at that time. Master is a calm and experienced person. I always feel at ease when I go on missions with him."

Li Ming lit up another cigarette as he spoke, "But then something went wrong."

"What's the matter?" Dong Zeyu asked immediately.

"It wasn't a big deal at first. I just noticed that my master was always distracted when I was at work one day. He used to be very serious at work and never distracted even when he was on duty, but that day was strange."

Li Ming recalled the past, not even noticing the ashes on the cigarette butt in his hand. "We were actually on duty the night before, but the next morning the master suddenly asked me a question."

After a pause, Li Ming looked a little confused. "He said his daughter was going to have a birthday and he didn't know what gift to give her. I just suggested a music box or a doll.

"But later when I mentioned it during the handover, my colleague who was doing the handover said that Master only had a son and no daughter."

Dong Zeyu's fat body trembled, and he subconsciously looked up at Zhuang Xiao, his small green eyes full of trembling.

He thought of his non-existent sister that Zhuang Xiao mentioned—Dong Weirui!

Zhuang Xiao waved his hand to tell him not to speak, and then continued to ask, "This is just the beginning."

"Yes, at that time we just thought that Master was not in a good mood after staying up late on duty, so we didn't pay much attention to it." Li Ming frowned, "Later, everything was fine, but Master always looked worried. Every time I asked him, he said he was fine. Then he took a long vacation for half a month."

Zhuang Xiao turned his head and gave Dong Zeyu a probing look.

Dong Zeyu tried hard to recall and spoke haltingly, "It seems that this really happened. My dad and mom seemed to have had a quarrel at the time, and then he asked for leave. But he would go out every day and would not come back until the evening. This lasted for half a month."

Zhuang Xiao asked, "Where did he go?"

"Hospital." Dong Zeyu was also a little confused. "My mother and I were not sick at the time, and my father was in good health. Now that I think about it, I really can't understand why he always went to the hospital, and it seemed that he often went to the obstetrics and gynecology hospital."

Zhuang Xiao understood. "I guess he started to doubt his self-awareness at that time, so he went to various birth hospitals to check whether he had a 'non-existent' daughter. Only by seeing the accurate birth record and birth certificate could he feel at ease."

This matter has a strong sense of déjà vu.

The last person to develop this "symptom" was An Shihong, An Lan's father.

In another timeline where An Lan did not exist, An Shihong accidentally saw An Lan from another timeline after being mentally stimulated, so he always thought he had a daughter until he sent himself to a mental hospital.

Could it be that Dong Zeyu's father also saw Dong Weirui from another timeline?
But it shouldn't be.

Every timeline of Dong Weirui exists. Moreover, although there is a problem with the timeline detector, Zhuang Xiao can be sure through communication with Shu Die, Gu Shiyue and others that there is no change in the timeline starting with "1".

And Dong Weirui definitely exists on this timeline.

The name in the phone book in his cell phone would be proof of that.

"Probably." It has been too long, and Dong Zeyu cannot guarantee whether what he remembers is accurate.

Zhuang Xiao continued to ask, "Did anything happen before your father asked for leave, something that left a deep impression on you?"

Dong Zeyu thought about it carefully, then his face suddenly turned pale, "Don't say it! It's true!"

"Oh? What's the matter?" Li Ming also became interested.

The matter of his master had always been a thorn in his side, so he always treated Dong Zeyu as his own nephew.

"That night, I went downstairs for a walk with my dad, and suddenly a car rushed towards me. If my dad hadn't pulled me back, I would have been taking the college entrance examination now!"

Dong Zeyu still breaks out in a cold sweat when he recalls what happened. "The other party paid a lot of money, mainly because he was very nice and he was not drunk driving. It was just that the brakes suddenly failed and I don't know why.

"Then we went home. My dad called my mom and told her about it. My mom went downstairs to wait for us. But just as we got downstairs, a flower pot fell down and hit my mom.

"To be honest, if my mom hadn't taken two more steps towards us after seeing us coming back, the flower pot would have fallen on her head."

Dong Zeyu thought for a moment, "Yes! That's right! Then that night when I got home, my dad had a fight with my mom. He told me to stay in the house and not come out. He asked for leave the next day!"

(End of this chapter)