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The morning sunlight streamed through the blinds into the police station's interrogation room. Cui Ye sat on a hard wooden chair in the police station, his fingers interlaced on the table.

The young police officer in charge of taking the statement looked up in surprise: "Teacher Cui, your memory and logical thinking are truly admirable."

He remembers every detail of the day of the incident so clearly.

Cui Ye smiled slightly: "It's a professional habit! When playing chess, you need to remember the position and variations of each move."

At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Cui Wei walked in carrying two cups of hot tea: "My younger brother has been like this since he was a child. He can memorize chess scores after just one reading."

He placed the teacup in front of Cui Ye, his tone filled with undisguised pride.

Xiao Zhang tactfully closed the notebook: "Captain Cui, the statement is finished! Teacher Cui's statement is very clear and complete."

After Xiao Zhang left, Cui Wei pulled up a chair and sat opposite his younger brother: "Didn't you sleep well last night? Your eyes are all red."

"I can't sleep because Yan Yan is in the hospital." Cui Ye avoided his brother's probing gaze and took a sip of tea.

Cui Wei suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know Qin Xiaoming, the missing credit union loan officer?"

The teacup trembled slightly in Cui Ye's hand, and a few drops of tea splashed onto the table: "I don't know them! I have no dealings with the credit union employees. What's wrong?"

“Nothing! Just asking casually. This credit union robbery case is too complicated.” Cui Wei stared at his brother’s hand.

The two brothers fell silent.

Twenty years ago, they sat facing each other like this. Cui Wei had just finished get off work at the factory, his hands covered in grease; Cui Ye had an old chessboard in front of him, the only legacy his father had left him.

"Brother, do you remember what happened when I was ten years old?" Cui Ye suddenly asked.

“Of course! You had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius back then, but you still wouldn’t let go of the chessboard. Mom was so angry that she wanted to throw the chessboard away.” Cui Wei continued, a smile appearing on his lips.

"You secretly hid the chessboard under the bed."

The two brothers exchanged a smile, but the smile quickly faded.

Now, what separates them is not just this wooden table, but also their unspeakable secrets.

Cui Wei never dreamed that his dull-witted younger brother would be a high-IQ criminal, which was also the biggest challenge of his life.

……

The storeroom reeked of mildew and sweat.

Jin Xiasheng huddled in the corner, and upon hearing the sound of the door lock turning, he immediately grabbed the iron bar beside him.

"It's me." Cui Ye walked in carrying a plastic bag. "I brought you some food."

Jin Xiasheng wolfed down his boxed lunch, while Cui Ye went to another corner to check on the unconscious Qin Xiaoming.

The young man's lips were cracked and his breathing was weak.

“He’s dying.” Cui Ye frowned. “Go buy some water and food.”

Jin Xiasheng wiped his mouth: "Let's just kill him directly, it'll save us the trouble."

"No!" Cui Ye stopped him sharply. "Dead bodies will attract more police. Go buy some liquid food, something easy to digest."

After Jin Xiasheng reluctantly left the house, Cui Ye took out a bottle of mineral water from his pocket, carefully helped Qin Xiaoming up, and dripped a few drops of water into his mouth.

Qin Xiaoming's eyelashes trembled a few times, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked around blankly, his gaze finally settling on Cui Ye's face: "Teacher Cui...?"

Cui Ye froze: "You know me?"

"I taught Go at the Children's Palace... I saw you play Go... Please... let me go..." Qin Xiaoming said weakly, "I saw you play Go... Please... let me go..."

Cui Ye's hands trembled slightly.

He recalled that morning at the hospital when a nurse told him, "A normal person's organs will fail if they don't drink water for three days."

And now it's the second day.

The door was pushed open, and Jin Xiasheng came back carrying several plastic bags: "I bought cold noodles and biscuits."

When he saw Qin Xiaoming wake up, his face immediately darkened.

Cui Ye stood up: "You feed him something, I'm going to the hospital to see my son."

Stepping out of the storeroom, Cui Ye took a deep breath of fresh air.

My phone vibrated; it was a pager message from my mother: "Yan Yan is making a fuss about wanting to come home to see the goldfish. Can you change the water when you have time?"

……

Cui Ye stood in his living room, staring at the dead fish floating in the fish tank.

Five goldfish lay belly up, slowly rotting in the water.

He remembered the first goldfish he raised when he was a child, which Cui Wei bought for him with his first month's salary.

“Brother, the goldfish is dead…” ten-year-old Cui Ye cried.

"It's okay, I'll buy you another one," Cui Wei comforted him, stroking his hair.

But Cui Ye now knows that some things, once dead, cannot be brought back to life.

For example, the goldfish in the fish tank, the pure trust between him and his brother, and... Qin Xiaoming's fading life.

This thought made him suddenly turn around and rush out of the house.

When he returned to the storeroom, panting, the sight before him froze his blood.

Jin Xiasheng was holding a brick, aiming it at Qin Xiaoming's head.

"Stop!" Cui Ye rushed forward and shoved Jin Xiasheng aside.

"Are you crazy?" Jin Xiasheng roared. "He recognized us!"

Cui Ye checked Qin Xiaoming's condition and found that the young man had fallen into a coma again, but there was a new wound on his forehead that was bleeding.

Cui Ye pulled a wad of cash from his wallet and stuffed it into Jin Xiasheng's hand. "Listen! Go buy some medicine and food. If he dies, we're both finished."

Jin Xiasheng stared at the banknotes, then suddenly choked up: "Today... is my brother's birthday... We used to... always go out for cold noodles..."

Cui Ye was stunned.

He remembered the concern in his brother's eyes when he handed him the cup of tea that morning.

No matter how far you go, the bond of blood will always remain.

“Go ahead,” Cui Ye’s voice softened. “Take a bowl of noodles for your brother too.”

After Jin Xiasheng left, Cui Ye collapsed to the ground, looking at the dying Qin Xiaoming.

He remembered what the nurse had said: "You'll die if you don't drink water for three days."

And now, he is watching a life slip away in his hands.

……

In the corridor of the Children's Palace, Cui Ye mechanically posted enrollment advertisements.

Zhang Yingjie paid him 200 yuan less than last time, citing "tight school funds" as the reason.

Zhang Yingjie was initially quite afraid that Cui Ye would resign, but he had already reached a cooperation agreement with Wang Hongyu for a "Go Master Class".

Suddenly, I realized that Cui Ye was the one who could be replaced at any time.

Then Cui Ye's treatment returned to the previous awkward situation.

"Cui Ye." A familiar voice came from behind.

Gao Shuhua was wearing a business suit, and her high heels made a crisp sound on the floor.

She was thinner than the last time we met, and the fine lines around her eyes were concealed by her exquisite makeup.

"How is Yan Yan?" she asked directly.

“The doctor said I can be discharged next week.” Cui Ye continued putting up the advertisements, not looking at her. Gao Shuhua was silent for a moment: “I’ve been very busy with work lately, I might not have time…”

"Are you going to Canada with Wang Hongyu?" Cui Ye suddenly turned around and looked directly into her eyes.

Gao Shuhua's expression changed slightly: "How did you know?"

"I saw his car waiting for you." Cui Ye smiled wryly. "When are you leaving?"

"I haven't decided yet." Gao Shuhua avoided his gaze. "Yan Yan is still young, I..."

“You can take him with you,” Cui Ye said softly. “It’s better than him coming with me.”

Gao Shuhua looked up in surprise, seemingly not expecting to hear such words.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by her phone ringing.

"I have to go." She glanced at the caller ID. "Mr. Wang is waiting."

As Cui Ye watched her hurried departure, he recalled the scene when he first met her twenty years ago.

At the Go competition at the Children's Palace, the girl translator with a ponytail watched him receive his award with sparkling eyes.

Now, in this game of life, they have all become strangers to each other.

……

While buying steamed buns, Cui Ye saw a fortune teller across the street and went over to have his fortune told. The owner told him that as long as he was good-hearted, he would eventually be rewarded.

Because of the fortune-telling results, Cui Ye felt compassion and wanted to let Qin Xiaoming go, but this was met with strong opposition from Jin Xiasheng.

The two started arguing, which terrified Qin Xiaoming, who thought his life was in danger. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! If you let me go, I'll give you both 100,000 yuan."

"Where did you get so much money?"

"Actually, I've been helping others launder money all along. Now you two have evidence of my crimes. I promise I won't betray you after I get out."

"..." At this moment, Cui Ye and Jin Xiasheng looked at each other in bewilderment. Then, Cui Ye looked at Qin Xiaoming with a face full of doubt and asked, "How can we trust you?"

“Teacher Cui, you can take my key to my house. There are money laundering ledgers in my safe.”

"Alright! We'll give you one chance. If you dare to lie to us, you'll never imagine how ruthless we can be."

"No way! Absolutely not."

Then Cui Ye took Qin Xiaoming's key to his house, opened the safe and looked through the money laundering records, and was surprised to find that this unassuming man actually had tens of millions in savings.

Jin Xiasheng, who was standing to the side, was also shocked. He suddenly rushed up and beat Qin Xiaoming up. He thought to himself that if he had known that Qin Xiaoming was so rich, he would not have robbed the credit union, and he would not have lost his own brother.

However, just as Cui Ye and Jin Xiasheng were about to release the people, they suddenly received a message from Cui Wei.

To avoid being exposed, he quickly ran outside to stop the other party, feeling nervous and uneasy as he looked at the paper with Go clues on it.

"Brother, why are you here?"

"Cui Ye? Why did you go to such a far place?"

"I came here specifically to ask for advice from a chess master who lives nearby."

"You bastard! I really don't know what to say about you."

"Brother, what about you?"

"Oh! I'm here to investigate a lead. Would you like me to take you back with me?"

"No need! I came by bicycle. You can go about your business first."

"Alright! I'll head back now."

After finally managing to deal with Cui Wei and watching him drive away, Cui Ye returned only to find that Qin Xiaoming had been accidentally killed by Jin Xiasheng.

Faced with this situation, Cui Ye suddenly thought of Suning, as only Suning could solve these problems.

However, after Su Ning understood the situation, he believed that Jin Xiasheng was the biggest problem and that they should deal with him first.

Otherwise, Cui Ye would definitely have been dragged down by Jin Xiasheng.

Su Ning believed that now that they had found evidence of Wang Hongyu's money laundering, taking down Jin Xiasheng was the perfect move.

After all, the plot no longer needs Kim Ha-saeng, and keeping him around would only provide clues to the police.

However, Cui Ye's saintly heart overflowed again, and he was unwilling to deal with Jin Xiasheng, nor did he want to make another mistake.

“Foolish! Let’s talk about the crimes you’ve already committed: assisting the robbers to escape, grabbing the steering wheel which resulted in the deaths of three robbers, concealing the truth from the police, restricting Qin Xiaoming’s personal freedom, and indirectly causing Qin Xiaoming’s death. Once things are exposed, whether the police believe you or not is another matter, but going to jail will be the lightest punishment.”

"This……"

"At that time, your wife Gao Shuhua will sleep with Wang Hongyu, your son Yan Yan will call Wang Hongyu 'Dad,' and your brother Cui Wei will regard you as the greatest disgrace."

"No! Stop talking."

“Cui Ye, you are an adult, you should be able to tell whether or not to keep Jin Xiasheng.”

"..."

"As your partner, I can only offer you a Wuling Hongguang. The decision is up to you."

"..."

Then Suning left Cui Ye a Wuling Hongguang with fake license plates, along with various tools such as shovels, masks, and sunglasses—a complete set of equipment for murder and robbery.

However, Su Ning left directly, but still went to the abandoned factory and found Qin Xiaoming's phone, intending to take it back and repair it himself.

As for Cui Ye's choice, that's none of my business, since Jin Xiasheng can no longer be involved.

As expected, Cui Ye's ferocity was aroused by the consequences of going to jail, and he personally dealt with the useless Jin Xiasheng who was holding him back.

Meanwhile, Cui Ye drove a Wuling Hongguang that Suning had prepared for him and personally buried Qin Xiaoming and Jin Xiasheng's bodies in his father's grave.

Meanwhile, Su Ning had already repaired Qin Xiaoming's phone and seen all the information on it.

However, Cui Ye no longer needed to resort to any more "substitution tricks," and no one could find Qin Xiaoming and Jin Xiasheng again.

"solved?"

"Yes, no one can find them anymore, and I have no way back."

“Cui Ye, your son’s illness is a bottomless pit! If you want to save your son, you have to make a deal with the devil. Sometimes it’s lucky to be able to give your soul to the devil, but more often than not, you’ll be left with no one to turn to.”

"Suning, thank you! I promise I won't involve you."

"Don't worry! You definitely won't implicate me."

"Then what should we do next?"

"Of course, we'll find a way to extort money from Wang Hongyu and then send him to prison to serve his sentence."

"What... should we do?"

“I found Qin Xiaoming’s phone in the abandoned factory and it’s been repaired. We can use this phone to contact Wang Hongyu and tell him that Qin Xiaoming is in our hands, and we also have the ledgers showing that Qin Xiaoming helped him launder money. What do you think Wang Hongyu will choose?”

"Su Ning, what did you do before?"

"A professional chess player! Isn't this the kind of thinking ability a chess player should have?"

"Su Ning, you frighten me a little."

"Don't worry! As long as you don't scheme against me, I won't scheme against you, because there's no benefit in doing so."

"Don't worry! I definitely won't plot against you."

"You can arrange the specific details yourself, but make sure there are no flaws."

"clear."

……

(End of this chapter)