Roses in Flames

Xiao Lin's large hand gripped the steering wheel slightly, a dark flame flickering in his long, narrow eyes. "Ye Yuntang, if you keep flirting with me, believe me, I'll—"

Ye Yuntang interrupted him before he could finish speaking, bringing her face closer. "Are you going to kiss me to death?"

Xiao Lin, "..."

He cursed under his breath.

He reached out and pushed her bright and beautiful face away.

"Stop fooling around, I'm driving."

Ye Yuntang glanced at the navigation and saw that they were still twenty minutes away from the bar. She said, "You sit in the passenger seat, I'll drive."

"Need not."

"If you don't want to be flirted with, listen to me."

After exchanging a glance with Ye Yuntang, Xiao Lin relented, pulled over to the side of the road, and switched places with her.

After Ye Yuntang sat in the driver's seat, she said to the man, "Take a nap, I'll wake you when we get there."

Before Xiao Lin could say anything, he heard Ye Yuntang say, "Don't worry, I won't pounce on you while you're asleep."

Xiao Lin gritted his teeth. "You didn't just want to seduce clean-cut, refined girls, did you?"

Ye Yuntang's red lips curled up in a seductive smile. "The kind that's suitable for marriage, the kind that's suitable for sex, there's no conflict."

Xiao Lin stopped speaking.

This woman always has the ability to leave him speechless with anger.

Ye Yuntang played some soothing music in the car.

Before long, Xiao Lin fell asleep.

When he woke up, the car had stopped in front of the bar.

Ye Yuntang was sitting in the driver's seat looking at her phone. She was wearing Bluetooth earphones and didn't notice that he had woken up.

Xiao Lin glanced at her phone.

She was watching a recorded video of Ji Chen's concert.

Xiao Lin rubbed his temples and sat up from his seat.

Ye Yuntang glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then pulled off her headphones. "You're awake?"

Xiao Lin nodded. "How was Ji Chen's song?"

"To be honest, Ji Chen's songs when he first debuted were quite nice and delicate. I heard that he wrote and composed them himself. But I don't really like the style of his songs in the last two years. They've changed a lot."

Xiao Lin nodded. "Send me a copy of the playlist. I'll listen to it when I have time."

Ye Yuntang gave an OK sign.

……

Zhou Qing, who went to the police station two years ago to report Lin Xiaoqiao's disappearance, is now a manager at Nightclub.

When Xiao Lin and Ye Yuntang arrived, Zhou Qing was training the waiters.

Upon learning the purpose of Xiao Lin and Ye Yuntang's visit, Zhou Qing quickly led them to her office.

"Officer, has there been any news about Xiao Qiao?"

Xiao Lin said in a deep, cold voice, "We came here to find out about Lin Xiaoqiao's previous work situation and interpersonal relationships here."

"Xiao Qiao is an orphan. She came to work at our bar after graduating from high school. She started as a waitress, but later our boss discovered that she had the talent to write lyrics and compose music, and also had a good voice, so he let her try singing on stage."

"Although Xiao Qiao didn't go to university, the songs she wrote were very touching. She was kind-hearted. When I first came to the bar and was bullied by customers, she would always stand up for me."

"Her lifelong wish was to earn more money so she could renovate the orphanage, but unfortunately—"

Xiao Lin paused, his hand holding the pen still. He looked up at Zhou Qing and asked, "What's the pity?"

"Unfortunately, four years ago, her voice was suddenly ruined."

Zhou Qing gritted her teeth, a hint of resentment in her eyes. "I don't know who in the bar was jealous of her and drugged her water. From then on, her clear and beautiful voice became hoarse and broken, and she even had difficulty speaking."

"We called the police, but because the bar's security cameras were broken that day, they couldn't find the real culprit who ruined Xiao Qiao's voice."

"Later, Xiao Qiao resigned, and I don't know where she went. We only contacted each other occasionally on WeChat. Two years ago, I needed to find Xiao Qiao, but she didn't reply to my messages and her phone was off when I called her. When I went to the orphanage to find her, the director said that she hadn't been back for a long time and was about to call the police. So I called the police on behalf of the director."

Xiao Lin finished taking notes and continued to press, "During the time she was singing at the bar, besides singing, did she get close to anyone? Or rather, did she associate with any particular people?"

Zhou Qing recalled, "Back then, she lived in the dormitory and didn't get close to anyone. She basically did her creative work in the dormitory after work."

After a pause, Zhou Qing seemed to remember something and quickly added, "By the way, in the month before her voice was ruined, she would go out after work and not come back until the early hours of the morning. When I asked her where she went, she just said she was looking for a quiet place to write songs."

"But I noticed that she always had a smile on her face, which was different from how she used to bury herself in hard work and only want to make money. She looked radiant. The songs she wrote also changed. Before, they all had a melancholic feel, but during that period, the songs were so sweet that they seemed to be able to squeeze water out of them."

Zhou Qing took an old cell phone out of the drawer.

She turned on her phone. "One night, I even recorded a video of her singing a new song."

Xiao Lin took the phone and glanced at the video.

In the video, Lin Xiaoqiao is holding a guitar and standing on the bar stage.

She wore a pale yellow dress, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, and sang and danced on stage. Her clear voice was sweet, creating a lively atmosphere, and the audience below the stage were very excited.

When Zhou Qing was filming the video, in addition to filming Lin Xiaoqiao on stage, she also filmed the guests in the audience.

Although the camera was shaking rapidly, Xiao Lin still noticed a familiar figure.

He zoomed back in and then zoomed in.

Ye Yuntang leaned closer and glanced at the video screen. "Is that Ji Dawei in the corner?"

"Not just that." Xiao Lin's voice was deep and cold. He pointed to a blurry figure behind Ji Dawei, "Who does it look like?"

To be honest, the picture is too blurry; I really can't tell who it looks like.

However, Ji Dawei came from the mountains and was unfamiliar with the place. He was dressed very simply. How could he possibly come to a bar?

Unless someone is with you.

Ye Yuntang glanced at Xiao Lin, "You mean..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Xiao Lin knew who she was talking about, and he nodded.

As Xiao Lin walked out of Zhou Qing's office, he saw a memory wall covered with colorful paper.

"What is this?" Xiao Lin asked.

Zhou Qing explained, "This is a place in the bar where guests and staff can write down their wishes. The colorful sticky notes are pasted together, which is very romantic and has a down-to-earth feel."

"Captain Xiao, do you think Lin Xiaoqiao might have written something back then? After all, her singing videos are so relaxed and sweet," Ye Yuntang said.

Xiao Lin looked at Ye Yuntang with admiration, "You're very smart."

Ye Yuntang felt a little embarrassed when she was suddenly praised by a man.

She scoffed, "I've always been smart."

"She's so smart that her ex-husband cheated on her."

Ye Yuntang glared at the man, "Your ex-fiancée is no different, big brother, don't laugh at second brother."

Xiao Lin watched Ye Yuntang's subtle expressions.

It's alright. This time, when her ex-husband, who cheated on her, was mentioned, she wasn't as heartbroken as before.

It seems they are slowly processing and accepting the facts that have already occurred.

"Can we take a look at these sticky notes?" Xiao Lin asked Zhou Qing.

"sure."

Xiao Lin and Ye Yuntang began searching through the sticky notes.

I searched for about half an hour.

Ye Yuntang suddenly noticed an orange-yellow note with its edges curled up.

She pushed aside the other sticky notes and gently tore off the orange-yellow one.

"Captain Xiao, come and take a look."

Xiao Lin walked to Ye Yuntang's side and glanced at the notepad in her hand.

The handwriting on the paper was delicate and graceful, as if it carried a hint of joy.

I'm so lucky to have met you, and I hope we can love each other forever.

--buckwheat.

……

As I was leaving get off work, a light drizzle began to fall.

Ye Yuntang received a call from Mengmeng.

"Sis, I saw that Ji Chen's fans are attacking the Criminal Investigation Team's official website. Has our brother done anything wrong?"

"Sister, it's a police investigation, I can't disclose anything."

Mengmeng said "Oh," and added, "Brother Ji Chen's concert is about to start. My light stick and banner are still in the rented villa. Sis, can I go get them?"

"You can't take it before the case is solved."

Ye Yuntang suddenly remembered that the light stick, banner, and pendant on Mengmeng's bag that she had left on the coffee table were all orange.

"Mengmeng, does Ji Chen like orange?"

"My brother's support color is orange."

After ending the call, Ye Yuntang quickly informed Xiao Lin of the information she had discovered.