Chapter 173 [VIP] The End of the Night (3)

Chapter 173 [VIP] The End of the Night (3)

Zhao Leiting helped Meng Siqi into the car, and with his support, they returned to the vehicle. Meng Siqi silently shed tears as they drove. Zhao Leiting, heartbroken, drove her all the way to her residence, an old building where she lived in unit 302.

When they arrived downstairs, Zhao Leiting reminded her, "Siqi, 302 is your rented apartment. Go back and rest well. Take a day off tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Tomorrow, news about Lu He would come out. Meng Siqi nodded and glanced at the old building outside the car window, asking, "Zhao Leiting, didn't my father leave me an inheritance? Why am I renting here?"

She remembered Meng Hui telling her he'd leave her the shopping mall shares, with Guo Zhaohong as the witness lawyer. Given the scale of the mall, the shares left to her would have been a huge sum even after thirty years. It was impossible for her to still be renting such an old place, even older than the Tianlong residential area from thirty years ago.

She couldn't have been foolish enough to waste such a vast fortune.

Zhao Leiting said, "It's like this. After Lu He disappeared, you rented his unit 302 and have been living there. A few years ago, when the Tianlong residential area was demolished, you moved here. Meng Xinghai's family lives across from you."

So that's how it was. Meng Siqi seemed to recall that Meng Xinghai spent his later years here, though she was living on campus at the time, only coming home on weekends. It wasn't until after graduating from university that she stayed at home for a while. Returning here now felt like a lifetime ago. Fortunately, memories of this place were slowly coming back. She asked, "So, did I buy a house somewhere else?"

Zhao Leiting licked his lips and sighed, "Actually, since your parents passed away, you've been living quite frugally. Your brother once offered to buy you a house, but you refused."

This shouldn't be the case. Meng Siqi felt that the inheritance Meng Hui left her shouldn't have left her living in such poverty for thirty years, without even a home of her own.

Zhao Leiting said, "You might not remember, but after your parents passed away, the will executor announced that all the shares of the mall were left to your brother, while you and your mother jointly inherited a residential property."

It was like a punch to the gut. Meng Siqi couldn't believe this outcome. It was impossible. She clearly remembered Meng Hui saying he would leave the shares to her, with Guo Zhaohong, the son of Meng Hui's comrade, as a witness, along with Tang Yong, a colleague from Guo Zhaohong's law firm. Why didn't she end up with a single penny?

She was utterly confused. Could it be that in this world, Meng Hui's feelings for his daughter were different? No, she didn't think so. Human nature should be the same in every world; it wouldn't change.

"Siqi, go back and rest well, okay?" Zhao Leiting tried to comfort her. "I suggest you come with me tomorrow to see a psychologist, alright?"

"Zhao Leiting, you should go back and rest too," Meng Siqi said, pushing the car door open and standing outside. She turned back and saw that Zhao Leiting had also gotten out of the car.

"I'll walk you upstairs," he said.

"Go back, I'm fine. Minjia is waiting for you at home," Meng Siqi said with a faint smile.

"Alright, take care on your way up."

Before going upstairs, Meng Siqi glanced back at him, feeling deeply moved. In this world, she had nothing left, but fortunately, she still had Zhao Leiting's help.

She trudged up the stairs to the third floor and stood for a moment in front of unit 302. Because 302 was the number of Lu He's former apartment, Meng Siqi in this world had always rented a unit with this number, though this was no longer the place where Lu He had lived.

She remembered Zhao Leiting saying that the reason she rented here was because Meng Xinghai lived in unit 301. She thought about knocking on the door to see Meng Xinghai, but then remembered that he was probably bedridden at this time. It was too late to disturb him.

She took out her keys and opened the door. Turning on the light, she found the interior to be very simple, even more so than where she had lived thirty years ago. The furniture was old, and the refrigerator seemed to be a model from over a decade ago. The only modern touch was an LCD TV, which was uncommon in that era.

So, Meng Siqi in this world had been living in such poverty. She couldn't help but pity herself. She walked into the bathroom, where there was a mirror. After washing her hands, she looked up and was startled by her reflection. She stepped back.

Her once fair and radiant cheeks were now covered in wrinkles. Her eyes had lost their sparkle, and her lips were pale and dry, looking painfully parched.

The only thing that hadn't changed was her face, still as thin as it had been in her youth, though even more gaunt now. Compared to her younger self, she almost didn't look like the same person anymore.

She had truly lived a hard life. For thirty years, this was how she had lived. Zhao Leiting had told her to let go and live her own life. She finally understood; she had been holding onto the past all this time.

The house felt too quiet. Meng Siqi walked into the living room and turned on the TV, wanting to hear some noise. The local channel of Jinyang City immediately started playing. She was surprised to see a somewhat familiar face, though it had aged. Even in old age, the person still seemed radiant.

It was a news segment. The anchor was reporting, "Today, Mr. Meng Tingzhe, a renowned entrepreneur in our city, launched the development plan for the Times Cultural Tourism City. This will be the most eye-catching development project in our city, with an estimated investment of 1 billion..."

Meng Siqi's fingers trembled as she held the remote control. She quietly turned off the TV.

She then walked into the bedroom, an extremely simple room that felt eerily cold. The walls were bare, not even a calendar hanging. It truly felt like a home with nothing but four walls.

If there was still a trace of life in the room, it was the small table beside the bed with a small warm-colored table lamp and an old notebook.

She recognized the notebook; it was the same one she had always used for taking notes. She slowly sat down at the table and opened it. The moment she opened it, tears filled her eyes. The handwriting inside was hers, recording the cases she had worked on in the 1990s. The writing was neat and orderly, with red annotations.

She recalled those unforgettable memories, her heart brimming with a thousand emotions. As she slowly flipped through the pages, a photo suddenly appeared, and her tears instantly fell.

It was a photo taken thirty years ago during a business trip to Shanghai. It was of Lu He, her, Zhao Leiting, and Cai Shuangxi, taken on the Bund.

At that time, Zhao Leiting had taken the photo of her and Lu He. Both of them had turned around, with her looking at the camera and Lu He looking at her.

The photo had yellowed with age, and the details were blurred, but Lu He's face was still clear, as if he were right there beside her, never having gone away.

Meng Siqi was overwhelmed with sadness and slowly closed the notebook.

In truth, this room was not strange to her. Not at all. In her memory, she had grown up with Meng Xinghai and had always lived in the apartment across the hall, 301.

When she graduated from high school, a new tenant moved into 302 across the hall. Meng Xinghai told her it was her Aunt Meng. At first glance, she thought Aunt Meng looked weathered, as if she had been through a lot. Later, she grew closer to Aunt Meng, who told her many stories about cases, right in this very room.

Aunt Meng would often look at the notebook and talk about those past events, including the photo tucked inside. She also remembered asking Aunt Meng, "Aunt Meng, I look so much like you when you were young. Who is this man?"

Then, one day after she graduated from college, she came home and suddenly heard the news of Aunt Meng's death. She had jumped from the Sujiang Lighthouse into the Sujiang River—it was suicide.

—She never imagined that the Aunt Meng from back then had become the her of today.

She rested her head on the table for a while, trying to clear her mind and avoid dwelling on those past memories. Perhaps, as Zhao Leiting had said, it was time to move on. She was over fifty now—what else could she do?

Gradually, Meng Siqi felt as if she had returned to thirty years ago, where she once again saw familiar faces. She was so happy; it turned out that everything here had just been a dream.

"Aunt Meng, Aunt Meng..."

A girl's voice called out in her ear, so familiar, as if it were her own voice. Meng Siqi woke up with a start and realized it was already morning.

The girl's voice continued to call from outside the door: "Aunt Meng, something seems to have happened to my dad. Come quickly, Aunt Meng!"

Meng Siqi stood up abruptly. She remembered that Meng Xinghai's family lived across the hall. This girl must be little Meng Siqi, whose nickname was Qiqi.

She immediately walked to the door, but the moment she opened it, she was stunned. The girl standing outside was about twenty years old, but she was truly beautiful—it was her younger self, almost identical in appearance. It turned out that there really were two people in this world with the same name and the same looks, except that they were at least thirty years apart in age.

"Aunt Meng, something's wrong with my dad. Please come and take a look."

Little Meng Siqi was very anxious and grabbed her aged hand.

Meng Siqi quickly followed her inside. As soon as she entered, it felt like she had returned home—this was the place where she had once lived.

In the bedroom, she saw the elderly Meng Xinghai lying stiffly in bed, like a zombie. It was the image she remembered from her past. Meng Xinghai was having another episode. Meng Siqi immediately sat by the bedside, rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, and found that his joints were swollen. She quickly said, "Qiqi, hurry, bring a basin of hot water and some towels."

It must have been a severe flare-up of rheumatism, with severe morning stiffness upon waking.

Qiqi quickly brought a basin of hot water with towels soaking inside. Together, they applied the towels to Meng Xinghai's stiff and swollen joints. With their combined efforts, Meng Xinghai finally felt a bit better.

"Is that little Meng?" Meng Xinghai's mouth drooled as he spoke weakly. "You're here."

"Old Meng, how are you feeling?"

Meng Xinghai weakly shook his head, as if he didn't have the strength to speak.

"Aunt Meng," Qiqi asked worriedly, "Is there anything we can do about my dad's condition?"

In truth, there wasn't much they could do, as Meng Xinghai would soon pass away. However, recently he had been able to sit in a wheelchair and speak a little, as he still had things to tell Qiqi.

"The day I reported to the city bureau, I met Lu He, the captain of Team One of the criminal investigators. He was an extraordinary person, and I was honored to work under him... That day, I also met your Aunt Meng..."

Today, news about Lu He will spread, and Qiqi will surely find out. She will definitely be interested in Lu He, she will ask Meng Xinghai many questions, and she will also ask if she knows Lu He.

She said casually, "These are just rheumatism symptoms, Qiqi. Prepare some vitamin-rich meals for Old Meng, pay attention to his water intake, and he should be fine... Spend more time with him recently."

"I know, Aunt Meng," Qiqi nodded seriously.

Meng Siqi even recalled that when she lived here, one morning she found Old Meng suddenly stiff, and it was Aunt Meng who came over to help her deal with his morning stiffness. Aunt Meng told her to prepare some vitamin-rich meals, and during that time, she also learned some dietary adjustment methods, including how to make yam porridge.

She found all of this deeply moving. As she sat, she looked around the room again. This room was very familiar to her, just as she remembered it. On the wall hung a photo of Qiqi wearing a beige dress with Meng Xinghai. She even recalled that she had deliberately picked out a beige dress for herself that day.

Meng Xinghai slept for a while longer. Qiqi held Old Meng's hand and gently massaged it, saying to her, "Aunt Meng, I don't know why, but recently I keep hearing someone calling my name in my dreams. It's a man, and he keeps calling Meng Siqi, Meng Siqi. I don't know if he's calling me or you."

Meng Siqi lowered her eyes. Wasn't that her own dream from the past? That dream would still recur. She smiled and said, "It's alright, Qiqi."

"Aunt Meng, are you going to work today?"

Where should she go today? Soon, the news about Lu He would come out. Where should she go? She thought for a moment and said, "I'll head back to the bureau." To the archives room, where she might not feel so bad.

In the morning, Meng Siqi went to the city bureau.

Qiqi helped Meng Xinghai up, sat him in a wheelchair, fed him some porridge, and turned on the TV for him to watch the news.

"I am a reporter from Jinyang City TV Station. Today is August 13, 2024. There is breaking news. At 10 a.m. this morning, during the demolition of a residential area near Sujiang Lighthouse by a unit under the Urban Planning and Management Bureau, human remains were discovered in a cement-filled drum. What truth lies behind this? It's thought-provoking. We will now switch to the scene..."

The scene was chaotic, noisy, and filled with panic. "Move the dump truck away!" "Didn't you hear? This is a crime scene, stop the demolition!" "Protect the scene, the city bureau colleagues are on their way!"

"Boom! Boom!" The sound of the dump truck roared, pressing against Qiqi's eardrums.

She was shocked and curious. What kind of person would be hidden in a cement drum? What kind of person was he?

*

At the city bureau, Zhao Leiting and his colleagues lined up at the entrance. A black car stopped in the courtyard, and a man in his fifties stepped out. He had thick black hair, a tall stature, and a dignified gait. His crisp white police uniform fit snugly, and the badge on his shoulder gleamed in the blazing sun.

Zhao Leiting warmly stepped forward to shake hands, "Welcome, Director Liang, to inspect the city bureau!"

"Old Zhao, what kind of formality is this again? I told you not to welcome me, why do you always do this?"

"Director Liang, you are here to guide our work, how can we not welcome you?"

"Where is Siqi?" Director Liang looked around at the welcoming colleagues and asked, "Where is she? I want to see her."

"She should be in the archives room."

Standing in the welcoming line, Song Yu stood straight. He swallowed hard. He had thought that his mentor would mention him during the inspection, but he was completely ignored. The first thing mentioned was the archives room manager, Meng Siqi. He felt increasingly uneasy, regretting the arrogant words he had once spoken.

Liang Yunfeng and Zhao Leiting walked towards the hall together. Suddenly, a police officer ran over, stood at attention, saluted, and reported, "Director Liang, Director Zhao, human remains were found in a cement drum by Sujiang, and a police rank badge was also found!"

"What?" Liang Yunfeng was stunned.

Zhao Leiting was also stunned. Thirty years had passed, and he seemed to see hope. Could it be Lu He?

Liang Yunfeng's eyes turned red. For thirty years, he had come to the city bureau every August 13 to see Meng Siqi and look at Lu He's photo. Could today really be the day when clues about Lu He appeared?

"Old Zhao, let's go quickly!" Liang Yunfeng shouted.

Zhao Leiting was extremely excited and shouted, "Send out the team immediately!"

In an instant, sirens blared, and a long line of police cars headed towards Sujiang. In the car, Liang Yunfeng said, "We left Siqi behind."

"Director Liang, Siqi should have let go long ago. She shouldn't go to the scene, I'm concerned for her."

"You're right, Captain Lu's death hurt her too much."

Zhao Leiting said, "Not just Captain Lu, but also her parents, Aunt Chang. Almost on that day, she lost everything. It's not easy for her to hold on until today. If it weren't for seeking the truth, she wouldn't have held on until today."

"Ah," Liang Yunfeng sighed, "I hope this time, the truth can be revealed. This is also my life's greatest regret. I refuse to believe that justice could end this way..."