After this conversation, the two couldn't fall asleep even more. It was the darkest moment before dawn, and they could only wait quietly for the dawn.
Gong Yingxian told Ren Yi how they tracked down Bai Chicheng step by step. It didn't sound like there was any shocking plot, it all depended on countless investigators, based on limited clues, meticulously searched and analyzed.
But Ren Yi was very shocked when he heard it. What emerged in his mind was Gong Yingxian's tired eyes, black eyes and bloodshot pupils. Gong Yingxian's police colleagues are busy around the clock, so they can almost There is a little new progress every day, until the suspect is locked in the vast crowd.
While chatting, Gong Yingxian suddenly looked out the window in surprise.
Ren Yi turned his head and saw pieces of fine white fluff floating down from the sky, like glowing elves in the dark, quiet and gentle, he murmured: "It's snowing."
This is the first snow in the city this year, winter is coming soon, it is a bit late, but it is still surprising.
Ren Yi smiled and asked Gong Yingxian: "Do you want to go and see the snow?"
"You're just fine, forget it."
"Our coats are very warm." Ren Yi took out two coats from the cabinet and handed one to Gong Yingxian, "It's rare to see snow, it's the first snow, let's take a look on the balcony."
Wrapped in a down jacket, Ren Yi opened the balcony door, and a gust of cold wind howled in, making the two of them tremble.
"Wow, it's really cold." Ren Yi wrapped his clothes tightly, looked up at Jiu Tian Sa Yin, his eyes were shining.
"It rarely snows in California." Gong Yingxian stretched out his hand, and saw the little snowflakes falling on his palm, and it melted in an instant, "I haven't encountered heavy snow in the past few years since I returned to China."
"The snow here is really average. If you really want to see heavy snow, you have to go further north." Ren Yi said with a smile, "I have been to Changbai Mountain with my friends, wow, that snow is really exciting."
Gong Yingxian turned to look at Ren Yi: "Do you like snow?"
"Like it."
"...I like it too." Gong Yingxian said, "Snow looks very clean."
"Haha, it's rare to find something we both like."
Ren Yi just said it casually, but Gong Yingxian felt a little stuffy in his chest. He thought of getting together with Ren Yi, and he finally found one thing they have in common—they both like snow.
Their backgrounds, experiences, personalities, and concepts are completely different from each other. Maybe Ren Yi likes snow, just like flowers, clouds, and nature, but for him, there are very few similarities between them.
He also often wondered, if this series of cases did not bring him and Ren Yi together, would there still be conversations between the two, would there still be contact. After all, he couldn't even accompany Ren Yi to have a barbecue.
Ren Yi drew a line on the thin snow on the armrest with his finger: "It's a pity, this snow is too small, it will melt as soon as the sun rises tomorrow."
"Next time, go to a place with heavy snow that cannot be melted."
Ren Yi was startled: "You mean, we, the two of us are going?"
Gong Yingxian gave a "hmm" and secretly glanced at Ren Yi, wanting to see his reaction.
Ren Yi's heart trembled, and he didn't feel cold at all. He didn't care what Gong Yingxian thought of him at the moment, whether he thought it was convenient or wanted to make his body comfortable, he would never look back, and he would go through this experience without regrets and without looking back.
Gong Yingxian couldn't tell what the smile on Ren Yi's face meant, so he coughed lightly: "Where do you want to go?"
Ren Yi smiled and said, "Anywhere is fine." I am willing to go anywhere.
"Then... wait till I catch Zi Yan."
"it is good!"
---
Before dawn, Ren Yi sent Gong Yingxian out, and strictly forbade the gatekeeper to tell anyone. If they knew that Gong Yingxian was spending the night here, it would be really difficult to find an excuse.
The next day, Qu Yangbo told Ren Yi that he was punished because he left the post while on duty.
Of course, the real reason for the punishment is not this. It is very common to have a dinner after a meeting, and as long as the captain can go out, he must have arranged for the squadron. It was he who was careless and had no sense of crisis when his own safety was threatened, and organized a dinner party, which almost caused a major accident.
He was given a warning, criticized by the whole bureau, and had to write a self-criticism.
Ren Yi said with a bitter face, "I deserve it."
Qu Yangbo sighed: "It's lucky that nothing serious happened this time, otherwise... this punishment is considered light, but it will still affect you in the future. Fortunately, you have made a lot of contributions during this time."
Ren Yi doesn't care much about his career, at least he doesn't have plans and goals like Qu Yangbo. He is quite satisfied as a squadron leader. If he goes higher, he spends most of his time in an office. It's not what he yearns for at all. Working in the squadron is indeed dangerous, but helping and saving others can make his blood boil and make him feel the meaning and value of his existence.
But he didn't dare to tell Qu Yangbo this, otherwise he would definitely be scolded and unable to make progress. Qu Yangbo's goal was for the two of them to advance side by side.
Ren Yi locked himself in the dormitory very depressed, and wrote a self-criticism all afternoon. The main reason for his depression was not that he was punished, but that the 10,000-word self-criticism almost killed him.
After finishing writing, he took the time to look at his phone, and there was a message from Gong Yingxian: My attending doctor has arrived in Beijing, he wants to see you, when will he be free.
Ren Yi replied: Saturday.
----
As the Lunar New Year approached, it was the busiest time for various functional departments. At this time, the crime rate soared, and accidents and disasters also increased significantly. Naturally, the police and firefighters were very busy, so Gong Yingxian and Ren Yi hardly had time to meet.
After Ren Yi arranged the squadron's rest, he looked at the time and found that there was still some time left before the time he had agreed with Gong Yingxian, so he invited Li Sa to have a chat, expressing his appreciation and thanks for her willingness to take the initiative to stay on duty . After all, for full-time firefighters, they can rest on statutory holidays.
Li Sa smiled brightly and said, "You don't have to be so polite, Captain Ren. My home is not far from here. Anyway, family members can come to the squadron during the Chinese New Year. I just ask my parents to come to the squadron to celebrate the New Year together."
"Yes, let's celebrate the New Year together this year." Ren Yi looked at Li Sa with a smile, "You are the soldier I am most concerned about. I am very pleased with your growth in the past six months. During the underground rescue and hospital bombing, you also They have all demonstrated their professional abilities, and the results of each assessment are also very good, so the next time I go out on a mission, I will let you officially enter the scene."
Li Sa's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Team Ren, thank you, Team Ren."
"You don't need to thank me, you fought for it yourself. You should also know that when you first came, everyone was suspicious of you and took special care of you, but you couldn't trust your professional ability. The mission performance, as well as the training and assessment that never lagged behind, have gradually won the trust of the comrades in arms. If you want to thank, thank you for your hard work.”
Li Sa showed a shy and cheerful smile.
"After the mission, I will observe you for half a year. If your performance is still good, I will transfer you from the special duty class to the combat class after you have been employed for one year."
Li Sa's eyes were firm: "I will definitely live up to the expectations of the Ren team."
-----
After talking with Li Sa, Ren Yi tidied up a bit and went downstairs. Gong Yingxian sent a driver and bodyguards to pick him up.
Ren Yi, one of Gong Yingxian's drivers, had seen it before, but this was the first time he had seen this bodyguard. He was not as powerful as the bodyguard he imagined in the movie, with a medium build, but only from the size of his head and the size of the bodyguard. With thick trapezius muscles, it can be judged that this person has served as a soldier.
The bodyguard greeted Ren Yi politely, and stopped talking, which made Ren Yi feel that this was a ruthless character.
The car drove all the way to Gong Yingxian's house - enough to see that Dr. Pompeii has a very close relationship with the Gong family.
Ren Yi had heard about this attending doctor from Uncle Sheng. He was of mixed Chinese and American descent and was very famous in the field of psychology. At that time, Gong Yingxian's mental condition was very bad. Gong Yingxian's grandfather insisted on sending him abroad. First, he was worried about his safety, and second, he wanted him to change his environment. After leaving the country, Dr. Pompeii has been treating him for many years. Time has transformed him from a severe PTSD patient who has almost lost his speech and emotions to at least being able to reintegrate into society.
When they arrived at the Gong family, apart from familiar faces such as Uncle Sheng, there was also a gentle and elegant middle-aged man, who must be Dr. Pompeii.
Dr. Pompeii took the initiative to reach out his hand to Ren Yi: "Captain Ren, hello, I've heard you famous for a long time."
Ren Yi quickly stretched out his hand to shake it: "Hello, doctor, I should say this."
Dr. Pompey said with a smile: "I heard that there is a person around Ying Xian who can get close to him and influence him, so I am very curious about you. It's just that I have been busy with a research project last year and I don't have time. Otherwise, I’ve wanted to come back for a long time.”
Gong Yingxian coughed lightly, with a hint of embarrassment in his eyes.
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then Uncle Sheng, who was smiling all over his face, warmly welcomed him into the room. He kept saying, "It's been a long time since it's been this lively, it's been a long time since it's been this lively."
After a sumptuous dinner, Gong Yingxian took the two of them to that room—the room filled with everything related to the Gong family case.
Dr. Pompeii picked up the photo frame of the family of four: "Now you can look at it directly like this."
Gong Yingxian nodded: "After so many years of desensitization treatment, I dare to get close to the fire now." He added in a low voice, "Little fire."
Ren Yi stared at Gong Yingxian: "You dare to catch fire, the car burned so badly at that time, but you dared to save me."
Gong Yingxian snorted coldly: "You still have the nerve to say, if you are told to retreat, you will not retreat."
Dr. Pompei smiled and said: "I know about this, Ying Xian told me later. In fact, in the previous treatment, I tried to give him strong medicine several times, but failed the stress test several times, and almost destroyed him. He managed to rebuild his sense of security. So that time when he approached the fire to save you was a very important turning point for his condition. Since then, he has really improved a lot. The significance of this incident is that, He took the initiative to break his fear. Nothing is better than facing the fear, and can overcome the fear itself."
Ren Yi pursed his lips and smiled, no matter whether Gong Yingxian tried his best to save him, or he helped Gong Yingxian indirectly, it made him very happy.
Gong Yingxian said: "Although I haven't completely overcome the fear of fire, it's much better than before. Maybe one day I can truly overcome it."
"There will be that day." Dr. Pompei smiled and pointed to Ren Yi, "And your friends will help you a lot."
The two glanced at each other quickly, then looked away immediately, bowed their heads and smiled.
Dr. Pompeii raised his eyebrows, and a knowing smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, but he didn't expose it: "Then, let's talk about the mask."