On the day of the funeral, the sun came out for the first time in Beijing, which had been hazy for most of the winter.
Sun Definition's father was holding his photo, and his mother was holding his uniform and top hat, and walked out of the dormitory together.
On both sides of the squadron's playground, two rows of firefighters in uniform stood upright.
Enduring the soreness of his nose, Ren Yi shouted loudly: "Salute—"
The soldiers saluted in unison. Their eyes were red and their lips were tight. They watched sadly as their comrades walked past the playground where he had trained countless times, got on his favorite fire truck, and drove to the funeral home.
Except for the commanders and fighters who stayed on duty, everyone else went to the funeral home together.
Many people who spontaneously came to see him off gathered in front of the funeral home, as well as leaders and soldiers from the corps, detachment and other squadrons.
Ren Yi saw a familiar person at a glance, a slender figure in a dark blue police uniform, it was Gong Yingxian. The police uniform seemed to be tailor-made for him, and it looked more handsome and dazzling than the usual suits of expensive suits.
Gong Yingxian walked up to Ren Yi, and said softly, "I represent the branch office, and I'm here to see him off."
Ren Yi nodded: "It's the first time I see you in uniform." "It's also the first time I see you in uniform."
"When we wear uniforms, there are important events, either good or bad." Ren Yi said in a low voice, "I'll go in first."
"Go."
The mourning hall was full of people who were close or acquainted with Sun Yifei, and Yan Jue also came from the western suburbs on purpose.
Throughout the funeral, Ren Yi was in a trance state, as if he was wrapped in an invisible film, those mourning, those crying, and those tears were all isolated, and everything that happened in front of him was full of unreality feel. He still, still hasn't fully accepted this reality, still suspects that it's all a dream.
After the funeral, Ren Yi did not return to the squadron with the car, but found a bench in the corner of the park in the cemetery and sat down, quietly looking at the bare tree branches and the barren grass.
His injury is still not healed, he is always in pain, and his lungs are not breathing smoothly. After working all morning, he is so tired that he is about to be unable to stand. At this time, the warm sun was shining on his back, making him a little more comfortable.
Footsteps came from behind, Ren Yi didn't need to turn his head, he had an intuition that it was Gong Yingxian.
Gong Yingxian sat next to Ren Yi and handed him a pot of hot tea.
Ren Yi took it, covered his hands, and said flatly: "It's not too cold today, and the sun is rare."
"But you wear too little." Gong Yingxian touched Ren Yi's hand, "It's so cold."
Ren Yi held Gong Yingxian's hand instead, recalling the trance during this period, and suddenly felt guilty, "I haven't talked to you much these days, so don't take it to heart."
"How could it be?" Gong Yingxian paused, "I know what it feels like."
Ren Yi felt sour in his heart, and said softly, "I made you worry."
"Well, you really worried me." Gong Yingxian took a deep breath, "Do you know how it feels for me to see your life hanging by a thread in the corridor when I'm down here?" He still recalls that time Fear and despair are still lingering.
"… Sorry."
"If I..." Gong Yingxian bit her lower lip lightly, "If I said, I hope you will stop being a firefighter, in exchange, I can promise you any conditions..."
Ren Yi stared blankly at Gong Yingxian.
The eyes of the two met, but neither could make a sound.
After a long time, Ren Yi forced a smile: "You are... just kidding."
They both knew that Gong Yingxian was not joking, but Gong Yingxian knew better that Ren Yi avoided this question because he could not agree.
This profession is regarded as a mission by Ren Yi, and I am afraid that only death can make him give up.
Gong Yingxian lowered his head in frustration. Why does he like this person? He has desperately wanted to stay away from fire all his life, but now he desperately wants to get close to this person who deals with fire. What a great irony. Ren Yi felt a little guilty, he lightly bumped Gong Yingxian's shoulder, and changed the subject: "You look so good in uniform."
"Really. It's inconvenient to handle cases, I rarely wear it." Gong Yingxian looked at his uniform, then at Ren Yi's, "You look good in uniform."
"I haven't worn it for a long time, but the training uniform is still comfortable. We have many sets of clothes, and the biochemical suit should be the most uncomfortable to wear, followed by the fireproof suit." Speaking of the fireproof suit, he paused.
Gong Yingxian felt Ren Yi's emotional fluctuations, and he held Ren Yi's hand tightly, trying to convey strength.
Ren Yi closed his eyes, only feeling sadness coming from it, and the eye circles were wet again: "I will... I will recover, don't worry."
"I need you, Ren Yi, and I need you to assist the police in finding the murderer who killed Platoon Leader Sun."
"I know." Ren Yi wiped his eyes, "Just say what you need me to do."
Gong Yingxian said softly: "Now, I need you to cry as much as you want, and then accept the reality."
Ren Yi froze, and then slowly tilted his head on Gong Yingxian's shoulder, letting tears flow down indulgently.
Gong Yingxian intertwined Ren Yi's fingers, and listening to his silent crying, wished he could do everything he could, as long as he could protect this person from any harm.
Ren Yi took a day off and did not return to the squadron. He first went to the hospital to change his medicine and infusion, and then went back to his home with Gong Yingxian.
They bought the ingredients, cooked their own meals, watched the ball and chatted after the meal, and slept together in the same quilt late at night. Just this daily relationship is enough to warm the heart and heal the cracks in the soul. .
----
The next morning, the two of them went to the Hongwu Sub-bureau together. The fire investigation department had already had a preliminary report on the investigation of the Wenhui shopping mall fire, and he needed to provide on-site testimony.
When Ren Yi came to the Hongwu branch, he always received a warm welcome, especially from the policewoman, but this time everyone was very reserved, and they greeted Ren Yi carefully, caring about his recovery.
Ren Yi thanked them, and went to the meeting room with Gong Yingxian.
Gong Yingxian gave Ren Yi the report from the Fire Department. In fact, he could check the report on the internal system at any time, but he never read it. He even procrastinated writing his own police report. Urge him.
Now he has to face it.
He took a deep breath, opened the report, and read page by page.
The fire started at a clothing wholesale store near the corridor in Building A, with obvious traces of accelerant. When the fire broke out, the entire Building A was off work, and only the security guards were still patrolling and preparing to close the store.
After the fire broke out, the reason why the fire quickly spread to the corridor was because the shopping mall illegally rented the corridor as a stall, which caused the side of the corridor, which was not wide at all, to be filled with combustible materials. The security guard initially planned to use a fire hydrant to put out the fire, but the mall had dense stalls and the fire spread rapidly. After the security guard failed to put out the fire, he fled the scene and called the police. When the firefighters arrived, Building A was burning violently. Chen Xiaofei dispatched two squadrons first, and they exploded as soon as they entered.
After reading the report, Ren Yi said: "The report can only show that it was an act of arson, but there is no evidence to prove who did it?"
Gong Yingxian shook his head: "All the surveillance cameras have been burned, and the combustion accelerant is the most common gasoline. We are now looking for witnesses from the surviving people in Building B next door. The time period is certain, and at that time there were still people in Building B A lot of people came in and out, maybe someone could see suspicious people near Building A."
"I want to go and see the scene." Ren Yi said, "I'll go in the afternoon."
"Yes, it is still well preserved."
"Apart from this, is there any progress in the case recently?"
Gong Yingxian nodded, and his face became gloomy: "There are a few. Do you remember that a few months ago, we found out that a homeless murder case a few years ago might be related to Hongyan? The place of that person's death and The criminal method is in line with the characteristics of Hongyan's crime."
"Remember, I didn't hear you mention it later."
"Because there were no clues at that time. But I have always doubted the identity of the homeless man. According to the autopsy, he was a young man in his early twenties. He was not physically disabled, and he may have mental illness. This is unknown. Yes. Because there has been no missing person report that matches him, and because he has homeless clothes on his body, he is considered a homeless person. But the old couple who found the body, they have to take a walk near the river every morning and evening , They have never seen a homeless person in that place, generally speaking, a homeless person has a fixed range of activities, if it is a young homeless person with no physical disabilities, it will be more eye-catching."
"So you don't think he's a bum?"
"I don't know, but there has been a development in this case recently, although it is not sure whether there is a connection."
"What progress?"
"A financial company reported to the police that a lender was missing, and they had a loan of 200,000 yuan that they could not recover. This person is the only person who may be the homeless person in the report in the past two years. He is a rural person. , There are nine brothers and sisters in the family, their parents are gone, and we don’t care if we haven’t contacted relatives for a long time, we are looking into it.”
Ren Yi nodded: "I hope there will be results."
"One more thing, related to the clue you gave me last time."
"What about the mask?"
Gong Yingxian took a deep breath: "Your guess may be correct."
"You remember?"
"No, my memory keeps telling me it's a mask of a bird. My memory may have lied to me."
Ren Yi was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"Someone tampered with my memory."
Ren Yi's eyes widened, and he was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment. Could it be...
"I know you suspect Dr. Pompey, not him, but earlier, because I was the first to propose the bird mask."
"But, who else can tamper with a person's memory?"
"A professional psychologist can do it for a six-year-old child who has suffered severe trauma." Gong Yingxian said coldly, "After my family had an accident, my grandfather once found a doctor for me to do psychological intervention. I don’t remember much about this incident, because I saw many doctors during that time, all kinds of doctors, mine, my sister’s, and it took me a lot of effort to find the medical records of that year .”
"Which doctor is it?"
"A psychologist named Wang Minde."
"Then, then you go..."
Gong Yingxian's eyes were cold and cold: "Just a week ago, this man named Wang Minde drank alcohol alone at home, choked his throat with his own vomit, and suffocated to death."
Ren Yi was stiff all over.