In front of a small villa in Kowloon Tong, Xie Jiahua parked his car across the street. At this time, it was work time in the morning, and the small street was sparsely populated and very secluded. The owner of the villa went out to work early in the morning, and there was only a forty-year-old maid in the courtyard drying clothes.
"Sister Liang?" Xie Jiahua called across the iron fence.
The maid raised her head and rubbed her eyes with the back of her slightly wet hand, "Master? Oops! It's Young Master! Lao Liang! Come out, Lao Liang! Let's see who's back!"
She rushed up and happily opened the door, wiped her hands on the apron, then took the hand that Xie Jiahua took the initiative to stretch out, and rubbed her hands around Xie Jiahua's palms, "Young master's hands are still so hot, healthy! well!"
Another male servant, who was also in his forties and fifties, was also driven out of the villa and stood in front of Xie Jiahua in joy and panic. It was Xie Jiahua who took the initiative to hug him tightly. "Master! You haven't come back for five years! Thin, thin, alas..."
"Don't get in the way, let the young master go in and sit!" Mrs. Liang pushed him.
"No, I have something to ask you, just stay here." Xie Jiahua.
"What did the young master say! How can there be someone who still doesn't enter the house when they arrive at their own house!" Mrs. Liang said enthusiastically. Uncle Liang also persuaded, "Come in, ahem, your father is not at home. It's not good for you to stand here talking and let the neighbors see."
Xie Jiahua looked around and followed them in. Two old servants who have worked in his house for more than 20 years happily busy themselves, pouring tea for him, and serving him fruits and cakes. Sister-in-law Liang watched him grow up since she was a child, and almost treated him as half of his own son, holding his hand and asking for warmth, "Are you still in the serious crime team? Are you busy with work? … Lord, I don’t usually talk about you, but when I miss you, I will take a look at your childhood photos…”
Uncle Liang secretly photographed her and motioned her not to mention the master.
"It's alright," Xie Jiahua reassured them, "I'm not a child anymore. It was my responsibility to get angry with Daddy back then."
"Oh, young master," Mrs. Liang asked tentatively, "is it really impossible for you and the master to reconcile? You... you still pay that... "
"I also like men." Xie Jiahua said.
Uncle Liang and Sister Liang suddenly lost their voices, and both sides showed embarrassed expressions. Xie Jiahua didn't expect them to understand - if they were on his side back then, he wouldn't have come back for five years. Five years ago, he was pursued by a colleague in the forensics department. Although he did not agree in the end, his father found out about their relationship and his sexuality, and was furious. In the case, in order to solve the case, he secretly exchanged evidence, and was eventually investigated for dismissal, and regardless of the unsolved cases in Xie Jiahua's hands, he was forcibly sent to study abroad. Xie Jiahua, who came back after graduating two years later, used up his savings to buy a small apartment outside and never returned home.
Uncle Liang and Sister-in-law Liang have little reading, simple and ignorant. At that time, under his father's advice, they locked him up for half a month. No matter how much he begged, he did not dare to let him out. When he got sick, he kindly went to the temple to ask for a soul-soothing charm for him, listened to the recipe, went to the island to dig the grave, and boiled a lot of weird soup for him to drink.
Xie Jiahua couldn't forgive them, but he couldn't have hatred either, just like he did to his father. Although they could never understand each other, and although he lacked maternal love since childhood, he did not get much fatherly love from the other who worked outside day and night, but he still retained his respect for his father-in his heart, the other party was not a qualified father, but He is an excellent public servant of the people.
However, the appearance of Lu Guangming gradually shook his belief.
He broke the embarrassing situation and said straight to the point, "Uncle Liang and Sister-in-law Liang, I want to inquire about something that happened ten years ago, please think about it carefully. I had a friend named Jia Qi back then who often went out together. I remember that I asked Uncle Liang to help pick out a set of fishing gear and said I would go out fishing with him."
Uncle Liang thought about it for a while, then nodded and said, "Remember, remember." Sister Liang said, "Your fishing gear is still in the utility room at home, and I'm not willing to throw it away."
"Did Jiaqi ever come to the house back then? Have you seen him?"
Sister-in-law Liang shook her head, "No, Master, you never bring friends to your house. You forgot, many of your friends are painting... What kind of art, Master won't let you interact with them."
"Do you have any impression of Uncle Liang?"
Uncle Liang patted his head, "Strange, I seem to have a certain impression. Is your friend... a little shorter than you? The skin is very white, and he said he did paperwork."
"Have you seen him?!"
"I think... you didn't bring him home, he brought you back one night..."
Xie Jiahua grabbed his arm, "Uncle Liang! This matter is very important, you should talk about it carefully, from beginning to end."
Uncle Liang tried to think back for a long time, "I remember... I remember that it was your birthday. You quarreled with the master at dinner and went out. It was about one o'clock in the evening, it was raining heavily outside, and he sent you back. At that time, everyone fell asleep. Now, I opened the door, I helped you in with him, you are drunk."
Xie Jiahua's face was solemn - he also suddenly remembered! His birthday was the 20th day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar, which was also the anniversary of his mother's death. On that day, he quarreled with his father at dinner and went out in a fit of anger. He went to the ICAC to find Tang Jiaqi, but was told that the other party was out of business, so he had to go to a bar to drink alone. , I can't remember what happened after that. It must be that Tang Jiaqi went to the bar to find him later and sent him home.
"How long did he stay at home?" he then asked Uncle Liang.
"It won't be long," Uncle Liang tried to think back. "It rained heavily that night, and you were all wet. I left him to sleep in the guest room. He originally agreed. But I settled you down, changed your clothes, wiped He also said that he still had paperwork to do at home and could not stay. I found him an umbrella and he left. The next day, I went back to the countryside with Mrs. Liang early in the morning. My dear, I forgot to tell you this."
Xie Jiahua stood up and looked in the direction of the guest room on the first floor. The small building has three floors. The first floor is the servant's room and guest room, the second floor is his father's bedroom and study, and the third floor is where he lived. If Tang Jiaqi helped Uncle Liang to help him up to the third floor that night, he would definitely see the study near the stairs on the second floor. If Tang Jiaqi sneaked into the study while Uncle Liang was taking care of him...
Xie Jiahua hurried up to the second floor while thinking about it, pushed the study door, but couldn't open it.
"Ah, that," Mrs. Liang said after chasing, "Master has locked it up for the past few years, and no one will be allowed in except himself."
Xie Jiahua let go of his hand, pondered for a while, and then quickly walked to the third floor, "Is my stuff still there?"
"It's all there, it's all there," Mrs. Liang said quickly, "Master never goes up, so I cover it up with a cloth. Sometimes when I'm free, I go up to clean up."
Xie Jiahua quickly opened the door of his room, searched the bookcase in the corner, and dragged out a few boxes from under the bed. He suddenly caught a glimpse of Uncle Liang who was standing at the door very nervously and curiously. He waved his hand and said, "I'm looking for something, just be quiet, you can go."
"well."
Xie Jiahua knelt on the ground, coughed and searched through the dust, and finally found his diary ten years ago, not long after he joined the company. At that time, he was very rebellious and distracted at work, and his superiors regarded him as a playboy, and did not let him participate in important cases, but only sent him to sort out information. The diary recorded many complaints at that time, and it was not until I met Tang Jiaqi that the content became clear and lively. This diary ended on February 18, 1983, two weeks after Tang Jiaqi's disappearance, when his body was found in a freezer in a freezing factory. There were only four words in that day's diary, "Jiaqi is gone."
He resisted the agitation in his heart at that moment, and turned his eyes forward with pain. When turning to January, he suddenly saw this paragraph: [Today I found out that there was a single case four years ago, the cause of death of the club boss is suspicious, and the information But many pages are missing. Tell Jiaqi that Jiaqi said there is something suspicious and needs to analyze the changes in the power of the community.]
He suddenly closed the diary! Quickly restore the cluttered room to its original shape, then strode down the stairs! "Uncle Liang, Sister-in-law Liang, thank you! I'm leaving, don't tell Daddy that I've been back!"