Chapter Sixty-Eight: Settling Everything Once and For All

“Oneself!” Ning Shuyi replied decisively. “Apart from twins or multiples, each of us comes into this world alone, and barring any accidents, we don’t leave in groups either. So, ultimately, isn’t the most reliable companion we have in this world just ourselves?

Does wild ginseng lose its value because no one tends to it? Are wild giant pandas any less pandas because they’re not in captivity? As for me, except for the time I was at university, I haven’t really been far from my parents. So what of it?

I’m a detective in the Criminal Police Unit, and so are you. Do you think having an extra pair of parents at home makes the bureau think I’m worth more and bump up my salary by two levels?”

She teased herself, making Huo Yan smile wryly. Seeing the tension ease from Huo Yan’s face, replaced by a softer expression, Ning Shuyi knew she had guessed right.

Previously, Captain Dong had mentioned that Huo Yan’s old superior in the military said he was a good man in every way—except that he didn’t value his own life. He never opened up to anyone, so no one understood why he carried that attitude.

Now the answer to that question had become clear.

No wonder during the investigation of Chang Junchao’s case, Huo Yan had occasionally shown a complicated expression. In hindsight, he must have been reminded of himself.

What he had been through, Ning Shuyi didn’t know. Unless Huo Yan chose to speak, she wouldn’t pry.

“I don’t know your past, and if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask. But if you ever need someone to run laps with you to vent, you can ask me next time,” she said, quickly adding, “But you’ll have to go slow! At most three laps—more than that and I’m done for!”

Then she rapped Huo Yan’s shoulder with mock seriousness. “Today, I risked my life to keep you company. Tonight, you’re buying the late-night snacks during overtime!”

With that, she half-hopped, half-bounced down from the bleachers—not because she was lively or in a good mood, nor to act cute, but simply because she had run too fast and was now too weak in the legs to descend the steps normally.

Huo Yan stared after her in surprise. The dark cloud once hanging over his brow had lifted considerably, as if a breeze had swept away most of the weight that had made it hard to breathe.

Ning Shuyi was certainly not the first to offer comfort when he was off-kilter, nor would she be the last. But others spoke with duty and obligation, heavy with earnestness and moralizing, which only made him feel more pressure and want to bury his feelings deeper.

Only she spoke lightly and calmly, yet with a deft touch that made him suddenly feel that his earlier emotional outburst wasn’t such a big deal after all.

Having run an unplanned extra five laps, Ning Shuyi was thoroughly exhausted. Coupled with a busy day, she was both sleepy and fatigued once back in the car and soon fell asleep. When she awoke, the car was still moving, not yet at the police station.

But compared to before she had dozed off, there was now a faint, lingering fragrance in the car.

“What’s that smell?” she sat up and sniffed.

“Late-night snacks,” Huo Yan said, eyes fixed on the road, looking focused. “Three laps.”

“Three laps what?” Ning Shuyi asked, puzzled.

“You can only keep up for three laps,” Huo Yan glanced at her quickly. “I stopped to buy the snacks while you were still asleep. From now on, three laps are your limit. Five is pushing it.”

Ning Shuyi almost laughed out of irritation. She wanted to argue, but then considered: with the same schedule, she had run five and a half laps and was exhausted, falling asleep immediately upon getting in the car, while he had run more than thirty laps and was still full of energy. The difference was clear.

So she wisely kept quiet and didn’t push her luck.

They returned to the station late, both famished. Sitting down to eat, the meal Huo Yan bought was delicious—especially when one was tired and hungry—it brought immense satisfaction.

After eating and drinking their fill, they resumed finishing their remaining work, only finding a spot to crash for a few hours in the duty room at dawn.

The next day, the DNA test results came back, confirming their earlier suspicions and matching Chang Junchao’s confession after his arrest.

They had worried somewhat about Chang’s mental state—he had been unnervingly calm—and had reported their concerns.

But on the afternoon of the third day, the dreaded news arrived: Chang Junchao had died.

He had taken his own life in the detention center. After being transferred there, he had slept deeply for a whole day, barely eating, just dozing continuously.

When he woke the next day, he looked much better and ate normally, explaining that he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for many days before his arrest.

This was not uncommon in detention; many exhibited similar behavior, so the guards on duty did not pay special attention. He seemed stable, ate well, and appeared fine.

That evening, because Ning Shuyi and her team had warned them, the guards kept a closer watch on Chang and found nothing unusual, so they relaxed somewhat.

Unexpectedly, in the early hours, when the guards checked on him again, they found something wrong.

He had strangled himself with his own T-shirt.

Once the death was reported, the forensic team immediately examined the body and confirmed that he had indeed strangled himself with his clothing.

Such a death was excruciatingly painful. Most people would surrender to the instinct to survive at the last moment and could not bring themselves to strangle themselves to death.

But Chang Junchao had done exactly that.

This showed he had utterly lost all desire to live, firmly resolved to die.

The outcome left Ning Shuyi feeling a pang of sadness. Huo Yan was silent for a long while, but this time he didn’t feel the need to go for a run.

Thus, their team completed the day’s work under an inexplicable heaviness.

Near the end of the workday, Ning Shuyi suddenly received a call from her parents.

After answering, something was said that quickly darkened her expression; her brows furrowed slightly. After a brief response, she hung up.

“I need to leave early,” she said, slipping her phone into her jeans pocket as she stood and grabbed her jacket from the chair back. “My brother-in-law came back from out of town and drove my parents home. They’ve just discovered the mess in the house.”