Lu Hui and Ji Fanyang spent the afternoon at Rao Feifei’s villa. Lu Hui showcased his recently acquired baking skills while Ji Fanyang sauteed some vegetables.
“Chief Lu ate all of the dried strawberries in the cabinet.” Ji Fanyang said like a kid tattling to his teacher.
Rao Feifei waved a hand, indicating it was nothing to worry about: “There’re frozen ones in the freezer.”
Lu Hui walked out of the kitchen carrying his freshly baked crab cake[1]I don’t know anything about baking, but I think this is what it’s talking about here. It was filled with a thick layer of cream, with a red crab on top.
“Thank you, Chief Lu.” Rao Feifei said.
Lu Hui put the cake down. He ‘hmph’d’, signaling that he heard. He still wasn’t used to accepting others’ goodwill.
“Okay, let’s eat.” Ji Fanyang pulled out a chair and sat down, Lu Hui sitting down beside him.
Rao Feifei opened a bottle of red wine and poured three glasses. She put the bottle down and placed two of the glasses in front of them: “Have some if you want.”
Ji Fanyang turned her down apologetically: “I’m driving.”
Lu Hui tilted his head back to drink the glass, the high quality wine being wasted in his hands[2]牛嚼牡丹, like a cox eating peonies, i.e. shoveling down gourmet food when ur supposed to savor it. Then he snatched Ji Fanyang’s glass, holding it in his right hand: “I’ll drink with you.”
Ji Fanyang did not stop him. He could tell that Lu Hui’s sleep quality had been poor these last few nights and he had a lot of things weighing on his mind. Being accused of murder was terrible enough, but he’d also lost his memories and his job. Having Lu Hui let off some steam wasn’t a bad idea.
The alcohol content of the wine wasn’t high—about thirty proof[3]like 15%—so after a few rounds, Rao Feifei’s voice had deepened and she pretended to act natural and carefree: “Xi Junhong shouldn’t have ended up like that.”
Ji Fanyang patted her shoulder: “Yeah.”
“He said that he wanted to pursue the beauties in the city, to send me off in the best car when I got married.” Rao Feifei said, her eyes reddening, “The day he left, he wished for me to become even stronger.”
Lu Hui emptied the bottle, staring blankly into the glass of wine in front of him.
“Some girl out there will cry for him, but that’s not me.” Rao Feifei wiped away the tears in her eyes, “I’m full.”
“Me, too.” Lu Hui said. He tipped his head back to drain his glass, then turned to say to Ji Fanyang, “Let’s go back.”
“Mn.” Ji Fanyang nodded, saying to Rao Feifei, “Then…we’ll be going?”
“Okay. Thank you Chief Lu, Brother Yang.” Rao Feifei forced a smile.
Ji Fanyang waved a hand: “No need, it’s what we ought to do.”
The two of them left the villa. Lu Hui followed Ji Fanyang quietly, making Ji Fanyang’s hair stand on end.
Ji Fanyang did not know Lu Hui’s alcohol tolerance, but he looked a little tipsy: quiet on the exterior, little flames burning in his dark eyes. Ji Fanyang probed: “Chief Lu, are you still sober?”
“I’m fine.” Lu Hui opened the car door and sat on the passenger side, “How has my sister been recently?”
“Huh? I’m not sure.” Ji Fanyang started the engine, “Didn’t you not want to contact Miss Lu?”
“She was on an airplane.” Lu Hui mumbled, “I saw her on an airplane.”
“What?” Ji Fanyang turned the steering wheel, turning his attention to the road, “Are you drunk?”
“She went to a meeting in Los Angeles.” Lu Hui said, “Ji Fanyang, you’d look good in glasses.”
“…” Ji Fanyang sighed, “Lu Hui, little buddy, your alcohol tolerance is too low.”
Lights flashed through Lu Hui’s dark eyes like shooting stars. With the effects of the alcohol, he saw many strange and unusual scenes—some imaginary, some real. His sluggish mind could not connect them all, so he brought them all into the light, both the coherent and the incoherent, and reabsorbed the information through his ears.
Adding in his previous dreams, he integrated the information into a complete story in his mind. Lu Hui had a sudden realization.
He unearthed the final connection between him and the deceased.
The knife was Lu An.
To be more precise, the reason he’d picked up the knife and killed Wang Yinyin was due to Lu An.
“Hey…Lu Hui?” Ji Fanyang waved a hand in front of Lu Hui’s eyes, “We’re home.”
“Oh.” Lu Hui pushed open the car door and got out, “I want chestnut chicken[4]栗子鸡, chicken stewed with chestnut, or braised, don’t know what this is in english.”
“You just ate and now you’re hungry again?” Ji Fanyang shut the car door, “And last time you said that chestnut chicken was too oily and bad for the elderly.”
“But I want some.” Lu Hui said. His tipsy, spoiled appearance was just like a young woman, making Ji Fanyang break out in a cold sweat from revulsion: “Fine fine, here’s the key, I’ll go buy some now.”
Seeing the young man get back in the car and start the engine, desperate to escape, Lu Hui took the key and walked into the apartment building.
He ran into Yu Xinyu while he waited for the elevator. Lu Hui couldn’t pretend that he didn’t see her, so he could only raise a hand in greeting: “Miss Yu.”
Yu Xinyu chuckled: “Mr. Lu, you have an interesting way of greeting people. Always ‘Miss So-and-so’.”
“It’s easy to get beaten up if I use ‘Ma’am’, after all.[5]Lu Hui always uses 姑娘 guniang, which can be used to address a young woman as ‘surname + guniang’ or a woman as a general subject. However, 小姐 xiaojie is pretty much exclusively used in … Continue reading” Lu Hui joked, “Just got off work?”
“Today was a holiday so I went to the supermarket.” Yu Xinyu shook the shopping bags in her hands, “I made braised pork last night. Mr. Lu, you can take some home and eat it together.”
“No, thank you.” Lu Huui put on a cheerful expression, “A Yang went to buy chestnut chicken.”
“Oh, then I won’t disturb you two lovebirds.” Yu Xinyu smiled, “The elevator’s here.”
The two of them walked into the elevator. Lu Hui pressed the buttons for the fourteenth and fifteenth floor.
A pause. Then, Lu Hui spoke: “Xinyu, I might have to go out for something tomorrow.”
“You’re talking about…your proposal?” Yu Xinyu asked.
“…Sure.” Lu Hui just remembered that he’d deceived this young woman with some random lie before. Now, he could only stiffen his face and keep up with the act, “If A Yang asks, just say that I’m with you.”
“But I have to go to work tomorrow…” Yu Xinyu hesitated.
Lu Hui said: “That’s fine. A Yang, that mother[6]mother hen, not something else mother-related lmao…cough, methodical person definitely knows your phone number.” Lu Hui scolded internally, Ji Fanyang must have the number of every girl in the building.
“…Okay, then.” Yu Xinyu agreed.
“Ding.” The elevator’s doors opened. Lu Hui smiled and said: “I’ll be troubling you.”
“No worries. I’ll be going, then. Bye.” Yu Xinyu walked out of the elevator and the doors closed.
Lu Hui stood in the elevator, waited for the display to show a ‘15’, then walked out.
He grabbed the keys and opened the door. He walked into the bedroom, locking the door behind him, then pulled open the second drawer of the cabinet and took out his notebook. He pulled out that mysterious sheet of paper and dialed the number on it.
The wait was exceedingly long. Just as Lu Hui was going to give up, the voice of a middle-aged man sounded by his ear: “You’ve finally called.”
“I remember. Everything.” Lu Hui said, “What can you give me?”
“A video recording.” The man said, “No. 83 Wuer Street, Linhua City. 1 PM tomorrow.”
The call was cut off.
Lu Hui put his phone down, replaced the sheet into his notebook, returned the notebook to the cabinet and locked it. He opened the bedroom door and went into the living room to sit on the sofa.
Soon, Ji Fanyang opened the door carrying chestnut chicken: “Good afternoon, Miss Lu.”
“Good afternoon, Brother A Yang.” Lu Hui pitched his voice to nauseate Ji Fanyang.
Ji Fanyang broke out in goosebumps. He put the chestnut chicken on the dining table: “Anything else you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
“I’m watching something.” Lu Hui turned on the TV.
Ji Fanyang rolled his eyes: “Fuck off.”
Footnotes
| ↑1 | I don’t know anything about baking, but I think this is what it’s talking about here |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | 牛嚼牡丹, like a cox eating peonies, i.e. shoveling down gourmet food when ur supposed to savor it |
| ↑3 | like 15% |
| ↑4 | 栗子鸡, chicken stewed with chestnut, or braised, don’t know what this is in english |
| ↑5 | Lu Hui always uses 姑娘 guniang, which can be used to address a young woman as ‘surname + guniang’ or a woman as a general subject. However, 小姐 xiaojie is pretty much exclusively used in the form ‘surname + xiaojie’, as it can sometimes have negative connotations, almost like the word ‘mistress’. This difference is hard to convey in English, but I know some people find the address ‘Ma’am’ insulting (It’s a term of respect where I’m from), so I used that here despite having different connotations |
| ↑6 | mother hen, not something else mother-related lmao |