We, Xie Chuchu and I, anxiously ran into a banana grove, both of us shrinking and hiding beneath the broad leaves.
At this moment, we were pressed closely together, and I didn't know why, but I noticed Xie Chuchu's face was flushed. "Senior, do you remember a few years ago..."
"You mean when we were studying? I remember. That time we went out together to buy materials, and it started raining on the way back. Later, seeing the rain intensify, we realized it was a typhoon. We ended up hiding in a dilapidated house for two days."
"Yes, at that time I thought Senior would not be able to resist..."
"Chuchu, how could I possibly? I'm not that kind of person!"
"But Senior, didn't I deliberately loosen my clothes? Did you not know?"
"No way? So you weren't hot back then..."
Thinking back to this incident, I almost felt so embarrassed that I wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. So that's how it was.
Upon mentioning this, Xie Chuchu's breathing suddenly quickened. I deliberately moved away a little, but she moved closer.
"Chuchu, don't be like this, I'm already involved with..."
"I know, but she simply doesn't..."
"Shut up! I won't allow you to say that!"
"What is it! When did Senior become so stingy!"
Xie Chuchu cursed me, then forcefully pushed me away and ran out into the rain. I couldn't stop her. Watching her disappear into the rain, I could only sigh.
But I couldn't let her venture out alone. Looking up at the pouring rain, I had no choice but to run in Xie Chuchu's direction!
As I moved through the downpour, my eyes were wet with rain. At this moment, my thoughts drifted back to a few years ago, before we graduated. We had already gotten soaked before the typhoon. We held hands and chased each other in the rain, forgetting that it was pouring heavily. We ran and played on the wide highway, and passersby must have thought we were crazy. But they couldn't feel the taste of love.
That's right, back then I also felt something undefined, but I didn't take that step. It's different now; after all, I am a married man.
Suddenly, I spotted her. I grabbed her arm forcefully. She had deliberately hidden herself in a dark mountain cave, but she couldn't escape my sharp eyes.
"How did you know I was here?" Caught by me, Xie Chuchu was momentarily bewildered. For a moment, I thought we had returned to our school days.
I pointed to the ground, "Your footprints are all over here. Don't you like wearing Anta men's sports shoes? Not many girls like this kind of shoe, do they?"
"Uh, Senior, you still understand me. I believe none of our colleagues have noticed this detail, right? But can you let go of me now?"
When Xie Chuchu brought this up, a look of embarrassment appeared on my face, and I quickly let go.
"Don't wander off like this anymore. You're not young. How can you act like a little girl?"
"I don't know what came over me earlier. I just felt very angry and didn't want to talk to you for a while. But as I ran, I felt relieved. Perhaps it was because of this heavy rain! Do you remember? That year..."
"Yes, that rain, it was so heavy!" Xie Chuchu and I walked to the edge of the cave entrance, looking up at the raindrops falling like a curtain. The entire sky was completely covered, as if an extra transparent veil had been added.
I didn't know when this rain would stop. We huddled together in the cave and, due to exhaustion, leaned our heads against each other and fell asleep.
When I could no longer hear the rain outside, I wanted to wake Xie Chuchu. However, she seemed truly tired and couldn't get up. Her face looked haggard. I gave a wry smile and decided to wait for her to wake up.
Even though my shoulder was very uncomfortable, I had no intention of waking her. After all, this was the first time she had slept so soundly in front of me since becoming a forensic investigator.
Fortunately, she suddenly opened her eyes a few minutes later, a slightly playful expression on her face. "Senior, you haven't been awake for long, have you? Has the rain stopped outside?"
"Yes, Chuchu, you slept well, didn't you?"
"Yes, I haven't slept so soundly in a long time. It felt like by your side, I was back in the days when we were studying. Actually, I just had a dream."
"En?"
"I dreamed of our past."
"Oh, hahaha, that's good. It was better back then. I remember how we lived each day freely and without worries. We didn't have so much pressure and so many thoughts back then."
"People always have to grow. Alright! Senior, we should continue our search. We can't let the victim be wronged. That's our mission, isn't it?" Xie Chuchu stood up, patted her hands, and tidied her forensic suit.
After leaving the cave, we searched in the direction Ah Long Ye had told us. This time, we indeed found a tombstone near a solitary willow tree. It read: "Li Haimin, April 4, 1983, Departed."
Finally, we found this woman. But we noticed fresh chrysanthemums placed before her tombstone, indicating that someone had come to pay their respects recently.
Kneeling before the tombstone, facing the pale photograph of the deceased, Xie Chuchu said doubtfully, "Who paid respects? This person must have been very close to Li Haimin, right?"
"Exactly. If I'm not mistaken, this person probably comes to pay respects often. Based on Li Haimin's age..."
I suddenly understood something. It seemed we could proceed with the plan. I whispered a few words into Xie Chuchu's ear, and she gave me a thumbs-up. "Not bad! It looks like this strategy will work!"
So, we returned to the base camp. We didn't make our move until the day of the grand sacrifice. We had been waiting all this time.
On this day, I briefed everyone and asked for their cooperation. Then, I came to the central altar to participate in the sacrifice to the God of the Night, which only occurs once every few hundred years, along with the people of Osiri Village.
The weather today was rather gloomy, with dark clouds covering the sky. Swarms of crows circled in the dark expanse, as if waiting for prey to arrive. All the people of Osiri Village were gathered before the stone statue of the God of Darkness, surrounded by several priests. Ah Long Ye was dressed exceptionally formally today, in a full high priest's attire, holding a dragon-headed wooden staff, which he tapped on the ground.
Countless villagers, holding torches, were clad in armor reminiscent of ancient Roman soldiers. They raised their shields, forming a testudo formation, and stood in readiness around the altar.