Ouyang's biological father was gone, his adoptive father had also died, and the happy childhood life had vanished. That was why Ouyang detested it the most when people brought up his childhood.
It was a kind of happiness he was afraid to recall.
Meanwhile, Hu Jia suffered from frequent nightmares, sleepless nights, and grew increasingly gaunt. From then on, he became more and more obsessive, wanting to take on any case. He often put himself in danger to apprehend a suspect.
Hospitals visits became routine, his body covered in scars.
Then, the police department re-established a special task force to investigate the Hu Shilong case. Seeing Hu Jia’s eagerness to join, Ouyang began to worry.
“The bullet in Uncle Hu’s body is of the same type as those left from the previous two cases. He must have alerted the perpetrator by pursuing the culprit, which led to his murder,” Ouyang said. He feared Hu Jia would suffer the same fate as Uncle Hu. From then on, he strongly opposed Hu Jia becoming a police officer, even using his authority to remove Hu Jia from the force.
He wanted to preserve the last remaining root of the Hu family!
However, Hu Jia blamed himself for not saving his adoptive father and was determined to catch the killer himself. They argued about this several times, and finally, Ouyang had no choice but to let Hu Jia join him in the special task force.
He wanted to do his utmost to protect him.
What Ouyang didn't expect was that Hu Jia, who wasn't allowed to join the special task force, was secretly investigating the Hu Shilong case.
“Five years ago, he disappeared. When we found him, he was unconscious, his hands bound, blood covering his head, and in front of him lay a charred body,” Ouyang recounted. He speculated that Hu Jia must have found a clue to the killer, and the charred body might have been a key witness. Hu Jia pursued the killer alone, only to be subdued, and the witness was burned to death right before his eyes.
Watching the person being consumed by flames, the helplessness stimulated Hu Jia, just as he couldn't help when he saw his father lying in a pool of blood.
From then on, Hu Jia developed a phobia of fire. Even more frightening was that upon waking, Hu Jia had no memory of that day.
Throughout the entire account, Ouyang suppressed his emotions, only showing a flicker of fluctuation when discussing his adoptive father's death and Hu Jia's injury.
Lu Qingqing thought to herself, this must be the past he was unwilling to revisit.
“Who was the killer? Was he caught?” Lu Qingqing asked.
“No! We don't have a single clue,” Ouyang said with frustration. “The only person who saw the killer was Xiao Jia, but…”
But Hu Jia had lost his memory.
“I’ve been investigating this case all these years. Sometimes I think, if only Xiao Jia hadn't lost his memory, it would be so good. He could have described the murderer’s characteristics. However, if he still retained his past memories, he would continue to be trapped in that unpredictable past, haunted by nightmares.”
Ouyang turned to look at Lu Qingqing, “Am I a failure? I can’t find the killer and can’t avenge Uncle Hu and Xiao Jia. I blame Xiao Jia for finding a clue and not telling me, hoping he would recover his memory, but I’m also afraid he’ll remember that night and return to that unbearable time.”
Thus, Ouyang became conflicted and torn.
He resented Hu Jia for not being able to save Uncle Hu.
He was angry with Hu Jia for not informing him promptly after finding a clue.
At the same time, he felt heartache and worry for Hu Jia, fearing he would continue to linger in pain.
This internal struggle caused Ouyang and Hu Jia to drift apart. Eventually, he left the special operations team and began to deliberately and inadvertently create difficulties for Hu Jia, hoping to force him out of the police force.
He didn't even know the purpose of doing so. Perhaps it was to keep Hu Jia away from danger, perhaps to allow him to recover in peace and remember everything that happened that year.
Caught in a dilemma, Ouyang had a difficult time these past few years.
He didn't know what he should do.
Nor did he know how Hu Jia's future path should unfold.
Sigh…
Lu Qingqing let out a long sigh. She completely understood Ouyang's feelings. After all, she also had a younger brother.
“Life is composed of countless scenes, with different stories unfolding every second,” Lu Qingqing said to Ouyang. “The past scenes may contain cruelty, but they also hold much beauty. You cannot cling only to the beautiful and refuse to accept the cruel.”
“Life is not easy, but it is never impossible. When you overcome everything and look back, it turns out to be not a big deal at all.”
Lu Qingqing added that Hu Jia was still here, as were Li Yang, Yu Yue, and Wen Wu. They could investigate and seek revenge for Uncle Hu together. Even if Hu Jia regained his memory one day and became troubled by inner demons again, they could help him overcome it.
“So, you are not a failure, just temporarily unsuccessful.”
…
On one side, Lu Qingqing had a long talk with Ouyang. On the other side, Li Yang and Wen Wu were closely following Hu Jia, trying to provide him with an answer he could accept.
“So I’m 27 this year?” Hu Jia looked incredulous. He touched the furnishings in the room. The decoration was exactly like his old room.
“The culprit who harmed me hasn’t been caught yet?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Someone tampered with the house, that’s why I moved here?”
“Yes!”
“Brother Wen, you’re still thinking of sending me to study in Shanghai?”
“It’s been on my mind for more than a day or two.”
“But…” Hu Jia had more to say, but Luo Wenwu interrupted him, “There are no ‘buts.’ Boss, you ask these questions every time you wake up. We have to answer you hundreds of times a year, give us a break. You’ll forget it all again in a few days anyway.”
Hu Jia pouted, “Look at you two. You must have been terribly annoyed all these years.”
“Indeed, answering the same questions every week. Annoying, isn’t it?” Li Yang’s cheerful smile made Hu Jia chuckle softly.
“Here, these are your notes from last week. Take a look. It’s nothing major, just for you to be aware of it,” Li Yang handed Hu Jia a memo. “Just a rough look, and then we can go to work.”
Coming out of the room, Luo Wenwu and Li Yang simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, they had managed to smooth things over.
It used to be fine. Hu Jia would wake up in a familiar environment with familiar people around him, and even with amnesia, he could be quickly reassured. But this time, he woke up in panic and helplessness, instinctively making all sorts of connections, which made it a little more troublesome.
However, these were minor issues. After all these years, they had grown accustomed to this life. Moreover, they had figured out Hu Jia’s bottom line regarding his amnesia.
As long as they didn't tell him that Hu Shilong was gone, Hu Jia could accept it quickly.
Just as the two were waiting by the door for Hu Jia to finish reading his notes, they suddenly heard Hu Jia’s frightened shout: “Li Yang, Wen Wu…”
What now?
The two rushed back into the room. They saw Hu Jia pointing at a photograph with a look of shock. “I have a fiancée?”