Hu Jia, after waking up from his amnesia, developed an inexplicable affection for Lü Qingqing, a fact known to everyone, including Lü Qingqing herself.
Previously, he only felt a closeness to her, but this time was different. He directly stated her identity: "You are my fiancée."
This left Lü Qingqing both shocked and overjoyed. Had his memory been undergoing a constant reshuffling?
Did this mean that Hu Jia would eventually remember her name, recall the current year, the dinner he had the previous night, and the words he had spoken?
In that moment, Lü Qingqing felt tears welling up.
It was tears of joy.
She didn't know when such a situation might arise, but having hope was better than perpetual despair.
After explaining the amnesia situation and other routine matters, Lü Qingqing took Hu Jia to the special operations team.
Everyone was happy to learn that Hu Jia's memory had shown some improvement. Li Yang, in particular, attributed all the credit to Lü Qingqing.
This further solidified his resolve.
He planned to find a time to send Lü Qingqing and Hu Jia into the "Zuo Hei" (Dark Room).
If simply touching her hand could improve Hu Jia's memory, then what about intimacy, becoming one? Haha...
Yu Yue shot an impatient glance at Li Yang, her expression clearly indicating that the young man was thinking of something improper.
However, Li Yang paid no mind to "Xiao Yue Yue's" eye-rolling. He dialed Ouyang Wen's number, hoping to arrange for Lü Qingqing to marry into the Hu family as soon as she left the training institute.
"Brother, I have great news..."
Before Ouyang Wen and Hu Jia had a falling out, Ouyang Wen was the elder brother and Hu Jia the second. But within the specific circle of the special operations team, "boss" solely referred to Hu Jia.
Ouyang Wen was happy to hear that Hu Jia could recall Lü Qingqing's identity. However, when Li Yang urged him to quickly arrange for Lü Qingqing's marriage into the Hu family, Ouyang Wen felt a pang of sadness.
Life was perhaps like this, always facing choices between one's palm and the back of one's hand.
While the relationship between the three was strong, the relationship between two could not tolerate a third person.
And while Li Yang was plotting how to get Lü Qingqing married into the Hu family, Lü Qingqing was being surrounded by a crowd of people.
"What's up? Did your Captain Hu do something else to make you so happy?"
"Not at all, can't I just be more cheerful and smile more?"
"Before, you were like an idiot when you were happy. Today, your eyes sparkle with affection."
"Get lost..."
It was evident that Lü Qingqing was genuinely happy, and even her "get lost" was laced with a playful coquettishness.
Tong Meng's face turned ashen. Although she didn't know why Lü Qingqing was so happy, her judgment was consistent with Zhan Ruoxuan's.
"More than just sparkling eyes, look at how happy she is, one would think she just kissed Hu Jia," Tong Meng said with a grin.
Uh.
Her words made it sound as if Lü Qingqing was careless about her reputation, and she was immediately attacked by Cai Xiaojuan.
"What? Jealous? If you have the ability, go find a fiancé for yourself, then you won't be coveting other people's men."
Everyone thought Tong Meng was deliberately belittling Lü Qingqing, but only Lü Qingqing understood what Tong Meng was implying.
She was talking about the lipstick mark.
When Hu Jia had been missing for a week, Tong Meng was the only woman around him. There was no doubt about whose lipstick mark it was.
She was deliberately showing off to provoke Lü Qingqing.
"The affection between lovers can be understood with just a glance, and a smiling expression is the truest portrayal of emotion," Lü Qingqing replied with a hidden edge in her smile. "So I have nothing to hide. I admit I'm happy, I'm blissful, and this happiness and bliss were brought to me by Hu Jia."
After speaking, Lü Qingqing glanced provocatively at Tong Meng, as if to say, "Not happy about it?"
Wow, everyone started to tease.
Only Tong Meng, smiling on the outside, felt...
Lü Qingqing was definitely doing this on purpose. Tong Meng forced herself to remain calm, "Hmph, that's good. You be proud, you smile, you won't be happy for many more days."
"After graduation, you'll know what it feels like to be trampled under my feet."
...
The atmosphere at the training institute was lively, while the mood at the city police station was one of excitement.
Zhang Hangjiang was moved to tears upon learning that his brother's case had been overturned.
When he saw Hu Jia again, he instinctively wanted to kowtow.
The Hu family quickly stopped him.
To express his gratitude to Hu Jia, Zhang Hangjiang held nothing back, recounting everything he could remember.
Zhang Hangjiang said that he, Wang Xia, and Mou Jixuan used to hang out together every day. Initially, he was supposed to be the one to give false testimony, but later the "opportunity" fell to Mou Jixuan.
About six months after giving the false testimony, Wang Xia suddenly seemed to have come into money, treating him and Mou Jixuan to meals every day. Until one day, Wang Xia said he had been fired and was returning to his hometown.
"Wait!" Hu Jia interrupted. "Fired?" He remembered his memoirs stating "resigned voluntarily?"
"Yes, he was fired," Zhang Hangjiang said. Wang Xia had also ranted at the dinner table that day, saying their reach was too long.
Ouyang Wen was also surprised by the twist in the story and gestured for Zhang Hangjiang to continue.
"After Wang Xia was fired, he left the city, and I gradually lost contact with him. However, Mou Jixuan met with him often," Zhang Hangjiang said. Mou Jixuan frequently visited a village called "Huayan" and would stay for several days. That was Wang Xia's hometown.
Hu Jia hummed, he knew all this. "Did he say what he was doing in Huayan, or did he mention any items, like keys?"
Zhang Hangjiang thought for a moment. "I don't recall. But he went to Huayan to learn swimming."
What?
Ouyang Wen thought he had misheard.
Chongqing was a city by the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers. Where couldn't one swim that they had to go to a remote mountain village to learn?
Besides, was Huayan near the river?
"Once, he almost drowned, and I laughed at him," Zhang Hangjiang said. It was precisely because of his poor swimming skills that Mou Jixuan had always been afraid to enter the water, let alone the unfathomably deep Yangtze River. Huayan had a small stream, perfect for beginners.
Everyone seemed to have no objections to Zhang Hangjiang's words.
Indeed, many beginners were afraid to go into the river.
"As for the keys..." Zhang Hangjiang pondered, "no impression."
The answer was within expectations, but Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen were still a little disappointed. Zhang Hangjiang said that later, Wang Xia disappeared, and Mou Jixuan stopped going to Huayan village. Their contact also decreased. For a while, he heard that Mou Jixuan was not doing well, seemingly being pursued for debts, and later, he heard that he had died.
The debt collection Zhang Hangjiang mentioned was likely related to being pursued by the "knife man" for the key.
"Did you not see him before he died?" Ouyang Wen asked persistently.
"We bumped into each other on the street once. We didn't say much. Oh right, weren't you there too? You're the one who mentioned the 'big-bellied pistol' that time."
Everyone was stunned. Not just Ouyang Wen, but Li Yang, Wen Wu, and even Hu Jia pointed at himself, "You're saying I was there? And I mentioned the 'big-bellied pistol'?"
What was the "big-bellied pistol"?
Its scientific name was the "Type 81 carbine."
Its alias was the "boxlock pistol."
It was a pistol officially produced by the German Mauser factory in 1896, one of the earliest automatic pistols in the world.
And Huang Yawen, the victim of the shooting, along with Zhu Xuan, Hu Shilong, and Li Zhenhui, all died from this type of firearm.