You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 38 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 38 Part 2

Ruan Yu should understand by now.

Why her story outline wasn’t stolen.

Why his bank payment password was 309017.

Why he knew that she was afraid of heights.

Yet it was still hard for Ruan Yu to take it all in.

The only thing that could match all these short messages was her own memory. However, at that very moment, all of her memories had become remote and blurry, it all seemed somewhat unrealistic.

Everything she remembered about her high school days was now split into two versions by these short messages.

Two completely different versions, one which belonged to her and the other that belonged to Xu Huaisong.

If all these messages were real, why didn’t she have any clue about it back then? How could it be possible that she didn’t notice any of it?

Ruan Yu sank into the couch and flipped through the three hundred plus drafts back and forth like a patient eagerly searching for a cure. She tried to find one draft that could serve as evidence that proved that Xu Huaisong liked her back then.

Finally, she saw one particular draft: [There wasn’t a page for me when you distributed the yearbook pages to my class. When they were collecting the pages back, I inserted my own page into it. If I’m lucky, you’ll see it.]

The yearbook……

Ruan Yu abruptly stood up, put down her cell phone, and ran into her bedroom.

The items she had retrieved back from the old trunk in the old house included her diary and some random things, the yearbook was one of them.

It was a thick book with loose leaf sheets. She had taken the various colored sheets of paper and handed them to other people who wanted to leave her a message.

She certainly didn’t give one to Xu Huaisong at the time. She thought that he didn’t really know her. She had passed those sheets to classroom 10 simply because she had some extra sheets.

Before graduation, yearbook sheets were everywhere. After writing in too many sheets, people became careless about it. They would begin to randomly draw a smiley face and write halfhearted words like “remember me.” Given all that, Ruan Yu didn’t really read through the pages carefully after she collected them all back.

She was planning to read them through later. But Xu Huaisong didn’t show up for the graduation trip and ever since then, she had thrown all the high school memorabilia into that trunk. She purposely tried to avoid thinking about it.

Ruan Yu ran into the bedroom, took out the yearbook, and hastily flipped through its pages as she squatted on the floor.

The colorful pages made a swooshing sound until she came across a white sheet. Her hand paused in midair.

This piece of paper was different from all the other sheets of the yearbook. There was no space for filling out information such as name, zodiac, blood type, and hobbies on this sheet.

There was only one line written on this sheet. The line was neatly written with firm strokes.

She recognized the handwriting.

He wrote: “Wish you are as happy as a lark in all of the splendid tomorrows to come, even if I won’t be able to see any of it.”

Ruan Yu collapsed on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes all of a sudden.

At ten o’clock that night, Ruan Yu sat by herself in the brightly lit living room, spaced out with a cellphone held in each hand.

At this hour, Xu Huaisong should have already landed. But he didn’t send her any message and she didn’t contact him either.

Somehow she felt that they were both anxious right now.

Even though Xu Huaishi had sent over her brother’s old phone on her own, Ruan Yu figured that Huaishi probably had informed her brother ahead of time or at the very least she must have told him after she sent it.

He had to know that she had found out about the truth the moment he got off the plane.

Time ticked away, it was already 10:30 pm.

What was he afraid of? Afraid that she would blame him?

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 38 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 38 Part 1

The obsolete cell phone was in a style that was popular over a decade ago.

It was the kind of dumbphones that people that scrounge around neighborhoods collect as scrap phones for recycling.

Ruan Yu almost thought she had been transported back in time.

Then she took a picture of the old phone and attached it to the WeChat chat box: [Did you send me the wrong thing?]

Xu Huaishi: [No. Jiejie, turn on the phone and check the draft box.]

Ruan Yu thought why the draft box; young people today really know how to overcomplicate things. Was this a new way to write love letters to her?

Ruan Yu didn’t turn on the phone right away. She left the package on the coffee table and went to take a shower first instead because she had broken out in a cold sweat from her nightmares the previous night. When she came out of shower, she found a new message from Xu Huaishi in her cell phone.

It was a long message.

[Jiejie, you’ve seen it. I’m sorry. I was the one who accidentally found this old cell phone and took the liberty of reading it without permission, then rewrote the story from the draft box. It was also I who chickened out and didn’t admit it, even lying to cover up the truth when you were accused of plagiarism. I was also the one who secretly doxed your name and personal information.

What I did really sucks. After spending a day and a night with you in Hang City, I realized that you’re still trying hard to find out what had happened. I thought to myself that if I still didn’t tell you the truth, then I'll forever be an awful person.

Jiejie, it’s alright if you don’t forgive me or feel disgusted with me, but my brother didn’t know about this until the fourth day of the incident. He rushed back even though he still had an impending court day for a case. He was planning to explain everything frankly to you but didn’t do so after seeing that you were pretending to not know him at all.

Therefore, if it’s possible, you must forgive him, please. He really, truly likes you a lot.]

Ruan Yu was dumbfounded after reading the message and stood in the same spot with the cell phone in hand, unsure of what to do.

She recognized all those words in the message, word by word. But when those words were put together, she seemed to have a hard time deciphering what all those words meant.

Above the message, there was a screenshot attached showing a Weibo account: @ A Person Writes Poems.

Ruan Yu stood there for two minutes before slowly and sluggishly turning to pick up that old cell phone on the coffee table. She turned it on and opened the draft box.

There were 327 undelivered drafts.

She flipped through them and then randomly clicked open one to read.

[The model essay sample for the exam Mr. Zheng showed us was written by you.]

What sample essay for the exam? Ruan Yu frowned and wondered. She continued to read on.

[Your father asked me why I always like to play piano in room 301. I couldn’t say that it’s because I happen to be able to see you when I look out from the window of that room.]

Her knotted eyebrows relaxed a little. Her finger paused on top of the arrow key of the phone. She seemed to understand now who had written these drafts and whom he was writing to.

[You changed seats to the one next to the window. To get a time out so I could stand in the hallway to watch you, I was tardy to class today.]

[Are you coming to the sports field for PE? I’ve already run five circles already.]

[Hanazawa Rui doesn’t eat fried chicken.]

[You said that you like to watch the first sunlight right after a rain. Then I’ll play <After the Rain> during our school anniversary celebration.]

[That boy in your class who likes to pull on your braid came to ask me for my English homework. I didn’t let him copy mine.]

[The cat near the Arts building kept meowing. I fed it some canned food. But I don’t like cats, I like you.]

[I’m going to America soon. Is there any way to let you remember me, even if it’s just a little bit.]

[Then, let me hold your hand once.]

The somewhat unpleasant clicking sound of the old phone keypad kept going. Ruan Yu’s eyelashes kept quivering. Supporting herself with the couch, Ruan Yu slowly sat down. All her strength seemed to have been drained from reading these short messages, one after another.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 37 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 37 Part 3

By the third day, Xu Huaisong’s father’s condition had improved a lot. He was able to eat and drink normally. Xu Huaisong began considering going back to China.

Lu Shenglan happened to come to the hospital for a visit. She saw Xu Huaisong had earphones on and the cell phone next to him, the screen indicated that he was on a voice call. She understood right away and wrote on the paper to show him: “I’m done with the case. I can work from here for the next few days. You can go back to China if you have things to take care of there.”

Xu Huaisong took a look at the note and didn’t say anything for the moment.

She continued to write: “Uncle Xu was my mentor in helping me enter this profession. I should take care of him, don’t worry.”

Xu Huaisong was just about to write something in reply when he heard in his earphones Ruan Yu mumbling something in her sleep. It seemed that she woke up crying again.

Xu Huaisong didn’t have time to write anything but said immediately: “Having a nightmare? I’m here.”

Ruan Yu’s voice was unintelligible for a while before it became more clear: “En…… I’m alright. I’ll get up to get some water……”

“En. Turn on the light on the nightstand first. Remember to put on your slippers. Walk carefully. Don’t drink cold water.” Xu Huaisong was speaking very slowly. It seemed that he wasn’t really trying to warn her but was just continuing to talk so she wouldn’t be scared when she walked to the living room.

When she had her drink of water and returned to bed, he said again: “Tuck in the blanket. Go back to sleep. I won’t hang up.”

After more than twenty minutes, Ruan Yu’s breathing grew more even. Xu Huaisong figured that she would probably stay asleep for a while now and carefully turned off the mic. Then he looked up at Lu Shenglan who had been standing next to him for some time now: “Sorry about this.”

Lu Shenglan shook her head to indicate that it didn’t bother her. After some hesitation, she asked: “Anything happened to her?”

Xu Huaisong briefly explained: “A suspect held a hostage and the police asked her to go help with the negotiation.”

“Was the negotiation successful?”

“En.”

“Was she behaving unusually calm?”

Xu Huaisong frowned a little.

Lu Shenglan continued: “I’ve done some research on this respect. Based on her personality, if she forced herself to overcome her own stress to help accomplish the negotiation, she might rebound psychologically.” 

Xu Huaisong’s eyebrows tightened even more: “You mean, I need to contact a psychiatrist?”

“It probably hasn’t come to that. But if she’s all by herself now and there’s nothing else important happening to divert her attention, her psychological health will probably be affected if the condition continues. Either you ask someone to take care of her for a few days or you go back as soon as possible.”

Xu Huaisong picked up his cell phone and navigated to a website for booking flights.

“If she had difficulty falling asleep, try to avoid her sleep hours when you book the flight.” Lu Shenglan added.

He said: “En.” Then he looked up at her to say: “Thank you.”

When Ruan Yu woke up the next morning, she found the voice call to Xu Huaisong had been cut off.

There was a message sent by him half an hour ago: [I’m getting ready to take off now. I’ll be there before you go to sleep tonight. Make sure you eat well and wait for me at home.]

Ruan Yu moved the cursor to the input box and typed “en.”. Then she thought he probably wouldn’t be able to see it and deleted it.

She was about to get out of the bed when her cell phone vibrated again. There was another WeChat message.

It was from Xu Huaishi.

She had gotten Ruan Yu’s WeChat account from Liu Mao when he took her back to Su City a few days ago.

Xu Huaishi: [Jiejie, the package I sent to you is on its way. Remember to sign for it.]

Ruan Yu cleared her head and typed: [What exactly is it?]

Xu Huaishi had asked for Ruan Yu’s address a few days ago and said she was going to send her a very important item but wouldn’t say what the item was.

Xu Huaishi: [You’ll know shortly.]

The doorbell rang when Ruan Yu received that last message.

Ruan Yu hurriedly got out of bed, went to the door and received a package from the delivery man. She closed the door, then went to get a knife to open the package.

When the package was opened, she saw a timeworn, obsolete cell phone.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 37 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 37 Part 2

Ruan Yu’s choking voice reminded Xu Huaisong of something. The tone of his voice became a little stern: “In the future, if you have to cry over the phone, you better let me know what happened before crying.”

The touching feeling that Ruan Yu had felt instantly disappeared when she heard the tone of his voice.

Xu Huaisong continued in a serious manner: “You probably are crying over nothing but I might freak out so badly that my heart might stop beating.”

Ruan Yu didn’t know what to say but replied with an “oh”. Since she had gotten what she was looking for from him, she didn’t bother about the sternness in his voice. She said: “I know now. You better go back to the room to check on your father.”

Xu Huaisong stood beside a street light and took a look at the direction of the hospital wards: “It’s alright, the caregiver’s there. He’s basically stabilized right now. He’s sleeping now.”

“So you like to stand outside feeding the mosquitoes that much?”

“En. Since I pinched the one on your chin dead last time, I felt sorry about it and now I’m taking care of its fellow creatures.”

“......”

Ruan Yu laughed. With phone in hand, she walked away from the door, breathed out a long breath, and fell down on the bed.

Xu Huaisong heard a rustling sound on  the phone and asked: “What are you doing?”

“I’m tired. I’m going to lay down for a while.” She said with a sigh: “Actually I was very scared today. My feet were like jelly. I didn’t know beforehand that I had to climb up the aerial ladder……”

“You got on the aerial ladder?” Xu Huaisong sounded very surprised: “Aren’t you afraid of heights?”

It was Ruan Yu’s turn to feel surprised: “How do you know that?”

This was because on the day of the 40th anniversary of First High School, many students were assigned by the teachers to decorate the area where the celebration was going to be held. Since there was a lot of work to be done, the teachers assigned work randomly without consideration of whether the work was suitable for a girl or not. Ruan Yu had been assigned to hang ribbons on poles over the top of the window frames. She was looking all over the place trying to find someone willing to switch jobs with her since she was afraid of climbing heights.

Then he went to do the job for her.

By the time Ruan Yu had found someone to do her work, she saw the ribbons were already hanging high above the windows. She thought someone probably had mixed up their assignments.

Xu Huaisong was silent in the dark night for a long while. Finally, he looked up at the first quarter moon in the sky and said: “I’ll tell you after I come back.”

What’s this? So mysterious.

But Ruan Yu was too tired to get to the bottom of it. She changed positions on the bed and simply said the first thing that came to her head: “What do you think will happen to Zhou Jun? I went to take a statement at the police station this afternoon. I saw him being taken into the interrogation room and they didn’t come out for a long time.”

Xu Huaisong had learned about the case from the police already and said: “In the current situation, all the objective evidence points at him. His explanation is only a one-sided story. Even if he hadn’t killed her, it would be hard to prove him innocent.”

Ruan Yu almost choked but kept listening to him: “There are two possibilities for him to be cleared of any charges. First, other suspects surface before the trial and all the evidence pointing at him could be reasonably refuted. Second, he gets acquitted during the trial due to insufficient evidence.”

“Judging from the current situation, if there’s a real killer, he must be a very experienced hardened criminal. It would be hard to catch this person in a short period of time. So it’s very likely that he can only try the second approach for his defense.”

Ruan Yu: “En. You can’t defend him?”

“No.”

Not to mention that he hadn’t taken the national judicial exam yet, even if he had passed it and got his lawyer license, he wasn’t a criminal lawyer either. Zhou Jun needed a specialized criminal lawyer.

Xu Huaisong said: “I’ve already asked Liu Mao to arrange for a defense lawyer for him. I’ll discuss the case with them after I have taken care of things over here and go back to China.”

Xu Huaisong kept feeding the mosquitoes until 2 am before going back to his father’s hospital room.

Ruan Yu got up to cook dinner for her parents afterwards. Then she went to bed early but had nightmares the whole night. The next morning when her parents saw the dark circles under her eyes, they sent her back to the city.

Her parents’ home was close to the crime scene. Her parents figured that since Ruan Yu was easily frightened, she would probably keep having nightmares if she stayed at home with them.

Ruan Yu also felt that the location made her uncomfortable and she would feel better after getting back to the city.

What she didn’t expect was that once she was back in the city all by herself, she still didn’t feel comfortable, especially at night.

Shen Mingying happened to be out of town when Ruan Yu came back. Ruan Yu therefore went to the hotel to pick up the cat, Xu Pipi, to keep her company. For the following two nights, Ruan Yu relied on the cat’s company and Xu Huaisong’s online presence to just feel safe enough to fall asleep. 

Ruan Yu’s night time was Xu Huaisong’s day time. For two days straight, Xu Huaisong wasn’t able to do anything other than accompany Ruan Yu online. Occasionally he had to turn off the mic to take care of some business. When Ruan Yu woke up not hearing any sound on his side, she would immediately ask “why isn’t there any sound.” He had to turn the mic on again to explain to her and keep her company so she could fall back asleep.

He knew that she was a person with a sense of propriety and that she wouldn’t be this needy unless she was truly scared.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 37 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 37 Part 1

It took almost eleven years for Ruan Yu to finally utter the words “I miss you” at the end of a traumatic day.

It wasn’t because her temperament had changed but after witnessing a mishap that would make a person regret for the rest of his life, she suddenly realized that she shouldn’t dwell on fairness or who’d come out on top in a relationship.

One shouldn’t calculate who had the upper hand, or who expressed their feelings first, or who yielded to the other.

Because it was impossible to know, while you were doing all those unnecessary calculations, whether an unexpected disaster would completely separate the two of you forever and no longer have the chance to calculate anymore.

Given the moment when she could still say “I miss you” to him, she had to let him know.

Even if she was on the losing side, it didn’t matter anymore.

The moment she finished speaking, it was so quiet over the other end of the phone that it seemed that the world had stood still, there wasn’t any sound.

Ruan Yu blinked a couple of times. Just as she was about to move her phone away to check on the signal she heard Xu Huaisong say: “The call hasn’t been cut off.”

Xu Huaisong leaned against the railings in the hospital hallway. He raised his head in the warm, yellow halo and slowly straightened up his body.

The call hadn’t cut out, his brain had short-circuited.

He abruptly said: “Wait for me for a while.” Then he hurriedly walked toward the end of the hallway to go down the stairs.

Ruan Yu was baffled. After a long while, she could hear over the phone that the footsteps had stopped and a slightly panting voice said: “So do I.”

“What?” Ruan Yu had almost forgotten what they had been talking about earlier.

“I also miss you. Or…… I probably miss you more than you miss me.” Xu Huaisong uttered the words one by one, then subconsciously held his breath.

His tensed body didn’t relax until he heard Ruan Yu’s laugh. He started to pant again.

When he had caught his breath, Ruan Yu asked: “Why do you have to say it after running for such a long distance?”

He was speechless before answering: “I was outside the hospital room earlier. There were nurses on duty in the hallway.” That was the reason why he, though he could tell that Ruan Yu wanted him to say something to comfort her, played dumb and didn’t say anything too intimate.

“What’s wrong with that? They understand Chinese?”

“......”

That’s a good point, he had forgotten about that.

Xu Huaisong lowered his head and laughed: “It’s been an exhausting day, I’m probably getting a little silly.”

“Why are you exhausted?”

He made a frustrated face: “What do you think?”

Ruan Yu mumbled: “I don’t know, that’s why I asked you.”

Xu Huaisong grit his teeth and was forced to make it clear: “Worrying about you.”

Ruan Yu laughed again.

See, it wasn’t that hard to say it straight out.

She hesitated a little before saying: “But, when we talked over the phone, you were very calm and said that the police would protect me and that there wasn’t anything to be worried about.”

“That’s to comfort you.”

He didn’t trust the police that much. Besides, even with a one in ten thousand chance that she would be hurt, it was enough to make him be on pins and needles.

She would never know that this was the second time he had heard some bad news about her when she was thousands miles away, nor how helpless and suffocating he had felt. He was only pretending to be calm so as to comfort her.

He moved the phone away from his ear and opened the webpage with his airline ticket reservation. He sent the screenshot over to her.

Ruan Yu received the screenshot and found that the reservation was for a flight at 11 pm, flying from San Francisco to China.

He had bought the ticket within five minutes after receiving her phone call at noon. He didn’t go to the airport to catch the flight only because of the message she had sent to him that afternoon to let him know that she was alright.

A lump came to Ruan Yu’s throat. She took a deep breath as she was on brink of tearing up.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 36 Part 4

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 36 Part 4

With the arrest of the suspect, the area surrounding the building returned to being a quiet neighborhood within half an hour.

Remembering Xu Huaishi, Ruan Yu made a phone call to Li Shican. She was told that Xu Huaisong had remotely arranged for Liu Mao to take Huaishi back to Su City already.

After Ruan Yu sent a message to Xu Huaisong to let him know that they were all fine, she left with the police so the police could take a statement from her.

Ruan Chengru and Qu Lan were taken to the hospital to do a check up to make sure they weren’t hurt.

By the time the three of them were taken back home by the police, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon.

Noticing that both Ruan Yu and her mother were still shaken from what had happened earlier, Ruan Chengru laughed and said: “Aiya, if someone didn’t know what had happened and saw what you two look like now they’d probably think that I hadn’t been rescued!”

“You old man, what nonsense are you talking about?” Qu Lan gave him a sharp look.

“Why can’t I talk, even if I’m blind, that’s not being mute?”[1]

Ruan Yu hugged her dad with her left arm and her mom with her right arm in an attempt to make peace: “Aiya, alright, don’t fight! It’s the holiday, what are we going to eat tonight?”

Though she tried not to bring up the drama from the earlier afternoon and sounded quite casual, both her parents could tell that she actually hadn’t gotten over it yet.

Qu Lan said: “Since you were planning to come over, I bought a lot of food. I’ll go make dinner for you right away.”

“Never mind, don’t bother with it. I want to have some instant noodles.” Ruan Yu giggled and pushed her mom and dad to their room: “You two get some rest. I’ll cook the noodles with eggs at five. I’m going back to my room to make a phone call now.”

Ruan Chengru gave her a glance: “Who are you calling? Xiao Xu? He’s in San Francisco, it’s one AM over there!”

“I know……” Ruan Yu said with a pout.

“Aiyo, you old man.” Qu Lan glanced at Ruan Chengru: “What if it’s one AM? He’ll have to take the call from our Yuyu even if it’s three or four AM!”

“That’s right!” Ruan Yu returned to her room with her cell phone and dialed Xu Huaisong’s number while leaning against the door.

As she was calling his number, she remembered what he had told her over the phone at noon time that day.

He didn’t tell her how to solve the problem but told her instead to trust the police just like she trusted him.

Distant water can’t put out a nearby fire. He was just a lawyer, not a god or superhero. At a moment like this, the only way to solve the problem was to completely trust the police and cooperate with them.

He said that if the police wanted to take her to the scene, it wasn’t to let her help save her parents but to save Zhou Jun instead. In a hostage situation, the police must have ways to rescue the hostage but it would very likely be at the expense of the life of the suspect.

Her presence would be to protect the suspect.

Therefore there was no need for her to be afraid of the suspect.

The other side picked up in two seconds. Ruan Yu mumbled while dragging her words: “Xu Huaisong……”

It was late at night in the hospital, so Xu Huaisong spoke in a very low voice which sounded especially gentle. He asked: “Why, after being a heroine for once, have I become Xu Huaisong from Huaisong?”

His joke eased her weariness and lingering fear. Though Ruan Yu couldn’t laugh it off, his voice nevertheless made her feel good: “En. Say some more.”

“Say what?”

“Anything will do.”

“Anything will do?”

Ruan Yu thought that shouldn’t he say something sweet to comfort her?

Ruan Yu lost her patience and began urging him: “That’s right, say something.”

Xu Huaisong laughed: “I haven’t been talking? What’s going on?”

“Ah, can’t you tell?” Ruan Yu sighed: “It’s that I miss you.”

[1]: This is a play on words. “Nonsense” here is 瞎说 (xiāshuō) which literally means “blind talk.” Ruan Chengru is basically saying that even if he was blind, he should still be able to speak.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 36 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 36 Part 3

Instructions came from the micro earpiece in Ruan Yu’s ear: “Tell him you believe in him.”

Ruan Yu instantly said: “I came up here to show that I believe in you.”

Something flashed in Zhou Jun’s eyes, but it soon faded away: “No one will believe me. After the prosecutor receives the DNA results, no one will believe me……”

Ruan Yu frowned a little.

The voice of the negotiator came from the earpiece once again: “Ask him why.”

“Why is that?”

“The driving record is gone and all the fingerprints belong to me. She……” His teeth started chattering at this point: “That piece of flesh in her finger nail is mine as well. She was calling my name in that phone call too. It’s too coincidental, all of it is too coincidental. All the evidence points at me; there’s no surveillance, no eyewitnesses. Who would believe me?” 

“If that’s the case, why would you call Huaisong for help?”

“Because I didn’t kill anyone, I really didn’t kill anyone!” He became agitated again: “Wasn’t Xu Huaisong’s dad able to swear black is white? He can help me…… He’d be able to help me for sure, can't he?”

There was a look of madness in his eyes which startled Ruan Yu.

Yet, Ruan Yu clenched her teeth and tightly grasped the handle of the aerial ladder: “Zhou Jun, no one has the right to swear that black is white. The only thing to determine whether it’s black or white is the black or white itself. And the only means to tell people whether a certain thing is black or white is the law. Just a little over a month ago, I was also in a painful situation where I was framed by others but the law cleared my name in the end. It will clear your name as well, you have to believe it, alright?”

“I don’t……don’t believe in law, I don’t believe in the police……They want to arrest me, they all want to arrest me!”

“But the law believes you!” Ruan Yu raised her voice a little: “When you don’t believe the law, the law still believes in you, believes that the suspect isn’t guilty. If you didn’t kill anyone, then work with the police to find the real killer and let the truth come out for her.”

“Real killer? Will there be a real killer?” Zhou Jun suddenly grinned: “She had a fight with me halfway on our way here. Before we parted, she said she definitely had ways to make me regret……This is the way she made me regret it. There’s no real killer, no real killer at all!”

“There must be a real killer. The police has already ruled out the possibility of suicide. If it’s not you, then there must be someone else.”

Ruan Yu stared into Zhou Jun’s eyes and with a persuasive tone of voice tried her best to convey as naturally as possible what she was hearing in the earpiece: “Zhou Jun, do you think it’s possible that her last phone call was actually to you? She said ‘help, let me go, Zhou Jun,’ but in reality she didn’t mean ‘let me go, Zhou Jun’ but ‘help, Zhou Jun’......”

There was a look of disbelief in Zhou Jun’s eyes: “What are you saying?”

Ruan Yu continued to persuade him: “You said you two parted because you had a fight with her? Perhaps, after you two parted, she drove the car away and met the real killer. Since she knew you were the one who was closest to her, she called you for help.”

“But while she was using the cell phone, the real killer tried to stop her and she accidentally dialed her father’s number who was 100km away. She was actually calling you for help, not telling you to let her go. That phone call can’t prove that you’re guilty……”

Zhou Jun stood still with his mouth dropped open. His hand relaxed and the fruit knife dropped directly to the ground. The crowd which was still gathered down on the street cried out.

The SWAT members who were hiding at the back of the building swiftly got on the rooftop and rushed up to bring Zhou Jun under control.

Ruan Yu’s legs instantly turned to jelly. With a thud, her knees knocked into the railing.

At the same time, the aerial ladder moved closer to the rooftop. The firefighters nearby came up to help her go down the ladder. Then they went back up to help Ruan Chengru down.

As Ruan Yu walked down the ladder, she looked back at the rooftop.

Zhou Jun knelt on the ground and tears streamed down between his fingers that were covering his face.

He kept repeating while using his hands to cover his face: “She didn’t kill herself to get even with me, she didn’t kill herself to get even with me……”

The arrest was successful. But at this moment, Ruan Yu didn’t feel any sense of relief. On the contrary, her heart became even heavier.

It turned out that Zhou Jun had run away because he had mistakenly thought that the deceased had killed herself and had created evidence to get even with him.

Then if one day when he walked out of the court acquitted of all charges, how would he continue with his life amidst the self-hatred and regret?

What a close miss. Now they were forever separated.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 36 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 36 Part 2

The police car quickly drove towards the suburb. Ruan Yu took a deep breath every two minutes to relax herself. When they were near the house, she suddenly heard a commotion coming from the walkie-talkie.

She could hear a male voice coming from the walkie-talkie: “The suspect has found out that Ms. Qu has contacted the police. He’s disturbed and has held Mr. Ruan hostage with a fruit knife. He’s going up to the rooftop on the fourth floor. Our people have circled around back and climbed up to the rooftop and have taken up positions. However, our negotiation expert hasn’t been successful with his face to face talk with the suspect for the moment.”

“I’ll be there in three minutes.” Fang Zhen turned his head to look at Ruan Yu, thinking that she might burst into tears from fear. But he found Ruan Yu sitting upright and her eyes fixed straight ahead without moving at all.

“Ms. Ruan, please, you have to……”

“I trust you all.” Ruan Yu interrupted him and nodded at him.

Three minutes later, Ruan Yu got out of the police car with Fang Zhen. The building of her parents’ home was surrounded by a crowd. Some of them were neighbors and the rest were the police. Some of the officers were trying to disperse the crowd while the rest were preparing safeguard measures.

The fully inflated safety air cushion was already in place. The aerial ladder fire truck and ambulances were coming from a short distance away.

The area was bustling with all kinds of noise which made Ruan Yu dizzy.

Qu Lan was being protected by the police a little ways away from the crowd. She turned her head and saw Ruan Yu and cried out: “Yuyu, your dad……”

Ruan Yu ran over and saw Zhou Jun standing at the edge of the rooftop holding Ruan Chengru. They were facing the other side in a standoff against the SWAT and negotiator. Zhou Jun seemed quite emotional.

Ruan Yu patted Qu Lan’s back and tried calming herself down while clenching her teeth: “Mom, don’t be afraid.”

Fang Zhen brought over a micro earpiece that the police used and asked Ruan Yu to put it on as he spoke: “Our people have created too much pressure on the suspect. He isn’t listening to a single word they’re saying. We’re asking them to withdraw from the back side temporarily. The firefighters will assist you up on the aerial ladder. We would like to ask you to communicate with the suspect briefly; try to calm him down as much as possible and stabilize the situation.”

Ruan Yu nodded and stuffed the earpiece into her ear.

Qu Lan tried to stop her: “Yuyu, you can’t go up. Aren’t you afraid of……”

“It’s alright, mom.” Ruan Yu shook her head, then looked at Fang Zhen: “Officer Fang, please continue.”

“The negotiation expert will keep communicating with you through this earpiece. The exchange between you and the suspect will be transmitted to the people on the ground without any delay.”

“You have to remember two things. First, only do as much as you’re capable. Second, the police will make sure you and the hostage won’t come to any harm. The worst case scenario……” He stopped talking and pointed his finger to the rooftop of the building across.

Ruan Yu guessed from the look in his eyes that the police had arranged for a sniper to take up a position from there.

The worst case scenario wasn’t that she and her father would suffer any harm. The police would shoot the suspect dead as the last resort.

Ruan Yu shuddered and nodded: “I understood.”

Ruan Yu took off her high heels and climbed on the aerial ladder with help from the firefighters.

The SWAT who were on the rooftop earlier had already hidden themselves at the back of the building. Zhou Jun had just begun to relax a bit when he saw the aerial ladder slowly rise up again. He held the knife tightly again against Ruan Chengru and said: “Don't come up, don’t come up!”

Ruan Yu hurriedly yelled: “Zhou Jun, it’s me. I’m Ruan Yu! It’s just me!”

Zhou Jun’s hand slightly trembled when he heard her voice and subconsciously stepped back away from the edge.

Ruan Chengru, despite being held as a hostage, laughed instead: “Kid, don’t be afraid. Yuyu’s just a young girl, she won’t hurt you.”

The aerial ladder finally raised high enough for Ruan Yu to look eye to eye with them. She first exchanged a look with Ruan Chengru, then opened both of her hands to show Zhou Jun: “Zhou Jun, don’t be afraid. It’s just me, I don’t have anything with me. Really.”

As if the comforting words were unexpected, Zhou Jun loosened the hold a bit on the knife when Ruan Yu began talking to him.

His eyes turned reddish and looked at Ruan Yu: “You, what are you coming up here for……”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.