Chapter 381: Chapter 360: I Want a Reasonable Explanation
"Remember your promise today, I’ll be waiting for you in the United States." The RV stopped at the entrance of Yanjing University, and after a moment of hesitation, Xiao Lin jumped out of the car, but in the end, he didn’t ask that question.
Walking down the main road of the campus, as night fell, it became sparsely populated near the teaching buildings. Vendors at the entrance were shouting to sell their goods, and the sound of pots and spoons clashing became a distinctive sight in the campus.
He had no choices. In front of the old man, he never had any choices. There are only two paths laid before you, life or death, very simple, yet very cruel.
Through the back door was the faculty building, Xiao Lin looked up, the windows were tightly shut, covered with thick snow and ice. The lights were on inside, and through the door, he could hear two women laughing loudly, and the tightly knit brows began to relax.
Xia Xue was smiling brightly, her eyes still teary, while Lian was drinking some wine, performing various strange moves with exaggerated gestures. On the floor of the living room were a few discarded empty bottles and a table of seemingly delicious food. When he heard his stomach growl, he realized he hadn’t had a proper meal today.
"What are you talking about? So engrossed that you didn’t even notice me come in."
After hanging his coat on the rack, Xiao Lin sat beside Xia Xue, leaving a kiss on her face. Then he looked at Lian and casually ruffled her hair: "What’s special about today that you cooked so many dishes?"
"We were bored, so we had a cook-off." Xia Xue took the soup to the kitchen to heat it up, then brought a clean set of dishes to the table: "Take a bath before eating."
"I’m hungry!" Xiao Lin whined, not having such delicious food in a long time, he didn’t want to wait: "Lian is the best, tell me, what were you guys talking about just now?"
"Talking about your embarrassing stories." Xia Xue brought out the soup and served a bowl to Xiao Lin: "Drink slowly, don’t burn yourself."
"Oh, Lian, you sold me out while I was away. Watch how I’ll deal with you later." Xiao Lin put on a fierce look as if about to pounce on Lian, but who knew he’d get a hard knock on the back of his head. Turning around, he saw Xia Xue standing behind him, holding a trivet and glaring: "Since when did you get so close?"
His aggrieved look prompted Lian’s laughter, but Xiao Lin lowered his head in dejection. At that very moment, a whooshing sound passed by his ear, and the television behind them exploded with a loud bang.
"Get down!"
Xiao Lin shouted angrily, sprang up, and quickly turned off all the lights in the room: "Xia Xue, stick with Lian." Xiao Lin flipped over and pulled an iron box from under the sofa, tossed a handgun to Lian, then picked up a sniper rifle, crawling to the bedside.
Xia Xue wanted to scream in fear, but she saw Lian wink at her: "It’s alright!"
"Go help him!" Xia Xue waved at Lian, hiding by herself behind the sofa. Lian glanced at her, then crawled to Xiao Lin’s side.
Xiao Lin observed the twinkling lights in the night. They lived in a not very high building, seven floors, on the fourth floor. Besides the snack street on the right, both sides could be potential sniper perches.
"Are they targeting you?"
Xiao Lin glanced back to ensure Xia Xue was well hidden, nodded at Lian. Then he made a sign to Lian and darted to the other side of the living room.
Another shattering sound came; the glass from where Xiao Lin had just been standing was broken.
Unable to hold back, Xia Xue let out a scream, which sounded as loud as a death knell in the pitch-black space.
"There are two!" Lian gestured to Xiao Lin.
"Leave this to you." With that, Xiao Lin retreated to Xia Xue’s side: "Stay here, don’t move." With that, he slipped out the door.
A figure dashed into the left-side building faster than him, and without hesitation, Xiao Lin entered the right-side building. The sound of police sirens was already coming from afar. He hoped Lian could hold out a bit longer.
Racing up to the rooftop, no one was there, only an empty gun case and a few scattered eggshells on the ground. He scanned every corner but found no trace of the adversary. Unless he had wings, there was no way he could escape.
A sharp whistle came from the opposite building. Xiao Lin looked up, and Xiao Lang was pointing to a spot behind him. In a flash of intuition, Xiao Lin rolled to the side, spun around, and fired, the bullet exploding from the muzzle and hitting the opponent’s head.
The bullet jammed in the chamber as Xiao Lin ejected it. He kicked the deceased, pulled off his hood, revealing blond hair — a foreigner. It seemed the hired assassin this time was a higher class; the other side wouldn’t spare any expense.
Xiao Lang had disappeared into the opposite building, and an ambulance drove out of their community. Xiao Lin had a bad feeling and rushed downstairs, only to be met by Wu Shuang.
"The assassin is on the opposite building." With that, Xiao Lin sprinted to the fourth floor, their room was in a sorry state, debris was everywhere, and Xiao Lin turned on the lights.
Summer Snow threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably, the air carried a scent of blood: "Where are you hurt?" He cupped her face, inspecting her up and down, hastily wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.
"It wasn’t me, it was Lian." Xia Xue hugged Xiao Lin again, trembling all over, unable to utter a complete sentence: "She saw a red dot, I don’t know what happened, and then she rushed forward, then... then..."
"Alright, alright!" Xiao Lin comforted Xia Xue, holding her tightly and kissing her gently: "Lian will be fine."
"Excuse me, I’m the officer in charge of this case." Wu Shuang knocked on the door, not intending to interrupt them, but also didn’t want to waste time watching them being affectionate. She pursed her lips, taking in the scene inside.
"Thank you." Xia Xue pushed Xiao Lin aside and stepped forward: "Have we met somewhere before?"
"At your engagement party." Wu Shuang added: "The person who took Qu Haobo away."
"Ah!" Xia Xue linked arms with Xiao Lin, standing in the hallway, while Wu Shuang led others to enter the scene: "You’ve been to my house, haven’t you!"
"Who did you offend? This attack was really quite ruthless." Wu Shuang couldn’t help but shake her head as she looked at the bullet holes all over the wall: "You’re just trouble."
"We still rely on the police to find out the truth." Xiao Lin brushed off Wu Shuang’s comment with a smile, his mind preoccupied with Lian: "May I ask which hospital the injured person was just taken to?"
"Yanjing University Affiliated Hospital No. 1! But you need to complete a statement with me first."
"You do the statement with the officer, I’ll wait at the hospital." Xia Xue grabbed her backpack and coat from the room, planted a kiss on Xiao Lin’s cheek, then quickly grabbed the car keys and left. The growing crowd made Xiao Lin uncomfortable.
"Be careful on the road, I’ll be there soon!"
"Quite a loving couple, aren’t you!" After dispersing the crowd, Wu Shuang looked Xiao Lin up and down: "How does one person kill two assassins at once? A bullet to each, how did you manage that?"
"One shot each!"
"Oh!" Wu Shuang deliberately stretched her voice, squinting her eyes: "The other was killed with a weapon." Xiao Lin shrugged innocently, indicating he really had no idea what happened.
"Shouldn’t we invite that gentleman out for a chat?"
"How can I invite someone who doesn’t exist?"
"Then I can only file a case for investigation, unless you can provide a reasonable explanation for how you could go back and forth between the two buildings and eliminate opponents at the same time."
Wu Shuang looked at Xiao Lin unceremoniously. It was hard for her to explain the feeling; a mix of disgust and an inability to let go. She couldn’t figure out the feelings she had for him — unable to hate or love him — which made her conflicted. Each time she met this person, it was a tangle of confusion, and every encounter was never good news, which made her even more resentful, but she had no reason for it.
"This falls under Officer Wu’s jurisdiction. I’m just a doctor, and naturally, I can’t interfere with what you want to do. I can’t come up with a reasonable explanation either, so if you don’t trust me, then you’ll have to handle it your way."
"Can you provide any suspicious individuals?" Wu Shuang thought it might be better not to argue with this person, as it seemed impossible to win: "Or has anyone offended you recently or harbored any grudges?"
"Let me think!" Xiao Lin actually started thinking seriously. If he had offended anyone, there were quite a few if you really think about it: "The Chen Family from Jiangling, the Wang Family from Yanjing, the Poison Dragon Gang, oh! And the fugitive Zhang Teng, seems like there were also..."
"The people you’ve offended are really quite prominent figures." Wu Shuang’s head started to spin, as she seemed to be involved with the people Xiao Lin mentioned. Apart from the Wang Family, most of these characters had already dispersed, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t have done something like this.
"So, I hope Officer Wu will thoroughly investigate. Last time in the hospital, something similar happened but without any casualties. This time, it was direct." Xiao Lin displayed a victim’s expression, winking at Wu Shuang, which sent shivers down her spine.
"Naturally, I will inform you if there are further developments. Also, as you are a key witness, we hope you will cooperate with our police at any time, and come to us for further investigation and questioning if necessary."
"That’s no problem, it should be so."
"Personally, I feel this place is beyond salvaging; you should find another place!" Wu Shuang looked at the utterly devastated living room, feeling sorry for the landlord.
"Thank you for your concern, Officer Wu. Do you have any good real estate agents to recommend?"
"No!"
The scene had been completely cleared, and Wu Shuang also led her team away. Xiao Lin stood alone in the living room, with the room in complete darkness. He stared at the shattered glass; beyond it were layers of buildings in the distance, and a murderous look spread unmistakably across his face. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian () and cast your recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)