Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 1415: Chapter 216: Words from the Heart

Zhang Asheng and Shen Rulan arrived quickly. When they saw Ye Xingguo, they reminisced about the past and the couple burst into tears.

A self-service hot pot restaurant wasn’t the place for reminiscing, so Shen Rulan suggested going to the Wushan Hotel.

Han Yu knew very well that he wasn’t welcomed, so he simply found an excuse to go online with Xiao Yu.

Maybe it was because he spent too much time by the riverside or maybe because he had too much on his plate recently, but he didn’t realize how out of touch he was with society until he went to the internet café.

He always thought internet cafés were like the computer rooms run by his comrades from the Linghai Reserve Camp. But once he arrived, he realized the internet cafés in the city were big with many computers; from a glance, there were at least over a hundred.

There were a lot of people online, most of whom were students from nearby technical schools or vocational centers, and there were even some "social butterflies" with tattoos.

Some were playing games and shouting, some were eating instant noodles while playing, some had played for so long that they were asleep in front of their computers, and quite a few young people were smoking while surfing the internet, making the café smoky and chaotic.

There were also girls who came to go online, and they seemed to prefer chatting.

A few "social butterflies" intentionally or unintentionally lingered around the pretty girls, intermittently grinning and striking up conversation.

He wandered around the café and pulled out a chair to sit down.

Xiao Yu completed the internet procedures, opened two machines, each rented for three hours, and eagerly started a new game once seated.

Red Alert, this war game, had to be admitted, was quite interesting.

Since learning it, Han Yu had spent his spare time studying the maps and various units in the game, discovering that each unit has a counter and it tests the player’s adaptability and operational skills.

He thought he had done his homework, and although he might not beat Xiao Yu, he wouldn’t lose as badly as before.

Yet, very quickly Xiao Yu defeated him.

Unwilling to accept defeat, he tried again, but it was another crushing defeat!

After losing five games in a row, Han Yu began to question his life.

Just as Xiao Yu felt bored playing with him, he found a few online friends who were good at the game and was busy connecting online for battle when Zhang Asheng suddenly called.

There was a public phone in the café; Han Yu glanced at the caller ID, got up, and used the public phone to return the call.

"President Zhang, what’s up?"

"What else could it be besides Old Ye?"

Zhang Asheng countered with a question and sighed, "He still can’t believe you’re the Salted Fish who caught us back then. He hasn’t had it easy these years, finally sees some hope and runs into you, you can imagine his mood. I won’t invite you and Xiao Yu to the dinner we’re having for him tonight."

Han Yu said softly, "I understand, even if you invited us, we wouldn’t go."

"President, do you want to know what he’s been through these years?"

"Go ahead."

"I knew you wouldn’t be at ease."

Zhang Asheng glanced back at his surroundings and said seriously, "His mother is a proud woman, and his brother is a government official. After he went in, his mom and brother not only didn’t help save his previous wife but also urged her to divorce him. So, his wife remarried and took their child with her."

Han Yu was silent for a moment and then asked, "And then?"

"After he was released, he had nowhere to go. With a criminal record, he couldn’t find decent work, so he took odd jobs everywhere. Without skills, he could only do the toughest and most exhausting work. He pulled carts and worked as a laborer on construction sites; later, he got injured and the boss had him cook at the construction site cafeteria."

Zhang Asheng took several deep breaths and, choked with emotion, said, "He’s done every kind of work and suffered greatly. Until last summer, he met Liu Shulan who worked at a nearby restaurant. Liu Shulan is from Linghai, she has relatives there, and they shared topics and hardships, and just like that, they got together."

Han Yu curiously asked, "What hardships did Liu Shulan go through?"

"Her husband loved to gamble and squandered their home, leaving a mountain of debt. Unable to live like that, Liu Shulan could only divorce the gambler and work alone to support her child’s education."

"Kindred spirits in misfortune."

"That’s why I say he’s had it tough these years. Liu Shulan has a sister married in Binjiang, and her family has a storefront in Dongxing Automobile City. Her sister didn’t want to see her suffer working outside and invited her to Binjiang to do some business, and that’s how Old Ye came to Binjiang."

"Got it."

"You’re at ease now."

"I’m at ease."

"I always said there aren’t that many bad people in the world."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mean anything, just... just..."

Han Yu could tell Zhang Asheng’s implied meaning and laughed, "Relax, I won’t bother them anymore, today was just a chance encounter."

Zhang Asheng indeed didn’t want Han Yu to appear before Old Ye again, specifically not to dredge up Ye Xingguo’s painful memories. He hesitated and said, "But I still have to thank you. If it weren’t for running into Old Ye by chance, Rulan and I might never have had the chance to see him again in this life."

"It was just a small gesture, no need to thank me."

"Then I’ll hang up now."

"Hang up."

...

Observing quietly during lunch at the self-service hot pot restaurant, Ye Xingguo was dressed very well, but his hands were rough and even had thick calluses. It could be imagined that he had engaged in strenuous physical labor over the years and didn’t seem like someone who would commit crimes.

Han Yu hung up the phone, took out some change to pay the phone fee, and returned to the computer, unable to calm his emotions for a long time. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

It wasn’t that he felt he caught the wrong person back then, but it reminded him of when he first started working.