Chapter 210 Finale ()
The night was as dark as ink, engulfing the vast expanse of land. A lonely crescent moon hung in the sky over the vast border.
The small building arranged by Brother Quan was obviously specially for "clients" to stay temporarily. The first floor was the living room and kitchen, and the second floor had two bedrooms. Li Qingyao looked out the window in the dark for a while. There were two men guarding the entrance of the village, and no one else could be seen. But she was sure that the entire village was probably under the control of Brother Quan. Usually, they acted like good citizens and dealt with the police, but in fact, they were secretly communicating with foreign countries and doing all kinds of shameful things.
Li Qingyao couldn't sleep.
She had done everything she could, and she didn't know whether the doll could be delivered to the Xiangcheng police. It depended on luck. She also knew that she was not in any danger. Xie Xinrui just wanted this time difference - to kill Li Meiling before the police found her. Li Qingyao believed her.
I don’t know what Chen Pu is doing now. Given his temper, he will probably be looking for her all night long.
So he would find her, sooner or later.
Thinking of this, Li Qingyao felt more at ease. He simply got up and went downstairs to get some hot water to drink. At the same time, he also took the opportunity to familiarize himself with the environment inside and outside the building at a time when others were least prepared.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she walked down the wooden stairs, she saw another person sitting in the living room.
The TV was not on, and neither were the lights. The whole room was dark, with only the street lights outside shining through. Li Qingyao saw three opened beer cans on the table. Xie Xinrui was leaning on the sofa with her arms on the armrests. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there drinking alone.
Li Qingyao couldn't see her face clearly, but he could feel her deep sense of fatigue.
"Can't sleep?" Xie Xinrui asked. In the darkness, her voice sounded much softer and thinner than during the day.
"Hmm, my mouth is dry. Find some hot water to drink. I'll turn on the light."
"open it."
The moment the room lit up, Li Qingyao looked at Xie Xinrui's face. There were no traces of tears, just clean and tidy.
There was no expression at all.
Those eyes were like a stream in the moonlight, dark and calm.
Li Qingyao picked up the kettle, filled it with cold water, and put it on. Behind him, there was only the sound of Xie Xinrui picking up the beer and drinking it.
The water is boiled.
Li Qingyao scalded two glasses, poured out two glasses of water, came to the coffee table, and placed a cup of hot water in front of her: "Would you like to drink?"
She shook her head. “Thank you.”
It was very cold at night. Li Qingyao put his palm against the hot glass and felt a hint of warmth.
"Before I set out for Guizhou Province, I went to your hometown."
Xie Xinrui picked up the beer and took another sip.
"I met two people. One was your high school class teacher, Lao Xu, and the other was your best friend back then, Shu Lili."
Xie Xinrui pretended not to hear. "To be honest, they both still miss you, and I didn't expect that they had the same idea - they thought you hadn't recovered yet. Old Xu said that if we can find you, he is willing to support you with his retirement salary. When he is too old to walk, he will take you to live in a nursing home. Shu Lili regretted very much that she didn't spend more time with you when you were kidnapped by Liu Huaixin. She chose to return to her hometown to be a teacher for you, and she and her boyfriend agreed that if you can find you, they will raise you as a sister."
Xie Xinrui chuckled, took another sip of wine, and said nothing.
"Sometimes I feel that if this series of events hadn't happened, we might have become friends if we met in other normal situations," said Li Qingyao.
"You really think so?"
Li Qingyao nodded.
Xie Xinrui raised her beer towards her: "I think so too, would you like a drink?"
"No, I never drink when on a mission." Li Qingyao laughed at himself. "What's more, I'm being held hostage by the suspect now."
"What kind of hostage-taking is this? I'll hand over the gun to you tomorrow when we're done. I'll be the wanted criminal you caught."
"In fact, you have another choice." Li Qingyao leaned forward and lowered his voice. "It ends tonight. Turn yourself in to me and we can solve this matter peacefully. You also know that my colleagues will catch you soon. Turning yourself in and being caught are two completely different things. By the way, you can help the police to crack down on this criminal den and make up for your crime.
I think this is what your class teacher and Shu Lili want to see. Maybe after you turn yourself in, I can contact them and let you meet again to eliminate the regret in your heart. You can also meet Xie Rongcheng again. I also went to see him before I left. His physical condition is even worse. Don’t you want to see him for the last time?
This must be what my brother wants to see. The little girl he once helped can put aside all the pain and hatred at the end of her life, and all the crimes will be in the past, drawing a clean period for herself. My brother has always been a clean and upright person. Whenever you look back, as long as you look back, you can still be the same person as him. "
Xie Xinrui looked up at her, her eyes misty.
After a while, she lowered her head and smiled, saying, "Li Qingyao, you are really good at talking and controlling people's hearts. I was almost persuaded by you."
She stood up and said, "I never thought I could be the same person as him. Do you see the moon outside the window? He is the moon in my heart. I have been looking at him just now. In fact, I can hardly remember what he looks like, but I still remember his smile and every word he said to me. I don't want to see other people anymore. They miss the Liu Tingmei from before. I am no longer that person. There is no need to persuade them anymore. It is impossible to turn back. No one can empathize with the pain in my heart. It will only end on the day I die."
She went upstairs and left. Li Qingyao lowered her head, looked at the glass of water in her hand, and slowly took a sip. The warm water slid into her throat, and she slowly closed her eyes.
-
Its daybreak.
Xie Xinrui and Li Qingyao had breakfast on the first floor. They were no longer depressed as they were last night, and their expressions were natural. Xie Xinrui also asked her minions to take her and Li Qingyao around the village to breathe fresh air. When they met Brother Quan standing on another small building, they smiled and greeted him.
Everything is just like the early morning in this small Dai village, calm, peaceful and lazy.
It was not until Xie Xinrui and Li Qingyao returned to the small building and watched TV for a while that Brother Quan came in with two people and a woman.
Brother Quan raised his chin, signaled his men to drop the man on the floor inside the house, and said with a smile, "We've brought the man here."
Xie Xinrui smiled and stood up, and Li Qingyao also stood up.
The two looked at the curled-up woman on the ground. She was wearing a local ethnic minority flowery dress, but she was so thin that she looked almost skin and bones. Brother Quan's men grabbed her hair. She screamed in fear and raised her face, revealing the charming features that only Li Meiling had. But her cheekbones were sunken and her face was gray and ugly. She was so scared that she didn't even look at Xie Xinrui and Li Qingyao. She trembled and hugged the legs of the henchmen, saying, "I don't dare, I don't dare, don't hit me, boss, don't hit me."
It turns out that his mental state is a little abnormal.