Chapter 77

As soon as he entered the elevator, Li Qingyao realized that the office building in this industrial park was quite simple. When he went up to the floor of Luo Huaizheng's company, this feeling improved slightly. The building was still very shabby, but Luo Huaizheng's half floor looked clean and bright, simple and comfortable. Although there was no luxurious decoration, it looked surprisingly good.

A young employee came up to them with a smile and said, "You must be Mr. Luo's friend. He is waiting for you in the conference room. Please come this way."

Chen Pu and Li Qingyao walked through their office. It was not big. At 8 o'clock in the evening, there were still more than a dozen people there. They were all working very hard or discussing in low voices. No one paid attention to the two uninvited guests. The whiteboards next to them were filled with densely packed schedules.

If the appearance of employees can represent the temperament of a company, then this small company is obviously full of market and practical spirit.

The employee took them to a meeting room in a corner, which was a room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A man wearing the simplest white shirt and black trousers had his back to them, holding a cup and drinking water.

The employee knocked on the door of the conference room, pushed it open, and said, "Mr. Luo, your friend is here."

Luo Huaizheng turned around and nodded: "Thank you, you can go."

He didn't wear a tie, and his textured white shirt was tucked into his trousers. His sleeves were rolled up a little, revealing his wrists. He looked very thin and straight, without a single cumbersome line on his body. His hand holding the disposable teacup was also white and thin, with veins on the back of his hand. A faint layer of light under the lamp enveloped him from head to toe, and his temperament was exactly the same tranquility as in high school. The flickering light was hidden in the ends of his hair, in the corners of his eyebrows, in his fingertips, and in all the details.

Li Qingyao realized one thing.

Over the years, she had never imagined what Luo Huaizheng would be like if he grew up normally, had not been in jail, studied and worked normally. Now seeing the man in front of her, she suddenly realized that he had not really changed. If all that had not happened, he would still be the elegant, handsome, quiet and dazzling person in front of her. However, in that case, he might be more confident, more wanton and free, and he would stand on a higher and better stage, instead of standing in an ordinary industrial park in a corner of Xiangcheng.

Suppressing the bitterness and emotion in her heart, she looked at him and smiled cautiously for the first time since they met again. She realized that when she could see Luo Huaizheng's true appearance without emotion, she was not so angry.

Luo Huaizheng was no longer in the awkward and awkward state he had been in front of the hotel more than an hour ago. They were all adults now, or perhaps standing on his own territory gave him more courage. He smiled calmly at them and said, "Two officers, please come in."

Of course, he still looked at Li Qingyao one more time. Seeing that she didn't seem angry anymore, his smile became more relaxed. He was already handsome and elegant, and when the 25-year-old Luo Huaizheng smiled sincerely, he looked even more like an orchid, warm and bright.

Li Qingyao was stunned for a moment.

Chen Pu's voice rang out beside him: "Just talk as you wish. I won't go in. Turn on the voice and record."

Li Qingyao replied "OK" without looking at him, walked into the meeting room and closed the door.

Luo Huaizheng had already poured three glasses of water. Seeing that she was the only one coming in, he showed a puzzled expression: "Officer Chen..."

Li Qingyao said: "Old classmate, let's chat first."

Luo Huaizheng stared at her for two seconds and replied, "Okay."

Li Qingyao and Chen Pu had already dialed the voice call, and put it on the table in front of Luo Huaizheng. At the same time, he put down the recorder, opened the record book, and said, "The conversation must be recorded. I'm telling you."

"I see."

The night outside the window was quiet, and the office was also quiet, with soft and bright light. The conference table was not big, and Luo Huaizheng sat opposite her, with a straight-line distance of only a little over one meter. Li Qingyao suddenly realized that this was the first time they had been alone together in seven years.

The last time they were together was in a high school classroom. At that time, they were much closer than they are now, with their arms touching and their faces sometimes getting close to each other during a discussion. Sometimes, they would secretly hold hands under the table without anyone in the class seeing.

Later, he was imprisoned, and she never visited him once. Perhaps she was the most cold-blooded woman in the world. She never even thought about whether he would be desperate or in pain in prison because of her ruthlessness. She never looked back at him because she didn't dare.

On the way, Li Qingyao had thought of many questions, and was very businesslike and cold and polite, because she was still angry at the time. But at this moment, when she really sat down and faced the quiet Luo Huaizheng, she suddenly was not so anxious to ask about the case. Her first question was: "How have you been these years?"

It was a stupid and cliché question, but she just wanted to ask it.

Luo Huaizheng probably didn't expect her to start like this. After a moment of shock, he slowly smiled, his handsome eyes filled with the tenderness that Li Qingyao was very familiar with. His eyes were still so bright, even though his facial features were already weathered.

"I..." He spoke very slowly, almost word by word, "These years have been pretty good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to open this company. A lot of people helped me, both in prison and after I got out. There are a lot of kind people, and everyone treats me very well, and I'm also very good, so... don't worry."

Li Qingyao's eyes and nose suddenly felt incredibly sore and swollen. She wondered what she had been competing with the man in front of her for a few days. She knew everything in her heart, but until today, when he clearly told her about his days and life, she seemed to finally realize that there was a seven-year gap between her and him. He had already embarked on another road that could never be turned back, and he was still working very hard to walk this road full of ups and downs.

Li Qingyao also smiled with red eyes and said, "That's good. I know, I know that you will be excellent wherever you go. I won't be polite with you. If you need me for anything in the future, please feel free to ask. Although I am just a small policeman, there are also ways I can help you - as long as it does not violate the principles."

He did not respond or thank her for her promise, but just looked at her very seriously. They had met several times after their reunion, but it was like the first time for him to take a closer look at her current appearance. His eyes gradually turned red, and the tears were gathering.

He asked: "How have you been these years?"

Am I...doing well?
One sentence seemed to have asked all the day and night, piercing through spring, autumn and summer. In the past seven years, Li Qingyao had so many words in his heart that he wanted to say to the man in front of him; so many pains and tears, fantasizing that one day he could lie in his arms and confide in him. In that fantasy, he was not a murderer in prison, and she was not the only one who was still standing in the sun, but was heartbroken.

But things have changed, and the world has changed. Those words, those fantasies, have long been buried in the difficult days. Now she can no longer mention it to anyone, including him.

Li Qingyao raised his head and said softly, "I'm fine too. I've always been fine. I got into the university I wanted and met a lot of good people. I've been looking forward since a long time ago. So, don't worry, Luo Huaizheng. You know, I've always been a very strong person. I don't need anyone to worry about me, really."

She said it very casually, but before she finished her words, her tears started to fall like beads that had broken off the string, one drop after another, and she couldn't stop them.

Luo Huaizheng's eyes had already turned red without him noticing, and he stared at her face intently. Finally, he turned his head away and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, wiping several times. Finally, he lowered his head and awkwardly took a few tissues from the tissue box on the table. With his other hand, he gently pushed the tissue box in front of her.

Li Qingyao also lowered her head. She watched her tears drip onto the table, leaving small water spots one after another. She sobbed very suppressedly, pulled out a tissue, and kept wiping, but the tissue was soon soaked. Finally, she simply pulled out a handful of tissue and pressed it on her eyes.

This time, it won't get soaked again, she thought. She just leaned one arm on the table, pressed the tissue against her eyes, and didn't speak or move. Just like a person pretending to be blind, as long as she didn't open her eyes, she wouldn't see the same collapse of the two people.

After a while, Luo Huaizheng stopped crying, but his eyes were still frighteningly red. He raised his head and looked at Li Qingyao. His eyes seemed to have no emotions, but also seemed to hide the deepest and most persistent emotions. Gradually, his expression changed, his eyebrows softened, and his eyes became calm and focused. Li Qingyao covered his eyes and didn't know.

In the conference room, time seemed to stand still between the two people. She was crying, and he looked at her quietly with red eyes.

Outside the conference room.

Chen Pu was also watching, looking at the two of them.

The straight-line distance between him and the two of them was actually only five or six meters, separated by a glass wall. But this transparent wall seemed like a chasm. He wore headphones and listened to the conversation between the two, from greetings to silence, to the sad sobbing of Li Qingyao alone. His eyes first fell on her thin and pitiful back, and then fell on the red and stubborn eyes of the man.

Chen Pu had a very strange feeling. He could feel his heart shrinking and shrinking, making it hard to breathe. But it was clearly beating fine in his chest. All the changes were silent. The shy and stupid bud that had grown in his heart was like a soldier with congenital malformation. Before it could compete in the arena or proudly show its grace to its beloved, she had ruthlessly cut off its water source and pulled out its roots. It didn't even have time to make a weak cry for help. It fell to the ground, dried up and withered, and slowly, slowly shrank into a small ball, shrinking into his equally shrinking and aching heart, and disappeared.

Chen Pu couldn't bear to watch it any longer. He violated his work principles, took off his headphones, turned his head and looked out the dark window. Suddenly, he felt that the whole world was so quiet, so quiet that it made his heart empty. He thought, that's it, I get it, Li Qingyao, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Ah, it turns out Xiao Luo also spends a lot of time on words.

The emotions are all in place, and we will go through the case progress tomorrow.