Chapter 071: Men and Women

I will never forget the names of these two people.

The man was named Gong Yuanhai.

The woman was Tang Jia, my girlfriend during my time at the police academy—the first girlfriend I ever had in this life, and until now, the only one. It was Tang Jia who called out to me. I stared intently at the two of them, my heart shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, I could no longer fathom Tang Jia’s intentions; I had no idea what gave her the courage to stop me.

Gong Yuanhai and Tang Jia stood side by side, Tang Jia dressed in her police uniform. They walked toward Chen Fan and me. Chen Fan, not understanding the situation, noticed the rank insignia on Tang Jia’s shoulder was higher than his own. With a cheerful smile, he extended his hand to greet her, asking if she was my friend.

As Tang Jia reached out to shake his hand, I placed my hand firmly on Chen Fan’s shoulder and turned away, intent on leaving. Yet Tang Jia strode forward, blocking my path. Her expression was complicated as she gazed at me; on her face, I saw guilt, and even a trace of sympathy and pity.

“Fang Han. I need to talk to you,” Tang Jia said.

I shook my head, replying coldly, “There’s nothing for us to talk about.”

Tang Jia looked embarrassed, as though she wanted to speak but held back. Chen Fan tried to interject, but a cold glance from me stopped him; he stood silently by. The forensic center was bustling, yet the few of us seemed frozen in place. As I turned to leave again, Gong Yuanhai stepped in front of me.

I chuckled coldly, grabbing his collar and tossing him aside. Gong Yuanhai, impeccably dressed in a suit, staggered and nearly fell. Now, every eye in the forensic center was fixed on us. He had a handsome, square face, and his tie was perfectly knotted.

“Even if you’re a woman, you think I wouldn’t lay a hand on you?” I smirked, staring at Gong Yuanhai with a hint of amusement. He adjusted his thin-framed glasses and sighed, his face full of apology. He explained he simply wanted Tang Jia to finish what she hadn’t said to me before, and meant no offense.

Gong Yuanhai was outwardly polite, the picture of a gentleman—but only outwardly. I knew his apology was nothing but an act, performed for Tang Jia’s sake. I could see through it; Tang Jia and Chen Fan could not. Chen Fan stepped beside me, urging me quietly to talk things through.

Tang Jia, however, grew impatient. She marched up to me, her voice raised: “Fang Han, how did you become like this? You weren’t like this before!”

I narrowed my eyes. “How am I?” As I spoke, I raised my hand, placing it on Tang Jia’s cheek, letting it slide downward, almost reaching her chest. “Like this?”

Tang Jia didn’t retreat; her shoulders trembled with anger. Gong Yuanhai could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, reaching for my wrist, but I easily pulled my hand away, leaving him grasping at nothing. I stepped back a few paces. “Did you really think I’d touch her? Don’t worry, I don’t touch filthy women. She’s yours.”

Turning, I led Chen Fan toward the main entrance of the forensic center. Gong Yuanhai called after me, “Fang Han, feelings can’t be forced. I’m sorry for what happened. But neither Tang Jia nor I want to see you give up on yourself. You have a stain on your record at the academy, but if you’re willing to change, everyone will forgive you. Don’t get so close to Luo Feng anymore!”

Gong Yuanhai’s words made me stop in my tracks. Chen Fan looked at me in surprise, blurting out, “Brother Han, you were a police academy student?”

The bitterness at the corners of my mouth grew. Gong Yuanhai’s words drew strange looks from everyone around me—looks I’d felt before, on the day I left the police academy. Gong Yuanhai was always a deeply calculating man, skilled enough to deceive anyone.

I knew he had shouted deliberately, to humiliate me, and to make sure his words reached the woman beside him. Sure enough, I heard Tang Jia’s astonished voice, asking Gong Yuanhai whether I truly had gotten close to Luo Feng. I didn’t hear what followed, for I strode out of the forensic center and returned to Chen Fan’s car.

When Chen Fan got in, he didn’t start the engine. His hands gripped the steering wheel, but seeing my stormy expression, he dared not speak. Silence hung between us for a long time. Outside, delicate snowflakes began to fall; winter was nearly over, and this would be the last snowfall in Beijing.

“Brother Fang Han, that man is a bad person,” the kid in the back seat said suddenly. He meant Gong Yuanhai. I took a deep breath and turned, smiling as I patted the child’s head. I asked him why. He replied that the man had made me unhappy, so he must be bad.

His words brought a smile to my face. Chen Fan, emboldened, finally ventured to ask what was going on. As my gaze fell on him, he quickly backtracked, saying he was only asking out of curiosity, and if I didn’t want to talk, he wouldn’t press.

I hesitated, then spoke.

“The day I left the police academy, there was snow falling from the sky,” I said.

Chen Fan grew excited—I couldn’t tell why. “Brother Han, you really were at the police academy! No wonder you’re so skilled—pathology, trace analysis, criminal psychology, you know everything!” But his excitement faded quickly, and he asked why I’d left the academy, and who those two people were.

When I mentioned them, my tone grew cold again. “The man was Gong Yuanhai. The woman was Tang Jia. Tang Jia was my girlfriend, same cohort as me, majored in trace analysis. Gong Yuanhai was several years ahead—he was already a graduate student when I entered.”

I turned, asking Chen Fan mockingly, “Guess what Gong Yuanhai’s specialty was?”

Chen Fan shook his head. I answered myself, “Criminal psychology.”

Though I hated to admit it, Gong Yuanhai was indeed an expert in criminal psychology—so skilled that I had been led, step by step, into a trap, unable to defend myself, with no one believing my words. I went from a victim to someone everyone despised, branded as the perpetrator.

After leaving the academy, I barely paid attention to it or to those two people. I’d heard that Tang Jia got her wish and joined the police force, her future assured. Gong Yuanhai was now an assistant professor of psychology at a university, enjoying a bright career and some recognition in academic circles. He often participated in investigative meetings analyzing criminal suspects’ psychology.

Compared to them, in everyone’s eyes, I was nothing more than a street thug.

I stared out the car window, lost in memories.

I heard the laughter of many, the harsh scolding voices.

Chen Fan’s question pulled me back to reality. He asked why Gong Yuanhai had said I had a stain on my record at the academy.

I didn’t elaborate, or rather, I had no wish to revisit that story. I simply asked him, “I was labeled a thief by the police academy, nearly sent to prison—do you believe it?”

After a long hesitation, Chen Fan shook his head and said he didn’t. Yet as he spoke, he didn’t meet my eyes, and his voice lacked conviction. I could easily see through him; to him, I was no saint, especially since I was close to Luo Feng and had threatened Chen Fan.

He had approached me only to use my skills to solve cases.

What he didn’t know was that the one truly exploiting others had always been me.

I didn’t mind. I told Chen Fan to drive. He asked where I wanted to go. I said today’s investigation was over—I wanted to go home and rest.

Chen Fan said nothing, dropping me off at my place. After returning home, I didn’t bother about the kid—I collapsed into sleep, feeling utterly exhausted.

One nightmare after another plagued me, until I was roused by a hurried knocking at the door. The child was still asleep beside me. Groggy, I glanced at my watch—it was past one in the morning. I got out of bed and was about to open the door when, outside the window, I caught sight of a fleeting shadow.

The knocking stopped. I didn’t open the door, but rushed to the window instead. Instantly, all sleep left me—for on the windowsill lay an envelope…