Insights Chapter 46: Drunk

Chapter 46: Drunk

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Gu Yanchen finally spoke up. Regarding Lin Xianglan’s matter, he didn’t hold it against anyone, except Lin Luo. That name felt like a branding iron seared onto his chest.

Shen Junci pondered for a moment, then lowered his head, asking softly, “Lin Luo? Is he the son of Director Lin that you mentioned to me before?”

Gu Yanchen murmured in agreement.

Swinging back and forth on the swing, Shen Junci fell silent for a moment before saying, “Captain Gu, tell me about it.”

This was the first time someone had brought up the case to him voluntarily. He hoped to hear the story from Gu Yanchen’s perspective.

Gu Yanchen began, “It was June 19th that year. Lin Luo had just graduated from university and went to join a class reunion. That evening started with a thank-you banquet attended by university professors. Later, the students, not having had enough fun, went to a karaoke bar to sing together. They booked a large private room and were planning to sing until the early hours. At 10:12 PM, I received a call from Lin Luo. It rang a few times, but as soon as I answered, it was disconnected.

“I realized something might be wrong at that moment, so I rushed to the karaoke bar as fast as I could, calling for other officers’ support. At around 10:30 PM, I found Lin Luo severely injured in one of the rooms at the karaoke bar. He was heavily wounded, covered in blood, but thankfully still had a faint breath.” Recalling that scene, Gu Yanchen still shuddered. He took a deep breath before continuing, “I immediately called for emergency assistance and carried Lin Luo downstairs. Just then, chaos broke out outside, and someone jumped off the building.”

Shen Junci asked, “Who jumped off the building?”

Gu Yanchen replied, “The person who jumped was named Zhou Chen. He was Lin Luo’s classmate and had been his roommate in the second half of their senior year. He jumped from the sixth floor of the karaoke bar and died instantly from the fall.”

Shen Junci tried to keep his voice steady. “So Zhou Chen was suspected of being the culprit?”

Gu Yanchen nodded. “The two had long-standing conflicts. Zhou Chen had a drinking problem and would go wild after drinking. In Lin Luo’s phone, there were several recordings of Zhou Chen provoking him. They had a fight back in March when the school started, but they settled it privately. According to the testimonies of their classmates at the reunion, both of them had been drinking heavily that day. Afterward, nobody knew where Lin Luo and Zhou Chen went.”

It sounded like a straightforward case of long-standing student grievances culminating in a fatal altercation after drinking. Shen Junci asked, “What about other evidence?”

Gu Yanchen continued, “There were voice messages on Zhou Chen’s phone sent to his mother, saying he got into trouble and was scared. Lin Luo’s blood was found all over Zhou Chen’s clothes and on his body. Beside Zhou Chen’s body, there was a dropped dagger, identified by medical examiners as the weapon used to harm Lin Luo. In the room where Lin Luo was attacked, Zhou Chen’s fingerprints were found on the glasses on the table, and his footprints were found on the floor.”

Shen Junci inquired, “From these clues, Zhou Chen seemed highly suspicious.”

“The case was quickly concluded as a student brawl, with the perpetrator committing suicide. It was closed promptly,” Gu Yanchen paused here, then lowered his head and spoke softly, “But I know that’s not the truth.”

“Why do you say that?” Shen Junci asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Gu Yanchen took a drag from his cigarette. “Firstly, Lin Luo was much better at fighting than Zhou Chen. That night, Zhou Chen was heavily intoxicated, while Lin Luo’s blood alcohol level wasn’t high. Under those circumstances, it’s unlikely that Lin Luo could have been injured to that extent by Zhou Chen, who besides the injuries from jumping, only had minor wounds. Secondly, Lin Luo had my number. If he noticed something was wrong, he should have called me immediately. But he hung up quickly after calling me, and then the incident occurred. Thirdly, that night, besides the students who went to sing, there were hardly any other customers. Even the staff were scarce that evening. The students’ communication records seemed off; it appeared they were missing an hour of communication. No one sent any WeChat messages, and no one made phone calls. The staff said the signal in their establishment was poor, but I suspect someone might have been blocking the signal. The fourth point is, judging from the bottles and leftover fruit trays at the scene, the students consumed a lot, but the charges at the karaoke bar were surprisingly low, almost absurdly low, as if they were doing charity.”

He went on with this series of analyses, but these were just the major points of suspicion. Upon closer examination, there might be even more doubts.

Shen Junci deliberately continued asking, “So who do you think killed Lin Luo? And what might be the reason?”

Gu Yanchen fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’m not entirely sure who did it, but the reason might be that Lin Luo got hold of something that made those people afraid.”

While sorting through Lin Luo’s belongings, he had seen a corner of an unnamed test report. Gu Yanchen deduced that Lin Luo had likely submitted samples for testing, possibly organs or tissues that contained Lin Xianglan’s DNA and could prove he died of poisoning. He didn’t explicitly mention this but continued, “There’s one more thing I found out later. Three days before Lin Luo’s incident, the former Captain Yang Hang, who resigned earlier, committed suicide by hanging himself in his hometown.”

This was the first time Shen Junci heard about the case from Gu Yanchen’s perspective. He lowered his head, pondering and digesting what he had heard. Of course, he knew the truth about that case as well. He had found something in Lin Xianglan’s body. It was a poison he had considered before—aconitine.

Aconitine-type poisons were covert. They would quickly affect the heart about two hours after ingestion, causing symptoms like difficulty breathing, palpitations, rapid pulse, and decreased blood pressure. They could quickly cause death. All these matched Lin Xianglan’s condition before his death. Moreover, this type of poison wouldn’t show any specific signs in routine pathological examinations. Even experienced medical examiners wouldn’t detect anything abnormal. It could only be identified through specific tests.

He had studied toxicology before, added anhydrous alcohol to the samples for examination, and provided comparison liquids, which allowed for accurate results. If someone from the City Bureau wanted to tamper with it, they could. He had been investigating who might have poisoned Lin Xianglan and had compiled a list of people who had seen him that day. Later, he found out that three months after Lin Xianglan’s death, the former Captain Yang Hang had hurriedly resigned and returned to his hometown, where he opened a small supermarket.

He specifically bought a train ticket and went to see Yang Hang. He remembered it was raining heavily that day. With just a little probing, Yang Hang admitted to poisoning Lin Xianglan’s tea. He wept bitterly, claiming he had been forced by someone. Yang Hang also said he was tormented by guilt and would turn himself in after some time, only then willing to reveal the mastermind behind it all.

He believed Yang Hang’s words. He had pulled out the direct culprit, yet there was no joy in his heart. The person who had watched him grow up had unexpectedly become an accomplice in his father’s murder. He had just returned to Penang when he received news of Yang Hang’s suicide by hanging.

At that time, he thought Yang Hang had committed suicide out of fear, but he already had a foreboding feeling. Perhaps Yang Hang was silenced, and what he held in his hands would make him a target. Lin Xianglan had just passed away, and if these things were handed over to the authorities, because of Lin Xianglan’s position as the director, it would cause an earthquake in the entire city of Penang. Those people were determined to quash this possibility.

Just three days after Yang Hang’s death, that incident happened…

Gu Yanchen’s words interrupted his recollection, “Later, because of his severe injuries, Lin Luo fell into a coma and remained bedridden for six months. He passed away on Christmas Eve of that year.” Gu Yanchen’s next sentence struck Shen Junci’s heart like a bullet, “I went through the death experience after Lin Luo passed away. At that time, while simulating death, all I could think of was that young man.”

In an instant, Shen Junci stared at Gu Yanchen dumbfoundedly, his heart racing. Suddenly, he had answers to some things, and everything seemed to connect. Such words, such events, were things Shen Junci had never considered before, things he never expected to hear. He had always believed that Gu Yanchen was only taking care of him and treating him well because of Lin Xianglan’s dying wish.

Because he thought what he exposed to Gu Yanchen was his most messy and embarrassing side. He thought that his affection for Gu Yanchen was only his own obsession, his unilateral liking…

Gu Yanchen’s voice continued, still low, “You might not imagine what Lin Luo’s death meant to me. During the time he was in a coma, I visited him every day, hoping he would wake up. I hoped for a miracle, willing to exchange everything I had.”

At this point, Gu Yanchen’s eyes reddened. Under the night lights, Shen Junci felt that Gu Yanchen in front of him was different from before. At work, Gu Yanchen was a clever and steady captain of the detective team, always in control, solid, and reliable. But now, he let go of all defenses, revealing softness and authenticity.

Shen Junci realized that the person in front of him was also a living, breathing human being. Listening to these words, he almost couldn’t help but want to respond to Gu Yanchen. Then he hesitated again. Shen Junci could feel that Gu Yanchen seemed to be probing something, mentioning Lin Xianglan, bringing up the past, mentioning the dishes he liked, making him feel boundless…

Despite being drunk, his brain was remarkably clear at this moment. He pondered in silence for a moment. Has Gu Yanchen seen through him? Then, he snapped out of it. He had once vowed not to let anyone know that Lin Luo was still alive because this secret could drag them, even more people, into deeper crises, possibly sabotaging the entire plan.

The timing wasn’t right yet, not even Gu Yanchen could know this. Perhaps, precisely because it was him, he shouldn’t say anything. Those people would fear those pieces of evidence, but now, they were no longer afraid. With so much time passed, it would be impossible to find the masterminds behind it all based solely on that evidence, let alone prosecute them. Those people wouldn’t allow Lin Luo to live in this world again.

So he had to find new evidence to defeat those adversaries. Until this battle was over, he was not Lin Luo but only Shen Junci. This was the secret he must keep.

Perhaps seeing his hesitation, Gu Yanchen didn’t press further, nor did he delve deeper. It was as if he was just treating him like a good friend, recounting a bizarre case and touching on a sore spot. He stood up, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, then pulled up the collar of his coat. “It’s late. Let’s go back and rest.”

Shen Junci stood up silently, feeling a sway in his body. He hadn’t felt it while sitting, but now standing up, he realized he was much drunker than he imagined.

Gu Yanchen reached out to help him. “Doctor Shen, are you drunk?”

Shen Junci stubbornly shook his head, pushing away Gu Yanchen’s hand. “I’m fine.”

Gu Yanchen walked ahead, holding his dog. Shen Junci followed behind, feeling his steps becoming more unsteady, the world spinning around him. Cold sweat broke out, and it felt like a hand was squeezing his insides. His brain felt like it was tied up in knots. He realized that Gu Yanchen was right; the aftereffects of the alcohol were indeed considerable.

The conversation tonight had a bigger impact on him. With the accumulated effect, he was beginning to struggle. Shen Junci bowed his head, enduring the dizziness. He walked unsteadily, thoroughly drunk. In the end, his consciousness was like a thread pulling him along. His head throbbed as if it would split open, his heart pounding to the point of stalling, and his mind was filled with recollections.

Feeling his steps slowing down, Gu Yanchen turned back and called out to him, “Doctor Shen?”

Shen Junci didn’t have time to respond. He hurried to the roadside next to the drain, squatting down. He hugged Pikachu tightly, feeling so uncomfortable that he wanted to stuff the fluffy toy into his body. The next moment, he lowered his head and vomited. It felt like his consciousness emptied for a few seconds. The smell of blood rushed up, as if he would vomit out his internal organs.

Gu Yanchen came over to support him. Shen Junci vomited for a while before stopping, then took the tissue Gu Yanchen handed to him. Shen Junci felt a bit of failure. The more he tried to show perfection, the more he exposed his embarrassed side.