Chapter 20

Part One: Turbulent Waters of Officialdom. Chapter 20: The Forgotten First Kiss

Jiang Mingcheng was interrogated that afternoon. He was suspected of embezzling enormous amounts of state assets, involvement in Zeng Jianhua's disappearance, and framing a government official. Getting him to talk would not be easy, so everyone pinned their hopes on Xu Si. They sat in the office, but apart from the two interrogators wearing Jiang Mingcheng down, everyone went out into the corridor every ten minutes. They squatted there in a circle, passing around cigarettes and puffing out smoke. The carton of Yuxi cigarettes placed on the desk only that noon was already almost empty.

Zhang Ke leaned against the door. His lips were a little dry, and he licked them, thinking, Who the hell said nicotine addiction was physical dependence? The smell of cigarette smoke felt very comforting.

No one was in the mood to mention dinner. The corridor lighting was dim, and the shadow of Jin Guohai's hair obscured his face, making it indistinct. All they could see was that he kept turning to look at the detention room door.

The far end of the corridor brightened as light spilled out of the detention room. Jin Guohai sprang to his feet, then immediately braced himself against the wall and squatted down again. "Ow, ow, ow, my feet have gone numb..."

Seeing Xu Si standing in the detention room doorway, tucking the hair that had fallen across her face behind her ear, everyone smiled with relief.

Taking her statement lasted until eleven. Once Xu Si had signed and affixed her fingerprint to the interrogation record, Jin Guohai could hardly wait to call Deputy Secretary Xu Xueping. "Secretary Xu, Xu Si has voluntarily admitted that Ding Xiangshan coerced her into framing Tang Xueqian. Last October, because she needed a large sum to pay for her younger sister Xu Wei's heart surgery, Xu Si was forced to become Ding Xiangshan's mistress. Through his introduction, she then joined Xinfeng Group..." The call lasted a long time. He reported almost the entire contents of the statement over the phone. Finally, Jin Guohai said excitedly, "All right, Secretary Xu. Can we tell Mayor Tang the current findings of our investigation right away? Yes... yes... we should apologize for our earlier mistakes..."

Jin Guohai put down the phone and said excitedly, "Secretary Xu has gone to report the progress of the case to Secretary Tao Jin. Whether we take immediate action against Ding Xiangshan will have to wait for discussion at tomorrow morning's Provincial Party Standing Committee meeting. We can make some preparations first... Also, Zhixing, please tell Mayor Tang the good news..."

Of course he was excited. He had been heading the task force for only three days, and the case had made a breakthrough without a hitch. No one would hold him accountable for his earlier responsibility now. After all, he had not personally been in charge of the inspection team sent to Haizhou City.

Zhang Zhixing clenched his fist in excitement and put an arm around his son's shoulders. "Come on, let's go together."

But Zhang Ke caught the exhausted look in Xu Si's eyes as a policewoman led her away. He hurried after her and said, "You don't need to worry about anything now." Xu Si stopped without turning to look at him. "Can you keep this from my sister?" "Yes." Zhang Ke nodded and watched her stand there for a moment before leaving with the policewoman.

They went up to the third floor and stopped outside the room where Tang Xueqian and his family were staying. Zhang Ke glanced at his father. Jin Guohai's assistant, Chen Xiaosong, was a little too impatient to wait and rang the doorbell first.

Tang Jing opened the door from inside. Tang Xueqian was sitting on the living room sofa watching the television news. He turned and saw Zhang Zhixing, his son, Jin Guohai, and the others coming in. He rose with a composed expression, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner tension.

Zhang Zhixing said to Jin Guohai, "Chief Procurator Jin, you should be the one to give Mayor Tang the good news."

Jin Guohai smiled, then addressed Tang Xueqian solemnly. "Secretary Xu Xueping has entrusted me with apologizing for the mistakes our Provincial Procuratorate made in its recent work, which subjected you to unfair treatment during this period. We will also conduct a thorough internal investigation and deal severely with those responsible. Following a meticulous and comprehensive investigation, the task force has confirmed that the allegations that you solicited and accepted bribes while overseeing Xinfeng Group's restructuring were a frame-up, a fabrication..."

Jin Guohai held out his hand and shook Tang Xueqian's firmly. Zhang Zhixing also extended his hand, but Tang Xueqian pulled him close, and the two embraced tightly. Everyone present was deeply moved.

Standing behind the others with Tang Jing, Zhang Ke said to her, "You don't have to worry now, do you?"

Tears filled Tang Jing's eyes. She nodded but could not speak. Zhang Ke took her soft little hand and squeezed it firmly. When he saw Gu Jianping coming out in her nightclothes, he hastily let go.

Gu Jianping had just woken up. Seeing the living room crowded with people, she asked, "What's happened?"

Tang Xueqian put an arm around his wife's shoulders and told her, "It's over."

Gu Jianping froze for a moment, then looked around at everyone's expressions and burst into loud sobs.

Tang Jing's nose stung, and she began crying too. Large tears rolled down her fair cheeks, and she did not even stop to wipe them away as she hugged her mother. "Mom, don't cry, don't cry..."

Zhang Ke turned his face away and tilted his head up slightly, thinking, With a chance to live all over again, there's no need to cry anymore. His eyes were a little damp too.

Jin Guohai gave the others a meaningful look, motioning for them to leave the room with him.

"Zhixing, you and little Ke stay and talk with us."

"That's a good idea. Let Zhang Zhixing give Mayor Tang a full account of the progress in the case." Jin Guohai paused and looked at Tang Xueqian. "It's thanks to Zhixing and little Ke that we've been able to rectify our earlier mistakes."

Watching his wife and daughter sob in each other's arms, Tang Xueqian sighed with emotion. He took Zhang Zhixing's hand and squeezed it hard. "Zhixing, come and sit. Friends made over a drink, friends made over a drink! We've known each other for fifteen years. My girl scratched your boy's face, and I brought her to your door to apologize. You happened to be drinking at home. We had a drink and played a game of chess, and then your boy put his arms around my girl and kissed her. I forgot all about apologizing..." Zhang Ke could not remember performing such a feat as a child. He turned to look at Tang Jing. She had stopped crying, and her face was flushed. She did not dare look at him, so he could only turn back and listen as Tang Xueqian continued pouring out his feelings. "Zhang Ke and Tang Jing have been classmates for twelve years now. Time flies. Who understands what kind of man I, Tang Xueqian, am? You, Zhixing. Who would run around on my behalf? You, Zhixing..."

Tang Xueqian and Zhang Zhixing had been friends for more than a decade. After going through this ordeal, both had tears in their eyes as they spoke.

Zhang Ke felt rather bored and wanted to join Tang Jing, even if only to have a good cry together. But Tang Jing had stopped crying and was holding her mother. The past fortnight had been full of alarming twists and turns for Tang Xueqian's family. Zhang Ke sighed with emotion and opened the door to get some air, only to see Jin Guohai's assistant, Chen Xiaosong, pushing a food trolley toward him.

"None of you have had dinner, have you?"

Only at that reminder did Zhang Ke realize his stomach was practically stuck to his backbone. Ever since Xu Si had voluntarily stepped out of the detention room, dinner had not even crossed his mind. Thinking that Tang Jing might not have been in the mood to eat either, he poked his head back inside. "Everyone hungry? Chen's brought us a late-night meal."

As soon as Zhang Ke said that, a hollow rumble came from inside the room. Gu Jianping stopped crying, her face reddening a little. The blush covered her pallor. She really was a beautiful woman. Fortunately, Tang Jing took after her mother. Tang Xueqian had a narrow, rather dark face.

Tang Xueqian stood up. "Let's eat with everyone."

Chen Xiaosong said, "Then I'll have the kitchen prepare a few more dishes, and we can have a dinner party to celebrate for Mayor Tang. I'll go tell Chief Jin..." He pushed the trolley back the way he had come and began calling out in the corridor. The task force members who had been eating boxed meals in the office opened the door and came out in response. They certainly had reason to be excited.

Remembering how Xu Si had looked when she left the interrogation room, Zhang Ke felt a tightness in his chest. She could hear the voices in the corridor too; he did not know what she would think. He badly wanted to get the supplementary statement recorded that very night. It was very important to Xu Si.

Everyone was in such high spirits. Zhang Ke caught sight of Gu Jianping inside the room, wiping away her tears and beaming. Tang Jing stole a look at him, her gaze flickering before she turned away again.

At the dinner, the task force members chimed in one after another, describing Zhang Ke's clever discovery of suspicious evidence in such miraculous terms that he sounded like a teenage genius detective. Now Tang Jing no longer averted her eyes when she looked at him.