Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 39 Never
On the way home, the car sped up considerably.

He obviously had nothing to do near Sunshine Garden; it was just a lame excuse.

Lu Jingming hasn't been back to the Lu family home for a while. Even though he doesn't live at the police station, he has his own places to go.

Today, however, he suddenly wanted to come back and take a look. Perhaps it was because this place held many memories—warm, sweet, melancholic, and painful—all intertwined, which always made him more clear-headed.

He thought he needed to be clear-headed now.

Pushing open the door, I found the lights were still on, and someone was sitting on the sofa.

The night rain was slightly chilly. The man was wearing a thin sweater and holding a scarlet cigarette in his hand. Thick smoke filled the entire living room.

The ashtray in front of him was already full of cigarette butts, and there was an empty whiskey bottle next to it.

Lu Jingming frowned slightly, feeling a strange mix of emotions, but his words were somewhat cold and hard: "Staying up in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, sitting here smoking and drinking, do you think you're still vigorous and healthy?"

Lu Changbai turned to look at him with a dazed expression, seemingly not expecting him to appear at this moment, and quickly stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

He stood up and forced a smile: "Why are you back at this time? I heard you've been very busy lately."

Lu Jingming composed himself and said calmly, "Yes, I was just passing by and thought I'd come back to take a look."

He paused, then asked, "Where's Jing Huan?"

During the day, he was so unfair to Lu Jinghuan; he must have really hurt her feelings.

But when it comes to matters concerning Wei Qingsong, he always manages to abandon all bottom lines and principles.

He was beyond saving long ago.

“Wenlan brought her back, and she’s asleep now.” Lu Changbai hesitated for a long time before speaking with a complicated expression. “Jingming, let’s talk, just for five minutes.”

Lu Jingming did not respond immediately. He stood still, looking at the middle-aged man in front of him with indifference, as if he were looking at a stranger rather than his own father.

After a long silence, he nodded with a slightly distant expression: "To make a long story short."

Lu Changbai looked somewhat somber, but forced a smile and said, "I heard from your Uncle Wang that you've reconnected with that missing girl?"

"Ah."

Lu Changbai was already used to his indifference, and sighed, "May I ask? What is your relationship now?"

Lu Jingming narrowed his eyes slightly, remained silent for a while, and then softly uttered a few words: "She is my girlfriend."

This answer seems to have been expected.

Lu Changbai paused for a moment, subconsciously wanting to light a cigarette, but then remembered that Lu Jingming had never liked the smell of cigarettes, so he rubbed his hands together and awkwardly put them behind his back: "When did you two get back together?"

"Get back together?" Lu Jingming murmured, repeating it, then suddenly chuckled, his tone incredibly gentle. "She and I have never broken up."

"What do you mean?" Lu Changbai looked puzzled. As far as he knew, Wei Qingsong left without saying goodbye six years ago, and Lu Jingming was depressed for a long time because of this.

How come Lu Jingming now says they "never broke up"?
"Six years ago, neither she nor I mentioned the word 'breakup,' so we never broke up," Lu Jingming said calmly and composedly.

Lu Changbai's expression changed slightly. He stared at Lu Jingming's cold and resolute face for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "I think you're deeply entangled without realizing it. Who knows, one day she might leave you again. Are you sure you want to repeat the same mistake?"

A cold glint flashed in Lu Jingming's eyes, his jaw tightened, and he uttered a few words in a deep voice: "She won't."

"How do you know you can't?" Lu Changbai's expression was quite pained.

Even though Lu Jingming had long since grown distant from him, he was unwilling to see his beloved son fall into depravity once again.

Even if you could, so what?

Lu Changbai couldn't understand. He took two steps forward, stopped, and asked, "Even if this is terribly wrong, you still insist on it?"

That kind of devastating blow was enough six years ago.

He watched as his son lost over ten kilograms in just a few days, and the pain of missing him tormented him until he was emaciated and like a walking corpse.

If it happened again, even if Lu Jingming could bear it, he could not.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingming remained calm and said indifferently, "If it's wrong, then let it remain wrong."

Six years ago, he had not yet graduated from the Public Security University and was unable to find her whereabouts.

But not now. He wouldn't stand by and watch her leave him again.

Even if it means tormenting each other for the rest of their lives, he is unwilling to let go.

"Jingming!"

Lu Changbai wanted to persuade him again, but Lu Jingming interrupted him coldly: "It's late, get some rest. I'll just grab a few clothes and leave."

If we stay here any longer, I'm afraid Lu Changbai won't give up.

Lu Changbai stared blankly as Lu Jingming went upstairs to get his things without looking at him, and then left without any hesitation.

The front door slammed shut, and a middle-aged woman slowly descended from upstairs. She was draped in a thin blanket and asked with a slightly bewildered expression, "Was that Jingming who just came back?"

Lu Changbai regained his senses and nodded.

Time has been kind to the beauty, leaving few traces on the woman's face. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and every gesture exuded charm: "Why didn't you keep him? It's still raining heavily outside."

Lu Changbai looked somewhat dejected, and after a long pause, he sighed and said, "Forget it, I can't keep him here. Besides, if he sees you, he'll get angry again."

In the past, if Lu Jingming returned, he would inevitably say a few sarcastic things to Jiang Qiong, and Jiang Qiong knew that she was in the wrong, so she could only endure it.

She slowly exhaled, stepped down the long staircase, draped the thin blanket over Lu Changbai's shoulders, and gently put her arm around him as they walked up: "Jingming has his own ideas now, so don't always worry about him and make him unhappy for no reason."

Lu Changbai opened his lips, but ultimately couldn't say anything.

That was his and his wife's only son; how could he possibly not worry about him at all?

Unfortunately, from the day his wife passed away, Lu Jingming was destined to drift apart from him.

As dawn broke, Wei Qingsong walked briskly to the office building.

After a night's rest, the members of the Criminal Investigation Brigade were in high spirits.

Chen Jin was excitedly talking when he caught sight of Wei Qingsong out of the corner of his eye. He immediately raised his hand excitedly and said, "Advisor Wei, you've come at the perfect time. We've finally caught that kid."

Wei Qingsong was momentarily dazed before realizing that he was referring to Wen Yu's lover.

She quickly got into work mode, her eyes calm and expressionless: "Any progress?"

Chen Jin and the others didn't sleep well last night, so they got up before dawn to look for clues. Their hard work paid off, and with their eyes bloodshot, they finally locked onto their target.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Chen Jin didn't even notice that he and Wei Qingsong were getting a little too close.

Wei Qingsong was focused on the documents Chen Jin handed her and didn't notice anything amiss.

“We retrieved Wen Yu’s itinerary from last October to this year and found that he went to the Chengnan Welfare Home every Saturday to volunteer. We contacted the welfare home and obtained their list of volunteers. After screening through multiple layers of screening, we identified a third-year graduate student named Xu Yuan who went to the welfare home every Saturday to volunteer and who fully met the profile criteria.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Jin felt a burning gaze on the back of his head, making him feel like he was being pricked by needles.

He subconsciously turned around and met Lu Jingming's cold eyes, which were as cold as if he were looking at a dead man.

Chen Jin shuddered, realizing that he had violated Captain Lu's "private space." He quickly straightened up, shrank his neck, and didn't dare to say a word.

Because of the frequent banquets, my stomach is upset, so the promised extra chapters were abruptly canceled.

The thought of attending banquets tomorrow and the day after is making me break out in a cold sweat. qwq
Thank you for the generous donation from Dream∮☆Sea, muah!

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(End of this chapter)