Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 688 Will I be able to see my husband one last time?
"Sister-in-law, life must go on. Please accept my condolences."

Chen Shu stood to the side, offering words of advice in a weak tone, as if he had been ill for most of his life. His voice was filled with both guilt and heartache, a stark contrast to his cold and ruthless demeanor on the rooftop of the target building.

Zhu Yiba, standing to the side, was stunned. He thought to himself that the deputy captain had truly understood Chairman Mao's words to everyone: "Treat your own people with the warmth and kindness of a spring breeze, and treat your enemies with the cold and ruthlessness of a winter."

The greater the contrast, the more it demonstrates ability.

Director Wang, on the other hand, observed with an appreciative eye. In general, people tend to avoid dealing with the families of victims if possible, since no one wants to be verbally abused or have their workplace's grudges held against them personally.

Of course, aside from personal reasons and extremely low probability, the punishment afterward usually falls on the person who stood up for them.

The fact that everyone remained silent and hesitant to express their opinions when Xu Mingliang's wife asked questions in public earlier is clear evidence of this.

Therefore, Chen Shu was able to take the initiative to stand up and take everything upon himself. This courage to take responsibility earned him the respect and recognition of all the police officers present, regardless of anything else.

However, at this moment, Chen Shu, the central figure in the incident, was thinking that if Xu Mingliang's two family members could curse him here, loudly question him about whether he, as a leader, grew up eating dog shit, or even beat and scold him, or even beat him until he cried, Chen Shu would feel a little better.

But Xu Mingliang's daughter only cried for a short while before stopping. She then got up from the ground, sobbing, and helped her mother up. She then quietly looked at everyone.

"Thank you all. If Mingliang knew that so many people were with him tonight, seeing him off on his final journey, he would be very happy." The woman wiped away her tears and continued, "Actually, I was somewhat prepared for what happened to Xu Mingliang. But when it actually happened, I found that I still couldn't accept it."

The woman exhaled a breath of stale air and recalled, "When Mingliang was young, he was a bomb disposal expert, and we were quite respected among the neighbors. But his job was too dangerous. Whenever it was his turn to be on duty, or when he had just finished eating at home and received a call to rush out to work overtime, I couldn't sleep all night long."

"But I didn't dare call him. Every time I called, he would laugh at me and then we would chat for a few words before hanging up. Later, one time he was working overtime, and I happened to see on the news that the situation was quite serious. I couldn't help but call him several times, but he didn't answer. At that moment, I panicked and ran to his workplace in my slippers."

As she spoke, the woman's emotions gradually calmed down. Although her eyes were still wet with tears, her mental state improved.

"Then I started whispering in his ear every day, and sometimes I would deliberately argue with him, making it clear to him to tell the leaders that he didn't want to do bomb disposal anymore. I said, we're not shirking our responsibilities, after all, he's been doing bomb disposal for ten years, hasn't he? He's done his job well in his uniform. Over the years, so many young police officers have come and gone in the team, we can't let Mingliang do this job for the rest of his life, can we?"
"But Mingliang is proud and doesn't want to hand over this dangerous job to others, yet he feels sorry for me and doesn't dare to argue with me. So whenever he's free at home, he rushes to do housework, and he transfers all his earnings to me. Well, later he simply stuffed both of his company's bank cards into my hands."

The woman talked and laughed.

It is said that people who are extremely sad will laugh, because only when their emotions are relaxed and they think of beautiful things can they survive.

Chen Shu didn't know if it was true or not, but at this moment, he hoped it was.

The woman glanced at the operating room, which was blocked by numerous police officers, then turned her gaze back to the young policeman in front of her: "I know you are Chen Shu, the deputy captain of the Mingliang team. When Mingliang went home, he kept mentioning you, saying you were a rare man in the team, exactly like him when he was young. Fearless, responsible, and courageous! Now that I'm looking at you, I feel that Mingliang's judgment was still very accurate." "Sister-in-law, I...I'm sorry," Chen Shu's head almost touched the ground.

The woman shook her head, interrupting Chen Shu's apology. Her right arm encircled her daughter's slightly trembling shoulders, while her left hand gently stroked her back, her words tender:
"When he was in the brigade, Mingliang could have been promoted to deputy company commander. But I knew that if he had become deputy company commander, he would have been too proud to accept the position, and he would probably have been stuck in that role for life."

"So I argued with him, and I said that if he continued to do this job, I would divorce him. I even brought Xiaoli along as an accomplice. I don't know if it was for my sake or for my daughter's sake, but Mingliang refused the appointment in the end. He was too ashamed to stay in the branch, so he ran to your brigade as a patrolman in a fit of pique."

"I thought life would finally settle down, but Mingliang couldn't escape this fate. I'm just an ordinary housewife. I feel that having my husband to eat and sleep with, and taking a walk in the park near my home when I have time, is the happiest thing in the world."

"Xiao Chen, can you understand this feeling?"

"Sister-in-law, I understand." Chen Shu took a deep breath and raised her head.

The girl broke free from her mother's embrace, choking back tears, and said, "From the day I found out my dad was a policeman, I understood that he didn't belong to me and my mom. I'm very proud and honored because my dad is a policeman. This summer, our class held a Father's Day event, and all my classmates' dads came, but my dad didn't come because he had to go to work."

"Waaah, going to work, going to work, going to work, is going to work the most important thing in his heart? Later, my mother told me that so many people, my classmates and teachers, can go to school, work and go home with peace of mind, precisely because of policemen like my father who work overtime every day."

"So, I have to understand Dad. Even if I miss him terribly, I can only keep it to myself. But now, Dad's gone, Dad's gone. Waaah, Mom, Dad's gone, I miss Dad. Waaah..."

"Don't cry, sweetie." After comforting her daughter, the woman turned to look directly at Chen Shu and said slowly, "So, can you let me see Mingliang one last time?"

Xu Mingliang was killed instantly by the explosives thrown into his arms, and his facial injuries were extremely severe, a truly gruesome sight.

As is customary, to protect the families, the bureau's usual practice is for the funeral home's morticians to first prepare the body before allowing the families to meet it.

The original intention was also to uphold the final dignity of the deceased.

But when you actually stand in front of the deceased's family, you realize that this might be the cruelest and most helpless thing in the world.

Chen Shu let out a deep sigh in his heart.

(End of this chapter)