My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Jiang Jinyan listened to the news, frowning.

"…by now, the police haven't given any clarification yet." Shang Ling reported, then she turned around and saw a tall, sharp, handsome man approaching. Her eyes lit up as she stretched out her mic toward the man. "Captain Jin! Captain Jin! What do you have to say about the sealed Recreational Park? Is it true that it's related to the body parts and the serial killer who has been rampaging since last year?"

The man's eyebrows were thick and heroic and when he swept his eyes across the cameras, it seemed like an invisible pressure had pressed down, rendering them unable to breathe. "Please wait for our official notice. Don't come here and obstruct the police. Do you want me to send you an arrest warrant?"

Shang Ling: "…"

The cameramen: "…"

Then, Captain Jin walked away while the rest of the people were still dumbfounded.

Shang Ling recovered herself and smiled sweetly. "That is Captain Jin for you. He's the lead criminal investigator of City A's Police Bureau, so we should trust the police and wait for their official notice."

Jiang Jinyan grabbed his phone and opened his chat with Wei Xiameng. The chat stopped last night with Jiang Jinyan's 'good luck'. They hadn't contacted each other these past few days.

[Jiang Jinyan]: Xiaxia, I remembered that you said your analysis area is in the suburbs? Is that near the Recreational Park?

Wei Xiameng replied more than ten minutes later.

[Xiaxia]: Yes, that's right!

[Xiaxia]: What's wrong with it?

[Jiang Jinyan]: Be careful. There is a crowd of people and police officers in the Recreational Park. Are you still busy? Not yet done with the analysis?

[Xiaxia]: No!

[Xiaxia]: cry.jpg

[Xiaxia]: It's not that easy, Jinyan. I have to do surveys and analyze the people, make the data and process it. I can't skip it just because of some crowd of people.

Jiang Jinyan frowned and felt that her tone didn't seem right.

[Jiang Jinyan]: It's not that. I am just worried about you.

[Jiang Jinyan]: It's better that you wrap it up and finish soon.

[Jiang Jinyan]: Who are you with? Bai Jiya?

[Jiang Jinyan]: It's not safe for two girls to travel alone.

[Xiaxia]: puffedcheeks.jpg

[Xiaxia]: Don't worry! We can take care of ourselves!

[Xiaxia]: I will contact you after I'm done, bye Jinyan~

After that, every message he sent was like stone sinking into the oceans, no reply was received anymore. Jiang Jinyan felt unsettled and opened a new chat with Bai Jiya—Xiao Bai—Wei Xiameng's best friend as well as her only friend whom Jiang Jinyan knew. After all, when Wei Xiameng chased after him two years ago, it was Bai Jiya who helped her with strategizing.

Jiang Jinyan seldom chatted with her.

The last chat between them was more than half a year ago. At that time, Wei Xiameng couldn't be contacted and Jiang Jinyan had no choice but to call her friend. Only then did Jiang Jinyan know that Wei Xiameng had been pulling all-nighters to finish her project to the point where she collapsed with a high fever.

[Jiang Jinyan]: Bai Jiya, are you there?

It took no more than fifteen seconds for her to reply.

[BaiBai]: OMG, Jiang Jinyan?! Is that you?!

[BaiBai]: What the hell with all the gossip on Weib8? You're really hospitalized?!

[Jiang Jinyan]: Xiaxia didn't tell you?

It was strange, afterall, Bai Jiya was her best friend whom she always shared everything with. Her own boyfriend was in such a huge car accident, how could Wei Xiameng didn't tell her?

[BaiBai]: No.

[BaiBai]: confused.jpg

[BaiBai]: Wait, you're still together with Xiameng?

Jiang Jinyan's heart skipped a beat and his fingers stiffened as he typed.

[Jiang Jinyan]: What do you mean?

[BaiBai]: No! It's just my misunderstanding ne~

[BaiBai]: shyshy.jpg

[BaiBai]: Don't take it to heart! I don't mean anything.

[BaiBai]: How are you now? Where are you hospitalized? Let me come and visit you later.

This act was just making Jiang Jinyan more suspicious, the more Bai Jiya said that there's nothing wrong, the more disgruntled he felt.

[Jiang Jinyan]: It's okay, architecture students must be busy. It's not good for me to bother you.

[BaiBai]: No, no! Hahaha! How long have we known each other? Wei Xiameng's boyfriend is my good brother. Just good, today is Sunday and I can come by later in the evening.

[BaiBai]: Is Xiameng there?

[BaiBai]: Do you want me to bring you dinner?

Jiang Jinyan's heart instantly sank. Bai Jiya didn't know that Wei Xiameng wasn't here, she was not together with her. So, Wei Xiameng was lying? Why did she lie? Moreover, why did Bai Jiya ask whether they were still together?

As if—As if…

A terrible speculation popped up in his mind.

Jiang Jinyan closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. His heart was beating fast and once the seed of doubt was planted, it was hard to pluck it off from its root. Of course, he didn't want to doubt her girlfriend but…the decreasing frequency of their contact, Wei Xiameng's short and impatient chats, her gradual disappearance, it formed a vortex of black clouds in Jiang Jinyan's heart, pressing him so hard to the point where he couldn't breathe.

However, when he thought about Wei Xiameng's wet eyes when he had just opened his eyes, her sad cries, her gentle and warm care, her patient accompaniment, and the years they had spent together, Jiang Jinyan was really, really unwilling to doubt her.

He didn't believe that the girl, who would take a taxi for ten kilometers to his training center, just to send him a handmade lunchbox and meet him for less than fifteen minutes, could betray him.

She was Jiang Jinyan's sunshine, the only light in his dark tunnel. The only warmth he could feel. Her gentle care was the string that could hold him together. It was because Wei Xiameng was here that Jiang Jinyan hadn't given up on himself. If she left him too…if she abandoned him like any other, how could he live with that?

He was like a dying man, stubbornly holding onto the last straw and behind his feet was a bottomless abyss.

His huge palm gripped onto his stump knee tightly, so tight that he felt sharp pain shooting up his whole body and the bandages began to turn red, blood seeping through it. He breathed heavily and in the end…tried to grasp onto this light as long as he could.

[Jiang Jinyan]: It's okay. Xiaxia has just returned home.

[Jiang Jinyan]: I have received your good intention. Thank you.

Yes.. He, Jiang Jinyan, was such a pathetic coward.