Han Ding's first reaction after waking up from the shock was to quickly dial the phone on his desk with trembling fingers, and he dialed Luo Jingjing's mobile phone twice in a row. After the mobile phone was dialed, the voice from inside was not Luo Jingjing's, but another woman's words read aloud: "I'm sorry, the phone you called is not in the service area, please dial it later." Han Ding guessed that Luo Jingjing might be fooling around with the murderer in that dirty underground hotel at this time, and in such a deep reinforced concrete civil air defense project, the handheld phone would definitely not be able to connect.

Han Ding hung up the phone, his mind was confused, and he calmed down for a moment, he remembered that he should call the police immediately. He quickly dialed 110 to call the police, and a woman's gentle voice soon came from the other side of the phone.

"Hello, this is the 110 police service desk."

Then there was the repetition of English, and the voice was equally gentle to the point that it was hard to believe that this was the Public Security Bureau. But this voice still made Han Ding hesitate for a moment, and somehow hung up the phone again.

He couldn't figure out if he was suddenly sober or suddenly confused, he became hesitant at the last moment when he opened his mouth to call the police, he had to take into account Luo Jingjing, who was staying with that guy at this time, and didn't know what his relationship was with that guy. Are they accidental encounters or long-time acquaintances, old acquaintances or accomplices in crime...... If he calls the police like this, will Luo Jingjing be implicated in the end? Han Ding thought that no matter what, he had to see Luo Jingjing immediately and tell her the truth about that person. Regardless of whether she really has a crush on that guy or not, or even what relationship she already has with that guy, she has to stop the precipice now! He had to tell her that the guy was a murderer who had been wanted by the police for a year and was on the run. Murderers sometimes disguise themselves as loyal, kind, and affectionate. Although Han Ding has always imagined this problem as serious as possible, in fact, he always believes that there is another possibility, that is, the relationship between Luo Jingjing and this person is not the nature of an affair, and there is no emotional component, she and that kid may just have some kind of normal relationship. For example, the boy was a relative or classmate of hers, and their suspicious behavior was because she knew what the boy had done...... If Han Ding was given the choice, he would rather choose Luo Jingjing to violate the law and keep a relative or classmate who had committed a crime by knowing about it, rather than want them to be sneaky because she had an ambiguous relationship with that kid.

Now, the only way is to immediately go to the underground hotel in Wukesong to find Luo Jingjing. Han Ding threw away the phone and got up to go out, he almost ran out of the office building, he rushed to the street to call a taxi that happened to pass by, and asked the taxi to pull him to the Fuxingmen subway station, which was only a few hundred meters away. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, there were not many passengers in the subway station, and the car was coming quickly, so it took less than 20 minutes for him to climb briskly from the Wukesong subway station to the ground. He ran all the way to the Aiqun Hotel, thinking wildly about how to get Luo Jingjing out of the gloomy basement, and if she was indeed with the man, what excuse he should find to pull her away from the kid quietly.

He suddenly thought hatefully, why did he make excuses, he was Luo Jingjing's fair and honest boyfriend, he was not a third party who needed to hide, if there was a third party, it could only be the kid who cowered in the basement. If they meet in that basement in a narrow way from head to head, they should be the ones who have no place to be ashamed, including Luo Jingjing who deceived him! Moreover, if Han Ding is not mistaken, if that kid is really a wanted criminal, he should not only be self-conscious, he should panic and flee.

With such self-esteem, righteous indignation, and the courage inspired by this righteous indignation, Han Ding strode towards the humble façade of the Aiqun Hotel. He almost forgot that he was actually only here for Luo Jingjing, to rescue her from the hands of this murderer, to save her from the brink of breaking the law and committing crimes!

He walked into the narrow foyer of the hotel, and unlike when he had just arrived, he was greeted by a middle-aged woman for questioning.

"Looking for someone?" The woman's attitude was blunt.

"Find someone!" Han Ding replied equally bluntly.

"Who are you looking for?"

The woman's attitude was not only blunt, it was simply fierce. There were two men in leather jackets behind her, and they all looked at Han Ding with a businesslike face.

Han Ding was still confident: "Find my girlfriend!" ”

"What room do you live in?"

Before Han Ding could speak, he heard a low, suppressed roar from the stairs leading to the underground beside him. The two men behind the middle-aged woman heard the sound and rushed to the entrance of the stairs together. In the chaos of people, Han Ding was stunned to see what was happening in front of him—six or seven police officers in plainclothes screwed out of the narrow staircase with a handcuffed man, and like an eagle catching a chicken, carried the catch with a young face out of the hotel door. Although that face only swept in front of Han Ding's eyes, he still recognized him at a glance as the fugitive wanted on the Internet.

This scene came so suddenly, Han Ding stood in the chaotic foyer with his eyes stared, and everyone around him stared to the side, as if the handcuffed criminal would still break free and kill someone when he passed by him—murderers are always beyond the imagination of ordinary people—until he was escorted out of the gate by plainclothes police and put into a police car that had apparently been hidden nearby, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and followed out, looking at the back of the police car and making some fearless words.

At this time, Han Ding also woke up, and he rushed down the stairs and into the basement in three steps and two steps. Because it was daytime, most of the travelers had gone out, and the corridors crisscrossing the basement were deserted, the air was damp and cold, and there was a musty smell. Han Ding walked around like a headless fly, and shouted loudly in his mouth:

"Jingjing! Jingjing! Luo Jingjing! ”

His voice echoed so loudly in the empty corridor that many people opened the door to peek into their heads. A waitress spoke with a foreign accent and tried to stop him in a louder voice: "Who are you looking for?" But to no avail, he ignored her, and shouted all the way, and at a bend in the road, his shouting stopped abruptly.

He saw Luo Jingjing, who he was looking for.

Luo Jingjing turned out of this intersection, she obviously heard his shout a long time ago, but she didn't expect to meet at this pass.

She glanced at him and walked past him with her head bowed, without giving a second word. He shouted angrily from behind her Luo Jingjing, but he didn't make her stop for a moment, she instead sped up her pace and ran. Han Ding chased after her in a few steps, grabbed her, turned her body and asked loudly:

"What are you doing here, huh?"

Luo Jingjing didn't answer, and even turned her face away from him. But Han Ding's hand softened suddenly, because he saw the tears on Luo Jingjing's face. He let go of his hand and watched blankly as Luo Jingjing turned around and ran towards the stairs.

Han Ding didn't chase her anymore.

He staggered up the stairs step by step to the ground, and Luo Jingjing was gone. As he walked out of the door of the Oi Kwan Hotel, the sun was shining near noon. He closed his vertigo eyes and stood on the side of the street for a moment, calming his mood a little. He took out the phone and dialed Luo Jingjing's mobile phone.

Luo Jingjing's mobile phone was unexpectedly dialed, and he listened to the ringtone of the call ring over and over again, but no one answered. Han Ding put away his phone and walked into the subway station alone. At noon, the subway station is crowded with passengers as usual. He subconsciously wanted to find Luo Jingjing in the crowd on the platform, and at the same time understood that it was futile. He boarded the train to the east, and when he passed by the Fuxing Gate, he sat still, he didn't even open his eyes, he felt very tired and tired, as if his physical strength for the day had been exhausted on the train coming and going.

He got out of the car at Chongwen Gate.

He got out of the car and went straight home.

He didn't eat lunch.

Does he still have the heart to eat!? He wasn't hungry at all.

After returning home, he used the home phone to dial Luo Jingjing's mobile phone again, he guessed that Luo Jingjing still wouldn't answer, he just wanted her to see the number and know that he was home now. It's a pity that he didn't even achieve this goal, Luo Jingjing turned off his phone. Luo Jingjing's appearance is enough to confirm that there must be something between her and the murderer, and the relationship between them is obviously not what Han Ding hoped, what kind of relatives and friends, what kind of classmates are old.

The midday sun shrank in the living room to a thin edge of the windowsill, and the whole room looked dull. In front of Han Ding's eyes, it seemed that even the dazzling brightness on the windowsill was hard to see, and he asked himself in his heart with a crying voice: "Do I still want this girl?" Do I still want this unfaithful and self-loving girl? When he finally asked this sentence in his heart, the choked throat that had been blocked in his chest burst out of his throat, but he quickly restrained it. He wiped away his tears and ordered himself not to cry for such a girl.

In order to restrain his vulnerability, Han Ding returned to the bustling streets, and he walked blindly north from Chongwenmen to the wide Chang'an Avenue. He subconsciously went west again. To the west is Tiananmen Square, which is the very center of the entire Chang'an Avenue and the whole of Beijing. He actually walked to Tiananmen Square. Except for a backpacking trip to Tarzan during the summer vacation from college, he never seemed to have traveled this far. He stood downstairs in Tiananmen Square for a while, bought a ticket and entered Zhongshan Park. There were very few visitors in the park, and the desertion here made him finally calm down, he tried to bring himself back to his senses, and thought about Luo Jingjing's various performances since he saw the fugitive from beginning to end, and after thinking about it, he was still very angry and felt unacceptable. It should be over, he thought. His heart trembled when he realized that the word "end" seemed to imply a decision, and he tried to muster up the strength to say those two words out loud, but without success. There is always another voice in his heart that is stubbornly and loudly holding on to something, that voice is disorganized and indistinct, calling out everything that happened to him and Luo Jingjing every day in the past, every happy time they experienced together, every small word, every expectation before meeting, and every kiss when they separated...... This is his first love! The feeling of first love and its preciousness cannot be erased and easily replaced, is it just to give up? Is it really impossible to save? Can't you really forget the unhappiness that arose in this period and find a way to start over?

He entered through the main entrance of Zhongshan Park and came out through the back door. His gait became light and powerful as he came out. Feelings eventually triumph over ideas. He figured it out that he didn't live for empty ideas and a momentary face. For him, the most valuable and hardest thing to give up is the happiness that he has grasped and already has.

He hailed a taxi at the back door of the park and rode home, feeling less heavy on the way. He didn't let the driver drop him off at the door, and when he drove to Chongwenmen, he got out of the car early. He bought some fruits and vegetables that Luo Jingjing liked to eat at the vegetable market at the intersection, and thought about going home to cook dinner for the two of them personally. He even thought that if Luo Jingjing came back tonight and didn't want to explain to him, he would never take the initiative to ask about the day's affairs.

As soon as he got home, he began to prepare dinner for the evening, and he felt fulfilled and satisfied that he had been able to do so with such a big heart. A person who can or dare to forgive others is the ability of the strong and the virtue of the capable. He didn't know if he was thinking like this was a kind of self-balancing Ah Q spirit. But in any case, learning to be tolerant is also a sign of maturity.

He carefully cooked the sumptuous dinner, stewed a fat chicken, boiled some white radish and fresh celery in chicken broth, which his mother had kept for many years, fried a shredded bean sprouts, and fried a fish and topped it with sweet and sour sauce. At half past six o'clock in the evening, the freshly steamed rice came out of the pot, and he estimated that Luo Jingjing should also come back, so he put out the vegetables and soup and placed them on the table very decently. Then, he washed his hands and sat on the couch watching TV absentmindedly, waiting for her to open the door.

It was getting dark soon, and Han Ding watched CCTV's news broadcast, and Luo Jingjing didn't come back. The dishes on the table were already cold. Han Ding opened the door several times to look out, but he couldn't hear a trace of movement on the stairs. At eight o'clock in the evening, he dialed Luo Jingjing's mobile phone again, but the phone was still off. It wasn't until ten o'clock in the evening that Han Ding had to realize that Luo Jingjing might not be coming back. At half past ten in the evening, Han Ding finally couldn't bear it anymore and decided to go out to find her. The only place he wants to go to is the model house who lives in Sanyuanqiao. By the time he took a taxi to Sanyuanqiao and found the girl's small bungalow, it was already the hour when most Beijingers washed up, went to bed, turned off the lights and went to bed.

He knocked on the door of the small bungalow and saw Luo Jingjing sitting on the bed at first sight.

The one who opened the door was the girl who was a model like Luo Jingjing, she was relieved when she saw Han Ding standing outside the door, looked back at Luo Jingjing, and said, "Look, he's here." ”

Luo Jingjing glanced at Han Ding and looked away.

The girl who was a model turned her face and asked Han Ding: "Aren't you guys very good, why are you quarreling today?" Jingjing is so honest, you usually let her order more. ”

Han Ding didn't answer the girl's words, he looked at Luo Jingjing and said, "Jingjing, go home." ”

The girl also said: "Jingjing, you said how good you two are, I envy you to death, and I envy you even when you quarrel." Look, you just quarreled two sentences in the morning, and people came to you from afar in the evening. If I quarrel with someone, who can answer me! She went over to push Luo Jingjing: "Let's go, let's go, what's the gamble, hurry up and go back with Han Ding." ”

Luo Jingjing didn't speak, stood up and walked out the door. Han Ding smiled at the model girl and thanked him, and followed Luo Jingjing out of the low-slung bungalow area. They walked to the street, Han Ding called a taxi, pulled the car door and let Luo Jingjing go up first, Luo Jingjing lowered his head and went up, always looking out the window all the way, Han Ding didn't say anything, but his expression and movements tried to show warmth to convey his understanding.

They went home.

Before entering the door, on the stairs, the first thing Han Ding asked was, "Have you eaten?" ”

Luo Jingjing said: "No." ”

Han Ding opened the door and turned on the light, Luo Jingjing immediately saw the dishes on the table, and a look of surprise flashed on her face, but it quickly passed. She lowered her head and walked into the bathroom, where the sound of running water could be heard. Han Ding tilted his ears, and in the sound of running water that he didn't hear, there was Luo Jingjing's faint sobbing. He stood outside the bathroom door in a daze, and for a while he couldn't figure out what his mood was, whether he was sympathetic or annoyed, whether he pitied Luo Jingjing or pitied himself. He knows that girls nowadays are more rebellious than boys, and many girls will fall in love with a bad man. The newspaper said that an eighteen-year-old girl fell in love with a wanted criminal who robbed a bank, Han Ding sighed when he read it at the time, and felt that the new human girl clan was crazy, he didn't expect that even an honest girl like Luo Jingjing would be crazy!

Han Ding silently went to the kitchen to heat up the meal and put it on the table again. At one o'clock in the middle of the night, he and Luo Jingjing sat face-to-face at the table and ate the unsavory dinner. This was Han Ding's first meal after breakfast. He was so hungry that he swallowed heavily, but he didn't feel anything in his mouth. After eating, he was about to clean up the dishes and chopsticks, when Luo Jingjing spoke.

She said, "I'll wash it." ”

Han Ding asked her to wash.

Luo Jingjing washed slowly in the kitchen. Han Ding was waiting for her in the living room, he changed his mind, he didn't want to delay any longer, he wanted to talk about things with Luo Jingjing seriously and calmly at the same time. He couldn't stand the girl he had given all his love for, crying for another man in his own home.

Luo Jingjing finally finished washing the dishes. Han Ding knew that she was afraid of coming out early to face his questioning, but she had to come out after all. She walked out of the kitchen, and I don't know where to put those hands, whether it was because they were wet or because they were cramped. Her gaze still dodged Han Ding's gaze, even though it looked so peaceful.

Han Ding sat on the sofa, and he asked her, "Are you sleepy?" ”

Luo Jingjing did not answer.

Han Ding patted the sofa with his hand and said, "Come here, can you sit with me?" ”

Luo Jingjing walked over, she didn't sit next to him as Han Ding asked, but sat on another sofa on Han Ding's side.

Han Ding said: "We have been living together for more than half a year, right? Life goes on and over again every day, it's really quite dull, are you tired of it? If you're tired of it, you should have told me earlier, and we could figure it out. Let's say, let's do something together. For example, even if we live separately for a period of time, you live here, and I go to my parents' house, and we can re-establish the freshness by being apart for a while. ”

Luo Jingjing's eyes were red, but she didn't cry. Her voice became hoarse, and her breathing as she spoke brought out a deliberately suppressed tremor.

"I didn't...... Not overly tired. Han Ding, you are good to me, I know, you are the best person for me after my dad is gone, I really want to thank you well. Really, I really want to be nice to you, I really want to be with you every day like I used to, let you take care of me, and I take care of you. But I ...... But now, I really don't know what to do......"

Han Ding's eyes were also a little moist, because no matter what he saw in the past two days, he didn't expect Luo Jingjing to say these words to him in pain. Han Ding asked tremblingly, "You mean, we won't be able to live together in the future, right?" ”

Luo Jingjing did not answer. But Han Ding didn't know why she thought she was answering: "Is it because of that man?" Han Ding asked, "You don't want to be with me anymore, is it because you have met another person?" You think he's better and more exciting than me, right? ”

Han Ding's tone was a little excited, he saw Luo Jingjing open his mouth to say something, and wanted to explain, but he finally couldn't help it, he couldn't restrain the excitement he had suppressed for a long time. He didn't let Luo Jingjing speak, he didn't want to listen to her explanation, he continued without pause:

"Do you know who that person you have your eye on is? Yes? I really can't imagine that the world is so small, it's this person, this person you fancy killed Siping, you know? He killed Siping so he forced your father to death, he ruined your family, and you don't even have a relative now. He's seducing you again now, and he's a wanted fugitive, you know? He's a lost dog, and he's been hiding for more than a year, will he have the heart to fall in love with you? Will he? He's trying to use you to protect him and help him, you know? ”

Luo Jingjing's tears flowed out, and from Han Ding's first question, her tears flowed out. Those tears did not represent the shock and remorse that Han Ding wanted to see, on the contrary, those two lines of tears told him that she had known all this he had said. But Han Ding still asked sentence by sentence: "Do you know? Do you know? His questioning was merely an expression of anger. Luo Jingjing finally cried, she cried and said to Han Ding: "It's not like this, he was wronged, I know him, he won't kill anyone, he is a very good person, a very good person......"

Han Ding stood up and roared angrily, "How do you know him?" On what basis do you say that you know him? ”

Luo Jingjing also cried loudly: "He's my boyfriend!" It's my boyfriend! Seeing that Han Ding was stunned for a moment, Luo Jingjing burst into tears and whimpered, and became exhausted in an instant, she seemed to have no strength to continue: "...... He's, he's my past boyfriend......"

Han Ding sat back on the sofa, and as he sat down, he seemed to understand everything, and after understanding everything, he had nothing to say.

Luo Jingjing suppressed her crying, she probably also had that instinctive scruple - in front of a man who loved her, she couldn't cry for another man loudly, so her crying was compressed into a rapid gasp in her chest:

“…… He, he's good to me, he's good to me, I can't forget him...... Just like you are good to me, I will not forget you......"

In front of Luo Jingjing's tears, Han Ding almost became an aphasia. He couldn't find the words to explain everything in front of him, he couldn't tell if Luo Jingjing was right or wrong, he couldn't comfort her or comfort himself. He just relied on the confused subconscious in his mind to babble a few words to himself:

"Do you still love him? Do you still love him...... So why are you, why are you still with me? ”

"He left me, he was wronged, he couldn't get rid of himself for a while, so he left me, he was afraid of affecting me, he was always afraid of affecting me......"

"That's all he told you? Jingjing, you are an adult, how can you trust others so easily? Could it be that the Public Security Bureau will have no evidence to arrest him? I am involved in the law, and I know that if the Public Security Bureau wants him and arrests him, there must be sufficient evidence. Don't you believe only in his own justifications, and not in the law? ”

Han Ding didn't expect this sentence to make Luo Jingjing suddenly leave the sofa and kneel in front of Han Ding. She hugged Han Ding's knees and hands, and squeezed out a begging smile with tears: "Han Ding, you understand the law, you are a lawyer, you must know someone in the Public Security Bureau, you must know someone in the court, can you defend him?" He is really a good person, I know him, Han Ding, do you believe me once? ”

Han Ding shook his head, he pushed Luo Jingjing away and stood up, he didn't want to look at the messy tear stains on her face anymore, those tear stains washed away the fat powder on her skin, and made a beautiful little face dirty.

Han Ding said coldly: "He killed someone, he committed such a big crime, no matter who you know, no matter who defends him, he will not escape death." Murder pays for life, this is an ironclad law! No one can save him! ”

Luo Jingjing knelt in front of the sofa and continued to cry and beg him: "You save him, even if it's for me, okay?" Even if I beg you, will you? ”

Han Ding's anger came from nowhere, and he swept a vase on the dining table to the ground with one palm, and he no longer wanted to suppress the resentment that had accumulated in his heart for days. The sound of the vase smashing on the floor made Luo Jingjing's face pale, and her crying stopped abruptly, and she stared at him with a pair of frightened eyes. Since Han Ding and Luo Jingjing met, he has never been so radiant in front of her, and he has always been a courteous, gentle and frugal image in front of her. Although Luo Jingjing's stunned appearance made Han Ding's heart suddenly feel a moment of pity, his resentment and jealousy continued to vent by inertia:

"You let me do it for you, but are you for me? I love you so much, I love you with all my heart, but when you see your old lover, you still throw yourself into your arms. You run out every day to have a tryst with him, you think I don't know, do you? You think I don't know anything, do you? I'm telling you I know everything! I'm afraid that your face is not good-looking, I'm afraid that your self-esteem can't stand it, I won't tell you if I know, I endure it myself, I'm sad, I endure it! That's how I love you, but you ......" Han Ding couldn't help but burst into tears when he said emotionally, choking up so much that he could barely speak, "...... But what did you do behind my back, you don't care if he kills someone, you ...... You asked me to save him for you. Why should I save him? Why? Just because you like him, you can't bear to let him die, do you? Isn't it? ”

Luo Jingjing knelt in front of the sofa, bowed her head and listened, without answering, Han Ding could see her tears falling on the sofa cushions one by one. His heart softened a little, but at the same time he thought hatefully, this is your own making. He stood up and strode into the study, slamming the door shut.

That night, Luo Jingjing left his home. Han Ding knew when she left, but he didn't go out of the study to stop her. After the grumbling sound of the door closing, there was no movement in the living room. Han Ding walked out of the study after a long time, he thought that Luo Jingjing would leave a heartbroken note as a farewell to him, but after looking around, he found that there was none. There was no sound in the whole house, there was no sound in the whole building, it was very quiet and lonely. Only then did Han Ding realize that it was past three o'clock in the morning.