Reservoir Dogs chapter 62
Upholding Justice Over Family
Leaving the woman’s room, this was the top floor. Xiao Zhou walked down the spiraling staircase, missing a step on the last two steps and almost falling, grabbing the railing to steady himself. He felt a wave of dizziness, perhaps the drug hadn’t completely worn off.
He simply sat on the stairs for a while. He had just agreed to take Lu Xi with him, partly to calm her down. Her condition was too bad, and he didn’t know what she might do, hurting others or herself, neither of which Xiao Zhou wanted to see. The helicopter cabin was too small to hide a person. If he wanted to take someone, he would need to convince Jiang Chengyuan to leave by sea and take the ferry.
Lu Xi’s words kept repeating in his mind like a stuck CD player, gradually turning into an unpleasant noise. The things Lu Xi narrated were clear and logical, with seamless connections between cause and effect, making it seem like a story no madman could concoct. Although Xiao Zhou didn’t fully believe it, he could sense a certain authenticity in it.
Many details could be corroborated with what Jiang Chengyuan had unintentionally revealed before. For instance, Jiang Chengyuan was indeed an illegitimate child, and his mother was Jiang Bin’s mistress. That’s why there were no photos of them together in the album, because their relationship couldn’t be exposed.
Jiang Chengyuan was extremely filial and respectful towards his mother. To fulfill her wishes on her sickbed, it wasn’t impossible for him to do such things. As for Jiang Bin, he could have avoided that difficult trial through withdrawal, but under Lu Xiyuan’s threat, he had to make the judgment himself. Since it involved his father’s dereliction of duty, Jiang Chengyuan chose to avoid discussing it back then.
But were there flaws in Lu Xi’s story? There were certainly parts that didn’t make sense. For example, why would the Jiang family go to great lengths to imprison Lu Xi, just to avoid her pestering them? If so, why treat her so well and take such good care of her? After Jiang Chengyuan did such an outrageous thing, Lu Xi should naturally hate him to the core. First, he used her feelings, then framed her, so why did she still have lingering feelings for Jiang Chengyuan? And was Jiang Chengyuan’s gland problem also related to Lu Xi?
So many questions, such a tangled mess. Xiao Zhou suddenly felt that Jiang Chengyuan’s past was like a black hole in the deep sea, unfathomable and inescapable.
“What are you sitting there for?”
Xiao Zhou was startled by the sudden voice. Looking down, he saw Jiang’s father standing on the first floor, looking up at him.
“Uncle,” Xiao Zhou stood up and started walking down, “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk.”
Jiang’s father shook his head, “What’s wrong with kids these days, not sleeping in the middle of the night, lurking in the stairwell. Chengyuan was like this when he was little, too. He always scared me when I walked at night.”
Xiao Zhou walked up to Jiang Bin, who was holding a glass of red wine. The living room was dimly lit with only decorative wall lamps. Jiang Bin raised his glass towards Xiao Zhou, “Want some?”
Xiao Zhou nodded.
Jiang Bin turned to the bar near the kitchen, took a clean glass from underneath, pulled out the cork from the wine bottle, and poured a glass for Xiao Zhou.
Holding the glass, Xiao Zhou sat with Jiang Bin on the living room sofa. He took a sip, the unique tartness of the red wine flooding his mouth.
“So, you’re leaving tomorrow?” Jiang Bin leaned back against the sofa and asked.
Xiao Zhou nodded.
“It’s a shame you didn’t get to see the island properly. There are coconut trees and beaches here. You could even take my yacht out to sea,” Jiang Bin said with some regret, “Chengyuan was so busy sulking with me that he forgot basic hospitality.”
A yacht? Maybe they could leave by yacht, Xiao Zhou suddenly thought.
“Actually, you can see that he and I don’t have a good relationship,” Jiang Bin took a sip of red wine.
Of course, a father who would use his lover to threaten his son could hardly foster any good relationship, Xiao Zhou thought to himself.
“I’ve been married twice. When Chengyuan was born, I hadn’t divorced yet, so I had to hide his mother and him. Because of this, Chengyuan resents me. But he’s my only son. If it weren’t for my strict discipline, he wouldn’t be where he is today. I’ve invested a lot in him, and I don’t want anyone to ruin him,” Jiang’s father said slowly, “I just saw you coming down from the top floor. What were you doing up there?”
Xiao Zhou tightened his grip on the glass, leaving a clear fingerprint on it. He maintained a calm expression, “I heard a noise upstairs, so I went up to check.”
“Oh?” Jiang’s father raised an eyebrow, “And what did you see?”
Xiao Zhou shook his head, “Nothing. When I got upstairs, the noise stopped. The door was locked, so I couldn’t get in. I just came back down.”
“Being too curious is not a good thing,” Jiang’s father said in a warning tone, “Why wander around in the middle of the night?”
Xiao Zhou looked at him silently.
Jiang’s father paused and explained, “There are two big dogs in the house. They’re too fierce, so we usually keep them locked up.”
Xiao Zhou didn’t question this, just nodded, put down his glass, and said, “It’s late. I’ll go upstairs first.”
Jiang’s father agreed and then lay back on the sofa.
Xiao Zhou stood up and suddenly said, “When I was a kid, my grandmother also liked listening to ‘Chisang Town.’ I can sing a few lines myself.”
Jiang’s father opened his eyes again, his gaze dark and sharp.
“I listened to your story today, uncle, and I admire you. If all judges were like you, a reincarnation of Bao Zheng from ‘Chisang Town,’ known for ‘impartiality and righteousness,’ there might be fewer wrongful convictions,” Xiao Zhou said with a smile.
Jiang Bin’s face twitched, as if he had stabbed himself in the heart again.
He had received many praises and accolades for that case, but no one knew that he had sacrificed his own kin. Though the person was not entirely innocent—a bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak—Lu Xiyuan had deliberately twisted the facts to help that rich kid avoid all responsibility, turning an accidental death from a group beating into a murder, thereby changing the sentence from a prison term to a death penalty. Jiang Bin had made the judgment against his conscience, yet was applauded and honored undeservedly.
In the end, hating Lu Xiyuan had become a way for him to escape his inner torment, a habit. By telling himself that Lu Xiyuan was the real culprit behind everything, he could remain composed and calm during interviews and speeches. Bringing retribution to Lu Xiyuan was not only a response to his threats but also a means to free himself. With the true culprit identified, he no longer owed anyone anything.
After going upstairs, Xiao Zhou stood in front of Jiang Chengyuan’s door.
He hesitated for a moment, raised his hand, and then lowered it again. Just as he was about to leave, the door opened. Jiang Chengyuan looked at him, his gaze falling on the bleeding bite mark on his neck. He immediately frowned, “What happened?”
Xiao Zhou raised his hand to touch the spot where Lu Xi had bitten him, but couldn’t come up with an explanation.
Jiang Chengyuan let him in, made him sit on the edge of the bed, and then went to the bathroom to fetch a damp cloth. He pressed Xiao Zhou’s head to make him turn to the side, exposing his neck, and wiped away the residual blood with the wet cloth.
With the blood wiped away, the bite mark was visible. Jiang Chengyuan’s voice darkened as he pressed the obvious tooth marks with his fingertips, “Who bit you?”
The gland was on the back of the neck, but the bite was on the side, missing it by a bit.
If it had been on the gland, Jiang Chengyuan might have gone crazy.