Reservoir Dogs chapter 83
Past Events (Second Update)
Jiang Chengyuan lifted him from the ground, wrapping him tightly in clothes.
When Xiao Zhou woke up, he was lying in the back seat of the car. As soon as he raised his legs, a sticky substance flowed out, staining the suit covering him and the leather seat beneath.
Jiang Chengyuan was leaning against the car outside, smoking a cigarette, his side profile sharp and relaxed, his eyes dark.
Xiao Zhou, draped in his clothes, pushed open the car door and stepped out barefoot onto the epoxy floor of the parking lot. His toes curled up slightly from the cold. Standing next to Jiang Chengyuan, a wisp of white smoke obscured Jiang Chengyuan’s face.
“My mentor’s daughter was called Wanwan. The person I helped overturn the case,” Jiang Chengyuan paused before continuing, “was a Beta. Later, he kidnapped Wanwan. When I went to find her, he kidnapped me. He stimulated my gland and used my pheromones to make Wanwan go into heat, then raped her in front of me.”
After speaking, Jiang Chengyuan lowered his eyes, taking two heavy puffs of his cigarette.
Xiao Zhou stood frozen, not expecting to hear such a thing just after getting out of the car. He hadn’t yet reacted, his eyes wide in shock.
Jiang Chengyuan turned to look at him, his expression hazy behind the swirling smoke. “It seems it’s not so difficult to talk about after all,” he flicked the ash off his cigarette and exhaled another puff of smoke.
The pungent smell of the smoke made Xiao Zhou’s eyes water, blurring his vision. His hands, clutching the sides of his coat, trembled slightly.
Jiang Chengyuan bit down on the cigarette filter, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth, “Do you remember when you asked me about my scars? The one on my chest is from what I told you. As for the others, they’re from that incident. He had us tied up on a boat. Later, I jumped into the sea with Wanwan and we were rescued by a fishing boat.”
His voice trembled slightly. Though his tone was indifferent, it was laced with old wounds, the kind that dug into long-healed scars, exposing festering black pus and blood that couldn’t help but hurt. “When I came back, I found out that Wanwan was pregnant. My mentor was severely affected by this and fell ill, and I had some issues too, so I left.”
He bit down too hard on the cigarette, crushing the filter, and spat out the smoke with a “pah,” extinguishing it with the sole of his shoe.
As he bowed his head, his hunched body started to uncontrollably tremble. He took a deep breath. “After all, I released the criminal, and I am responsible for everything that happened. Perhaps to escape this guilt, I began to question the mentor’s intention in establishing the legal aid group. He wanted to help those wronged, but only major and wrongful cases were excluded. How could we preempt the judges’ decisions? How could we start with a confrontational mindset? Shouldn’t we treat all parties equally? My mind was too chaotic, so I left quietly.”
“In just half a year, I learned about Wanwan’s suicide and my mentor’s death.” After finishing the last sentence, Jiang Chengyuan’s mouth curled into a self-mocking cold smile. “I wasn’t able to see them one last time.”
Suddenly, his body was pushed forward, his back pressed against a hot body.
Jiang Chengyuan steadied himself as Xiao Zhou wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him close and speaking gently against his back, “If it’s too painful and you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to.”
Jiang Chengyuan placed his hand on Xiao Zhou’s hand, gently patting it. “It’s okay, it’s been many years.”
Xiao Zhou breathed in the lingering smell of smoke, alcohol, and residual pheromones from Jiang Chengyuan, the warmth transmitted through a thin layer of fabric, sweat soaking his clothes. He looked at the covered area on Jiang Chengyuan’s neck, hesitating before placing his hand there. “Is this also affected?”
Jiang Chengyuan’s body stiffened, his voice controlled. “To reduce the impact of pheromones, I had the glands destroyed with broken glass at that time. After returning, I had surgery to repair them, but the repair made me especially sensitive to pheromones, prone to losing control. The hospital said it was a secretion problem, with both physical and psychological factors involved.”
Xiao Zhou sensed this change, withdrew his hand, and didn’t dare to touch again. He was stunned, pressed against Jiang Chengyuan’s back, his mind in chaos from these revelations.
He thought again about the rumors he had heard earlier—being an accomplice, a villainous helper. This was also why Jiang Chengyuan went down a completely different path. He doubted his original beliefs, leading him to another extreme, eager to see if there was truly a right or wrong, and what would happen if he tried a different approach. Overthrowing and denying his former self to counterbalance the guilt in his heart, if faced with setbacks and bad results, he would choose another path.
Xiao Zhou remained silent, but many thoughts flashed through his mind. He understood the weight of these words—brief and understated, yet they were the result of real, bloody experiences. The struggle and hardship could not be summarized in just a few sentences. Physical wounds could be dealt with, but the psychological trauma was the hardest to bear.
His tongue felt bitter, but there was also a touch of surprise and joy. He realized this was wrong; he was using Jiang Chengyuan’s painful experiences as leverage, as a guarantee, as proof of his love.
Jiang Chengyuan turned in Xiao Zhou’s embrace to face him, surprised to see traces of tears on Xiao Zhou’s face. He lifted his hand to wipe the tears from around Xiao Zhou’s eyes. “Alright, are you pitying me now?”
Xiao Zhou grasped Jiang Chengyuan’s hand, closed his eyes, and rubbed his face against it. “I feel ashamed. I should be suffering for you, but I’m actually a little happy.”
“Happy about what?”
“I’m happy that you’re willing to talk, and I’m happy that I know.” He tightened his embrace, turned his face to kiss the palm of Jiang Chengyuan’s hand, and licked the lines of his palm like a little dog.
Jiang Chengyuan touched Xiao Zhou’s hair with the hand that wasn’t held, then stroked his red earlobe, and smiled as well. “This is the first time I’ve talked about these things. I don’t know why, but it seems like a lot has been relieved.”
Xiao Zhou looked at him. “What can I do to make you stop thinking about these things?” His tone was cautious, as if any slight movement might scatter the handful of sand gathered before him.
Jiang Chengyuan was touched by his carefulness, his heart feeling warm. He lowered his head and kissed him. “You don’t need to do anything. Just being here is enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Stay with me.”
Xiao Zhou was amused by his childish words. “Where else can I go?”
Jiang Chengyuan also smiled softly, his expression relaxing as he held him even tighter.
As they left the parking lot, Jiang Chengyuan took a few steps before realizing Xiao Zhou wasn’t wearing shoes. Jiang Chengyuan chuckled, “Did you come down like this?”
Xiao Zhou blushed in embarrassment, went to the car to get his shoes, and then went upstairs.
Once upstairs and in the house, Xiao Zhou went to take a shower to wash off the dirt. While showering, he noticed a bruise on his waist from a stone that had been pressing against him during their previous activity. He pulled his waist slightly and it hurt badly, as if it might break.
He quickly rinsed off and came out looking for some ointment to rub on it. The curtains in the living room were not drawn, and the morning sunlight streamed in, brightening up the whole room.
Jiang Chengyuan was standing by the window, talking on the phone in a low voice, almost inaudible. His tall figure and strong features appeared cold and stern, with his narrow eyes looking down at the people below through the high floor-to-ceiling windows.
Xiao Zhou only stood for a moment before Jiang Chengyuan noticed him. After quickly giving a few instructions, he hung up the line, turned around, and said, “I need to go out for a bit. You haven’t slept all night, so rest up soon.”
“Are you leaving now?”
Jiang Chengyuan changed into another set of clothes as he spoke, “Yes, it’s a bit urgent.” Just as he reached the door, he paused, turned back, and kissed Xiao Zhou on the forehead, “Rest well.”
In the late afternoon, Jiang Chengyuan arrived at the police station.
Under the harsh white light, a row of blue plastic chairs, and a young man handcuffed to the farthest seat, two officers were surrounding him. One of them, impatient, slammed the notebook down, grabbed the man’s collar, and yelled, “Speak properly. Do you know you hit someone with your car? Don’t mumble. Don’t you realize this is not a place where you can make up lies?” In a fit of anger, he raised his hand and hit the man on the back of the head.
The man was stunned by the hit and, once he recovered, yelled hysterically, “You damn cop, how dare you hit me?”
As soon as Jiang Chengyuan walked in, the other officer quickly glanced at him, his expression changing, and pulled the questioning officer aside, “The lawyer is here.”
The angry officer, still fuming, turned red with rage. Seeing a well-dressed person, he huffed heavily, let go of the man, and stepped back.
Jiang Chengyuan approached, lowered his head to take out documents from his briefcase. He didn’t look at the officer but spoke to him, “Will you hand over your credentials and take a leave of absence, or should I file a complaint with your superior?”
The officer stiffened, realizing that his actions had been witnessed. If a complaint were filed, he would face many troubles; it was better to comply. He stood there resentfully for a while, then handed over his credentials and walked away.
Jiang Chengyuan then addressed the other officer, “Here are the bail approval documents. Please review them. If everything is in order, I will take the person with me.”
The officer examined the documents, confirmed their legality, and solemnly took the keys to unlock the handcuffs, “You can go.”
Jiang Wenhao, who had been cuffed for nearly ten hours, was finally released. He felt sore all over and twisted his stiff wrist. However, he seemed to have known from the beginning that he would be fine and was not frightened. He stood up and said to Jiang Chengyuan, “So you’re the lawyer? You handled that well, but I can still sue that cop, right?”
Jiang Chengyuan looked at him, “My surname is Jiang. You have that right, but I advise you not to create trouble.”
Jiang Wenhao, feeling somewhat unwilling, pouted, “Alright, do you have confidence in this?”
Jiang Chengyuan replied, “As long as you follow my instructions.”
Jiang Wenhao sighed with relief, “Okay, but you’re really slow. Why did it take so long for you to come? I was left waiting here for so long.”
Jiang Chengyuan didn’t respond but led the way, which surprised Jiang Wenhao, “You have quite a temper…”
His phone vibrated, and Jiang Chengyuan looked down.
At the same time, the phone at the police station rang loudly. The on-duty officer answered, “Hello, Lihai City Police Department…” After a brief conversation, the officer quickly hung up and approached them, calling out, “Lawyer Jiang, you can’t take him. The hospital just called to say that the victim passed away despite rescue efforts. The nature of the case has changed, and the bail documents you just submitted are now invalid.”
Jiang Chengyuan put away his phone. Having received the news, he understood the severity of the situation and his expression grew solemn.
The police handcuffed Jiang Wenhao again.
Jiang Wenhao instantly panicked, “What’s going on? Why are the handcuffs back on? Jiang, aren’t you going to do something?”
Jiang Chengyuan glanced at him and said to the police, “I request to speak with my client privately.”