Chapter 432

Chapter 432 Two People, One Pack of Cigarettes

Ding Muyang was the director of the Ministry of State Security’s Major Crimes Division. Although it carried the title of a “division,” the unit itself was at the bureau level.

　　It was one of the most powerful departments in state security, and those who rose to lead the Major Crimes Division generally had a promising future ahead of them.

　　”Rui bro, what exactly happened? Can you walk us through it in detail?” Xiang Feng asked.

　　Clearly, these night-shift agents had no idea what had happened to Su Rui.

　　”Simply put, someone set a trap for me. It’s a lot like what happened five years ago.”

　　Su Rui didn’t hide anything from the agents, and gave a concise account of the whole story from beginning to end.

　　When the dozen or so agents heard Su Rui say he had crashed into and brought down the Yamamoto Building, every single one of them lit up with burning admiration in their eyes!

　　In their minds, this man was no different from an idol!

　　The more you were exposed to certain hidden truths, the less goodwill you had toward the East. These agents had only heard that the headquarters building of the Yamamoto Group had been sliced in half by a plane, but had no idea who was behind it. Now, seeing it firsthand, they were naturally in complete awe and felt a deep sense of satisfaction!

　　However, when they heard that Zhang Ziwei had subsequently been harassed by Chinese men, they immediately grew furious.

　　Whether soldiers or agents, they all bled and fought for this country and its people. Yet in a society where the social climate left much to be desired, too many tragedies kept unfolding — stories of heroes shedding blood at the front while their loved ones shed tears at home were all too common.

　　Everything Su Rui said was the truth, and his words easily struck a chord with every agent in the room.

　　”Those five deserved to die. They had it coming!”

　　”Rui bro, you did the right thing. If it were me, I’d have thrown them in the ocean to feed the sharks too!”

　　”The scum of society, the worst of the worst! Rui bro, we’ve got your back!”

　　For a moment, Ding Muyang’s office was filled with righteous indignation and outrage.

　　The situation had taken an unimaginable turn. These agents seemed to have completely forgotten how this young man had just run circles around them throughout the entire building.

　　Su Rui smiled faintly and said, “So this time is exactly the same as five years ago. If I had to find one difference, it’s that someone deliberately set a trap for me — one I had no choice but to walk into, even knowing it was a trap.”

　　”Rui bro, just say the word and we’ll go take care of whoever’s behind this right now! Does the law mean anything in this society anymore?” Xiang Feng and the others were practically seething with rage, having completely forgotten their own positions and identities.

　　”No.” Su Rui shook his head. “Whoever had me brought into this building for questioning clearly has someone on the inside working with them. This can’t drag on too long, so I need to talk things over with your director. He and I are old friends.”

　　”Alright, I’ll call Director Ding right now.” Upon hearing that there might be an insider, Xiang Feng pulled out his phone with a grave expression.

　　…………

　　An hour later, Ding Muyang appeared in the doorway of the office.

　　He spotted Su Rui through the crowd, a complicated expression crossing his face.

　　”Director, you’re finally here. Someone is obviously trying to set Rui bro up. You have to help him.”

　　”That’s right, we can’t let heroes bleed at the front and then come home to tears!”

　　”Director Ding, those petty villains won’t get away with this. We have to find a way to help Rui bro!”

　　Listening to all of this, Ding Muyang’s expression shifted between dark and light. He didn’t spare his colleagues more than a glance, and said calmly, “I’ll handle this. Everyone return to your posts.”

　　The group nodded. They knew there were some matters they couldn’t get involved in.

　　Still, before leaving, Xiang Feng — the leader of Major Crimes Team Seven — stood directly in front of Ding Muyang, looked him squarely in the eye, and said with complete sincerity, “Director Ding, I’m counting on you. Please, find a way to help Rui bro.”

　　Looking at the earnestness in Xiang Feng’s eyes, Ding Muyang felt his emotions grow even more tangled. He nodded and gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment.

　　The door closed. Ding Muyang’s eyes fell to the broken glass on the floor, and then to his photograph.

　　It was a group photo of five people.

　　Five spirited young men, all in military uniform, arms around each other’s shoulders, rifles raised high in their hands.

　　In their eyes, there seemed to be boundless ideals — as if they were ready to rival the heavens themselves.

　　Back then, the sky was so blue, the wind so warm, and youth was in full bloom.

　　But now, the living and the dead were worlds apart, scattered to the four winds — some gone, some wounded.

　　For Ding Muyang, this photograph held endless memories. Whenever he found himself missing the past, he would pick it up and look at it.

　　Yet this photograph, so deeply meaningful to him, now lay quietly amid a small pile of broken glass, its surface already marked with faint scratches.

　　Ding Muyang crouched down, picked up the photograph, gently brushed away the glass fragments, and then carefully placed it in his pocket.

　　”What’s the point of doing all this now?”

　　Su Rui sat behind the desk and said with a cold laugh, “If you truly cared about the bond between brothers, you never would have done what you did.”

　　Ding Muyang seemed at a loss for words. He shook his head, walked over to the chair in front of the desk and sat down, picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table, pulled one out and put it in his mouth, then tossed one to Su Rui.

　　Su Rui caught it and put it in his mouth. Ding Muyang leaned over and lit it for him.

　　Su Rui, who almost never smoked, took a long, hard drag.

　　Ding Muyang did the same. The two of them sat there, puff after puff, and before long a cigarette was finished, the entire office thick with smoke.

　　”Split a pack?” Ding Muyang looked at the box of cigarettes, stood his finished cigarette butt upright on the desk, and said.

　　Su Rui did the same, and nodded. “Let’s split one.”

　　Back in those young years, splitting a whole pack like this happened often — whenever a comrade fell, they would go to the grave and sit together in silence, smoking through an entire pack without a word between them.

　　Except for those moments, Su Rui almost never smoked. He wanted to protect his body to the greatest extent possible, to keep himself in peak fighting condition.

　　Su Rui looked at Ding Muyang. Ding Muyang stared at the desk. The two of them exhaled smoke, the tips of their cigarettes glowing and fading, the office growing almost unbearably thick with it.

　　Before long, a row of cigarette butts stood upright in front of each of them.

　　”Pack’s done. Want to keep going?” Su Rui looked at Ding Muyang through the haze, a faint mockery in his eyes.

　　The other man shook his head. “Had enough for today.”

　　Su Rui looked at him long and hard. “I never want to smoke like this again for the rest of my life.”

　　At those words, Ding Muyang’s whole body gave a slight shudder, and a flash of pain crossed his eyes.

　　”Hand it over.”

　　Su Rui extended one hand.

　　”What?” Ding Muyang was taken aback.

　　”The photo.”

　　”This… is mine.” Ding Muyang hesitated.

　　”Give it to me!” Su Rui growled.

　　”Fine.” Ding Muyang took the group photo of five out of his pocket and handed it to Su Rui with obvious reluctance.

　　Su Rui looked at the photograph, his finger tracing over one person’s face, and said, “Li Tiesheng. He could have transferred to a civilian post, but in the very last battle before his discharge, he crossed a minefield to launch a surprise attack from behind enemy lines. He took a huge risk, and had the misfortune of stepping on a mine the enemy had buried in advance. He was blown to pieces.”

　　Ding Muyang knew all of this better than anyone. He nodded. “I was standing less than twenty meters away from him at the time. He only needed to go twenty more meters and he would have been out of the minefield.”

　　Whenever this came to mind, both Ding Muyang and Su Rui were filled with anguish. Sometimes, the distance between life and death was nothing more than twenty short meters.

　　Twenty meters. Cross it, and you go on living. Fail to cross it, and you’re separated from the living forever.

　　”Besides Tiesheng, there’s you, me, and then Zhao Fan and Jiang Hua. Those two were wounded and discharged years ago. Have you lost touch with them too?” As Su Rui said this, a faint cold gleam slowly gathered in his eyes.

　　”Zhao Fan, Jiang Hua… work has been relentless these past few years, day and night, so we just… drifted apart…” As he said this, Ding Muyang’s expression looked strained.

　　”So you’ve lost contact with them.” Su Rui lightly flicked the precious photograph, so full of youth and camaraderie, and said, “If they’re no longer in your heart, why bother keeping up appearances by leaving the photo on your desk?”

　　With that, he picked up the lighter from the desk, pressed it once, and the sharp flame set the photograph alight.

　　Ding Muyang’s expression froze instantly. He cried out, “No!”

　　He reached out to snatch it back.

　　”You have no right! Get away from me!”

　　Su Rui showed no mercy. Across the desk, a single punch sent Ding Muyang toppling over, chair and all, onto the floor.

　　Su Rui pinched the corner of the photograph and watched as the five figures slowly twisted in the flames, then gradually turned to ash, drifting softly through the air.

　　Ding Muyang lay on the ground, watching the photograph disappear, his gaze filled with pain and anguish.

　　Su Rui’s punch had landed square on his chest. His chest ached terribly — but his heart ached even more.

　　That punch meant Su Rui had completely and irrevocably severed ties with him.

　　Su Rui didn’t stand up. Instead, he blew hard several times — the two rows of cigarette butts on the desk were sent scattering to the floor, ash flying everywhere, like youth that had long since passed.

　　”Whatever else I might say, the fact that you came after I called means I haven’t completely given up on you.” Su Rui said.

　　Ding Muyang picked himself up, righted the chair, and sat back down across from Su Rui.

　　He gave a bitter smile. “I didn’t expect things to turn out this way. Since you called me, it means you’ve already figured out what I did.”

　　He paused, then continued, “So even if I kept up the act, there’d be no point. Even if I hadn’t come now, you would have found me all the same.”

　　Su Rui listened, and a self-deprecating smile crossed the corner of his lips. “To think you would frame me like this — did you really believe I was finished because of this? How laughable. How could I have ever called someone like you a comrade?”

　　Ding Muyang said nothing. Perhaps the pain inside him ran even deeper than Su Rui’s.

　　”How did you come to suspect me?” Ding Muyang shifted the subject. At this point, there was no use in arguing.

　　”Tiesheng’s child was hit by a dump truck last year. The child survived, but lost both legs. Jiang Hua told you about it, and you never once went to visit.”

　　Su Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s why I suspected you.”