Pristine Darkness

Chapter 61

I am waiting for him. When he returns, I want to protect him.

In this chapter, we see how Jian Yao has been dealing with Bo Jinyan's disappearance from her life - does what she's doing surprise you? Fang Qing and Jian Yao have clearly been pillars of support for each other, and Luo Lang . . . has become part of friendship circle . . . dun dun dun.

Ding Mo has written a note to address some of the readers' comments on the implausibility of Fu Ziyu and Han Yumeng's actions leading to their deaths in earlier chapters. Do read it (it's at the end of the chapter) and see if you agree with the perspective presented!

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Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks

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Fang Qing looked at Jian Yao, who was completely uncommunicative*. He sat opposite her at her table, lit a cigarette and smoked it slowly.

*T/N 闷葫芦 (men hu lu) - lit. a closed gourd; fig. an enigma, a taciturn person.

Jian Yao glanced at him but did not say anything. She continued looking out of the window blankly.

A short while later, the sweat on Fang Qing's body had dried up and he felt much better. However, the burning sensation in his heart did not dissipate. He stubbed out his cigarette butt, looked steadily at her, then launched into a torrent of rebuke. "What were you thinking during the assignment this afternoon? Do you have a death wish? When did the criminal investigation team give the female criminal psychologist the mission of chasing down criminals?"

Jian Yao was not angry, and looked at him especially calmly. "I seem to have nabbed the suspect in a perfectly intact state, and there were no slip-ups."

"Sure, there were no slip-ups!" Fang Qing laughed grimly. "If there had been slip-ups, would we still be standing here having this conversation? You, girl, you've been learning hand-to-hand combat with me for a year, and now you've decided I'm not worth your notice since you're better than me? So, the criminals no longer have to be dealt with by me, a true-blue criminal investigator, they can all go to you, someone who isn't actually trained for the job*?"

*T/N 半路出家 (ban lu chu jia) - lit. to leave home halfway.

But Jian Yao just smiled faintly, and said, "It must be because you've been in Beijing for quite a long time, your pronunciation is much better now. When we first met you in the ancient city, you couldn't differentiate between 'n' and 'l'."

On seeing that she was not willing to give in, still refusing to address the main issue while only talking about trivial matters, Fang Qing fell silent for a bit. Finally, he still had to say something. "'We'? You and that chap who left without saying goodbye? Do you have this idea that, for every day he doesn't return, that's another day you have to push yourself to the limit? You get up earlier than everyone else, you work later than everyone else. You disregard your body. Take a look at your injuries!" He grabbed her arm in a swift move. Pain shot through Jian Yao and she hissed softly. Her sleeve fell back and exposed two freshly-made, bloody, welts -- these had occurred when she fell while apprehending the suspect earlier. It was not only those; her entire arm featured overlapping bruises, both old and new. These were all due to her practising hand-to-hand combat with the other criminal investigators.

The expression on Jian Yao's face was cold as she pulled her arm back and rolled the sleeve down.

Fang Qing was conscious that he had said too much, but his heart was still unsettled. So, he tried again, saying, "Don't do this to yourself again. People who are trapped by their emotions are foolish c*nts, do you hear?"