Jiang Qinghan was sitting in a bookstore-styled café. The entire café was well maintained and filled with bookshelves and all sorts of books. Although many of the bookshelves' oil paintings have started to fall and most of the books were beginning to turn yellow, it was well-maintained. Some of the severely damaged books were repaired, and anyone could tell that the owner of this café was a book lover.
The tables all had a pot of devil's ivy. Even despite the lack of any fragrance, there was a refreshing scent that permeated in the air.
Sitting before Jiang Qinghan was a handsome man that looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had a pair of thick brows and gave off a masculine aura.
"Qinghan, do you still remember? We often gathered here in the past." The man spoke before he sighed, "It's a pity that Yan Sun has already passed away for so many years."
Jiang Qinghan's eyes flickered with tears, it's rare for her to show such a weak side of her. But before this man, she was like any other ordinary woman. She cried because this man was a close friend of her and her husband, Yan Sun.
"Sorry about that, Haonan. I lost my composure earlier." Jiang Qinghan wiped the tears off the corner of her eyes with her finger and continued, "Yan Sun has already left the world for so many years, and I'm already over it. It's rare for us to meet, so let's not mention him."
Nodding his head, Shu Haonan smiled. "I'm relieved to see that you're so optimistic."
"I've still not reached being completely optimistic yet, so let's not mention him." Jiang Qinghan sighed.
"It has been so many years, but you've still not let go of Yan Sun!" Shu Haonan wryly smiled. "Actually, you deserve to live better. Although he has already passed on, you shouldn't have your life affected because of him."
Firmly shaking her head, Jiang Qinghan replied, "I still have the same thoughts as before. I believe that Yan Sun is still alive."
"You're really silly!" Shu Haonan bitterly smiled. "We've found his body. Even if the corpse was heavily damaged due to the explosion and we couldn't verify with his appearance, we found his wedding ring, which was engraved with your name."
Shaking her head like a silly woman, Jiang Qinghan responded, "I have a feeling that if you guys did not stop me back then, I would definitely insist on a DNA verification."
"The corpse was already so damaged, so how were we going to conduct a DNA verification?" Shu Haonan shook his head.
A long silence later, Jiang Qinghan finally asked, "Did everyone think that I was insane?"
"As the most outstanding female officer in the country, who would doubt your mental state? We would only be touched by your love for Yan Sun, and how many in the world can achieve such love?" A smile appeared on Shu Haonan's lips.
Raising her cup, Jiang Qinghan seemingly dazed and replied, "Actually, it cannot be considered as love, but there was something fishy about the matter back then. The team led by Yan Sun was well-experienced, and all of them couldn't possibly perish without any news, even if they encountered a formidable opponent."
As Shu Haonan's face turned a little serious, he solemnly said, "I have always been following up on this case, but I only managed to find out that it's related to the Cambell Pharmaceutical Company's underground research facilities and nothing more. I suspect that there's a major power trying to hide it, which speaks for the danger in it. So don't investigate anymore and leave it to me."
"This is my matter, to begin with, so how can I trouble you? You're currently developing pretty well, you must be a deputy ministerial official in the Public Security Bureau now, right? It's best to leave this matter to me since it might affect you." Jiang Qinghan smiled.
Looking at Jiang Qinghan solemnly, Shu Haonan suddenly said, "Qinghan, you should be able to sense my heart!"
Waving her hand, Jiang Qinghan changed the topic, "Oh, right. How are your wedding preparations with Gu Yang coming along? I really pity Gu Yang for waiting so many years for you."
Shu Haonan naturally knew that Jiang Qinghan was trying to remind him with his wedding. A bitter smile rose on his lips. "You should know why I have been rejecting Gu Yang, and that's because I already have someone in my heart, and I have been waiting for her!"
Knocking her finger on the table, Jiang Qinghan reminded, "Haonan, Gu Yang is a good woman, and you will surely regret it if you miss her. As for that woman in your heart, she's nothing but an illusion, and she might not be as good as you think. If she truly got together with you, you might even feel tedious."
However, Shu Haonan gravely shook his head and gave a self-mocking smile. "You don't understand the stubbornness in a man's heart. When you fall for a woman, you will even jump into a pit of fire. Oh, right. I heard that that pursuer of yours went insane?"
Jiang Qinghan knew that Shu Haonan was naturally talking about Xu Rui. Truth be told, the reason why she had been maintaining a relationship with Xu Rui was also to make Shu Haonan give up.
"He suffered a series of blows, and even tried to commit suicide with explosives. Although he failed, his mentality became a little abnormal." Jiang Qinghan wryly smiled.
As a peculiar light flickered in his eyes, he tried to speak the truth in his heart.
"Qinghan, how about…"
But all of a sudden, Jiang Qinghan's phone rang, so she immediately picked it up and walked a distance out. Su Tao really called at a good time.
Seeing that, Shu Haonan sighed in pity. But he knew that even without that call, Jiang Qinghan wouldn't allow him to say those words.
His best friend, Yan Sun, was already gone for so many years. Whether it's out of his friendship with Yan Sun or the admiration for her, he had been silently protecting her.
Even despite the achievements in his career, he still wasn't married because he was hoping that Jiang Qinghan would change her mind one day.
As for Gu Yang, who has been pursuing him and even looked pretty good in terms of appearance, he couldn't accept anyone else in his heart.
The reason why he chose to marry Gu Yang was because of the pressure by both his parents and superior. But if Jiang Qinghan was willing to accept him, he's willing to forsake everything to be with her.
Jiang Qinghan's charm wasn't in her appearance alone. She's unique and had a perseverance that wouldn't lose out to any man. It was only after Yan Sun passed on that Shu Haonan realised that she had always been occupying his heart.
He felt that the reason why Jiang Qinghan rejected him must be out of her guilt since there's no way she could get together with the best friend of her deceased husband.
But then again, it was also because they were best friends, he would definitely treat Yan Sha better, and even shoulder the responsibility in Yan Sun's position.
"Master, where are you? Are you already in Beijing? You want me to go look for you?" Su Tao smiled.
"I called you because I wanted to tell you that I'm already in Beijing, and someone already picked me up. So there's no need for you to be worried." Jiang Qinghan's mood was instantly alleviated after hearing Su Tao's voice. After all, she had already considered Su Tao to be family with what they have experienced together.
"Why didn't you look for me since you're in Beijing?!" Su Tao sounded a little disappointed before he asked, "Where are you right now? I'll come over."
As Jiang Qinghan pondered, she felt that it's a good idea for Su Tao to be around. After all, the atmosphere wouldn't be as awkward with someone else around.
She had only treated Shu Haonan as a good friend of her husband. Not only was she unable to cross her ethical principles, but she also did not have any feelings for Shu Haonan.
Not to mention that he would soon marry Gu Yang, so she had to make him give up on her.
"I'll send you the address." Jiang Qinghan also wanted to meet Su Tao.
When she returned to her seat, she smiled. "My disciple is also in Beijing, and I got him to come as well. You won't mind, right?"
"Disciple?" Shu Haonan was baffled. "A colleague from Hanzhou City?"
"Speaking of our relationship, this is really interesting. He's actually a disciple that my father-in-law accepted on my behalf." Jiang Qinghan said with interest as she shared the entire story with Shu Haonan.
As he listened to the story, he smiled. "It is pretty interesting and unimaginable that a female officer would take a physician as her disciple."
Shaking her head, Jiang Qinghan replied, "He has meticulous thoughts, and if he's not a physician, he could be a pretty good officer as well."
After that, she shared with Shu Haonan about the murder in the park a few days ago and exclaimed, "I only gave him a call and told him some details along with the video of the deceased. But he soon managed to analyse the key points, allowing us to swiftly arrest the suspect. The suspect was an assistant lecturer in a university's psychological department, and he had a failed romance with the deceased. After he found out that the deceased abandoned him, he blinded the victim's eyes and created a façade that her artery was cut, putting her in a terrified state for a long time before she finally died from heart exhaustion."
"That young man is truly extraordinary!" Shu Haonan praised.
"Why don't we call Gu Yang over as well?" Jiang Qinghan took out her phone and continued, "The two of us have been maintaining our contact, and she even sought my opinion for the hotel that the two of you are going to hold your wedding."
After a brief stun, Shu Haonan immediately smiled to conceal the awkwardness. "She's really too much. How can she trouble you with these things? I'll reprimand her later!"
Shaking her head, Jiang Qinghan smiled. "She is about to get married, and it will be the greatest moment of her life. Can't you just let her bask in happiness?"
At this moment, Shu Haonan sighed. So it turned out that the reason Jiang Qinghan was distancing herself from him on purpose was because of Gu Yang.
But it was also understandable since Gu Yang knew Jiang Qinghan's position in Shu Haonan's heart. It's entirely reasonable that a woman would resort to some means to protect her love.