My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Three days later, there was still no news of Jiang Jinyan's whereabouts.

The missing person report was broadcasted throughout the entire country. If anybody had seen him or could give any crucial information to the police, they would be rewarded immensely by CEO Jiang Huocheng of Jiang Corporation.

And along with the missing person report, a photo of the main suspect was also being spread far and wide. Everyone couldn't believe that such a sophisticated, elegant man could be the culprit.

Nowadays, the news about Jiang Jinyan and Si Zhening could be seen everywhere. Their faces were recognized nationwide, even rivaling top actors in the entertainment industry. The discussion even got into the first trending topic in Weib8 with all kinds of rich people's conspiracies popping up here and there. 

Along with it, Jiang Jinyan's history as an athlete was dug out once again. But instead of any black materials, they were full of praises and compliments of how talented CEO Jiang's son was and how unfortunate it was for him to have gotten himself into a car accident. Now, they prayed that he would be found soon. 

Once Jiang Jinyan's true identity as a Young Master was exposed, the wind started to change its direction. Even the old matter of how Qing Si talked bad about him in Sangzhe University's seminar was gossiped about, earning the former a worse reputation. 

The missing case of CEO Jiang's son not only attracted the sport enthusiasts and melon seed eating followers but also the economic section. In the end, it even got into the national news channel.

Outside, the atmosphere was filled with the jolly of upcoming Christmas while the police station was akin to a house burned in the pit of fire when the higher ups gave the ultimatum that they had to prioritize the case and catch the culprit as soon as possible.

Shi Nian welcomed a snowy Saturday and brushed her teeth absentmindedly. The calendar atop of the table circled around today's date, 22nd December. Just three more days until Christmas…

Today was supposed to be their date. She had even discussed it with Jiang Jinyan excitedly. First, they would meet up after Shi Nian's school ended. Then they would get ice cream from the ice cream van that usually settled near the school on weekends. The most important thing to do was to look around for gifts; she would give one to Jiang Huocheng while he would do the same to Qiang Fei. 

Just a few days ago, they were still so happy and blissful while talking about that…

Tears blurred Shi Nian's vision and she hastily bent down to spit out the toothpaste and splash her face with bitingly icy water. The face that was reflected on the mirror was anything but beautiful. Haggard look, deep eyebags, swollen eyes, pale skin…

Nausea crept up her stomach and she grabbed onto the sink and retched a few times. Yet all that came out was only sour, stomach acid. 

Shi Nian's throat constricted painfully and her temples throbbed in pain. Red veins spread around her sclera. Her appearance was akin to a patient who suffered from terminal illness. How horrendous… 

For the past three days, she could only sleep for less than six hours in total. In her dreams, the image of Jiang Jinyan laying in a pool of blood would show up everytime without fail. 

In the end, she got too scared to even close her eyes. The days felt painfully long and the yearning became more vivid during the night when nothing accompanied her besides the memory of his smiles and warmth. 

When she awoke due to the nightmares, the fact that he was missing would slap her harshly on the face. She missed him so much…too much that she was willing to sacrifice anything so that she could see him when she opened her eyes the next time. Curling into the blanket, she cried herself to sleep.

"Jinyan…" Teardrops fell onto the sink one after another. Mumbling, she sniffled quietly. "Where are you? Come back soon, okay? If you take any longer, I…" 

—She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to bear it anymore.

Slapping her cheeks twice to add more colors to it, Shi Nian recomposed herself and proceeded to put on her school uniform robotically.

Even when she tried hard not to let it show on her face, Qiang Fei's eyes were full of concern when she saw her. "Niannian…" The woman had taken a few days off since Jiang Jinyan disappeared so she was currently wearing a comfy sweater at home. Two bowls of piping hot meat congee were served on the table. "Come here and eat first."

Shi Nian glanced at the warm porridge and slowly shook her head. "I don't feel hungry, Mama."

Qiang Fei revealed a helpless look. "How can you not feel hungry?" She pressed Shi Nian down to the chair. "Eat a few spoonfuls, okay? Just to pad your stomach."

Shi Nian couldn't win against Qiang Fei's stubbornness and resigned herself to fate, stuffing spoonful after spoonful of porridge into her mouth blankly. She could taste nothing but still plastered on a smile. "Hmm, it's delicious."

Qiang Fei's heart ached so much for her. "If you're not well, how about taking a day off from school? It's Sunday tomorrow anyway…"

Shi Nian shook her head. "It's okay. There's an important review today." If she spent her time at home moping around, it backfired instead as she would feel all the more miserable. It's better to bury herself into doing practice papers.

Letting out a sigh, Qiang Fei didn't insist anymore. "Mama will be home all day. What do you want to eat for dinner? Mama will cook everything Niannian wants."

"Hmm…" Shi Nian pretended to think deeply. "I can't think of anything. Everything Mama cooks is delicious."

"Oh, you." Qiang Fei chuckled briefly. Looking at her daughter's pale complexion, she reached out and patted her head, distressed. "It's okay. Don't worry too much. He will be okay."

The touch on her head was warm and soothing. She hung her head lower so that Qiang Fei wouldn't be able to see her reddened eyes. "When I disappeared last year, did Mama also feel this way?" She murmured quietly.

She was already on the brink of collapsing after Jiang Jinyan disappeared for less than a week. 

On the other hand, she…she was missing for three months. How devastated was Qiang Fei back then?

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"No, nothing." Sniffling, she finished the porridge and gave her mother a smile. "The porridge is very delicious. Thank you, Mama." Afterward, she grabbed her backpack and made her way to the door. "I will leave first!"

"Okay, be careful on the road! Mama will prepare lots of delicious food for you, okay?"

"Okay!" 

That's right, she couldn't keep being like this. Cheer up, Shi Nian! You have to be strong! No matter what, she was Jiang Jinyan's girlfriend. He would be disappointed if he returned one day and found her all weak and feeble like this.

Shi Nian clenched her fists and reassured herself.

Everything would be okay. 

Jiang Jinyan would be fine. He was General Jiang after all!

***

In the police station.

A parcel was sent to their doorstep early in the morning. The recipient of it was the Special Crime Investigation Squad. It was delivered by a legal shipping company and the sender address was left blank. Moreover, the delivery man insisted that he could only give the parcel to SCI Squad's member. No matter how one looked at it, it was very, very suspicious.

Everyone crowded around it, eyes trained on the parcel warily as if it could explode at any time.

"Have you scanned it?" Jin Renguang asked in a grave tone.

"Yes, there's no dangerous substances, explosive materials or bombs. It's safe for us to open it." Ke Shao answered. "In fact, it's too light to even contain anything. What could this be…"

The more harmless it looked like, the more doubtful they became. Who would send something to their squad amidst this perilous situation? Was this a fucking Christmas gift?!

"Does this possibly have something to do with Jiang Jinyan's disappearance?" Someone asked.

"Whatever it is," Xu Binchen grabbed the parcel under multiple gasps and shocked exclamations then used a cutter to open it. "We have to open it to know."

Wang Chengbing even distanced himself and closed his eyes in case there was blood or animal carcass in it. Unexpectedly, the ruckus instantly subsided after Xu Binchen ripped open the parcel. 

"What is it?" He asked with his eyes still shut firmly. "For God's sake, why are you all so quiet?!"

He cracked open his eyes and saw a small round thing in Xu Binchen's hand. 

"It's a…CD?"

Xu Binchen inserted it into the nearest computer. Everyone scrambled around it, a nervous and somber look on their faces. 

There was nothing inside except for a short, one minute video. Xu Binchen clicked to play it.

At first, the background was totally black for a few seconds.

"What the hell is this?" Tang Wei pushed up his glasses and frowned. Looking closer, he gasped in shock. "Ah! That—Is that a…butterfly?!"

The dark screen slowly brightened, overlooking an ordinary brick wall. However, on that wall, a huge butterfly was drawn in red. The thick crimson liquid trickled down, making the innocent image look bizarre and hideous. 

"Is it blood…?" Wang Chengbing's breath stuttered.

The video brightened even more and they could finally see a cramped space with walls made of bricks. And sitting on the ground was the figure they had been looking for since days ago. 

With his head hung low and messy hair dampened with blood covering his face, Jiang Jinyan sat there with multiple cuts on his body that were both garish and terrifying. His hands laid limply by his sides.

"Fuck, is that Jiang Jinyan?!"

"It's him…"

They broke out in cusses. Jin Renguang snatched the screen closer and scrutinized it deeper. Barely sighing in relief, he murmured. "He's still alive…"

"Who sent this video?! Is it that bastard Si Zhening?! 

"How dare he?! This insolent son of a bitch!"

"This is a blatant provocation! What should we do now?!"

If not for Jiang Jinyan's faintly undulating chest, they would also think that it was already too late. However, with this kind of severe wounds, how much longer would he hold on?

A rustle sounded, followed by Si Zhening's emotionless voice. "If you don't want him to die, come and save him." A timer appeared on the corner, counting down 23 hours 59 minutes and 56 seconds. "You have one day left. If you fail…I will kill him."

"I will be waiting for you here."

Then the screen turned black.

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A/N: 

[4/5]