Red Light

Day 6 Part 3

Godzilla wanders through and orders a macchiato.

(While the above has nothing to do with the story, I am, for some inadequately explored reason, loathe to remove it so it becomes random food for thought. Please do with it as you will. 😁)
-----

Yiling had slept late but instead of feeling refreshed, he felt restless. Out of sorts. He had dreamed of the detective again. He had been walking with Lan Wangji. Oak leaves and maple in their rich gold and reds were drifting downward. They had laid on the leaves talking until Yiling realized Lan Wangji was gone. Startled, he had sat up looking around but the detective wasn't anywhere to be seen. The imprint of his body was on the leaves. That was all. He called but his voice echoed into nothingness. No answer. He felt deserted. Abandoned. Alone. Even in all the beauty of this place, his heart had felt smaller. Colder. Emptier.

He had woken curled into a tight ball. His chest aching and tight.

Standing in the shower, he tried to wash away the empty. The cold. Tonight, he would play his dizi. His soul needed it.
~~~~~

Lan Wangji's favorite poem was written by a Tamil poet named Manu**. She had a wisdom that was as applicable now as when she had written it in antiquity. The poem, Integrity, had spoken to his heart. It came down to one thing: believing in the whisper of dreams.

While he didn't want to believe in the nightmare, he believed it was a message. Maybe from his inner self. He didn't know. It was important to find the flute player. He needed to.  Why didn't really matter. 

Tonight, he would be searching in the area he had previously heard the song. It was at least a possibility that he would see him or her.

He stripped down and got in the shower.

Sluicing the sweat off his body, he enjoyed the warmth and tried to believe in the whisper of dreams.
~~~~~

Jin Guangshin was on his way to the board meeting. He was pissed to his core. His bastard son had resigned out of the blue after having access to the most secret of the family's finances. And his second son was being blackmailed for a sadistic murder he had enjoyed committing. What had he done to the gods that they hated him this much?

He ran a shaky hand over his face. His oldest son barely spoke to him. After Jin Zixuan had run across some of his shady deals, he had silently looked at his father then politely excused himself. He had moved out of the house the next day.

Jin Zixuan had been twenty-two when he began his computer consulting company. He had worked his ass off and made it into an impressive business. Lately, he had begun expanding into security in a variety of arenas and it was quickly becoming lucrative.

He had worked hard for the past eleven years. Despite the time constraints of running Jin Computers, Jin Zixuan had managed to woo then marry for love.  He had found a woman that was both intelligent and determined who adored him.

Jiang Yanli was Madame Yu's oldest child and only daughter. Jin Guangshan couldn't have done better for his son if he had arranged the marriage himself. She was a picture perfect wife. Kind, loving, and absolute iron when it came to protecting those she loved.   She even managed to do it without being impolite. He had watched her once cut Jin Zixun down to quivering shreds after he made a particularly vicious statement about her brothers. She had frowned slightly at him and, in a firm tone, took him to task. Jin Zixun had left in a hurry, mad as hell, but he never mentioned her brothers again either. Jin Zixuan had worn a proud smile for a week.

He had a wonderful son who avoided him when ever possible.

He had a son who was as sick and twisted as they get.