[02/25, 11:13, Pingju Plaza, Nanyi City]
Back in his world, Lin Heyu checked the clock again. It was a little past 11:00, and sure enough, he had returned to two hours earlier.
At this time, he was in Pingju Plaza with Yi Shi, studying that large clock face. Lin Heyu stroked his chin and had his first thought: If he had traveled back as an individual, would he run into his current self?
To verify this, Lin Heyu quickly walked toward Pingju Plaza, carefully observing the pedestrians along the familiar path. The result was disappointing. As he walked through, he didn’t see the familiar figures. The mischievous children were still climbing on the large diamond, and the little girl who had spoken to Yi Shi was hiding behind the clock face, peeking out with her head.
“Big brother, what are you looking at?”
Lin Heyu didn’t answer but instead asked, “Did you see a brother wearing a mask? Dressed in black?”
The little girl shook her head, then turned back to look at the clock dial, her eyes curving into a smile. “Are you looking at the numbers? That’s a ‘6’!”
The familiar conversation happened again, but with a different main character. Previously, it was Yi Shi, and now it was him.
Lin Heyu turned and left Pingju Square, his mind sorting through the rules of the two worlds. Based on the current situation, even if time reversed, there wouldn’t be a second individual; it seemed he himself had returned to a mirrored time point. And the established facts, even if the main character changed, would still complete smoothly, proceeding according to the normal flow of time.
If this wasn’t a coincidence but a fixed rule, it could only mean that the order of time is self-regulating. Established facts must happen, and no matter what form it takes, its existence and rationality will be filled in.
By the time he returned to the bureau, it was lunchtime. Sheng Guoning had just escaped from the leader’s office and waved at Lin Heyu, “Captain Lin! You’re back, has your colleague left?”
“Colleague?” Did he mean Yi Shi or Qi Wenyu?
Yuan Maoqiu crossed his arms and said, “Still pretending? How many ‘colleagues’ have you brought?”
Sheng Guoning covered half his face with both hands, “The one wearing the mask.”
Lin Heyu nodded, “Yes, he’s gone.”
Yan Runping picked up his phone and keys, “Why didn’t you ask him to stay for a meal? It’s lunchtime…”
Shen Ruirui chimed in, “Right, that guy looked pretty thin. Maybe he was starving.”
Lin Heyu and Yi Shi had left the bureau before 11 a.m. They still retained their memories of Yi Shi, which meant that after he returned, all traces of Yi Shi being there were erased.
That pedestrian street must have surveillance cameras, right? When there’s time, he could check the footage. If Yi Shi wasn’t captured after 11 a.m., it would prove his hypothesis correct.
“Let’s go, let’s go, time for lunch.” Sheng Guoning hooked his arm around Lin Heyu’s neck. “Big brother-in-law, what do you want to eat? It’s on me!”
“Then kindly move away.” Lin Heyu pushed his hand aside and walked towards the meeting room where Zou Bin and the others were stationed. Suddenly, he stopped, “Eat quickly and come back; we have an important clue.”
“Alright!” Sheng Guoning grabbed Yuan Maoqiu, “Master! I need your help with some questions!”
Zou Bin’s effective post had been up for two hours before they checked it again, and sure enough, it was fruitful. Several people huddled around their phones and computers, starting to filter through the useful information.
“Brothers! Come quickly!”
Jian Ru called out, and Zou Bin and Wen Huabei gathered around. The latest reply was a business card with the words “Caiyun Wedding” on it, and the logo was a complete three-petal orchid, identical in shape and size to the fragment they had.
The person who replied was full of righteous indignation: [Bro, get a new one. If it’s already used by a wedding company, how can you move forward? Your girl might be busy with wedding plans these days, and it would be super awkward if she informed you on the wedding day that the bride’s all dressed up, but the groom isn’t you, right? [Sweat][Sweat]]
“A wedding company?!” Zou Bin smacked his forehead. “I didn’t see any ‘Caiyun Wedding’ in the register!”
“Maybe it’s not in Nanyi?”
“It should be. They said it’s a small business, so this ‘Caiyun Wedding’ must be a shell company,” Wen Huabei said.
Jian Ru opened the internal website, fingers flying across the keyboard, then opened the map search and looked up, “There are three businesses with that name, but none are wedding companies. We should check them all out.”
“Right, once we’ve visited them all, we’ll know.” Zou Bin stood up with his phone, “I’ll report to Captain Lin, and if he approves, we’ll move.”
As he opened the door, Lin Heyu was already standing there, about to knock.
“Captain Lin!” Zou Bin was overjoyed, “You came at the perfect time. I was just about to find you. Look, we have a lead on that logo! It’s a wedding company!”
Lin Heyu nodded, stepped inside, and closed the door, “Good job. Do you know what to do next?”
Wen Huabei raised his hand eagerly, “We’ll head out immediately! We’ll check all three locations that fit the criteria!”
“Enthusiasm is good.” Lin Heyu patted Wen Huabei’s shoulder and glanced at Zou Bin and Jian Ru, “First, go eat. After lunch, we’ll have a meeting.”
———
[12/04, 13:42, Pingju Square, Nanyi City]
Qi Wenyu had gone on a business trip, so today it was Yu Xue driving over alone to pick up Yi Shi and take him to the detention center. After Yi Shi got in the car, Yu Xue looked him up and down and chuckled, “It seems like you two are making fast progress. Not bad, not bad.”
“…?” Yi Shi looked down at his clothes and immediately realized what he meant, “It’s not that I intentionally didn’t go home. The situation was special, and I couldn’t go back.”
“You went to his place?” Yu Xue’s eyes flashed with curiosity and excitement. “What was it like over there? Is it very different from here? After all, it’s twenty years ago; the changes must be huge, right?”
Yi Shi didn’t know how to answer this because after a deeper understanding of the mirrored world, it was unclear who was really twenty years ago. If the reference point was people, then based on Sheng Guoning, Yu Xue, and Qi Wenyu, Lin Heyu’s world could be seen as twenty years ago. But if the reference point was buildings, then the Pingju Square, Nanyi City Bureau, and the nearby Qitian Hotel he saw were noticeably older, so clearly, his world was twenty years ago.
Why wasn’t there consistency between people and things? It was really puzzling. Yi Shi stared into space, unable to find an answer for now.
Yu Xue waited a minute and still didn’t hear a response. Seeing Yi Shi’s dazed expression, he teased, “Hey, you weren’t just staying in the room with him the whole time and didn’t even go out, were you?”
Upon hearing this, Yi Shi’s ears turned red, and he lowered his head even further, “We… did go out…”
“Oh? Really didn’t go out at all?”
Yi Shi hurriedly clarified, “We did go out, but I didn’t pay attention to the surroundings; it was too dark—”
A burst of hearty laughter interrupted Yi Shi’s explanation. He stopped talking, finally realizing he had been tricked again, and looked at Yu Xue with nothing more to say. Yu Xue, gripping the steering wheel, laughed so hard his glasses nearly fell off and had to push them up with his finger. “You can’t blame me. Look at you—wearing the same clothes and staying out all night—who wouldn’t think something was up? Have you ever heard that joke about how if you see a girl still holding a rose on the street the day after Valentine’s Day, it means she didn’t go home the night before?”
“…”
Yu Xue stopped laughing and glanced at the bag in Yi Shi’s hand. “Why are you carrying desserts? Did you bring those from over there?”
“Yeah.” Yi Shi didn’t reveal that they were meant for Lin Zhizhi, as he didn’t want a third person to know about the complicated relationship between him and Lin Heyu for now. He looked around and realized he hadn’t brought the empty kraft paper file bag with him.
The engine started, and Yi Shi turned to look at the passing scenery. It wasn’t anything important, so he decided not to waste time going back to get it.
Yu Xue was driving with one hand and setting up the navigation with the other. After Yi Shi fastened his seatbelt, he asked, “Will Zhao Chenghu confess?”
“He should. With his suspicious nature, the seed we planted yesterday has already grown into a towering tree.” Yu Xue’s smile broadened. “By now, he should be the one eager to be interrogated.”
The bright sunlight overhead was blocked by clouds, but his smile grew even brighter.
As soon as the two walked into the detention center, an officer reported, “Captain Yu, you finally arrived. Zhao Chenghu has been clamoring to see you for over an hour. I was just about to call you.”
Yu Xue and Yi Shi exchanged a glance. See? They had guessed right. Zhao Chenghu wasn’t stupid, just overly loyal, blinded by the so-called “loyalty and righteousness.”
“Since he’s so eager, let’s see him.” Yu Xue responded casually.
The officer quickly went to handle the paperwork and brought Zhao Chenghu to the interrogation room after getting the warden’s approval. Soon after, they were led to the room. Yu Xue smiled at the officer leading the way, “Thanks, buddy. We know our way around here.”
The officer understood Yu Xue’s glance and nodded before leaving. In the now-empty hallway, Yu Xue said softly, “Today, let’s not push too hard. Let’s see how much Zhao Chenghu is willing to say on his own. If he doesn’t give us anything critical, we can find a way to dig deeper.”
“No need.” Yi Shi’s lips formed a thin line. “Whether he talks or not, and how much he says, doesn’t really affect us.”
Yu Xue pushed his glasses up, “Do you already know something? How much?”
“Everything.”
“…” Yu Xue patted Yi Shi on the shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of approval, “I knew I wasn’t wrong about you.”
As they walked into the interrogation room, their attitudes toward Zhao Chenghu had completely changed. Previously, they needed something from him, but now the roles had reversed, and their mindset was entirely different. Yu Xue set down the teacup he carried, hung his hat on the corner of the chair’s back, and pulled out a packet of Tieguanyin tea from his pocket. Yi Shi, who had become adept at making tea for Yu Xue, automatically took the tea leaves to brew it, his proficiency almost pitiful.
Zhao Chenghu had clearly had a rough night. His triangular eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles shadowed his eyes. He glared at Yu Xue, his hands clenched into fists, and hissed through gritted teeth, “Tell me the truth—do you really have evidence that Pang Daozi sold me out?”
“Heh, do you think we do or don’t?” Yu Xue pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his legs. “I can only tell you that you’re definitely not getting a share of the ransom money. Even the Tu Laogui isn’t, and he was just a pawn. Otherwise, how do you think we caught that Lin Erde?”
In an instant, Zhao Chenghu’s face turned deathly pale. “No, no… How could Pang Daozi—he, how could he betray me? He’s a loner used to walking barefoot, but I… I have a son! My son is already so grown…”
Just then, Yi Shi walked in carrying a steaming cup of tea. The aroma of tea quickly filled the small interrogation room, breaking the tense atmosphere. Yu Xue didn’t immediately take the cup but asked, “Did you pour out the first brew?”
“That damn Pang Daozi! How could he do this to his own brother!”
Yi Shi looked at the clear tea and shook his head. “Should I have poured it out?”
“Yes, pour it out. The first brew is for ‘washing the tea.’ You haven’t been pouring it out before, have you?”
Yi Shi quietly retorted, “You never told me.”
Zhao Chenghu, his hands cuffed, couldn’t hold his head in his hands to cry, so he resorted to banging his head against the table, the loud thuds echoing in the room. Neither Yi Shi nor Yu Xue spared him a glance. Yi Shi left to pour out the tea and get fresh water, while Yu Xue leisurely flipped through earlier notes. If you ignored the grim setting, the suspect’s wails of regret, and the dull thuds of his head hitting the table, Yu Xue looked like he should have been lounging on a California beach.
“Alright, alright, don’t go too far. If you hurt yourself, you’ll be the one suffering. We’re so busy with this case we can’t even spare people to take you to the hospital.”
Yu Xue’s reminder was calm and unhurried. Zhao Chenghu stopped his self-harm and stared at the composed man. His forehead burned with pain, though it hadn’t broken. After the rage subsided, sadness took over. With a hoarse voice, he asked, “If I cooperate with you, can I get a death sentence with reprieve?”
Got him.
“That depends on how you cooperate and how much.” Yu Xue finally adopted a more formal interrogation posture, uncrossing his legs and sitting up straight. He picked up a pen, “Alright, let’s begin. If you don’t make me work overtime, I’ll make sure you get a good night’s sleep.”
—
Yi Shi returned with a cup of tea, opening the door to the interrogation room, only to hear Zhao Chenghu eagerly confessing.
“…We scouted several locations in Haijing, mostly private kindergartens and elementary schools. Pang Daozi and I couldn’t go down the mountain, so the Bald Old Man’s men did it. The whole plan was the old guy’s idea. He’s wanted to pull something like this for a long time but just hadn’t found the right people.”
“Which places have been checked out? List them all,” Yu Xue asked.
“Aimeite, Hongcai Hong Kong International, and one with something ‘Lu’ in its name—it’s a kindergarten; Chunsheng Primary School, Li Te International School—those are all elementary schools.”
“Did they confirm the specific locations before you came?”
“No, but Pang Daozi said they would choose a kindergarten, so it’s likely one of those three.”
“What about the timing?”
“They said to wait, but I don’t really know when exactly.” Zhao Chenghu’s expression grew a bit anxious. “Officer, Pang Daozi is planning to sell me out; why would he let me know that much? I left in a hurry, and he said we’d discuss it when I got back, but in reality, he never intended to tell me anything!”
Yu Xue found himself at a rare loss for words; he couldn’t just say that this was a ploy to sow discord and that they had no clue what was going on with Pang Daozi, could he? Moreover, judging by Zhao Chenghu’s expression and tone, it seemed like he’d already spilled everything he knew, so there was no point in holding back.
Yi Shi handed a cup of water to Yu Xue and took over the task of recording. They had extracted most of the information about the kidnapping case. Yi Shi twirled a pen between his fingers and asked, “Before you were caught, did you visit the cemetery?”
“Huh?” Zhao Chenghu was taken aback but then nodded. “I did, at the cemetery at the foot of Cheng’an Mountain.”
“What were you doing there?”
Talking about it made Zhao Chenghu furious. “Damn it, that must’ve been another one of their traps. That Tu Laogui —who knows what got into him—said his wife’s death anniversary had passed and asked me to burn some paper offerings for him. I went to the cemetery, and it was pitch dark, then someone grabbed me and made me kneel!”
Yi Shi looked up. “Who? Who made you kneel?”
“How the hell should I know! There weren’t even any lights at the cemetery—I thought I’d run into a ghost!” Zhao Chenghu clenched his fists. “It was a man, and he was strong. He must’ve been one of that Tu Laogui’s men, trying to mess with me. Damn him!”
The ashes in Zhao Chenghu’s hair were indeed from burned joss paper. But why did that Tu Laogui suddenly think of burning paper for his wife? People like them, with their antisocial personalities, wouldn’t normally feel guilt. There must have been some purpose behind making Zhao Chenghu kneel, and the paper ball could very well have been placed there by that person.
After repeated questioning, they finally sorted out Zhao Chenghu’s testimony. Yu Xue took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. “Alright, that’s enough for today.”
“Officer! Wait!” Zhao Chenghu swallowed and asked, “Be honest with me—do I have any chance of surviving this? I’ve told you everything I know!”
Yu Xue stood up and put his glasses back on. “Now you’re scared?”
Zhao Chenghu’s face turned ashen as he muttered, “I know a lot of people have died, and I deserve to be executed. But, but I just… I just want to see my son one more time… I’ve only seen him once since he was born, I… I…”
This hulking man began to choke up, his once-arrogant demeanor from the initial interrogation completely gone. There was no trace of pity in Yu Xue’s eyes. To him, this man deserved what he got. How could he show pity when so many innocent citizens had died?
As for how the judge would sentence him, whether his remorse and confession would result in leniency, that wasn’t Yu Xue’s concern or within his control.
“Officer, please, contact my wife, let me see my son one last time! Please, I beg you…!”
Yu Xue gave a faint smile and nodded toward Yi Shi, signaling him to call someone to take Zhao Chenghu back.
Zhao Chenghu was once again escorted out, his steps heavy and unsteady, his figure seeming to age by decades in an instant. Yu Xue stood at the door of the interrogation room, watching his figure disappear around the corner before finally speaking. “I have no intention of helping him find his son.”
“Yeah, I know.” Yi Shi was sorting through the key points of the testimony. “There’s no need to do that.”
Yu Xue glanced at him. “Do you think I’m being unkind?”
“Why ask that?” Yi Shi didn’t even look up. “He wants to see his son, but what he did means that many people will never see their children again. I’m not that compassionate—he’ll burn, but no relics will emerge.”
Yu Xue was taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The sound of his laughter gradually filled the room, drawing Yi Shi’s attention. He looked up, confused. “What’s so funny?”
“Lin Heyu is really something.”
“Huh?” Yi Shi was even more puzzled. Why bring him up out of nowhere?
Yu Xue reached out and pinched Yi Shi’s cheek. “You should spend more time with him. He’s made you a lot livelier than you used to be.”
And those words he said when he was young and confused—they made Yu Xue determined to keep Yi Shi on the team. It turns out he really needs Yi Shi, a partner and companion like this.
Only kindred spirits can resonate with each other.
