For an instant, Ren Yi thought Gong Yingxian was cursing at him, and he even froze for a moment.
Gong Yingxian said, “The remnants of these things on the floor should all be trash.”
“Oh, right.” Ren Yi kicked them with his foot. Although most of them had been burned beyond recognition, it was still possible to tell that they were indeed trash.
“The dark traces on the floor tiles are indeed free carbon produced by the decomposition of heavy components when a liquid burns. But gasoline—are you sure?” Gong Yingxian wrinkled his nose and sniffed. The fire here had burned too fiercely, and the charred smell in the air made it difficult to determine whether there really was gasoline.
“If the gasoline was only used as a small amount of accelerant, the smell wouldn’t be strong enough. I was still some distance away from here at the time. The center of the fire was too hot for us to get through, so I can’t be certain either.” Ren Yi called out, “Zhang Wen, what equipment did you bring?”
Zhang Wen opened his toolbox. “Captain Ren, I only brought a hydrocarbon detector. It can’t identify the specific type. I’ll have to take a sample back to the laboratory.”
“Here.” Ren Yi broke off a piece of the damaged floor tile and turned it over. Because liquids have penetrative properties, they can seep into the underside of floors and tiles, leaving obvious traces. Volatile liquids, such as alcohol and ether, would not. That was also why they hadn’t discovered the true cause of the fire at Fourth View at the beginning.
Gong Yingxian said, “Zhang Wen, have you photographed the inside of the apartment?”
“Not yet.”
“Take the pictures quickly. We need to go inside and look.”
“Okay, okay.” Zhang Wen picked up his camera again and went to photograph the scene.
Gong Yingxian walked toward the neighboring apartment, and Ren Yi followed.
“2209 is the apartment closest to the elevator entrance on the western side. It’s right next to the elevator shaft, while the ventilation window is at the other end of the hallway. If a fire was deliberately started here, the flames would seek oxygen from two directions, so the spread would be extremely rapid.” Ren Yi shook his head. “The result was disastrous.”
“The two apartments closest to the western stairwell both escaped. The male occupant of 2209 died. Could the arson have specifically targeted 2209…?” Gong Yingxian murmured.
The two of them walked around the surrounding area. Based on the burn patterns, they could determine the path the fire had taken, but for the time being, they hadn’t found anything suspicious.
By then, Zhang Wen had finished photographing the scene, and the two of them entered 2209 together.
The door to 2209 had already been burned away. Judging by the appearance, more than seventy percent of the three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment had been burned, and the damage was horrific.
Gong Yingxian took a deep breath. The hand hidden in his trouser pocket clenched tightly into a fist, then relaxed, repeating the motion several times to regulate his emotions.
Ren Yi asked, “Are you okay?”
Gong Yingxian nodded.
The two of them carefully examined the fire scene.
“This is where the victim died. The male occupant tried to escape through the living room, but the fire was right outside the door. He became trapped and eventually collapsed here after inhaling toxic fumes.”
Ren Yi looked at the outline marking the location where the body had been found. Following the direction the victim had been heading, he looked ahead. It was only about twenty steps from here to the door, but even if he had managed to reach it, there was no way he could have opened it.
Gong Yingxian examined the traces of the victim’s movements before his death. He carefully inspected every window and door in every room. Apart from some signs of attempts at self-rescue, there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious.
He asked, “There are no obvious signs of forced entry or a struggle. What about the autopsy results? Are they out yet?”
Zhang Wen said, “I’ll call and ask.”
Ren Yi’s investigation focused on the direction in which the fire spread and the burn patterns on the electrical wiring. If the fire’s path followed normal patterns, that would at least prove that the indoor fire had not been accelerated artificially.
In addition, electrical fires currently accounted for the largest proportion of fire causes, so this was also something they had to examine. Although they were already ninety percent certain that the fire had started outside the door, they still had to rule out every possibility, just in case.
Zhang Wen returned after making the call. “Captain Ren, Dr. Gong, the victim died from smoke inhalation. There were no external injuries, and there was no alcohol or medication in his body. He had already died before his body was burned.”
“Xiao Zhang, come with me and check all the burn marks on the electrical wiring throughout the apartment.”
“Yes.”
The two of them inspected the wiring, but there were no signs of an electrical fire either.
Ren Yi came out of the bedroom and saw Gong Yingxian still crouching on the floor, apparently examining something.
He said, “At present, all the evidence points to the point of origin and cause of the fire being the trash outside the door being ignited. The fire’s spread pattern is consistent with that.”
Gong Yingxian gave a low “Mm.”
Ren Yi sensed that something was wrong with him. He walked over and crouched beside him.
“Hey, you…”
Gong Yingxian’s face was deathly pale. His breathing was rapid, cold sweat continuously running down his forehead, and his gaze was somewhat vacant.
Ren Yi said helplessly, “Why are you making things so hard for yourself? I’ll help you outside to get some fresh air.”
Gong Yingxian shook his head. “I need to adapt. This is also a form of treatment.”
“How are you supposed to adapt? By forcing yourself like this?”
Gong Yingxian’s symptoms were severe post-traumatic stress disorder. This kind of “treatment” could very likely have the opposite effect.
“Yes. This is…” Gong Yingxian’s voice trembled. “The best method.”
Looking at him, Ren Yi felt a pang in his heart.
“Have you seen a psychologist? Why force yourself like this?”
Gong Yingxian raised his head and looked at Ren Yi.
“If I can’t even overcome this, how am I supposed to be a police officer? How am I supposed to catch arsonists?”
Ren Yi opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
Gong Yingxian worked hard to regulate his breathing, then stood up.
“I’m fine now.”
“How about we stop here for today? Some of the evidence we’ve collected needs to be taken back to the laboratory by Xiao Zhang for analysis, and you also need time to investigate the residents’ social connections. If necessary, we can come back tomorrow.”
Gong Yingxian thought about it, then nodded.
After they went downstairs, Zhang Wen left first. Seeing that some color had returned to Gong Yingxian’s face, Ren Yi asked, “Are you okay? Can you drive?”
“I’m fine.” Gong Yingxian glanced at Ren Yi. “Unless you really want to drive for me.”
Ren Yi snorted. “You’re really addicted to ordering me around, aren’t you? Fine. I really want to drive for you right now. Where do you want to go?”
Gong Yingxian tugged at his sleeve and looked down at his watch.
“My colleague just sent me a message. Cai Wan’s brother has been brought in. He was just taken to the precinct. Do you want to go take a look together?”
“Of course. I’d love nothing more than to interrogate him myself.”
“Let’s go.”
When they reached the car, Ren Yi automatically held out his hand.
“Come on.”
Gong Yingxian opened the trunk first and took out his insulated lunch box. Only then did he toss the keys to Ren Yi.
“What, are you going to treat me to lunch in the car again?”
“I need to eat.”
“You haven’t had lunch yet?”
“I was busy this morning.”
Gong Yingxian opened the left-side door of the second row.
“No.” Ren Yi immediately pushed the door shut. “If you want me to drive you, sit in the passenger seat.”
“Why?”
“Because when we’re talking, I don’t want to look at you through the rearview mirror. It’s not safe.”
Gong Yingxian frowned. “Why would you look at me through the rearview mirror? You only need to move your mouth when you talk. Why are you looking at me?”
“…” Ren Yi rolled his eyes. “Normal human beings make eye contact when they talk. It’s a habit. It’s not something you can control.”
Gong Yingxian thought about it.
“All right. That makes some sense.”
He walked around to the passenger seat.
Ren Yi muttered under his breath, “Sometimes looking at your face reminds me not to hit you.”
“Hit me? What do you mean, hit me?”
“…Nothing.”
Once they were in the car, Gong Yingxian spread a dining cloth over his lap, carefully took out his lunch box, and began eating at an unhurried pace.
Ren Yi glanced sideways at what he was eating. It was enough to completely destroy his appetite.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Gong Yingxian snorted coldly. “Don’t think I don’t know just because you’re criticizing my eating habits in your head.”
“You criticize mine too. So we’re even, aren’t we?”
“Fortunately, we don’t have to eat together.”
Ren Yi spoke in a tone of exasperation, as though he couldn’t stand to see someone waste their potential.
“Do you know how much good food you’re missing? Hot pot, barbecue, steamed buns—everything piping hot. Even if you don’t eat those things, Chinese cuisine is mainly based on hot dishes. Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to try them?”
Gong Yingxian shook his head.
“No. I hate high-temperature things.”
“What temperature counts as high temperature?”
“Anything above human body temperature.”
Ren Yi stared at him in disbelief.
“Then do you hate people too?”
“Unless they want to engage in unnecessary physical contact with me.”
“…Wait. Are you saying you never engage in unnecessary physical contact with humans?”
“Mm.”
“Then what’s necessary and what’s unnecessary?”
“The vast majority is unnecessary. For example, shaking hands.” Gong Yingxian looked at his gloved hand. “But for work, I can only try my best to integrate into social customs.”
Ren Yi swallowed, his heart full of curiosity.
“Then… that… have you ever been in a relationship?”
The moment he finished asking, his heart suddenly began pounding several times.
Gong Yingxian gave Ren Yi a sidelong glance.
“Being in a relationship, you’d have to… you know.”
Gong Yingxian said expressionlessly, “The most intimate physical contact, exchange of bodily fluids, friction between organs. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Ren Yi’s expression became wonderfully complicated, and for a moment he stammered, unable to respond.
“No. Why would I have the most intimate physical contact, exchange bodily fluids, pro—”
“Okay, okay, stop.” Ren Yi was so embarrassed that the corners of his mouth twitched. To ease the atmosphere, his gaze dropped and swept over Gong Yingxian’s lower body. He teased, “Dr. Gong, are you… um?”
Gong Yingxian followed his gaze and glanced down, then glared at him.
“Are you implying that I have a dysfunction of the male reproductive system?”
Ren Yi immediately felt his face tighten.
He really suspected he was asking for it. Why had he brought this upon himself? If embarrassment could kill, he would have been dead already.
He wasn’t a particularly shy person. Normally, he could make dirty jokes without the slightest psychological burden. But with this sort of thing, there had to be some give and take.
He had thrown a ping-pong ball, and Gong Yingxian had thrown a bowling ball back at him.
That was excessive.
“All my physical indicators are perfectly normal,” Gong Yingxian said. “Just because I don’t use it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. If you think not having sex gives you the right to question my sexual function, then I can question yours too.”
He deliberately glanced at Ren Yi’s lower body as well and let out a mocking snort.
Ren Yi’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean by that?”
“What you mean is what I mean.”
“I-I work perfectly well too, okay?”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Your situation has nothing to do with me either!”
“Then why did you ask? Do you have nothing better to do?”
Ren Yi was rendered speechless.
Gong Yingxian revealed a smug little smile and put away his lunch box.
Ren Yi stopped talking. He was afraid that if he kept running his mouth, he’d just give Gong Yingxian another opportunity to destroy him.
After a while, however, Gong Yingxian suddenly said, “You’re very curious.”
“Ah… maybe.”
“Anything about me that you consider different from ordinary people, you like to ask about or question.”
“Do I?”
“You do. You’re curious about me.”
Ren Yi immediately felt guilty.
“Just to be clear, my curiosity about you doesn’t mean anything else. It’s just…”
“But you’ve never asked me why I hate fire, why I hate hospitals, or why I hate high temperatures.”
Gong Yingxian slightly turned his head. His eyes were deep and bright, as though they could see through everything.
Ren Yi fell silent.
“You already know, don’t you?” Gong Yingxian said calmly. “You heard it from someone else?”
“I-I didn’t ask around. I didn’t ask around that much…”
“It doesn’t matter. I never deliberately hid it. You asked me before why I became a police officer. It was indeed my childhood experiences that made me decide to become a police officer.”
Gong Yingxian continued, “However, I don’t like discussing it with anyone. You’re very curious, but you never brought it up. That’s good.”
Ren Yi sighed inwardly.
“Everyone has stories they don’t want to talk about. Between friends, you still need to know where to draw the line.”
Gong Yingxian was slightly stunned. He said cautiously, “We’re friends?”
Ren Yi was also taken aback.
“Uh, I guess so. We see each other every few days.”
His tone became increasingly uncertain toward the end.
Gong Yingxian stared straight ahead and fell silent.
Ren Yi felt extremely nervous. It had been a long time since he’d experienced this kind of shyness, like a teenager in his early teens.
He took a deep breath.
“You don’t want to be friends with me? Your butler and your younger sister both seem pretty supportive of it.”
Gong Yingxian shrugged and turned to look out the window, deliberately making his voice sound casual.
“All right. Then we’ll be friends.”
Ren Yi secretly glanced at Gong Yingxian.
Suddenly, he felt like laughing, and the corners of his mouth really did curl into a smile.