Gong Yingxian’s car slowly came to a stop outside the station.
Ren Yi slowly unfastened his seat belt. The two of them secretly glanced sideways at each other, but neither said a word.
The silence in the car was a little awkward. Ren Yi said, “So… should I go upstairs?”
Gong Yingxian still said nothing, but the hand resting at his side quietly caught the corner of the coat Ren Yi was holding in his arms.
Ren Yi gripped the door handle. After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn’t resist asking, “Do you want to come upstairs and see Miao Miao?”
“Yes.” Gong Yingxian answered immediately.
It was already past lights-out at the station. Other than the person standing guard at the entrance, they didn’t encounter a single person along the way. As they entered the dormitory building, Phoenix suddenly ran out from beneath the stairs. It shook its fur and stared at the two of them with bright, alert eyes.
Ren Yi put a finger to his lips. “Shh. Go back to sleep.”
The two of them were just about to head upstairs when they heard a cat meow from beneath the stairs.
They had set up Phoenix’s bed underneath the stairs, and over the past few days, Phoenix and Miao Miao had already gotten familiar with each other.
Ren Yi leaned over to take a look. Miao Miao was lying in the bed, lazily stretching its paws. Ren Yi grinned. “So you found yourself a new place to sleep, huh?”
Gong Yingxian asked, “When did you get a dog?”
“After we received that package last time, Yangbo went to the training base and applied for one. His name is Phoenix. Funny coincidence, right? Same name as our station. And he’s really smart. It feels like he understands everything we say.”
Gong Yingxian lowered his head and looked at Phoenix. “He doesn’t seem like an ordinary dog.”
Ren Yi smiled. “What’s an ordinary dog like?”
“Most dogs that are raised by people really like people. He isn’t as enthusiastic as other dogs.”
“He likes people too. He’s just calm.” Ren Yi rubbed Phoenix’s cheeks. “You’re a particularly cool and calm dog, right?”
Miao Miao also came running out of the bed and rubbed its head against Phoenix’s leg.
Phoenix lowered its head and glanced at it, then nudged its head with its nose.
“All right. You two go to sleep.”
At those words, Phoenix really did return to its bed to sleep. Miao Miao lightly trotted after it and curled up against Phoenix’s warm belly.
Well, now he had seen Miao Miao too. What excuse could he possibly use to go upstairs now?
Gong Yingxian thought gloomily.
But Ren Yi said nothing. He simply suddenly took Gong Yingxian’s hand and led him upstairs.
Gong Yingxian’s heart immediately began pounding wildly, and his cheeks grew hot. He even felt annoyed with himself for his habit of wearing gloves all year round. This was the first time he and Ren Yi had held hands. He should have been able to fully feel the warmth of Ren Yi’s palm.
When they returned to the dormitory, Ren Yi turned around, pressed Gong Yingxian against the wall, and kissed him passionately.
Gong Yingxian was gradually getting the hang of it and did his best to respond.
Ren Yi rested his forehead against Gong Yingxian’s and whispered, “Have you missed me these past few days?”
Gong Yingxian nodded.
“I missed you too.” Ren Yi lightly bumped his forehead against Gong Yingxian’s. “So what did you think about when you missed me?”
Gong Yingxian opened his mouth. “I thought about… your safety.”
Ren Yi burst out laughing. “Just that? Nothing else?”
Gong Yingxian didn’t quite dare to look into Ren Yi’s shining eyes.
Ren Yi leaned close to Gong Yingxian’s ear. “Didn’t you think about anything that isn’t suitable for children?”
Gong Yingxian’s breathing rhythm visibly changed. He thought that he simply couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“I did.” Ren Yi pulled Gong Yingxian into the room.
Ren Yi woke up in the middle of the night.
What had happened last night hung over him like a heavy, dark cloud, pressing down on him. Gong Yingxian’s warm embrace had kept away the chill brought by that cloud, but the enormous shadow remained, impossible to dispel.
Ren Yi glanced at the sleeping Gong Yingxian. He didn’t want his tossing and turning to wake him, so he simply got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and left the bedroom, going to the office just one wall away.
He dug a pack of cigarettes out of his desk. Looking at the various case files from the Gong family arson case spread across the desk, he silently breathed out clouds of smoke.
He had quit smoking many years ago, so he wasn’t addicted. But whenever he was restless, having a cigarette helped calm him down.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when Ren Yi heard someone call his name. He suddenly came back to himself and turned around. At some point, Gong Yingxian had already appeared behind him. He had been thinking so deeply that he hadn’t heard the door open or Gong Yingxian’s footsteps at all.
“What’s wrong?” Gong Yingxian asked nervously. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Afraid that he would worry, Ren Yi gave him a suggestive, mischievous grin. “I feel great.”
Gong Yingxian’s entire face immediately flushed with embarrassment. “You… I was asking why you’re not sleeping in the middle of the night.”
“I couldn’t really sleep.” Ren Yi tossed the cigarette, which had already gone cold, into the trash can. “Go back to sleep. You’re seriously sleep-deprived.”
Gong Yingxian walked over and sat beside Ren Yi, looking at the familiar documents on the desk. “You’re still looking through them.”
“If I look through them a little more, maybe I’ll find something new.”
“The photos are too blurry. Even after restoration, the quality isn’t good. Too many of the original pieces of evidence from back then are missing. What you’ve already managed to discover is impressive enough.” Gong Yingxian couldn’t help sighing.
“Did you get any results from investigating the people who handled the investigation back then?”
“There was one former subordinate of my father’s and one investigator whose actions were suspicious. But even if we find evidence, reopening the case will still be very difficult. Because so much time has passed, it’s extremely difficult to connect the evidence into a coherent chain and establish the logic. And a retrial requires approval at multiple levels. After all, it would mean overturning the judicial ruling from back then. We either need extremely strong, indisputable evidence, or a witness.”
“You mean Zi Yan.”
Gong Yingxian nodded. “Catch Zi Yan, find his connection to this case, and make him admit it himself.”
“Have you ever thought about what kind of relationship Zi Yan might have with the murderer from back then? You said it yourself: according to your analysis, Zi Yan isn’t the murderer.”
“I have. I’ve thought of three possibilities. First, the murderer once bragged about it to an internal member of the Seraphim. Second, Zi Yan is a successor. The Light God Cult wasn’t established in recent years; we only discovered it in recent years, so the murderer may have been a member as well. Third, Zi Yan already had a personal relationship with the murderer and was trained by the murderer to become an arsonist.”
“Which possibility do you think is the most likely?” Ren Yi asked.
“I want to hear what you think.”
Ren Yi thought for a moment. “According to your profiling, Zi Yan is under thirty-five, and he might even be younger. How did he brainwash such a large group of people into willingly risking their lives for him? Usually, people who start cults have to be a little older. They have to look the part, right?”
“So you lean toward the third possibility?”
“I’m just guessing. But if Zi Yan really had a personal relationship with the murderer, it would explain why he was able to accomplish all this at such a young age, and why he even knew the exact appearance of that bird mask. You recognized it the moment you saw it.”
Gong Yingxian frowned slightly and hesitantly said, “Mm,” drawing out the final sound.
“What’s wrong? You said he was wearing the same mask as the one from back then, or at least one that looked the same.”
“Actually, I don’t specifically remember what that mask looked like. I only have a vague image in my mind. But when I saw that mask, I felt that it was the one.” Gong Yingxian shook his head. “That isn’t a good sign. Psychologically speaking, this kind of situation is very likely the result of self-suggestion.”
“Self-suggestion?”
“Yes. For example, a car drives past you, and someone asks how many tires it had. You actually didn’t see it clearly at all, but based on common sense, cars have four tires. Once you have that impression, the more you remember it, the more convinced you become that the car had four tires. In reality, it might have been a three-wheeled vehicle.” Gong Yingxian explained, “The mask is the same. I never truly recalled the mask’s appearance or color. I simply formed a rough image in my mind based on common sense and imagination. When Zi Yan appeared wearing the mask, his identity, the atmosphere he created, the things he said, and all the connections between the cases behind it made the mask have no other purpose except to correspond with the mask in my memory. So, under those circumstances—when I was tense, shocked, and had no time to think carefully—I immediately decided that it was the same mask. But after I calmed down, I repeatedly reconsidered it, and I’ve already started to have doubts.”
Ren Yi said in surprise, “The mask Zi Yan wore might not have been the same one from back then? You think you were psychologically influenced?”
Gong Yingxian said solemnly, “I can’t be certain. During my childhood and throughout my life, I’ve seen other bird masks, and I’ve even deliberately searched for them, but none of them gave me that kind of shock. I’ve always been wondering whether Zi Yan really wore that same mask, or whether the atmosphere Zi Yan created made me believe that the mask he was wearing was the same one. The biggest problem now is that Zi Yan’s mask had such a huge impact on me that my subconscious has already accepted it and uncontrollably combined it with the mask in my imagination, even though I myself can’t be certain.”
“But Zi Yan never mentioned the mask he was wearing from beginning to end. If he was wearing a fake one, there was a chance you would notice.”
“That’s exactly what makes him clever. He put on the mask, brought up the fire from back then, and said that there was a bond between us, but he never revealed any key information. If the mask was real, he succeeded in planting fear in my mind. If the mask was fake, it would still have a powerful psychological impact on me, because the ‘bird mask’ itself has symbolic significance to me. It doesn’t have to look exactly the same.”
Ren Yi sucked in a breath. “With a brain that good, why doesn’t this guy just do something decent with it?”
Gong Yingxian said gravely, “He’s extremely intelligent. Both his IQ and EQ are far above average. In real life, he must be a very charismatic person. But at the same time, he’s also capable of disguising himself as someone completely inconspicuous.”
“Then how are you going to determine whether that mask really was the one in your memory?”
“This is a very deep form of psychological suggestion. Even if I’ve become aware of it, I can’t resolve it on my own. I’ve already asked my attending physician to return to the country. He should be able to help me.”
Ren Yi held Gong Yingxian’s face between both hands, his gaze firm. “No matter what difficulties we face, we’ll overcome them together.”
Gong Yingxian gazed deeply into Ren Yi’s eyes and solemnly nodded.