The next morning, the fire investigation department’s laboratory came back with the results. The melted piece of glass Gong Yingxian had picked up at the scene was, just as he had suspected, from an alcohol lamp.
Ren Yi had Qiu Wen send a copy of the report to the Hongwu Substation, then messaged Gong Yingxian to inform him of the test results.
With such solid evidence, they could basically close the case. Only four days had passed since the incident. With this kind of efficiency, they should be able to give the leadership and the public a satisfactory explanation.
Ren Yi had thought the matter was over, but around dusk, he received another call from Gong Yingxian.
“Did you receive the test report?”
“I did. I need to confirm something with you,” Gong Yingxian said.
“What?”
“The exact times—from when you received the emergency call, to when you arrived at the scene, to when you opened the emergency exit door, to when the fire was extinguished.”
“I haven’t finished writing my report yet. I can send you what I have first. It has detailed records. What’s wrong?”
“The case may have changed.”
Ren Yi sat up straight. “What changed? Didn’t we already have enough to close the case?”
“Cai Wan admitted to using drugs. She admitted that the alcohol lamp ignited the sofa, but she said there were other people in the private room at the time—a strange man. Her mind was hazy, so she couldn’t remember what he looked like. She said that person deliberately smashed the alcohol lamp. She didn’t dare say anything before because she was afraid people would find out she was using drugs.”
Ren Yi was silent for a moment. “You believe the word of a drug user? Her story has already changed several times.”
“Every drug user has a deceptive personality. I won’t completely believe what she says, but there is one suspicious point. Alcohol lamps have sealed openings. If one is simply knocked over, the wick may leak liquid, but it’s difficult for that to cause a large-scale spill all at once. And the body of the lamp is generally quite thick. How high is a coffee table or sofa from the floor? Around forty centimeters, right? I bought seven different alcohol lamps and tested them. From that height, only the lowest-quality one broke when dropped on the floor. The one I found was relatively thick.”
“To cause such rapid burning that it couldn’t be extinguished for a while, you’d need a fairly large amount of accelerant. You mean someone might have deliberately smashed the bottle?”
“That’s what Cai Wan said too. Of course, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that she smashed it herself. I just need more evidence to corroborate it.” Gong Yingxian paused. “Or disprove it.”
“How do you plan to corroborate it?”
“I want to return to the scene during the time the crime occurred and see if there are any new clues.”
“At night? The lighting won’t be good.”
“Reconstructing the scene as closely as possible will help us think from the perpetrator’s perspective.”
Ren Yi scratched his head. “All right.”
——
A little after one in the morning, the two of them arrived at Fourth Perspective again.
Such a serious accident had happened here only a few days ago, so naturally the business had been affected. At this hour, the entire street was rather deserted, completely lacking its former lively atmosphere.
When they arrived at the scene, Gong Yingxian did not hurry inside. Instead, he walked around the street twice, going over all the routes on both sides that one would have to take to reach Fourth Perspective.
Ren Yi simply walked around with him, smelling the waves of delicious aromas drifting out from the restaurants. His mouth watered, and his stomach painfully twisted with hunger.
It wasn’t until after one in the morning, roughly the time before the fire had started, that the two finally stepped over the police tape and arrived in front of the ruins.
Gong Yingxian took a deep breath, put on a mask, and turned on his flashlight.
“Wait.” Ren Yi looked at him. “You’re not going to throw up again, are you?”
“I can’t guarantee that,” Gong Yingxian said.
“It’s just a little dirty in here, and you threw up. Have you ever seen a psychologist?” Ren Yi shrugged. “If that’s the case, why put yourself through this?”
Gong Yingxian said coldly, “The less bullshit you talk, the sooner we can finish. Maybe I won’t throw up on you.”
With that, he strode inside.
Ren Yi rolled his eyes at him and followed.
There was little difference between this place and how it had been two days earlier, except that visibility was terrible at night. They had to keep watching their feet the entire time, or it was very easy to trip over all kinds of things.
The two groped their way upstairs. Gong Yingxian checked the other private rooms and murmured, “The private-room doors are closed off. You can’t see what’s happening inside from outside. If what Cai Wan said is true, with so many private rooms here, why did that person enter theirs? And why did he set the fire?”
“I still think she’s lying. The person she described might not even exist, or it could be someone she knows whom she’s protecting.” Ren Yi clicked his tongue. “She’s the only one who survived. There really is no one left to contradict her.”
Gong Yingxian neither agreed nor disagreed. He continued looking around as he headed toward the second floor.
Ren Yi suddenly thought of something. “Hey, do you think the bar owner knew someone was using drugs in his bar?”
“That’s a very good question,” Gong Yingxian said. “My colleagues are investigating it.”
“Such a young girl, and she’s already messing with drugs.” Ren Yi sighed.
“There are too many like that. Cai Wan said she hadn’t used them many times. These synthetic drugs cause severe neurological damage. Her confusion may not be entirely because she’s lying.”
“By the way, are you really a PhD in chemistry?”
“Yes.”
“Then you can do what they do on TV, right? Make your own… you know.”
“Only simple chemical operations.”
Suddenly, a faint creaking sound came from behind them.
They both turned around at once, only to see a dark shadow flash past behind them.
In the dead of night, inside a building where nearly thirty people had died and which had been burned beyond recognition, seeing such a fleeting shadow instantly made every hair on Ren Yi’s body stand on end.
“Who’s there!” Gong Yingxian shouted and shot after it like an arrow.
Ren Yi hurried after him as well.
The figure ran down the long corridor and headed toward the staircase.
Once Ren Yi confirmed that it was a living person, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn’t let up for even a moment.
One of the major common traits of arsonists was that they liked returning to the scene, savoring their “masterpiece” over and over again. This person could very well be—
Suddenly, Gong Yingxian, who was running ahead, tripped over something and went sprawling forward. Ren Yi couldn’t stop his momentum in time and crashed into him. The two of them tumbled together through the chaotic ruins.
Ren Yi felt his ribs slam into something, and he twisted his foot as well. He cried out in pain, while at the same time, he heard Gong Yingxian suck in a sharp breath beside him.
The scent from Gong Yingxian’s body rushed into Ren Yi’s nose.
That faint, dry, distinctive herbal scent—it wasn’t only in Gong Yingxian’s car. It was on his body too…
Gong Yingxian shoved Ren Yi aside, jumped to his feet, and shouted sternly, “Stop!”
Ren Yi looked up and saw that the person they had been chasing had already gone down the stairs.
Gong Yingxian threw away his flashlight. The moment it hit the ground, its beam shone upward, and a gun had somehow appeared in his hand, flashing briefly across Ren Yi’s field of vision.
Gong Yingxian paused.
In that brief moment of less than a second, he ran in the exact opposite direction from the staircase.
The moment Ren Yi realized what he was about to do, he shouted, “Don’t!”
Gong Yingxian leaped out of the second-floor window.
Ren Yi got up from the ground and, enduring the pain in his ankle, ran downstairs.
He saw Gong Yingxian chasing a short figure for more than a hundred meters before tackling him to the ground. The man screamed, “Let me go!”
Ren Yi ran over and shouted, “Do you know how dangerous jumping out of a window is? Fuck, do you think you’re filming a movie?!”
Gong Yingxian ignored him completely. He took his car keys from his pocket and tossed them to Ren Yi.
“There are handcuffs in the glove compartment.”
Ren Yi glared furiously at Gong Yingxian.
Gong Yingxian pinned both of the man’s wrists with one hand and pressed a knee against his back. “Go.”
Ren Yi turned and went to Gong Yingxian’s car, brought back the handcuffs, and tossed them to him. Gong Yingxian efficiently cuffed the man to the railing.
“Why do you have the right to arrest me? Let me go!” the man shouted in panic.
Ren Yi crouched down and examined him. He was a young man in his twenties, short and wiry, with pale skin and a malnourished appearance.
Gong Yingxian said coldly, “Who are you? Why are you here in the middle of the night?”
“I—I was curious. I came to take a look. Isn’t that allowed? What gives you the right to arrest me? What law did I break?”
Ren Yi noticed the backpack behind him and yanked it over.
“What are you doing? Don’t touch my things! I—I have a right to privacy!”
Ren Yi pulled out a laptop, a camera on a gimbal, a helmet equipped with a night-vision light, and various other miscellaneous items.
He turned on the camera. There were numerous photos and videos of Fourth Perspective inside.
His chest surged with anger. He grabbed the back of the man’s neck and snarled viciously, “Were you the one who set the fire? Huh? Do you know how many people died, you fucking animal!”
“No! I didn’t! I didn’t set the fire!”
Gong Yingxian made a phone call and summoned a police car.
Ren Yi glanced at Gong Yingxian and saw that his entire suit was ruined. He himself wasn’t much better, looking as though he had taken a bath in a pile of coal ash, filthy beyond recognition.
Even a normal person like him couldn’t stand being this dirty. Gong Yingxian…
Gong Yingxian’s body was stiff, his expression gloomy, looking completely at a loss as to what to do with himself. For someone with severe cleanliness issues, being covered in filth like this had to be unbearable.
Suddenly, Ren Yi noticed traces of blood on the ground.
He was startled and walked around Gong Yingxian once.
“What are you doing…”
Ren Yi grabbed Gong Yingxian’s arm and, seeing the long bloody gash on his forearm, sucked in a sharp breath.
Gong Yingxian pulled his arm back. “Don’t touch me.”
Ren Yi was too lazy to argue with him at that moment. “Go to the hospital.”
“No need. I can take care of it myself.”
“That wound needs stitches at the very least.”
“I said I can take care of it myself.”
“How the fuck are you going to take care of it? Huh?” Ren Yi’s anger flared. “Are you crazy? You jumped from the second floor. A few days ago, when we were putting out the fire, a firefighter jumped from that same window and broke his leg. He had no choice.”
“It’s only a little over three meters.”
“What, you think a little over three meters isn’t high enough?” Ren Yi gritted his teeth. “Back in the early days of the fire department, there was a pole running all the way from the upper floors down to the garage. It was there to ensure a fast emergency response, so firefighters could slide down from above. Later, they got rid of them because people were injured every year. Most were minor injuries like sprains, but there were also concussions and broken legs. Some people even ended up unable to walk for the rest of their lives.
“You never know what movement you might get wrong when you land. You never know whether today is the day you’ll be the unlucky one. You never know at what moment fate will come crashing down on you. So an adult has to take responsibility for their own safety!”
Gong Yingxian stared at Ren Yi, who was speaking with such force and authority. For a moment, he was stunned by the sheer intensity of his presence.
His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed, and when he came back to himself, he said, “I’m a police officer.”
“I’m a firefighter.” Ren Yi pointed at Gong Yingxian’s chest. “You have no idea how many accidents I’ve seen in my life. So many accidents where just one tiny mistake resulted in unimaginably terrible consequences.”
The two stared each other down, neither willing to give way.
Just then, the sound of police sirens rang out, and a police car stopped in front of them.
Two patrol officers got out.
“Dr. Gong.”
Gong Yingxian said, “He’s a suspect in the bar fire case. Take him back to the substation. I’ll come over later to interrogate him.”
“Okay.”
After the man was taken away, Gong Yingxian walked toward his car and opened the trunk. He took out a brand-new suit.
He pulled off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time. Ren Yi followed him, continuing to glare at him.
“Do you want to watch me take my clothes off?” Gong Yingxian said coldly.
Ren Yi snapped back to reality. By then, he had already caught a glimpse of Gong Yingxian’s chest muscles through the open front of his shirt. His cheeks suddenly grew hot.
“Who the fuck wants to watch you take your clothes off? I want to see you go to the hospital and get that wound treated right now.”
“I told you, I’ll take care of it myself,” Gong Yingxian stubbornly said. “I’m not going to the hospital.”
“Either you go to the hospital right now, or you treat it and let me watch. Otherwise, I’m calling Captain Song immediately!”
Gong Yingxian ripped his shirt open in one motion. The buttons flew all over the ground, and the force of the movement showed just how angry he was.
When Gong Yingxian was dressed, he had looked lean and wiry. Ren Yi hadn’t expected that once he took his clothes off, he would have broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a solid chest—he was even more muscular than Ren Yi.
His full pectoral muscles and little-brick-like abs made Ren Yi’s eyes go slightly wide.
Normally speaking, Gong Yingxian wasn’t Ren Yi’s type, but that physique paired with that face really made him a devastatingly attractive man.
For a moment, Ren Yi didn’t know where to put his eyes.
Looking seemed inappropriate. Not looking made him seem guilty—and it would be such a shame to miss it.
“Aren’t you going to turn around?” Gong Yingxian snapped angrily.
“…So pretentious.” Ren Yi curled his lips and turned around.
Gong Yingxian put on the new shirt. After checking that no one was around, he changed his pants as well. He stuffed his dirty clothes into a trash can, then looked Ren Yi up and down.
Ren Yi came back to himself. “Don’t think I’m bluffing. I’m calling Captain Song right now.”
“Get in the car.”
“Huh?”
Gong Yingxian took several disposable dining mats from the insulated cooler and threw them to Ren Yi. “Put them on the seat. You’re not allowed to touch anything else.”
“Do you fucking understand what I’m saying? I’m telling you to get that wound treated.”
“Get in the car. I’ll let you watch me treat the wound right now.”
Ren Yi hesitated for a moment, then walked toward the passenger seat.
After Gong Yingxian got into the car, he watched Ren Yi cover the seat and backrest with the disposable mats. Once Ren Yi sat down, he was about to close the door.
“Don’t touch it.” Gong Yingxian stopped him.
He braced one hand against Ren Yi’s seat, leaned his tall body across the center console, pulled the door handle, and closed the door. Then he reached over and pulled Ren Yi’s seat belt toward him.
Ren Yi’s back was pressed against the seat, and he didn’t dare move at all. That unique scent of Gong Yingxian’s lingered constantly beneath his nose. The two were so close that he could even feel the warmth radiating from Gong Yingxian’s body.
Watching Gong Yingxian’s perfect profile move back and forth right in front of him, Ren Yi couldn’t help swallowing.
Gong Yingxian fastened Ren Yi’s seat belt and started the car.
It took Ren Yi a long while to recover.
“Where are we going?”
“My house.”