When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor who had treated them before teased, “Are you two planning to become VIPs at our hospital? You just left a few days ago and you’re already back.”
Ren Yi gave a bitter smile. “Yeah. Do we get a discount? Or a bulk-purchase deal?”
“You’re not the ones paying anyway.”
After completing a full set of physical examinations, it was already the middle of the night.
Although there was nothing seriously wrong with them, they should have rested for a few days. But there was no way the two of them could waste time resting now.
Purple Flame had gone completely insane. Having failed to carry out his scheme at the stadium this time, he definitely would not let the matter go. Who knew what deranged things he would do next? They had to use every possible means to catch him as soon as possible.
As soon as Gong Yingsheng came out of the hospital, he threw a pile of receipts into the trash can.
Ren Yi secretly glanced at him. “Are you hungry? Do you want to—”
“I’m going back to the scene.”
“Now?” Ren Yi looked at his watch. It was almost three in the morning.
“Sister Yan and the others are still at the scene collecting evidence. This is the golden window for apprehending the criminal.”
“Then make sure you get some rest.”
“Your father isn’t safe at home. Purple Flame suffered a setback tonight, so he’s very likely to retaliate against us. After dawn, I’ll send someone to pick him up.”
“…Okay.”
Although it was somewhat abrupt, Gong Yingsheng was right. Ren Yi was not at all comfortable leaving his father alone at home anymore. Right now, all he wanted was to go home and stay with his father.
Gong Yingsheng stared at Ren Yi and said seriously, “Also, until we catch Purple Flame, don’t act alone. Stay at the station whenever possible, and be especially careful whenever you respond to a call.”
“You too. Whether you’re going home or working, you have to be twice as careful.”
Gong Yingsheng gave an almost imperceptible nod and turned to leave.
Ren Yi watched his back and couldn’t help sighing. Although they had agreed to “pretend nothing had happened,” they both knew perfectly well that this was merely giving each other a way out. Besides their personal relationship, they still had many professional dealings with each other. When it came to serious matters and major affairs, it was impossible for them to be childish enough to give each other the silent treatment or cut ties.
But the rift was there in the end, and it would be difficult to erase.
When he got home, the nanny who was working the night shift was startled awake. Ren Yi put a finger to his lips and quietly walked to Ren Xiangrong’s room. He opened the door and saw that his father was sleeping peacefully. The heart that had been hanging all night finally settled back into place.
He returned to his own room and collapsed onto the bed. He was so sleepy and exhausted that he didn’t even want to move a finger.
Everything that had happened that night seemed to have lasted an entire century. The first date between the two of them that he had originally looked forward to had been completely ruined. His emotions had been like a roller coaster, taking him through joy, heartbreak, terror, and disappointment one after another. At this moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
He closed his eyes, and Gong Yingsheng’s face appeared before him. He no longer had the strength to feel any intense emotions. Right now, all he wanted was to have a good night’s sleep. Maybe he could dream about Gong Yingsheng—a beautiful dream.
He sank into his dreams.
Early the next morning, Gong Yingsheng sent a car over.
Ren Yi had already talked things over with his father, but he hadn’t mentioned the hospital or his relationship with Gong Yingsheng, afraid his father would overthink it. Still, having to pack his things first thing in the morning made his father complain, “Why is everything so rushed?”
The more serious the incidents that had happened recently became, the less Ren Yi dared tell his father. Even he himself was worried about his safety, so how could he convince his father not to worry? The only thing that could put his mind at ease now was to send him somewhere confidential, with twenty-four-hour security and people to take care of him. Gong Yingsheng’s hospital was indeed the best choice.
When they arrived at the hospital, all the procedures had already been arranged. Dr. Han called Ren Yi aside and said ingratiatingly, “Captain Ren, you can rest assured leaving the old captain here with us. Dr. Gong specifically instructed us about this. The entire hospital is taking this very seriously.”
“Then I’ll trouble you all.” Ren Yi looked up at the ceiling. “There are cameras everywhere here, right?”
“Yes. We have twenty-four-hour security and nursing care. It’s very safe.” Dr. Han smiled. “You can also come visit him at any time. We’ll keep you updated on the old captain’s treatment and rehabilitation arrangements as well.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
When Ren Yi returned to the hospital room, Ren Xiangrong was familiarizing himself with the smart switches beside the bed. Seeing him come in, he said, “The environment here is really nice.”
Ren Yi smiled.
“How much does this cost a month?” Ren Xiangrong asked uneasily. “This place has to be much more expensive than a nursing home, right?”
“Your medical insurance covers part of it, and their hospital also provides charitable medical care for veterans, so it didn’t cost much.”
“Really?” Ren Xiangrong said happily. “That’s great, then.”
Ren Yi sat beside the bed and said gently, “Dad, I’m especially busy during this period, so I might not be able to come see you often. We can video chat normally, okay?”
“Don’t treat me like a child. You go take care of your work. The Lunar New Year is only a month away, so you must have a lot to do.” Ren Xiangrong looked at him. “Did you not sleep last night because you were on duty? Look at your complexion. It’s all bluish.”
“I worked until pretty late. It was a concert, after all. There were a lot of things to take care of afterward.”
“I watched some TV and then went to bed. I don’t like listening to all that noisy commotion anyway. It went pretty smoothly, right?”
Ren Yi hid everything perfectly on his face. “It went smoothly. I even got an autograph from a big celebrity.”
The news about what had happened the previous night had been completely sealed. Even if there were people at the scene who were suspicious of all the unusual things that had happened, there was no way for them to find out or confirm the truth.
After settling his father in, Ren Yi didn’t even have time to eat before hurrying back to the station.
On the way, he received messages from Xu Jin and Gong Yingsheng respectively. Xu Jin wanted him to go to the brigade headquarters with Qü Yangbo in the afternoon for a meeting related to this incident. Gong Yingsheng, meanwhile, wanted him to go to the branch in the afternoon to give a statement.
As soon as Ren Yi returned to the station, the firefighters surrounded him, bombarding him with questions about what had happened the previous night. Normally, Ren Yi would have had no problem bragging a little and embellishing his heroic deeds, but he wasn’t in the mood at all this time. It had to do with Gong Yingsheng, and even more so with Purple Flame.
He gathered everyone in the conference room and said seriously, “For the past few months, I’ve been cooperating with the police on a case. There were many details I didn’t tell you, but after what happened at Hongwu Hospital, you all more or less know about it. We’ve encountered an X cult organization whose primary method of committing crimes is arson. The incident at the concert nearly became a major disaster, and they were behind that too.”
Everyone’s expressions became solemn.
“What happened at the concert must be kept strictly confidential. I don’t need to say more about that. What I want to talk about now is our work going forward. This organization is extremely evil and insane. According to the police’s current assessment, they’ve carried out numerous arson attacks across the country over the years, some of which were disguised as accidents. They’ve been hiding their existence all this time, but after committing too many crimes and as a result of the police investigation, they’ve now been discovered. So the leader of this organization has begun taking the initiative and attacking us. Whether it’s retaliation or provocation, the point is that if he had succeeded at the concert last night, the losses would have been incalculable. He failed, so he definitely won’t let the matter end here. His behavior will become increasingly brazen and insane. We need to be mentally prepared.”
Qü Yangbo said in a deep voice, “How many leads does the police have now?”
“They’ve already obtained quite a lot, and they’ve captured one member alive. I believe the police will definitely wipe out this organization completely, but evidence collection and arrests take time. Before we catch them, we have every reason to believe that firefighters are one of their targets.”
According to Gong Yingsheng’s analysis at the time, firefighters were people who used fire to fight fire, and were therefore naturally representatives of the so-called “evil souls” in Purple Flame’s eyes.
The firefighters looked at one another.
“This afternoon, I have to go to the branch to give a statement, and I also have to go to the brigade headquarters with the instructor for a meeting. This threat isn’t only against the public and the police—it’s also against the fire department, because these people are organized, brainwashed, and possess all kinds of professional knowledge as arsonists. And because our station participated in the rescue efforts for several previous cases connected to this organization, they’ve set their sights on me. They may very well do something that endangers the entire station.”
Gao Ge said, “We’re not afraid of those motherfuckers.”
“Exactly. We’re not afraid of them. If they dare come, we’ll hose them to death.”
“I know none of you are afraid. We’re on the side of justice. Justice has no need to fear evil. But I require everyone to do two things from now on. First, avoid acting alone whenever possible. Second, be extremely cautious every time you respond to a call from now on. There may be a trap laid by the organization waiting there. This afternoon, we’ll also discuss with the brigade how to better ensure everyone’s safety while continuing our daily work.”
After the meeting ended, Qü Yangbo said heavily, “I never expected things to become this serious. We originally thought it was just some dark web site overseas. Who would’ve thought it would lead to so many cases?”
“If it hadn’t led to so many cases, those previous victims would never have received justice, and there would only have been more victims in the future.” Ren Yi took a deep breath. “This also proves that their time is up.”
Qü Yangbo looked at his watch. “What time are we going to the brigade headquarters? The general headquarters is taking this extremely seriously. This morning, the leaders of the Public Security General Bureau held a meeting with the leaders of our general headquarters. Now the fire department and the police need to cooperate fully. Captain Chen wants to discuss everything with us in detail.”
“I need to go to the branch first to give my statement. How about you come with me to the branch? Then we can go to the brigade headquarters together afterward.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
On the way, the two of them talked about the details of what had happened the previous night. Qü Yangbo said earnestly, “Ren Yi, I know you’re a passionate person, but don’t forget that your father still needs you, and so do all these brothers at Phoenix Station. You can’t throw your life away.”
Ren Yi pretended to be relaxed. “Who said I don’t care about my life? I care about it very much. Last night was just an emergency. What else could I have done?”
It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid of death. It was just that everyone had something they were willing to protect with their lives. If he hadn’t dealt with the bomb, Gong Yingsheng would have been in danger, and so would the audience below. At that moment, he simply hadn’t had time to think. It had only been instinct.
Qü Yangbo took off his glasses and rubbed his tired brows. “I’m honestly a little scared.”
Ren Yi looked at Qü Yangbo, feeling somewhat distressed.
“At first, we thought it was an isolated case. No matter how vicious or perverted the criminals were, it wasn’t like we’d never encountered them before. But I never imagined this would be an organization. To be honest, I’m really a little scared now. I’m worried about your safety, and I’m worried about everyone’s safety.”
“I understand. I’m scared too.” Ren Yi gave a bitter smile. “I sent my dad away first thing this morning. That X cult leader may have set his sights on me and Dr. Gong.”
“You did the right thing. From now on, you shouldn’t act alone either.”
Ren Yi nodded. “Let’s believe that good will triumph over evil. We’ll definitely catch them.”
When they arrived at the branch, Ren Yi went inside to give his statement, but he immediately noticed that the atmosphere throughout the entire branch was different from usual. The female officers in particular were not only unlike their usual enthusiastic reception of him, they were practically ignoring him and excitedly discussing something among themselves.
Gong Yingsheng and Cai Qiang were both there. Cai Qiang said, “Captain Ren, you should’ve come a little earlier. Engineer He had just left. He even asked about you.”
“Engineer He just left? Did Song Juhan come with him?”
“Yeah. No wonder he’s a celebrity. He really is good-looking.”
Ren Yi immediately understood why the female officers were so excited.
Cai Qiang asked, especially nosily, “Hey, are those two really, you know…? I don’t follow this stuff. Xiao Gao and the others just told me that they’re a couple.”
Ren Yi secretly glanced at Gong Yingsheng and, sure enough, his face had darkened. Perhaps even just hearing about homosexuality made him uncomfortable.
Gong Yingsheng cleared his throat. “Let’s talk about business.”
Ren Yi gave a detailed account of what had happened the previous night. The entire process didn’t take very long because Gong Yingsheng already knew almost all of it.
After the statement was finished, Cai Qiang went off to attend to other matters, leaving only the two of them facing each other in silence.
Ren Yi scratched his hair. “Um, how is Wang Rui?”
“He’s had surgery. He won’t die.” Gong Yingsheng said, “We’ve already investigated him thoroughly. Purple Flame is particularly good at brainwashing people who have difficulty integrating into society. We’ll bring in his family and have them cooperate with the psychologist to intervene. As long as we can free him from the X cult’s control, he’ll cooperate with us. Purple Flame has given us a useful witness.”
“That’s great.” Ren Yi said, “By the way, my dad has already been settled at the hospital. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
The two of them fell into an awkward silence again.
They had originally been friends who could never run out of things to talk about. Overnight, they had become like this.
Gong Yingsheng gathered up the documents. “I heard the senior officials from public security and the fire department held a meeting this morning. More resources will be allocated to this case. We’ll definitely catch Purple Flame as soon as possible.”
Ren Yi looked at Gong Yingsheng’s face with some lingering attachment. “With you here, we’ll definitely catch him.”
Gong Yingsheng stood up expressionlessly. “I’m leaving first.”
“Um, what about the fire investigation? When should we do it?” Ren Yi asked. “Now that your family’s case is also connected to this organization, we might be able to find clues linking them.”
“I really can’t spare the time. It’ll have to be in the middle of the night.”
“Then the middle of the night it is.” Ren Yi said, “This is important to you, so it’s important to me too.”
Gong Yingsheng looked at Ren Yi. “Why is it important to you?”
“Uh, because… if it’s important to you, then it’s important to me.”
After saying it, Ren Yi’s heart was filled with nervousness. He didn’t know whether that sentence had crossed the line.
Gong Yingsheng felt a faint ache in his heart. Of course he knew that Ren Yi cared about him and treated him well. It was precisely because of that that he found it increasingly difficult to control his possessiveness toward this person.
He was restraining himself.
He didn’t know how long he would be able to keep restraining himself.