Chapter 15: On the Road
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The place where they had stopped was a town, with none of the commercial streets found in a city nearby.
Zhou Suirong walked inward along the nearly deserted road. He went into several small restaurants along the way, only to find their sanitary conditions appalling, and promptly came back out.
Halfway through his search, he began to worry that Fang Qingzhou might be growing impatient waiting in the car. He took out his phone and messaged her:
What do you want to eat?
The reply came in less than two seconds:
Weren’t you going to the bathroom?
Zhou Suirong: “...”
He decided that once he returned, he would get a full physical examination. Even a body of steel and iron could not withstand this kind of aggravation.
Suppressing his temper, Zhou Suirong typed:
Can you come out in daylight?
After savoring the sarcasm inwardly, he deleted the words one by one.
Zhou Suirong closed his eyes. Before he could decide how to reply, another message appeared:
Come back first. We’ll eat together.
His fingers moved, and with lofty coolness he typed a single character:
No.
The moment he sent it, he felt he had been unbearably childish and tapped Undo.
Fang Qingzhou: Then bring me a bowl of noodles.
Zhou Suirong resumed his search and finally found a bright, clean-looking establishment. He scanned the menu on the wall and ordered a bowl of hand-pulled noodles that would not easily turn soggy, instructing the owner to use less oil. Thinking Fang Qingzhou might not like them, he ordered a serving of rice as well.
Fang Qingzhou was a picky and troublesome eater. She refused most of the prepared meals in the rest area, and whenever she was hungry, she simply hypnotized her stomach into silence—a seasoned practitioner of modern-day cultivation.
After paying, Zhou Suirong chose an empty seat in the corner and waited.
The customer behind him was watching short videos, the volume loud enough to drown out even the sizzling from the kitchen.
After several clips of beautiful women dancing, the name Sanyao appeared.
In an exaggerated tone, the marketing account exclaimed that the gold-medal winner of this year’s Sanyao Youth Comprehensive Competition was a true chosen one. Not only did he look like the male lead of a novel, but his intelligence was practically enhanced by a cheat code. He might well be the youngest gold-medal winner in the history of the youth division.
The fat diner tilted his phone toward the person beside him and joked, “Damn, this guy really is just a tiny bit better-looking than me.”
The other man obligingly burst out laughing and added narcissistically, “Still nowhere near as good-looking as me.”
Zhou Suirong turned around.
When the two men saw his face, their laughter faltered.
The diner quickly looked away and muttered under his breath before returning to the earlier topic, his voice full of envy. “How rich must he be? He’s only twenty-six. I heard the prize money alone was over ten million.”
“Prize money is nothing. The real money comes from getting a share of the follow-up projects developed by Sanyao. That’s where the big profits are. They say the most profitable ones bring in over a hundred million a year.”
“How does a brain like that even grow?”
“Brains aren’t enough. How would an ordinary person ever gain access to those opportunities?”
“Handsome fellow.” The owner emerged carrying two bags and called out, “Your order’s ready.”
Zhou Suirong went forward to take them. Halfway there, he stopped behind the diners and said abruptly, “He isn’t the youngest gold-medal winner.”
The diner paused his video and stared at him blankly.
“The youngest was the winner of the thirty-second competition,” Zhou Suirong continued. “She entered as an individual and was only twenty at the time. Do you know who she was?”
The diner bit down on his chopsticks. Apparently, he had never imagined that watching a random short video could somehow result in a stranger stopping him for an impromptu lesson. He stared stupidly and shook his head.
Zhou Suirong regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. He felt like a lunatic, inexplicably worked up over nothing. Besides, he and Fang Qingzhou had already broken up. He gave them an apologetic smile and turned to leave.
The diner was dissatisfied. “Hey, handsome, don’t go! Why do you always stop halfway through what you’re saying?”
Zhou Suirong could only relapse into lunacy once more and give them a name.
“Her name is Fang Qingzhou.”
He fled the little restaurant. A gust of hot wind rushing in from the far end of the empty street made his vision swim for a moment.
He mocked himself inwardly. Why did he remember such useless things so clearly?
He took out his phone and saw that Fang Qingzhou had sent him the address of a hotel, along with the room number.
Following the directions, Zhou Suirong found a cheap hotel that had clearly been around for many years.
The interior of the room was just as decrepit as its exterior. Mold covered the walls, and the air still carried the stale smell of cigarette smoke.
After opening the door for him, Fang Qingzhou sat down in a nearby chair and asked, “Do you want some water?”
Zhou Suirong set down the bags and hurriedly stopped her. “Don’t drink the water here. I’ll go buy some for you.”
When he turned around, Fang Qingzhou was already taking a bottle of purified water from her bag. She unscrewed the cap unhurriedly, took a sip, and said, “I bought some.”
Zhou Suirong watched her calmly break apart the chopsticks and start eating the noodles. Finding it strangely novel, he asked, “You’ve never stayed in a place like this before, have you?”
“I have. Work required it. What about you?”
“Very rarely.”
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Zhou Suirong felt that his past had grown so distant it seemed like another lifetime. He drifted away slightly as he recalled it.
“When I first ran away from home, I usually stayed in Internet cafés. I’d share an overnight private booth with other people, use the computers, and pick up odd jobs online. But it was very noisy. I’d wake up three or four times a night. I stayed in youth hostels too. A private room like this was too expensive for me. That kind of life didn’t last very long, though. Later, I met you—”
He went over to open the window and let in some air. When he realized the room behind him had gone silent, he turned and saw Fang Qingzhou propping her chin on her hand and watching him.
Her gaze was clear and intent.
Under her scrutiny, Zhou Suirong felt uncomfortable. Acting on instinct, he struck a handsome pose and rested one hand on the windowsill. Unfortunately, the sill had not been cleaned in ages. His palm came away covered in dust and cobwebs, and he hurriedly straightened up again.
Hearing Fang Qingzhou laugh, he coughed awkwardly. “Stop laughing and eat.”
Fang Qingzhou had little appetite. She put down her chopsticks halfway through the meal and began yawning from exhaustion.
Zhou Suirong gathered up the trash and carried the fragrant bowls and chopsticks downstairs to throw them into the bin. By the time he returned, Fang Qingzhou had already lain down and fallen asleep.
In sleep, Fang Qingzhou looked extraordinarily docile. Her hair was black, her lips soft. She could not say anything infuriating, nor reveal that helpless, heartbreaking look in her eyes. Yet in the unfamiliar surroundings, her sleep was not entirely peaceful. Her brows remained faintly furrowed.
Zhou Suirong sat at the foot of the bed. He had originally hoped to find an opportunity to talk with her, but as he watched her unadorned profile, he simply sat there, lost in quiet thought.
The noise of the old air conditioner drowned out the sound of their breathing.
After a while, Zhou Suirong belatedly realized that he was cold. He rubbed his arms, then lowered his gaze and saw Fang Qingzhou’s feet sticking out from beneath the covers. As if possessed, he reached out and took hold of the ankle before him.
The skin of Fang Qingzhou’s foot was thin and delicate. Years without exposure to sunlight had left it so pale that it carried a sickly, bluish cast. Zhou Suirong’s hand could encircle her ankle completely. Beneath the pressure of his fingertips, a vein gave off a faint pulse, beating steadily in time with his body heat.
The stark contrast in skin tone and the difference in the thickness of their bones emphasized the overwhelming disparity in strength between them. Yet it only left Zhou Suirong suddenly despondent and hollow, as though he had not truly grasped anything at all.
He slowly released her, pulled the blanket over her, and went to raise the air conditioner’s temperature.
Then he moved quietly to the bed beside hers and waited for Fang Qingzhou to wake.
·
After six hours of catching up on sleep, Ji He was once again full of energy and ready to work.
Leading Zhao Rong, who had yet to adapt to this high-intensity laborer’s schedule, she strode into the Sanyao Tower and went straight to the floor housing Fang Qingzhou’s studio.
When they stepped out of the elevator, they saw no one. Instead, they were caught completely off guard by a pair of eyes at the reception desk.
The round, cylindrical electronic eyes stood there ominously on the desktop. Sensing their arrival, they rotated toward them and emitted two infrared beams, scanning the pair from head to toe.
“Hello,” they said.
Zhao Rong asked nervously, “Is it about to shoot us?”
The infrared beams swept over him a second time.
“You’re very cute,” the eyes judged.
Zhao Rong understood immediately this time.
It was insulting him.
The coded door ahead opened with a click.
“Please come in, Officer Ji He and Officer Zhao Rong.”
Zhao Rong was astonished again. “How do you know who we are? Your company is violating citizens’ privacy!”
From the cold electronic machine, Ji He sensed an emotion known as disdain.
But Zhao Rong had earned it.
The eyes turned toward the potted plant in the corner, then toward the window, making it perfectly clear that they no longer wished to look at Zhao Rong.
The voice remained politely responsive. “You presented your identification in the reception hall, and the staff sent us a visitor request. I was the one who activated the elevator for you, dear~”
Zhao Rong’s eyes widened in amazement.
Like an old country woman visiting the capital for the first time, he wandered inside, only to find Ji He staring fixedly at him.
Zhao Rong felt himself shrink by an inch. Unsure what he had done wrong this time, he said uneasily, “I was just curious...”
“I know. Any normal person would be curious. After all, this thing is so hideously bizarre,” Ji He said. “But not many people manage to express their curiosity as stupidity.”
Zhao Rong: “...”
Seeing the dejected look on his face, Ji He patted him on the shoulder in consolation.
“It’s fine. That’s your strength. Keep it up.”
Zhao Rong was still wondering what, exactly, he was supposed to keep up when Ji He had already entered the office.
“Hi.” A young man was waiting ahead with a computer in his arms. “Our boss isn’t in today.”
Zhao Rong recognized the familiar voice. He pulled back the foot he had taken forward and turned toward the entrance, scanning both sides in bewilderment.
He had thought that thing was intelligent.
A loud woman’s voice rang out from the office and roared out an explanation with prophetic certainty:
“That’s the trash he brought to the company! Don’t pay attention to it!”
She immediately assigned the young man another task.
“Lu Shengxing, put your greatest talent to use and entertain them properly!”
Lu Shengxing’s face stretched long. He muttered in protest, “I told you, it’s a commemorative gift I gave the boss. Why call it trash? You’re so annoying!”
He pointed to the desk beside the window, guided the two of them to their seats, and continued, “We don’t know when our boss will be back at work. If you have business, you can leave her a message.”
Zhao Rong had nearly forgotten why they had come.
Ji He smiled warmly. “Hello. We’re here to find Zhou Suirong.”
According to Fang Qingzhou, Zhou Suirong had only been the first victim.
Lu Shengxing shrugged. “Oh, he isn’t here either. He’s with our boss, so he won’t be coming to work for a while. He even asked me to request leave for him this morning.”
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“That’s all right. We can chat,” Ji He said, sitting down in a relaxed, bored manner. “I heard that your boss, Fang, and Zhou Suirong were dating?”
“They used to be.” Lu Shengxing chose his words precisely and sighed regretfully. “They’ve broken up now. But I think they’ll get back together soon.”
“Why did they break up?”
Lu Shengxing had no particular reservations around the police and told her everything in one breath.
“I don’t know. A little over two months ago, Brother Zhou said he wanted to take some time off. If his leave wasn’t approved, he would resign. Who does that? Our boss thought something was wrong and asked me to find out why. Brother Zhou said it was nothing, that he and the boss had broken up and needed some time to cool off.”
Lu Shengxing rubbed his chin, his face full of bewilderment.
“But I figured the boss didn’t even know they had broken up, because she looked even more shocked than I was. Maybe they’d had a fight.”
“Oh?” Ji He responded with interest.
“Later, Brother Zhou said he had something to take care of and needed to leave City A. He went alone. The boss was worried and followed him. A few days later, something happened to Brother Zhou. From here to here—a really deep wound.” Lu Shengxing gestured uneasily. “They treated him as best they could locally, and the boss called a helicopter to carry him back to City A. The doctor said he might have died if they’d been even a few minutes later.”
Ji He asked, “So you didn’t know why he attempted suicide?”
“Suicide?!” Lu Shengxing nearly shrieked. He pressed both hands against the desk, his eyes wide with agitation. “Was Brother Zhou trying to kill himself? The boss said he accidentally fell while climbing a mountain. There happened to be a length of rebar below that scraped across his neck, and he hit his head when he landed, so he lost his memory. It was an accident! How could it have been suicide?”
“Oh,” Ji He said meaningfully. “So she didn’t even dare tell the rest of you.”
Lu Shengxing felt excluded. His eyes went unfocused, and his spirits visibly collapsed.
“What? They really do treat me like an outsider!”
Ji He did not join him in mourning the falseness of their friendship. She tapped her fingers on the desk to bring him back to his senses.
“Can we take a look at Zhou Suirong’s records?”
Lu Shengxing’s eyes rolled once, and he pretended to be troubled.
“That wouldn’t be appropriate. Those are our employee’s private records. If you want to investigate, you’ll have to follow the proper application process. But if you let me join the investigation, then as a concerned citizen, I’d be willing to help you look through the records for free, at my own risk.”
Ji He was unmoved. She spread her hands.
“Then I’ll have to find whoever is currently in charge, appeal to her emotions and reason, and persuade her to cooperate actively with the police.”
Ms. Lin was so busy she hardly had time to breathe, yet her ears remained sharp enough to suggest supernatural ability. From inside the office, she roared his full name with dangerous force:
“Lu! Sheng! Xing! Don’t you dare cause trouble for me!”
“All right, all right. I’ll look it up for you.” Lu Shengxing felt the chill rise beneath his feet and immediately surrendered. “It’s nothing, anyway. A lot of it can be found online.”
He struck the keyboard for a while, then turned the monitor toward Ji He.
While Ji He examined the information, he chattered on without pause.
“Brother Zhou’s hometown is in a town under Qing’an County, in the neighboring city. It’s a pretty poor place, with only one middle school, and not many students manage to advance to higher education. Brother Zhou was the only person there ever to win a prize in a national competition. Later, that got him specially admitted to a high school in City A.”
“Because the school dormitories were closed during the winter and summer holidays, he would occasionally ask the owner of an Internet café to let him stay there. A University is on the street opposite the café, so the boss often saw him.”
“She discovered that he was teaching himself university courses, but much of the material was outdated. She gave him a set of resources and told him to learn about the various support and subsidy policies. From then on, Brother Zhou set out onto the smooth road to a new world. He was incredibly talented. He was only held back as a child. Otherwise, who knows? He might have been able to remain our boss’s classmate for several more years.”
“Would you like me to print out his résumé? It’s online too, really.”
“No need.” Ji He finished reading it once, closed the laptop, and pushed it back. “Thank you. We’ve learned a great deal.”
Seeing the two of them preparing to leave with such efficiency, Lu Shengxing chased after them. Clinging to the selfless conviction that he must protect the company for its absent boss, he pestered them relentlessly.
“Add me as a contact, Officer! I’ll send you my résumé too. Let me help if anything comes up!”
Unable to withstand his pleading, Zhao Rong added him, then hurried to catch up with Ji He.
The two of them strode briskly out of the building. Waves of heat sent their hair flying.
Still unable to make sense of things, Zhao Rong asked in bewilderment, “Are we going to continue investigating Zhou Suirong?”
Ji He smiled. “Now I know what Fang Qingzhou was in such a frantic hurry to do. She took Zhou Suirong to City B.”
“Because it was related to one of her former projects, she was naturally concerned too, I suppose.”
Ji He took a cigarette from her coat pocket and rolled it between her fingers as she continued toward the parking area.
“I don’t believe that someone like Zhou Suirong—a man who left home as a child and fought his way forward step by step—would choose suicide over a breakup. Only one thing could have driven him to collapse. I expect Fang Qingzhou has realized that too. Before, she may have clung to a sliver of hope and doubt. After meeting Shen Zhiyang, that suspicion only grew stronger. Now she’s more desperate than we are to verify the truth.”
“What did Fang Qingzhou do?” Zhao Rong asked.
“She probably doesn’t know anything. That’s why she’s afraid now.”
Ji He lit the cigarette and held it between her teeth, inhaling as the red ember glowed and dimmed.
She turned back toward the towering building. Its glass façade reflected the magnificent sky and drifting white clouds. Then she exhaled slowly and said:
“She’s afraid Zhou Suirong killed someone, just as Shen Zhiyang did.”
Zhao Rong stopped dead. In the searing afternoon heat, an inexplicable chill passed through him.
Ji He opened the car door and issued her orders with brisk efficiency.
“Find out where Zhou Suirong went two months ago. Check whether there have been any missing persons or suspicious deaths recently in the relevant jurisdictions. Then contact City B and send them the case files on Shen Zhiyang. Tell them that a deranged scientist may be traveling there to commit another crime. If necessary, our precinct will provide every assistance we can.”
Zhao Rong accurately recorded every punctuation mark on his phone, then asked cautiously, “Does this deranged scientist refer to Fang Qingzhou?”
Ji He cast him a sidelong glance and exhaled a plume of white smoke, smiling sweetly.
“Do you believe she’d punch you if she heard that?”
“Oh.”
Zhao Rong deleted the note he had added afterward.
Ji He adjusted the rearview mirror, thought for a moment, and asked, “Where is Liang Ming these days?”
“In City A.” Zhao Rong looked puzzled. “He’s been behaving himself. Does this have anything to do with him?”
“There’s nothing we can do about that. He’s killed someone before. Whenever something bad happens, anyone who might even be tangentially connected to it has to be considered first. That’s the red line.” Ji He said, “Send someone to ask about his recent movements. Find out whom he’s met since getting out of prison.”
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