The rabbit was ultimately left at the police station. After Jiang Cheng described the smell of rabbit waste, Yang Bo, who had originally been keen on taking it back to play with, tactfully abandoned the idea. The three of them encountered Shen Lei just as they returned to the Immortal’s Abode.
"Yawei Restaurant has been cordoned off, but nothing was found. The kitchen was full of nothing but seafood and shellfish," Shen Lei said, her face clouded with irrepressible disappointment. "The stock might have been sold out already. If they refuse to talk, it will be difficult to find the source."
A wave of disappointment washed over the group. Jiang Cheng checked the time; he was about to send a message to Jiang Langmin when he noticed a video sitting in his inbox. He downloaded it immediately. It was a short recording of Jiang Langmin performing an experiment.
Dressed in a hazmat suit, Jiang Langmin slowly dripped a reagent from a test tube into a beaker. The transparent liquid in the beaker gradually turned orange-yellow, then slowly faded as more reagent was added. Jiang Langmin stopped his movements, gently swirled the beaker until the last hint of orange vanished, and immediately partitioned the liquid into vials before placing them into a machine.
After completing the operation, Jiang Langmin looked back at the surveillance camera and gave an "OK" hand gesture.
Standing beside him, Lu Linjiang finished watching the video as well. "Is it done?" He tried to keep his tone neutral, but internally he couldn't help but scoff—*did he really need to clip a specific video just to show he was doing an experiment?*
"No, we have to wait about thirty hours for the solution to stabilize."
Only then did Lu Linjiang realize that in Jiang Cheng’s eyes, Jiang Langmin’s gesture didn't mean "finished," but rather "thirty hours to go."
"Did Jiang Langmin send this specifically because it’s useful?" Yang Bo asked curiously.
The video had frozen on a frame where the machine’s countdown was stuck at thirty-two. Jiang Cheng looked at it and said, "This is my graduation thesis: a composite antiviral agent."
Everyone looked up at him. Shen Lei guessed, "You want to use it on Guo Junyi?"
Jiang Cheng stared at the screen and nodded slowly. "I’m hesitant. I originally developed this because a supervirus was discovered in Europe—essentially a mutation of Influenza B. Traditional antiviral drugs were ineffective against it. All doctors could do was continuously administer various hormones to keep the patients alive as long as possible while waiting for the virus to run its course."
"The great flu outbreak from three years ago?" Shen Lei reacted quickly.
"Yes. I had just arrived in the United States then. Because I came into contact with several patients returning from Europe, I was also infected. I preserved several samples of my own blood, originally intending to extract antibodies, but I accidentally discovered that I might be able to create an antiviral agent based on them. Before I came here, I was actually only two steps away from finishing it." Jiang Cheng’s brow remained furrowed as he spoke.
Shen Lei was puzzled. "Can an antiviral agent designed for the flu be effective against Gemore?"
"During that outbreak, the flu virus actually underwent three different mutations. This agent doesn't target a single virus; rather, it targets all viral transformation replication enzymes. To put it simply, the only thing this agent inhibits is the replication enzyme, controlling the progression of the disease by preventing the virus from spreading. If there are no issues with the agent, even if it can't specifically attack Gemore, it can at least buy us some time." Jiang Cheng paused, hesitating. "But what’s more important is whether we can find the host."
The group felt a surge of excitement. Although Jiang Cheng’s words implied they were still a long way from their goal, the appearance of an antiviral agent suddenly gave the entire situation a massive boost of hope. For modern people, a pharmaceutical remedy was a powerful shot in the arm.
Yang Bo perked up instantly. He cheerfully opened the takeout they had picked up on the way, laying the containers out one by one. "Food is the most important thing in the world! We’ll definitely find the host. Let’s eat first!"
He distributed the rice, and Shen Lei handed out chopsticks to everyone. The four of them crowded around the small table in Lu Linjiang and Yang Bo’s room to settle their dinner.
Lu Linjiang and Yang Bo sat on the edge of the bed, leaving the room’s two chairs for Jiang Cheng and Shen Lei. Having barely eaten all day, even Shen Lei couldn't help but feel hungry. Several pairs of chopsticks moved incessantly over the food containers. After a short while, Lu Linjiang noticed something was wrong. The rice box in Jiang Cheng’s hand was teetering, held up only by the loose bracing of his fingers. His other hand supported his face, and his head hadn't moved for a long time.
"Jiang Cheng? Jiang Cheng?" Lu Linjiang leaned down to look at him. Leaning against the back of the chair, Jiang Cheng had actually fallen asleep in the middle of dinner!
Shen Lei leaned over to look and whispered, "It seems he didn't sleep at all last night. At least I managed to doze off for a bit on the train."
Not to mention during the day—Jiang Cheng had followed Lu Linjiang in a whirlwind all over Liu Cheng Island, and somewhere in between, he had found a print shop on his own. By a rough count, he hadn't closed his eyes for nearly a day and a half.
Lu Linjiang gently took the rice box from Jiang Cheng’s hand and slid the chopsticks out of his grip. "You guys eat first. I’ll take him back to his room."
Shen Lei and Yang Bo watched in silence as Lu Linjiang carefully gathered Jiang Cheng into his arms and carried him out.
Shen Lei bit her chopstick, watching intently until the door closed. She pondered for a moment, her female intuition telling her something was off. "Hey, Yang Bo, Captain Lu is..." She arched an eyebrow, gesturing with her chin toward where Jiang Cheng had been.
Yang Bo knew what she wanted to ask. He bit into a piece of braised pork and shook his head. "I don't know."
Shen Lei thought for a while and said cautiously, "I’ve known Captain Lu for two years, and I’ve never heard of him being in a relationship."
Yang Bo wiped his mouth and glanced warily out the window. "To be honest, neither have I."
Shen Lei tilted her head slightly, recalling Jiang Cheng’s appearance. "So, is the iron tree finally blooming?"
Yang Bo nearly spat out his meat. "Who knows? My boss has a lot of internal monologues; he’s hard to read."
Lu Linjiang placed Jiang Cheng on the bed. Jiang Cheng seemed truly exhausted; he remained in the exact position Lu Linjiang had set him down in, not moving an inch. Lu Linjiang carefully covered him with a quilt and turned on the air conditioning.
He looked at Jiang Cheng’s sleeping face. The man had felt terrifyingly light in his arms. Lu Linjiang remembered that Jiang Cheng had only eaten a few bites at lunch. With that kind of intake, he probably couldn't even keep a cat alive; it was no wonder he was so thin.
Before Lu Linjiang realized it, his fingers had touched Jiang Cheng’s buzz cut. Jiang Cheng’s hair used to be longer, just long enough to cover his earlobes—a very delicate length. Back when Lu Linjiang occasionally spared the energy to pay attention to him, he had wondered why Jiang Cheng liked such an awkward length. Thinking back now, his own brain probably hadn't been functioning very well at the time.
In the surveillance footage, Jiang Cheng’s hair had been slightly longer than it was now, enough to cover half his forehead. Now, he only had a short crop. Because it was cut so short, his head felt fuzzy to the touch. Perhaps because his hair was naturally soft, it felt surprisingly good. Lu Linjiang couldn't resist stroking it for a while longer. The phone he had casually placed on the bed suddenly vibrated. He answered it with lightning speed, only to hear a "Hello" from Jiang Langmin on the other end.
He glanced at the deeply sleeping Jiang Cheng and walked quickly out of the room with the phone.
Jiang Langmin hadn't expected Lu Linjiang to answer. He cleared his throat and asked with a hint of resentment, "Where’s Jiang Cheng?"
Lu Linjiang replied with a touch of mischief, "Oh, he’s asleep."
Jiang Langmin was silent for a long time. Lu Linjiang patiently waited him out in silence; after all, it wasn't Jiang Cheng’s money paying for the call. The two of them engaged in a silent contest across the line until Jiang Langmin finally lost his patience. "Captain Lu, do you actually know what you’re doing?"
Just as Lu Linjiang was about to speak, Jiang Langmin continued, "Captain Lu, I don't actually care what you think, but if I may be blunt, I am clearly more suited for Jiang Cheng than you are. We share the same profession and the same interests. Jiang Cheng needs someone to help him complete his experiments; I can do that, and you cannot. In the future, he might need someone to assist him in creating a vaccine; again, I can do that, and you cannot. Do you understand?"
"So what? If we go by those standards, there are probably plenty of people at Hughes who are suitable. Why does it have to be you?"
Jiang Langmin chuckled softly. "Why does it have to be me? Of course it doesn't *have* to be me. But Captain Lu, I am gay. More importantly, I know what I am striving for. What about you? The fundamental reason you two broke up back then was because you’re straight, wasn't it?"
"Lu Linjiang, I have desire for Jiang Cheng. What about you? You’re standing between me and Jiang Cheng, acting so unreasonably—do you even understand why you’re doing it?"
Lu Linjiang’s knuckles slowly turned white, the blood draining from his fingertips. A dangerous, predatory glint appeared in his eyes because of Jiang Langmin’s phrase "have desire." "That is my private business."
Jiang Langmin laughed mockingly. "I thought this was my private business as well." He paused. "Captain Lu, I hope you understand that some things are innate. I don't know what you’re trying to do, but there are things the old you couldn't force, and the future you won't be able to force either. I suggest you go back to being yourself."
Jiang Langmin hung up unceremoniously, giving the other man no chance to retort. Lu Linjiang listened to the dial tone for a long time without speaking. This Jiang Langmin certainly lived up to his reputation as a genius; he managed to leave Lu speechless every single time.
*Desire?* Lu Linjiang looked down at his hand. Although he was holding a phone, the sensation of Jiang Cheng’s hair—like the fur of a small animal—seemed to linger in his palm. Lu Linjiang had no doubt that if it hadn't been for Jiang Langmin’s inexplicable phone call, he would probably still be playing with Jiang Cheng’s hair right now.
The words he had wanted to say to Jiang Cheng today had been interrupted by a phone call, but even if he’d had the chance to say them, they probably would have sounded very strange. In that moment, what he had wanted to say was: "Why don't we try looking forward?"
Looking forward—at what? The old him had spent every day trying to run away from Jiang Cheng. Looking forward... what did he want Jiang Cheng to see?
But his impulse at the time had been real. Even if it was shameless, it was real.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
雅味居 | Yawei Restaurant | Lit. "Elegant Taste Pavilion"
神仙居 | Immortal's Abode | The name of the guesthouse/inn
复合抗病毒制剂 | Composite Antiviral Agent | Jiang Cheng's research project
转化复制酶 | Transformation replication enzyme | Viral replicase/polymerase mentioned in the text
铁树开花 | The iron tree blooms | Idiom: something rare or a long-awaited romantic development
板寸头 | Buzz cut | A very short, cropped hairstyle
欲/望 | Desire | Used here in a romantic/sexual context
直男 | Straight man | Heterosexual male
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