The morning rush hour on the Jinghai subway was a terrifying ordeal. Every person there felt like they had been shoved into a pressurized tin can; the concept of personal space between strangers was squeezed into nonexistence. Getting on and off the train required no effort of one’s own; the sheer force of the human tide would sweep any individual along with it.
It was a perfectly ordinary morning. Those who took the subway day after day occupied their tiny slivers of space with a practiced numbness. Even when someone knocked over a bottle of mineral water, the people around him merely shifted slightly to the side, the incident failing to stir even a ripple of interest. Only those who had no choice but to step in the puddle cast looks of disdain at the water’s owner.
The man wearing a sun hat apologized incessantly, yet he made no move to clean up the mess. The water slowly spread outward, centering on the man in the hat, until many people in the vicinity were standing in the puddle.
That patch of water wasn't cleared by a janitor until the morning rush was nearly over. By then, the area was covered in footprints of varying depths and sizes. The janitor grumbled to himself; at least it was only mineral water. Had it been soy milk or coffee, it would have been much more troublesome.
The water was mopped away in a few quick strokes, covering up the footprints. By the time the next train pulled out, the floor was dry, as if nothing had ever happened.
In seven days, they had cycled through three different vehicles, yet Jiang Langmin had never once left his building. A dozen people worked in three shifts; with the exception of Lu Linjiang, everyone was starting to feel a bit restless. Over the past few days, not only Xu Sichen and her two colleagues but even the officers temporarily reassigned from the neighboring brigade had noticed something off about Lu Linjiang.
Surveillance was inherently tedious work, so Lu Linjiang naturally became the topic of choice to pass the time. The small squad had gossiped about him several times over, finally reaching a unanimous conclusion: Captain Lu was "involved."
The specifics of this "involvement" didn't take the gossiping crowd long to figure out. Lu Linjiang hadn't hidden the reason they were surveilling Jiang Langmin, and several backbone members of the Criminal Investigation Brigade put their professional skills to use, producing a very elegant deduction: Captain Lu had likely reconciled with his ex.
Tang Hua found this conclusion hard to believe. "That shouldn't be right. Isn't Jiang Cheng a bit *too* good-tempered then?"
Pan Youze, who had been transferred in and was slightly more senior than Tang Hua, had worked with Lu Linjiang before. He clicked his tongue and asked, "Are you sure? I thought Lu Linjiang didn't like men?"
"Even heroes have a weakness for beauty?"
The two looked at each other for a moment and shook their heads simultaneously. "Incredible. Simply incredible."
Xu Sichen stared at the monitor, taking a slow sip of water. "Isn't the truly incredible part the fact that when Captain Lu got married, we were single; when he got divorced, we were single; and now that he’s about to get remarried, we’re *still* single?"
Silence instantly fell over the van. This stark reality made the trio feel that life was utterly bleak. For a moment, no one wanted to speak, and even their interest in gossip evaporated—until Pan Youze let out a massive, thunderous sneeze.
Tang Hua wiped his face and moved away in disgust. "Officer Pan, could you watch it? That spray was enough for me to wash my face with!"
Pan Youze sheepishly pulled out a tissue and handed it over. "Couldn't help it, couldn't help it. I'll be careful next time. Here, wipe yourself off!"
Xu Sichen, sitting in the back, was lucky enough to have avoided the spray. She covered her mouth and looked at Pan Youze, then back at the screen. "It seems like a lot of people have been catching colds lately. Just in the time since you sneezed, at least five people coming out of that building have sneezed too."
Pan Youze wiped his nose. "I went on a blind date the day before yesterday; she’s a nurse at the city hospital. She said their respiratory department is suddenly overflowing. I originally wanted to ask her to a movie, but she only had time for a quick meal before she had to head back for overtime. She’d already been on duty for twenty-four hours straight; she had to specifically request leave just for that 'half-time break' to eat with me."
"No way, is it really that exaggerated?" Tang Hua asked.
"More than that. Apparently, last Wednesday, over a dozen people with high fevers showed up at her department all at once. They only had a few empty beds, and they were filled in a flash. Three of them were moved to the ICU that very night."
Tang Hua listened, fascinated. "That’s intense. Is it some kind of flu virus making a comeback?"
As they spoke, Pan Youze sneezed again, though this time he at least remembered to cover up with a tissue. "Of course it's intense. Apparently, it’s already been reported to the CDC, but they aren't sure what kind of infectious disease it is yet—at least, they didn't know when I was on my date. Ah, speaking of which, Xiao Liu told me to be careful. I haven't gone and caught it, have I?"
Tang Hua looked at him with disdain. "The look on your face is even more flirtatious than Lu Linjiang’s!"
Pan Youze remained unmoved. "You're just jealous! Xiao Liu is beautiful and kind-hearted. I'm about to leave the 'single' club soon; I'll definitely manage to draw a line between myself and you two before Captain Lu gets remarried."
Xu Sichen and Tang Hua both snorted. "Hmph!"
Lu Linjiang had been on watch all night, and since he rarely had to go out during the day, he didn't wake up until noon. Finding Jiang Cheng wasn't in the bedroom, he threw on some clothes. Upon entering the dining room, he saw Jiang Cheng with his back to him, head lowered, likely looking at his phone.
Lu Linjiang lightened his footsteps as he walked over, suddenly burying his face in the crook of Jiang Cheng’s neck. "Why did you come out here?"
Jiang Cheng was startled but quickly relaxed. "I came out to start on lunch."
Lu Linjiang gave his neck a playful, dissatisfied nip. "I told you, let the auntie handle the cooking."
Jiang Cheng couldn't help but break out in goosebumps. He laughed and tried to dodge to the side. "It won't take long. Besides, she usually comes in the evening. I have nothing to do during the day, so I might as well do it."
Lu Linjiang sighed softly, choosing not to argue further. "What are you looking at?"
"The letter the Professor wrote," Jiang Cheng said.
Lu Linjiang hugged him from behind. "Have you found anything new?"
Though the letter was long, Tao Minxing had only described the process of how he first discovered the data discrepancies. Initially, he thought the problematic data was just a normal deviation caused by unavoidable errors during Luo Jia’s experiments. But gradually, he realized something was wrong; all the data, even the flawed parts, fit the reality of the experiments too perfectly. Luo Jia had only made tiny modifications to each data point; if it hadn't been for a stroke of luck, even Tao Minxing himself might never have noticed.
Tao Minxing had practically retired to the second line of work, but in order to finalize the list of attendees for the virus symposium, he had conducted a large-scale screening of various experiments. This discovery had sent a cold sweat down his spine, and he began to observe Luo Jia in secret.
"See, the Professor first discovered something was wrong with Luo Jia. Later, because Jiang Langmin was the one in charge of the lab on his behalf, he began to suspect Jiang Langmin as well."
Leaning against Jiang Cheng, Lu Linjiang gave a hum of affirmation. Jiang Cheng continued, "But from beginning to end, the Professor didn't offer much of an evaluation of Luo Jia, even after confirming he had tampered with the data. However, in the letter, he told Professor Voss that Jiang Langmin is very dangerous. Why is that?"
Lu Linjiang paused. He had read this letter many times, but he had never paid attention to the point Jiang Cheng was raising. He took the letter and read it carefully once more before saying, "I hadn't thought about that before, because I instinctively feel that Jiang Langmin is dangerous." He looked at Jiang Cheng with a meaningful gaze. Jiang Cheng could only offer a helpless, bitter smile. "I don't have any feelings for him."
Lu Linjiang hadn't forgotten how Jiang Cheng used to praise Jiang Langmin. Although those words didn't actually contain any romantic undertones upon closer inspection, Lu Linjiang still couldn't help but feel a twinge of old-fashioned jealousy.
"I know, but *he* does." He simply turned Jiang Cheng around and pulled him onto his lap, contentedly wrapping his arms around him. "So I instinctively reject him. But if Professor Tao said so as well, then it is indeed very strange."
No matter how long the letter was, it only contained those few points. Lu Linjiang went over it repeatedly but couldn't find the basis for Professor Tao's deduction. However, he soon discovered another suspicious point: "Why was he so insistent that Professor Voss notify you and tell you to be careful?"
Jiang Cheng was the last person Tao Minxing had seen before his death; the Professor had called him over specifically for this matter. Jiang Cheng had subconsciously assumed it was because he had the shallowest roots in the field—if there was a large-scale tampering of data, he would be the first person who could be ruled out. But after Lu Linjiang’s analysis, he realized that since Professor Tao had suspected Jiang Langmin from the start, he should have had a good idea of whether Jiang Cheng was involved or not. Under such circumstances, his repeated mentions of Jiang Cheng likely carried a deeper meaning.
Lu Linjiang toyed with Jiang Cheng’s earlobe. "Could it be that the Professor saw that Jiang Langmin had improper intentions toward you?"
Jiang Cheng turned his head away, blushing, only to end up snuggling deeper into Lu Linjiang’s chest. He heard Lu Linjiang’s satisfied, mischievous chuckle and realized he had fallen for a trap.
"I... I'll think about it carefully. There must be a reason why the Professor insisted Voss remind me to be careful."
***
