Ming Han circled around in front of Chen Zheng and walked backward into the evening light. “Oh? What is it?”
Chen Zheng frowned and thought for a moment. “They’re avoiding mentioning Han Qu.”
The curve at Ming Han’s lips slowly faded, and his expression turned more serious than before. “Bro, were you zoning out? Director Yu mentioned the case Qiusai caused in Luocheng.”
Chen Zheng shook his head and rubbed between his brows with his right hand. He still had not figured out how to put it into words. Ming Han stepped closer. “No rush. Let’s deal with dinner first.”
There was nothing wrong with the Provincial Department cafeteria, but there were too many people, and the odds of running into someone they knew were practically one hundred percent. Chen Zheng did not want to go. “I’ll just make something at home.”
Ming Han hurried after him. “Then make some for me too?”
Only then did Chen Zheng remember that this trip was not just a homecoming for him. It was effectively one for Ming Han too. The Mobile Unit was based in Luocheng. Ming Han ought to have a place of his own, right? Even if he did not, the unit would surely have arranged housing for him. “Go back to your own place.”
“I don’t have a home.” Ming Han refused to leave, hands tucked into his trouser pockets. “Housing prices in the provincial capital are too high. Can’t afford one.”
Chen Zheng did not believe for a second that he had nowhere to stay and made as if to turn back. “Then I’ll go ask Captain Tang why he doesn’t arrange housing for his people.”
Laughing, Ming Han caught hold of him. “Fine, fine, I’ll tell you the truth. I have a place. The unit arranged it. But I stay there maybe a few times a year, so it’s usually empty. When I finish a mission and come back to Luocheng, I mostly sleep in the unit dorms. There’s nothing in the apartment now except dust.”
The words Then go back to the dorm this time too had already reached Chen Zheng’s lips, but when he met Ming Han’s eyes, he suddenly found them difficult to say. “My place has nothing but dust too.”
“There are two of us. You think we can’t handle a little dust?” Ming Han said. “Bringing me along has to be faster than cleaning by yourself. Besides, don’t you still have things about the case you want to talk through with me?”
The clues in Chen Zheng’s head were a mess, and he really did need someone he trusted to help him sort through them. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Get in.”
Luocheng was far larger than Zhuquan City, and streams of traffic clogged the roads badly enough to wear down anyone’s patience. The sky had still been full of sunset when they left the Provincial Department, but by the time they reached Shanhu Harbor, it was completely dark. Ming Han asked, “How long has it been since you came back?”
“July,” Chen Zheng said. His mother’s birthday was in July. He had returned to see his parents, spent half a day with the old couple, then come here and slept for one night.
Ming Han said, “Then it really does need a good cleaning. There’s a supermarket over there.”
Shanhu Harbor was considered one of Luocheng’s better residential developments, with complete amenities nearby and supermarkets large and small. Ming Han was pointing to the little market by the entrance. Chen Zheng used to stop there often for daily necessities, vegetables, fruit, and the like.
The supermarket was at its busiest now, packed shoulder to shoulder and roaring with noise. Cheerful music blasted from the speakers, and it was hard to hear someone even face-to-face. Chen Zheng suddenly found himself strangely unaccustomed to a kind of life he had once taken for granted. He wanted to get out quickly and turned to call Ming Han, only to see him already squeezing through the crowd with a mop, scallions, and several other things in his arms. “Let’s just get these for now. We can make do with noodles and mop the floor.”
Chen Zheng looked at the sweat on his forehead and laughed. “The Mobile Unit really lives up to its name. With this many people, you still managed to grab exactly what you wanted. Extremely mobile.”
Ming Han raised an eyebrow. “Already praising me?”
Chen Zheng simply folded his arms. “Is this only one of your most insignificant strengths?”
There were four apartments on each floor and the soundproofing was good, so the building itself was quiet. Chen Zheng opened the door. There was no unpleasant smell inside, but after being shut up for so long, the place naturally carried the stale scent of poor ventilation.
Chen Zheng set the groceries on the floor and went to open the living-room windows. Ming Han casually opened the shoe cabinet, looking for a pair of slippers. Chen Zheng glanced back. “What are you looking for? Just come in like that. The floor needs mopping anyway.”
Ming Han closed the cabinet and swaggered into the living room, looking around by the TV wall and touching things near the coffee table like a tourist. Chen Zheng had bought the apartment years ago, and the decor was a little dated now. A small section of the bar counter was even cracked. Ming Han stared curiously at the split and patted it. “Did your dad hit you with a hammer? How did this crack? Did it hurt?”
Chen Zheng glanced at it and laughed. “Do you try to comfort everything? A coworker did that.”
Chen Zheng had hosted plenty of colleagues here. Sometimes, after finishing a job, several teams under the Criminal Investigation Detachment liked to pile into his place and wreak havoc. That crack had been caused by someone from Major Crimes. Still, those annoying bastards did not only destroy things and leave. Before they went home, they always gave the place a thorough cleaning until everything was spotless.
Thinking of that, Chen Zheng’s gaze softened. He told Ming Han to stop studying the crack and go see whether the stove still worked.
The gas had been shut off for too long, so it took a while to purge the line. Ming Han finally lit the burner and called toward the living room, “Bro, come wash some vegetables.”
Chen Zheng was assembling the mop and had planned to clean the floor first, but Ming Han said there was no rush. They could mop after eating and call it post-meal exercise. Chen Zheng thought that made sense and joined him in the kitchen.
Noodles were about as simple as cooking got. Ming Han cracked six eggs straight into the pan and stir-fried a heaping batch with scallions. Chen Zheng rolled up his sleeves and washed the greens, not surprised in the least. Water boiled on the other burner, and Chen Zheng dropped the vegetables in, sending white steam billowing upward.
Ming Han began mixing the seasonings and divided the fried eggs between two bowls. Once Chen Zheng finished blanching the greens, he had nothing left to do and stood there watching him. Ming Han said, “I thought you’d be surprised.”
Chen Zheng said, “Surprised by what?”
Ming Han straightened. “Six eggs.”
Chen Zheng clicked his tongue. “Three for you, three for me. I once boiled four in one go.”
Ming Han said, “Who are you calling a fool?”
“I had four,” Chen Zheng replied. “You’re the fool.”
Ming Han laughed as he tipped the dry noodles into the boiling water. “Four is way too many.”
Leaning against the wall, Chen Zheng thought that four really had been too many. But after finishing a grueling day at work, he had somehow skipped lunch and come home starving. There were four eggs left in the refrigerator, so he had boiled all of them. He had even decided frying them would be unhealthy and deliberately boiled them instead, then mixed them into noodles and ate every last bite. Ming Han was different. He stir-fried the eggs over high heat, lowered the flame, tossed them properly, and even added scallions for aroma.
The noodles cooked in less than a minute. As Ming Han portioned them out, he noticed the corners of Chen Zheng’s mouth lifting. “What are you thinking about that has you smiling like that?”
Chen Zheng shook his head. “You’re surprisingly good at domestic life.”
Ming Han carried both bowls, one in each hand. They were heavy enough that the veins stood out along his forearms, making them look especially powerful. Chen Zheng reached for his own, but Ming Han tipped his chin toward the living room. “Another one of my insignificant strengths.”
Fried eggs tossed with noodles were naturally better than plain boiled eggs mixed in. Chen Zheng was genuinely hungry and finished without saying a word. When he looked up, Ming Han still had half a bowl left. Suspecting he had just wolfed his food down a little too ferociously, Chen Zheng beat Ming Han to the punch. “Are you savoring your masterpiece one noodle at a time?”
Ming Han simply set down his chopsticks. “Fine, I get it. You think it’s delicious. Everyone’s like this the first time. Me? I’m used to it.”
Chen Zheng’s eyelid twitched. He carried his bowl back to the kitchen, and before he had even finished washing it, Ming Han handed over his own now-empty bowl. Chen Zheng said, “Sudden burst of speed?”
Ming Han said, “Better if we keep our movements synchronized.”
While Chen Zheng cleaned up the kitchen, Ming Han finished assembling the mop and attacked the floor with broad, energetic strokes. Chen Zheng came out shaking water from his hands and tried to find Ming Han a pair of slippers. But whenever his team members visited, they wore disposable shoe covers. He had been gone for a year, and the few guest slippers he once owned had already been thrown out. Only his own remained. “Can you wear mine?”
Ming Han trotted over. “Of course.”
Chen Zheng opened the doors to the bedroom, study, and guest room, signaling that once Ming Han changed into the slippers, he could mop everything.
More and more lights appeared outside the windows. Working together, the two of them had the entire apartment cleaned from top to bottom within half an hour. It was nowhere near the level of a professional cleaning service, but at least it was perfectly livable again. Ming Han wrung out the mop and set it aside to dry, then saw that Chen Zheng had brewed a pot of black tea and was leaning against the cracked bar counter.
With the work finished, Ming Han went over to claim a cup for himself. The two stood on opposite sides of the bar, resting without speaking. Ming Han eventually got tired of standing and sat on a stool. The fragrance of black tea spread beneath the warm light, while the city-center night beyond this small corner remained quiet and steady.
After a long while, Chen Zheng broke the silence. “From what Captain Tang said, the Mobile Unit noticed Heaven-Measuring Ruler a long time ago. At the very least, you were already taking action against them before Qiusai launched its terrorist attack. So why, when we were investigating what happened to Han Qu’s body, did the Mobile Unit never provide a single lead? And there’s something else. The first time you mentioned Han Qu to me, I already thought it was strange. Back then, the city and province mobilized huge numbers of officers, and even a special action team from the Ministry of Public Security came to assist. So why did the Mobile Unit stay completely still?”
Ming Han’s expression gradually darkened. When his smile disappeared, his entire presence became oppressive. Several minutes passed before he said, “I know what you want to get from me. Unfortunately, even though I’m part of the Mobile Unit, I don’t participate in every operation. I don’t know much more than you do.”
Chen Zheng was silent for a moment. “Then what about Qiusai’s attack? Why didn’t the Mobile Unit make a move?”
“I wasn’t with the unit at the time,” Ming Han said. “Old Tang must have had his reasons.”
Chen Zheng stared into Ming Han’s eyes as if judging whether he was telling the truth. Ming Han’s gaze never dodged for even a second. In the end, Chen Zheng was the one who looked away. “That’s normal. The Mobile Unit’s clearance level is too high. Forget operations you didn’t participate in. Even when you did participate, you might not know every detail.” Chen Zheng asked, “Then what do you think about the conclusion I reached earlier?”
Ming Han recalled it. “That Director Yu and Old Tang are holding something back about Han Qu’s disappearance?”
Chen Zheng took a sip of tea and nodded. “I thought that after Kong Bing reported the situation in Zhuquan City, Han Qu would be raised again as a major point. After all, from what we know now, his disappearance is inseparable from Heaven-Measuring Ruler. But Director Yu and the others seemed to be deliberately avoiding the details surrounding him.”
The room suddenly became quiet enough to hear a pin drop. After a moment, Ming Han set down his teacup. “Maybe our rank still isn’t high enough to reach the truth.”
Chen Zheng stared at him. “You’re avoiding the question too.”
The atmosphere between them tightened abruptly. Half a second later, Ming Han smiled. “What answer do you want from me? That Han Qu’s disappearance back then was connected to Heaven-Measuring Ruler and senior people in the police system? Or do you want to go further and say that among people like Director Yu and our Old Tang, one of them is his accomplice?”
Chen Zheng picked up the tea things and went into the kitchen. Beneath the cover of running water, he said, “I find it very difficult to trust people.”
Ming Han leaned against the doorway. “But I trust you. I’ll help you find that truth.”
Chen Zheng turned off the faucet and flicked the water from his hands. When he looked at Ming Han again, his gaze had softened somewhat. “Why do you trust me?”
Ming Han raised an eyebrow, more interested in the fact that Chen Zheng had asked than in the question itself. Chen Zheng walked up to him and lightly tapped his chest with a damp fist. “Because you saw what I was like before I was really a criminal investigator?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Ming Han’s eyes. “You remembered?”
Chen Zheng said, “If I hadn’t, were you planning to keep it from me forever?” He moved a little closer. There was a wall behind Ming Han, leaving him nowhere to retreat. “Why?”
At this distance, the difference in their heights became even more obvious. Ming Han lowered his eyes. “Why what?”
“Why did you approach me?” Chen Zheng said. “Why choose this exact point in time to come close to me?”
After several seconds of silence, Ming Han said, “Ever since that spring, I’ve been following in your footsteps.”
Chen Zheng frowned faintly. “Following… me?”
Ming Han’s tone lightened. “Do you know what’s good about growing up?”
He’s changing the subject, Chen Zheng thought. Ming Han answered his own question. “The good part is that some small thing you do without thinking can leave a mark on a boy that won’t fade for years. That’s a privilege adults have.”
Chen Zheng looked puzzled. “Did I leave some kind of mark on you?”
“See? You don’t even remember.” Ming Han shook his head. “You can’t even remember my name.”
Chen Zheng argued, “You didn’t use this name back then.”
Ming Han smiled. “So you do remember something about me after all. It’s late, Bro. Good night.”
“You drank tea and you still think you’re going to sleep?” Chen Zheng called after him. “When you told Lü Ou about the past, did you know he’d tell me?”
Ming Han turned around wearing an aggrieved expression. “Lü Ou was depressed and listless at the time. I only used my own experience to encourage him. There’s nothing wrong with being a campus detective.”
Chen Zheng looked at him quietly for a while, then suddenly noticed Ming Han’s right thumb picking at the side of his index finger.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Zheng asked.
Ming Han had been doing it almost unconsciously. Only after Chen Zheng asked did he lift his hand. “Hangnail. Bro, do you have nail clippers?”
Chen Zheng walked over and looked. Maybe it was because Ming Han was such a big guy, but even the hangnail on his finger looked unusually fierce. If it was not clipped right away and he accidentally tore it off, the sharp pain would be the least of it. An infection would be worse.
Chen Zheng hurried to look for nail clippers, but he had been away too long, and the clippers were such a tiny thing that he could not remember where he had put them. When he turned around, Ming Han was already trying to tear the hangnail off. That was how these things worked. If you did not notice one, it did not matter. The moment you became aware of it, its presence grew impossible to ignore, and you could not feel comfortable until it was gone.
Chen Zheng stopped him immediately. “Don’t pull it. You’ll tear the skin!”
Ming Han looked a little helpless. “But it’s uncomfortable.”
Chen Zheng took Ming Han’s hand and tried to pull the hangnail forward. Before he had even used any strength, Ming Han suddenly yelped. Chen Zheng jumped. “That hurt?”
Ming Han shook his head. “I pulled one when I was little and took a strip of skin with it. Traumatized me.”
Chen Zheng frowned. It was his first time removing a hangnail for someone else too, and nothing about it felt easy. And sometimes luck was simply terrible. He could not find the nail clippers, could not find clean scissors either, and the only pair was in the shoe cabinet for opening packages. The more he tugged at the hangnail, the redder the skin on Ming Han’s finger became. Finally, Chen Zheng lowered his head, used his teeth, and bit it clean off.
Ming Han: “…”
Chen Zheng spat out the hangnail and checked again. “Done. Go wash your hands.”
Ming Han moved away stiffly, arms and legs on the same side swinging together like a block of wood. “Okay.”
Chen Zheng stood in the living room and heard no sound of running water for a long time. Belatedly, he realized that what he had just done had been a little too much like “bullying” the man. He pressed his lips together, walked to the window, and opened it. Night wind poured in, carrying away the faint heat around his ears.
In the bathroom, Ming Han stared at his index finger. The hangnail was gone, but the touch of Chen Zheng’s lips still felt vivid against the skin. He raised his right hand beneath the light and studied it for a long time, the corners of both his eyes and mouth curving upward. Then he made a tiny gesture.
His index finger and thumb, now free of the hangnail, formed a ring, which he slipped over the ring finger of his left hand.
The Provincial Department still had not laid out a clear plan for how Heaven-Measuring Ruler would be investigated. Chen Zheng went to the department every day, but just as Ming Han had said, their rank was not high enough to reach the truth. A thin wall stood in front of him. His own position was even more awkward than everyone else’s because he had once been Han Qu’s close friend.
Three days later, Kong Bing and the others were due to return to Zhuquan City. It was the first time these local detectives had ever been involved in a case of this magnitude. At first, Kong Bing had been itching to jump straight into the investigation, but after spending several days in Luocheng, he gradually realized that things were developing very differently from what he had imagined. Their superiors had deeper considerations, and everything they said and did left him feeling lost in a fog.
Kong Bing found it difficult to adjust and spent every day restless and irritable. When the order to return to Zhuquan City finally came, he went to find Chen Zheng. “This is the kind of life you used to live?”
Chen Zheng had watched his entire emotional journey over the trip and laughed. “Finally understand me?”
“No, seriously, why does staying here feel so damn stressful?” Kong Bing said. “I’d rather be out in the wind and rain solving cases every day.”
Chen Zheng nodded. “Go back. Waiting around here any longer would just be wasting time.”
“What about you?” Kong Bing struggled for a while before saying, “Why don’t you come back with us? Your official position is still at the institute anyway.”
Chen Zheng’s gaze dimmed slightly. Over the past two days, he had repeatedly considered whether to return to Zhuquan City. On the one hand, the Provincial Department as it currently stood was no longer a place that suited him. On the other, his superiors were clearly wary of him, and staying in Luocheng was not the only way to get closer to Heaven-Measuring Ruler. The crucial lead this time had appeared in Zhuquan City in the first place.
But the voice inside him said, Stay. Stop running away.
Kong Bing was still trying to persuade him. “I don’t think that Captain Tang is going to make a move anytime soon. The Mobile Unit has had intelligence for so long and still stayed put. They’re not suddenly going to do something in the next day or two. Going back is better.”
Chen Zheng sighed. “Captain Kong, keep a close eye on Zhuquan City. If anything happens, anything at all, contact me privately.”
Kong Bing froze for a moment, then understood what Chen Zheng meant. “Fine. Stay if you want. I’ll pass the message to the institute when I get back.” He turned to leave, but Chen Zheng called, “Captain Kong.”
Kong Bing looked back. Chen Zheng said, “Keep an eye on Liu Wenran’s missing father too. We couldn’t find him before, but now we have Liu Wenran’s DNA. There’s always a chance it’ll match something.”
Kong Bing huffed. “Still assigning me work at a time like this.”
Chen Zheng raised his right hand. Kong Bing looked faintly surprised, clicked his tongue, then walked back. The two men clapped each other on the back. “I’m off.”
After seeing Kong Bing off, Chen Zheng remained alone for a while. Returning to Luocheng felt like a pair of hands had abruptly snatched him out of a relatively stable place and shoved him back into a frantic world where everything demanded attention at once.
He had far too many relationships to deal with in Luocheng. Once his old acquaintances at the municipal bureau heard he was back, his phone barely stopped ringing. Forensic pathologist Xu Kan even used a meeting as an excuse to come see him at the Provincial Department and told him all kinds of news about the detachment. After Hua Chong was transferred to the Special Action Team, Major Crimes received a new captain, a same-rank transfer from another city. He was a decent person and unquestionably capable, but he and the others still needed more time to find their rhythm. Zhang Mao and Qu Zhi had both grown a great deal and could already shoulder major responsibilities.
“To be honest, once you and Hua left, I never really felt settled. But this year everyone seems to have adjusted pretty well. Maybe we’ve just been lucky and Luocheng hasn’t had any especially complicated cases.”
Chen Zheng said, “Don’t sell yourself short. Isn’t that how everyone grows into the job? You’re already an old forensic pathologist. Don’t you remember how I took on the responsibility back then?”
Xu Kan thought for a moment and laughed. “True. You were younger than anyone when you became captain.”
They talked for a while longer before Xu Kan said, “Hua’s secondment is only temporary. He should be back next year. What about you?”
Chen Zheng knew perfectly well that once Hua Chong returned, he would become the new captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. That was exactly what Chen Zheng wanted. He trusted Luocheng’s safety in Hua Chong’s hands more than anyone else’s. “There’s still something I have to do.”
Xu Kan fell silent. He knew exactly what Chen Zheng meant. “And after you finish it?”
Chen Zheng smiled. “Who knows? I’ll take it one step at a time.” He patted Xu Kan’s shoulder. “Don’t get all melancholy on me. Are you really turning into an old forensic pathologist?”
Xu Kan said, “Only because you keep calling me old.”
Chen Zheng found time to visit his parents. The old couple were open-minded people. They had not tried to stop him much even when he had done something as unconventional as going to Zhuquan City to “coast through life.” Now that he was willing to come back, they said nothing aloud, but the relief in their eyes was impossible to hide.
At the dinner table, Lu Hejun mentioned Liang Yueze and asked how Xiao Liang had been lately. Only then did Chen Zheng remember that he still had not found time to see Liang Yueze.
“What about Uncle? Is he still sulking?” Chen Zheng asked.
Lu Hejun set down her chopsticks. “You didn’t see him at the Provincial Department?”
Chen Zheng shook his head.
“That uncle of yours is about ready to cut ties with all of us,” Lu Hejun said.
“Hejing is busy, that’s all,” Chen Zheng’s father said, smoothing things over.
After leaving his parents’ home, Chen Zheng sent Liang Yueze a message asking whether he had time to meet. Liang Yueze did not reply until the next day, saying he was overseas on a business trip. Chen Zheng did not ask further and did not think much of it.
Heaven-Measuring Ruler occupied almost all of his thoughts, yet few things were more common than reality refusing to cooperate. Even in Luocheng, the investigation seemed to have stalled.
Luocheng’s winters were always accompanied by endless cold rain. Dampness saturated the air, and the chill pierced straight through clothes that looked warm enough and burrowed stubbornly into flesh and bone. A gust of wind swept past, and Chen Zheng shivered. A police vehicle drove in. He recognized it as Yu Xingzhong’s car.
He had been here for days now, and the Provincial Department’s attitude remained vague while he felt more and more like an outsider. He had not experienced this kind of frustration in a long time. It was as though once people reached a certain age, they inevitably became worldly, smooth, calm, agreeable, their youthful impulses held down in the name of seeing the bigger picture. But Chen Zheng no longer wanted to wait.
Blocking Yu Xingzhong’s path, Chen Zheng said, “Director Yu.”