My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 40

“Good morning, boss!” Ah You poked his head out from the kitchen. “We’re having pancakes today. I added your favorite diced ham and chopped green onions.”

Lin Jiqiu walked to the sofa, sat down, and picked up the warm water on the coffee table, taking a sip. “Where’s Chengran?”

“Upstairs. I went to bed very late last night.”

“What time is it?”

“I don’t know. The lights in his studio were still on when I got up.”

Lin Jiqiu put down her water glass, stood up, and went upstairs. The door to the second-floor studio was closed, but light shone through the crack. She knocked twice, but no one answered, so she knocked twice more.

“Come in.”

Pushing open the door, Cheng Ran sat at the workbench. His hair was more disheveled than yesterday, and the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced, but his gaze was clear. On the workbench lay a tablet and some printed documents, as well as the stun gun—it had been disassembled, and its parts were scattered all over the table.

“Didn’t sleep all night?” Lin Jiqiu walked over.

“She’s asleep.”

“You always say you’re going to sleep.”

“This time I really slept. For two hours.”

Lin Jiqiu pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at the printouts on the table. They were photos of the black sedan—taken from different angles, some from surveillance cameras, others taken by Cheng Ran last night in the abandoned factory area. The license plate was enlarged; the last four digits were 672.

“What did you find?”

Cheng Ran rubbed his eyes. “The source of that car’s fake license plate. The license plate was removed from a scrapped car, and the owner of the scrapped car has passed away. We can’t find out who removed it, nor can we find out who installed it.”

“What’s the car model?”

“A Toyota Camry, black, manufactured three years ago. There are many of these cars on the market, making them difficult to trace.” Cheng Ran flipped through the printed document. “But I found the vehicle identification number (VIN) for that car. It’s not a fake; the VIN is genuine.”

“Can you find the car owner?”

“Yes. The car owner is a man named Liu Dong. He is thirty-eight years old, has no fixed job, and lives in an old neighborhood in the north of the city. He has no criminal record and no record of being associated with the Mirror Society or the Stargazers.”

“It might be a fake identity.”

“Maybe.” Cheng Ran looked at her. “But that neighborhood isn’t far from Mingyuan Consulting’s office.”

Lin Jiqiu tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table. “So Liu Dong might be a member of Rusty Bone, or he might be an outer member of Mirror Society.”

Cheng Ran nodded, reassembled the stun gun, and clicked the casing shut. “I checked the characteristics of the two men who were following us last night. The one with the limp, his right leg drags slightly when he walks. That’s a very obvious characteristic; if he has a criminal record, it should be recorded in the database.”

“Is there?”

“No. Not in the police database. May never have been arrested.”

“What about the other one?”

“The other one doesn’t have obvious features. He’s of medium build and doesn’t have any distinctive physical characteristics. But I took a picture of his profile as he got out of the car in the abandoned factory area.” Cheng Ran flipped through the printouts, found a photo, the lighting was dim, but the outline was still visible. “I’ve seen this face before.”

Lin Jiqiu leaned closer to take a look. The person in the photo was turned to the side, closing a car door, their face turned towards the car, only half of their face visible. The brow bone, bridge of the nose, chin—the lines were very sharp.

Where have I seen you before?

“In the stargazers’ database. I saw this person three years ago. He appeared with the telescope. He might be one of the telescope’s henchmen.”

Lin Jiqiu’s fingers tightened slightly. “So the telescope got involved too.”

“Perhaps. The Stargazer, the Mirror Meeting, and the Rusty Bones—these three lines are getting closer and closer.”

Lin Jiqiu stood up and walked to the window. Below was the street she had walked countless times; the florist was watering the flowers, and the café staff were moving tables and chairs. Everything seemed normal. But beneath the surface, undercurrents were surging.

“Chengran, do you think the telescope will come looking for us?”

“Yes. When he was with the Stargazers, he never let any threat slip by. We’re investigating him, and he’ll find out.”

“Then let’s wait for him.”

Cheng Ran looked at her. “Not going to dodge?”

“Don’t hide. Hiding will only make things more complicated. Let’s wait for him to come and see what he wants.”

Ah You’s voice came from downstairs. “Boss! Brother Cheng! The pancakes are ready!”

Lin Jiqiu turned to look at Cheng Ran. “Go down and eat. You’ll have the energy to wait if you’re full.”

The two went downstairs. Ah You had already placed the pancakes on the table; the golden-brown pancakes were sprinkled with bright green scallions and orange diced ham, looking very appealing. Ah Zuo came out from behind the counter, Ah Hua jumped down from the windowsill and squatted by the table, and Ah Ju was already squatting down.

“Boss, what are your plans for today?” Ah You asked while serving porridge.

Lin Jiqiu took a bite of the pancake. “Wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“Waiting for someone.”

Ayou didn’t ask any more questions and sat down with his bowl of porridge. He knew that Lin Jiqiu’s “waiting for someone” wasn’t just any ordinary waiting. The four of them ate breakfast around the table. Ayou ate quickly, Azuo ate slowly, Ahua squatted beside him waiting to be fed, and Aju was already stealing diced ham from Ayou’s bowl.

Lin Jiqiu’s phone vibrated halfway through her meal. It was an unknown number. She put down her chopsticks, glanced at the screen, hesitated for a moment, and then answered.

“Lin Jiqiu?”

The voice was young and calm, like reciting a familiar line. Lin Jiqiu didn’t answer, waiting for the other person to continue.

“I am a telescope.”

Lin Jiqiu’s fingers tightened slightly, but her tone remained unchanged. “I know.”

“You are calmer than I expected.”

What do you want?

“Let’s meet. Let’s talk about your father.” The telescope’s voice was soft, with an indescribable calmness. “You went all the way to find Chen Weisong, wasn’t it to find out the truth? There are some things he knows, but I know more.”

Lin Jiqiu was silent for a few seconds. “Where shall we meet?”

“The abandoned factory area in the north of the city. Three o’clock in the afternoon. Come alone.”

Why did you choose the location?

“Because you’re now on my chessboard.” The phone hung up.

Lin Jiqiu put down his phone and looked at Cheng Ran. Cheng Ran’s expression didn’t change, but his fingers paused on his chopsticks. He had already heard it—his perception didn’t need to be on speakerphone.

“telescope?”

“Okay. Three o’clock in the afternoon, the abandoned factory area. Let me go alone.”

You can’t go alone.

“I know.” Lin Jiqiu picked up the bowl of porridge and took a sip. “So you go too. Just don’t let him see you.”

Cheng Ran looked at her. “You want me to stay in the shadows?”

“Can your perception cover that distance?”

“Yes. The factory area isn’t big; I can work on the perimeter.”

Lin Jiqiu nodded and put down the bowl of porridge. “Then it’s settled.”

Ah You listened from the side, his face turning pale. “Boss, that person—the binoculars—who is he?”

“The stargazers… might be the murderers of my father.”

Ah You’s hand clenched tightly under the table. Ah Zuo turned a page of the file, but his fingers paused on the page. Ah Hua squatted beside him, her tail no longer wagging. Ah Ju stopped stealing food.

“Boss, I’ll go with you,” A-You said.

“No need. You stay at home.”

“But–“

“Ah You,” Lin Jiqiu said calmly, “stay at home. Keep an eye on Ah Hua and the others.”

Ah You opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

At 2:30 PM, Lin Jiqiu and Cheng Ran went out. A Zuo drove, Cheng Ran sat in the passenger seat, and Lin Jiqiu sat in the back seat. The car headed north of the city. There weren’t many cars on the road, and the sky was a bit overcast, with clouds pressing in from the west, blocking out most of the sunlight.

“Chengran, once you arrive, don’t go into the factory area. Find a spot on the outskirts to crouch down. How far can your senses cover?”

“In open areas, it’s fine within 500 meters. In factory areas, there are buildings that block the view, so it might be reduced to about 300 meters.”

“That’s enough. I’m in the center of the factory. If there’s a problem, you can get there in time.”

Cheng Ran’s fingers tightened slightly on his knee. “He won’t make a move there.”

How did you know?

“If he wanted to take action, he wouldn’t have chosen to meet you in a place like this. Although the abandoned factory area is remote, it’s still an open space. He asked to meet you to talk, not to kill you.”

What should we talk about?

“Maybe it’s about a deal. Maybe it’s about terms. Maybe he just wants to see you.”

Lin Jiqiu looked out the window. The street scene receded, the buildings seemed shorter, and the streets wider. She reached into her pocket and found the folding knife—she had brought it with her today. There was also her communicator, hanging on her belt, the switch on the casing in the “on” position, a small blue light shining from it.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“The communicator is always on. You can hear him talking.”

“good.”

The car stopped outside the abandoned factory area. Lin Jiqiu got out, Cheng Ran got out as well, and A Zuo stayed in the car. Cheng Ran looked around and pointed to an abandoned factory building on the east side of the factory area. “I’ll be there. After you go in, keep walking west. He said to meet in the center of the factory area, probably in that open space.”

Lin Jiqiu nodded and turned to walk into the factory area. Cheng Ran disappeared into the shadows of the factory buildings on the east side.

The factory area was quiet. Wind blew in through the broken windows, rattling the corrugated iron roof. Scattered on the ground were broken bricks, rusty equipment, and plastic bags that had drifted in from who-knows-where. Lin Jiqiu walked past a pile of discarded steel bars, past a rusty forklift, and arrived at the open space. The space wasn’t large, about half the size of a basketball court, covered with gravel and dust, and a person stood in the center.

Tall, thin, wears glasses. Has a scar on his left eyebrow bone.

telescope.

He was wearing a dark trench coat and stood there, looking like someone who had been waiting for a while but didn’t seem to care much. Lin Jiqiu walked over and stopped about five meters away from him.

“Lin Jiqiu.” The binoculars looked at her. “You don’t look much like your father. You look like your mother.”

Lin Jiqiu’s fingers tightened around the folding knife in his pocket, but his expression remained unchanged. “You know my mother?”

“I met her once. That was many years ago. Your father brought her to a project team dinner. She didn’t talk much, and she just kept smiling.”

Lin Jiqiu was silent for a few seconds. “How did my father die?”

The telescope’s expression remained unchanged. “An experimental accident.”

I don’t believe it.

“You may not believe it. But it’s true.” The telescope took a photograph out of its pocket and handed it to her. Lin Jiqiu took it and glanced at it—it was a photo of her father, wearing a white lab coat, standing in a laboratory, holding a piece of equipment she didn’t recognize. On the back of the photo was written a line of text—“Lin Yuanzhou, March 2000.”

“Your father was a genius,” the telescope said. “His understanding of those technologies surpassed that of everyone else on the project team. But he was too idealistic, believing that those technologies should be made public and should benefit all mankind. When those above disagreed, he continued his research on his own.”

“Are you one of the stargazers?”

“It used to be.”

“And now?”

The telescope didn’t answer. He looked at Lin Jiqiu, his gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds. “You’re as stubborn as your father. That project has been shelved, and your father is dead. If you continue investigating, you’ll only harm yourself and those around you.”

Are you threatening me?

“I’m reminding you.”

Lin Jiqiu put the photo into his pocket. “I will investigate my father’s matter to the end, no matter who is trying to stop me.”

He looked at her through the binoculars and remained silent for a few seconds. “Then let’s investigate.” He turned and walked in another direction from the factory area.

“telescope.”

He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“What’s your name? Your real name.”

“The name doesn’t matter.” He continued walking and disappeared into the shadows between the abandoned factory buildings.

Lin Jiqiu stood there, the wind blowing through her hair, the corrugated iron roof rattling. After a while, Cheng Ran emerged from the shadows of the east side of the factory building and walked to her side.

“I heard you.”

“Um.”

He did not deny it.

“No.” Lin Jiqiu took the photo out of his pocket and looked at it again. His father’s face was expressionless, but his eyes were bright, as if he were looking at something worth sacrificing everything for.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“I won’t stop.”

Cheng Ran looked at her. “I know.”

The two men turned and walked out of the factory area. The wind stirred up the dust on the ground, forming a thin layer of mist in the sunlight. Their shadows were stretched long, one on the left and one on the right, cast side by side on the gravel ground.

As they walked out of the factory area, A-Zuo’s car was still waiting. They got in the car.

“Go back?” A-Zuo asked.

“Let’s go back.” Lin Jiqiu leaned back in his seat, looking out the window. The abandoned factory area receded into the distance, finally disappearing from the rearview mirror.