My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 42

On the fifth evening, Lin Jiqiu carried the pork rib soup that Ayou had stewed upstairs. This time the door wasn’t locked, so she pushed it open and went in. Cheng Ran was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. The computer screen displayed strings of code, and the tablet showed the architecture diagram, with several places circled in red. Lin Jiqiu glanced at the screen, not quite understanding it, and placed the pork rib soup on the table.

“What about the second floor?”

“Almost there.” Cheng Ran opened his eyes and rubbed them. “But the third and fourth layers are connected. If the second layer is broken, the third and fourth layers will trigger alarms simultaneously.”

“Is it possible to bypass this?”

“No. But it can be simulated. Use the list of access points provided by K to forge a legitimate access request, making the system think that it is one of its own people checking the data.”

How long will it take?

“Two or three days.”

Lin Jiqiu pushed the pork rib soup in front of him. “Drink the soup first. Ayou has been stewing it all afternoon.”

Cheng Ran picked up the bowl and took a sip. The pork rib soup was very hot, and he hissed, but he didn’t put down the bowl, slowly sipping it. Lin Jiqiu leaned against the edge of the table, watching his profile. His fingers were still so thin, with distinct knuckles, and his nails were neatly trimmed. On his wrist was the communicator—the one she had given him, the “Yang” logo embedded on the back of the casing, the dark gray sphere gleaming faintly under the light.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“Did you stay up all night like this when you were at Stargazer?”

“often.”

“Nobody cares about you?”

“Nobody.” Cheng Ran put down his soup bowl. “Stargazers only care about the result, not the process. As long as you can complete the task within the allotted time, nobody cares what time you go to sleep.”

“Do you care?”

Cheng Ran looked at her. “What do you care about?”

“The result. Or the process?”

He thought for a moment. “I used to care about the results. Now I care about everything.”

Lin Jiqiu’s lips curved slightly. “Is it because of the firm?”

“Maybe.”

She did not press the matter further.

On the sixth day, A-Zuo returned home carrying a package. It wasn’t large, and it was square-shaped. The sender’s name was written on it, but she didn’t recognize it. Lin Jiqiu took the package and opened it. Inside was a black USB drive, without any markings. She examined it carefully, but didn’t immediately plug it into her computer. Instead, she went upstairs to find Cheng Ran.

“Sent by K?” Cheng Ran took the USB drive and plugged it into the computer. A folder popped up on the screen, containing several encrypted documents. He opened the first document, which was a list.

“The core members of the Stargazers in China.” Cheng Ran’s voice lowered. “Code names, responsibilities, last known locations. Telescope is on the list, his responsibility is ‘Field Operations Supervisor.’ There are a few other people I don’t recognize.”

Lin Jiqiu stood behind him, looking at the names on the screen. “Are they real names?”

“No. They’re all code names. But K said in the email that the real names need to be looked up in the database, these are just indexes.”

“Can you find it?”

“Yes. But we need to access the core database.” Cheng Ran closed the document and opened the second one—a network topology diagram, more detailed than the previous one, marking the type and version of each firewall layer, as well as several access points he hadn’t discovered before.

“K said he just updated it last week. The Stargazer is currently undergoing a reorganization, with many old nodes being abandoned and several new ones added. If you attack using the old architecture, you’ll fall into a trap.”

Lin Jiqiu’s fingers tapped lightly on the table. “Why did he help you?”

He said he owed me.

“You still believe him?”

Cheng Ran was silent for a few seconds. “I don’t believe it. But he has no reason to lie to me.”

“Maybe there is. You just don’t know it.”

Cheng Ran looked at her. “Are you worried this is a trap?”

“I’m worried. But you won’t know until you try.” Lin Jiqiu patted the back of his chair. “Continue. I’m downstairs.”

She went downstairs. Ah You was busy in the kitchen, Ah Zuo was behind the counter, Ah Hua was perched on the windowsill, Ah Mo was squatting on top of the bookshelf, and Ah Ju was secretly eating the cookies Ah You had left on the counter. Everything seemed normal. She walked to the window and looked at the flower shop across the street. The proprietress was watering the flowers; the sunlight was bright, and water droplets glistened on the leaves.

Her phone vibrated. It was an unknown number. She answered it.

“Lin Jiqiu?” The voice sounded somewhat familiar, with a slightly hoarse tone.

Who is it?

“Song Yang”.

Lin Jiqiu’s fingers tightened slightly. Song Yang—the man rescued from the underwater facility, had been imprisoned for nearly a year, his number was XK-05. “How do you have my number?”

“Sun Yuan gave it to me. I want to thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might still be locked in that room.” His voice was soft, as if he wasn’t used to speaking. “I was discharged from the hospital today. I’d like to treat you to a meal. Is that convenient?”

Lin Jiqiu thought for a moment. “No need to treat me to a meal. You should get some rest.”

“Then… could I go to the agency? I’d like to thank you in person.”

“……bring it on.”

Lin Jiqiu hung up the phone, and Ayou poked his head out from the kitchen. “Who was that?”

“Song Yang, the one we rescued, said he wanted to come and thank us.”

“Oh, that one. Is he better now?”

“should.”

Ayou shrank back, and the sizzling sound of oil from the kitchen filled the air. Lin Jiqiu walked back to the sofa and sat down, Ahua jumping up and curling up beside her. Song Yang was coming, and she didn’t really want to see him, not because she disliked him, but because seeing him would remind her of the underwater facility, that door, Fang Lin curled up in the corner, and the man on the monitor screen. But she still said, “Come on over.” He needed to thank her, and perhaps after thanking him, he could let it go.

About an hour later, the doorbell rang. A-Zuo went to open the door, and Song Yang stood there, wearing a clean shirt. His hair was shorter, and he was still very thin, but his complexion was much better than when he was in the hospital. He was carrying a fruit basket, and his movements were somewhat restrained.

“Please come in.” Ah Zuo stepped aside to let him in.

Song Yang walked in and looked around. The counter, filing cabinets, bookshelves, coffee table, sofa, and Ahua on the windowsill. His gaze lingered on Lin Jiqiu for a moment, then moved away.

“Sit down.” Lin Jiqiu pointed to the sofa opposite.

Song Yang sat down and placed the fruit basket on the coffee table. “This is… a small token of my appreciation.”

Ah You came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea and placed it in front of Song Yang. Song Yang said thank you, picked up the teacup, and took a sip. “It’s quite quiet here…”

“Yes. That’s how it is when we’re not taking on any cases.”

Song Yang put down his teacup. “Did you go down again later? To that underwater facility?”

Lin Jiqiu looked at him. “I went down there. I rescued the others.”

“Others?”

“Numbers XK-01 to XK-10. The area you were in before. There are a few other people being held on the other side.”

Song Yang’s fingers clenched tightly on his knees. “They’ve all been rescued?”

“Most of them were rescued. The rooms for XK-01 and XK-02 are empty. They may have been moved, or perhaps…”

He didn’t ask any further questions. The two remained silent for a while.

“Lin Jiqiu,” Song Yang looked up at her, “I saw you underwater that day. When you swam me up, the sides of your neck—”

“That’s my ability,” Lin Jiqiu said calmly. “I can breathe underwater.”

Song Yang’s hand trembled slightly. “You…you’re not an ordinary person?”

“no.”

He didn’t ask any more questions. He picked up his teacup and took another sip. “Thank you. Whoever you are, thank you.” He stood up. “I have to go. The doctor said I can’t stay out too long.”

Lin Jiqiu also stood up. “I’ll see you out.”

“No need. I can manage on my own.” Song Yang walked to the door, stopped, and glanced back at her. “You saved me, and you saved Fang Lin, Lin Xiao, and Zhou Wan. We will all remember you.”

He opened the door and went out. The wind chimes tinkled.

Ah You poked his head out from the kitchen. “Gone?”

“They’re gone.”

“He looks much better.”

“Um.”

Lin Jiqiu walked back to the sofa and sat down. Ahua jumped up and curled up next to her. She reached out and scratched Ahua’s chin, and Ahua made a gurgling sound.

Day 7.

Lin Jiqiu got up very early. Before dawn, the morning light seeped in through the gaps in the curtains, bathing the room in a pale blue hue. She didn’t turn on the light, but dressed in the dark and went downstairs. Ayou was still asleep; there was no sound from the kitchen. Azuo wasn’t behind the counter either. Ahua was perched on the windowsill, her head buried in her tail; Amo was perched on top of the bookshelf with her eyes closed; and Aju was curled up next to Ahua.

Lin Jiqiu walked to the window and looked across the street. The flower shop was closed, the coffee shop was closed, and the street was deserted. She picked up the glass of leftover cold tea from the coffee table, took a sip, and found it very bitter. She put the glass down and went upstairs.

The studio door was closed. No light peeked through the crack—the lights were off. She hesitated for a moment, then gently pushed the door open. Cheng Ran leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, breathing shallowly. The computer screen was off, and the parts and printouts on the desk were neatly arranged. He was asleep. Not the kind of nap where he slumped over the desk, but a deep sleep with his head tilted back in the chair, hair hanging over his forehead, lips slightly parted.

She stood at the door for a while, then gently closed it and went downstairs. Ah You was already up; the sound of running water came from the kitchen. “Boss, what would you like to eat today?”

“Porridge. Century egg and lean pork.”

“Okay!”

Sunlight streamed in through the window. A new day had begun.