Then they were in the car.

The car was dark. Her hands were warm, still holding him. Her soft breath was at his ear.

Their faces brushed together—it was unclear who initiated it. Her lips were already covering his, and when Yin Feng recalled that moment again, he felt his heart violently contract. It was unmistakably the same sensation as when that woman had kissed him the day he first woke up in the hospital.

She had kissed his soul.

She had reached his soul with that kiss.

This thought invaded his mind, intense as a flash of light, impossible to dismiss.

Yin Feng saw the two of them in the car, intimate as children. Saw himself smiling foolishly, looking ready to cry, like a pitiful drowned dog. And she was even bolder, simply pressing herself against him, covering his eyes.

The whole world fell silent. He couldn’t see anything, could only feel her soft palms, passionate kisses, and caresses.

He said, “A Xu, I want more.”

She replied, “Alright.”

…

“Teacher Yin!”

“Teacher Yin!”

Two voices called out beside his ears. Yin Feng snapped back to awareness, making out Tu Ya and Xiao Yan before him, and the pool behind them—they had already pulled him from the water.

Tu Ya and Xiao Yan watched him in silence.

Yin Feng reached up to touch his face, finding two trails of warm tears.

He looked up somewhat dazedly, glancing at the bright sky where thick clouds only allowed a small corner of the sun through—all the light the earth received. He stood up from the ground, waving away their attempts to help, and heard his hoarse voice say, “Where’s Chen Feng? Get him here, now.”

—

When Chen Feng heard Yin Feng was learning to swim today, he knew it would be a terrible morning. He deliberately kept his distance, finding a corner in the villa to read, drink, and snack on peanuts, quite content.

But Xiao Yan finding him so quickly was unexpected—he’d thought Yin Feng would persist longer in the water for You Ming Xu’s sake.

Though Teacher Yin would never admit that aloud.

“What happened?” Chen Feng asked.

Xiao Yan hesitated before whispering, “He cried.”

Chen Feng was stunned.

Crying? Yin Feng?

In all these years, no one had ever seen Yin Feng shed tears.

“Why?” Chen Feng quickened his pace back.

Xiao Yan wore an odd expression. “…He cried while swimming.”

Chen Feng: “…”

If it had been Yu Ying Jun crying while learning to swim, Chen Feng could understand. But Yin Feng? That mature, calm, even somewhat gloomy psychologist?

Could it be… that Teacher Yin, after waking up, had been affected by that period and become somewhat childlike?

For some reason, considering this possibility, a warmth rose in Chen Feng’s heart.

—

After returning to his room, Yin Feng showered, changed clothes, and entered his study, his emotions now calm. But that inexplicable agitation still circled in his chest. He sat in his chair, glumly basking in the sunlight through the window. Then You Ming Xu’s image appeared before him again—smiling, lowering her head to kiss him in the darkness. Without realizing it, he became lost in thought.

By the time Chen Feng knocked and entered, Yin Feng had recovered his usual indifferent expression. Leaning back in his chair, he slowly rotated a small arc, playing with his mouse. After several seconds, he finally spoke: “What has You Ming Xu been busy with lately?”

Chen Feng paused, thinking “finally it comes” and grateful he’d maintained his habit of keeping tabs. He answered casually, “Should be investigating a new case.”

Yin Feng was quiet for a few seconds before asking, “With whom?”

Chen Feng wondered how he knew, but smiled and said, “Their team got a new member, reportedly a decorated detective, very capable, transferred from Yunnan. Specific background unclear.”

Yin Feng had asked casually, but hearing Chen Feng’s response, he looked up at him. Chen Feng fearlessly added, “Quite handsome, single.” He kept to himself the additional thought that the man seemed quite charismatic.

Yin Feng brooded for a moment before saying, “Photo.”

Chen Feng looked through his phone—this wasn’t classified information, so he could access it—and handed it to Yin Feng.

Yin Feng glanced at it twice before tossing it on the desk.

Chen Feng wondered what scene was playing out—did he want her or not? Upon waking, he’d clearly said no, claiming their paths were too different and he’d never be with a female police officer. But today, something had triggered him to cry, and after seeing her new partner’s photo, his face was full of killing intent.

However, from what Chen Feng knew of Yin Feng, he was extremely determined and cool-headed. When had he ever taken a woman seriously? He probably still didn’t want her.

But Yin Feng stood up and said, “Come with me to visit Director Duan.”

Chen Feng asked, “Is there a problem?”

Yin Feng just curved his lips: “Nothing. Senior Brother took care of me during my period of cognitive impairment. Now that I’ve recovered, I should thank him in person.”

—

While Yin Feng, dressed in a suit and all smiles, was having a pleasant conversation with You Ming Xu’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss, bearing gifts, You Ming Xu herself was leaving Guo Xing’s residential complex with Xu Meng Shan, Jing Ping, and others.

Xu Meng Shan was driving, and You Ming Xu was in the back seat. Passing the restaurant at the entrance, they saw the fish restaurant owner’s wife waving goodbye. You Ming Xu leaned out to wave back.

A thought flashed through Xu Meng Shan’s mind: “You were just confirming something with the restaurant owner?”

“Yes.”

Jing Ping in the passenger seat also tensed.

Fish?

In Xu Meng Shan’s mind, everything suddenly connected like lightning:

The familiar muddy smell in the cabinet that he couldn’t place before—wasn’t it fishy?

What had been stored there to take up half the cabinet and leave that muddy fish smell?

Moreover, the fish pond at the entrance didn’t have goldfish, but carp and silver carp, looking white and fresh, unlike farmed fish. Guo Xing had been in Xiangcheng too briefly to have raised fish from fingerlings. And they couldn’t be from the market—he only ate out and had no cooking utensils at home. So where did the fish come from?

“Guo Xing went fishing?” Jing Ping spoke first. Xu Meng Shan also grew excited.

Though not from the criminal investigation department, Jing Ping’s quick thinking impressed You Ming Xu. She glanced at him and said, “Correct. Guo Xing was quite neat, organizing everything properly. So what’s missing from the cabinet is fishing gear. But if he went fishing, the fish would vary in size. Yet the fish in the pond are all uniform. He kept these to raise, so where did the others go?”

Xu Meng Shan continued, “The live fish restaurant at the entrance!”

You Ming Xu said, “Yes! I asked the owner’s wife. Every time Guo Xing returned from fishing, he’d give them the big fish to cook. What he couldn’t eat, he’d sell to the restaurant. Moreover, as an outsider new to Hunan who likes fishing, what’s the quickest, most convenient way to find suitable nearby spots? Sure enough, the restaurant owner’s wife had recommended the place to Guo Xing, and she’s given me the address. Since the fishing gear is gone, I think Guo Xing must have visited that place before his disappearance.”