The fire erupted violently in an instant, right when the pool hall was at its busiest. The pool hall was in the basement, a tier-three building, highly flammable, with an open space and no barriers. The thick black smoke came roaring in like a beast, instantly darkening everything. When someone mumbled about a fire, Chen Yi’s face changed dramatically. He rushed over in one stride to check the fire situation. Bo Zi shouted to evacuate people. The agitated students pushed and shoved their way out, with constant screams and trampling.

Dense smoke rolled inside as people fled one by one from the black smoke. Fire trucks and rescue vehicles arrived simultaneously. The fire spread in all directions, with many anxious onlookers gathering. By the time Miao Jing arrived devastated, black ashes were drifting in the sky. Before she lay blackened ruins of collapsed walls, with dirty water flowing on the ground. Someone passed by with a shocked expression and a face covered in black soot. The pool hall’s sign was completely burnt, the neon-lit entrance gaping like an ugly black mouth, as fully equipped firefighters used hoses to extinguish the remaining flames.

Miao Jing couldn’t find Chen Yi, Bo Zi, or any familiar face. She walked over trembling, her face pale and miserable, asking in a hoarse, dazed voice about the people inside.

[Current death toll unknown, no charred bodies discovered.]

[Several unconscious men were rescued from the fire scene, and multiple people with minor burns, trampling injuries, and smoke inhalation, were all sent to the hospital.]

“…Did you see a man, very tall, well-built, crew cut, strong features, he’s the owner of this pool hall.”

“Boss Chen?” someone interjected, “He was the last one carried out, already sent to the hospital.”

Miao Jing felt frozen all over, her brain pierced with pain, blank and confused, muttering, “I see, thank you.”

Bo Zi, his face covered in black soot and looking disheveled, stood guard at the ICU entrance. Seeing Miao Jing rush over with disheveled hair, his eyes reddened first.

“Fortunately, the pool hall was spacious, the fire spread slowly. I got everyone out, but Brother Yi grabbed a fire extinguisher and rushed into the storage room, worried there might be people inside… Those were all students, he searched everywhere several times… When they found him, he was curled up in a corner, already unconscious from shock.”

Miao Jing’s eyelashes flickered, tears falling straight down.

Shock and coma.

Chen Yi remained unconscious in the ICU for ten days.

Miao Jing stayed by the ICU without leaving a step.

The person on the hospital bed lay quietly, MRI and brain examination reports causing worry. Miao Jing lightly touched the scars on his arms, his gaunt face, and tightly furrowed brow, her expression calm yet bewildered.

She had thought about many things.

Thought about him in his teens, appearing in Chen Libin’s hospital room with an unruly demeanor; thought about him lying in bed with a broken leg from a motorcycle accident, carelessly talking about suicide; thought about him full of vigor in his suit and tie saying he’d be the most successful; thought about him roaring at her with bloodshot eyes in rage telling her to get out; thought about him whispering her name tenderly in intimate moments; thought about that faint melancholic smile during their last parting; thought about all the people and events they had each experienced over these dozen or so years.

Many people came to visit Chen Yi at the ICU entrance every day. Miao Jing saw many unfamiliar faces, not knowing he had such an extensive social circle. She stared with slightly swollen, red eyes, absent-mindedly dealing with people. She barely noticed Lu Zhengsi beside her, and while Bo Zi handled the fire incident, she unexpectedly saw Zhou Kang’an’s figure but had no intention of questioning anything deeply.

Really, what difference did it make whether she asked or not?

She knew that in his heart, with those years of depending on each other for survival, she was different from others.

Fortunately, aside from Chen Yi, no one else was seriously injured in the fire. The pool hall was destroyed, but that was just material loss. Now they just needed Chen Yi to wake up.

Chen Yi had an extremely exhausting and burning dream.

When he woke up, he blinked his extremely dry eyes, unable to adjust to the visual sensation before him at first. Seeing those swollen, haggard, teary eyes, he only felt they were familiar, completely unable to react, just staring blankly.

Other bodily sensations hadn’t recovered yet, only his eyes could focus, remembering, watching the haggard, crying person before him. When he could finally speak, his first words were weak and impatient.

“Not dead… why cry?”

Miao Jing, red-eyed, pressed her wet cheek against his forehead.

He felt two cold tears, and somehow, his blank heart also felt a sense of relief.

He’s awake!

Still the same bastard Chen Yi.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Yi was finally transferred from the ICU to a regular ward but still needed several courses of hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy to help restore brain function.

“Who am I?” Miao Jing saw his blank stare. “Do you recognize me?”

He remained silent, seemingly not knowing how to answer, and after a long while finally spoke softly: “Family.”

“What’s my name?”

“Miao Jing.”

Miao Jing patted his head.

Chen Yi gradually regained some vitality, looking somewhat less disheveled, though with sunken eye sockets and a dark stubbled chin, showing a somewhat depressed and fragile quality. Miao Jing took care of him day and night, her already slim body becoming even thinner. He clumsily grabbed her wrist, his fingertips rubbing gently.

“Get me a mirror to look at myself.”

“Look at what?”

“You’re already in this state, let me see how miserable I look?” He snorted lightly. “I’ve never been ugly in the first half of my life.”

Well, indeed not ugly, just worn out after so many days, with prominent bones and a dark stubbled chin.

“Give me a shave?”

Miao Jing found a razor, first applied a hot towel, then lather and the razor. Chen Yi closed his eyes contentedly, tilting his chin under her cool fingertips, enjoying the sensation of stubble against her fingers.

“Kiss me?”

Miao Jing obliged, kissing his smooth chin.

Chen Yi grinned foolishly.

“Let me have a cigarette?”

She lightly fanned his cheek with her fingers, coldly saying “Dream on.”

Zhou Kang’an came to check on Chen Yi’s condition when he first woke up. When Chen Yi could think and speak normally, he came again, closing the door to talk with Chen Yi, both looking somewhat serious.

“That area was a blind spot, no surveillance, no telling how the fire started.”

“Quite a few people were coming in and out of the shop that day, the bureau is still investigating suspects one by one.” Zhou Kang’an looked at Chen Yi, frowning: “Being by Zhai Fengmao’s side, has your identity been leaked? Who else knows about you?”

“Probably not.” Chen Yi spoke lazily, “If they wanted revenge on me, why bother burning the pool hall? They could just give me a bullet. Besides, they’ve all fled to who knows where, hiding in some jungle in Southeast Asia, barely able to protect themselves, how would they have time to deal with me?”

“You know how cunning Zhai Fengmao is, even Interpol has no news, he escaped again half a year ago.” Zhou Kang’an pondered, “In Zhang Shi’s case, two people have already been released from prison.”

“Those were all small fry, no connection to me. I’m still driving Zhang Shi’s car, they wouldn’t come at me like this.”

“It’s never wrong to be cautious.”

Of course, he should be cautious – he might be alone, but Miao Jing was still out there.

Zhai Fengmao had drug factories and arms factories on the Yunnan border. Though he was gradually withdrawing from operations and control, he had been using various local investment industries to launder wealth over the years. His influence was overwhelming, with deeply rooted protective networks—the type of figure whose footsteps could cause earthquakes. Many civil servants and police personnel in Teng City had been recruited under his wing. The case was directly commanded by the Public Security Department, with a covert and lengthy activation period. Zhou Kang’an and his colleagues were handling the case at the time, worried about lacking opportunities to infiltrate the organization when they unexpectedly encountered Chen Yi.

The ambitious and audacious teenager initially just wanted to watch from the sidelines, using police support to expose Zhang Shi’s criminal subordinates. Given Zhai Fengmao’s capabilities and the wealthy and powerful figures frequenting the nightclub, complete downfall wouldn’t be easy. Later, when Zhai Fengmao took notice of him and brought him into drug dealings, he had to do something to show his courage and loyalty. Chen Yi knew such matters would likely end in death or becoming a scapegoat. After much consideration, for self-preservation, he contacted Zhou Kang’an and became a confidential informant.

Zhai Fengmao’s organization was tightly controlled, with everyone’s background thoroughly investigated. At that time, Miao Jing was approaching her college entrance exam. She would leave, preferably to a school thousands of miles away. Everyone knew Chen Yi had no significant relationship with her, their interactions were distant. Chen Yi never bothered mentioning her, and when he did, it was with indifference. After Miao Jing left, he would have no more worries.

The point of no return came when Miao Jing called the police and Chen Yi exploded in fury. Miao Jing was still naive then, mistakenly thinking he was using drugs when she called the police, but that incident was a deliberately arranged test. Zhai Fengmao had informants everywhere. If things had proceeded following that incident, if Chen Yi had entered the police station, or if Miao Jing had said anything, both of them would have been finished. Chen Yi called Zhou Kang’an at the last moment. Zhou Kang’an, in extreme urgency, exposed one of the police’s undercover agents to stop the situation. Only then did Chen Yi fully connect with Zhou Kang’an, becoming a hidden thread in bringing down Zhai Fengmao.

As the protective network collapsed, Zhang Shi and others followed in decline. Zhai Fengmao had received an early warning and fled to Myanmar. The police intentionally let several slip through, including Chen Yi. Chen Yi followed Zhai Fengmao’s footsteps and found him in the Golden Triangle. At that time, Zhai Fengmao showed him no favor—a bullet fragment grazed Chen Yi’s forehead. Chen Yi’s face turned pale, blood flowing profusely, yet he stood firm.

Chen Yi stayed under Zhai Fengmao as a minor player, investigating his headquarters’ drug and arms business. This headquarters was eventually raided by the Myanmar military. Zhai Fengmao escaped to the heart of Southeast Asia, while Chen Yi quietly withdrew to Teng City to live a peaceful life.

How did the pool hall fire start? Chen Yi’s instinct told him it wasn’t Zhai Fengmao. Half a year ago, he had gone to Yunnan once, hearing that Zhai Fengmao had returned to the Golden Triangle. Chen Yi, unsure if his identity had been exposed, took the risk to check. In the end, he never saw a trace of Zhai Fengmao—if he had been exposed, given Zhai Fengmao’s personality, he would either personally act or order a hit, either killing with one shot or leaving a miserable death, not setting fire to a pool hall creating such a commotion.

This fire hadn’t caused major casualties and normally wouldn’t require Criminal Investigation Team involvement. Zhou Kang’an, worried about suspicious circumstances, still handled it carefully, taking the burned surveillance footage from the pool hall to the forensics department for judicial examination. However, the pool hall was large with several blind spots, and with people coming and going that day, they were still eliminating suspects one by one, not yet finding any conclusions.

Before the fire, Chen Yi truly hadn’t noticed anything unusual around him. Perhaps there were signs, but was his heart so completely captured by Miao Jing that he had overlooked them?

After Zhou Kang’an left, Miao Jing came in, sitting by the hospital bed and offering cut fruit to Chen Yi. Both his arms were burned, and wrapped in bandages making movement difficult. Who knew what kind of scars would remain after healing? There was some desolation and sadness in Miao Jing’s eyes.

He looked at her beautiful bright eyes, falling into deep thought.

What if it was revenge from Zhai Fengmao or someone from Zhang Shi’s circle?

As long as Zhai Fengmao wasn’t dead or arrested, he could never truly settle down.

Chen Yi spoke hoarsely: “Aren’t you going to work at the company?”

For over ten days, she had stayed at the hospital without leaving a step.

Miao Jing said calmly: “I quit my job.”

“That’s good.” He lowered his eyes, speaking slowly: “When do you plan to leave Teng City?”

Miao Jing froze, putting down the fruit fork: “What?”

“If you’re going to leave, leave soon.” Chen Yi said peacefully, “You’ve been back in Teng City for several months, been through enough, and now stayed so long at the hospital with me. I’m tired and you’re tired. Go back. I’ll have Bo Zi come watch me at the hospital tomorrow, no need to trouble you.”

He closed his eyes, lying quietly on the hospital bed to rest. Miao Jing watched his steady breathing and quietly left the room.

The pool hall fire started from a garbage bin, next to the storage room and small warehouse. Everyone speculated it was from someone smoking—though strictly forbidden, many people smoked in the pool hall. A carelessly tossed cigarette butt could silently ignite and cause disaster.

When Zhou Kang’an came to see Chen Yi again, he brought new information. The two recently released prisoners had disappeared after leaving prison, and there was a blurry figure that briefly appeared in the glass wall mirrors in the pool hall’s surveillance blind spots.

Chen Yi frowned.

Walk by the river often enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet—some grudges and friction were impossible to clarify.

“If you ask me, if it is the old group, no one can stop them. I might as well boldly go to Yunnan again, with you following behind. Like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—better than using criminal investigation methods to solve the case now.”

Zhou Kang’an shook his head, mentioning the pool gambling report from a few days before the fire, made by Tu Li, but Chen Yi was certain it wasn’t Tu Li—though she knew the pool hall well, she would never do such a thing.

The two chatted in the hospital room for a while before Zhou Kang’an quietly left, but Miao Jing stopped him outside the room.

Miao Jing had only now learned he was a city criminal police officer. In her senior year, Zhou Kang’an had helped her several times, both openly and secretly. Her household registration and file transfers were all helped by Zhou Kang’an. Later, when Chen Yi lost contact, Miao Jing called Zhou Kang’an to report him missing. Zhou Kang’an had comforted her with gentle words, later saying Chen Yi had gone to another region, dismissing the matter with a few casual words.

“Officer Zhou.”

“Miao Jing?” Zhou Kang’an was happy to see her, “Been back for half a year, right?”

“You knew I was back.”

Miao Jing also asked about the pool hall fire, and whether it was deliberate arson. Zhou Kang’an explained that the situation was unclear and still under investigation. Miao Jing listened carefully to what he said, finally asking Zhou Kang’an: “Officer Zhou, is Chen Yi a bad person?”

“Why do you say that?” Zhou Kang’an smiled, “Do you think your brother is a bad person?”

“Those who deal with police officers are usually neither good people nor ordinary people.” Miao Jing’s clear eyes gazed at Zhou Kang’an, “Is he a bad person?”

Zhou Kang’an chuckled twice: “If he were really bad, with him right under our noses, wouldn’t we arrest him?”

“I understand, thank you, Officer Zhou.”

After Zhou Kang’an left, Miao Jing leaned against the doorframe with folded arms, watching Chen Yi. He lay in the hospital bed, head turned to the window for a long time, lost in thought about something.

Miao Jing walked in, picked up her bag from the corner, and while Chen Yi wasn’t paying attention, took out her phone and quietly pressed to stop recording.

Chen Yi asked her again when she planned to leave Teng City. It was year-end, with complex personnel movements everywhere. He was planning for his discharge and urging Miao Jing to leave Teng City soon—with so many people around him, he truly didn’t need Miao Jing by his side anymore.

“Why do you always want me to leave?” She held a fruit knife peeling an apple, asking softly, “What are you afraid of?”

“Not afraid of anything, just feel it’s not lucky having you back, and you’ve quit your job, what’s the point of staying here?”

Miao Jing’s eyelashes trembled.

She slowly stopped her movements, put the apple on the bedside table, carefully wiped the fruit knife clean with a tissue, and lifted her eyes, her gaze cold as snow. Pressing her cherry lips together, she slowly brought the fruit knife to Chen Yi’s cheek, the cold blade touching his skin, carrying a hint of frost.

Chen Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise, turning to look at her.

Miao Jing’s eyes were calm and shadowed, her slender wrist applying force, the sharp blade tip pressed against his handsome cheek, sinking into the honey-colored skin, a slight pain breaking the skin.

“Miao Jing, what are you doing?”

“Chen Yi, if you dare treat me like this again, I’ll…”

Blood slowly trickled down from the broken skin, the slight itch making him frown, yet he saw her face solemn, serious, and cold.

“First kill you, then kill me.”

Chen Yi couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.