Caught Red-Handed

Meanwhile.

Inside Huzhou University's Fengyu Gymnasium, students had thrown up rows of makeshift market stalls, and the place was humming.

It had been one of the least-visited spots during the Garden Party, but with rain driving everyone indoors, the outdoor activities had shut down and the crowd had nowhere else to go.

'There's a Confession Mailbox over here.'

'So that's where it is — I've been looking forever.'

A cluster of girls crowded around a capsule-shaped postbox, laughing and jostling each other to write the recipient's name on their letters and slip them in.

It had been designed for the hopelessly shy — all the embarrassment of a face-to-face confession, neatly avoided. The Confession Mailbox showed up at every Garden Party Huzhou University held, and students loved it every time.

Xie Xue sat in a corner, sipping hot milk, and finished her letter. She folded it into a clean white envelope, turned it over in her hands, and then wrote the name of the boy she had been secretly in love with, stroke by careful stroke.

A satisfied smile crossed her face. She stood and walked to the capsule mailbox, letter in hand, just about to drop it in — when a bead of blood fell and landed squarely on the envelope.

Xie Xue blinked.

'Oh — miss, you've got a nosebleed—' The girl beside her spotted it at once and immediately dug a tissue from her bag. 'Here, quick, wipe it.'

Xie Xue tilted her head back and pressed the tissue to her nose. 'Th — thank you.'

Of all the terrible timing — a nosebleed, just now?

She hadn't had one in years. Thinking back, the last time was still childhood.

'Your letter — shall I get you a fresh envelope?'

'No, no, it's fine, really, it's nothing! I was just scribbling! Just for fun! It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter at all!' Xie Xue was terrified someone would read the name on the envelope and tease her, so in her panic to get it out of sight she shoved the blood-stained envelope into the mailbox, then fled without a backward glance, hand still clamped to her nose.

The students by the Confession Mailbox finally registered what had happened. 'Wait — wasn't that Professor Xie?'

Xie Xue ran a safe distance away and thought to call her brother, to ask what it meant when you suddenly got a nosebleed.

But every attempt came back with the same result: 'The number you have dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later.'

Xie Xue: '...'

Had her brother already gone back to his room and gone to sleep?

.

What Xie Xue could never have imagined was that her brother hadn't gone to sleep at all — that he had, in fact, been trapped on the island for several hours running, all because he had taken her place in the Nine-Tailed Fox Puppet.

And He Yu's little scheme had been caught red-handed by him.

Now the two of them stood at the water's edge, each with hands shoved in their pockets, faces and eyes equally cold, staring each other down.

Xie Qingcheng was waiting for He Yu's explanation.

'...A beautiful night, and the moon on the water.' He Yu said at last, unhurried. 'The moonlight really is lovely tonight. Do you understand what I mean?'

'Speak plainly.'

'I think you're attractive. I wanted a date with you.'

'Have some fucking shame.' Xie Qingcheng tapped the ash from his cigarette. 'I'm not joking with you.'

He Yu's smile faded, slowly. He knew well enough that this particular act wasn't going to work. He let the light, teasing mask drop, and his eyes went quiet and dark. '...Since you heard everything, what is there left for me to explain.'

He met Xie Qingcheng's cold, sharp gaze, paused, let out a breath, and gave a plain account anyway.

'Fine. There is someone I like. I had planned to confess to her tonight, but she didn't come. Does that clarify things for you?'

Xie Qingcheng had the dim sense that something was off, though he couldn't quite locate it.

His attention had snagged on the fact that He Yu had a girl he liked.

'Someone from your school?'

'Yes.'

'Who?'

He Yu smiled. 'And what business is that of yours.'

Xie Qingcheng straightened his long legs and walked slowly toward He Yu. The ground where he stood was higher, so despite being shorter, he still looked down at him from above — his peach-blossom eyes catching the moonlight like something had been poured into them.

'He Yu. Do you have any idea what your condition is?'

He Yu said, flat: 'Psychiatric Ebola.'

'And since you haven't recovered and haven't got it under control, what gives you the right to be pursuing someone.'

He Yu said nothing for a moment.

He seemed to have anticipated exactly this response.

He turned and said, quietly: 'Didn't you once tell me that I should rebuild bridges — to people, to society? That you wanted me to spend time with others, to find friendship, family, love? And didn't you also say that I couldn't even get a girlfriend, that I'd always be just a kid?'

'I said that in anger.' Xie Qingcheng's eyes were blade-sharp. 'You're clever enough to tell the difference between what I mean and what I don't.'

'I'm flattered by the compliment.' He Yu said. 'I'm only nineteen. Not as perceptive as you seem to think.'

Xie Qingcheng's voice went serious. 'Use your head, He Yu. Do you have any idea how many people fall apart after a breakup? Love can drive ordinary people to the edge — it can ruin them. What you need is a stable, calm state of mind. Once every indicator is normal you can pursue whoever you want, and it won't be any of my business — I won't even bother to ask. But right now—'

He Yu thought of Xie Xue's smile.

It was almost funny: Xie Qingcheng still had no idea that the person He Yu liked was Xie Xue. This was already his reaction without knowing — if he found out that the person He Yu had tried to trap on the island tonight was his own little sister, he'd probably have already reached out and slapped He Yu across the face.

'In all these years,' Xie Qingcheng said, 'have you achieved complete control over your own emotions? If not, what right do you have to talk about liking someone.'

He Yu's dark eyes met Xie Qingcheng's. 'If I've made this decision, it's because I believe I can keep myself in check.'

'You are far too arrogant.'

'Arrogant?' He Yu repeated the word softly. 'Dr. Xie — in nineteen years, have I ever hurt anyone?'

'...'

'...I only like someone. That's all.'

'...'

'Is that not a right I'm allowed to have.'

'You have no idea how this illness can manifest further down the line. And you're also a Blood Gu Mutation patient — you—'

'Professor Xie.' He Yu cut him off, composed. 'You are no longer my private physician. I understand that middle age brings its loneliness, that the nights are long and the pillow cold, and that minding the affairs of the young must offer some comfort. But I do think this particular matter of mine has very little to do with you.'

That tone of his put a spark of genuine irritation in Xie Qingcheng. '...You think I want to be minding you? I'm doing it out of regard for your father. And besides, I spent seven years treating your condition — seven years. You don't ignore a dog you've kept for seven years. All the more so a person.'

He Yu lowered his head, and laughed, his tongue tracing his teeth. 'What a shame. I'm not a dog you kept.'

'...'

'It's late and I have no interest in feeding mosquitoes out here.' He Yu released the iron mooring chain, regarding Xie Qingcheng with something close to mockery. 'Are you getting on the boat? You've been sitting a while — is your back stiff? Shall I come down and help you on board?'

They parted on bad terms again.

Back in his room, Xie Qingcheng showered and, after a moment's consideration — late as it was — picked up his phone and called He Jiwei.

'Dr. Xie. It's been a long time.' He Jiwei was perfectly cordial with him. 'I was just thinking about whether to call you myself — what a coincidence.'

'You had something to ask me as well, sir?' Xie Qingcheng was mildly surprised.

'Yes. I wanted to ask about the business with Chengkang Psychiatric Hospital.'

'...' Xie Qingcheng understood.

He Jiwei let out a heavy sigh. 'I've been getting a general picture of things over the past few days. That boy He Yu never gives anyone a moment's peace. I heard he was with you when it happened.'

'He was.'

'The people at the Local Police Station told me you looked after him the whole time. I really do appreciate that.'

It seemed He Yu hadn't given his father the full story.

Xie Qingcheng disliked being thanked for things under false pretenses, so he laid out the sequence of The Chengkang Incident for He Jiwei — the broad strokes, leaving out the matter of the Blood Gu Mutation. He Jiwei was quiet for a long moment afterward. '...I see. That boy. Ah...'

Xie Qingcheng chose his words carefully. 'You were always good to me, sir. So even though I'm no longer employed by The He Family, when I run into He Yu I still keep an eye on him. What I'd like to ask is — how has He Yu been doing with his condition over these years?'

'Much better — thanks to you, really. You said yourself, back then, that at that stage he should be living independently. I was worried at first, but he turned out to manage quite well — the occasional injection or pill when he's uncomfortable, nothing more than that.'

'And the medication dependency — how serious is it?'

'Well...' He Jiwei hesitated, gave a rueful laugh. 'You know how it is — his mother and I are both so busy, we really haven't been able to keep close track of his medication. The housekeeper says it's manageable, nothing extreme. Why — has he shown some kind of irregular behavior?'

'...No.' Xie Qingcheng hesitated briefly, decided against telling He Jiwei about He Yu's plan to court someone. 'Nothing in particular. I was only asking.'

'If you're ever willing to come back, the door is always open,' He Jiwei said. 'A doctor like you — there's no one better suited to He Yu. You couldn't find a second one.'

'You flatter me, sir,' Xie Qingcheng said. 'I've been out of the medical system too long. My medical license has already lapsed.'

'When you first came to us you were still a student anyway... ah, forget it. I won't press if you're not willing. But Dr. Xie — you're near He Yu now. If you have time, would you be willing to keep a loose eye on him for me? He seems mature but he's still young, and he acts on impulse more than he should — rash, headstrong. His mother and I simply can't keep up with him. We do worry, sometimes.'

He Jiwei paused, then added: 'But if you don't have the time, Dr. Xie, please don't feel obligated...'

'It's no trouble at all — a small thing.' Xie Qingcheng said. 'He's a patient I looked after for a long time. And he's your son. It's only right.'

They exchanged a few more pleasantries and rang off.

Xie Qingcheng leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers to his temples. He Yu was a particular kind of patient — his case had always been tangled up in a complicated web of relationships.

But He Yu was grown now. Even He Jiwei's words might not carry much weight with him. Some things were simply beyond what Xie Qingcheng could control.

He could only watch for now.

Xie Qingcheng rubbed his temples, got up, blow-dried his hair, and changed into clean clothes. Irritating as the situation was — He Yu wasn't in any condition to be pursuing someone, but if he tried to confess, the poor girl might not even say yes.

Wait and see.

With that, Xie Qingcheng picked up the Utopia Guestbook he had brought back from Secret Utopia, pushed open his door, went downstairs, and hailed a cab toward the Local Police Station.

.

'This year's confession capsule is way too heavy...'

'Just how many love letters are in there.'

'Is everyone really that shy? Can't bring themselves to say it in person? Honestly...'

The Garden Party had wrapped up, and a small group of students assigned to clear the venue were hauling away the event equipment — including the enormous Confession Mailbox.

'Hey! Don't step on my foot — ow!!'

In the scramble, one of them stumbled and went down, taking the Confession Mailbox with him. The cheap plastic panel cracked open on impact, and envelopes spilled across the rubberized track in a cascade. The night wind caught the loose letters and sent them skittering in every direction.

'No!'

These were confessions — real ones, from real people who hadn't had a chance to send them yet. They couldn't just let them blow away. The students scrambled up, brushed off the dirt, and ran after the letters like they were herding piglets.

But there were far too many to chase between just the two of them. They had no choice but to holler at passing students for help. Everyone pitched in willingly, gathering the scattered love letters from every corner, three and five at a time.

He Yu happened to be passing by just then.

Playing the part of the gracious, well-mannered model student he was in public — voted one of the top ten exemplary figures — he naturally joined the older students, the Upperclassman and the rest, to help gather up those 'runaway love letters.'

'Thank you, thank you!'

The girl was too busy to look up, bowing repeatedly.

The friend beside her pinched her arm and hissed: 'It's He Yu!'

'What!!' The girl shrieked, looked up, and sure enough — her heart immediately hit two hundred. She stumbled over her words. 'He — He Yu, hi...'

He Yu smiled briefly, handed her the letters he'd gathered, and kept helping.

One envelope had lodged itself in the shrubbery beside the basketball court. He Yu walked over, picked up the clean white envelope, brushed the dirt from it — and paused.

There was blood on it.

Beneath the bloodstain, a neat, delicate line of handwriting was still legible.

'For Wei Dongheng.'

Wei Dongheng was the most sought-after boy in the Department of Performing Arts' senior class, Class One — and an old acquaintance of He Yu's.

Their names were the ones most often mentioned together when Shanghai's wealthy families gossiped about their sons. The reason was simple: He Yu and Wei Dongheng were matched in almost every measurable way, right down to sharing a birthday across different years. Yet the two had turned out nothing alike — young master He was famous in those circles for his refinement and good conduct, while young master Wei was famous for debauchery and excess.

Wei Dongheng came from a family with long roots in the military and political establishment — yet somewhere along the line, as if some ancestor's grave had been converted into a nightclub, the lineage had produced Wei Dongheng, a thorough disgrace.

From boyhood onward, Wei Dongheng had done it all: street racing, cutting class, running with a rough crowd of delinquents, causing the Wei Family more trouble than anyone could count. If they hadn't been wealthy enough to weather each storm, he'd have sunk them long ago. The parents in their circle had shaken their fists more than once and said, 'Look at He Yu! Now look at yourself! What exactly do you have going for you?' And the children in that same circle had tearfully fired back, 'Look at Wei Dongheng! Now look at their kid! What exactly is wrong with me?'

The whole of Huzhou University knew that Wei Dongheng's arrogance had no ceiling. When the School of Arts gave Performing Arts students audition opportunities, he declined every one. He was enrolled in the department because it had the lowest admissions cutoff in the School of Arts — he was there for the diploma and nothing else.

He Yu thought, with mild disinterest —

Some girl had gone and written a love letter to him. What terrible taste.

He was about to carry the envelope back when he stopped, suddenly sensing something wrong.

He looked at the envelope again.

For Wei Dongheng... for Wei Dongheng...

And then he went still.

It was the handwriting.

Those strokes — he couldn't be mistaken.

It was as if something had clubbed him over the head, invisible and blunt —

This was Xie Xue's handwriting.

'What's up — oh, some letters spilled?' A group of boys were coming off the basketball court, toweling off sweat. One of them glanced casually at the envelope in He Yu's hand.

The boy grinned and turned back. 'Young master Wei, bumper harvest again this year!'

Out of the court came a guy roughly He Yu's height, eyes sharp and irreverent, hair bleached silver, five piercings in his ears, with the easy, insolent look of someone who had never bothered to follow a single rule in his life.

Wei Dongheng himself.

Wei Dongheng and He Yu's eyes met.

Wei Dongheng gave a slight nod first. 'Young master He.'

He Yu nodded back. But in front of his eyes those four characters kept floating — for Wei Dongheng — every stroke in a hand he knew by heart.

Wei Dongheng ordinarily had zero interest in love letters of this sort, but since this one was in He Yu's hand he gave it a passing glance — and that one glance caught the bloodstain on the envelope.

Wei Dongheng frowned. 'A threat letter?'

He Yu's face was perfectly flat, barely moving his lips. '...Seems like it. I could just throw it away for you.'

'Love letters I have no interest in — they all go in the bin, and I'm sure young master He can relate to that. A threat letter, though, that's a first for me. I'd better have a proper look.' Wei Dongheng smiled at him, took the envelope from his hand. 'Thanks.'

He Yu said, by reflex: 'Don't mention it.'

After Wei Dongheng left, it took He Yu a long moment to slowly come back to himself.

He still couldn't bring himself to believe what he'd seen — that it was really a love letter from Xie Xue to Wei Dongheng. He glanced back and saw the two girls managing the capsule mailbox watching him with barely contained excitement, so He Yu walked over to them.

'Excuse me — the envelope with the bloodstain...'

'Oh, that was written by Professor Xie — the lucky charm herself.'

'That's right, it was her. Autumn air's so dry — she started bleeding halfway through writing it. I was the one who gave her the tissue.'

'...I see.' After a moment He Yu said quietly, 'Thank you.'

That night, He Yu returned to his dormitory, washed up, and lay down on his bed without a word. He didn't sleep.

Xie Xue had always known Wei Dongheng too, of course.

When the young master of the Wei Family used to come visit, Xie Xue would be there, and every time she and He Yu would team up against Wei Dongheng. He had assumed back then that she disliked the arrogant, imperious boy.

But none of them had understood it then — that if you didn't care in the least, where would the urge to single someone out even come from?

In high school, Xie Xue and Wei Dongheng had attended the same school.

Xie Xue was in Year Two. Wei Dongheng was in Year One.

Xie Xue moved up to Year Three. Wei Dongheng was still in Year One.

Eventually Xie Xue graduated. Wei Dongheng was still in Year One.

The man had managed to repeat Year One three times running, becoming something of a legend in their circle — and had the audacity to call himself the three-time consecutive heartthrob of Year One and consider it an achievement.

He never followed any rules. When Xie Xue was on gate duty at school, Wei Dongheng would walk past her with complete indifference, bent on slipping out during the lunch break to eat barbecue — against regulations. She would try to stop him in a fury, and he would ignore her entirely, while the crowd of delinquents trailing behind him laughed at her.

'Bro, is this our little sister-in-law? She's got you on such a tight leash — says she'll dock your points if you dare leave! So scary, hahaha.'

'Sis-in-law, you're so short. And flat, too.'

'Bro! The little lady's actually writing your violation in her notebook! How come you're not coaxing her?'

The crowd of boys whistled and jeered. Xie Xue, week-duty armband on her sleeve, was so furious she could barely keep the tears in. She stood on her toes and screamed at Wei Dongheng's retreating back as he sauntered off, bag slung from one finger: 'Wei Dongheng! You absolute piece of garbage! I hate you more than anyone in the universe!!'

And yet — if he was the most hated person in the universe, why had she gone and taken a teaching post at Huzhou University's School of Arts after she graduated?

She was formally trained, with outstanding grades. She could have aimed for Yanzhou Drama University, with its higher salary and stronger reputation. But back then she had told He Yu over WeChat that she didn't feel confident enough — she should apply somewhere a little less competitive, like Huzhou University.

He Yu had suspected something even at the time.

Xie Xue had always been one of the braver people he knew. The only person he had ever met who surpassed her in courage was Xie Qingcheng. Someone like that, losing the confidence to even attempt an application — it didn't add up.

Now he finally understood. Xie Xue had followed Wei Dongheng here — Wei Dongheng, who had already gotten into Huzhou University.

And He Yu, knowing none of it, had turned down offers from overseas institutions and followed her.

...Quite the joke.

He Yu lay still on his bed.

He stayed like that — quiet, numb — and thought through the night until dawn broke.

'He Yu, we've got morning class. You up? Come get breakfast with us.'

He Yu said yes and got up.

But the moment he sat upright, a tight, twisting pain clenched in his chest — and then burst outward through his entire body.

'...' He raised a hand to touch his forehead, which was slightly cool, reached for the pills on the nightstand, and said quietly, 'I'm not feeling well. Go ahead without me.'

.

He Yu was unwell, and Xie Qingcheng hadn't had a much better night.

By the time he reached the Local Police Station, something was already off about him.

He wasn't sure if he'd caught a chill on the island or what, but his head had been swimming steadily, with a faint ringing in his ears.

He handed over the notebook with its suspicious messages to the officer on duty, gave a full account of everything, and headed back out.

He had barely made it to the front steps when his legs gave out.

'Xie-ge?'

He turned with some difficulty and found Chen Man, who had apparently been in the middle of helping a colleague carry files.

'Xie-ge.' Chen Man rushed over; Xie Qingcheng had gone dizzy so fast that Chen Man caught him around the waist just in time to keep him upright.

Chen Man looked him over with alarm. 'What's wrong?'

'I don't know — my head suddenly started spinning...'

'Your face is really flushed, let me — oh no, you're burning up!' Chen Man scrambled to get him steady, then twisted around and called out to a colleague: 'Hey — Young Zhou, can you handle my stuff for a bit? I'm taking someone to the infirmary!'