Dossiers Bizarres 2 - L'Étrange et le Réel

Chapitre 13

When He Xi showed the photos to Cheng Weiping, I knew that the questions she had asked earlier about the Fan's virus were just a cover; this was probably her main purpose for coming today. From that moment on, I felt extremely uncomfortable. Although I didn't want to admit it, I had indeed been used, and He Xi didn't offer any explanation.

I suddenly began to wonder what kind of role I played in her heart.

Looking back, she only started acting strangely after hearing that Cheng Gen's internal organs had been stolen, while the night before, we had gotten along very well. Even if she used me, it wasn't like this from the beginning; her attitude towards me was clearly different from her attitude towards others.

On one hand, I was pondering the situation, and on the other hand, I was extremely dissatisfied with my own state of being so hesitant and petty because of my emotions. Guo Dong still had official business at Tilanqiao Prison and only saw us to the gate. As He Xi raised her hand to hail a taxi, I finally decided to ask her for clarification.

"He Xi".

"Hmm?" She lowered her hand and turned to look at me.

"What you're doing confuses me. What is that photo?"

For a moment she opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped, closed her mouth, and looked away.

"Can't you give me an explanation, or rather, don't you think you need to say anything to me?" My heart sank, and I turned my face away, no longer looking at her sculpted profile.

She suddenly grabbed my hand.

It was gentle, yet enough to make my heart race.

"I'm sorry, I know this is very wrong, but I really have my reasons. Please don't ask anymore, okay?"

She had never spoken in such a tone before, and at that moment I sensed the vulnerability beneath her tough exterior.

I sighed and nodded.

Her hand had already let go, and I miss that cold touch.

What was she hiding in her heart? The slightest glimpse revealed her vulnerability. I won't press her further, but I won't give up either.

If possible, I want to face this with her.

Full of doubts, I left Tilanqiao Prison and lay on my big bed at home for an hour, hoping to take a nap. These days I've been completely drained; even eight hours of sleep a day isn't enough. (This novel was first published on M and will be published by Jieli Publishing House this April. Reposters please do not delete.)

Lying on my back on the soft Simmons mattress, the weariness of the past few days gradually surfaced from the depths of my heart, yet I couldn't truly drift off to sleep.

He Xi's figure floated before my eyes, sometimes near, sometimes far, her blue eyes always fixed on me.

I struggled out of my light sleep and chaotic dreams, so I simply sat up, put on my coat, and leaned against the headboard.

Whether the poison Cheng Weiping released was the Fanzia virus remains to be confirmed; so far, everything is speculation. Even if it was the Fanzia virus, it is very different from the one in Xinjingyuan; in He Xi's words, it is a different variant. This variant is not infectious; otherwise, Cheng Weiping would have died long ago, and Shanghai would have been in chaos.

Putting that aside for now, what is the identity of the person He Xi cares about so much? Why does she think Cheng Weiping might know him?

Based on what He Xi said today, I guess she thinks someone she knows might be related to the organ thief, or even the thief himself!

He Xi only had this suspicion after hearing what Du Qin said. What key things did Du Qin say?

Wait a minute, I remember He Xi asked Du Qin a question... about the time. She asked about the exact time the internal organs were stolen. So this timeframe matches her suspicions.

August 19th!

In the visiting room, He Xi probed Cheng Weiping to see if he was involved in the theft of the internal organs. If so, he might recognize the person in the photo. However, his answer was the same as when he spoke to the police: he also didn't recognize the man on the far right of the photo. Judging from his expression at the time, he didn't seem to be faking it.

I felt I was starting to piece things together, but then I discovered there were even more hidden secrets. The identity of the man in the photo, what he did that made He Xi think of the organ thief, what was troubling He Xi, even her true purpose for coming to Shanghai… Was she really just here for a vacation? A researcher coming to Shanghai for vacation, yet actively getting involved with the medical rescue team?

No, if she came with a purpose, why would she immediately want to enter Xinjing Garden? He Xi isn't someone who acts on a whim. Doesn't this mean her purpose is related to what happened in Xinjing Garden?

Is it Fanyi syndrome? Everything comes back to this infectious disease again.

My head started to throb.

The man on the far right of the photo... a group photo of three people...

I threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Go to Xinjingyuan!

"You saw a photograph?" Rembrandt asked.

Although the atmosphere in Xinjingyuan is still tense, it's much more relaxed than when I first arrived. After all, there are fewer and fewer patients on the basement level, and the medical team is much more at ease than before. Rembrandt is also gradually having more time to sit in his office, organize data, and write reports.

"Uh, He Xi showed a photo to a man named Cheng Weiping."

"Cheng Weiping? Who's that?"

"Uh, he may have killed his own father with the Fanovirus and has been sentenced to life imprisonment..."

“Fancierovirus!” Rembrandt’s eyes widened even more.

"Uh, well..." I found that there were so many things to explain, so I patiently started from the recovery from Heinz O.M., and went all the way up to the theft of Cheng Gen's internal organs, and He Xi's unusual concern about it.

Rembrandt's expression grew increasingly serious. When I mentioned that He Xi had shown Cheng Weiping a photo of three people, including himself, He Xi, and another man, he asked me, "Am I wearing a black sweater in that photo?"

"It seems so."

Rembrandt took out his briefcase, took out a photograph from it, and handed it to me.

Is this the one?

"This is it." I said as soon as I saw it.

Upon closer inspection, my heart sank little by little.

The photo is well-preserved, but it's clear it wasn't taken recently. The background is an older building, blending Chinese and Western styles. The three people are standing side by side. On the far left is Rembrandt, a blond, blue-eyed man in a black sweater; in the middle is He Xi, a mixed-race woman with black hair and blue eyes; and on the far right is a man with black hair and black eyes, looking entirely Asian.

This man was quite handsome and tall, over 1.8 meters, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and had a very scholarly air about him.

He Xi in the middle looked a bit younger than she does now (this novel was first published on M and will be published by Jieli Publishing House this April. Do not delete if reposting). She was leaning close to the man on her left, with her arm around his waist, and most importantly, her face was full of smiles.

Although the other two were also smiling, He Xi's smile was clearly one of blissful bliss. Her smile at the bar that night had already surprised me, but now I could hardly believe that He Xi could have such a radiant smile.

It was then that I realized I had never asked He Xi if she had a boyfriend, or even if she was married. Only then did I truly understand how infatuated I was with the woman in the photo, to the point that I had completely lost my composure.

Perhaps it was the immense pressure of Xinjingyuan that made me feel lost and weak, and when I met such a captivating woman, I immediately became infatuated with her.

So now, seeing this photo, I feel a mix of emotions. I really want to know who this is and what their relationship is with He Xi, but my mouth feels dry and sore, and I can't bring myself to ask.

I'm sure I looked terrible at that moment, but since we were both wearing hoods, Rembrandt didn't notice. Seeing me staring at the photo in silence, he started talking to himself.

“We are all orphans.” There was a faint sadness in his voice.

"Do you see that building in the background? That's the Hong Kong Anglican Orphanage. We lived there until I met my father in 1984."

I listened quietly as Rembrandt recounted his past, those not-so-easy days of his youth.

April 22nd Exclusive preview on M: Daily 1000-word serialized content The man I don't recognize in the photo is named Fan Zhe. He's the oldest of the three and the only one who took his adoptive father's surname. Van Heller had no children of his own and was living in Switzerland at the time. He specifically went to the Hong Kong St. John's Orphanage hoping to adopt a Chinese child. However, the three children had grown up together at the orphanage and had a very close relationship, so in the end, Van Heller took them all back with him.

Van Heller possessed profound knowledge of both traditional Chinese and Western medicine. By then, his Heller International had already been established and was steadily growing year by year. Under his influence, the three children all developed an interest in medicine, and out of gratitude to their adoptive father, they aspired from a young age to join Van Heller's career. Later, they indeed studied at prestigious medical schools, and after graduation, they joined Heller International, becoming Van Heller's most capable assistants.

"Then what about Fan Zhe and He Xi...?" I couldn't help but interrupt.

Rembrandt's gaze shifted to the photograph: "You can tell too, can't you? They are..."

They were a couple! That thought flashed through my mind, but unexpectedly, Rembrandt didn't say those two words; instead, he stopped. I couldn't help but look up at him.

"Actually, it was He Xi's unrequited love," Rembrandt sighed, uttering a statement I never expected.

He Xi's unrequited love!

"You must be wondering, how could a woman as beautiful and intelligent as He Xi experience unrequited love? But the reality is that Fan Zhe has always treated He Xi like a younger sister. He only has brotherly and sisterly feelings for her, without any romantic feelings. It's not that he doesn't know He Xi's feelings, he's just pretending not to. Do you remember that day when He Xi said I wasn't her brother?"

I nodded.

"She only calls Fan Zhe 'brother.' That word... has a special meaning for her."

"So... that's how it is." I was even planning to officially launch my pursuit of her, but now I think it's a bit ridiculous. How could someone like me, who has only known her for a little over half a month, easily sway such feelings?

But should I just give up? My body has already undergone a full chemical reaction; it's not something I can stop just by reasoning.

“But Van Zhe, alas.” Rembrandt sighed deeply.

"What's wrong with him? Did something happen?"

"He was recently infected with an unknown virus and is now in a deep coma. He won't last much longer."

"Ah, what kind of illness is it?" I was taken aback.

"It's a virus we've never seen before. It's stimulating my immune system to work like crazy. I have a fever of 43 degrees Celsius, and my blood feels like it's boiling. We've tried everything we can think of, but nothing works. I'm afraid the high fever has damaged my brain nerves, and my body is riddled with holes."

When did this happen?

"He has been in a coma for three months."

"Three months?" I did the math in my head, and a date suddenly popped into my head. I blurted out, "August 19th?"

"I can't remember the exact date, but it was in late August."

"How did he get infected with the virus?" I pressed, feeling that this might be the key.

“His illness came on suddenly. So it’s hard to say.” Rembrandt frowned, seemingly pondering for a moment before answering me.

"Has he been staying at your headquarters in Geneva the whole time? Has he not been anywhere else?"

"Fan Zhe fell ill shortly after returning to headquarters from his leave. I'm not sure where he went on leave. His whereabouts during that time..."

"how?"

Rembrandt shook his head and said nothing more.

I guess he meant that Fan Zhe's whereabouts were quite mysterious during that period?

"But if Fan Zhe could die at any moment, shouldn't He Xi be by his bedside? How could she have the mind to go on vacation?" I asked another question.

"That's what puzzles me too."

I looked at the photo again, and this Fan Zhe... why does he look so familiar?

Have I seen him before? Where did I see him?

When I got home in the evening, the fatigue I had forced down in the afternoon returned. I ate something quick and then collapsed onto the bed.

Why does Fan Zhe look familiar? Should we go to a bar later? When I see He Xi, what should I say? Should I comfort her, or ask her why she came to Shanghai?

These questions swirled in my mind, and I drifted off to sleep. When I finally managed to get up the next day, it was almost eleven o'clock.

After dinner, I went to Xinjingyuan. I sat at home for a while and told my mother that the lockdown might be lifted soon. She stared at me intently, her brows slowly furrowing.

"Are you hiding something from us? You look terrible."

"No, it's true. I'm probably just too tired these past few days." I forced a bright smile.

I didn't see He Xi all afternoon.

In the evening, I finally couldn't help but ask Rembrandt.

"She went to pick up her father."