Not all those with red marks were willing to confide in others, and even those who did were selective in their stories.
Zhu Haowen remained expressionless and silent, refusing to listen to anyone else's tales, and headed straight for his lodgings after leaving the restaurant.
Xiao Qinxian, convinced she didn't have the animal mark, coldly returned to her police station dormitory alone.
Zhao Yanbao said, "I plan to try to process this myself. If anyone else needs psychological counseling, I can help."
Only a few others remained: Qin Ci, Yu Ji, and Luo Wei.
Luo Wei said he was utterly exhausted and wanted to go home to rest. Mu Yiran, taking advantage of the moment before "ignoring" her companion, followed him back to the dormitory.
Yu Ji clung to Qin Ci, refusing to leave, as if Qin Ci were his only lifeline.
Their hospital colleague, Su Benxin, though also troubled, was, after all, without the animal mark. She chatted with her friend Lion under a streetlamp, occasionally patting him on the shoulder, seemingly offering each other comfort.
Ke Xun and Wei Dong didn't leave; they stood with Qin Ci under the tall magnolia tree.
Yu Ji stood beside Qin Ci like a tail, looking somewhat embarrassed: "I know I'm a bit redundant, but I don't want to leave Dr. Qin. In case I suddenly start hurting somewhere, maybe Dr. Qin can quickly use a scalpel to remove that thing and save my life."
Qin Ci wanted to say that he didn't carry a scalpel with him, but seeing Yu Ji's extremely nervous expression, he didn't say anything more.
Wei Dong stared at Qin Ci's forehead, recalling the large, beast-like mark that Luo Wei had described, covering half his forehead and extending to his eye. A pang of sadness struck him. "Haowen didn't say anything, and neither did you. To put it bluntly, even when Chi Lei left, Zhao Yanbao offered her some comfort. But you two… I wouldn't even know why you left."
Qin Ci didn't seem to care. "Actually, I don't have any secrets. When Luo Wei mentioned the dark red mark on my forehead, I roughly knew what it was."
Wei Dong grew anxious. "Then why are you so calm? Quickly find a way to resolve your inner demons!"
"Inner demons aren't something you can just resolve," Qin Ci chuckled. "Besides, I don't even consider it an inner demon; it's just an unforgettable memory."
"Dr. Qin, I… shouldn't we look away for a bit?" Yu Ji glanced at Su Benxin and Lion talking not far away, seemingly unwilling to approach them.
Qin Ci remained noncommittal: "It's not a secret, and there's nothing shameful about it. — My lover passed away five years ago."
Ke Xun paused, unsure how to respond. Qin Ci was kind, considerate, patient, and even somewhat mediocre. In his previous understanding, such a person was the unremarkable "highly educated successful person." He had never even guessed what kind of story Qin Ci might have—probably just busy work and blind dates with "very respectable" women like teachers, nurses, and civil servants.
Qin Ci actually had a lover, and one who had passed away.
"You mean, is your lover...were you married?" Wei Dong couldn't help but ask.
"We got our marriage certificate, but we haven't had a wedding yet." Qin Ci's voice trailed off. "She died in a plane crash. She flew from another city to visit me for my birthday."
Ke Xun stepped forward and patted his old friend on the shoulder without saying anything.
Yu Ji interjected, "My lover also passed away... Does that mean all people like us with these dark marks on our lives are because of the death of our loved ones? Was that young man from out of town in the same situation?"
Ke Xun thought of Luo Wei's situation, nodded, and a sudden flash of inspiration crossed his mind, but then vanished, his attention returning to the present.
Qin Ci, however, revealed his usual warm smile: "Although I've never forgotten that person, I haven't dwelled on it, especially recently. I... feel like I've returned to my old self, completely free of burdens and utterly at peace. I haven't felt this relaxed in the past five years."
Ke Xun looked into Qin Ci's eyes: "The relaxed state you're referring to is specifically these past two days in Xincheng, right?"
Qin Ci didn't dwell on the matter: "Yes, these past two days."
One by one, the thick, white magnolia petals fell heavily, like snow that had accumulated over a winter.
Ke Xun seemed to hear his own echo: "You...don't you want to go back?"
Qin Ci: "I'm a person who goes with the flow. Besides, isn't it good that we're all here?"
This was probably the most frightening moment Ke Xun had experienced since arriving in Heart City, even though all that was in front of him was Qin Ci's perfectly composed face.
Wei Dong didn't seem to have thought that far ahead, or perhaps he had already been partially assimilated by the painting. At this moment, he could only dissuade him: "Don't! We're far from home, and besides, our temporary residence permits are only for thirteen days, to be precise, only six and a half days. If we don't find the beast, we might die here! Furthermore, you have such a strong beast memory; if something happens, it will be a big deal."
Qin Ci: "I don't think that beast represents evil. My beast is just my memory and past time. This fusion with the beast seems to allow me to find my original self. I don't believe it will harm me. —I've seen cases in the data where beasts and hosts have lived peacefully together for decades."
"Can you calculate the age of the beast?" Ke Xun seized on this question and asked.
"The results should be out tomorrow. We can calculate how long the beast has existed inside the host by examining the invisible patterns on its body," Qin Ci said, as if recounting someone else's story. "My beast, about five years."
The more peaceful and even serene Qin Ci appeared, the more uncomfortable and even panicked Ke Xun felt.
...
Xiao Qinxian stubbed out her cigarette and returned to her room.
A thunderous phone call rang out, like a beggar wildly showing off his scavenged junk.
Xiao Qinxian picked up the phone irritably: "Who is this?"
A familiar voice answered: "Nothing, just testing the phone." It would have been fine
if it were anyone else, but it was that out-of-towner she disliked the most! That out-of-towner, Luo Wei, actually had the nerve to call her from next door!
Xiao Qinxian yelled into the phone: "Are you crazy?!"
Still not satisfied, she rushed to the next room: "This is harassment!"
In the next room, Luo Wei was still holding the receiver, with Mu Yiran standing not far away.
Luo Wei's expression remained unchanged despite Xiao Qinxian's rage. He faced her directly and said, "I'm taking a lie detector test."
"Why are you talking to me like I'm a criminal!" Xiao Qinxian snapped, not knowing why she was so angry.
Luo Wei, however, remained as calm as a robot: "You said you received a phone call last night, that's a lie."
Xiao Qinxian paused, then glared at Luo Wei again: "It's absolutely true! A crazy man called me last night!"
"The phone was ringing deafeningly; there's no way we couldn't hear it," Luo Wei said calmly. "
Of course you couldn't hear it when you were sleeping like a log."
Luo Wei walked past Xiao Qinxian by the door and pointed to a spot in the hallway outside: "Last night, right here, you were smoking when I came out of Mu Yiran and Ke Xun's room. You said you answered a phone call, but the other person didn't speak, so you unplugged the phone. — At the time of the call, the three of us were in the room; it's impossible we didn't hear the jarring ring."
Xiao Qinxian seemed dazed, even lighting another cigarette as if to reenact the scene: "Yes, I even complained that the broken phone didn't have caller ID..."
Mu Yiran, who had been silent all along, finally spoke: "There's something wrong with what you just said. Last night you said the person on the phone didn't speak, but just now you said the other person was a 'crazy guy.'"
Luo Wei's cold eyes finally brightened, and he looked at Mu Yiran gratefully. He really hadn't dared to hope that Mu Yiran could "successfully hear" and "correctly understand" his conversation with Xiao Qinxian.
As expected, Mu Yiran continued, "Did anyone make the call? Did the person on the phone say anything? What did they say?"
Xiao Qinxian, somewhat annoyed, messed up her mushroom haircut, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, looking exactly the same as when Luo Wei saw her last night. "I don't know if anyone was on the other end of the line. It sounded muffled, like a radio signal failure. It seemed to be a man, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I suspect the line is crossed."
"You couldn't hear a single word? Even just one word would be better," Mu Yiran asked.
Xiao Qinxian calmed down for a moment before saying, "I think I could vaguely hear two words—'left hand,' that should be it."
After saying that, Xiao Qinxian left the room. "I feel so frustrated. I'm going to take a shower. You'd better not ask me anything more."
Mu Yiran was silent for a moment, then turned around and saw Luo Wei seemingly writing something repeatedly on a piece of paper. He went over to look, but it was just some colorless marks, like the messy marks left on a child's homework sheet.
Mu Yiran took the item, frowned, and stared at it for a long time, unable to decipher a single word. He folded it up and put it in his pocket.
Luo Wei smiled bitterly, "I probably won't last. I'll collapse first."
"Don't worry," Mu Yiran tried to soften his tone. "I've heard Xiao Qinxian's words, about that mysterious phone call we couldn't hear, and the 'left hand' mentioned in the call. That's the clue. We can communicate slightly now, can't we?"
Luo Wei sighed and shook his head, his eyes seemingly glistening, but he quickly wiped them away. "I can guess what my beast looks like. Probably a treasure bowl. Heh, it should be a treasure bowl. That scene is a shadow in my heart, one I'll never shake off."
Mu Yiran sighed, knowing he couldn't comfort him.
"I'm really tired," Luo Wei leaned against the edge of his bed.
"Rest first. I don't think there's no possibility of things not progressing."
"Okay, goodnight," Luo Wei smiled wearily.
"Goodnight." Mu Yiran walked out of the room, thinking about Luo Wei's words, the beast in the treasure bowl, his girlfriend who had died a gruesome death...
Mu Yiran felt his heart tightening little by little. Memories, like distant drumbeats, gradually filled his mind, leaping out of the city of his heart, leaping out of the painting, painting, painting, painting...
Mu Yiran suddenly pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and was shocked to find a string of names clearly written on the previously blank paper: Milen, Kang Lai, Rong Rang, LEX, Luo Bin, Qiu Jian, Li Jinghao.
It was a signature, the signature of those painters.
If we want to leave the painting, we must find the signature!
Luo Wei repeatedly racked his brains to remind himself that this was the most fundamental problem!
Everyone who enters the city of the heart has forgotten the way they came, forgotten the key to finally leave.