Jun wei's shoes remained near the entrance exactly where he had kicked them off carelessly that morning before school.One of them had fallen sideways slightly against the wall.Normally suo ran would've complained about it but tonight he couldn't bring himself to touch them at all.The unfinished homework pages still rested across the coffee table beside several scattered pencils and a half-finished juice cup jun wei had abandoned earlier. The straw leaned crookedly against the rim now.
Everything inside the apartment still looked normal like jun wei should have been there somewhere talking too loudly or arguing about homework or asking what was for dinner but the silence kept reminding suo ran over and over again that he wasn't.Suo ran stood motionless near the living room for several long seconds before slowly rubbing both trembling hands over his exhausted face. His eyes were red from hours of panic, suppressed tears.Every thought inside his head felt tangled painfully together now.
"Where are you?" he whispered hoarsely beneath his breath while staring at the empty hallway. "Are you scared right now?" His throat tightened afterward. "Did they hurt you?" He shut his eyes hard for one brief second before forcing himself toward the kitchen but the moment he stepped inside the kitchen, his movement slowed faintly. One cabinet near the corner remained slightly open.
Suo Ran frowned because he remembered closing every cabinet earlier that morning while cleaning after breakfast. For several quiet seconds he simply stared at it without moving. Then slowly, he walked closer. At first nothing looked unusual inside.Threre were bowls, old tea containers and unused plates stacked toward the back shelf. But just as suo ran reached to close the cabinet again, something caught his attention beneath the upper shelf. There was gray cloth tape. His entire body froze instantly because he recognized that tape.That tape was his father used that exact kind for everything years ago.
Suo ran slowly reached upward with trembling fingers before carefully peeling the tape away from beneath the shelf. A small old key dropped softly into his hand. Attached to it was a faded yellow label.The writing had nearly disappeared with age now, but several words remained barely visible beneath the dim kitchen light."For emergency only."Suo ran stared silently at the label.The second his fingers tightened around the key, something suddenly flashed through his mind without warning. He saw himself in kitchen.Younger suo ran sitting quietly at the table late at night while rain hit the windows outside almost exactly like tonight. His father kneeling beside this same cabinet with tense hands while repeatedly looking toward the apartment door.
Then his father's voice came back clearly enough to make suo ran's heartbeat stumble painfully."If anyone asks…"Young suo ran looked confused in the memory. "Asks what?" His father pressed a finger gently against his lips. His expression looked frightened. "You never saw this key." The memory disappeared instantly afterward.Suo ran staggered slightly against the counter while breathing unevenly now. His fingers tightened hard around the key. "What…" he whispered shakily. Another fragmented image flashed briefly afterward. His mother crying somewhere nearby there was locked door and voices arguing then nothing. Completely blank. Suo ran slowly lowered himself against the kitchen counter while panic crawled colder through him now.
"No…" he murmured quietly while pressing one hand against his forehead. "Why can't I remember?" His breathing became shakier afterward while he stared again toward the old key resting in his trembling palm. Then suddenly another detail caught his attention. Tiny engraved numbers lined one side of the metal. At first suo ran frowned slightly in confusion. "Locker numbers maybe or storage codes." But after several seconds his expression changed instantly. Because he recognized the sequence." Cemetery section coordinates." His parents' cemetery. The realization hit hard.
Suo ran's fingers slowly closed tighter around the key before he whispered shakily into the silent apartment, "What did you hide there?"
His eyes drifted unconsciously toward the living room afterward he saw jun wei's unfinished homework still rested abandoned on the table. One page had math corrections written across it in messy handwriting. Suo ran's throat tightened instantly. He could hear Jun Wei complaining dramatically again.
"This question is evil." "You said that about the last five questions." "Because math keeps attacking me personally."
The memory nearly broke something inside him again. Suo ran lowered his head briefly while gripping the key harder. "Wei Wei…" His voice sounded strained now. "Please hold on a little longer." His breathing became uneven again afterward. "Gege's coming for you."
Across City surveillance footage flickered repeatedly across. Cai lang's monitor screen. The same scene kept replaying over and over again beneath the light filling the dark living room.Cai lang sat motionless in front of the screen while exhaustion settled heavily beneath his eyes now.One hand pressed silently against his forehead as another sharp pulse of pain spread through his head again. The footage restarted once more automatically.
The doorbell rang again somewhere behind him. Once...twice then three times.Cai lang didn't react at all his attention remained fixed on the monitor while the footage replayed endlessly. Then apartment door unlocked from outside instead.Several seconds later footsteps entered quietly into the apartment. Anxin stopped after stepping inside. His expression changed almost instantly while looking around the room. Untouched food containers remained abandoned across the table, open files covered the couch and empty medicine packets sat near the monitor beside several cups of cold coffee.His gaze shifted to surveillance footage kept replaying repeatedly against the dark wall ahead.
Then Anxin noticed the blood staining the cuff of cai lang's shirt. His brows slowly tightened afterward. " Why there is blood? what happened again?" Cai lang didn't answer."You haven't slept properly again." he said quietly while closing the apartment door behind him.Cai Lang didn't answer again he barely seemed aware anxin had entered at all.The footage restarted again automatically. Anxin walked closer slowly before noticing the figure appearing repeatedly across the screen. "Who is that?" he asked after several seconds. Cai lang's fingers tightened faintly against the mouse. For a brief moment it almost looked like he wouldn't answer. Then quietly he said, "Suo Ran! " Anxin's expression shifted afterward. "what?! "
Anxin stared at the paused footage briefly before speaking, "Suo ran isn't that kind of person." Cai lang looked away from the screen then. His eyes looked exhausted now beneath something colder."Then explain the footage." he replied quietly. Anxin frowned, "Footage doesn't show context." Cai lang laughed once softly afterward without humor. "Context?" His voice sounded tired now. "Security disable, blood I can't explain and suo ran entering the building during the exact same hours lu zhen died." His jaw tightened faintly. "You tell me what context fixes that." Silence settled heavily between them afterward.
Anxin looked toward the paused image of S
suo ran on the monitor again before speaking more quietly this time. "You trust him, don't you?" Cai lang didn't answer. That silence alone already felt like enough of an answer. Anxin exhaled slowly afterward before stepping closer toward the desk. "Then there's missing context somewhere." he said firmly. "You can't blame him based on fragments." Cai lang lowered his gaze toward the desk afterward while another wave of pain spread sharply through his head. "I want to trust him." he admitted quietly after several long seconds. "But every time I replay this footage…" His eyes drifted back toward the screen again. "Something feels wrong."
Anxin's expression softened faintly afterward.He slowly began pacing beside the desk afterward while thinking silently. Then absentmindedly he muttered, "Wait… wasn't your security system disabled that night?" Cai lang froze. Cai lang turned toward him. "How do you know that?" Anxin stopped moving his expression changed too subtly to notice but Cai lang still saw it.Then Anxin looked away briefly before answering quietly, "You called me that night." Cai lang stared at him blankly for several seconds. "I did?" Anxin nodded slowly now. "Around three in the morning." Cai lang's brows slowly furrowed deeper afterward while confusion spread visibly across his face. "I don't remember calling anyone." "I noticed." Anxin's voice remained calm, but concern had already settled clearly into it now. "You sounded disoriented."
Cai lang's expression tightened faintly. "Disoriented how?" Another silence followed briefly. Then Anxin answered carefully. "Your speech was unclear." "You kept asking strange questions." "You barely seemed aware of where you were." Cai lang's heartbeat slowly quickened afterward beneath growing unease now. "What questions?" Anxin hesitated again. "You asked if blood washes away memory." The room fell silent afterward. Cai lang stared at him motionlessly now while cold dread slowly crawled heavier through his chest. Anxin continued more quietly afterward. "Then you suddenly asked me if someone can forget something traumatic without realizing it." Cai lang's fingers tightened hard against the edge of the desk now. His head hurt worse suddenly.
Cai Lang shut his eyes briefly before pressing one hand hard against his forehead. "Why can't I remember…" he murmured almost to himself now. Anxin watched him silently from nearby while worry deepened visibly across his expression.Several long seconds passed before Cai lang stood slowly from the chair.Anxin remained standing alone beside the desk afterward while the surveillance footage continued replaying silently across the monitor again and again.
Elsewhere fog drifted heavily across cemetery before dawn whilegray light slowly spread through the distant sky. The rain had mostly stopped now, but freezing wind still moved quietly between rows of gravestones, carrying an oppressive silence through the empty paths.Suo ran walked slowly through the empty cemetery alone with a flashlight in one hand while the old hidden key remained clenched tightly inside his pocket beside his father's photograph. His exhaustion had already reached the point where every step felt heavy now, but his mind refused to stop spiraling.
When Suo ran stopped in front of his parents' graves, something inside him almost collapsed completely again. He stood there silently for several long seconds while staring down at the gravestones through red exhausted eyes then slowly, he knelt down. His fingers trembled faintly while placing the old photograph carefully beside the flowers from earlier.For several moments he couldn't speak at all. His throat hurt too much. Then quietly he said, "Dad…" His voice cracked instantly. Suo ran lowered his head while tears slowly gathered again despite how hard he had tried controlling himself all night. "I can't find him." "I don't know where he is." His fingers tightened hard against the edge of the gravestone afterward. "I searched everywhere." His breathing slowly became uneven again. "I don't know what to do anymore."
"I'm so useless!" he whispered shakily. "I couldn't protect anyone." Tears slipped down his face afterward while he stared downward helplessly. "First you…" His voice nearly disappeared there. "And now Jun wei too." He shut his eyes tightly while emotion overwhelmed him harder now beneath exhaustion and fear. "He's still just a child." Suo ran whispered."He acts brave all the time but he gets scared so easily." His throat tightened again afterward. "He probably thinks I abandoned him."
Suo ran lowered his forehead briefly against the cold gravestone while breathing unevenly now. "I'm sorry." he whispered weakly. "I really tried." Slowly, Suo ran pulled the hidden key from his pocket afterward. His fingers shook faintly while staring down at it beneath the weak flashlight glow. "What is this?" he asked quietly toward the gravestones. "Why did you hide it?" His expression tightened painfully. "Is this connected to Jun Wei?"
Suo Ran swallowed hard afterward before speaking again more shakily this time. "If you knew something dangerous enough to get him taken…" His breathing hitched faintly. "…Then why didn't you tell me?" He stared at the engraved numbers along the key again afterward then he stood again despite how weak his body felt now. "Please…" he whispered softly while looking toward the gravestones one last time. "If there's really something hidden here…" His jaw tightened faintly beneath desperation. "Then let it help me bring him home." The flashlight beam moved slowly through the thick fog afterward while suo ran followed the coordinates deeper behind the cemetery grounds. The farther he walked, the quieter everything became. Cracked pavement disappeared beneath weeds and overgrown grass while old cemetery fencing creaked faintly in the freezing wind nearby.
Through the fog ahead, the outline of an old abandoned caretaker storage building slowly appeared. Suo ran slowed afterward. The building looked forgotten by time itself now. The building looks so old the rusted roof, broken windows and peeling walls darkened by years of rain and neglect. Yet the coordinates led directly there. His heartbeat slowly quickened again while he approached carefully. The hidden key remained inside his trembling hand now. For one brief second he hesitated at the rusted door.
"Please let this help me find him." Then slowly, he inserted the key. The lock clicked open immediately.He froze afterward before pushing the old door inward carefully. Dust and cold air drifted outward from the dark storage room beyond. Inside room there were broken shelves lined the walls beneath thick layers of dust while forgotten equipment remained scattered across the floor. At first nothing looked unusual but then suo ran noticed scrape marks near the back corner floorboards. His flashlight beam steadied there. Slowly, he moved closer before kneeling beside the damaged boards. His heartbeat pounded now while he carefully lifted them upward.
A hidden underground compartment revealed itself beneath. Suo ran's entire body froze afterward. He saw inside rested multiple sealed evidence boxes hidden carefully beneath layers of cloth and plastic. Cassette tapes, medical records, old police files, childhood photographs. Everything preserved intentionally for years. Suo ran stared silently downward.His trembling hand slowly reached into the compartment afterward until suddenly one file near the bottom caught his attention instantly. Large black letters written clearly across the label.
*SUBJECT SR-17*
Suo ran froze completely because he recognized the code it was same identifier from the damaged USB files earlier. The flashlight trembled faintly in his hand now.
His fingers tightened slightly around the folder before he forced himself to open it. Dust shifted softly into the cold air as old papers slid beneath the flashlight glow. The first few pages contained medical charts filled with terms he barely understood observation reports,neurological evaluations. He noticed most names had been blacked out completely but one thing repeated again and again across nearly every page.*SR-17*
Suo ran frowned harder while turning another page then another.These were long-term records. One page contained handwritten notes beside a date nearly twenty years old.
*Subject displays unstable memory retention after procedure.*
*Emotional triggers may restore fragments unexpectedly.*
Suo ran froze faintly afterward. "Memory retention…?" he whispered quietly. Another page followed beneath it.
*Behavioral suppression remains incomplete.*
*Recommend continued observation.*
His eyes moved faster across the pages afterward while confusion and panic slowly tangled together inside him. "What is this…" he murmured shakily. "What were they doing?" Then suddenly another document slipped partially free from the folder. An older report more damaged than the others. Suo ran reached for it automatically before his eyes landed on several words near the center of the page.
*Child survived procedure unexpectedly.*
Everything inside suo ran stopped. His hands began shaking harder afterward while his eyes locked onto the sentence beneath the flashlight glow."No…" he whispered weakly beneath growing horror. Then his eyes lowered farther down the page toward the patient information section near the bottom. One line remained visible beneath faded ink.
Birthdate: The numbers underneath made suo ran freeze completely because it was his birthday.The flashlight nearly slipped from his fingers afterward. "No…" His voice cracked hard now beneath panic. "No… that's impossible…" His breathing became ragged instantly while he stared down at the record like his mind physically refused to process what he was seeing. His birthday. His code number. SR-17. Suo ran stumbled backward slightly against the cold concrete wall while gripping the papers tightly now. Another memory fragment suddenly flashed violently through his mind without warning. Where in hospital sound of machines, child crying somewhere nearby and smeone yelling urgently. "His heart rate is dropping!"Then another voice:"Erase the records!"
The memory vanished instantly afterward. Suo ran grabbed his head immediately while breathing unevenly now. "Stop…" he whispered shakily. "What is happening?" More fragmented images crashed through him where his father shouting at someone, his mother crying then darkness swallowing everything again.
Suo ran's knees nearly gave out beneath him now while terror slowly settled deeper through every part of him. Because suddenly the gaps inside his childhood memories no longer felt accidental they felt intentional. Controlled like entire years had been buried beneath something artificial."Dad…" His voice sounded small now. Lost. "What did you hide from me?" His eyes again while staring down at the medical records trembling in his hands. Every page felt worse than the last. Observation logs,psychological evaluations and notes discussing *memory stabilization.* Discussions about emotional suppression. One line near the bottom of another report nearly stopped his breathing entirely. *Subject demonstrates unexpected survival capability.* *Long-term monitoring strongly recommended.*
Suo ran's entire body went cold afterward. Tears gathered helplessly in his eyes again while he stared blankly downward. "No…" he whispered weakly. "No… no…" His breathing became shakier now beneath growing panic and emotional collapse. "I'm not…" He couldn't even finish the sentence anymore. Because part of him already knew the truth before fully understanding it. That was why his father hid these files. Why evidence disappeared. Why people died. Why Jun Wei had been taken after Suo ran started searching again.
Suo ran slowly lowered himself against the wall afterward while gripping the medical report tightly against shaking fingers. His thoughts felt fractured now beneath fear and disbelief. "What did they do to me…?"His eyes were tired from exhaustion and fear, but he still forced himself to continue searching through the hidden evidence his father left behind. Files remained scattered around him across the dusty floor while the flashlight beam shook faintly beside his knee.Then suddenlyhis fingers stopped on a thin sealed folder hidden beneath several police records.
Unlike the others, this file carried no official markings.Only one handwritten sentence across the front.*Protect this child no matter what.*
Suo ran frowned faintly afterward before opening it carefully.Inside rested several old documents: hospital transfer records, adoption paperwork, child relocation forms.
Most names had been blacked out intentionally.At first none of it made sense.
Then a small photograph slipped loose from inside the folder and landed softly onto the floor he picked it up slowly.The picture showed a very small child sitting wrapped in a hospital blanket beside a nurse.The boy looked barely one or two years old.
Suo ran stared silently at the photograph beneath the flashlight glow then his eyes slowly moved downward toward the child's wrist. He noticed that little child wore small silver bracelet.His breathing stopped instantly because jun wei still wore that exact bracelet sometimes.The old scratched moon charm hanging from the side.Suo ran's finger tightened around the photograph now.
"No…" he whispered weakly. "Jun Wei…?" His voice sounded unsteady now beneath growing disbelief. "But the timing…" His breathing became uneven again while his eyes remained locked on the tiny child smiling in the picture. "Why…?"
" I remembered when he came home first time he was not that young." "Not a tiny child barely able to stand steadily." "What was dad hiding…?" he whispered shakily.His throat tightened afterward while emotion slowly overwhelmed him again. The little boy in the photograph looked so small.
Slowly, almost afraid to continue, he reached for the relocation papers underneath.The child's original name had been heavily blacked out but lower on the page another line remained visible.*New identity assigned successfully.* And beneath it: * Wei An! *
Suo ran froze completely."Wei… An…?" he whispered faintly. The flashlight trembled violently in his hand now."Why…?" Suo ran whispered shakily while staring at the papers. "Who are you really…?"His fingers trembled harder around the photograph afterward.