The week was quickly drawing to a close.
It was January 6th, Lesser Cold. Everyone stayed by Hu Jia's side, for they were about to face their first real challenge of the year.
That challenge was whether Hu Jia would lose his memory after midnight.
According to the usual pattern, Hu Jia lost his memory at midnight on Mondays when there were no cases. However, if there was a case, he would only lose his memory after it was solved.
And the case would never take longer than seven days to solve.
But now, a real and thorny problem lay before them. Did finding the key and solving the ten-year-old shooting case count as a case?
Hu Jia hadn't been involved this time, yet he did know about the case. So, would he lose his memory or not?
Consequently, no one was sure. They all kept vigil by Hu Jia's bedside, to prevent any accidents.
Heh heh.
A group of people gathered around his bed was rather embarrassing.
Hu Jia had repeatedly told them, "You can go. I'm fine. Besides, Qing Qing is in the next room."
Lü Qing Qing echoed his sentiment.
"No, if you haven't lost your memory, it's one thing. But if you do, won't we have to go through all this again?" Ouyang Wen firmly refused. They had reached a gentleman's agreement with Hu Jia: regardless of whether Hu Jia lost his memory or not, they would not hide the fact that the shooting case remained unsolved from him.
Helpless, everyone could only exchange glances.
"Since there's nothing to do, why don't we analyze the key?" To alleviate their tension, Li Yang suggested discussing the case.
However, Yu Yue vetoed this. "If the boss wasn't involved in the case, wouldn't he get involved if he heard the analysis? If it causes him to lose sleep until the case is solved, who will take responsibility for that?"
"Forget it. How about this: you go to the next room to analyze. I'll sleep here quietly. Don't disturb me," Hu Jia exclaimed, as if he had found a lifeline, quickly ushering everyone out.
"This kid is actually shy," Ouyang Wen chuckled. This was his second time in Lü Qing Qing's room, and the feeling was quite peculiar. It was his own house, yet it felt like entering the Grand View Garden.
Lü Qing Qing felt a bit awkward, as her room was bare, not even having hot water. She could only manage an embarrassed laugh, "Heh heh, too busy!"
Yu Yue rolled her eyes. Busy? Busy at the boss's place, perhaps?
The moment everyone left, Hu Jia's eyes instantly focused. He sat back down at his desk, determined to record everything that had happened during this time.
He was truly afraid, afraid of waking up and forgetting his father's revenge.
...
"What do you think that key is related to? Why is it so important?" This was a question no one could figure out. The only person who knew the answer was Hu Jia, but he had no memory.
Li Yang said that they had interviewed the village elders. According to the villagers, Wang Xia lived a rather extravagant life after returning home, presumably having made a lot of money in the city.
Some had even tried to introduce marriage partners to Wang Xia, but he had refused stubbornly, claiming he didn't want to get married. This surprised many villagers, as Wang Xia was no longer young and should be considering marriage.
"We suspect his unmarried status is related to the key. After all, it's easier to do things alone, but having another person at home makes one too noticeable," Ouyang Wen said. This indirectly suggested that the key was likely in the Wang family's possession.
"But we've seen that old house. It's dilapidated, and there's nothing inside. Could the key have disappeared long ago?" Lü Qing Qing asked.
"No! The key should still be there, it just hasn't been found," Ouyang said. After Wang Xia "moved to the city," several groups of people from the village visited. They all claimed to be Wang Xia's friends, saying they were there to help him organize his belongings.
In retrospect, these people were all members of the Dao Ren organization. Their "organizing" was a pretense; their true aim was to search for the key.
Everyone agreed, that made sense. If the key had already fallen into Sixth Master's hands, none of this would have happened later.
"So the key is still there, and definitely in the old house. It's just a pity..." Yu Yue trailed off, her meaning understood by everyone.
"That's not right, someone else knows about the key," Lü Qing Qing suddenly interrupted the silence.
"Who?"
"Don't you remember? Wang Yan just said that Mou Ji Xuan was involved with the key?"
"But he's dead, isn't he?"
"Yes, he's dead, but someone had contact with him."
The others pondered for a moment, "You mean, the boss?"
"Mhm!"
Ever since Hu Jia returned, everyone had completely forgotten about Mou Ji Xuan. For one thing, Hu Jia hadn't brought it up, and for another, Mou Ji Xuan was already dead. His death was the reason for Hu Jia's amnesia, and no one wanted to reopen that wound.
But now, they had to seriously consider this matter.
"While Hu Jia hasn't lost his memory yet, should we ask him?" Lü Qing Qing recalled going to see Mou Ji Xuan's sister last time. At that time, Sister Mou had uttered a strange phrase.
If this was a code phrase, then Hu Jia might know the next part.
"I object!" Ouyang was the first to oppose. "This is a painful memory for Little Jia. What if it upsets him? After all, Little Jia's current memory is stuck in 1921, and Mou Ji Xuan died in 1923. It's equivalent to Little Jia not knowing that Mou Ji Xuan is dead right now."
Ouyang's concern was valid, and he successfully stopped Lü Qing Qing from questioning Hu Jia.
"But if we don't clarify this now, we'll never solve the mystery of the key," Lü Qing Qing argued. Hu Jia and Mou Ji Xuan met in 1921. In the two years until Mou Ji Xuan's death in 1923, he must have discovered information related to the key, which was now forgotten.
However, Sister Mou might know this information, but she clearly was unwilling to disclose it. To get her to talk, they would need to respond to her code phrase.
"It hurts, it hurts for tonight, but if we keep choosing to escape, then how will you answer when Hu Jia next asks why you haven't found the key?" Lü Qing Qing was decisive. She also cared for Hu Jia, but she was unwilling to lose the fundamental purpose of their actions due to overprotection.
"Qing Qing," Ouyang was still hesitant.
"Trust me, he's not as fragile as you think," Lü Qing Qing conveyed her certainty through her gaze.
Finally, Ouyang Wen relented.
Lü Qing Qing turned and left the room.
"Why are you here?" Hearing the door open, Hu Jia wriggled like a loach into his quilt.
Seeing Hu Jia wrapped up tightly, Lü Qing Qing chuckled, "It's cold, you should wear more."
Hu Jia nodded, revealing a charming smile.
"Um, I wanted to ask you about someone."
"Who?"
"Mou Ji Xuan!"
Hmm? Hu Jia sat up abruptly. "Mou Ji Xuan?"
"Yes, you met him seven years ago, but he disappeared later. You had contact with him, so I wanted to ask you about his situation," Lü Qing Qing said cautiously, observing Hu Jia's expression.
"Disappeared?" Hu Jia frowned slightly. "Then Sixth Master most likely silenced him."
Hu Jia's tone was calm and flat, which puzzled Lü Qing Qing. "Aren't you angry? Sad?"
This question confused Hu Jia. "Why should I be angry? Why should I be sad? At most, I'd feel a bit nostalgic."
Huh?
Lü Qing Qing was dumbfounded.
This was not the expected reaction! How could someone who lost his memory due to Mou Ji Xuan's death be so composed?
"I only knew him for less than a month. Should I still be kowtowing and visiting his grave?" Hu Jia joked.
Uh...