For a moment, his mind was in chaos. The memories of his life with Uncle Xu and Xiao Dao fought for dominance. At the same time, images from his subconsciousness came to the surface, competing with them. What was truth, what was lie? His heart knew. His mind grasped it. Otherwise, he would not have asked the relevant questions. 

His heart was beating fast. The stabbing in his temples swelled. He leaned back, closed his eyes for another moment. 

“Wenjie?” He heard Ding Wei's worried voice. 

A smile flitted across the younger man's lips. “I'm fine. I just need to rest, to sort out my memories.” With his eyes closed, he reached out over the edge of the bed. 

A moment later, he felt Ding Wei's warm hands closing around them.

“Thank you,” he murmured. The older man had saved him for the second time. 

They remained silent for a while in this position. Until the pain dissipated and his thoughts cleared. Relief also prevailed. The pressure in his chest eased. Then he took a deep breath and withdrew his hand from the handshake. 

“What about your father?” Wenjie had not forgotten the conversation with Ding Wei's father. 

Ding Wei's features hardened. “He's still at large.” 

“Will he make trouble for us?”

The older shrugged. “I don't know. He sent me a message, saying he would give us a choice in how we live our lives. He is extremely interested in our decision. Whether our heritage will lead us to the path of our fathers one day or not.”

At least it sounded like he wanted to keep his promise to them. Wait a minute. Speaking of promises. They hadn't helped him get the paintings. He sat up abruptly. 

Ding Wei immediately pressed him back into the pillow. “You should rest.”

“What about the deal we had?”

“It's off.”

What did that mean? Wenjie looked at his friend, confused. 

“While you were sleeping and your body was dealing with the after-effects of the brainwashing, Mr. Ding did not sit idly by. He took advantage of the situation. After the Hong Kong police contacted Captain Luo's team, the Qingcheng police focused on him. My father took advantage of this to break into the museum and steal a few paintings.”

Wenjie slapped his forehead with his hand. This approach had been so predictable. He sighed deeply. “He tricked us with the wheelchair, didn't he?”

Ding Wei nodded. 

A beep sounded from the background. Ding Wei turned around. Wenjie looked past him at Captain Luo's bed. The policeman's fingers twitched slightly. Or had something just moved there?

Against Ding Wei's immediate protest, Wenjie got up and went to the other bed. Ding Shenghuo was forgotten. His focus was on Luo Jian. There it was again. The index finger of his right hand rose slightly. The oscillograph beat clearly and showed an increase in brain activity. 

“Captain Luo?” Wenjie stopped next to the bed. 

A moment later, the nurse and a doctor entered. Wenjie stepped aside and let them do their work, but kept his eye on the bed. Captain Luo's eyelids twitched. Seconds later, they flew open. Luo Jian took a deep breath. 

“Go back to bed. You still need to rest,” the nurse instructed Wenjie while the doctor took care of Captain Luo. 

Wenjie sat down on the edge of his bed and waited. Ding Wei sat on the chair next to the bed. It took a while for the hubbub to die down and for the medical staff to leave the room. 

Captain Luo smiled when Wenjie came back to his bed. He seemed visibly relieved to see him and Ding Wei in good health. But he didn't miss the hospital clothes Wenjie was wearing. “Have you overdone it again?”

“After you dropped out, we had to take over the case,” he joked.

Captain Luo laughed. “As if you wouldn't have taken matters into your own hands otherwise.” Did you manage to get anything done? How is Lin Zhiyue? How did I get here? We're no longer in Qingcheng.“ He gestured out the window. 

“That's a long story,” Ding Wei said. 

“But we have time to tell it from the beginning,” Wenjie added. 

Of course, Captain Luo was just as concerned about Wenjie's health as the nurse was. There was no question in his mind that he should have a checkup despite how he felt right now. In the end, Wenjie gave in. Maybe Captain Luo was right. Who knew what effect that machine had had on his brain. The new memories hadn't completely gone away. They had just been overlapped by the old memories again. 

Ding Wei later accompanied him to the doctor, who performed a series of neurological examinations and neuropsychological tests on Wenjie. The full program. He even had an MRI, CT, PET scan and EEG. The purpose of all this was to get a comprehensive picture of Wenjie's brain health. There were a few anomalies here and there. But nothing to be concerned about. Nevertheless, the doctor wanted to keep him under observation for a few days as a precaution. 

The same applied to Captain Luo, as Wenjie learned later. So their vacation together would have to wait a little longer. But Zhuang Yaobai, Sun Zhijian and Lin Zhiyue would arrive in Hong Kong before then. Then they could plan together what they would do together during the rest of their vacation. 

“Are you sure you want me with you?” Captain Luo asked later. 

Wenjie nodded. “You asked me once, why I always look for a reason, why you spend time with me. I was suspicious at that time. I thought a policeman never seeks contact for no reason. Besides, I was involved in the case. I thought, I was a bad friend for keeping secrets from you.” 

“That's water under the bridge.”

“I think I can come to terms with it now. With the past. I can accept your friendship without fearing ulterior motives. I want you to be with us as a friend. After the stress of the past few months, you deserve a break too. And my father will approve it too.”

Captain Luo smiled. “I'd like to spend time with you. I'm glad you've chosen the path of righteousness.”

“Maybe I'll apply to the police academy after my vacation. Dealing with criminals seems to be in my blood.” 

So much for Ding Shenghuo's assumption, that Wenjie would one day become a thief himself. Wenjie would prove him wrong through his life's journey.

End