During the night, Wenjie barely slept. Whenever his sleep was interrupted, he tossed and turned restlessly. He could not shake off the impression that he had overlooked something important. Maybe he should have insisted on coming to the police headquarters immediately. That would have made more sense than wasting time on a sleepless night. 

If there was someone else behind Monsieur, they had foiled his plans and gotten his full attention. Who knew how this ominous someone would react? At regular intervals, he reached for his phone, intending to call Captain Luo or Mister Xu. The watchmaker had not contacted him yet, and Wenjie's conscience still plagued him for letting Mister Xu down like that.

It didn’t help. He couldn’t sleep until this was settled. Again, he picked up the phone when there was a knock at the apartment door. Apart from Captain Luo, no one had visited him this late before, aside from Ding Shenghuo and his men. But they didn't count. 

A second knock came, and someone called his name. It was Xu Zhengqing. Wenjie was already halfway to the door. Before opening it, he took his jacket off the hook and put it on. Just a moment ago, he had been thinking about how to meet him after his betrayal, and now Xu Zhengqing was standing in front of his door. 

He smiled and didn't look angry. Only a shadow lay over his features, which Wenjie interpreted as worry. 

"Mister Xu. Come in." Wenjie stepped aside and let him enter. Out of habit, he glanced out into the hallway before closing the door behind the man. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

Mister Xu shook his head. "Wenjie, don't worry about me. Helping you is the least I can do. You trust Captain Luo. I understand that. When he showed up, I knew our plans would change. I'm surprised you didn't accompany Captain Luo to the police station." Concern settled into his features as he walked over to the window. 

Wenjie breathed a sigh of relief, but his muscles immediately tensed again. Suspicious, he followed Mister Xu to the window and looked out as well. The streetlights were flickering. Cars were driving on the street. There was no one in the courtyard. There was nothing unusual. But Mister Xu's behavior appeared to him as if the man thought he had been followed. 

"Mister Xu, are you all right? Why did you come over so late? Captain Luo said it would be enough if I gave my testimony tomorrow and we look at the picture." 

Xu Zhengqing frowned and turned back to him with a serious expression. "You should give your testimony tonight. I didn't want to bother you anymore, but someone took advantage of my absence and went to your old parents' house. I'm afraid it wasn't enough to trap Monsieur, or else your father really is still alive."

Wenjie's eyes widened. "You mean he came to my old home?" 

"I don't know. It could have been someone else. Someone followed me on the way home. I think I have lost them. But I don't recommend going to your old parents' house. You'd be better off at the police station," Xu Zhengqing replied. His expression remained serious. Again, he looked out the window and seemed to scan the surroundings for signs of uninvited guests. 

"Was anything stolen? Or left behind?" Wenjie inquired nervously. Involuntarily, he thought of his conversation with the people from Undercurrent who had given him the painting. Could it be that they had contacted the seller of the painting before they were arrested? And was it possible that the seller really was his father? 

His thoughts were overflowing when Mister Xu put his right hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know. The doors upstairs were open, to the rooms I never entered because they contain too many painful memories."

Wenjie sighed deeply. "Can I look at the rooms? Maybe he was there."

Xu Zhengqing released his hand from his shoulder. A mixture of sadness was to be seen in his features. "Wenjie, if your father was there, why didn't he stay? Monsieur is behind bars."

"Because there is someone else behind Monsieur, or because we were mistaken about the identity of the man at the auction. Why should the legendary Monsieur, whose face no one knows, come in person? Maybe he was just a decoy." That was what he had overlooked. Or was there something else, something that just wouldn't occur to him? Mister Xu was right. He should go to the police station now. If he talked to Captain Luo about it, he would recognize what he was missing. 

"Then we would be in danger. I'll take you to Captain Luo right away," Xu Zhengqing encouraged him. 

Wenjie had nothing to add to that. He quickly disappeared into the bathroom to change his pajamas for his day clothes. As usual, he had his smartphone in his jacket pocket. Since it was likely that he wouldn't return to the apartment before tomorrow evening, he also packed his backpack. Then he followed Mr. Xu out.

The night was calm. Wenjie spotted nothing unusual in the front yard and there wasn't much going on in the street. Here and there a car parked on the side of the road. No one was sitting in it. Mister Xu had lost the pursuer. 

The latter had followed Xu Zhengqing from his visit to the police. Something about it seemed strange to Wenjie, so he hesitated to get into the car and searched the immediate area for clues. There was nothing. Thoughtfully, he finally got into the car, still thinking about the pursuer. Could it be that Captain Luo had Mister Xu monitored, as he had done with him before? Why would he do that? Because he also believed that there was someone else behind Monsieur? Or was it because he distrusted Mister Xu?

Xu Zhengqing started the car. 

Wenjie looked out the window and thought about their first encounter at the warehouse for the first time since he knew the watchmaker. How had Xu Zhengqing known that he had been in the grip of the smugglers? How had he known about the warehouse and that he was there? Had he been watching him from afar all these years, keeping an eye on him because he felt indebted to his father? Or was there more to it than what he saw? And was the answer to this question the missing link he needed, to tie all the inconsistencies together into a complex whole? 

The lights of the street lamps were reflected in the glass of the window. 

Suddenly, he felt cold.



to be continued...