CH 200

That afternoon, while some people were writing volumes discussing whether Yan Suizhi was real or fake, the Interstellar Probate Office issued a public announcement.

On it was clearly stated: 

It is hereby announced that the identity of the deceased has been authenticated and confirmed as his own.

The death notice has been officially retracted and the settlement of the estate has been terminated. At Mr Yan Suizhi’s request, the distributed portion of the estate will remain in force without any rescission, compensation, or additional procedures.

The Interstellar Probate Office was a fearsome place where a singular misstep could cause the other party to be reduced to poverty and ruin. As such, it was a well-known fact that the officials have nine levels of authentication to avoid mistaken identities, the paranoia right up there with maximum-security buildings in the alliance.

If even they claimed that his identity was watertight, then any aspersions cast could only come from a place of impure motives. 

Therefore, upon the announcement, all gossip mongers were silenced.

Backed by this official stamp, media outlets instantly lost all reservations, waxing poetic about the legend of a certain dean rising from the dead.

Between the span of last night to the next morning, this was the general state of affairs on the internet as witnessed by Young Master Joe.

It was the same front-page headline across virtually every platform, in block letters, declaring ‘Identity of Dean Yan Suizhi of Maze University’s law school checks out’ and ‘Claims of impersonation are completely bogus!’

After that, various speculations followed. For example, what exactly happened in the explosion? How did Yan Suizhi survive? Why did he masquerade as an intern for a period of time?

Some strayed further off track, discussing, for example, where did all the distributed estate go? Who were the beneficiaries?

There was even an analysis on how large Yan Suizhi’s estate was, interspersed with even more odds and ends.

For example, ‘Yan Suizhi’s former law firm, Nan Lu, is jumping for joy’ and ‘Maze University is also jumping for joy, moving Yan Suizhi’s portrait from the Hall of Fame for the deceased back to its original location overnight’. 

All this smushed Joe in the face, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue in awe. “Mindless sheep, the whole lot of them. There were still people fabricating tall tales, downright convinced that the dean was being impersonated just hours ago, and look at them now. It’s like the dean can do no wrong.”

Eunice, glimpsing his screen in passing, said, “You’re taking this seriously? Aren’t these reactions expected? It’s the two people involved that are too calm. One doesn’t give a damn, while the other is… well, trolling around?”

“I know that, I’m not taking it seriously. I’m having a blast watching the dean be an internet troll,” said lil’ Young Master Joe.

He closed the screens and glanced at the weather outside. Then, he checked the time, saying to Eunice, “I’m making a trip down to the city garden with Ke Jin.” 

“To Lawyer Gu’s? Wouldn’t the area be chock full of reporters? Will Ke Jin be okay?” Eunice asked.

“He’s recovered enough not to be overwhelmed by seeing a few reporters.” Joe glowed when on this topic.

Eunice was tempted to laugh. “What are you puffing up with pride for when he’s the one able to take it? But isn’t his memory still spotty? Is it really okay?”

Joe said, “As soon as he woke up, before he figured out what was going on, he saw the ubiquitous news of the dean rising from the dead. Nevermind confusion, it’ll be worse if he doesn’t go to the city garden.” 

Ke Jin was actually recovering well. Within the span of a few days, regular communication no longer posed an issue. However, he was still facing slight difficulty getting by day to day, so he was temporarily staying with the Yves family.

Actually, it wasn’t so much about any lack of ability to care for himself but that he couldn’t remember the events of the past few years.

Illness splintered his life into two worlds; the normal world he lived in before and the illusory world he was trapped in after.

Now that he was back in the normal world, he lost all memory of the illusory world. 

It was akin to being trapped in a long nightmare—and upon being startled awake, all that happened in the dream was forgotten.

Lin Yuan said that he might slowly recall this given time, but it wouldn’t be very complete. This was normal, actually. Even inebriation created holes in memory, let alone Ke Jin’s condition.

But Joe wasn’t worried. He told Ke Jin, “There’s no rush; no need to feel panicked either. You have plenty of time to slowly think it through. If you really can’t recall it, you can ask me. I’m not good at rote memorisation but I’ve a keen memory for this kind of thing. I’ve got your back, relax.”

With that, Ke Jin set his mind at ease, soon entering a ‘go with the flow’ mentality. Whenever he saw something that baffled him, he would silently turn his gaze onto Joe, then Joe would intuitively know to explain it to him. 

Ktf ili’ sbecu wjrafg kjr wbgf atjc kliilcu ab ub ab atf qjlcr.

Pc atf joafgcbbc, atf jlg lc atf mlas ujgvfc kjr mglrq, jmmbwqjclfv ys atf clq bo wlvklcafg.

Qtfc Abf jcv Bf Alc jgglnfv ys mjg, atfs obecv wjcs gfqbgafgr ijslcu mjwq bearlvf atf ujgvfc mbwqbecv.

“Cgf atfs jii tfgf ab qtbabugjqt atf vfjc?” Bf Alc jrxfv, ibbxlcu bea bo atf klcvbk. 

“Gu, too. They’d be able to write a whole chunk about either one of them.” Joe scrubbed his face, driving his car through the garden gates.

Noticing the frost dusting the coats of several paparazzi, Ke Jin mumbled, “Don’t they need to sleep…”

It had been many years since he last spoke. His voice was slightly shaky, easily turning gravelly after just a few sentences. He was an independent character at heart; in part because he was self-reliant, and another part because he didn’t want others to worry.

Therefore, before stepping out, he had fastidiously bundled a scarf around his neck and nose to protect his throat. 

But he went down to find that Joe was waiting for him, having developed a habit of caring for him over the years, also with a scarf in hand.

The lil’ young master instantly felt a touch of awkwardness, standing frozen to the spot.

Seeing the look on his face, Ke Jin deliberated and said, “That’ll do nicely. I couldn’t find a thicker scarf.”

“The two scarves are the same. They’re both not thick…” Joe, this blockhead, had answered this. 

“…”

So, to substantiate his words, the young and good-tempered Lawyer Ke bundled both scarves around his neck. As it was too much trouble to take off, he didn’t even unwrap them when he got into the car, much less when he got out.

They stopped the car, stood outside Gu Yan’s place, and pressed the doorbell.

Almost immediately, the door responded and opened. A warm and pleasant female voice yelled “Ke Jin” then enveloped both of them in a bear hug. 

“Laura?” Ke Jin asked in surprise. “You’ve come to see the dean, too?”

The unexpected response to her hug and call instantly made Laura burst into tears.

Ke Jin, flailing in the face of her tears, steered the lady through the door with Joe’s help.

Ms Laura had the bounteous soul of a warrior, emotions coming and going like the wind. By the time Joe and Ke Jin were changing out of their footwear at the doorway, her tears had stopped. She supported herself on the cabinet by the door, wiping her tears, saying, “I’m here to visit Gu Yan and the dean. They’ve been in the epicentre of a storm lately, it worries me. Then I heard from Gu Yan that you guys were coming, too, so I’ve been waiting at the door.” 

“Where are they?” Joe asked.

“They received a call two minutes ago. Seems to be a reporter called Bens? Hearsay they were supposed to come and discuss when to release the follow-up story but got held up at the western entrance, so they went over to ransom the reporter from security.”

“Looks like it’s going to be quite a crowd today,” Joe said.

Laura nodded, then looked at Ke Jin in concern. “Will you be okay around strangers?” 

“Will I not be?” Lawyer Ke was momentarily confused, turning to Joe.

The lil’ young master dutifully explained, “You were more on edge when around strangers in the past, erm… but it isn’t too bad, just a little bit on the off-chance.”

His index finger and thumb he held up were barely apart if at all. Laura quietly watched him fudge the truth, then turned to see the naivety on Ke Jin’s face, and agreed against all principles, “Yeah, just that little bit.”

Ke Jin stared blankly for a while at them echoing each other, then shook his head, laughing. The lower half of his face was hidden in his soft cashmere scarves, but his dark eyes were gentle and bright. “You’re ganging up to pull my leg again.” 

It was only then that Laura noticed his thick scarves, and the question popped out involuntarily, “Hey, why do you have two scarves on?”

Ke Jin offered it some thought before saying earnestly, “…To keep healthy.”

“Who taught you this health hack?”

Ke Jin silently looked at Joe. 

Laura, “He just came to and you’re already bullying him?”

Joe, “…”

It didn’t take long for Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan to return, bringing back both Bens and his little disciple Hersey. While Ke Jin didn’t know them, they did know Ke Jin.

To be precise, almost every reporter in the alliance recognised Ke Jin. After all, this was also a figure who had sparked many topics of discussion back in the day. He was known to be in a fragile mental state in recent years and was so well protected by Joe that he was rarely exposed to the media. It was difficult to catch a glimpse of him, let alone be let into the same room as they were now. 

Most shockingly, Lawyer Ke was actually in a clean bill of health!

Bens was yowling in his head—how the hell was this a regular teacher-student gathering? It was a room of walking headliners in the flesh!

Were this before, he would have gotten word out at all costs.

But it was different now. Strangely, after associating with these people, he had rediscovered the aspirations that had guided him during the fledgling days of his career, and abruptly… he became more composed, less eager for instant success and quick bucks. 

Because the subtle influence they exerted on him led him to let up on privacy intrusions and inappropriate inquisitiveness. He went from being one of the paparazzis camping outside the door to a welcomed guest, wining and dining with them.

Today, everyone present was in a pleasant mood.

However, there was still a short interlude—

While talking to Bens and Hershey about the follow-up story, Yan Suizhi fished out the two albums he had saved on his smartphone. These were the photos and videos that had been copied from the cameras of the two reporters, covering all major and minor news stories that had occurred in the last decade. 

After obtaining the reporters’ consent, he shared the files with Joe.

Recently, the young master had been trying to catch Ke Jin up on recent news and was still short of visual aid. These two albums were just the thing to fill the gap.

Joe had planned to screen the albums first, but to his surprise, Ke Jin was rather interested in the two albums, going through them before he could stop him.

Bens and Hershey had a habit of captioning the photos. With Ke Jin’s sharp mind, he was able to form a logical and coherent account of what had happened simply by reading the captions. 

So, he read it silently, immersed, only occasionally asking Joe questions in quiet tones.

Until a certain point, he softly uttered an “ah”.

“What happened?” The crowd seated on sofas looked at him.

“This man…” Ke Jin wavered for a second, sharing the video that he was watching on a hologram in front of everyone. 

The video was not new to Yan Suizhi or Gu Yan; they had seen it before when inputting the Sweeper’s spade tattoo and the mole cluster on the back of his neck as search parameters.

It was a video taken by Hersey after the explosion case. It showed an arrest scene, of the suspect being taken into police custody from the upper floors of the building while surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. At a breakfast spot a way’s off, the Sweeper was sitting with his back to the camera, leisurely finishing his breakfast.

The person Ke Jin was pointing at right now was the Sweeper, as seen from the back.

Yan Suizhi’s eyes traced every motion the Sweeper made, and he asked Ke Jin, “What about him?” 

As far as they knew, Joe hadn’t told Ke Jin much about the Manson brothers, or at least, they hadn’t touched on the Sweeper. Ke Jin also had many missing memories from his recollection, therefore… he must have had some other reason for picking out this guy in the corner of the video with just a glance.

Ke Jin rewound the video a little. As the Sweeper was finishing up his breakfast, he grabbed an antibacterial paper napkin from the table surface to wipe his mouth, then folded the paper twice before discarding it.

“Do you see the way that he folded the napkin?” Ke Jin asked.

Everyone nodded. 

“It could be that I’m uninformed, but this origami habit, his actions and the folding technique, are unique. The only people I’ve seen doing this are, without exception, from one place.”

“Where?”

“I used to stay in Milan Orphanage before I reached eighteen,” said Ke Jin.

Everyone exchanged a look. 

Coincidentally, from what they knew, the Sweeper had once stayed at that orphanage.

Ke Jin recalled, “Milan Orphanage was large. There were many caregivers, usually with four or five children assigned to each at any one time. The younger kids would have two and the older kids would have two or three. There was a caregiver who possibly had a bit of mysophobia and OCD. She believed that paper napkins used to wipe their mouths after eating should not be crumpled up and thrown on the table, as it was rude and would affect the appetite of the others at the table. So, she required the children under her charge to always fold and flatten the paper towels in a specific manner—folded side down on the table—to ensure that only the cleanest and flattest side was presented to others. She called it a fashionable gentleman’s etiquette.”

He paused, frowned, then added, “My memory is incomplete. I can’t remember any of the past few years, but from what I can remember, the last person I’ve come across… with this habit of folding antibacterial paper napkins after a meal is named Connor Li.”

Every face in the room paled. 

“Yes, the very same client who had been plaguing my mind,” said Ke Jin. “But you don’t have to look so worried, I’m no longer a patient.”

After ascertaining that Ke Jin wasn’t experiencing any emotional fluctuations, Yan Suizhi began to chase this tangent of thought.

He had never actually met the Sweeper, but he could still distill the other party’s character from the various clues.

The Sweeper had an inferiority complex. Bouncing between welfare institutions and orphanages as a child was a… degrading experience for him. It wasn’t that he loathed the system itself, but that he considered such a life inferior, and he loathed inferiority. This was why he accepted the identity of the Sweeper, for holding the lives of others in his hands gave him a sense of superiority. 

Previously, Yan Suizhi didn’t think that the Sweeper would retain any habits from his orphanage days, but listening to Ke Jin changed his opinion.

For the caregiver called it a ‘fashionable gentleman’s etiquette’. Given the Sweeper’s personality, he had retained this habit no matter how many times he changed his appearance, on account of these words.

Laura was uncertain as she asked, “Right now we have everything we need except for… this guy, right?”

Gu Yan nodded. “Mn.” 

The evidence and clues in their possession could nearly be strung into a complete chain. If they could include the Sweeper, then they could submit everything, sit back, and wait for divine justice to be dealt.

As everyone pondered, Hersey, on the byline, shyly raised his hand. “I… I have photographed someone like that.”

“You have?”

Everyone’s attention condensed on this young junior reporter. 

“There was a period when I was keen on collecting all sorts of unique people and things I come across in life.” Hersey scratched his head, embarrassed, “Anyway… I’ve shot him before. I have an impression of him.”

“Nice going!” Bens was incredibly astute at this time, knowing with a single glance at everyone’s expressions that there must be something big at work here. He clapped Hersey on the back and asked, “Where’s the stuff? You still have them, right?”

But Gu Yan lifted his own smart device. “I didn’t see the photos in your album.”

“That’s because they were too random. I was afraid that they would clutter up my files for work, so I regularly exported them into a separate drive.” Hersey said, “I took them sometime this year. But it’s one thing to have them and another to remember which month or day I took them. They’re not on my smart device. I’ll have to go back and dig them out.” 

“When can you find them?”

“It’s hard to set up search parameters for this. I’ll have to literally go through them photo by photo and video by video. It might take a while.” Hersey thought about it and said, “Give me two days. I’ll find them and send them to you in two days.”