Weakening

The Skinny Guy and I were on the same wavelength. He voiced the question on my mind, looking baffled. "The clothes weren't properly stored, yet they're still in perfect condition. Don't you think that's strange?"

Chen Xiaoqiu glanced at the Skinny Guy. "The fabric is good quality, and the workmanship is excellent. That's perfectly normal."

The Skinny Guy and I exchanged a look, then glanced at the dazed expressions on Fatty and Guo Yujie's faces. We were at a loss.

I opened the file and pointed to a line. "Someone from Greenleaf burned these clothes. If they're the same outfit, as you say, then there's a problem."

Chen Xiaoqiu studied the file carefully before replying unhurriedly, "There are two possibilities. One, someone at the agency lied, and they never burned the clothes. Two, my judgment was wrong. The two outfits might have been made by the same person in the same style, but they aren't the same outfit."

As soon as I heard her, I knew Chen Xiaoqiu didn't believe in ghosts. She said it without the slightest hesitation. Even though the agency had "paranormal" in its name, she'd never once considered that anything supernatural existed in this world. And her explanation was perfectly reasonable; I had no argument against it.

I didn't know if the Skinny Guy was deliberately picking a fight with Chen Xiaoqiu, but he wasn't even afraid of ghosts anymore. He asked sharply, "What happened to the students who wore those clothes?"

Chen Xiaoqiu shook her head. "The student who was supposed to perform before had a car accident. I don't know about the ones before her."

"If they all died under mysterious circumstances, wouldn't that prove there's something wrong with the clothes?" the Skinny Guy pressed.

"What are you getting at?" Chen Xiaoqiu's brows furrowed into a small knot.

"Don't play dumb. Isn't it obvious? Clothes burned by a paranormal agency suddenly turn up again, and everyone who wore them dies. What else could that mean?" The Skinny Guy was getting worked up.

"I already explained the question of whether they were burned or not. If everyone who wore the clothes really did die, it could be because they carried some kind of lethal bacteria," Chen Xiaoqiu said, offering a scientific explanation.

The Skinny Guy had no answer to that.

"Then let's look into it," Guo Yujie said. "Whether there's something wrong with the clothes or they're carrying bacteria, they're dangerous. If everyone who wore them died, Xiaoqiu, don't wear them."

Chen Xiaoqiu didn't object. "I'll ask the people in the drama club."

Once the conversation ended, we got back to work. That day, we found three more pairs of Ye Qing and Liu Miao.

The Skinny Guy and Fatty called several people. Each time, they found the person right away. A quick call confirmed they weren't with Greenleaf. This screening process was much easier than finding ten pairs of people. In no time, we'd ruled out all twenty.

"Do you think they could be lying to us?" the Skinny Guy asked, hanging up and rubbing his chin.

"Why would they lie to us? The demolition is a good thing," Fatty said.

"But what if they committed crimes here and became fugitives?" the Skinny Guy speculated.

"Did you see any wanted criminals named Ye Qing or Liu Miao in that system?"

Our former leader had connections and managed to get us temporary access to the Public Security Bureau's system, so we could use it to check the names on the list. If Ye Qing or Liu Miao had become a wanted criminal, there'd definitely be a record. We were already more than halfway through the list and still hadn't found them, so the Skinny Guy was getting restless.

The Skinny Guy shook his head. "Criminals aren't always wanted! They could've committed a crime and just not been caught yet."

"If you think that way, you'll never stop," Fatty said. "For all we know, they're not even human. Maybe they're ghosts."

The Skinny Guy looked horrified. "Don't say that! Quick, spit three times!"

Fatty had a good temper. He obediently spat three times.

"Could we be looking for them the wrong way? What if the two of them didn't meet through the usual channels in the real world?" the Skinny Guy suggested.

"Then you'll have to check them one by one," I replied, putting emphasis on the word "you."

The Skinny Guy looked utterly defeated and slumped over his desk.

I didn't think either of the Skinny Guy's theories was likely. From listening to the recordings, neither Ye Qing nor Liu Miao seemed like the sort to commit crimes. If they were criminals, they'd be at the top of their game, living openly in the place where they committed their crimes without a care in the world. Even if they'd met some other way, they'd still have had to meet in person. What worried me was that even if they had met, the Public Security Bureau's system might not show us anything useful. In the early days, the internet wasn't very advanced, databases weren't widely established, phone numbers didn't require real-name registration, and neither did many forms of transportation. Renting a place or staying at a small hotel didn't require your information to be logged online, either. Back then, tracking someone's movements had been harder than reaching the heavens.

"Didn't I tell you before? Do the work you're supposed to do. As long as you can give the public a proper explanation in the end, that's enough," I encouraged the Skinny Guy.

The Skinny Guy sighed.

That might be true, but after working so hard for days, doing it all just so they could "give the public a proper explanation" was pretty dispiriting.

Chen Xiaoqiu ignored our conversation and continued diligently screening the personal records.

I'd only glanced at her casually, but then I thought I saw something on her shoulder. I couldn't help focusing on it.

"What are you looking at, Brother Qi?" The Skinny Guy sat up and turned to look at Chen Xiaoqiu.

This time, Chen Xiaoqiu reacted and stopped working.

"Oh, it's nothing," I replied blankly.

The thing on Chen Xiaoqiu's shoulder was gone.

Had I imagined it? Or...

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt. I turned back to the computer screen, but I kept losing focus.

Over the next few days, even the scatterbrained Guo Yujie could tell something was wrong with Chen Xiaoqiu. She was growing thinner at a nearly visible pace, her eyes dull and lifeless. Yet Chen Xiaoqiu herself seemed completely unaware. Whenever we tried to bring it up indirectly, she looked utterly puzzled. Our former leader came by several times, but couldn't find anything wrong with our work, so he left looking troubled. He then frequently called Chen Xiaoqiu in for heart-to-heart talks, trying to help her work through whatever was bothering her, but to no avail.

The four of us stayed quiet, feeling hollow inside, as though we were witnessing something terrible unfold before our eyes. We didn't want to believe it, couldn't deny it, and had no power to stop it.

One day, everyone in the office ate lunch together as usual.

Chen Xiaoqiu's appetite had dwindled. She chewed her rice slowly when her phone suddenly rang.

A young girl's voice came from the other end, choked with sobs. She was wailing so loudly that everyone at our table could hear her.

"Cousin! Cousin, I—I've caused your death! That damned Ma Yibing kept it from me! I wondered why it was so hard to find a girl from the performing arts department to play the role! Zhang Shanmei loves showing off, so why would she turn down this play? They all knew, but they didn't tell me! It's so unfair! Cousin, sob... come with me to pray at the temple! Don't be scared. I burned those clothes today! You'll be fine now!"

The four of us went pale. Faintly, we could hear a man's voice from the other end.

"Li Ruolan, where did you hide the clothes?"

"I burned them! I burned that cursed thing! Listen, Ma Yibing, if anything happens to my cousin, I won't just burn those clothes—I'll burn you, too!" Chen Xiaoqiu's cousin shrieked over the phone.