The doctors made a final effort to try to revive Mei Yiqiu's heartbeat and consciousness, but it was all in vain.
Mei Ziqing didn't leave; she stayed by his side, like a child who had lost a loved one. Overwhelmed with grief, she choked back sobs, tears streaming down her swollen eyes. No one doubted her feelings for the professor; even she herself firmly believed in her sincerity. The death of this man, who was a father, a friend, and a lover, was an absolute devastating blow to her.
An hour later, the doctor shook his head at Mei Ziqing and left the ward.
Before sending the professor to the funeral home, Mei Ziqing decided to personally prepare his remains. She was afraid that the funeral home's morticians might be too rude or careless due to a lack of reverence. People like the professor, who made great contributions to the progress of human civilization, deserve respect, both in life and in death.
She carefully cleaned the professor's body, pried open his mouth, removed the blood clots left in his mouth from when he vomited blood, and carefully cleaned the gaps between his teeth with a toothbrush and dental floss. Then, she rinsed his mouth with water. She carefully brushed away any foreign objects from the professor's nasal cavity with cotton swabs and meticulously combed every strand of his hair, eyebrows, and beard.
Except for her eyes, which she kept still because of the special "sunglasses" she was wearing, she didn't touch them. She decided to fulfill his last wish—to leave this world with dignity and peace while wearing the Space Box. She even stopped the doctor from observing the pupil scattering to determine death. The doctor did not insist on using this primitive method of determining death, since the various modern instruments connected to the body had already made a more scientific and accurate judgment.
Finally, she helped the professor change into brand new clothes, and then began writing the obituary.
She carefully considered every word, revising it several times, and repeatedly read the final draft to avoid any inappropriate phrases. She didn't rush to send it to the media, but instead sent the obituary to the lab's public relations manager, asking them to contact other organizations. After all, Mei Yiqiu wasn't just a member of the lab; he also held positions at the Third Space Foundation, the United Nations Space Committee, the China Association for Science and Technology, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In a sense, he belonged to the whole world.
It was already evening when all this was done. Mei Ziqing didn't leave; she stayed at the hospital to keep vigil for Mei Yiqiu. In China tradition, after an elder passes away, their children and relatives must keep vigil for them, otherwise their soul will not be able to rest in peace. Mei Yiqiu had no children, and her only lover had spread her spirit to the world in that televised speech. Mei Ziqing felt that she was the professor's closest person.
The air conditioner in the room couldn't reach a temperature similar to that of a morgue. Fortunately, the weather was quite cold at this time of year, and the warm, humid air from the south hadn't yet overcome the cold air from Siberia. She turned off the air conditioner and opened all the windows to let the cold air in. The ward immediately became chilly.
Mei Ziqing was shivering from the cold, but she still sat quietly by the hospital bed all night until the early hours of the next morning. After the body was taken to the funeral home and the time and procedures for the memorial service were confirmed, she bid farewell to Mei Yiqiu's body and returned to the Mei Laboratory.
It was just beginning to lighten, and a light drizzle was falling. She saw Bian Ziyuan sitting on the stone steps by the door, smoking, without an umbrella.
The cigarette struggled to stay lit in the drizzle, the damp smell of which lingered in the air, making it even more pungent than usual.
Mei Ziqing saw the pain of losing a loved one on Bian Ziyuan's face.
Undoubtedly, the laboratory staff had deep feelings for Mei Yiqiu, but those feelings were limited to those between leader and subordinate, mentor and student, and fellow travelers. At most, there was a sense of gratitude for being recognized and supported, like a scholar dying for his confidant. Even though Bian Ziyuan was a special case, it wasn't as heartbreaking as losing one's own father.
What puzzled Mei Ziqing even more was that this sorrowful atmosphere was clearly mixed with many complex emotions—bewilderment, regret, self-blame, and anguish...
"What's wrong?" she asked.
" Old Yu is dead." Bian Ziyuan took a deep drag on his cigarette, his hand trembling slightly.
Mei Ziqing suddenly realized what was happening, then her face darkened as she rebuked, "How did he die? I told you to keep an eye on him, not to lay a hand on him!"
"I've been keeping an eye on him ever since I got your call. He invited me for drinks last night, and usually I'm the one who gets drunk, but this time it was him. I thought it was just a little alcohol, nothing serious, but I never expected him to put sleeping pills in my drink." Bian Ziyuan said, lowering his head.
"Take me to see it," Mei Ziqing said.
Bian Ziyuan stood up and accompanied Mei Ziqing to Yu Jianguo's dormitory.
The room was small and cluttered with various items, but it was relatively tidy. In the corner was a narrow single bed, Yu Jianguo lay quietly.
Bian Ziyuan said, "I drank quite a bit last night, but I was still sober. I just dozed off in my office upstairs. I set up an alarm; if he left or anything unusual happened, the system would sound an alarm. When I woke up, it was already past four. I was clear-headed then, and I felt something was wrong, so I came down to check and found he wasn't breathing. I remembered that he had prepared two bottles of alcohol last night, and the one he drank wasn't the same as mine. Then I discovered this—"
He opened the bedside table drawer and took out a bottle of sleeping pills and a shopping receipt. "I just bought them yesterday. The dosage I used, combined with the alcohol, is enough to be fatal."
Mei Ziqing went over and checked Yu Jianguo's breathing, then opened his eyes to look at him, sighed, and gave up on the idea of invading the Old Yu's remaining consciousness and the picture book.
Bian Ziyuan lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry."
"You should thank him for not poisoning you too." Mei Ziqing said sternly, showing no intention of accepting the apology. "If he had used cyanide instead of sleeping pills, even if you hadn't died, the subsequent police investigation would have been enough to give you a hard time."
A chill ran down Bian Ziyuan Ziyuan's spine. He weakly protested, "I could taste the sleeping pills in the wine, and cyanide is a controlled substance..."
Mei Ziqing rolled her eyes at him. "There's cyanide in the lab upstairs, and don't forget, Old Yu used to work at the hospital." She looked around as she spoke, "Have you looked for it?"
"I've already looked through it; it's all old, discarded stuff from the lab. There's nothing of value."
"Keep looking, it must be here."
"Could it be..." Bian Ziyuan he had suddenly thought of something.
"What?" Mei Ziqing asked.
Bian Ziyuan said, "The professor gave Old Yu a Space Box he had used, but I couldn't find it; it used to be here."
Mei Ziqing nodded. "That's right."
"Are you sure the professor gave the Key to the Dreamscape to Old Yu?" Bian Ziyuan asked.
Mei Ziqing said, "I wasn't sure before, but Old Yu's suicide confirmed my guess. He didn't have strong Mental Power protection, and only death could prevent the professor's confession from being exposed. I just don't understand, how did he know I already knew? Was he acting strangely yesterday?"
Bian Ziyuan suddenly remembered and said, "A young woman came to see him yesterday."
"A young woman?" Mei Ziqing frowned. "I know, she's a nurse from the hospital... carrying a message... Heh, I should have known!"
"A nurse?" Bian Ziyuan said in surprise, "Did he give the thing to a nurse?"
"Impossible." Mei Ziqing shook her head. "That nurse was just delivering a message for the professor. There must be someone else... Where else did he go?"
"I just went to the supermarket and bought some alcohol, and maybe some from the pharmacy," Bian Ziyuan said, shaking the sleeping pills.
"Why don't you check the surveillance footage from those places?" Mei Ziqing said.
Bian Ziyuan suddenly blushed and roared angrily, "I am Bian Ziyuan, not Saladin!"
Mei Ziqing didn't speak, she just stared at him coldly.
Bian Ziyuan's imposing manner finally subsided. He lowered his head and, after a moment, said, "It was Yao Jingjing from the security company. He met with Yao Jingjing while he was shopping and gave her the item."
"Is it that Space Box?"
"Yes."
Where is Yao Jingjing now?
"She went to the airport last night. Her flight was at eight o'clock, and her destination was... Cairo!"