bustling city

It was a long and short past.

At about the same age as Zhou Jin at that time, Yan Jun was studying for a master's degree in applied mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

It is always difficult for people to explain clearly the laws governing the operation of the universe.

——Just like at that time, Yan Jun, who was [-] or [-] years old, did not expect that his published articles on computing theory with the naive fantasy of becoming a hit in the academic world failed to bring him the reputation of a cutting-edge scholar , but let him into the sight of the police station.

——Just like when he first received the call from the police station, Yan Jun did not expect that a stunned young man like him who was full of passion for scientific research would turn into a playing world with a mask after a year. A police officer who is so uncomfortable indulging in sensuality, but actually fights the deadliest dangers every day.

He doesn't even know himself anymore.

He took a full year less than expected to complete his master's degree, at the cost of cutting off most of his subject matter.

The project that was expected to become a new wind vane turned into a waste product that lacked arms and legs and was barely done.

He had no regrets then.

Young boys are always fond of adventure, especially when it satisfies, more than anything else, their heroism and sense of justice that has nowhere to rest.

Once he has seen the thrills, huge challenges and doubled sense of accomplishment, Yan Jun, who has a deep understanding of taste, feels that he will never want to return to the boringness of the ivory tower.

Also in that year, he received the task of contacting a money laundering gang, finding out their operating mode, and designing them to show their feet.

Yan Jun needs a cover identity.

Almost at the same time, his mentor at the Institute, Cohen, gave him the opportunity to study for a Ph.D. and invited him to join his research group.

In fact, according to the level of Yanjun's master's project, Cohen University may have better candidates: among the scholars waiting to enter the Courant Institute, there is no shortage of Yanjun.

Maybe Kou En cherishes talent and is reluctant to part with this student who was trained by himself; maybe he has actually noticed something, but he sees farther than young people, hoping to bring Yan Jun back to a stable world.

Cohen made a choice at the risk of immeasurable dangers, but the high-spirited Yan Jun hadn't considered that much at the time, and he hadn't even considered that the choice he made actually brought danger into the lives of innocent people.

In the second year, at the end of November when the winter was getting colder and the atmosphere of Christmas was getting stronger, the big case was solved.

That was the first task that Yan Jun completed independently. He won the first battle, and he became a big star in the police station.

While waiting for his identity to be declassified, he tendered his resignation to Cohen.

No need for cover identities anymore, he was ambitious and eager to throw himself into the next, and the next, tantalizing adventure.

Cohen said he needed to think again.

At that time, Yan Jun would occasionally regard the great love of the tutor as a burden.

He said he wanted to be an eagle, not a kite.

Yan Jun waited for the mentor to compromise, waiting for the "complete freedom".

He did wait for complete freedom, but it wasn't because of Cohen's compromise.

In early December, on a snowy night, a fire broke out in a building of the institute.

It was the office of Cohen's research group that caught fire.

Yan Jun was at a concert when he received the call.

He remembered that when he rushed out, the pianist on the stage was playing the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. [-].

The continuous syllables of the same chord in the lower part are like a reminder, hitting the eardrums of people one after another.

People call this set of sonatas pathos—and that's fitting.

When Yan Jun arrived, the fire hadn't been extinguished, and there were survivors gathered in the open space outside, but he didn't see a familiar face.

No companions, no mentors.

He rushed into the fire.

Before that, Yan Jun didn't think that there was a purgatory in the world. After that, the picture of the fire licking the house and burning every inch of his familiar scene into strange powder is purgatory.

Yan Jun woke up in severe pain and lay in the hospital.

There were no survivors in the entire research group.

He saved nothing - not even a piece of paper.

What was left of that fire were fourteen names engraved on the tombstone, and burn marks on his left side that spread from his shoulder to his arm.

Later, people from the police station said that the fire was man-made, and the remnants of the money laundering gang found out the identity of Yan Jun, so they retaliated.

The people in the research institute fell into a coma before the fire broke out, and the gasoline was evenly sprinkled in the whole room, so there was no chance of fighting the fire when the fire started.

They didn't care if they killed Yan Jun himself - maybe keeping him alive and watching all this would be a happier result for these people.

In the past, Yan Jun didn't regret his choice at all, but since then, he only has regrets in his heart.

For the next ten years, Yan Jun has been the most famous senior undercover agent in the police station—not because of his high IQ, but because of his ruthlessness.

He treated the criminal with the utmost cruelty, and he treated himself with the utmost cruelty.

He performed the task in a self-harming manner, but the injuries that were imposed on him seemed to be painless.

For eleven whole Christmases he never had his blessing.

No requiem can calm him.

There was not a single prayer that would save him.

Zhou Jin was stunned when he heard that.

Xi Ya quickly wiped away her tears with her fingers, but Zhou Jin didn't notice.

"I made the first phone call to trick him into joining our world.

Since then, I have been his observer, and I could have warned him of the danger, but what I thought was that by accepting this identity, he would be able to complete the task faster," she said to Zhou Jin, "You said, I Is it a criminal? "Zhou Jin didn't speak.

He didn't know what to answer, or what else to ask.

He actually wanted to know that Yan Jun, who remembers these past events, remembers those thirteen partners, and Yan Jun, who spent his life valuing his mentor, is teaching him that even if he has to endure a hundred times and a thousand times the pain, he still has to accept it. When you go to love, what kind of feeling is in your heart.

If he had known this earlier—Zhou Jin thought uselessly—maybe he would not have watched Yan Jun torture himself so coldly just now.

There is nothing he can do.

He is rude, dull, clumsy, good at getting angry but can never learn to be gentle... But even so, it might be good to sit next to Yan Jun.

Will it make Yan Jun feel a little bit of comfort?Coming out of Cuscuta, the cool breeze blows in the street.

It was a sunny night with bright stars. Zhou Jin didn't go home. He drove aimlessly for a long time.

He went to a nearby chapel.

It was too late, there was no priest on duty, the door was wide open, and the administrator lay down and slept soundly under the statue of Jesus, because it was obviously more sheltered from the wind than the duty room.

In this ostentatious city, even faith is so superficial and so pretentious.

Zhou Jin only stood outside the door for a while, then turned and left.

He turned the volume of his Walkman to the maximum, and there was a very strange and appropriate song in the earphones.

The song sings "I'm looking for the place you walked, looking for the sleeping starlight in your dream"; sings "I am the ideal in your blade, the battle robe you hunt alone".

Zhou Jin listened repeatedly, listened repeatedly, and repeated silently in his heart.

Then he suddenly discovered that the indignation, fear and anxiety that had haunted him for a long time, as well as those paranoid possessive desires that had lingered in his mind, suddenly didn't matter.

What does it matter? ——Even if he is the knife in Yan Jun's hand, he can make the sharpest knife.

At least with himself by his side, Zhou Jin thought, Yan Jun would never be saddened by the loss of his love, and no new injuries would be added to his body.

Just stay with him until the tall buildings and mansions collapse, and die after he dies, even if he is over the years, can't he still sharpen his blade with blood?No matter where Yan Jun wants to stop, I will accompany him there, pay more attention to him than him, and see him off.

What does it matter?The books say that God is always there, in all sorts of ways: maybe the next song, or the next book, or the next river, or the next ocean, or the next wind blowing in your ears.

Zhou Jin lived for 17 years, never felt that the gods had ever given him guidance, and never believed in it.

Now he stared at the title of that song, thinking, that guide has finally been met.

Wandering until dawn, Zhou Jin returned to Anos.

When we got home, the car was almost out of gas.

Miss Luo was looking around in the front porch with an anxious expression on her face. It seemed that she planned to set off to find him at any time, but because there were no clues.

Zhou Jin parked the car in front of his house without turning off the engine, and threw the car keys to Miss Luo.

The moment she saw him, the housekeeper finally regained her senses and changed into that familiar calm and respectful look.

"Where's Brother Yan?" Zhou Jin asked.

Saying his name, Zhou Jin felt a little pain in his chest.

Ms. Luo took the key: "Sir is in the training room, I'm going to park the car."

Yan Jun didn't ask where he went.

Yan Jun looked a little haggard, other than that, what happened last night didn't leave any clues between his actions - as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Jin knew that if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have been able to perceive the slightest bit of Yan Jun's pain; just like if he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he would never have been able to imagine a person who seemed so complete, his soul broken into pieces. what it looks like.

Yan Jun's face was gloomy, but he didn't intend to blame Zhou Jin.

The puppy had already woken up, and was playing with himself beside the boxing ring. Zhou Jin squatted down to tease it.

"You dare to go on the road without a driver's license. If you are discovered, your false identity will not save you."

Yan County Road.

"I didn't kill anyone or hit a tree," Zhou Jin said, this was what Yan Jun jokingly reminded him when he was just learning to drive, "It just cost me a tank of gas."

Yan Jun looked at him deeply.

Zhou Jin thought, he must have heard something - between himself and Yan Jun, Xi Ya must be facing Yan Jun.

"Be prepared, if you make a mistake tomorrow due to other things, I will fire you immediately," Yan Jun walked towards the stairs, "I will kill you by the way."

"Brother Yan."

Zhou Jin called him back, "Didn't you tell me to give me a code name before? I've thought about it."

"I'll be called the Red Knight from now on."