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Chapter 9: The Correct Misdelivery (1)
To promote a new movie premiering tomorrow, Shen Si had been running nonstop through media appearances for two weeks. Exhausted, he slumped on the sofa in the TV station’s dressing room, eyelids fluttering shut from fatigue.
Outside the door, faint voices of Zhou Wen chatting with the host drifted in. Her voice was soft and gentle, like spring rain pattering on newly sprouted leaves—so inexplicably comforting that it put people at ease. Sure enough, from the disjointed responses of the host, it was clear she had already fallen under Zhou Wen’s sway. Any sensitive or probing questions she originally intended to ask were likely now off the table.
Xiao Gu pushed open the door and peeked inside. Seeing only Shen Si lounging with his legs stretched out, eyes closed, while the stylist Xiao Yue worked on the final touches of his appearance, he crept in.
Xiao Gu made up a flimsy excuse to send Xiao Yue away, then tiptoed over and pulled out his phone.
“Si-ge, the private detective sent over the files. Want to take a look?”
Shen Si opened his eyes and took the phone, idly swiping through the screen.
The first photo showed Xu Zhiyi on campus, riding a beat-up bicycle. Her short hair was blown wildly back by the wind, exposing her smooth forehead. Her large, dark eyes stared blankly ahead, completely expressionless.
The second photo showed her having fallen over with her bike. Apparently, the end of her scarf had gotten caught in the bicycle wheel.
Shen Si couldn’t help but let out a muffled chuckle. “Serves her right!”
The following photos were of Xu Zhiyi eating in the cafeteria, jogging with a stack of lecture notes in the hallway, and giving a public lecture in a tiered classroom…
All ordinary snapshots of her daily life, each with helpful captions. She almost never left campus—a total ivory tower dweller. Shen Si scrolled quickly, only pausing at a few photos.
One was in a small garden outside the virology lab. Xu Zhiyi’s face was obscured in shadow as she stood with arms crossed beneath a bare plane tree. In her right hand, dangling by her side, was a half-smoked cigarette, the glowing ember strikingly bright. Against the dark night, her tall, slender figure looked especially lonely, as though the dappled shadows cast by the tree could swallow her whole at any moment. He glanced at the timestamp: 3:15 a.m.
Another photo was also taken at night—on the school’s running track. She wore sportswear and jogged alone, mouth slightly open as she panted. The empty track had only her figure on it.
The photo that truly caught his attention showed her in what looked like a small restaurant. Holding a cigarette, her eyes were half-closed in a laid-back manner as she blew a puff of smoke into the face of her female companion.
In the next shot, her shoulder-length-haired friend waved her hand dismissively. Xu Zhiyi burst out laughing, leaning back in her seat, but Shen Si felt that not even a hint of that smile reached her otherwise cold, detached eyes.
Seeing that his gaze lingered on that photo, Xiao Gu quickly stepped up with an eager explanation.
“That woman is Professor Xu’s friend—apparently a childhood friend. The P.I. looked into it. She’s a hardcore fan of yours—she even joined the Shen Si Global Fan Club.”
Then came a photo of Deng Wu seeing Xu Zhiyi and her friend out of the restaurant. Xiao Gu added thoughtfully, “The restaurant owner is close with Professor Xu. She visits often.”
The last few photos showed Xu Zhiyi stumbling along the street. The photographer had kept a distance, so only her blurry, dim silhouette was visible. Her coat flapped in the wind, like black bat wings.
“She got so drunk she didn’t even button up her coat…” Shen Si muttered in disbelief, shivering at the thought of the near-freezing nighttime temperature.
“Ah-Si—” Zhou Wen pushed the door open.
Xiao Gu instinctively snatched back the phone and stuffed it into his pocket.
“What were you looking at?” But it was already too late—Zhou Wen had noticed.
“Just showing Si-ge something fun.” Xiao Gu forced a laugh, hands still in his puffer jacket pocket, quickly tapping twice to close the screen.
“What fun thing? Let me see too.” Zhou Wen held out her hand casually, noticing something odd in Shen Si’s expression.
“Ah, it’s not for women’s eyes—you’ll get a stye if you look at it,” Xiao Gu joked, backing away and nearly tripping over himself.
Zhou Wen blinked, then spat in mock annoyance.
Shen Si gave a fake cough and changed the subject. “How much longer? If we don’t start soon, I’m leaving.”
“I came to get you!” Zhou Wen quickly walked over and examined Shen Si’s state. Despite the weariness on his face, his good looks remained undiminished. Satisfied, she nodded and walked with him toward the studio.
From a distance, Xiao Gu watched Shen Si under the stage lights, smiling gently—but his own heart was far from calm.
He’d been working with Shen Si for four years. But never had he seen him show such interest in a woman.
Lately, something felt off. First, there were those disturbing emails from some so-called prophet. Xiao Gu didn’t know the content, but he could clearly sense Shen Si’s rising anxiety. Then came the sudden fixation on Professor Xu—even going so far as to hire a private investigator.
Could Si-ge have fallen in love?
Xiao Gu’s mind whirled with wild speculation, but he didn’t dare show any of it on his face.
If he ever leaked anything about Shen Si, he’d be out of a job—and blacklisted across the entire industry.
Even though keeping secrets from Zhou Wen made his heart race with fear…
Still, thinking that Shen Si trusted him more than someone like Zhou Wen, who’d been with him for over ten years, made Xiao Gu’s blood surge with pride. For that trust, he’d take a knife if he had to.
Xu Zhiyi walked out of Academician Wang’s office, took several long drags of her cigarette, and barely stopped herself from swearing.
That was the third investor in two weeks who had turned her down.
At first, hearing that she was working on a universal flu vaccine—with a glowing recommendation from Academician Wang—investors had rushed forward, not even warming their seats before scrambling to get a chance to work with her.
But once she explained her radical approach—to gather every known flu virus in history into one lab, analyze their genetic mutation patterns over the centuries, and then neutralize them—they went pale. She had already collected over 2,000 strains, but that wasn’t enough. She still needed the most primitive, deadly, highly contagious pathogens. Acquiring them, and conducting such large-scale, high-risk experiments, would cost a fortune.
“Risk and opportunity go hand in hand! The golden key might be hidden in one tiny antigenic determinant. If I find it, mankind’s centuries-long battle with flu ends—and you’ll be a hero,” she tried to convince a biotech investor.
“Professor Xu, your idea is bold… but we can’t take that kind of risk,” the man paled.
“You need to trust our lab’s safety standards,” she patiently showed him pictures of the lab in her PPT. “Look, not even a fly can get in.”
“Virus leaks are just one concern. What’s really terrifying is the concept itself. What if your virus combinations create a supervirus? That would be biological warfare!”
“They’re not me! I’m not creating a supervirus—I’m creating a universal vaccine.” Xu Zhiyi lifted her chin with pride. “Viruses themselves aren’t scary—it’s their unpredictability. I want to make a magic mirror to reveal their true forms and bring them under control!”
The investor’s rejection was blunt. “Once your experiment reaches a more conclusive stage, we can consider collaboration.”
Xu Zhiyi didn’t beat around the bush either. “Oh? Work with you after I’ve done all the hard parts? Do I look like a charity case?”
Only thanks to Academician Wang’s smooth diplomacy did things not end in a total fallout.
Back at her dorm building, Xu Zhiyi was still musing: life wasn’t scary—uncertainty was.
She had pulled multiple all-nighters making that PPT. To stay sharp, she’d even taken a few doses of hard-to-get central nervous system stimulants.
What a waste.
“Professor Xu, is this your delivery?” The plump dorm auntie poked her permed head out from the reception window, smiling kindly.
The envelope had Jiang Chunyi’s name on it, but her (Xu Zhiyi’s) address and phone number.
Frowning, she signed for it.
She held the envelope up to the light—thin, nearly weightless. Climbing the stairs, she tore it open. Two slim paper slips fluttered out. She snatched them midair.
Movie tickets.
She pulled out her phone and called Jiang Chunyi. “Looks like you got something sent to my place.”
“What is it?” Jiang Chunyi was confused.
“Two movie tickets,” Xu Zhiyi squinted at them in the dim stairwell light. “The movie’s called The Heartless Thief. My god, what a tacky name!” She feigned a shiver and flipped the envelope over. “It was sent by… the Shen Si Global Fan Club?”
Before she could finish, Jiang Chunyi screamed on the other end. “Aahhh! Those are the premiere tickets I signed up for! How’d they get to you? Did I mess up the address? That’s insane!”
“Then hurry up and come get them!”