Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

”A skill like that... you should be on file with the police.”

An Ning continued picking the lock without a moment’s hesitation. With a soft CLICK, the heavy door swung open.

An Ning rose to her feet and handed the piece of wire from her palm to Shen Weidong. ”Then I’ll leave you to handle the registration.”

Shen Weidong gave a slightly awkward laugh. ”I have a feeling we’ll have more opportunities to work together in the future,” he said, half-joking.

The brief exchange over, they both immediately regained their composure. The team behind them rushed in, but at a signal from An Ning, they all remained silent.

Pretending to search the area, An Ning first silently subdued Tao Quan’s mother. Then, just as the team was hunting for Tao Quan, she made a surprising discovery: a secret room in the kitchen.

Shen Weidong, who was right behind her, immediately handed the wire back to An Ning. An Ning quickly began picking the lock.

With a loud CRASH, the door opened. It was hard to tell if she had picked the lock or simply forced it open.

The first thing Shen Weidong did was cover An Ning’s eyes.

’Shit!’

’What the hell is this?!’

An Ning didn’t resist as he covered her eyes. She truly didn’t want to see it, even though she’d seen her fair share of pixelated crime scenes.

But a small part of her understood. ’Tao Quan probably wouldn’t want me to see this.’

”Who are you people? Get out!”

Tao Quan’s father, face flushed crimson, scrambled to pull up his pants.

As for Tao Quan, who was underneath him, his eyes held an unreadable emotion. He no longer cared about anything in the world.

”Tao Quan, you are a suspect in five murder cases. Please come with us.”

Shen Weidong threw some clothes on Tao Quan and prepared to lead him away.

”I confess. I killed all five people in this house.”

With that one sentence from Tao Quan, the entire house was sealed off and searched.

In broad daylight, Tao Quan pointed everything out one by one: photos in the secret room, torture instruments in another, stating that these were all evidence, locations, or objects related to his crimes.

One by one, the items were carried out of the villa.

A commotion this large naturally drew the attention of the immediate neighbors, and soon, the entire community.

When Tao Quan was led out, covered in injuries, the neighbors exchanged uneasy glances. ’Could it be police brutality?’ they wondered.

One man, who saw himself as a righteous person and had always admired the young Tao Quan, stepped forward to block the officers.

”Wait a minute, is there some kind of misunderstanding? This kid, Tao Quan, has always been so well-behaved. He never caused trouble growing up, always came home on time, and never messed around outside. You must have the wrong person.”

Shen Weidong stepped forward. ”We don’t have the wrong person,” he said, offering no explanation. ”Step aside.”

The man was taken aback by Shen Weidong’s attitude, feeling put on the spot. After all, he was a man of some renown in Beijing. ’How dare he speak to me like that?’

”Step aside? What do you mean, ’step aside’? You can make your arrest, but what about all these injuries?”

”Everyone, take a look! These wounds on Tao Quan, are they—”

The man was about to shout more, but then he saw the old, faded scars on Tao Quan’s exposed arm. The words died in his throat.

”Uncle Li, the police didn’t do this. My mother was the one who beat me.”

Tao Quan spoke again.

It was the second time he had spoken.

”You don’t know. My mother couldn’t marry the man she loved. Instead, she was forced to marry my father—a man she didn’t love, who also happened to be hiding the fact that he was gay. She was miserable. After she found out my father liked men, she was so disgusted she felt like throwing up every day.”

”Hahahaha! Isn’t that amusing?”

Tao Quan started laughing as he spoke. He continued, ”Then one day, she hit me and, to her surprise, found that it stopped her nausea. The more she beat me, the better her spirits became. It made her so happy!”

As Tao Quan spoke, a complex, sickening feeling settled over the crowd. Could a mother really do such a thing? The same mother who always cooked delicious meals and greeted her son at the door?

But over all these years, why hadn’t they ever heard a thing?

A few of the sharper neighbors realized something was wrong. The very fact that they never heard any commotion was the biggest clue of all, but they had never once thought to question it.

Shen Weidong’s feelings were also complicated. He sympathized with Tao Quan’s plight, but that didn’t mean Tao Quan could escape the consequences of the law.

”Let’s go, Tao Quan.”

Shen Weidong knew Tao Quan was doing this on purpose.

He didn’t stop him.

Some people don’t deserve to be called human.

Tao Quan’s mother stood behind them, her makeup still immaculate. You can’t hide the look in someone’s eyes when they want to kill. She wanted to kill Tao Quan. She wanted to kill the boy who had destroyed her reputation.

”Tao Quan—you animal! You’re spouting nonsense! I didn’t do it!”

Tao Quan’s mother screamed in denial. Her reputation was worth more to her than a dozen Tao Quans.

Up ahead, Tao Quan slowly turned back. The most beautiful smile bloomed across his exquisite face. It was the smile of a demon.

Both of Tao Quan’s parents were taken away for investigation.

His father, the closeted gay man, trailed behind them with his head bowed, wishing he could disappear. The one secret he never wanted exposed had been announced to the world by his own son. He could feel everyone’s contemptuous stares.

What this husband and wife cared about most was their pristine public image. In that respect, the two were strikingly similar.

Hypocrites.

Who could have known that this couple, so perfect on the surface, was living a life like this?

A single child had been forced to bear the brunt of all their negative emotions.

Tao Quan was led away. The entire family of three had been taken into custody.

The house was sealed off. An Ning watched from the sidelines, but she didn’t feel the relief she had expected.

In that final moment, she finally understood Tao Quan’s intention.

He had wanted to use her to expose everything.

With complicated feelings, An Ning left the scene. She probably wouldn’t be visiting her own house, just a short distance away, anytime soon.

Back at her house near Beijing University, An Ning submerged herself in the bathtub, emptying her mind and letting her body float.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the eventual chill of the water finally forced her to get out.

Early the next morning, Shen Weidong appeared at the door of An Ning’s house.

An Ning had a feeling she knew why he was there. ”Tao Quan wants to see me?” she asked directly.

”He does. He’s refusing to talk. He confessed to the five murders, but he won’t say another word about anything else.”

”Give me a minute.”

An Ning went back to her room to change, then followed Shen Weidong to the police station.

「Police Station, Interrogation Room.」

Shen Weidong, An Ning, and Tao Quan were in the room together.

Tao Quan didn’t ask Shen Weidong to leave. He already had his suspicions about An Ning’s special status.

”You’re here.”

Tao Quan greeted her like an old friend, and An Ning responded in kind.

”Yes. You wanted to see me?”

Shen Weidong was impressed by their casual and calm demeanor. The only other people who could act this way in here were death-row inmates who had committed heinous crimes.

”Not really. I just wanted to tell you a story.”

”And you want me to be the one to spread this story, don’t you?”

Tao Quan smiled.

”I knew you would understand.”