Qiming Chapter 106

Chapter 106

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The case involving Zhiyin Biotech's illegal human experimentation was set to be transferred to the court for trial after the Spring Festival. Once the trial concluded, Xu Chengyue would begin preparing for the surgery to remove the chip implanted in his brain.

Thus, this was Gu Yunfeng's first Spring Festival spent with him, and it was likely to be the last.

On New Year's Eve, Gu Yunfeng spent a long time explaining himself before he could leave his father's place. He lived in the suburbs, and on his drive back, he watched as the cars and people became fewer and fewer, until only the solitary street lamps stood along the sides of the road.

The once-crowded city had completely transformed, turning into a deserted ghost town that everyone had fled.

Everyone had gone home to be with their families.

Gu Yunfeng unlocked his front door with his key, and as he stepped inside, he saw Xu Chengyue sitting on the sofa. The television was on, but he wasn't watching it. Instead, he was engrossed in a game on his phone. Hearing the door open, Xu Chengyue lifted his head, and the cold look in his eyes instantly brightened.

That gleam bore no hint that he was awaiting a peculiar kind of death, but instead carried a sense of newfound vitality.

Gu Yunfeng took off his down jacket and scarf, then sat down beside Xu Chengyue in his dark-coloured jumper, holding his hand tightly as though afraid to lose something precious.

It was already past eight o'clock, and the Spring Festival Gala was playing on TV. The crosstalk performers were on stage.

"When I was a student, I hated the Spring Festival Gala, I thought it was tacky and boring, the same every year," Gu Yunfeng recalled with a smile. Back then, criticising these somewhat outdated traditional shows felt like the right thing to do. It seemed like it was the only way to prove you weren't ordinary.

"Then I started working, and I was forced to watch it with my dad every year. Watching it properly, I realised it has its own unique charm."

"Really? It's my first time watching it, and I think it's pretty good," Xu Chengyue glanced at the programme, then looked seriously at him.

Gu Yunfeng went to the kitchen and cut a plate of fruit. He had gone to the supermarket earlier, buying three days' worth of food and frozen meals. It was bitterly cold outside, and the damp chill seeped into his bones, forming mist on the windows as the warmth inside hit the glass.

He wished time could slow down, slower still, ideally, it would stop in this very moment, looping endlessly, never growing tiresome. When Gu Yunfeng was younger, he disliked the New Year. Compared to other households, his was far too quiet. His father, who did nothing but work or wallow in self-pity, left Gu Yunfeng to shoulder the responsibilities of cooking, preparing red envelopes, and doing the spring-cleaning.

Thinking back on it, he felt like it had been a hard road growing up. He had to be both a son and a housekeeper, and now that he had started working, he could even add being his father's bodyguard to the list. If his sister and mother were still around, it would have been much livelier. His memories of them were already hazy, but he still remembered that, before everything changed, every Spring Festival had been a time of great joy for him. There was always plenty of delicious food, his family's smiles, and the gentleness of his sister.

There had also been the sparkler in his hand and the lights in the corner of the sky. Together, they formed the beautiful and powerful memories of his childhood.

That feeling of happiness was similar to what he felt now. The only difference was that, as a child, he hadn't known that happiness was finite. Now, he knew that this moment of joy had already begun its countdown.

He looked at Xu Chengyue with a hint of sadness, while the other seemed to be in good spirits, his attention focused on the television. After a few minutes, Xu Chengyue pulled him over and said, "Look, in that song medley just now, Yuan Man made an appearance."

"Her girl group?"

"I didn't see the others clearly, but Yuan Man was there for five seconds," Xu Chengyue said, turning to look directly at him. "Have you been in touch with her recently?"

"No." He shook his head. When Yuan Man's case had just wrapped up, they had contacted each other a few times, but after that, they hadn't spoken again. Everyone had been busy, and whatever admiration or faint 'hatred' there had been had long since disappeared.

Amid the noisy commotion, his phone vibrated. After answering the call, he quietly looked at Xu Chengyue, letting out a sigh he hadn't even noticed himself.

"Director Zhao wishes you a happy New Year and asked me to convey his highest respect to you."

Gu Yunfeng's eyes were full of admiration as he spoke, but his expression remained sour. The grim look on his face made Xu Chengyue laugh. "Look, Director Zhao admires me so much, why do you always look so sad?"

"I just can't muster the admiration," he said, leaning closer to Xu Chengyue, his nose brushing against the bridge of his. "All the cases are almost solved, but I can't seem to be happy."

The next second, he reached out and embraced Xu Chengyue tightly, his face pressed against his as he whispered softly, "Don't leave me, okay?"

"Don't testify in court, okay?" From his perspective, there was absolutely no need for Xu Chengyue to testify in person. The court only needed the written statements, and Xu Chengyue could continue to live in peace for a while longer.

A sentimental song was playing in the background, its gentle voice and lyrics filling the entire room, occupying every space between the atoms in the air.

Xu Chengyue patted his back in response, and both of them fell silent. Gu Yunfeng knew it was just wishful thinking; once Xu Chengyue had made this decision, he wouldn't change his mind.

Bang–

Several loud bangs sounded, and the dimly lit room was suddenly illuminated. His heart felt as though it had been struck with a gentle bullet.

"Look outside," Gu Yunfeng pointed at the night sky with the moon visible, then got up and walked to the balcony.

They looked up at the brightest star next to the moon, while the sky above the city was filled with colourful fireworks, red hearts, and purple petals, fluttering down from the sky, falling onto the calm surface of the river and sinking to the bottom.

These fireworks vanished in an instant, unable to overshadow the brilliance of the stars, only illuminating a corner of the sky.

—————

The holiday passed quickly, and the trial for the illegal human experimentation case followed closely behind.

By the time the trial began, it was already late February. Despite being spring, the weather was still cold, and by noon, it had even started to snow.

On that day, Gu Yunfeng happened to be on duty, so he could only watch the trial online. During this period, thanks to their joint efforts, they had gathered evidence of Lin Xiangrong's involvement in the entire affair, which finally led to holding the entire Zhiyin Group accountable. The prosecution had filed charges against several senior executives, including Lin Xiangrong and Wan Biannian.

It was said that she had been arrested at the airport, with Huang Chen leading a team to escort her off a flight just before it was about to take off. In that moment, she had been calm, slightly regretful, yet unsurprised. She had been so close to leaving the country, almost escaping this unique crime forever.

Gu Yunfeng sat in his car, watching the live stream, while Shu Pan in the passenger seat remained fully focused, tracking the main suspect of a local theft gang.

The spring snow fell heavier and heavier. The car windows fogged up, and snowflakes filled the sky, landing on the peach trees by the roadside. A little girl hopped along, running up to the greenbelt, and broke off a peach tree branch. After glancing around, she clipped the snow-covered peach blossom onto the car's side mirror.

A gust of wind scattered the snowy scene, and the peach blossoms and snowflakes danced together in the air.

"Peach blossom snow~!" The little girl happily jumped in excitement.

Hearing her voice, speaking in Mandarin, Gu Yunfeng's heart tightened for no reason. He reached out and wiped the fog from the window, watching the gently falling snow along with the rest of the city.

He watched as the snowflakes melted mid-air before they hit the ground, then turned back to focus on the live trial.

He had several video feeds open of different angles. In the solemn courtroom, Xu Chengyue sat in the audience, wearing a black cashmere sweater that made him look exceptionally thin. His posture was upright, and his sharp gaze was fixed straight ahead.

With his glasses on, he exuded a scholarly air. His angular expression and piercing eyes, however, gave him the look of a warrior ready to face death.

"I don't think I did anything wrong," Lin Xiangrong stood at the defendant's stand, defending herself. "Everything I did was for the advancement of human society, for the progress of science, to see more possibilities in the future."

Her voice was loud as she spoke, her gaze intense. She lowered her head and smiled slightly, speaking with conviction: "I may have violated the currently accepted value system, broken scientific ethics, and challenged authority and morality."

Then, turning her gaze to the jury, she turned to the audience and pointed at Xu Chengyue, addressing everyone present:

"But look at him, isn't he just like every one of you here? From his appearance, his language, even his emotions, he is no different from us!"

"In your eyes, is he human, or is he artificial intelligence?"

Before anyone could respond, she continued on her own, "If this technology were applied to all brain-dead or vegetative patients, how much hope could it bring to their families? How many broken families could be saved?"

Lin Xiangrong was so emotional that she was almost in tears. "My team and I took such great risks to help more people, to delay death just a little, to reduce the number of painful goodbyes in this world."

"I want to ask everyone, what did I do wrong? Did I endanger the lives of the test subjects? Did I ignore human rights and insult the dignity of being alive? Someone has to make sacrifices, and my team is willing to make those sacrifices with them."

"Are you going to abandon the progress of science for the sake of so-called human rights?"

Her impassioned speech felt like a constant challenge to everyone present.

"What did I do wrong?"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: October 1, 2024 by Angel

Edited: January 7, 2025 by Angel