chapter 12

Before opening this long and large cardboard box, Ning Qiuyan had guessed that it might be filled with books, which would explain why it was so heavy.

But after opening it, he saw that it contained more than thirty thousand puzzle pieces, each about the size of a fingernail. Even though they were made of ultra-light, ultra-thin material, the box was still quite heavy. He could easily imagine how overwhelming it would be to pour them all out at once.

There was no instruction manual in the box, and the puzzle pieces weren’t numbered on the back.

It looked pretty difficult.

Anyway, there was no cell signal here, and the game he’d just downloaded hadn’t even been started yet.

Ning Qiuyan simply tried to work on the puzzle for an entire afternoon. Unfortunately, he only managed to piece together a few unrelated patterns. If he wanted to finish the whole thing, he still hadn’t found a clue where to start.

When dinnertime finally arrived, Ning Qiuyan was liberated at last.

For the first time, he so eagerly awaited the sound of a Servant knocking at his door.

He thought, after dinner it would be time to sleep. His time on Du Island was short to begin with-just two or three days, and even adding up all the remaining visits, it wouldn’t be half a month.

When he never came back again, even if he hadn’t finished the puzzle, it probably wouldn’t be too rude, right?

At night, Ning Qiuyan was still the only one dining in the restaurant.

This meal, like the one before he donated blood, was vegetarian.

But it was as if the kitchen staff knew he hadn’t eaten enough last time; this time, the portions were much larger and the dishes more plentiful, as if they were trying every possible way to make sure he ate well.

Besides the scenery, what impressed Ning Qiuyan most about Du Island was the food.

He took his time, spending as long as possible to fill his stomach.

Just as he was about to return to his room, Uncle Kang told him that Guan Heng had specially arranged an empty room for him to work on the puzzle.

Uncle Kang said, “Sir heard that you spent the whole afternoon on it and seemed very interested. He was worried the floor space in your room wouldn’t be enough, so he had someone prepare a room just for you.”

Ning Qiuyan was petrified: “…”

He couldn’t help but feel that Guan Heng was doing this on purpose.

Uncle Kang explained, “The room is at the other end of the third floor. I’ll take you there now.”

Ning Qiuyan: “Right now?”

Uncle Kang: “Yes.”

The third floor was Guan Heng’s personal area, yet he had set aside a space there for Ning Qiuyan to use.

Full of doubts, Ning Qiuyan followed Uncle Kang upstairs to the other end of the corridor.

When they reached the door, Uncle Kang bowed respectfully: “Sir, Xiao Ning is here.”

Guan Heng was standing in the center of the room.

He was still wearing the same silver-gray robe from the morning, looking languid, as if he’d slept the entire day.

Hearing this, he looked up at them and said to Ning Qiuyan, “Come here.”

The moment Guan Heng looked at him, Ning Qiuyan felt himself shrink by half and obediently walked over.

The puzzle from his room had already been moved here. A large puzzle mat was spread out on the floor, with several piles of puzzle pieces scattered on top, and the few small patterns he’d managed to assemble earlier were carefully set aside.

Then Uncle Kang’s aged voice asked, “Will you be having a supplementary meal here tonight, sir?”

Guan Heng replied, “Yes,” and Uncle Kang left.

There was nothing in the room except the puzzle-it was completely empty.

Just as Uncle Kang had said, Guan Heng had indeed cleared out a room for Ning Qiuyan to work on the puzzle.

Ning Qiuyan’s scalp tingled.

Guan Heng asked, “How did you do this afternoon?”

Ning Qiuyan stared at the pile of pieces. He couldn’t bring himself to pretend he’d done well, so he could only say, “Not great.”

Under the bright lights, the pallor of Guan Heng’s fingertips matched his skin tone.

He picked up a puzzle piece and asked, “Have you ever done this before?”

Ning Qiuyan shook his head.

“I’ve completed this set before,” Guan Heng said. “It’s very large. It felt torturous while I was working on it, but once you finish, you’ll realize you actually enjoyed the process.”

Ning Qiuyan admitted honestly, “Then maybe I don’t really like puzzles that much…”

He hadn’t felt any enjoyment at all.

Guan Heng didn’t mind this answer.

He bent down and sat on the floor naturally. The casual gesture didn’t seem out of place on him at all.

After motioning for Ning Qiuyan to sit beside him, Guan Heng said, “With so many pieces, it really cultivates patience. While you’re working on it, you might not think about anything at all.”

Because he was so tall, even sitting down, Guan Heng was still a bit taller than Ning Qiuyan.

He looked down at Ning Qiuyan and pointed out, “Your mind is too chaotic. You’re thinking about too many things.”

The room was heated.

Ning Qiuyan felt a bit hot, and he knew Guan Heng was watching him.

He stubbornly kept his gaze fixed on the pile of puzzle pieces, as if as long as he didn’t make eye contact with Guan Heng, his increasingly hot face wouldn’t catch fire.

“I’m not thinking about that much.” At least, that’s what Ning Qiuyan believed. “It’s just… I can’t seem to calm down.”

At this point,

He immediately remembered what Guan Heng had said to him that morning.

-Hand your thoughts over to Guan Heng.

“If you want to calm down, games won’t help you,” Guan Heng said. “Suppressing those chaotic thoughts won’t help either. It’s like how you always blame your past self-it doesn’t change anything.”

Ning Qiuyan couldn’t help but turn to look at Guan Heng.

At that moment, he felt as if he were transparent, as if even his thoughts could be seen by Guan Heng.

Had Guan Heng investigated him?

But Guan Heng didn’t continue on that topic.

Taking advantage of his long arms, he easily grabbed a handful of puzzle pieces from across the mat and placed them in front of himself, sorting them into several groups.

Guan Heng moved slowly as he did this, unhurried and calm.

Even the way he looked down at the puzzle was elegant.

On Du Island, with Guan Heng, everything could slow down, as if there was all the time in the world.

After sorting, Guan Heng said to Ning Qiuyan, “There’s a technique to solving such a complicated puzzle.”

His brow bones were prominent, and when he looked at people like this, his eyes always seemed a bit sharp and cold. Yet the words he spoke were slow and patient. These two completely different impressions combined into a uniquely captivating aura that made it impossible not to be led by him.
Ning Qiuyan looked at the puzzle pieces Guan Heng indicated.

“The simplest way is to first sort the pieces by shape, and separate out the ones with right-angled edges,” Guan Heng said, pointing at a pile of pieces. “The ones with right angles are all part of the border. Put them on the puzzle mat and start with the frame.”

Watching Guan Heng do this,

Ning Qiuyan started to get an idea.

“After finishing the border, sort the pieces by color. Put together the large, easily recognizable color blocks first. Leave the pieces with simple patterns or colors for last, and use the clumsy method of trying them one by one,” Guan Heng said. “Doesn’t sound so hard now, does it?”

Ning Qiuyan nodded. “Right.”

Guan Heng suddenly curved his lips slightly. “The hard part is this process.”

That smile was faint and fleeting.

Strictly speaking, it might not even count as a smile.

Ning Qiuyan was dazzled, and for the next while, he felt as if his whole body was radiating heat as he grabbed the puzzle pieces and sorted them.

After explaining, Guan Heng didn’t leave. He continued to sit on the floor by the puzzle mat, resting his chin on his hand as he watched Ning Qiuyan. If Ning Qiuyan made a mistake in sorting, Guan Heng would reach out with his slender fingers and correct it.

Ning Qiuyan never would have dreamed that something like this would happen on his second visit to Du Island.

He was actually doing a puzzle with Guan Heng.

They didn’t talk much.

At most, it was words like “Here,” “No,” “That’s wrong,” or Ning Qiuyan’s “Thank you.”

Halfway through, a Servant knocked on the door. Guan Heng stood up and went to the entrance.

When he returned, he was holding a glass.

Inside, just like what Ning Qiuyan had seen last time, was a bright red liquid.

Guan Heng sat down again, propping his elbow on the floor. Some of his long hair fell onto the puzzle mat. He said to Ning Qiuyan, “Continue.”

Ning Qiuyan withdrew his gaze and tried to focus all his attention on the puzzle.

What exactly was Guan Heng drinking?

If it wasn’t red wine, could it be some kind of special medicine?

Or perhaps…

He guessed that maybe what was in the glass was the supplement Uncle Kang had asked about when he entered.

But no matter how hard he tried to focus,

the next second, all his attention returned to Guan Heng.

The subtle, clear sound of swallowing.

It entered his ears, as if gently tapping on his eardrums.

And in his mind, the image of Guan Heng’s pale neck, with the prominent Adam’s apple.

With every swallow, it moved up and down, like the Creator’s most perfect masterpiece, possessing a powerful allure.

If Guan Heng were to suddenly ask Ning Qiuyan what he was thinking at that moment,

he thought he would be too embarrassed to answer, break his promise, and not be able to utter a single word.

Ning Qiuyan didn’t look at Guan Heng again.

That night, he worked on the puzzle until very late.

At first, it was because of Guan Heng’s request, and also because of the strange desire to “do a puzzle with Guan Heng” that he stayed in the room.

As he continued, he had almost finished assembling the border of the large puzzle, and found a sense of accomplishment. He was actually getting a bit addicted, unable to stop.

Putting together over thirty thousand pieces perfectly couldn’t be done in one night.

Ning Qiuyan didn’t even know when he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he found himself lying on the floor, bathed in bright morning sunlight.

The curtains that had been drawn open last night hadn’t been closed, and the light was dazzling.

He raised his hand to shield his eyes. His last memory before falling asleep was that Guan Heng hadn’t left yet.

After a whole night, the puzzle on the floor was still at the same stage as it had been the night before.

There was no sign of Guan Heng in the room.

*

Staying up all night doing a puzzle sounded a bit unbelievable. Ning Qiuyan was physically and mentally exhausted, his eyes bleary with sleep. When he returned to his room, he found several new messages on his phone, all from Su Jianzhou.

[How are you?]

[Another body has been found.]

[The good news is that it seems new clues have been discovered at the crime scene. The case might be solved soon.]

Ning Qiuyan was startled when he saw these messages.

Looking at the time they were sent, it was late last night-probably while he and Guan Heng were still working on the puzzle.

He had been so focused that he hadn’t even heard the message notifications.

But-

Was it really only on the third floor where Guan Heng was that there was cell signal?

Ning Qiuyan thought uneasily.

This morning, he was supposed to go give blood to Guan Heng.

Ning Qiuyan hurriedly showered, and as he was drying his hair, Dr. Ling knocked on his door, saying there was no need to go upstairs-they could draw blood in Ning Qiuyan’s room.

“Mr. Guan is already resting,” Dr. Ling said. “I heard you two did a puzzle together last night.”

Ning Qiuyan: “Mm.”

He thought that as Guan Heng’s doctor, Dr. Ling probably wouldn’t like his patient and a guest staying up all night together.

But Dr. Ling continued, “Mr. Guan really likes puzzles.”

Ning Qiuyan asked, “Because puzzles help people calm down and think better?”

“Not entirely,” Dr. Ling thought for a moment and said, “Mr. Guan has very strong self-control. I’ve never met anyone with more self-discipline than him.”

Ning Qiuyan only half understood.

Dr. Ling then said, “I think the puzzle was probably bought especially for you.”

Ning Qiuyan couldn’t figure out Guan Heng’s intentions.

He wondered if this was also part of ‘entrusting himself to Guan Heng.’

Ning Qiuyan obediently cooperated with the blood draw.

This time, Dr. Ling took only a small amount, but more than the first time.

For some reason, as he looked at the blood in the bag, Ning Qiuyan thought of the bright red liquid in Guan Heng’s glass.