Monday morning at the SWAT team's logistics department was always marked by the administrative meeting. Department heads bustled towards the conference room, one after another.

Li Wei and Lu Heng oversaw the General Supplies Office, a department responsible for managing and distributing office supplies, uniforms, and police equipment. In any other company, it would be considered a thoroughly relaxed role, and here was no different. The General Supplies Office only had three staff members. Though Li Wei’s official rank was low, he was still a director. Lu Heng, an external transfer with no official title in the logistics department, was specifically required to attend all meetings, big or small, for reasons unknown. The third member was a recently married woman, an administrative clerk without an official编制 (staffing quota), so she wasn't required to attend meetings.

Jiang Haosheng arrived precisely on the dot, stepping into the conference room just as the clock chimed. He scanned the room, confirmed everyone was present, and settled himself at the head of the conference table, initiating his weekly "broken record" mode.

The meeting was mind-numbingly dull. Those relegated to the less conspicuous seats longed to snatch a quick nap. Jiang Haosheng’s droning served as an excellent lullaby, a fact Lu Heng exploited by always choosing the most secluded corner seat. He was practically leaning on Li Wei’s shoulder, eyes already closed. Li Wei shrugged, whispering, "Hey, don't fall asleep. Jiang Haosheng's watching us."

"I can't even see him, how's he going to see me?" Lu Heng mumbled, eyes still shut, supremely confident in his chosen spot.

"Lu... Heng!" In truth, Jiang Haosheng didn't need to look. Within fifty meters, if Lu Heng was present, he invariably found something to call him out on.

That voice—it must have been trained in qigong; it was deafening. "Here," Lu Heng jolted awake.

"I really didn't want to call you out in the meeting, but please, next time you sleep, just sleep. Don't talk." Jiang Haosheng had clearly heard his mumbling and adopted an exasperated, "let him be" attitude.

His name had been called out, and Lu Heng, utterly unconcerned, stretched out his legs, lowered his head, and resumed his rendezvous with the Duke of Zhou (dreamland).

Lunch in the cafeteria featured extra dishes: braised prawns in oil and black pepper beef short ribs. This was Lu Heng's sole reason for staying to eat at the cafeteria every Monday.

Li Wei picked a prawn from his own plate and offered it to Lu Heng. "Here, eat more, replenish your energy. Running to work every day, anyone would think you're training for a marathon."

"I just treat it as training. We used to drill in the squad; now that it's stopped, if I don't find opportunities to exercise, I'll turn into a complete废人 (useless person)," Lu Heng said, his mouth still busy gnawing on the shrimp.

"Yes, yes, I know you're always ready to defend the country. Hey, speaking of which, you look a lot better after a few days. I told you seeing Counselor Jiang would be useful, didn't I?" The last sentence was spoken very quietly. Lu Heng didn't like others knowing his personal affairs. In the entire logistics department, only Li Wei was privy to such information.

"What's it got to do with him?" Lu Heng raised an eyebrow and quirked a lip.

"Ah? Then you…"

"Nothing, just chatted with a friend over the weekend." Lu Heng’s lips curved into a slight, dazzling, and beautiful smile.

Li Wei desperately wanted to ask where this "immortal" friend with such capabilities came from, but the words caught in his throat. At that moment, simply seeing such a smile, he was grateful, no matter who was responsible.

"Oh, right, Jiang Haosheng is going to a meeting at headquarters this afternoon. If you have something to do, go do it. I'll cover for you," Li Wei whispered to Lu Heng.

"I have nothing to do," Lu Heng replied indifferently.

"Ding." A text message notification sounded from somewhere. He looked at Li Wei, who pursed his lips, indicating it was Lu Heng's phone.

"Come to the consultation office tomorrow at 3 PM. Don't forget." It was from Jian Ming. Lu Heng unconsciously smiled at his phone, his fingers tapping on the screen: "Didn't forget. See you tomorrow."

"Hey, Lu Heng, you've broken your annual record for smiling today, you know!" Li Wei stared at the smiling face opposite him, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Lu Heng picked up a tissue, wiped his mouth, stacked his and Li Wei's trays together, and got up to place them at the recycling station. As he walked, he said, "Exaggerating. Have I smiled at you less often? Come on, let's go have a cigarette."

He hadn't smiled less, it was true. But they were always bitter smiles, cold smiles, or forced smiles. He'd never seen such a heartwarming smile before. Could this eternally grumpy face possibly be... in love? Oh, my heavens. Li Wei thought, trailing closely behind Lu Heng.

Two grown men, eyebrows cocked, squatted side-by-side on the steps outside the cafeteria, a cigarette dangling from each of their mouths. At first glance, they looked less like they were at a police administration building and more like members of a triad gang waiting for their boss to call them for a fight.

"Dude, get WeChat. What era are we in? Who sends text messages anymore?" Li Wei playfully teased.

"Don't know how to use that thing." But in his heart, he was wondering if Jian Ming had WeChat. If he did, he might consider downloading it. But then again, he'd just returned from overseas, so he probably hadn't installed it either.

Li Wei pulled out his phone, opened WeChat, and demonstrated to Lu Heng. "Look, you can send voice messages, video calls, send photos, and even share your daily life updates and photos on your 'Moments.' It's super easy, even a pig could use it."

"Get lost! Who are you calling a pig?" He slapped the back of Li Wei's head.

"No... I didn't mean you. I was just giving an example." Li Wei grinned ingratiatingly.

"What the hell is 'sharing daily life updates'?" Lu Heng peered at his phone screen, a string of avatars and names, a jumble of images and text. His eyes blurred after just a couple of glances.

"It's like, for example, when you go out to eat or travel, you can post it to share with your friends. And if you're in a great mood, you can share that, or if you're feeling down, you can post to get some comfort. Anyway, there are tons of features. If you want to use it, I, your humble servant, will teach you slowly," Li Wei boasted, patting his chest.

"I'm not that bored. That's privacy. Why the hell would I share that?" Lu Heng was somewhat shocked. No wonder the crime rate was so high nowadays; how could people be safe exposing so much privacy?

"This is your 'Moments,' others can't see it. Besides, you can set it so only people you allow can see it. Forget it, forget it, don't install it then, I shouldn't have even mentioned it to you." Li Wei looked utterly wronged and simply gave up.

Lu Heng's ears perked up, finding the "designated setting" quite interesting. "That... you can install it for me then." He pushed his phone into Li Wei's hand.

...

Jian Ming emerged from the sanatorium feeling a bit down. It wasn't because his sister's condition had worsened. Based on previous theories combined with Director He's compiled notes from that morning, it could basically be concluded that his sister's behavior and consciousness showed passive stress responses when influenced by specific external events. However, Jian Ming worried that this instead indicated Jian Qi hadn't forgotten the traumatic events that triggered her condition, meaning it would be even harder to reawaken her through conventional means in her active consciousness. This was a vicious cycle, and Jian Ming felt he needed to find a breakthrough and devise a suitable treatment plan as soon as possible.

Back at his office, he checked his consultation schedule for the day. He had two more appointments in the afternoon: one was a patient in the early stages of depression who was already undergoing treatment, and the other was an OCD patient who had come for a consultation last week and was now starting formal treatment this week.

"So, you mean you repeat the same action many times at once? For example?" Jian Ming looked at the dark-skinned, slender man in front of him, jotting down key points from his narrative while posing new questions.

"For example... locking the door. I can check it five or six times repeatedly and still not feel at ease. Oh, and yesterday when I was cooking, I don't know how many times I added salt. It was so salty, I drank three glasses of water in a row... Sigh, Dr. Jian, how long will it take to cure my condition? If this continues, I'll be fired from my company." The man was very despondent, speaking hesitantly.

"Don't be nervous. Your situation isn't the most severe. The fact that you can remember and recount these things indicates that the symptoms are within a controllable range. Of course, recovery time varies with individual differences. Follow my instructions: first, try suggestive actions, then record each incident with a pen. Bring it to me next week." Jian Ming handed the man a pre-printed sheet of instructions for suggestive actions. He then confirmed some routine questions about daily habits and routines before concluding the consultation for the day.

After seeing out the last consultant, he glanced at the clock on his desk: 5:10 PM. He walked to the window, opened it halfway, letting the gentle breeze into the room. He took a deep breath, his taut nerves gradually relaxing. He unconsciously removed his glasses, rubbed his tired eyes, and slumped onto the gray recliner, accidentally drifting off to sleep.

He had a dream, or to be precise, a... wet dream. A pair of strong, powerful hands covered his lower back, kneading each muscle line with even pressure. In the hazy dream, the owner of those hands slowly approached his face, lips almost touching. He wanted to just lean in and kiss them, but the other person pulled away, biting his earlobe, sucking hard. The hands moved upward, climbing his shoulders, and their full weight pressed down on him... then their lips enveloped his, tongues swirling and intertwining... He felt a warmth in his lower abdomen, and a rush of heat surged through his entire body, converging in one place. Lust ignited, fiercely. He steadied the other's face, wanting to see the person who was bringing him such a thrilling pleasure. His gasps grew more ragged, and in a daze, he actually saw a pair of amber eyes...

He awoke with a start, feeling a certain part of his body strongly protesting.

"Shit," Jian Ming rarely swore, but at that moment, the word escaped him in exasperation. These subconscious reactions had been happening frequently lately. Was it perhaps an excess of physical energy? Jian Ming somewhat self-deceptively decided to sign up for a gym membership and start exercising tomorrow.

A knock sounded at the door. It was Chen Fei.

"Dr. Jian, if there's nothing else, I'm going home." Chen Fei, seeing no one open the door after a moment, spoke to Jian Ming from outside.

"Oh, okay, you go ahead. I'll be leaving soon too."

"Okay, remember to lock up!"

Jian Ming truly didn't want Chen Fei to see him in his current state. After a polite reply, he heard her footsteps receding outside, then immediately opened the door and rushed to the restroom.

The next day.

Summer was a season of changing moods; even though it was late summer, the morning had been clear and bright, but by afternoon, the sky had darkened with heavy, overcast clouds, hinting at another torrential downpour. The weather was like a child's face, changing without warning.

Jian Ming took out his purchased lunch, a beautifully packaged box of assorted sushi. 'Baichuan' was located in the city center's commercial district, and just a short walk downstairs offered many unique restaurants and eateries with dishes not easily found elsewhere. This provided Jian Ming with much convenience. He took out his own cutlery from the drawer and began to eat with elegant composure. Looking out at the masses of dark clouds and hearing the wind whipping against the windows, he couldn't help but worry about Officer Lu, who was scheduled to arrive that afternoon.

He took out his phone, saw Lu Heng's name in his contacts, hesitated for a long while, and then put the phone back down.