These past few days, Lu Heng had only received one WeChat message from Jian Ming asking about his health. The two hadn't been in touch since, and life seemed to flow on as usual, silently. Yet, Lu Heng knew everything was different. Every day, he found himself eagerly anticipating something—a call, a WeChat message, a summons… This feeling was truly unbearable.

But there was more than one unbearable thing.

After standing for a long time at the entrance of the Special Police Force compound, Lu Heng extinguished the cigarette in his mouth and strode inside. It was the weekend. Still, news of the Special Police Force’s biennial ’85 sniper rifle assessment had reached his ears. He knew that every year at this time, the team members were all eagerly preparing, fully aware of the importance of this competition. If becoming a special police officer was every policeman's dream, then becoming a sniper was every special police officer's dream. Lu Heng knew he was no longer a part of the Special Police Force, but as a former sniper on the team, he couldn't resist. Without notifying anyone, he came to the place he had once fought for.

The guard at the gate recognized Lu Heng and, thinking he might be looking for Captain Gu, didn't stop him, allowing him into the training ground behind the main compound.

The weather was good today. Though there was no sun, it wasn't raining either; the sky was crowded with thick layers of clouds. As soon as Lu Heng entered the shooting range, he saw familiar faces laughing and joking on the sidelines. Pre-competition relaxation was routine; they showed no signs of anxiety or tension despite the upcoming contest. This scene felt incredibly familiar to Lu Heng, and he watched from afar, feeling as if he were back among them a few years ago, his heart surging with emotion.

It was Gu Tao, busy directing and checking the target setup, who first spotted Lu Heng. He was surprised, yet it was somehow expected. He greeted one of the team members and jogged over to Lu Heng.

"You brat, you didn't even call before coming," he said, patting his nephew's shoulder with a hint of indulgence.

"I just heard someone talking about it yesterday and decided to come on a whim today," Lu Heng replied, smiling sheepishly, knowing that showing up unannounced was against protocol.

At that moment, someone behind them noticed Lu Heng and loudly called out, "Hey, it's Lu Heng! Hey, Lu Heng's here!" The person shouting was Zhou Bin, a former teammate, who yelled to summon other team members, and they surrounded Lu Heng.

"Hey, Lu Heng, long time no see. You ungrateful kid, not thinking about us brothers at all," another former teammate said, who had been selected to join the Flying Eagle commando unit last year. He put an arm around Lu Heng’s shoulder, grinning as he spoke.

"Yeah, you probably forgot all about us," someone else chimed in.

Lu Heng gave a wry smile, speechless.

"Hey, you guys have a competition soon, stop chattering. You can catch up after it's over, I'll treat you to dinner," Gu Tao said, noticing Lu Heng seemed a bit uncomfortable. He ordered the young lads to disperse.

With their captain's command, the group loudly cheered, "Captain Gu is mighty!" and immediately scattered back to the center of the shooting range.

Gu Tao turned back to Lu Heng, patted his back, and said, "Go sit by the side for now. After the competition, we'll all get together."

"Mmm," Lu Heng nodded expressionlessly and walked towards the nearby休息台.

Gu Tao returned to the range, made a final check of the area, then looked at his watch and announced loudly, "Everyone take a good look at the targets set on the range." He pointed to the balloons with serial numbers tied to the target stands and the wine bottles placed there. "This year's competition setup is different from previous years. There will be three rounds of shooting, four shots per round. The entire shooting process is not timed. The team will be divided into four groups, drawing lots to decide the order, and scores will be tallied uniformly at the end. Additionally, today, when you're shooting at targets at 200 meters and 300 meters, if you miss the target and hit a wine bottle next to it, ten points will be deducted for each bottle. Is that clear to everyone?"

The team members stood in neat rows, invigorated, standing ramrod straight, and answered loudly and in unison: "Clear!"

Gu Tao took out four playing cards he had prepared beforehand and placed them in front of the four divided groups. "The group with the highest card goes first, then in descending order."

Soon after, the team order was set. He looked at the distant targets and asked the whistle-blower nearby, "Are you ready?"

"Ready, shooting can commence."

Gu Tao nodded, gestured to him, and then stepped back a distance. "All personnel to your positions, Group One prepare, shooting commence."

Lu Heng stood ramrod straight like the others, his mood fluctuating with the atmosphere on the range. He watched those familiar and unfamiliar faces quickly drop to prone position, load bullets, chamber rounds—their movements clean and precise—and heard the "pah-pah" of gunshots towards the targets. His heart thudded like the bullets bursting from their rifles, each shot jolting through his chest like a memory returning with a bang. These familiar sounds and images instantly pulled his thoughts back to that year.

Gu Tao approached Lu Heng, saw his vacant stare, and sighed softly. He pulled out two cigarettes, lit one, and offered it to him first. "What, thinking about your competition that time?"

Lu Heng didn't shift his gaze, only subconsciously took the cigarette, holding it in his mouth, remaining silent.

"I remember your competition that year was truly spectacular. You, kid, are a born sniper. Four rounds, three events, not a single missed shot. Your final score was a full 28 points higher than the second place. I was truly shaken by you that time; several deputy captains were impressed with you…" Gu Tao's face glowed with pride and satisfaction.

Lu Heng's eyes flickered, and his melancholic mood scattered like dust.

"Captain Gu… can I come back?" he asked, as if to himself, his voice low and heartbreakingly soft.

"Of course. I told you, you're a born sniper. Two years ago, you didn't even dare to watch the competition. Today, you dare to stand on the range. Do you think you're far from coming back?" Gu Tao countered, full of confidence.

"Captain Gu, let me try again, okay?" Lu Heng’s eyes pleaded, an expression that was impossible to refuse.

"Uh… how about this: I'll contact your counselor and get his opinion. But when you go to the shooting range, he must be present," Gu Tao conceded. How could he not want such an excellent subordinate to return to the team quickly?

"Really? Uncle, really?" Lu Heng instantly became as happy as a child, the half-smoked cigarette in his hand excitedly dropping to the ground. He looked at Gu Tao with crinkled brows, wanting to confirm again.

A smile played on Gu Tao's lips, and he nodded, reaffirming with a pat on Lu Heng's shoulder, "When has your uncle ever lied to you, you brat?"

Lu Heng's mood instantly brightened. The lawn on the range looked greener, the gunshots from the targets sounded like beautiful music, and the sun broke through the clouds, a brilliant ray of light scattering golden scales of hope onto his head.

The competition ended, and a team member named Tian Kun from the third group won first place. This was a special police officer who had transferred two years ago from a neighboring province, whom Lu Heng didn't know. But seeing his excellent score, Lu Heng, with the admiration of one hero for another, offered his congratulations. Tian Kun wasn't tall and looked quite young, with a youthful appearance still lingering on his small face. However, it was evident he maintained high-intensity training; his well-defined muscles seemed ready to burst through his special police uniform.

Hearing Lu Heng's congratulations, Tian Kun responded smoothly, "Thank you, Senior Lu. I still haven't surpassed your score from four years ago, but I'll definitely break your record soon."

"Senior?" Lu Heng was taken aback, staring at him with a puzzled expression, not paying much attention to his challenging words.

"Yes, we graduated from the same police academy. You were '99, I'm '22," Tian Kun said, adjusting his collar, with an "I know you well" expression, squinting at Lu Heng.

"..."

Lu Heng didn't have time to respond before Zhou Bin pulled him aside, and he was quickly surrounded by a playful crowd. In a good mood now, he soon forgot about the minor interlude with Tian Kun and joined the lively reunion. Before long, Gu Tao led him and several familiar old teammates, a large group, out of the Special Police Force compound, fulfilling his promise to treat them to dinner.

No one noticed the sharp gaze fixed on Lu Heng's retreating figure until they disappeared.

That night, Lu Heng drank quite a bit again. His recently recovered throat felt rough and bitter from the alcohol. During the meal, he listened as Zhou Bin vividly described several major cases the team had solved, filling him with envy and strengthening his resolve to return to the Special Police Force. He took out his phone, opened WeChat, and instinctively felt like posting something on his Moments for a certain someone to see.

"Is returning a gamble? Can I win?" The accompanying photo was a panoramic shot of the shooting range he had impulsively taken before. There were no figures in the picture, but he cleverly used a police cap to cover where people might have been. The police emblem on the cap was embedded in the center of the image, reflecting a dazzling, shimmering light.

The next day.

Jian Ming's weekend had been quite vexing. For almost two days, he had been holed up at home, poring over similar case studies and even circumventing firewalls to access Yale University's online library, trying to finalize his sister's treatment plan. But it was as if he was stuck; he'd set a plan only to overturn it again and again. Was it true that treating closer relatives brought more apprehension? Why was it so difficult? He closed his eyes tightly, pressing his fingertips firmly against his temples. This rare anxiety and helplessness caused him a severe sense of frustration.

He faced a difficult choice between "confronting the event" and "bypassing the event." Jian Ming frowned in thought, his lips pursed as his right index finger habitually rubbed its first joint back and forth. A moment later, he slammed his laptop screen shut, dejectedly stood up, went to the living room, poured a glass of water, drank it all, and exhaled slowly.

Calming his breathing, adjusting his heart rate… Jian Ming felt himself losing control and tried to calm himself down. After closing his eyes for a while, he opened them and looked at the distant view outside the window. A cold, calm gaze gradually returned to his eyes.

He checked the clock; it was already noon. He opened the refrigerator, intending to make some lunch, but found it empty except for half a carton of milk, as if it were defying him. He remembered that he hadn't bought any food since Jiang Luchuan left last week. He chuckled self-deprecatingly and closed the refrigerator. Suddenly, he thought of someone else's empty refrigerator. Right, how was that person doing? He hadn't contacted him in days. Was his refrigerator still only stocked with purified water?

Jian Ming walked into the bedroom and took out his phone, intending to send a text message to check in and remind Lu Heng about his follow-up appointment on Tuesday. Suddenly, he saw the WeChat icon on his phone, remembering the social app he had installed for that guy. He opened the chat box with Lu Heng; it was still the same message from Thursday morning.

Jian Ming: [Are you feeling better?]

Lu Heng: [Much better, thank you for that day. 'Naughty face']

Jian Ming hadn't replied after that. He looked at the tongue-out emoji at the end of Lu Heng's last message and couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile. He clicked on Lu Heng's profile; his avatar was a distant view of a straight road seen through a window. A carelessly hidden corner of a curtain exposed the photo's location, and Jian Ming's lips curved even higher. Just as he was about to go back to the chat, he suddenly noticed a new Moment update on Lu Heng's profile.

"Is returning a gamble? Can I win?"

This was… Jian Ming stared at the post, lost in thought.

He was surprised that Lu Heng's words felt as if they were speaking directly to him, perfectly capturing his own inner conflict and unease. For over ten years, before meeting someone like Lu Heng, past events had accumulated in his heart like a chronic illness. He had tried his best not to remember or revisit them, and life had simply gone on; he hadn't felt it was that difficult. But Lu Heng, with that resemblance to his younger self, had irresistibly intruded into his current life. The questions and pains that had long been festering in his heart were stirred up and churned. He knew he had been unusually off lately. He hadn't been back for long, yet a sense of panic, of veering off his normal trajectory, was slowly eroding his carefully planned steps. Deviant emotions, like weeds, were slowly growing and sprouting from dry cracks in the stone.

Suddenly, Jian Ming made a decision—a decision that, once made, could not be regretted. It was for himself, for his sister, and for his deceased parents. He opened his computer screen and typed a crucial key stroke on Jian Qi's treatment plan. He knew that reopening the past events was not only a necessary path for his sister to face but also a responsibility he could not escape. Many things don't disappear with the passage of time. The answers that were left unspoken back then—now was the time to unveil them.

Staring at those words once more, he tapped the like icon—quietly, yet as if leaving behind a silent vow.