In Jian Qingshan's apartment. She was able to relax after the party. Looking down at her favorite watch, now broken, she let out a deep sigh.
"Great! It really did stop."
She broken it when her hand hit the table.
Rubbing her face, she tries to wind the watch, but it remains frozen in time.
What was she going to do? It was her favorite watch. She inherited the timepiece from her mom. Jian Qingshan fell in love with it the second she laid eyes on it. Her mother was in Milan years ago on their honeymoon.
It was an antique, and she didn't know the maker. A normal shop probably wouldn't be able to fix it.
Just then, she gets a video call from the boss.
She quickly sits down at her dress, and a portion of the mirror transform into a monitor.
"How are you getting along?"
"Hi, Boss.. The party went smoothly. I don't have any major changed to report for the time being, but I have an idea of where Code X may be stored, and I am laying the groundwork to make my next move."
"An idea, you say?"
"There's a door I can't open at Zhixin's place. It's not as simple as just picking a lock, so I am going to have a talk with our mechanic and see if he can help me out."
"I understand. I hope he has good news for you."
"Also, it seems very likely that Zhixin's parents are dead. I met Wei Li, the CEO of FEX Incorporation at the party tonight. He mentioned an incident under the Golden Gate Bridge that had upset the man."
"Hmm, sounds like we're closing in on the details of his past. I'll look into the Golden Gate Bridge incident. Take it easy tonight."
"Thank you."
The call ends, and she slumps back on her chair. Gazing down at the watch she's holding, she realizes something. A normal watch stop wouldn't be able to fix it, but their mechanic definitely can.
Tomorrow will be her first day off in a while. She was going to lay low with some movies and ice cream, but she decides to pay a Xian a visit.
-
The next day. She visited the old watch shop on the back streets of Pingjiang road. Although the sign out front says the store is closed, Jian Qingshan opens the door without hesitation.
"Hello."
"I know that voice. It's my favorite fledging agent."
"Old Xian, don't you think it's about time you give the 'fledging' shtick a rest?"
"From where I stand, you kids are still just a bunch of baby chicks with pieces of shell stuck to your butts."
The old man's name was Huang Zhongxian, but everyone calls him old Xian. The man owns this watch shop as a front for his real job. The man was actually the head mechanic for the FBI.
Despite his stubborn, uncooperative nature, his skills are unparalleled. Old Xian specializes in intelligence gathering tools.
"Hoodie and jeans again? Don't get all gussied up on account of me. Just so you know, I still haven't gotten to the locked door thing you asked me to look into."
"Thank you, but I'm actually here for something else entirely today. My watch broke. I was hoping you could take a look at it."
"A watch, you say?"
Old Xian opens up the watch the moment she hands it to him. After using a special watchmaker magnifying glass to check the gears, he lets out a frustrated sigh.
"How did it break?"
"There was a little accident." Memories of what went down between Wang Zhixin and her last night springs to life in her mind, and she shakes her head a little. "I hit it on something. I suspect that's what did it. Was that not it?"
"No, this thing was submerged in water. It's rusted."
After a moment of thinking, Jian Qingshan was sure that it was the champagne that got splashed on her last night.
"This won't be easy to fix. It's going to take a hell of a lot of work. And I've got my hands full right now. There's no way I can take this on."
Jian Qingshan was not surprised. She did spring on him unannounced, after all.
"Got it. I'm sorry to bother you when you're busy."
"Sorry."
"Don't sweat it. The mission is the priority, anyway."
"Excuse me. I saw the closed sign, but there seemed to be people inside, so I let myself in. A watch in your display window caught my eye."
"Zhixin?!"
"—N-Nianzhen?
Jian Qingshan remembers she wasn't in work mode. However, he had seen her so there wasn't anything she could do now about it.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence."
"You look very different."
"Well, sure I do. Today's my day off." She was dressed in jeans, a hoodie and sneakers.
Wang Zhixin looks the same as ever, making her outfit appear even more casual by contrast. The long, hard look he gives her makes her somewhat uncomfortable.
"And who might you be?"
"Zhixin. Wang Zhixin. That timepiece in your front window. It appears to be Delgad, but they stop making watches over fifty years ago. The instrumentation on that watch is beautiful, and it's a very rare find. Please sell it to me."
"Young man, you obviously have a good eye if you can see the value of that watch. But I'm not going to sell it to you. Watches are living things. Especially old ones. I'm not willing to part with that particular piece. And just so you know, money won't change my mind."
Old Xian's especially hardheaded when it comes to old things like that. Jian Qingshan was curious what Zhixin was going to do.
"Then what kind of compensation are you looking for?"
"An answer. What does the passage of time mean to you?"
Was that some Zen riddle?
Jian Qingshan scrunch up her face despite herself while Old Xian smiles, clearly pleased with himself.
"I've had lots of customers trying to buy that watch, but no one's every given me a satisfactory answer. Now, why don't you get going, young man."
"To me the passage of time means to continuously lose the past—"
Huh?
"—a watch only shows you're the present. If it stops, it's not doing its job. So, it continues moving forward, even if that means leaving everything behind that's ever happened in the past behind. That's what the passage of time means to me."
Falling silent, Old Xian walks over to the window display. After a moment, he returns with the watch in question.
"I never thought the day would come that I'd have to give this up."
"Old Xian, you mean?"
"You can't let just anyone handle it."
"Of course not. So, please don't say my answer is all the payment you need."
"Pfft. It is though."
Jian Qingshan couldn't believe it. Wang Zhixin managed to impress Old Xian.
"But, about what you said, your answer is perfectly valid, but continuously losing the past, that's a sad way of putting it.
There was something very significant about the man's choice of words.
Jian Qingshan had questions. Lots of them.
After walking out of the old shop, Jian Qingshan turns to face Wang Zhixin.
"I'm glad you got what you wanted. Well, I should probably get going."
"Wait. Did your visit to this shop have anything to do with your watch?"
"Yes. It broke, so I was trying to get it fixed, but the shop owner turned me down. I guess I'm screwed."
"You're not just going to buy a new one?"
"I actually inherited this watch from my mom. It's kind of a family heirloom. She gave it to me when I got my first job out of university."
Jian Qingshan's parents bought the watch when they were first married. It meant a lot to her. She worn it every day, ever since her first assignment.
"It has sentimental value. I don't want to replace it unless I absolutely have to."
"Are you free after this?"
"I don't have any special plans for the day, but—"
"Then come with me."
-
At Zhixin's place.
"Have a seat wherever."
"Thank you."
The place was just as big and empty as she remembers. And more importantly, she got another unexpected chance to infiltrate his place.
Her eyes flits to the unopened door on the other side of the living room. However, she heard the man walking back over to her.
The second he returns, he rudely thrusts his hand out at her and demands, "Hand it over."
"Hand what over?"
After giving it some consideration, she places her hand on his. For a few seconds, the man freezes.
"That's not what I meant."
"I just thought you might want to hold hands with a woman who knows how to work a pair of jeans."
"You can't be too upset about your watch if you're still making jokes. I meant your watch. Give it to me."
"Here, be my guest. But as you know, it's broken."
"That's why I want to see it. I'm going to fix it. I was the one who broken it. It's my responsibility."
"Wait. You've got it all wrong. The watch was broken because it got wet."
"Then I'm definitely responsible. It happened when the champagne spilled on you, right?"
"Yes, but I don't know if you have the necessary parts."
"I know."
"I mean this watch is an antique.
"Nianzhen… I have eyes."
And so, saying just that and nothing more, he takes the watch from her, refusing to take no for an answer.
Wang Zhixin was a trained engineer, but was he going to try and fix it?
WGTC makes digital devices. And antique watches are the last thing she would associate his company with.
"How are you going to fix it if you don't have the parts?"
"I'll just make what I don't have… Amber." The man waves his hand in front of the unit in the living room, and she hears it starts up.
"System online. Welcome. Thermography reading complete. Body temperature and overall health condition favorable. Welcome home, Zhixin."
"Amber, number 1109."
"Voice identification complete. Welcome to number 1109."
The holographic cube sparkles. A second later, the impenetrable door begins to slowly swing open.
Wang Zhixin used Amber to open the door to the secret room?!
With the locked door defeated. Jian Qingshan discovered the room she's been so eager to get into is filled with all sorts of unexpected items
"Come with me."
A little nervous, she steps inside. Although, at that moment, she had no way of knowing what the future will hold.
Being alone with the man in those four walls will change their relationship forever.