Wang Zhixin had sent a text to Jian Qingshan out of the blue and asked her to come over to his place. When she arrives, he brings her into his secret room.
When she sees what he's so casually holding out to her, she gasp despite herself. It was her watch.
"I can't believe you actually fixed it."
"I told you it'd work fine if I fixed it. Didn't you believe me?"
"I mean, it didn't even have a brand and the parts…"
"I made what I didn't have. I told you that too."
"You were serious?"
"Don't just stand there nitpicking. Take it." He voices his impatience, and she quietly accepts the watch.
The once-broken watch is working. Wang Zhixin breathed new life into it, and it's telling time again. Jian Qingshan didn't think the hands would ever move again. The watch was polished too. There wasn't a single smudge, and it's showing the right time.
"After looking at it, it was clear it was made by a talented watchmaker. Take good care of it."
"Thank you, Zhixin." She couldn't hide her excitement on her face. "You could tell all that just from opening it up?"
"Yes. The inner workings of machines reveals a lot about the character of the people who made them. Think of it like this, if there's no need for an item to have character, then there's also no need to make it by hand."
Eyes focused on her watch; he gives his shoulders a little shrug.
"I don't know who made it, but it's good quality. Your mom knew what she was doing when she picked that out."
After saying that much, Wang Zhixin falls silent and starts putting away the tools on the desk. However, there's something about his words that warms her heart.
It's like he understands and respects how much the watch means to her mother and herself.
"Watches aren't made to be held. Put it on already."
"Oh, yea, sure. You just got me feeling a little emotional. Thank you, really. Are you a wizard or something?"
"Pfft, a wizard?" He said while laughing.
A sharp pain rips through her chest. The smile on his face now looks just like the smile that boy wore in the picture.
"Anyways, that's what I wanted to give you. Sorry to call you over here on such short notice."
Jian Qingshan quickly realizes her boss had asked her to find corroborating evidence for the information her found. At this time, she couldn't afford to get distracted.
"Can I ask you one more question? Did you really fix this by hand?"
"How else would I have done it?"
"It's just strange, that's all. You're a tech guy. Why are you so good at—"
"What's wrong?"
Jian Qingshan's logical mind compels her to ask the question, but something was stopping her. Right now, she was trying to draw out information about his past. The very same information he went to such lengths to erase and conceal.
"Nianzhen?"
Just as she's about to open her mouth, she closes it again. She couldn't do it. She couldn't ask him. But even without asking, something tells her the boss's intel is accurate.
The man, Wang Zhixin was dealing with her as genuinely as he knows how. She knows what he likes, what he hates, and what motivates him to action. She could predict all those things with a fair amount of accuracy. So, without even asking him she can easily be certain that story about his past is the truth.
So, she didn't need to ask. She couldn't imagine that childhood tragedy has anything to do with the crime he's planning.
The other FBI agents would probably tell her she's being naïve. And she would agree. But she still couldn't bring herself to ask him. She knows that what he's hiding is a deep wound. She didn't want to stab him where she knows it'll hurt.
As a human being, she knows that was wrong.
"I forgot what I was going to say."
"You're never struck me as the forgetful type."
"I have my moments. I'm only human, after all."
Although she's trying to smooth over any awkwardness, Wang Zhixin flashes her another faint smile. Something seems to be bothering him.
After a few moments of silence, Wang Zhixin wistfully narrows his eyes.
"It was a hobby of my father. You were going to ask why I'm so good at fixing machines, right?"
"…"
"My dad loved messing with machines. I guess I inherited it from him."
This wasn't a development she saw coming. She couldn't believe he volunteered the information himself.
Surprise, or perhaps some other emotion made her heart catches painfully in her heart. Stroking the lined-up tools with his fingers, Wang Zhixin closed his eyes.
"What do you think is most important when you're creating something?"
"Well… using your head, I guess."
"Like brains?"
"Yea. Your ideas and knowledge determine what you can make. I mean you're really smart, so…"
"I though the same thing when I was a kid."
"I'm wrong?"
"You need more than just brains. Skill and craftmanship are also necessary. My dad always said that. Skills and craftmanship are everything. And you can't build the necessary skills without spending plenty of time doing so. 'If you want to create something, you need both brain and skills. You're clever, but don't forget that.' That's what he used to say to me."
All of a sudden, the photo pops in her mind. The man in workman's clothes and his young, but very intelligent-looking son. Wang Shen had taught his son that lesson with a smile.
And, Wang Zhixin committed his father's words to memory, always keeping them close to his heart.
"You must miss your father very much."
"I do."
Something tells her it's time to stop. It was enough. She pumps the breaks, switching gears so she's no longer thinking about how to get more information out of the man.
Wang Zhixin's family history may be sad, but it's also filled with precious, beautiful memories. He treasures his memories of his family. Jian Qingshan doubts that he'll do anything to mar them.
At the very least, she believes the crime he's suspected of planning now can't have anything to do with his past.
She mentally reaffirm what she feels to be true, and the suffocating feelings that's been plaguing her since she got there seems to dissipate.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing. Just, you must have worn other clothes as a kid. I was just trying to imagine it."
"Pfft, seriously?"
"Zhixin, thanks for sharing that with me."
"That's a weird thing to thank a person for."
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"We're obviously not supposed to pry into each other's private lives. What I just did went against the rules laid out in our contract, so why did you share that with me?"
Wang Zhixin pauses to consider her question. Then, still expressionless, he narrows his eyes.
"Good question. I don't know why. But, I guess I probably didn't want to keep secrets from you."
A long finger reaches through the air, weaving its way towards her face. However, he lowers his hand before it ever touches her.
"That's all." After that brief explanation, he turns on his heel and walks out of the room. His true intentions remain unclear.
Still, the things he said affects her surprisingly deeply. "Zhixin, wait. What do you mean by that?"
"Shh! Someone's outside." He stops me, and she holds her breath.
The security was incredibly high, so in Jian Qingshan's mind, who in the world could it be?