Chapter 1

Summer, 1994. The humid, sticky sea breeze blowing in from Bohai Bay had seeped into the entire residential compound for the workers of the machinery factory. At six in the morning, the sky was already bright. In the old locust tree at the front of the compound, which was easily sixty years old, the cicadas had begun their first round of noisy chirping. “Old Su! Where’s that new belt of yours?” Her mother, Lin Huimin, had a naturally loud voice that easily pierced through the thin wooden door. “You really take your time looking for things! Today is our daughter’s first day at work. Can’t you be a little more energetic?” “I’m looking for it, aren’t I?” Her father, Su Jianguo, replied in his usual slow and gentle manner. “Manman used it yesterday, and just like that, I have no idea where she put it.” “Look at you. The factory gives you an award for outstanding performance every year, but you never pay any attention to things at home.” Lin Huimin’s voice rose higher and higher. “It’s just a belt. Could it have grown legs and run away?” “Oh! Found it, found it! It was under the sofa cushion.” Su Jianguo let out a sigh of relief, as though a great burden had finally been lifted. Inside the bedroom, Su Man pricked up her ears as she listened to the commotion in the living room. Three years ago, she had still been living in the twenty-first century. She had been a criminal police officer, and while pursuing a serial killer, she had been pushed down an elevator shaft that was still under construction. The instant she fell, a sharp resonance, like the screech of metal scraping against metal and carrying an overwhelming hatred, had nearly torn her consciousness apart. When she opened her eyes again, she had become Su Man, who had just been admitted to the Capital Public Security University in 1991. Before transmigrating, Su Man had possessed the ability to resonate with intense emotions. It wasn't mind reading, but rather a passive ability to perceive emotional resonance. Whenever she approached someone experiencing an intense emotion or touched an object that had absorbed powerful emotions over a long period of time, an unconscious resonance would occur, manifesting directly as severe tinnitus filled with chaotic noise. The “noise” produced by different emotions was unique. Despair sounded like the deep rumble of muffled thunder. Anger was a sharp screech like metal scraping against metal. Fear sounded like a continuous stream of high-frequency electrical static. And joy was a rare treasure, resembling the pleasant, crystalline sound of plucked strings... During the five years she had worked in criminal investigation before transmigrating, this ability had helped her expose lies and sense danger while investigating cases. After transmigrating, her “cheat ability” seemed not to have weakened. If anything, the relatively quiet environment of the 1990s had made her even more sensitive to it. Just last night, she had been awakened by an intense wave of emotional noise representing jealousy. If nothing unexpected had happened, it was probably Wang Xiaoli, who lived next door. This wasn't the first time, after all. Su Man pushed open the bedroom door and walked out. She was already dressed in a brand-new Type 89 summer police uniform. She wore a light olive-green short-sleeved uniform shirt, which Lin Huimin had ironed perfectly smooth the night before without a single wrinkle. A standard maroon tie was fastened neatly beneath her collar. A red shield-shaped collar insignia decorated with pine branches and a golden five-pointed star was pinned to her collar, while her shoulder boards bore the two-chevron insignia of a probationary police officer. Her lower half was dressed in the summer uniform skirt, its hem falling around her knees. On her feet were low-heeled black regulation leather shoes, polished until they gleamed. The tall young woman had fair skin and a small, delicate face. Her large, dark eyes were bright and lively, her nose straight, and her lips thin with well-defined contours. Her shoulder-length black hair was neatly tied back with a hair tie, revealing a smooth, clear forehead. “Manman, you’re up?” The moment Lin Huimin saw her daughter, the impatience on her face disappeared. It was replaced by unconcealed pride and a hint of worry. “Manman, you look so spirited in that police uniform! It’s just that you look a little pale. Did you not sleep well last night?” “I slept very well,” Su Man replied with a smile, lying through her teeth. After being awakened by the noise, she had remembered that today was the day she would report for duty at the Public Security Bureau of this era. That had brought back memories of her former life as a criminal police officer. The more she thought about it, the more awake she became, and she had ended up suffering from the rare bout of insomnia. Although her original body had belonged to a northern girl, her voice was soft and gentle. It had taken Su Man quite some time to get used to it. Because of that, she often deliberately lowered her pitch, trying to make her voice sound clearer and more crisp. A simple breakfast had already been laid out on the square dining table: a plate of freshly fried youtiao, three large bowls of hot soy milk in porcelain bowls, and two boiled eggs sitting side by side on a small plate, round, smooth, and clean. “Manman, here. I boiled these eggs especially for you.” Lin Huimin placed a peeled egg into Su Man’s bowl. Lin Huimin was forty-seven years old. She was of average height with a slightly plump figure and kept her hair in a neat short cut. Fine lines from years of hard work had settled around her eyes and brows. She was the head nurse at the machinery factory’s workers’ hospital. She was exceptionally quick and precise with injections, and her speech was just as brisk and loud. She had spent most of her life doing everything at full speed. At that moment, Su Jianguo also came over and sat down across from Su Man. He wore a pair of work trousers that had been washed until they had faded and a dark blue polyester shirt. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, with crow’s-feet fanning out from the corners of his eyes. He was an honest, kindhearted man who rarely lost his temper. As one of the machinery factory’s technical backbones, he never put on airs. His hands were covered in calluses, yet remarkably steady for a man his age. Although Su Jianguo was no longer young, traces of the handsome young man he had once been could still be seen. Su Man had heard the neighbors in the residential compound talk about him before. When her father was young, he had been tall, handsome, humorous, and charming. Although he had come from the countryside, he had been hardworking and eager to learn. After graduating from a technical secondary school, he had been assigned to the machinery factory and become a technician. He had fallen in love at first sight with Lin Huimin, a city girl, at a factory social gathering. With everyone as witnesses, the two had eventually become revolutionary life partners. They hadn't had Su Man until two years after getting married. Because Lin Huimin had suffered an injury during childbirth, they had only ever had one daughter. The couple doted on Su Man as though she were a priceless treasure. “It's your first day reporting for duty, so don't be nervous.” Su Jianguo pushed a bowl of soy milk toward Su Man. “Working for the Public Security Bureau carries a heavy responsibility, but children from our machinery factory aren't afraid of hard work.” “I know, Dad.” Su Man nodded. The real Su Man might have been nervous, but she wasn't. She was far too familiar with life in the police force, even if this was the police force of the 1990s. “Old Su, do you think our Manman might be assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division?” Lin Huimin asked while clearing away the dishes. “Didn't she help solve a theft case during her internship?” “She'll certainly have to follow the organization's assignment.” Su Jianguo picked up a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes before slowly continuing, “No matter what position she gets, it's all about serving the people.” Su Man quietly ate her egg, too guilty to say a word. Because when she had received her graduation assignment, she had personally requested to be assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division. She could feel waves of emotional noise representing anxiety and worry emanating from Lin Huimin. The persistent high-pitched buzzing was like countless annoying mosquitoes endlessly circling around Su Man's ears. “Mom, don't worry.” Su Man put down her chopsticks and gently took Lin Huimin's hand. The moment she touched her mother, the emotional noise weakened slightly. “You still don't know what I'm capable of?” Su Man said. “Don't forget, I even placed in the shooting competition at university. Besides, the bureau will definitely look after newcomers.” As soon as Su Man finished speaking, Lin Huimin's eyes turned red. “Your mother knows you're capable. It's just that you're a girl…” “What’s wrong with being a girl?” Su Jianguo tapped the ash from his cigarette. “Chairman Mao once said that women hold up half the sky. Manman, when you get to your new workplace, be humble and learn from the older comrades. But when it's time to show what you can do, don't be timid.” Su Man nodded, a warm feeling rising in her heart. The panic and discomfort she had experienced when she first transmigrated had gradually faded away. This simple and sincere working-class couple had accepted her “amnesiac” daughter in the most straightforward way possible. Su Man's memories were somewhat incomplete now. When she had first arrived in this era, her original body had been suffering from a high fever in the dormitory of the Public Security University. Su Man had wondered afterward whether her transmigration had anything to do with the fever. But later, she thought that perhaps Heaven had simply felt that she had died too unjustly in her previous life and given her another chance to live in the 1990s. Her memories after the high fever had become somewhat fragmented, but ironically, that very fever had given her the perfect cover for suddenly appearing in the 1990s. At exactly seven o'clock, Su Man left the house with the cloth bag her mother had prepared. Inside were the documents she needed to report for duty, an aluminum lunchbox, a lidded enamel mug, a notebook, a fountain pen, and two pieces of peach-flavored pastry carefully wrapped in wax paper. As Su Man stepped outside, she happened to run into Wang Xiaoli, who was also leaving her home across the hall. Wang Xiaoli had a fair, oval face and delicate features. Her eyebrows were a little faint, but she was still quite a pretty girl. When she saw Su Man, she froze for a moment before smiling. “Manman, are you heading to work? Look at you! You look so sharp in that uniform!” Although those were her words, that wasn't what she was thinking at all. _So what if she's wearing a police uniform? Does she have to show off all day long? And so what if she has pretty features? She makes everyone else look dull by comparison. Just looking at her is annoying!_ A wave of emotional noise representing jealousy suddenly flooded into Su Man's mind, exactly like the noise that had woken her the night before. _There it is. That familiar feeling again!_ Looking at Wang Xiaoli in front of her, Su Man couldn't help marveling at the contrast between her outward appearance and her true feelings. Although Su Man's mental age was several years greater than Wang Xiaoli's, how old was Wang Xiaoli now? A girl her age should still be acting spoiled in front of her parents. Someone as skilled at disguising her true feelings as Wang Xiaoli was genuinely rare. She was practically consumed by jealousy inside, yet in front of others, she still had to put on the appearance of a gentle and gracious girl. Su Man put those thoughts aside and smiled back. “Yeah, Xiaoli. It's my first day at work, and I'm in a hurry, so I won't chat for long. I'll see you later.” Su Man didn't want to stay another second and hurried away. Wang Xiaoli watched her retreating figure. The smile on her face had already disappeared, replaced by resentment and gloom. _Why?_ They were the same age, yet Su Man had a complete family and parents who doted on her. She had been born into a stable and carefree life, and now she even had a respectable job. As for herself, she was merely the unwanted stepchild brought into a remarried family. She had to constantly watch other people's expressions and live a lowly life. She had spent years pretending to be gentle and well-behaved simply so that life would be a little easier and she would have to endure fewer cold looks. And Su Man didn't have to do anything at all to possess everything Wang Xiaoli desperately wanted! _It was so unfair!_ Wang Xiaoli turned around and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. Hearing the door slam upstairs, Su Man rolled her eyes speechlessly. _Seriously. There are so many people better than me. Why does she have to keep fixating on me?_ When Su Man reached the first floor, Luo Shaowei, the second son of the Luo family, was brushing his teeth by the communal sink. His mouth full of foam, he mumbled, “Sister Manman, now that you're a police officer, you've got to look out for our whole compound!” “Shaowei, stop fooling around!” his mother called from the window. Then she turned to Su Man. “Manman, ride slowly and be careful on the road.” “Got it, Auntie Luo.” In the courtyard, several older children who had been playing badminton stopped and stared curiously at Su Man's police uniform. Auntie Zhang, an accountant at the machinery factory, was carrying a thermos to get some hot water. When she saw Su Man, she stopped in her tracks. “Manman, you really made your parents proud! You're the first female police officer from our machinery factory residential compound!” “You've always been brave and observant since you were little, remember? That year when Old Zhao's house caught fire, how old were you? Eight or nine, right? You actually dared to rush inside…” Auntie Zhang had begun dredging up old stories. Su Man quickly interrupted her with a smile. “Auntie Zhang, I'm in a hurry. We'll talk later!” Su Man hurried around to the bicycle shed in the back courtyard and found her father's meticulously maintained Phoenix-brand 28-inch bicycle. Before Su Man started working, Su Jianguo and Lin Huimin had planned to ask someone to help them buy their daughter a 26-inch women's bicycle. It would have been smaller and lighter, but Su Man had refused. She felt that she was tall enough to ride a 28-inch bicycle without any trouble. There was no need to spend extra money, so after thinking it over carefully, Su Jianguo and Lin Huimin agreed. Su Man wheeled the bicycle out of the shed, placed her left foot on the pedal, and casually swung her right leg over the crossbar. The crisp ring of the bicycle bell echoed through the quiet morning courtyard. The wheels rolled over the concrete pavement and carried her through the familiar entrance. Uncle Sun, a cook at the machinery factory, was strolling leisurely with his hands clasped behind his back. When he saw Su Man, he gave her a thumbs-up. “Manman, work hard!” “Hey!” Su Man called back. Her heart felt warm. Although she wasn't the real Su Man, after spending all this time with these people, she had gradually become part of this working-class community of the 1990s. As she rode out through the entrance of the residential compound, Su Man habitually stopped and looked back. Rows of old six-story red-brick buildings stood packed closely together. Clothes of all colors hung from the balconies to dry, briquettes were piled beside the stairwell entrances, and clusters of morning glories bloomed vigorously along the corners of the walls. It was a world filled with the warmth and bustle of everyday life, overlapping with her vague memories of the 1990s. Someone was standing around the corner of the residential compound, partially hidden behind a tree. Su Man couldn't make out their appearance. As she gradually drew closer, a powerful wave of emotional noise representing excitement and a twisted desire pierced into her mind, like a rusty saw dragging harshly across metal. Su Man frowned uncomfortably and pedaled faster. The noise soon disappeared, but the unpleasant feeling lingered.