"Only music never deceives!"
The man thought to himself.
He lowered his eyes, sitting in front of a white lacquered piano, playing emotionally. A trace of melancholy appeared on his thin face, and his dressed-up appearance couldn't hide the small stubble carelessly left around his lips.
From the piano keys flowed a hazy world. Moonlight penetrated through a layer of gray mist, pouring down like water, filling the blue hall of the 99th floor of the Nofi Building. The man's rendition of Debussy's "Clair de Lune" was exquisite.
His unparalleled piano skills emitted a captivating charm.
A warm yellow spotlight shone in the center of the 5000-square-meter hall, enveloping this man dressed in a purple-red velvet suit.
The pianist is Chen Chen, a neuroscientist from China and the winner of this year's Nofi Neuroscience Award, only 35 years old.
The Nofi Neuroscience Award is recognized as the highest honor in the international neuroscience community. Chen Chen, with his groundbreaking research in neuronal communication and control, managed to secure the award over Will Goss, who was highly anticipated by Western media.
Following the Nofi Award tradition, every winning scientist must perform a talent. Chen Chen chose to play the piano.
With a barely noticeable movement, the man slightly raised his eyes, glancing at the audience below, and his gaze finally settled on an empty seat. She has been missing for 24 hours since yesterday afternoon.
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One day earlier, Central Park Hotel, San Francisco, Room 1927.
"I need to buy a formal dress; this skirt looks too casual." Xia Nan stood in front of the hotel room mirror, adjusting a lake-blue wavy knee-length dress, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. The reflection showed a somewhat weary version of her, with the shadows under her almond-shaped eyes.
Chen Chen sat at the desk, finally shifting his attention from his laptop screen to Xia Nan. He had been engrossed in handling various emails, undisturbed by Xia Nan's movements and speech in the room, until she mentioned going out.
"It's just an award ceremony, something simple will do," he remarked, his gaze lingering on her, sensing her anxiety, and after a moment's thought, tried to offer some reassurance.
"If you say so, don't wear that 'complicated' velvet suit tomorrow," Xia Nan said with emphasis on "complicated," a hint of displeasure in her voice.
That purple-red velvet suit was neatly hung by Xia Nan in the doorway, covered with a dust cover. Chen Chen couldn't help but smile. The suit was prepared by his assistant, Angela, who said the purple-red was his lucky color. But Chen Chen knew that Xia Nan wouldn't care about such things. Jealousy had never been an issue between them.
"It's too risky outside, San Francisco is currently a hotspot for the Super Brainwave outbreak. Stay in; your outfit looks great!" Chen Chen tried to dissuade her, but he knew Xia Nan's decisions were firm.
"Professor Chen, not everyone shares your aesthetic. Have you ever seen someone wear jeans to an award ceremony?" Xia Nan retorted. "Emily can take me to her custom shop to pick out a dress; we've scheduled afternoon tea."
" You sure move fast! Haven't you two not seen each other for years? In college, you two were inseparable," said Chen Chen, teasingly, "Did you come with me just to see Emily?"
Just half an hour earlier, they had checked into the hotel. Unexpectedly, Xia Nan had already arranged her afternoon. Originally, Angela was supposed to accompany Chen Chen to the award ceremony. But two nights ago, Xia Nan suddenly told Chen Chen that she had canceled her academic conference and wanted to come with him.
"I won't keep chatting with you; I need to go now." Xia Nan quickly touched up her makeup and hurriedly left.
Watching her leave, Chen Chen shook his head. He found her behavior unusual. The last time she attended the Annual Organic Chemistry banquet with him, he remembered she wore the same jeans. Perhaps the significance of tomorrow's ceremony made her nervous?
It's possible. The Nofi Neuroscience Award is internationally recognized as the pinnacle award in the field. Especially, the American scientist Will Goss, who was highly touted in the media.
At an international award orchestrated by an American company, having an American identity surely has advantages over a Chinese one. Furthermore, Will Goss is the Chief Scientist for the Nofi Pharmaceuticals, the award's sponsor. Chen Chen guessed Xia Nan's primary concern wasn't about him losing the award but about him and Will encountering each other at the ceremony. The once-close friends from Stanford had now turned foes.
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When Chen Chen looked up from his laptop again, it was already 6 p.m. The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the glass window and scattered across the floor. Rubbing his temples, he felt somewhat exhausted after a 13-hour flight and incessantly addressing work emails from the domestic expert group on the Super Brainwave epidemic.
Chen Chen stood and walked to the window. He looked out onto Third Avenue. Almost no pedestrians were in sight, and even cars were scarce. The Super Brainwave had sapped the vitality from this vital financial hub on the American West Coast. Recent data from home showed that the global epidemic of Super Brainwave was still intensifying.
"Knock, knock, knock!" came a sound from the door. His assistant, Angela, came to invite him to the buffet dinner arranged by Nofi in the hotel restaurant.
"Can I skip it?" Chen Chen stood at the door, pointing with his right hand at the computer on his desk. Compared to those formal dinners full of pleasantries, he found work much more interesting.
"Professor Chen, you are the hot favorite for tomorrow's award," Angela said, eyeing him up and down without acknowledging his hint about unfinished work. "Now, you have five minutes to clean up that stubble on your face."
Facial hair seemed to be the most lively part of Chen Chen. Sometimes just the duration of a meeting would be enough for his stubble to fill his jawline. Angela always reminded him to be mindful of his appearance, but Xia Nan thought he looked better with a bit of stubble.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
For some reason, Angela's words always had a magical effect on Chen Chen. He obediently went to shave his beard, then followed Angela out the door.
"Hey, where's Sister Xia Nan?" Walking down the hotel corridor, Angela suddenly realized that someone was missing from their small team.
"She met up with a friend. I apologize, her last-minute decision means you'll have to arrange your own schedule for tomorrow," Chen Chen explained. The award ceremony tickets were limited, and Xia Nan's sudden change of plans had disrupted the original arrangements.
"Professor Chen, I should thank Sister Xia Nan for giving me a day off!" Angela said.
Recalling that Xia Nan had been out for 5 hours, Chen Chen tried to call her to ask if she'd be back for dinner, but no one answered. A sense of unease began to gnaw at him. He remembered that Xia Nan hadn't worn a mask when she left. In these risky times, every extra minute exposed outdoors added to the risk of infection.
"Don't worry, Professor Chen. Sister Xia Nan is probably too engrossed in chatting with her friend to answer your call," Angela reassured him, noting his furrowed brows.
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Nobody expected Angela to become the focus of the buffet dinner attended by top neuroscientists from around the world, surprising even Chen Chen. This attention was due to her foster father, Professor Albert.
Albert was a leading neuroscientist at Stanford University's Medical School, and one of the top memory researchers worldwide. When people talked about Professor Albert, their faces automatically expressed admiration. A fifth of active scientists in the field had trained under him, including Chen Chen.
Albert had started developing a memory extractor to treat Alzheimer's disease five years ago, causing a sensation in the neuroscience community. Since then, he had secluded himself from the public eye, even rejecting visits from friends and students. The only person who could contact him was his foster daughter, Angela.
Professor Albert treated this adopted daughter as his own. Since the time Angela started to toddle, Professor Albert took her to every event he attended. The experts in the fields had practically watched Angela grow up, and knew her far better than they did Chen Chen.
"Angela, please give my regards to your father," said Dr. Egman from Oxford University, who specializes in brain-computer interface research.
"Angela, I'm so happy for your father. He announced a press conference for next month on his social media to introduce the memory extractor entering clinical trials," said Professor Raymond from the University of London, clinking his champagne glass with hers.
"Angela, long time no see. How have you been?" Andrea, a professor from Caltech's Neuroscience Research Institute, gave Angela a warm hug. She was one of Albert's students and had been studying the reconstruction of human memory.
"Angela, will Professor Albert be attending the award ceremony tomorrow? We miss him so much!" said Professor Jason, who was approaching from Cambridge University's Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences.
This question immediately piqued the interest of everyone present. Rumors had been circulating that Professor Albert would attend the Nofi Prize award ceremony the next day, given that the memory extractor had been successfully developed and was now in clinical trials. Professor Albert, the honorary chairman of the Nofi Neuroscience Prize jury, used to personally present the award to the winners every year. But five years ago, after announcing his retreat, he missed this event.
"Maybe, we'll find out tomorrow," replied Angela ambiguously. She didn't know if her father would attend the award ceremony in the afternoon, but he had told her he would have dinner with her in the evening.
Chen Chen watched from a distance as Angela was swarmed by people, finishing the last bite on his plate. He felt a little relieved; he had been concerned about the formalities and niceties, but Angela's appearance allowed him to finish his dinner in peace.
He glanced at his watch; it was already 8 pm. Two hours had passed, and Xia Nan hadn't returned his call. Even if she was meeting a long-lost friend, she shouldn't neglect her phone. He dialed Xia Nan's number again, but this time, he received a "the number you dialed is turned off" message.
Out of battery? Malfunction? Stolen? Or... something worse? A troubling thought flashed in Chen Chen's mind. He quickly sent Angela a message on WeChat, "I have to go," and hastily left the restaurant.
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Where did Xia Nan go? Chen Chen paced around the room. She had mentioned meeting Emily for afternoon tea and then shopping for a gown, possibly followed by dinner. That's all he knew. He didn't know where they were meeting for tea or where Emily's boutique was located.
Suddenly he began to resent smartphones. In this age of information, human relationships relied heavily on these tiny devices. They quickly and conveniently connected people, but once turned off, even close relationships like boyfriends and girlfriends felt lost.
Chen Chen dialed Xia Nan's number again: still turned off. It was 9 pm. Normally, he wouldn't worry. They often gave each other ample personal space, sometimes going days without contact. But now was different.
Super Brainwave was threatening every individual. Five days ago, Xu Zhe, their mutual friend, collapsed after buying wine from the supermarket and is now in ICU. Three days ago, the cleaning lady from the lab, Aunt Wang, didn't show up for work. According to her son, she was buying some food but collapsed on her way home from the market.
How could Chen Chen not worry? Moreover, due to the Super Brainwave outbreak, San Francisco's public safety was deteriorating. Local police were stationed at hospitals, and vagrants and drug addicts roamed the streets freely. He recalled last week's shocking news about an elderly Chinese woman assaulted by a homeless man in Los Angeles.
He had to contact Xia Nan immediately, right away! He couldn't bear a single moment of this agonizing excessive worry. Emily! Yes, contact Emily! She was the only useful clue Xia Nan left him. But he didn't have Emily's contact information.
Chen Chen remembered that Emily is now one of the Chief Scientists at Nofi Pharmaceuticals. Through his old classmate White, who also works at Nofi, he got Emily's phone number.
On the other end of the phone, Emily seemed to have been rudely awakened from her sleep. She had no idea that Xia Nan was in San Francisco and had not received any invitation for afternoon tea. Could Xia Nan have arranged to meet another Emily? The name was just too common; there were three girls named Emily in their class back in college.
The call, which lasted less than 2 minutes, made Chen Chen feel as if he was being slowly pushed towards the edge of a cliff, plummeting into a bottomless abyss. He knew there couldn't be another Emily on Xia Nan's list of close friends. It was this Emily! The moment he hung up the phone, disappointment, sorrow, anger... a series of overwhelming emotions surged towards Chen Chen's forehead.
Was Xia Nan deceiving him? Why? Where did she go? Who was she with?
Once a lie is exposed, its repercussions are exponential. Doubts grew geometrically, leading Chen Chen to question Xia Nan's true intentions for visiting San Francisco.
Everything was so abnormal! He had invited Xia Nan to come along before, but she declined, citing an organic chemistry seminar she had to attend. Then, two days ago, she suddenly decided to come along. Considering Xia Nan had many evening dresses, why did she only bring a less formal skirt? Was it just an excuse to go out?
What was Xia Nan trying to hide? What couldn't she tell him? Chen Chen racked his brain but couldn't figure it out. His concern for Xia Nan's safety slowly subsided, replaced by a burning anger in his chest ignited by her perceived deceit.
He glanced at Xia Nan's suitcase, thinking there might be some clues inside. But when he tried to open it, he realized it was securely locked with a combination lock, and he didn't know the code. How ridiculous! They had been in love for ten years, yet they were still separated by a simple lock!
Disregarding his dignity as an intellectual, Chen Chen angrily lifted a pair of scissors and attacked the combination lock. Once, twice, thrice... After a brutal assault, the lock finally gave in.
Inside the suitcase, neatly folded clothes and a toiletry bag were all that met his eyes. In a side pocket, Chen Chen found the engagement ring he had given to Xia Nan. She had said she would wear it on their wedding day.
Why did she bring the ring to the US? To meet her lover in San Francisco and then return the ring to him? A horrifying thought leapt to the forefront of Chen Chen's mind.
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At a globally televised award ceremony, Chen Chen's thoughts raced like wild horses. There was a roaring voice inside him. His piano-playing hands were sweaty, and he feared that all his suspicions might be true.
As more time passed since Xia Nan's disappearance, this terrifying notion grew uncontrollably in his mind.