Qing Ye was utterly exasperated. These two idiots went to demand money, saw the crowd but didn’t know to run, and stubbornly kept pressing for payment. It was sheer luck the others wouldn’t lay hands on a woman, but someone as weak as Liu Nian was practically asking to get beaten.
On the phone, Liu Nian frantically explained that Du Qiyan had gone upstairs with that group and hadn’t come back down. He didn’t dare leave or go up himself, and he couldn’t reach Brother Wu. He begged Qing Ye to find a way to contact Xing Wu immediately, fearing something might happen to Du Qiyan upstairs.
Qing Ye hurried downstairs as she asked, “How many people are there?”
Liu Nian stammered, “Probably… probably five or six.”
“Give me the address. I’ll go find Xing Wu.”
After hanging up, Qing Ye rushed out of Dazzle Island, locked the door, and headed straight for the main road. By past eight o’clock, the streets were growing sparse, streetlights flickered intermittently, and the evening breeze carried a slight chill.
Two motorized rickshaws were parked by the curb near a small shop, with a group of men gathered around a low table playing cards.
Steeling herself, Qing Ye approached and asked, “Can you go?”
Several middle-aged men glanced at her. One with slanted eyebrows asked, “Where to?”
“Electronics Street,” Qing Ye replied.
The man eyed his cards impatiently. “Electronics Street closed hours ago. What are you going there for at this hour?”
Seeing he hadn’t budged, Qing Ye pulled out 50 yuan and tossed it onto the card table. “Going or not?”
The man glanced at the money, pocketed it, and slowly stood up, heading toward the rickshaw. Without another word, Qing Ye climbed in.
The man took back alleys, frequently eyeing Qing Ye in the rearview mirror.
Qing Ye watched him warily, pulling out her phone to call Xing Wu. The line connected, but no one answered. The man up front glanced at her again and suddenly turned into an unfamiliar narrow lane. Qing Ye pretended to speak into her phone, “I’m in the rickshaw, coming from Zhazha Pavilion.”
She glanced at the roadside and deliberately raised her voice, “We’re at the post office now. Just wait for me by the road.”
Soon after, the man steered the rickshaw back onto the main road, and Qing Ye breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Over ten minutes later, the rickshaw stopped in front of Shunyi. Qing Ye got out, and the rickshaw drove off. The whole street was deserted at this hour, with only a few broken bicycles and plastic bags drifting in the wind along the curb.
Shunyi’s roll-up door was shut tight, showing no signs of activity. Uncertain, Qing Ye walked up and knocked. There was no response from inside; the door was locked, and no light was visible.
She looked around, then balled her fist and pounded on the door, producing a series of loud clangs. A few minutes later, a small door opened in the neighboring shop, and a man peered out, asking, “Who are you looking for?”
Qing Ye turned and recognized the man as somewhat familiar—probably the one she’d seen playing cards with Xing Wu’s group last time, the one they called Da Hei.
She said, “I’m looking for Xing Wu. Is he at Shunyi?”
Da Hei stepped out, recognized Qing Ye, and scratched his head. “Looking for Brother Wu? He’s not here. Something up?”
“Yes, it’s urgent. I can’t reach him by phone. Do you know where he is?”
Da Hei shuffled in his slippers, pulled out a set of keys, and said, “I’ll take you there.”Da Hei locked the door and turned to walk toward the back alley. Qing Ye stood at the alley entrance without moving. Da Hei glanced back at her and chuckled, "Come on, you're Brother Wu's friend—would I really harm you? He'd skin me alive if I did."
Qing Ye tightened her grip on her phone and followed. The alley was littered with cardboard boxes and garbage piles, along with grimy oil drums emitting a pungent, acrid smell. She maintained a cautious distance, trailing behind Da Hei.
Beyond the alley stood the back gate of a residential complex—an open-style old neighborhood reminiscent of the 1990s. A few elderly residents sat on small stools by the entrance, chatting idly. Once inside, Qing Ye found the area sprawling and chaotic, filled with all sorts of people. After winding through for about ten minutes, they reached a row of sheds housing bicycles and electric scooters.
Da Hei strode directly to a ground-floor courtyard opposite the sheds. Through the courtyard, the living room lights were visible. Stepping onto the doorstep, Da Hei called out, "Brother Wu!"
Qing Ye stood behind him, glancing around uncertainly. She had no idea where they were—until she spotted Xing Wu's Little Angel parked nearby.
The main door soon opened, revealing a young woman who peered out first. Recognizing Da Hei, she walked over and unlatched the courtyard gate.
Qing Ye realized she had seen this woman before—the edgy girl smoking at the entrance when she visited Dazzle Island with Xing Wu last time. Now, however, the woman wore a nightgown, her hair damp from a recent shower. Even from several steps away, Qing Ye caught the alluring scent of her body wash and glimpsed the colorful fox tattoo peeking from her thigh—a dangerously seductive detail.
Da Hei chimed in, "Sis Shu, this girl is looking for Brother Wu. Says it's urgent."
The woman called Sis Shu turned her head, scrutinizing Qing Ye. Though silent, her gaze held an unusual intensity. Qing Ye met her eyes squarely and asked calmly, "Is Xing Wu here?"
Shu Han turned away indifferently and tossed over her shoulder, "Come in."
Da Hei beckoned Qing Ye inside. The courtyard was small but tidy, featuring a homemade awning and a pair of stone stools for tea drinking.
As Shu Han entered, Quan Ya asked, "Who is it?"
She glanced at Xing Wu and said, "There's a girl here to see you."
Xing Wu and Quan Ya were each focused on a computer, playing League of Legends. Hearing this, Xing Wu turned and saw Qing Ye standing at the doorway, having just stepped into the room.
Qing Ye scanned the space, her gaze finally settling on Xing Wu. He wore a black fitted tank top and loose gray shorts. A flicker of surprise crossed her mind—at home, she always saw him fully covered in long pants, never so casually dressed.
Xing Wu, equally startled to see Qing Ye—especially at this hour—asked, "What brings you here?"
But Qing Ye's first words were, "Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Her expression, tone, and eyes carried sharp dissatisfaction and a barely concealed anger, reminiscent of a girlfriend righteously confronting her boyfriend. The atmosphere instantly grew... awkward.
Leaning against the wall, Shu Han observed the young girl with narrowed eyes, then cast a probing glance toward Xing Wu.Xing Wu stood up and looked at Shu Han: "Is my phone charged?"
Shu Han straightened up and walked toward the room: "Let me check, it should be almost done."
Qing Ye's eyes followed the woman as she moved to the room. When she opened the door, Qing Ye saw it was a woman's bedroom, likely hers—meaning... this was her home.
She withdrew her gaze and said to Xing Wu: "Liu Nian got beaten up, and Du Qiyan's current situation is unknown. Her ex-boyfriend, that widow-maker, took her upstairs. There are about five or six people on their side."
"Huh?" Xing Wu frowned, grabbing a pair of pants nearby and pulling them on as he asked Qing Ye: "Where are they?"
"Target Factory Zone 2, do you know it?"
Xing Wu froze for a moment, exchanging a glance with Quan Ya. Quan Ya tossed his mouse aside and also stood up. Just then, Shu Han came out and handed the phone to Xing Wu, who casually took it and stuffed it into his pants pocket, saying to Quan Ya: "Call some people."
"I'll go with you," Da Hei said from the doorway.
The group headed toward the door when Shu Han called out to Xing Wu: "Wu Zi, do you need me to come along and smooth things over?"
Xing Wu glanced at Qing Ye standing nearby. Qing Ye turned her head away and walked toward the yard outside, hearing Xing Wu say from behind: "I'll go check out the situation first."
After speaking, he walked out of the yard and directly started up the Little Angel. Shu Han stepped to the gate of the yard, while Qing Ye stood by the bicycle shed across from it. Xing Wu rode the Little Angel over and said to Shu Han: "Probably nothing serious, don't worry about it."
Then he turned to Qing Ye: "Get on."
Shu Han's eyes shifted subtly, landing on Qing Ye across the way. Qing Ye also turned her head and met her gaze. Though neither spoke a word, their eyes held a silent contest.
Qing Ye calmly withdrew her gaze, swung onto Xing Wu's motorcycle, and held onto his waist. Shu Han's eyes swept over Xing Wu's waist, then glanced at his profile. He didn't seem to react at all, quickly riding off on the motorcycle until it turned a corner and disappeared beyond the residential area.
On the way, Qing Ye made two more calls to Liu Nian to confirm his location and ask about the situation there. Liu Nian said Du Qiyan still hadn't come downstairs and hadn't replied to his messages.
Xing Wu had initially told Qing Ye to go back first, but she was somewhat worried about Du Qiyan and decided to follow along to see.
When they rode up to the entrance of the Target Factory, several motorcycles were already parked there, with about five or six men waiting around. They didn't look like students—more like guys in their twenties—who waved at Xing Wu. Qing Ye didn't recognize any of them.
She remarked: "I thought you'd call Huang Mao and the others."
"They're students. The less they get involved in these kinds of society matters, the better."
"What about you?"
"I'm different."
Qing Ye tugged at the fabric of his waist: "How are you different?"
Xing Wu turned his head slightly, his sharp cheekbones devoid of warmth: "I don't expect to have a future."
Qing Ye lowered her gaze to the shadows of herself and Xing Wu beside the motorcycle's wheels. The light in her eyes stirred at his words. She once read in a book that when someone constantly faces setbacks, surrounded by people yet with no one to pull them up, their last hope turns into powerlessness. When light is swallowed by darkness, they stop expecting a future.
Xing Wu shouted to the group: "They're in Zone 2, let's head straight over."Qing Ye finally saw that the shooting range was actually a factory, bearing the name of a plastics plant. The entire area was filled with dilapidated old buildings, pitch-dark at night with no lights, giving the illusion of an abandoned factory.
The group rode to Zone 2, and from a distance, they spotted Liu Nian standing foolishly in front of a telephone pole. Xing Wu rode straight toward him. After getting off the bike, Qing Ye got a clear look at Liu Nian’s horrifically bruised face—his already small eyes were now swollen badly on the left side, almost too painful to look at.
Liu Nian pointed upstairs and said, "They went to the fourth floor."
Without a word, Xing Wu led the others upstairs. Liu Nian rubbed his hands nervously. Qing Ye glanced up at this condemned building marked with a large "Demolish" character, noticing only a few units still had their lights on. She withdrew her gaze and followed them inside. Liu Nian called out anxiously, "Qing Ye, don’t go."
She turned and gave him a look, then her figure disappeared into the building.
OpenNovel