Dazzling

The staircase was narrow and dark, plastered with messy small advertisements, exuding a rough, rust-stained atmosphere and the scent of life at the very bottom. Piles of other people's garbage were stacked in the corners. Qing Ye climbed straight up to the fourth floor, where a long corridor connected the various households, dense and compact like an ant nest.

Qing Ye spotted the figures of that group across the way. She turned the corner of the corridor, weaving around heaps of household trash, and headed toward them.

Perhaps because the room was quite small, not all of Xing Wu's crew had gone inside; three or four remained outside. Qing Ye walked up behind them.

As soon as she approached, she heard a voice: "I say, Wu Zi, we've always kept to our own business, and you're not one to stir up trouble. Why have you been stepping up for women so often lately? That's not like your style."

Qing Ye found the voice somewhat familiar. Peering through the men toward the door crack, she saw Da Cao sitting right in the middle of the living room, surrounded by four or five of his brothers. Du Qiyan was standing between Da Cao and Xing Wu, tears streaming down her face, with clear red and swollen palm prints on both cheeks, glaringly obvious. Qing Ye clenched her jaw and heard Xing Wu reply coldly, "You know perfectly well she works at my family's shop."

Da Cao immediately laughed: "Your family's shop? Boss Xing, you're so righteous—meddling in your employees' private lives? What's it to you if a couple argues and breaks up?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Quan Ya directly kicked up a nearby stool and hurled it at Da Cao. One of Da Cao's tall companions reacted swiftly, kicking the stool away just as it flew toward Da Cao's face. Instantly, the tension in the room escalated to a breaking point, and Da Cao's previously casual expression darkened abruptly.

Yet, at that moment, Xing Wu strode toward Da Cao, startling the opposing side. They all stood up, staring at him with guarded expressions.

Xing Wu stopped in front of Da Cao, looking down at him, and said, "I'm not here to pick a fight. Your buddy messing with someone's feelings is one thing, but fucking scamming a girl out of her money—is that even human? Think carefully about the consequences of protecting him."

Da Cao narrowed his eyes and looked up at Xing Wu, whose muscles were tensed all over. Although he hadn't had much contact with Xing Wu, having grown up in this area, he knew enough about Xing Wu's character. If he gave the nod, Xing Wu's fists would show no mercy in the next second.

Da Cao was a smart man. He wasn't afraid of Xing Wu, but there was no need to get himself dirty over some insignificant fair-weather friend.

Everyone out here knows the game—if word got out about today's incident, that Da Cao stood up for a guy who cheated women out of money, where would that leave his reputation? In this life, reputation is crucial; without it, how can you command respect or keep your standing?

After weighing the pros and cons, Da Cao crossed his legs, swinging his flip-flop, and said with a fake smile, "Did I say I was protecting anyone?"

At these words, a man standing slightly behind and to the side of Da Cao suddenly grew anxious and called out, "Brother Cao."

Da Cao, with his usual nonchalant demeanor, said to Xing Wu, "If you have evidence, hurry up and settle this. If not, get out of here. A bunch of you coming over here so passionately in the middle of the night—if this gets out, people will think Anzhi and Anzhong are clashing again."

Da Cao's words seemed to suddenly enlighten the man behind him, who rushed out aggressively and said, "Yeah, you say I scammed her out of money? Where's the proof? Show me the evidence!"Du Qiyan hung her head even lower. Qing Ye finally got a clear look at this legendary "widower" and felt an internal shudder. The man's face was covered with youthful acne bumps, comparable to the surface of the moon. The density directly blurred his entire face, making people overlook his features—it was simply eye-searing.

The moment Qing Ye saw him clearly, she began questioning life itself. What exactly did Du Qiyan see in this widower? With looks like this, he might as well have stayed "deceased."

Xing Wu turned his head toward Du Qiyan and asked, "Did he write an IOU?"

Du Qiyan remained silent, and Xing Wu already understood the situation.

Da Cao let out an exaggerated "Haha," put down his crossed leg, and stretched his arms. "Take care, Wu Zi."

Xing Wu's expression instantly darkened, but without any evidence, even if they beat up Da Cao and his crew right now, they wouldn't have the moral high ground.

Just then, a crisp voice suddenly emerged from behind the crowd: "I have evidence."

All eyes turned toward the door, where they saw Qing Ye squeezing her way in from outside.

Qing Ye was wearing a pure white casual outfit, simple yet stylish, with one hand tucked into her casual pants pocket as she walked in unhurriedly. Xing Wu glared at her, but Qing Ye completely ignored his gaze. Instead, she addressed the widower directly: "What's your name?"

The widower hadn't met Qing Ye before, but the moment she entered the room, the tense atmosphere instantly seemed to brighten. Seeing the widower staring at her in a daze, Qing Ye gave him a charming smile and asked again in a gentle voice: "Handsome, what's your name?"

Seeing the attractive curve of Qing Ye's lips, the widower blurted out without thinking: "Yang Gang. What do you want?"

Qing Ye looked at his scrawny appearance and couldn't see anything "yang" or "gang" (masculine/strong) about him at all.

She then turned and asked, "Well, Du Qiyan, how much did Yang Gang borrow from you in total?"

Du Qiyan sniffled and said, "About fourteen thousand."

"Did he say he'd pay it back?"

Du Qiyan looked up at Qing Ye nervously. Qing Ye simply pulled her to her side, gave her arm a reassuring squeeze to tell her not to be afraid, and fixed her gaze on her: "What did Yang Gang say when he borrowed money from you?"

Du Qiyan lowered her head and said, "The first time, he said his buddy was in trouble and hospitalized, needed five thousand to save his life. He said he'd pay me back once his buddy's family came up with the money, so I gave it to him. Later, for a while, I couldn't reach him by phone. He said his phone was broken and he needed a new one to stay in touch, so he borrowed three thousand from me to buy a phone..."

Du Qiyan continued recounting the incidents one by one when Yang Gang suddenly interrupted her irritably: "Enough! Are you fucking done yet?"

Qing Ye calmly looked up at him with a sidelong glance. "Why so defensive? So you admit you did borrow this money."

Yang Gang glanced uneasily at Da Cao, who leaned back in his chair, twirling his fingers, acting as if it was no big deal.

Qing Ye pressed on relentlessly: "Du Qiyan can account for every single transaction clearly. How do you plan to deny it?"

Yang Gang suddenly found his confidence again and blustered: "I'm telling you, I, Yang Gang, took this money, and don't even think about getting a single cent back from me. If you've got evidence, sue me. If not, stop blabbering nonsense here."

"Fine." Qing Ye's voice rose as she pulled out her phone from her pocket and pressed a button. Immediately, the recording played: "What's your name? Handsome, what's your name?""Yang Gang, what do you want?"

"Um, Du Qiyan, how much money did Yang Gang borrow from you in total?"

"..."

The recording from the moment Qing Ye entered the room played completely from her phone. The faces of the people opposite instantly changed. Qing Ye put her phone back in her pocket and said to them, "This is the evidence. The parties involved and the matter are clearly stated in the recording, and you've admitted it. You have one week to gather the money and repay Yan Yan. Otherwise, you can explain your fraudulent behavior at the police station."

In an instant, everyone was stunned, including Xing Wu and the others who had come with her.

Qing Ye had directly asked for the borrower's name upon entering the room to clearly identify the debtor, leaving no room for ambiguity. She then guided Du Qiyan to state the loan amount and the sequence of events. Before stepping into this room, she indeed had no evidence, but now she had collected it.

The moment Yang Gang heard the harsh word "fraud," he exploded and charged toward Qing Ye. Xing Wu reached out, grabbed his collar, and threw him backward. Yang Gang fell to the ground in a disheveled heap. Qing Ye lowered her head, tapped her phone a few times, then looked up coldly at him. "I advise you not to come after me later. I've already sent the phone recording to a lawyer friend—it's no longer on my phone. If anything happens to me, my lawyer friend will deal with you."

The five or six men opposite exchanged glances. Da Cao's gaze lingered on Qing Ye, carrying a hint of surprise and a trace of interest. He suddenly started clapping, slowly rising from his chair with a half-smile, pointed at Qing Ye, and said to Xing Wu, "Isn't this the top student who just transferred to your school? Why is she hanging out with you guys even at night?"

"None of your damn business," Xing Wu retorted directly.

A smile still hung on Da Cao's lips, but the light in his eyes instantly turned cold. Seeing the situation turning tense, the brothers behind Xing Wu crowded into the room. The already small space suddenly held over a dozen people. Da Cao glanced at the imposing figures behind Xing Wu, sneered, raised his hand, and slapped Yang Gang on the back of the head, cursing, "Trash, clean up your own mess."

"Cao Ge! I..." Cao Ping had already sat back down and said to Xing Wu's group, "See yourselves out."

Da Hei directly dragged Yang Gang out. True to their word, Da Cao and his crew didn't interfere further. But as Xing Wu turned to leave, Da Cao dropped a remark: "Wu Zi, wanna compete at next year's county sports meet?"

Xing Wu paused slightly and replied, "I'm in senior year—not participating."

Da Cao laughed as if he'd heard a joke and responded, "I'll be waiting."

Xing Wu left without looking back.

...

Downstairs, Xing Wu leaned against a stone pillar while Qing Ye stood beside him, watching Yang Gang, who had already been beaten once. The arrogance he'd shown upstairs was gone; without Da Cao's protection, he was cowering and begging for mercy.

Xing Wu lowered his head to light a cigarette, his voice hoarse. "Lawyer friend?"

"An older schoolmate studying law now. What if they really come after me? I was just trying to scare them."

She glanced sideways at Xing Wu, who curled a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "So you do know how to be afraid?"

"Normal people don't scare me. It's you abnormal ones I worry about."

Xing Wu tilted his head to look at her. "What's abnormal about us?"Qing Ye said meaningfully: "Normal people all want to have a future."

Xing Wu took a drag of his cigarette, the smile at the corner of his mouth fading slightly.

Not far away, Da Hei still wanted to beat up Yang Gang. Quan Ya pulled him back and pointed at the dazed Liu Nian, saying: "You do it."

Liu Nian looked left and right, his face full of timidity as he said: "Me?"

Quan Ya waved him over again. Liu Nian hunched his back and walked over. He was already thin, wearing saggy low-crotch pants with a dog chain-like accessory hanging from his waist that jingled and clattered as he walked, like he was fucking performing some ritual dance.

Quan Ya asked him if Yang Gang had touched him earlier. Liu Nian nodded. Quan Ya said coldly: "Pay him back."

Liu Nian looked utterly terrified, turning his head to stare timidly at Xing Wu. Xing Wu watched him expressionlessly.

Liu Nian first turned his head and raised his hand to lightly tap Yang Gang. Da Hei and the others immediately burst into laughter, cursing: "What the fuck are you touching him for?"

Liu Nian's face flushed red. He took a deep breath and punched Yang Gang back. Then Quan Ya looked at Du Qiyan and said to her: "Come here, little sister."

Du Qiyan had already stopped crying, but she still felt uncomfortable and scared facing Yang Gang. When Yang Gang saw Du Qiyan approaching, he started yelling again: "You fucking dare touch me and see what happens, you ugly woman!"

Du Qiyan's tears fell again. A small stone flew over and hit Yang Gang's leg. Yang Gang screamed in pain and stopped his cursing.

Xing Wu, holding his cigarette, turned his head in surprise. Qing Ye clapped her hands and spat out two words: "Asking for a beating."

Xing Wu suddenly smiled with amusement.

Du Qiyan originally didn't want to hit him, but being cursed at like that made her angry. She raised her hand and fiercely returned the slap he had given her in front of so many people, even jumping up to deliver the slap with all her might.

Although her posture was quite ridiculous, the sound was loud. The slap directly stunned Yang Gang, who stared blankly at Du Qiyan.

Du Qiyan retreated to Liu Nian's side. At this moment, Liu Nian also straightened his back. The two of them standing under the moonlight in that posture suddenly felt like they had reached the peak of their lives.

Xing Wu checked the time—it was almost ten o'clock. He threw away his cigarette and turned to ask Qing Ye: "Do you still need to do problems when you get back?"

Qing Ye nodded. He called out to Quan Ya: "I have something to take care of and need to leave. You guys should wrap it up soon."

Then he took Qing Ye and left the shooting range. The shooting range wasn't far from Zhazha Pavilion. On the way back, Qing Ye asked Xing Wu: "Is Yang Gang also a student at An Vocational School?"

"He dropped out. Now he just mooches around everywhere."

Qing Ye thought about their expressions when they heard about the shooting range and couldn't help asking: "Are the people at the shooting range all trouble?"

Xing Wu parked the Little Angel at the entrance of Dazzle Island, pulled up the rolling shutter, and said to Qing Ye: "Around here, anyone with a bit of money is from the shooting range. Money makes the world go round—the shooting range is protected by people from the Dark Hall."

Xing Wu walked into Dazzle Island. Qing Ye raised an eyebrow and followed him in, amused: "What the hell is the Dark Hall? Is it some kind of gang? This tiny place of yours is actually so divided—why not establish Emei, Wudang, and Huashan sects?"

But Xing Wu turned around and pulled down the rolling shutter, saying to her: "If you encounter something like this again, don't get involved. Understand?"

Qing Ye rarely saw Xing Wu look so serious and didn't speak for a moment. Seeing her frown, Xing Wu sighed and repeated: "Understand?"Although Qing Ye didn't know exactly what kind of existence this Dark Hall was, anything that could make Xing Wu and his rebellious crew turn pale at the mere mention of it was undoubtedly complicated. She replied faintly, "Got it."

As Xing Wu turned to walk toward the backyard, Qing Ye called out to him, "Hey, do you often stay there?"

Xing Wu halted his steps and looked back at her, not understanding the intention behind her question. Qing Ye lowered her head, spinning the barbershop chair with her gaze downcast. "That woman, is she your girlfriend?"

She then lifted her head to meet Xing Wu's eyes directly. His face showed no expression as he calmly told her, "Shu Han is Quan Ya's half-sister. We all call her Sister Shu."

Qing Ye sucked in her cheek, silently spinning the chair in her hand. She said casually, "She likes you."

It wasn't a question but a statement. Though it was just a glance, Qing Ye was certain she hadn't misread the situation.

Xing Wu simply turned around completely, crossing his arms. His face was half-hidden in the shifting light as he looked down at her. "And then?"

Qing Ye didn't respond. Suddenly, the rolling shutter door behind them opened again. Both turned to look - Li Lanfang had returned quite early today, having finished her mahjong game after just two rounds. Holding a cardboard box, she said to Qing Ye, "Qing Ye, your package arrived from Beijing. Zhao Mazi picked it up for you this afternoon."

The package was quite heavy. Li Lanfang placed it directly on the ground and said to Xing Wu, "Wu Zi, help Qing Ye carry this up."

Xing Wu ambled over unhurriedly. When he bent down, he saw the sender's name written as "Meng Ruihang."

He glanced back at Qing Ye, but she had already turned and was heading upstairs, saying to him, "Thanks."

When Xing Wu carried the package into Qing Ye's room, she was sitting at the foot of her bed staring at her phone, completely still as if in a trance.

Xing Wu placed the package heavily beside her feet, but she still showed no reaction. She just continued staring blankly at her phone, seeming suddenly somewhat unlike her usual self.