“No, don’t kill people!” Mo Nai blurted out. “If you kill people, you’ll be locked up. There’s no lipstick, no fur coats, and no luxury cars in prison.”
He was desperate to stop Gao Shuang, but he was met with her surprised look.
“Didi… what did you think I meant by killing people? Did you really think Sister was going to go out and murder someone? I meant killing people in a game. Killing in a game isn’t just legal, it can even make money.”
Had he misunderstood?
Mo Nai closed his mouth in embarrassment, looking down at the constantly moving game screen on the phone.
The sky gradually darkened. After driving on the highway all day, the Alfa Romeo 4C exited and drove into a city, finally shutting off the engine in front of a villa.
Gao Shuang stretched languidly in the driver’s seat: “Hah—driving all day, I’m exhausted. Didi, hurry up and come inside to the hotel.”
However, Mo Nai remained frozen in the passenger seat: “No need, Sister. You go ahead. I’ll just sleep in the car for the night.”
Gao Shuang was astonished: “What? Are you crazy? You’d sleep in a car when there’s a villa? Sleeping in a car in winter isn’t just uncomfortable; you could accidentally die from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Mo Nai: “I’ll remember to keep the window open.”
Gao Shuang: “Are you afraid Sister will attack you in the night, which is why you don’t want to come into the villa with me?”
“…” Mo Nai forced out a sentence: “I’m afraid I’ll attack Sister, that’s why I’m not going in.”
“But Sister isn’t afraid of you attacking me.”
“I am afraid.”
“Are you afraid of Sister, or are you afraid of the hotel’s surveillance and ID verification?”
Mo Nai’s body jolted.
“Sister saw it, you know?” Gao Shuang’s watermelon-red lips curved into a smug smile. “The handgun hidden under your clothes. To be honest, are you a fugitive?”
Mo Nai’s hand pressed against the pistol under his clothes.
A thick blue vein suddenly popped out on his neck. The vein twitched and shook under his skin like a giant centipede. His pale skin began to turn red starting from his neck. His timid demeanor vanished, and he glared menacingly at Gao Shuang.
But it wasn’t an ugly menace. It was a—a determined menace.
It was as if he had one thing set in his heart that he absolutely had to do, and therefore, he had the firm belief that he must clear away anything that stood in his way.
Before Mo Nai could pull out the gun, Gao Shuang continued: “Alright, don’t be angry. Did you forget everything Sister just told you? The popular homestays now don’t check the ID of every guest; only the person placing the order needs to register their ID—and, Sister has already fallen in love with you at first sight.”
“?”
“A rich woman falls for a bad boy—what an interesting love story,” Gao Shuang laughed. “Didn’t Zweig write something similar? Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman—the wealthy woman falls for the gambler at first sight, and the gambler promises her he’ll turn over a new leaf. How about it, will you turn over a new leaf for me?”
The flush on Mo Nai’s face faded. He looked blankly at the woman, who was again lost in her own fantasy. Their entire day together had been strange; this woman’s thoughts were always infinitely jumping.
Gao Shuang didn’t need an answer. She continued to talk to herself: “Just kidding. Jin Yong said the prettier a woman is, the more she lies, so I have to lie more to become prettier. Anyway, by not calling 110 immediately, I’ve become your accomplice and could face criminal charges, so I won’t sell you out. Come on, let’s go in.”
Mo Nai was bewildered as he got out of the car and entered the villa.
The villa was large and beautiful. In Mo Nai’s eyes, everything about it was good, something he had never experienced since birth. But Gao Shuang, who strode confidently in, was not satisfied after looking around. She clapped her hands:
“Even though we’re only staying for one day, we can’t be casual. I need to find people to decorate. Hmm—dinner also needs careful preparation. After all, today is the first time I’m with Didi. Do you like mashed potatoes, Didi? My child loves them, but I always stop him from eating too much; it causes indigestion—oh dear, I apologize. Did I unconsciously mention my child again?”
Gao Shuang apologized to Mo Nai, but Mo Nai didn’t understand where the apology was coming from.
What happened next was an eye-opener for Mo Nai. He thought it would be very complicated, as Gao Shuang had said, but in reality, Gao Shuang sat him down on the sofa and showed him how to open a few squares—apps—on her phone to book various services.
In just an hour and a half, they did nothing but sit on the sofa and tap the phone twice:
Flowers were delivered. Balloons and streamers were delivered. Lobster and crab were delivered.
The already luxurious villa was newly decorated, looking like a party was about to start.
He stared dumbly at everything. The phone had everything; the phone solved everything. He looked at the delivery person in the yellow jacket and suddenly remembered the past:
“I used to… deliver this too.”
“Food delivery?”
“It wasn’t called food delivery back then; it was called running errands. And it wasn’t for everyone, only customers willing to pay extra or those who bought a lot. All in all, I could earn five hundred yuan a month!”
“Five hundred yuan?” Gao Shuang scoffed. “How old-fashioned is the time you were earning money outside?”
“Five hundred yuan was a lot! That was just for running errands. I had another salary, which added up to eighteen hundred total!” Mo Nai got agitated. “It’s nothing like prison, where you make two hundred yuan a month at most, and you have to use that money for food, clothing, and daily necessities. It’s a miracle to save a hundred yuan a year.”
“I didn’t realize they only give a hundred yuan a year in prison,” Gao Shuang said. “But do you know how much the person who just delivered the food earns?”
Mo Nai didn’t want to ask.
Throughout the day, he had vaguely understood that what he was seeing now wasn’t entirely due to the wealthy and high-profile nature of Gao Shuang beside him, but rather—more importantly—he no longer recognized this society.
Nine years…
He had been inside for nine years…
Never before had he been more aware of the length of nine years. He suddenly felt an uncontrollable trembling in his body, a fear and tremor of helplessness at being abandoned by society.
“… Their salaries are five or six thousand for the lower end, and over ten thousand a month for the higher end. But Didi, you don’t need to worry. This kind of unskilled work will always be eliminated as science and technology advance. It’s only a matter of time. I hear big companies are developing robots.”
He looked at Gao Shuang.
Gao Shuang, however, was looking at the villa’s floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window was a swimming pool, and in the pitch-black night, the pool was a patch of lightless black water.
On Gao Shuang’s fair face, her red lips moved slightly.
“Who isn’t abandoned by this society?”
“However… we probably still need to check out his hometown.”
Despite having analyzed Mo Nai’s movements, Ji Xun deliberately chose to go where Mo Nai would not.
Huo Ranyin wasn’t foolish. He quickly caught up to Ji Xun’s reasoning: “He escaped from prison for a reason, and that reason is time-sensitive yet not so urgent that it couldn’t wait two months for him to prepare and achieve his goal. Visiting his hometown can help us understand his life experience and thereby deduce any pressing desires he might have.”
“Exactly. We need to hear his story. Only with a story can we weave a plot. If I were writing it, it would be either holding onto an old grudge and rushing to get revenge, or being wrongfully imprisoned for ten years and wanting to clear his name—ah, that sounds a bit cliché.”
“…”
“But how do you clear your name of r*pe? It’s hard to imagine. The evidence would be long gone, wouldn’t it? Maybe a witness?”
“Ji Xun, don’t finish the story in your head already.” Huo Ranyin was a bit speechless. He didn’t bother to comment on Ji Xun questioning the competence of past investigating officers. He just stepped on the gas and drove straight to Jiuxia County.
The sky outside the window grew darker, and the cars on the road became scarcer.
Time passed. At seven in the evening, Ji Xun, lying in the passenger seat with the backrest lowered all the way, suddenly let out a deep sigh: “I regret it.”
Ji Xun had said many meaningless things along the way.
If he wasn’t saying he was thirsty, he was saying he was hungry. Then he’d say he was cold, and finally, he’d say he was tired.
If none of the above applied, he was definitely saying he was thirsty, hungry, cold, and tired. To an outsider, one would think they weren’t speeding in a car but trekking long distances in the mountains—a trek, moreover, where they had been separated from the main group for at least three days.
Huo Ranyin wanted to ignore Ji Xun.
But after driving seriously for half a minute, he couldn’t help but glance at the passenger seat.
He regretted it instantly.
Ji Xun, who was supposedly closing his eyes, seemed to have captured his gaze with his skin. The moment Huo Ranyin’s eyes turned, he accurately curved his lips and started talking nonsense again: “Knowing I was coming to search the mountain with you, I should have driven an RV out. Then I could eat and sleep whenever I wanted, right?”
“…”
Huo Ranyin put on his turn signal.
“What are you doing?” Ji Xun’s ears were sharp. “Jiuxia County is straight ahead; no turns needed.”
“Find a county town, eat something hot, and rest for an hour before continuing,” Huo Ranyin said concisely.
“Can I expense it?” Ji Xun only cared about this.
“Yes.” Huo Ranyin didn’t want to say more than one word.
The car was silent for a second. The next second, a heavy snort sounded. Ji Xun still had his eyes closed, hands supporting his head, mimicking Director Zhou’s gravelly, phlegmy smoker’s voice:
“Still eating! Do you think this is a public-funded travel and dining trip? It’s good enough that you can rough it with a sister unit! What? Searching the mountain? The mountain is so big. Where can’t you gnaw on a bun and get some rest? Treating yourself like a delicate young lady who needs a curtain drawn and a lock clicked shut just to eat and sleep?! Young people these days are too soft! Back in my day—”
“…”
Huo Ranyin took a deep breath.
He, who had never suffered from road rage, genuinely felt like he was about to develop a new disorder—
“Alright,” Ji Xun suddenly said. “Pull over at the emergency lane up ahead.”
Huo Ranyin didn’t know what Ji Xun wanted now, but he stopped. Pulling over for a moment to calm down wouldn’t hurt.
Ji Xun unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car, circled around, and tapped on Huo Ranyin’s window.
Huo Ranyin was puzzled, lowered the window, and looked at Ji Xun.
Ji Xun gave a gentlemanly bow: “Police officer brother, you’ve worked hard all day. The rest of the time, just trust me. When you wake up from your rest, I guarantee we’ll be at our destination.”
The two arrived in Jiuxia County at nine that evening. When they entered the county, their car was stopped, and they had to show their IDs and open the trunk.
It was a small county town, much like all the others in the country: small area, underdeveloped economy, not many young people. The local police station primarily dealt with trivial matters like neighborhood disputes year-round. If a major case occurred, it was a huge deal, and people would be discussing it all year long.
Because the Liucheng police had already inquired once, Mo Nai’s aunt familiarly welcomed Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin.
Mo Nai’s family story was somewhat embarrassing, but perhaps because it was quite sensational, his aunt told it vividly and without any annoyance, in a tone of sharing life experience.
Mo Nai’s parents were drug addicts in their early years. In his aunt’s words, her shameful older sister was the one who went astray first and then led her husband into it.
Due to their drug addiction and financial hardship, Mo Nai’s father once took a knife to rob someone when he lacked money for drugs. He accidentally killed the homeowner and was subsequently imprisoned and sentenced to death.
After her husband’s death, Mo Nai’s mother was scared into quitting drugs. She ran a small business for a few years, then found it too laborious—his aunt’s evaluation was that she was naturally lazy and gluttonous—so she started engaging in the sex trade.
“A woman almost sixty years old still doing that kind of thing. It serves her right that something happened,” his aunt repeatedly emphasized this point before continuing to talk about Mo Nai’s mother’s death.
It was another dramatic story: the price was fifty yuan, but the client only wanted to pay forty. During the argument, the client killed her.
At first, only Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin were listening to the story, but Mo Nai’s aunt ran a dinner stall and had a loud voice, opening her mouth as if practicing on a stage. People on half the street could hear her.
Soon, Mo Nai’s aunt’s dinner stall was full of people.
If the elderly people who came hadn’t clearly eaten already, merely occupying seats without ordering, Ji Xun would have thought this was an unconventional method of attracting business.
Although these people didn’t order food, they weren’t just listening quietly. They discussed the story in tones that clearly indicated they were familiar with the content:
“That child, Mo Nai, looked smart and bright when he was little. I never thought a promising childhood would lead to such a poor adulthood.”
“The old saying is right: A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix to a phoenix, and a rat’s son knows how to burrow. I expected Mo Nai to end up this way.”
“It’s Mo Nai’s father who suffered the most. He was a good young man, but because Mo Nai’s mother seduced him into drugs, he lost his shop, ruined his home, and finally, destroyed himself.”
“How did the wife start first, and the husband follow? Isn’t it usually the husband who starts and leads the wife into it?”
“That’s just a stereotype. It’s true that men harm women more after marriage than vice versa, but Mo Nai’s mother was pretty! The moment she threw herself at his father, he became completely infatuated, unable to distinguish between north and south.”
“So I say, there’s a knife above the word ‘lust,’ killing the man first and then the woman. No one can escape it.”
When this sentence was spoken, there was applause from the crowd. Everyone who heard it clapped.
The old man who spoke was quite modest, cupping his hands in salute: “Thank you, thank you, folks. I just read a few more books, nothing special.”
Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin couldn’t escape this noisy, storytelling scene either.
The elderly people around them patted their shoulders: “Handsome young men, do you have girlfriends? No? Then be careful. Don’t let bad women deceive you—”
Bad women, no. Bad men, probably.
They involuntarily glanced at each other, then immediately understood what the other was thinking, and collectively looked away.
The story was over, and it was time for the dinner stall to close.
Mo Nai’s aunt pushed her dinner stall away.
But the tables and chairs were public, so the elderly people remained seated, cracking melon seeds and spitting out the shells. Suddenly, one said:
“Why do you think the sister hates the older sister so much? The way she talked, she wished she could dig up the dead and whip the corpse again.”
“Sigh, what other reason could there be? The older sister must have been beautiful, and the younger one wasn’t. The older sister probably stole her man when they were kids.”
“Anyway, I don’t believe that story.”
“I don’t either. The sister is biased.”
“Fine, let’s go inquire about it ourselves. Let’s go.”
Everyone else left, leaving only Huo Ranyin and Ji Xun.
Ji Xun slowly finished his last wonton and said to Huo Ranyin: “You said I like to weave stories—the real experts are among the common folk. The elderly here don’t just weave stories; they are better at analyzing and have more detective spirit than I do.”
Huo Ranyin: “The probability of Mo Nai escaping from prison to avenge his mother’s murder is very low.”
“More than very low,” Ji Xun corrected. “I think it’s absolutely impossible. Mo Nai went through the trial himself and is familiar with the process. Even if he successfully escaped, I don’t think he would be confident enough to rely solely on a pistol and travel a thousand miles alone to kill a client who has already been detained by the police—though I doubt the local police would appreciate hearing that. There should be no progress in the mountains. This is their last hope. Just judging by the sight of them setting up guards every three steps and sentries every five steps when we came in, you know they are desperate to dig three feet into the ground to find the person.”
“Let’s change the direction of the investigation,” Huo Ranyin said.
Since this path led to a dead end, they should naturally change to a completely new line of thought.
“Of course, of course,” Ji Xun said. He pondered for a moment and posed a question: “What exactly happened with the r*pe charge that Mo Nai was convicted of?”
