“Little slave, let me see your deed of sale.”
“Hello, Jiangzhou 110, dispatcher number 08, please go ahead.”
The warm evening breeze, mixed with the sound of cicadas, swept in waves across the youth’s slender and upright frame. Wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, he tightly gripped the latest model of a smartphone. His fair, slender fingers clenched, and the veins on his wrist wound like a frail, winding stream.
“Hello?”
The solemn female voice came through the earpiece once again.
Li Lisu’s inconspicuous Adam’s apple bobbed, and he emitted a strained yet clear voice, “Police officer sister, hello, I, I think I have been human-trafficked.”
“Where are you right now?”
“I do not recognize where this is. I was just on the road.”
Li Lisu clearly remembered stepping out of the post office, eagerly tearing open the brown paper envelope, and pulling out his red, gold-stamped university admission notice. He had stroked the name of his first-choice university, filled with a mixture of longing and bitterness.
He had studied diligently for eighteen years. Both of his parents had passed away, and his grandparents had also died one after another; education was his only way out in life. As a poor youth emerging from the mountains, he had finally not let himself down.
While crossing the street, an elderly woman leaning on a cane was walking very slowly due to her inconvenient legs. Remembering his own grandmother, who had toiled away for half her life, Li Lisu had helped the old woman cross the street. Just as they reached the middle of the crosswalk, a runaway van charged toward them.
When he opened his eyes again, Li Lisu had arrived in this completely unfamiliar place.
“The phone owner is surnamed Li. May I ask if your surname is Li?”
“My surname is Li,” Li Lisu said, “but this is not my phone.”
His own phone was a flip phone he had bought for two hundred yuan. He had spent quite a while figuring out how to navigate this touchscreen, face-recognition smartphone.
“First, describe your surrounding environment,” the police officer said gently.
Li Lisu looked around. Brown pupils reflected an endless expanse of green. A moment later, a magnificent and secluded manor came into view. “I am in front of a black hollow-carved iron gate. There is only one road at the entrance, and it is lined with crabapple trees. There is a white tin mailbox by the gate with the number 98 written on it.”
“98 Crabapple Road? What is your name?”
“Li Lisu.”
“Stay right there and do not move. We are dispatching officers immediately.”
“Okay.” Li Lisu was born in the south, and his Mandarin naturally carried a soft, tender undertone.
Beneath the slowly setting, scorching sun, Li Lisu looked around in bafflement, eyeing the smartphone in his hand. Everything—the unfamiliar environment, the unfamiliar items, and only this set of clothes—was his own.
Suddenly, his palm vibrated, and the phone popped up a WeChat message: “Cousin: Arrived?”
Li Lisu did not click on it. This was not his phone, and he could not reply to messages randomly; calling the police and obediently waiting for them was the right thing to do.
Before the police arrived, a voice rolled over like a sudden clap of thunder: “Li Su! What are you daydreaming out here for? Hurry up and follow me in through the back door!”
The man was around forty, with a buzz cut, a lightning bolt shaved into his temples, a thick gold chain, a black shirt, arm tattoos, and a ruffian-like walk. With dark circles under his eyes, at first glance, he looked fierce and menacing.
Three words instantly popped into Li Lisu’s mind: pimp.
Yet, appearances can be deceiving, so Li Lisu asked first, “Big Brother, who are you?”
“I am your Wei-ge, what is wrong with you?”
“…”
Wei-ge—just the name alone did not sound upright at all.
Li Lisu turned tail and ran.
Da Wei paused for two seconds, then raised his voice again, “Li Su, why are you running? Do not want to work anymore? Stop right there!”
Li Lisu sprinted on the fine stone asphalt road. The summer wind fluttered the hem of his shirt; with one hand he gripped his backpack strap tight, and with the other, he hurriedly shoved his phone into his pants pocket. His heart hammered wildly as he shouted, “Help! A human trafficker is abducting a minor!”
“???”
“Li Su, you stop right there!” Da Wei’s scalp had been baked to a layer of grease by the blazing sun, and his anger flared up. “Do not run!”
The youth’s feet moved as if riding the wind, and within a moment, he had left the middle-aged man far behind.
Da Wei raged helplessly, “What the hell is going on!”
The blazing sun scorched his heels like fire. Li Lisu did not know the direction, so he just ran along the main road until he suddenly felt a cool breeze brush his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glittering expanse of gold. Glancing sideways, it turned out to be a vast, shimmering lake surface.
If viewed from above, the place where he stood was precisely the edge of a small island at the center of a lake. The vegetation was lush, and the houses were orderly, resembling an emerald dropped into a lake, connected to the shore by only a single kilometer-long bridge.
Right upon that bridge, a black Bentley was driving over.
Seeing it from afar, Li Lisu felt as though he had laid eyes on a relative; such a clean car definitely was not an unlicensed cab. He ran to the middle of the road and raised both arms, waving them in an X. The Bentley drove with absolute steadiness, slowing down to a halt right in front of him.
Li Lisu patted the driver’s side window. “Driver, help! Someone is trafficking me!”
The driver was dressed impeccably in a suit, wore gloves, and had an honest appearance around fifty years of age. Hesitantly, he rolled down the window, revealing the youth’s handsome face, which was full of panic.
“Save me! I have already called the police, and they will be here soon. Can you let me get in the car to hide for a bit? Someone is chasing me…”
As he spoke, Da Wei chased after them, out of breath, and slammed on the brakes thirty meters away. He stared with a mixture of shock and suspicion at the immaculate, pristine Bentley, narrowing his soybean-sized eyes as he struggled to make out the license plate.
Jiang J 88188.
“…”
Your father is still your father; such an imposing license plate undoubtedly belonged to the exclusive car of the head of the Du family.
Da Wei shifted his feet and swiftly melted into the roadside lavender bushes, the green shade of a crabapple branch overhead while his pebble-like eyes rolled around. “What the hell is this Li Su up to?”
Outside the car window, the fair and handsome youth looked anxious. The driver glanced into the rearview mirror inside the car.
Li Lisu pointed at Da Wei’s sneaky figure. “There really is someone chasing me. He is a human trafficker!”
The car’s air conditioning was blowing strongly, contrasting sharply with the sweltering heat outside. The driver did not make a move; he had no authority to open the door and let a strange youth into the car to hide from human traffickers.
A few days ago, the Jiangzhou television station had reported a news story about a female college student who went to visit a classmate’s home during the holidays and never returned. When she was finally found, she was already in a remote rural area, and she had even given birth to a child.
The driver could not bear it. “Mr. Du…”
In the back seat, the dark figure remained motionless as a mountain. A moment later, that figure lifted a hand with long, elegant joints, hooked the retro chrome-plated handle, and gave it a gentle pull. The damping-controlled door slowly swung outward.
Li Lisu reacted immediately, moving like a startled rabbit as he grabbed the door and dove into the back seat. “Tha…”
The other “nks” was frozen by a cold, distant gaze.
There was another man in the car.
The seats, door panels, and armrests were all made of skin-friendly British wool fabric with handmade diamond quilting, featuring neat stitching and dominated by dark coffee and creamy white tones. The man wore a dark blue jacquard suit with a dark pattern, a silk satin shirt, and cufflinks made of extremely minimalist dark blue enamel. He wore custom dark brown low-heeled calfskin horsebit loafers, and his wide, slender right hand held a tablet computer, with a silver metal watch strap faintly visible under his sleeve.
Clothes make the man; Li Lisu first noticed the other party’s attire, and immediately afterward, he officially locked eyes with the man.
The superior composure and poise of someone in power contrasted sharply with Li Lisu’s frantic and helpless state.
The car door closed completely, shutting out the cicadas, the breeze, the ripples, and the sweat-soaked chase entirely.
Li Lisu suddenly had the sensation of being targeted by a wild beast. He wanted to flee, yet felt the wolves were waiting outside, his hips hovering uneasily on the aviation-grade seat. “S-Sorry to disturb you.”
Du Jiutang looked at the youth’s flustered, fair face, closed an email, and placed the tablet into the door panel slot. “You really are disturbing me.”
“…”
Like the clashing of jade stones, a voice of heavenly beauty—how could he say such ruthless words?
Li Lisu pretended not to hear. “Mister, someone really is chasing me. Look, look, that is him!”
As the car moved forward, the hiding and dodging Da Wei had nowhere to run. Like a pug, he stood by the side of the road with his back arched, peering at the Bentley’s rear window—of course, he could not see what was going on inside, which made him scratch his ears and cheeks in anxiety.
Du Jiutang did not spare even a sliver of attention for the scenery outside. He only saw the youth’s rose-petal-like lips opening and closing, his white teeth flashing by three parts while his cheeks flushed with seven parts of red, especially those eyes that shone like stars.
At first glance, he looked pure, rustic, and completely devoid of cunning.
“Who sent you?” Du Jiutang curved the corners of his lips. His voice was scholarly and his demeanor refined, but the words he spoke were so harsh.
Too bad he was not a mute.
Li Lisu raised his round eyes, his cheeks puffing and deflecting as he sucked air into his lungs. “Mister, I am not lying to you. I have been trafficked, and the police will be here right away.”
“Trafficked?”
The driver, a middle-aged man who had seen plenty of social news, could not help but sigh mournfully, “A kid his age is the most vulnerable to being trafficked.”
Du Jiutang was noncommittal. “Where are the human traffickers taking you?”
Li Lisu peered outside the car and pointed ahead. “Right there! Some Crabapple Road 98. The traffickers definitely want to sell me off as a little slave!”
Du Jiutang: “Oh, that is my home.”
Li Lisu: “…”
The sky had fallen; he had walked right into the trap and delivered himself straight to the den of thieves.
Du Jiutang held out his hand. “Little slave, let me see your deed of sale.”
Li Lisu hugged his backpack tightly, his teeth chattering as he glared fiercely with his bright, clear eyes at the well-dressed man. “Buying and selling people is illegal.”
“Mm.”
“I will never submit.”
“Your acting skills are alright. Preparing to debut? The pure, innocent flower route suits you quite well.”
“?”
The Bentley stopped in front of the manor’s iron gate, and the guard remotely opened it. Before Li Lisu even had a chance to appreciate the manor’s opulent and abundant courtyard scenery, he was invited out of the car.
The heavy gates slowly closed.
The sound of police sirens drew closer and closer.
Li Lisu watched the Bentley’s expensive rear end drive into the manor’s lush front courtyard. “Is he not making me be a little slave anymore? Even though that mister’s tongue is venomous enough to kill, he is actually a good person.”
“Li Su!” Da Wei ran over, exhausted and half-dead.
Li Lisu was struck by a flash of inspiration. He picked up a small rock from the roadside and threw it in a parabolic arc.
“Ouch—” Wei-ge instantly turned into Wei-less-ge, clutching his crotch as his face turned a mix of blue and white. “Li Su!”
Li Lisu picked up another rock, holding it over his head with both hands. “Do not come any closer.”
Da Wei used one hand to cup his crotch and waved the other, admitting defeat. “I really am scared of you, young master. Let us handle the serious business first. How did you manage to hitch a ride in Du Jiutang’s car and still get kicked out?”
Connecting it to Du Jiutang’s words, “Who sent you?”, Li Lisu suddenly unlocked the key to the puzzle and cursed loudly, “Screw your dad! Not only were you trying to sell me to someone else as a little slave, but a sex slave too?”
“???”
Putting his strength behind it, Li Lisu threw another stone.
Da Wei spun around in place like a top, almost getting hit by an oncoming police car. Seeing the police cruiser scared him out of his wits; he looked with disbelief as Li Lisu lunged forward like he had found a straw to clutch at.
“Police auntie, it is this man! He wants to sell me to someone else as a sex slave!”
Da Wei dropped firmly to his knees, his upper and lower lips trembling. “N-N-No, I did not!”
The youth’s grape-like eyes were brimming with humiliated tears, and his fair, handsome face was flushed with anger, making it very easy for anyone to believe his words.
Da Wei was subdued on the spot, and a statement was taken right there.
Da Wei wailed, “Comrades police, this is all a misunderstanding! I am a law-abiding citizen, how could I do such a wicked thing as human trafficking? At most I just scam people… ah bah, I did not scam anyone. It is true Li Su came with me, but I brought him here to apply for a job, not to be any sex slave!”
“What kind of job is he applying for?”
“The Du family is hiring housekeepers and gardeners. I figured Li Su did not have much of a diploma or technical skill, so learning how to trim lawns from someone is always manageable. If it were not for the fact that we are friends, with the Du family’s high salary, I would want to do it myself.”
“That is the Du family, how could they do illegal things? Even a fool would know Du Jiutang would not buy any sex slaves…” Da Wei looked speechless. “Li Su, what kind of madness are you pulling? You even called the police. My kindness is truly being treated like a donkey’s lung.”
Li Lisu caught a sense of incongruity: “What did you call me?”
“Li Su.”
Li Su, not Lisu.
Originally, Li Lisu had been disgusted by how intimately Da Wei was addressing him. Hearing it now, however, he only felt terrified. How did he become Li Su?
An unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar people, an unfamiliar phone—aside from himself and Jiangzhou, the university location of his dreams, everything else had completely changed.
Li Lisu took a step back, his hot sweat turning into cold sweat. “Did I time travel?”
The police asked him a few more questions, none of which he could answer. Da Wei chimed in, “This child has had low intelligence since he was little. I brought him here to find a job, and he thought I was harming him.”
Li Lisu subconsciously retorted, “In the gaokao, I scored 430 points in science and 415 in humanities.”
Everyone looked at him with sympathetic gazes.
Li Lisu: “…” The total score was 480; was he really that bad?
Just during the brief period of investigation, dusk fell. The evening glow dyed the western mountains, and a cool breeze carried the fragrance of lavender and the moisture of the lake. One luxury car after another drove up. Because the road on the island was narrow and the police car was blocking the way, it quickly formed a magnificent, long queue of vehicles.
A middle-aged man with a lean figure, dressed in a black tailcoat with a bow tie on his lapel and a delicate goatee, strolled out from the grand gate. With an elegant posture, he inquired about the situation.
The police gave a brief explanation.
A moment later, the person in charge was invited out to confront Da Wei.
Da Wei spoke with absolute certainty: “I really did bring Li Su here to apply. This manager can prove it for me.”
The manager broke out in a cold sweat: “I did receive the job applications of these two.”
The housekeeper questioned, “I recall that the recruitment closed two days ago, and the manor no longer needs any new hires.”
“…”
“Did you accept some kind of benefit?” The housekeeper sized Da Wei up; the man looked like a street punk, though the youth standing next to him certainly possessed full marks in looks.
Li Lisu forcibly pulled himself out of the shock of time travel, attempting to sort out the current situation. Regardless of whether he was here to apply for a job or not, this Wei-ge clearly was not a good person. He spoke hesitantly, acting all weird while hiding some secret, and that recruitment manager was also deeply suspicious.
Throwing money to smuggle him inside—it was very likely a power-and-sex transaction.
The youth’s fair face was etched with humiliation, and tears were practically spilling out. Anyone who saw him would feel moved.
Police: “Could we ask Mr. Du to step out for a moment?”
The housekeeper went with a complex expression to summon the master of the house.
Passing through the massive front courtyard with its lawns, fountains, and crabapple trees, an off-white building appeared before them. It featured a sloped roof, arched floor-to-ceiling windows, and a wrap-around second-floor balcony overlooking the entire island and lake.
Inside the foyer, it was bright and clean. The first thing that caught the eye was the marble-carved fireplace, right above which hung a large, multi-layered crystal chandelier that looked like a cascading waterfall.
The housekeeper stepped onto the left staircase, his leather shoes making almost no sound against the thick wool carpet.
After a moment, the housekeeper stopped in front of a pair of off-white solid-wood arched double doors on the second floor, raised his hand, and knocked. “Mr. Du.”
“Come in.”
The housekeeper turned the brass door handle, straightened his back as he walked in, and respectfully placed one hand over his lower abdomen. “Mr. Du, the police would like a word with you.”
Behind a spacious black lacquered sandalwood desk, Du Jiutang was looking at confidential documents on his computer screen, his brows furrowing slightly as he immediately made a call: “Pull up all payment records from the past three months with an amount over five million and an approval process involving fewer than two people, and send them to me immediately.”
Hanging up the phone, Du Jiutang seemed to have finally processed the housekeeper’s words. His phoenix eyes lifted slightly, and he took off the anti-glare gold-rimmed glasses he only wore when looking at the computer, tossing them onto the desk as he rubbed the bridge of his aristocratic nose. “Is the farce outside still not over? Has everyone attending the banquet arrived?”
“The police car is parked at the manor gates; no one dares to come in.”
“What do the police want with me?”
“The police suspect Mr. Du of buying a sex slave.” The housekeeper kept his eyes open while feigning blindness, not daring to look at his master’s expression.
Du Jiutang did not catch it clearly for a moment. “What?”
Housekeeper: “The police suspect Mr. Du bought a sex slave—a beauty of a youth as pretty as a flower.”
Du Jiutang: “…”