009: Either You Come Here, or I’ll Come to Your House
It was almost one o’clock when Pei Jinye finally let Wen Yan out of the car.
The moment her feet touched the ground, her legs nearly gave out and she almost collapsed, barely managing to steady herself.
Her mouth was filled with a bitter, pungent taste of tobacco, mixed with faint saliva, clinging to the back of her throat.
Her stomach churned violently. Wen Yan couldn’t hold it in any longer. She rushed to the side of the road, bent over, and retched violently.
This madman… he had insisted she “play a little longer” in the car, lit a cigarette, took a drag, then without a word grabbed her chin, forced the cigarette between her lips, and made her inhale.
She struggled, coughing so hard she thought her lungs would tear apart, but he just sneered and gripped the back of her neck, not letting her pull away, until the acrid smoke was forced deep into her lungs, the thick tobacco smell completely invading every breath she took.
…
Wen Yan vomited in the wind for a long time before she straightened up and dragged her exhausted body back home.
She went into the bathroom, turned on the tap, cupped water in her hands, and rinsed her mouth over and over until the taste of smoke was almost gone. Only then did she take out the phone Pei Jinye had given her and call the professor.
The call was answered quickly. She apologized to the professor, saying she had accidentally gotten an impossible stain on his jacket and couldn’t return it to him. The professor said it was no problem—it was just a piece of clothing, and she shouldn’t blame herself or dwell on it.
After hanging up, Wen Yan felt much better.
Talking to such a refined, gentle professor was truly a pleasant experience.
However, the smile on Wen Yan’s lips froze abruptly before it could last even three seconds—
A text message popped up without warning, just a few short words: Check FB.
The moment Wen Yan logged onto Facebook, she saw the friend request from Pei Jinye. In the request note was his usual tone: Add me.
Wen Yan hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately clicked accept. Just as she was about to put the phone down, a “ding” announced an incoming message.
Pei Jinye: [Why didn’t you say hello to me after adding me?]
Wen Yan sighed. Sometimes she really thought this man was childish. She helplessly typed two characters in reply: [Hello.]
The response came almost instantly.
Pei Jinye: [How perfunctory. Send a voice message saying “Hello, master” for me to hear.]
Wen Yan rolled her eyes at the phone, not wanting to reply anymore. She was about to turn the screen off when the ringtone suddenly sounded and the screen lit up again.
It was a voice call from Pei Jinye. Wen Yan didn’t dare not answer.
“Is there anything else you need?”
There was two seconds of silence on the other end, followed by a light chuckle from the man.
“What? Can’t I call you if there’s nothing?”
“If there’s nothing, I’m hanging up.”
Just as Wen Yan was about to end the call, the man suddenly spoke again: “Tomorrow at 7 PM, come to Beverly Hills, No. 1288… dress nicely. I’ll be waiting for you.”
With that, the call was cut off.
Wen Yan held the phone, stunned for a long moment. The screen dimmed, reflecting her own bewildered, uneasy face.
Beverly Hills? No. 1288? What kind of place was that? Why would he suddenly ask her to go there?
She searched the place online and found it was a luxury villa in an upscale California neighborhood!
Wen Yan’s heart sank. This place looked like it could be his home address.
Although she didn’t understand what exactly he planned to do, she guessed he definitely wasn’t up to anything good. She absolutely could not go.
After deleting all their chat history, she requested half a day off from school and went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner.
The evening went smoothly enough—her brother didn’t run into Pei Jinye when he went to the hospital to see their father, and she didn’t run into Pei Jinye when she went to school the next day either.
After school, Wen Yan quickly returned home and locked the door behind her.
She spent an hour finishing her homework, then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and sat on the sofa watching TV while waiting for her brother to get off work.
The clock on the wall ticked away, and the time slowly approached 6:40.
Only twenty minutes remained until the time Pei Jinye had mentioned yesterday.
Wen Yan gradually grew restless. Cold sweat formed in her clenched palms, and the phone on the coffee table still showed no sign of activity.
She suddenly felt thirsty, so she stood up and went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of warm water. She had just sat back down on the sofa when a piercing ringtone sounded.
Startled, Wen Yan dropped the cup. Shards and warm water splattered across the floor.
She hurriedly answered the call, and the man’s cold, deep voice came through: “Almost time, isn’t it?”
Wen Yan’s heart skipped a beat. Lowering her voice, she pleaded, “I… can I not go?”
“No.” His voice was low and hoarse, yet cold and merciless: “I’ll give you two choices, Wen Yan. Either you come here yourself, or I’ll come to your house to find you.”
Hearing this, Wen Yan’s panic grew. “But my brother is about to get off work and come home! If I suddenly go out, how am I supposed to explain it to him?”
The man let out a cold laugh. “Is it because of this?”
Wen Yan was momentarily stunned, then her voice turned sharp as realization dawned. “Pei Jinye, what are you planning to do?!”
The man didn’t answer and simply hung up the phone.
Startled, Wen Yan quickly threw on her clothes, slipped into her shoes, and rushed out the door. She ran all the way down to the apartment building entrance, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for her brother’s company.
Sitting in the car, Wen Yan watched the streetscape rapidly recede outside the window, her anxiety growing with every passing moment.
About ten minutes later, her brother’s call came in.
“Yanyan, I have to work overtime today and won’t be able to make it home for dinner. Don’t bother saving me any food—the company will provide dinner.”
Hearing this, Wen Yan suspected this was almost certainly Pei Jinye’s doing, but she still asked uneasily, “Brother, what’s going on? Why the sudden overtime?”
Wen Qingyang let out a sigh. “The company suddenly took on an urgent new project. Tight deadline, heavy workload—the higher-ups are requiring our team to work overtime for the next couple of days.”
“I see.” Wen Yan steadied herself internally. “Then don’t push yourself too hard with the overtime, brother. Remember to eat on time.”
“I know, I know. Your big brother is a grown man—I can take care of myself.” Wen Qingyang reminded her, “After you finish dinner, get some rest early. No staying up late playing on your phone or reading, got it?”
“Got it, brother.”
Less than ten seconds after hanging up, Pei Jinye’s call came through.
The man’s voice was languid, tinged with mockery: “You can come over now, can’t you?”
Wen Yan bit her lower lip and replied, “I’ll be there soon.”
“Driver, turn around. Beverly Hills.”