Qi Junyang did not understand what his “so that’s how it is” meant. Seeing him toss the small black notebook directly over, Qi Junyang opened it as well, and upon looking inside, he felt a myriad of doubts. The pages were filled with misspelled English words, making it completely impossible to make any sense of them.
“Keep it safe. This is conclusive evidence.” With that, he walked toward the door, pulled out his phone, and his fingers flew across the screen to type a text message containing many words. As he walked out of the apartment, the message was sent. While Qi Junyang glanced over, he deleted the text message history.
“It is already six o’clock. Let’s find a place to eat.”
Qi Junyang could tell that Zhuang Zhuoyi was in a great mood, humming tunes all the way. He walked half a step behind him, and after a long while, suddenly heard him ask out of the blue, “Do you like children?”
“No.”
“But I saw you being quite affectionate with that little darling just now.”
It was merely a staring contest; from which eye did he see him being affectionate? Qi Junyang was speechless and chose silence once again. The person beside him looked at him with great interest. “Junyang, have you ever had a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“What about men? Do you like them?”
This time, Qi Junyang still gave no reply.
That certain fox continued to harass the dull-witted man. “What type do you like? Pretty or handsome? Gentle or sassy?”
“As long as it’s not your type.”
Pffft! Zhuang Zhuoyi burst out laughing, then stopped in his tracks, turned around, and stood in front to block Qi Junyang’s path. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “I guess you have never wanted anyone to accompany you, preferring to be by yourself, viewing anyone else around as either a burden or redundant. From certain angles, we can also be considered birds of a feather.”
Qi Junyang turned his face away, avoiding his gaze. Even though he didn’t want to admit it this way, he still couldn’t control his thoughts and rebutted in the bottom of his heart: I am different from you. I have also had a past…
Treating Qi Junyang’s coldness as a disregard for himself, Zhuang Zhuoyi wasn’t angry at all. He simply liked to tease this wooden block over and over again. Suddenly grabbing his hand, he started running without allowing any refusal. “Hurry up. It is very hard to get a table at that restaurant past six o’clock.”
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, Zhuang Zhuoyi dragged an unwilling Qi Junyang and ran along the street. His dark hair shone brightly in the sunset, forming a sharp contrast against his grayish-white hair.
Quite a few pedestrians along the way cast curious glances at them, but Zhuang Zhuoyi didn’t care at all. Sensing that Qi Junyang intended to pull away, he gripped his hand even tighter, running all the way to the entrance of the barbecue restaurant.
During the meal, Qi Junyang only drank plain water, while Zhuang Zhuoyi drank three or four cans of beer in a row, becoming somewhat tipsy. By a little past nine o’clock, Qi Junyang used Zhuang Zhuoyi’s wallet to pay the bill and supported the swaying man out of the barbecue restaurant.
“Drive, drive home,” Zhuang Zhuoyi mumbled with slurred speech.
“Are you going to wait here, or come with me to walk over and get the car?”
Zhuang Zhuoyi impatiently shook off Qi Junyang’s hand and plopped down onto a flower bed. “I will wait. You go.”
There were still many pedestrians on the summer night street. Qi Junyang walked along the edge of the road, trying his best not to attract the attention of the surrounding people. This was something he was already accustomed to doing—hiding, avoiding, as if he did not belong to this world. Despite his tall stature, handsome appearance, and eye-catching white hair, not a single person paid attention to him along the way.
Amidst the dim night scenery, Zhuang Zhuoyi raised his head to look at the sky. His mind remained entirely occupied by the question of the beach: Why didn’t the killer leave footprints? Where on earth did Wenchen go within those three hours? Was it prepared in advance, or did some sudden change occur?
If the killer had planned to murder Wenchen all along, why choose a beach as the disposal site? Or could it be that Wenchen didn’t die anywhere else, but died right on the beach?
Numerous doubts clouded his mind. He shook his head and rubbed his face, attempting to analyze the situation starting from the hotel room.
Judging by the surveillance footage inside the corridor, no suspicious persons appeared either before or after his brother entered the room. That is to say, there was no problem inside the room; the problem lay with Wenchen.
Then, what did he do? Was it that glass of water containing sugar? Come to think of it, why sugar? Why not table salt or something else?
He imagined himself lying on that bed, lying in Zhuoran’s position. By the side of his head was a bedside table, and on it sat a glass of water.
If this glass of water had been prepared by Zhuoran himself, he certainly would have drunk a portion of it. But when the water was discovered, the glass was completely full, and he hadn’t drunk any of it. In other words, that glass of water was given to him by Wenchen.
Wenchen prepared a glass of water containing sugar for his one-night stand partner? And right before leaving, he removed the only pair of shorts from Zhuoran’s body…
While Zhuang Zhuoyi was analyzing the case, Junyang was already nearing the entrance of the police station.
He looked up at the brightly lit building, and the memories that came rushing back flooded his emotionally placid state like a tidal wave. Negative emotions such as disgust, irritation, and even murderous intent all bubbled to the surface! He took a few deep breaths to calm his strange mood, and couldn’t help wondering if staying too long with that eccentric Zhuang Zhuoyi was causing him to change as well.
Amidst self-mockery, he realized that they had only known each other for a few days.
Just as he started the engine, he received a text message from Zhuang Zhuoyi.
“I am in the back alley of the barbecue restaurant. Come pick me up.”
Inside the dim, narrow alley, Zhuang Zhuoyi leaned sluggishly against the wall, facing two guns pressed against his head, and asked indignantly, “Whose, whose people are you? Guo Sheng?”
The lead man remained silent, jabbing his gun hard against Zhuang Zhuoyi’s head to keep him quiet. Zhuang Zhuoyi felt dizzy as well, so he had to close his eyes and wait for rescue.
At that moment, steady footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley. Zhuang Zhuoyi, situated in the darkness, tightened his brows, harboring a sense of disappointment and loneliness. He heard the person threatening him bark in a low voice, “Stop right there! Take another step forward and I’ll kill him!”
Opening his eyes, he saw Qi Junyang, who was likewise being held at gunpoint, looking at him blankly. He smiled bitterly, shrugged, and shook his head. “We’ve been caught.”
Without allowing them much time for communication, the lead man ordered Qi Junyang, “Hand over the black notebook, quickly!”
Qi Junyang lowered his gaze, a flash of anger and murderous intent flickering in the depths of his eyes. He lowered his head very calmly and made no reaction. The lead man barked again, “Damn it, I’ll kill you both!”
Just as the words fell, a gust of night wind swept into the narrow alley, swirling up dust and debris from the ground. Several of the thugs instinctively squinted their eyes to block the blowing sand and dirt. In just the blink of an eye, a figure seemed to melt into the wind, moving with the wind’s direction weightless, breathless, launching a ghost-like surprise attack!
Before Zhuang Zhuoyi could figure out what was happening, a bewitching crimson red bloomed before his eyes, and beads of blood under the pale blue moonlight slashed across his field of vision, just like that night…
The round moon in the sky shone through the blue window, casting a pale blue moonlight into the room. Bright red blood, a dark blade, a tall figure, and a phantom-like shadow.
Zhuang Zhuoyi felt a splitting headache. He squatted down, cupping his forehead with both hands to wage a long-awaited resistance. Right in front of him, Qi Junyang had already dealt with two thugs with a flick of his hands. A third thug behind them raised his gun to shoot, but Qi Junyang turned around while dragging along another thug who had just passed out cold, grabbing the thug’s hand and thrusting it straight forward!
The man holding the gun frantically pulled the trigger in terror, only realizing after several attempts that the gun in his hand was making “click, click” sounds. He lowered his gaze to look—gasp! His companion’s finger was jammed like an iron bar behind the trigger, and his desperate, frantic pulling had already squeezed and sliced that finger down to raw flesh and white bone.
Crying out in fright, he flung the gun away and stared in absolute horror as the silent man eliminated his companion in the span of just a few minutes, nearly scaring him to the point of fainting. However, his eyes caught sight of the boss raising the muzzle of his gun right behind the man. In the next second, it would be this kid’s funeral!
Qi Junyang knew there was a person and a gun behind him, yet he still did not turn around to defend himself. Instead, he raised his foot and kicked the face of the guy right in front of him squarely! At the same exact time, the lead man had already pulled the trigger. Happening almost in the same second, the person enduring severe pain in the darkness seemed to have gone into a frenzy; staring with wide eyes, he lunged forward, turning the retractable stun baton up to its maximum current. With one hand, he grabbed the lead man’s hair and yanked it backward with force, causing the fired bullet to deviate from its trajectory and fly past the top of Qi Junyang’s head.
Qi Junyang seemed completely oblivious as he turned his head, watching coldly as Zhuang Zhuoyi and the lead man exchanged blows with fists and kicks.
In fact, Zhuang Zhuoyi was not a physical idiot. He simply disliked fighting people; when facing a crisis or losing his calm, he still followed his instincts to launch a fatal attack.
In the eyes of the lead man, he was like a flexible snake that could neither be caught nor grasped. One second he saw him right in front, and the next second he took a stun gun hit directly on his back. Those phoenix eyes, which had been dazed just moments before, emitted a bone-chilling evilness whenever they flashed past his side.
Damn it, this job shouldn’t have been accepted. Just as the lead man was harboring a moment of regret, an electric current struck from behind, his vision went black, and he passed out cold.
All four thugs had been dealt with, but Zhuang Zhuoyi did not seem to have returned to his normal state. He picked up the handgun from the ground and headed straight toward the unconscious thugs. Qi Junyang, who had been watching everything coldly, intercepted him, grabbing his wrist with a moderate amount of force. “Enough is enough.”
These four words were met with an attack from the silver stun baton. Qi Junyang steadily dodged it, grabbed his hand, pulled with force, flung him away, and then smoothly twisted his wrist behind his back, shoving and pressing him firmly against the wall. “Enough is enough!”
A dull pain throbbed in his chest, and his head felt so unbearable it was as if it might explode. Zhuang Zhuoyi wasn’t clear on what he actually wanted to do; he only wanted to vent, only wanted to see blood, only wanted to keep going!
This version of Zhuang Zhuoyi startled Qi Junyang. Seeing the determination in his eyes, which was not the least bit inferior to that of a professional assassin, Qi Junyang couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. Just as he was contemplating whether to knock him out and drag him back, he suddenly heard him say, “Does a killing machine have the qualification to lecture me?”
A killing machine… To Qi Junyang, this title was already considered quite mild. Therefore, he remained completely unfazed and simply clarified his stance: “How many people you want to kill has nothing to do with me, but do not drag me into it.”
“Hmph hmph,” Zhuang Zhuoyi chuckled coldly, his laughter trembling slightly. “You seem to really fear trouble. What a pity, I just love trouble.”
“That is your own business. You need to rein it in during this period. Remember, if something happens to me, you won’t be able to easily get away either.”
Zhuang Zhuoyi seemed to have calmed down. Seeing his listless expression, Qi Junyang assumed it was the alcohol causing this sudden personality change. He loosened his grip on his hand, set him free, and turned to face the mouth of the alley. “We’ll talk back at the place.”
Before the sound of his voice faded, a fierce gust of wind attacked from the back of his head! His body’s self-defense instinctive reflex caused him to swing his hand and grab the electrified thin rod!
His brow ridges tightened, and his complexion turned a fraction paler. Qi Junyang did not fall down, nor did he even blink his eyes. He looked at the angry Zhuang Zhuoyi. “What else do you want?”
Zhuang Zhuoyi’s gaze darkened as he spoke in a low voice, “You know very well!” With that, he stepped back, gathered his momentum, and launched another attack!
Seeing the blue sparks flashing at the tip of the stun baton, Qi Junyang figured that the current this time around would be stronger than the previous blow. His body tensed up, along with his temperament which was usually as still as dead water, and his anger finally burst its banks.
The outcome of a contest with such a disparity in strength was obvious.
Who would have thought that right as Zhuang Zhuoyi rushed in front of him, he suddenly dropped the stun baton and relaxed his tense facial muscles, catching the fully prepared Qi Junyang off guard once again. Immediately afterward, the person who had been raging with anger just moments before collapsed into his arms like a bundle of cotton.
With no other choice, he carried the unconscious Zhuang Zhuoyi back into the car.
On the night road, streetlights swept past the drowsy person inside the car. Without his glasses on his handsome face, his bare face was no longer crafty and deceitful, appearing as peaceful as a child’s. Zhuang Zhuoyi’s gaze withdrew, and he focused on the road ahead.
A brief moment later…
“It has been a long time since this happened. The last time was five years ago,” Zhuang Zhuoyi muttered vaguely with his eyes still closed. “Sorry, sometimes I cannot control myself. Once this bit of energy is burned off, I’ll be fine.”
“None of my business,” Qi Junyang replied coldly.
“What is this? Is it being strong by having no desires?” Zhuang Zhuoyi narrowed his eyes to look at him, then glanced out the window. “Whatever, take me home.”
Had it been the old him, he wouldn’t have asked such a thing, but the words slipped out just like that. Exactly what was at work here, Qi Junyang was not clear either, but since his mind wanted to speak, he spoke.
“Those few people just now, you arranged them, didn’t you?”
The car window reflected Zhuang Zhuoyi’s bitter smile… Turns out, he had known all along.