The gazes of several men fell squarely on Pu Yu, carrying scrutiny and suspicion.
For debt collectors like them, nothing was more taboo than getting involved with official authorities.
The burly man who had opened the door furrowed his brow, his tone noticeably softening:
“Officer Li? Which Officer Li?”
“What does he want?”
Pu Yu felt cold sweat trickling down her back but dared not show any sign of it on her face. She only vaguely urged, “I don’t know either. He said if you don’t go now, he’ll proceed according to procedure.”
She didn’t even dare to look at the young man in the courtyard.
After saying this, she deliberately shifted her gaze away, pretending she was merely there to deliver a routine message.
The men exchanged glances, as if trying to judge the truth of her words.
Their main purpose today was to exert pressure and intimidate. If they pushed things too far and ended up at the police station, not only would they fail to get the money, but they’d also be in serious trouble.
“Damn it, what a buzzkill!” the scar-faced leader cursed under his breath, glaring fiercely at Yuan Su. “You got lucky today! But this isn’t over! Not a single cent less, let’s go!”
With a resentful wave, he led his men, grumbling and cursing, toward the door.
Pu Yu immediately stepped aside, lowering her eyes to avoid meeting their gazes.
The group left with an air of hostility, their footsteps gradually fading away.
In the dilapidated house, only Pu Yu and the young man remained, standing silently amid the chaos. His pitch-black eyes, still wary, now held a complex scrutiny.
The air was thick with awkwardness, helplessness, and lingering tension.
Pu Yu stood frozen, caught between staying and leaving.
Soon, the door was pulled fully open, and the young man stepped out.
He was taller than she had imagined, and as he approached, he brought with him a cool, oppressive presence.
The close distance allowed her to clearly see the faint shadows cast by his lowered eyelashes on his pale skin and his tightly pressed thin lips.
Yuan Su looked down at her, his gaze slowly sweeping over her slightly flushed cheeks from nervousness before finally settling on the worn-out umbrella and suitcase beside her.
“Which Officer Li?”
He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse from prolonged silence.
Devoid of emotion, it felt like the cold raindrops, silently seeping into her bones.
Pu Yu’s heart skipped a beat, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the envelope.
“I…” She opened her mouth but couldn’t form a complete syllable.
Yuan Su didn’t seem to need her answer anyway, his eyes falling on the note she was clutching tightly in her hand.
“Who are you looking for?” he asked again.
Following his gaze, Pu Yu hurriedly hid the letter behind her back, as if concealing an embarrassing secret.
She looked up, meeting his deep eyes, which held no kindness, no malice, only a desolate calm.
“I… I might have come to the wrong place.”
Her voice was faint, almost swallowed by the pattering rain.
Yuan Su said nothing, merely glanced at her once more.
Then, without another word, he turned around and, with a loud “clang,” shut the mottled wooden door.
Pu Yu stood there in a daze, staring at the tightly closed door as if the heart-stopping events of moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.
Was it… an illusion?
Just then, a raindrop gathered under the eaves dripped into the hollow of her neck.
The icy sensation made the girl shudder violently.
Flustered, Pu Yu unfolded the letter again, her trembling fingers checking the address word by word.
【At the southern end of Baiting Town, at the dead end of the small alley called ‘Wind Chime Lane’…】
【The household with a persimmon tree】
A persimmon tree?
Where?
Pu Yu read it three times before turning to look at the courtyard wall across the way.
A persimmon tree stretched its branches over the wall, its boughs dotted with half-green, half-yellow fruit, glowing with a quietly ripening warmth in the September rain.
She had staked her future on this, yet she had knocked on the wrong door from the very start.
The wheels of her suitcase rumbled over the damp, slippery bluestone pavement.
Taking a deep breath, Pu Yu dragged her luggage and stopped in front of the correct door.
This time, she didn’t dare knock recklessly. Instead, she tried to make her voice sound clear and well-behaved, tinged with cautious hesitation:
“Grandma? Is… Grandma Li Suhua here?”
She paused, remembering that her mother had occasionally mentioned her childhood nickname in letters, and added, “I’m Xiaoyu, Pu Yu.”
Silence greeted her from inside, broken only by the steady patter of the rain.
She waited and waited, and the small flame of hope that had just ignited in her heart seemed to flicker and weaken.
Summoning her courage, Pu Yu raised her voice slightly and knocked on the door: “Grandma? It’s Xiaoyu…”
Still, there was no response.
Fear and despair slowly rose like a tide, coldly enveloping her.
Did Grandma not want to acknowledge her, a burden? Was even this last path about to be cut off?
Standing in the rain, she stared at the tightly shut door before her, then glanced back at the empty, deserted mouth of the alley. A desolate sense of having nowhere to belong in this vast world threatened to swallow her whole.
Just as she bit her lip, tears about to blur her vision along with the rain—
A creaking sound came from behind her.
The door that had just been decisively shut opened once again.
Yuan Su walked out.
He didn’t carry an umbrella, simply stepping into the curtain of rain. His soaked shirt clung more closely to his lean frame, outlining his slender bone structure. Raindrops slid from his slightly disheveled black hair, tracing paths down his pale cheeks and jawline.
In a few strides, he reached her side, without any unnecessary words or gestures.
He simply raised his hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He knocked forcefully and decisively!
The sound was heavy and loud, echoing through the quiet, rainy alley, startling Pu Yu.
This didn’t seem like knocking on a door; it felt more like he was about to force their way in.
Immediately, a slightly hoarse, questioning voice of an elder came from inside:
“Who is it?”
Only then did Yuan Su turn his head, his cool gaze falling on Pu Yu, who stood frozen beside him. His voice was flat, devoid of inflection, merely stating:
“Her hearing isn’t good. You have to knock hard.”
He paused, as if explaining or just mentioning casually:
“Just now, she didn’t hear you knock.”
In that moment, Pu Yu felt like a little plant utterly wilted by the storm.
Hearing this explanation, she was infused with a sliver of vitality, shaking the water droplets from her leaves and slowly straightening up again.