The "filth" was certainly terrifying, but being alone with Li Yuyuan was even more nerve-wracking.
Fei Chaichai sprinted out of the alley without stopping for breath.
Only when she was once again surrounded by the bustle of the street did she feel a sliver of safety. On a whim, she glanced back.
The small restaurant still stood quietly at the end of the long alley, a single lamp hanging alone.
By the faint light—the only illumination left in the darkness—she could vaguely make out a figure standing outside the shop. His silhouette was sketched in a few spare strokes of moonlight, like a towering mountain. After she had run out of the alley, he stepped down from the steps.
Fei Chaichai was caught off guard. She hadn't expected Li Yuyuan to deliberately wait until now to leave.
Did he really want to see with his own eyes whether she would run into the "filth"?
Besides, he wasn't even going the same way as her.
Then why had he been playing the fragile act earlier?
Ab-so-lute-ly ri-dic-u-lous.
Fei Chaichai's expression shifted. With a sharp clap, she pressed her palms together and prayed devoutly to the streetlamp: Great Aladdin, Lamp Genie, please protect Number 108. Don't let him be like his younger brother—scheming and impossible to get along with.
Like a bone too tough to chew.
It gnawed at Fei Chaichai so much that she had a vivid dream that very night.
In the dream, Number 108 had become a poisoned Snow White, lying on a crystal bed.
She, riding a white horse, had traveled a thousand miles to reach him. She cupped his face in both hands and was just about to kiss him when she heard a faint voice: "Even a dead man's tofu you'd eat?"
There wasn't a trace of mockery in the words.
But when a sentence meant to carry contempt is delivered so lightly, it becomes an insult in itself.
She immediately pulled back her lips, which had been puckered a full two miles forward, and looked closely.
The man beneath her had woken up at some point.
The face was still the same face, but his pupils were pitch-black. The moment he fixed his gaze on her, the withered tree at the side of his neck seemed to come alive, its thread-thin branches suddenly piercing into her fingertips.
Fei Chaichai was jolted awake by the "pain."
Those dark eyes that made one feel as if falling into an abyss dissipated like a bubble.
She let out a long sigh of relief, patting her chest in gratitude that it had only been a nightmare.
But wait—Li Yuyuan had ruined her chances of getting his contact information, and now he was even ruining her dream of kissing Number 108?
How infuriating!
Fei Chaichai punched her pillow. She had no mood to sleep anymore. Getting up, she washed up, then clattered down the stairs and headed straight for the kitchen.
It was nearing noon, and the air was thick with the aroma of cooking.
She poked her head out the window and called to the auntie in the yard: "Aunt Jiang, I'm heading out! Don't wait for me for lunch! If my uncle asks this afternoon, just tell him I went to do community service!"
Aunt Jiang was picking fresh vegetables. Hearing the shout, she turned to look.
The figure by the window was already gone.
Fei Chaichai grabbed a slice of toast between her teeth, scooped up the piglet that was noisily munching away, hopped onto her beloved electric scooter, and sped off to Chongchong Pet Hospital to try her luck.
On the thirty-fifth day since meeting Number 108, her desire to see him had reached its peak.
And all of it was thanks to Li Yuyuan.
Saturday, sunlight bathed the earth.
As she passed through the tutoring district, she hit the peak dismissal rush.
Wave after wave of students poured out of the buildings, making the already narrow one-way street even more congested.
Fei Chaichai escaped unscathed, humming a little tune against the gentle breeze, weaving through the traffic and crowds like a nimble little fish.
In her leisurely state, a cry of "Stop, thief!" suddenly pierced the air.
She slammed on the brakes, quickly scanned the crowd, and with sharp eyes caught a suspicious figure. She twisted the throttle and gave chase.
Seeing the situation turn against him, the thief abandoned the wallet, hurling it straight at her face.
Fei Chaichai: "…"
Forced to stop, she fumbled to catch the wallet and was about to resume the chase when she realized it looked familiar.
Wasn't this the one she'd delivered to the Peiguang security booth last night?
Fei Chaichai turned around to confirm the wallet's owner.
But all he left her was a fleeing silhouette.
Number 71 had, for the second time, abandoned his "wallet" to protect his "virtue."
Yet he hadn't gotten far when an electric scooter slowly drifted into his peripheral vision from behind.
The rider sat leisurely on the scooter, her voice brimming with sunshine, asking him with utter seriousness: "Little junior, are you having some bad luck lately? First extortion, now theft."
Number 71: "…"
She'd also left out "harassment."
He didn't respond, but the voice kept checking on him: "Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry? Want me to give you a ride?"
Number 71: "?"
Was she really clueless, or just playing dumb?
He remained silent, quietly picking up his pace.
But two legs could hardly outrun two wheels.
Before he'd even finished one street, he was exhausted, collapsing onto a bench by the roadside, gasping for breath: "I… I can't run anymore… do… do what you want with me…"
"Why would I do anything to you?" Fei Chaichai looked at him oddly, setting his wallet down on the bench. "Don't lose it again."
With that, she turned around and sped off toward Chongchong Pet Hospital.
Number 71 watched her go and let out a "Hey—"
Fei Chaichai heard it and stopped again. "What, did you lose something else?"
"…No." No. 71 looked embarrassed, hemming and hawing before finally asking, "Why aren't you… you know… doing that thing to me today?"
"What thing?"
"I mean…" 71 reenacted her hand motion from yesterday.
Fei Chaichai caught on: "Oh, you mean me eating your tofu—"
Pfft, pfft, pfft.
How had she let Li Yuyuan influence her?
She slapped her own mouth and switched to a proper phrasing: "You mean me touching you. Eh, you can't force these things. I'll wait until you're willing."
71 froze.
Yesterday she'd been so persistent, so why was she being so reasonable today?
Could he have actually misjudged her?
For a moment, he wavered, caught in an internal tug-of-war. Finally, he squeezed his eyes shut and threw caution to the wind: "Fine, if you want to touch, go ahead!"
"?"
Why was he suddenly tempting her?
Fei Chaichai refused with an air of righteousness: "I'm not the type to take advantage of someone!"
71: "Really not touching? Then I'll—"
"Touch, touch, touch. Touching right now."
There was no reason to pass up an opportunity handed to you on a silver platter.
Fei Chaichai planted her feet on the ground, paddling her way—scooter and all—back to 71's side. She took a deep breath, then grabbed his hand.
Their warped reflection rippled across the cars jammed bumper-to-bumper along the street.
Horns blared from all directions.
Among them, one Cayenne remained the most composed.
The driver hadn't honked once. Seizing the downtime to fiddle with his new car, he remarked loudly: "Li Yuyuan, you switch cars so often—are you just trying to get me to willingly play chauffeur for you?"
His question sank like a stone.
Qin Ling glanced to the side.
In the passenger seat, the man who'd had his eyes closed had opened them at some point. His head rested lazily against the interior panel, his gaze drifting idly out the window, as if he'd spotted something interesting.
Qin Ling's curiosity was piqued, and he craned his neck to look too.
The street was bustling with people.
Through the shifting crowd, he caught a flash of pink and recognized it instantly: "Oh, isn't that the girl from last night? Didn't think she'd actually have a pet pig… What's she doing holding hands with that guy? Doesn't look like they're dating either."
Indeed, it didn't.
Other couples held hands all sweet and lovey-dovey, but she held hands with the solemn intensity of a doctor taking a pulse, as if exploring the mysteries of the human body.
Li Yuyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of amusement breaking through his usually expressionless eyes. In a lazy drawl, he answered Qin Ling's confusion: "She's eating his tofu."
"Eating tofu?"
At first, Qin Ling didn't get it.
Then he remembered the tofu incident from last night, and it hit him like a bolt of enlightenment. His attention snapped to the man beside him, and he said sharply: "Li Yuyuan, something's off about you."
Forget the fact that he'd blocked the door for the girl and invited her to sit at their table. Forget that he'd let her use him to fish for information without batting an eye, even letting her put on her little performance.
But now he even knew about her niche hobby of "eating tofu"?
Aside from his dog, Qin Ling had never seen Li Yuyuan show this much interest in any living creature. He voiced his reasonable suspicion: "Come clean—is this girl your long-lost half-sister or something?!"
The words hung in the air.
Three seconds later, Li Yuyuan turned his head.
The midday sun blazed, a beam sliced by the right rearview mirror folding into the car and landing on his brow, cold disdain seeping out.
Qin Ling: "What's with that look like I'm an idiot?"
Li Yuyuan: "It's the look for an idiot."
"…………?"
Qin Ling laughed despite being insulted.
What was even funnier was that he couldn't argue back.
Fortunately, the traffic jam finally began to ease.
Qin Ling floored the gas pedal, retaliating through action: "Still want to watch her eat tofu? Dream on!"
Li Yuyuan didn't bother with an idiot.
When the girl shrank to a black dot in the rearview mirror, he closed his eyes again.
Fei Chaichai also let go of 71, did a little ritual on the spot, then rolled up her sleeve with the resolve of someone facing death.
In the sunlight, a scattering of fresh red welts dotted her fair arm. Not many, but they still pricked at her eyes like needles.
Sure enough, she was allergic after all.
Fei Chaichai resignedly sighed and, based on the severity, popped a pill with practiced ease.
71: "Are you… okay?"
Fei Chaichai shook her head, gazing into the distance with a grave expression: "Junior, remember to exercise more from now on. This is as far as I can go with you."
With that, she hopped on her electric scooter and, without a trace of reluctance, sped straight toward the Chongchong Pet Hospital.
During lunch break, only a front-desk guy was in the lobby.
From afar, he spotted a familiar pink helmet.
This was already the third time this month.
But Fei Chaichai had no memory of it. She ran through the front yard and, just like the previous two times, asked: "Excuse me, is—"
"Our director is still abroad and hasn't returned."
"Then is he—"
"His relationship status isn't something I'm at liberty to share either."
"I—"
"The personal contact info you're after, I definitely can't give you that."
"…"
How was every single one of her questions being preemptively answered?
Fei Chaichai refused to believe it and decided to try another round: "Ouch, what I meant to ask was, does your director have a brother who looks absolutely terrifying?"
"Huh?"
This new question caught him off guard. The front desk guy got pulled into the trap and thought seriously for a moment: "I don't think so."
"No?!"
Could Zhou Yi have lied to her last night?
That didn't make sense either.
Li Yuyuan's face, identical to Room 108's, couldn't lie.
Fei Chaichai hadn't expected that a casual question would hit a major artery. She immediately moved the piglet aside, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in: "What about a brother who looks decent on the surface?"
"I don't think so either." The front desk guy was starting to doubt himself. "He only has a brother who looks like a spring breeze and is so handsome it's a crime against humanity."
"Is that so!" Fei Chaichai's eyes lit up instantly.
That description was a world apart from Li Yuyuan, but it clearly fit the portrait of Room 108's brother much better.
She quickly pressed on: "Do you know where this brother is? I urgently need him to come with me to expose some despicable scoundrel's true face!"
The front desk guy: "He's behind you."
"Th-That's such a coincidence?"
Heaven was truly on her side!
Fei Chaichai couldn't wait to turn around, but the next second she turned back, her smile gone, frantically signaling the front desk guy with her eyes.
The front desk guy: "Is your eye bothering you?"
"…"
Fei Chaichai wanted to hint more obviously.
But her breath was seized the next second by a scent that wasn't quite familiar.
It was faint, and cold, like the wind that had blown through the alley last night, freezing her entire body.
In the only corner of her vision that remained free, the first thing that barged in was a forearm, tendons faintly visible, tattoos crisscrossing.
The front desk guy didn't notice Fei Chaichai's panic and greeted the man who walked in with familiarity: "Bro, what brings you here today? Perfect timing—there's a young lady here looking for you."
The money tree on the marble counter was being nudged precariously toward the edge by the piglet.
Li Yuyuan reached out to steady it. Hearing this, he didn't even look at the young lady who dared to say it but not own it. His voice was lazy, light, and unhurried: "Came to expose some despicable scoundrel's true face."
Fei Chaichai: "…"