Chapter Three

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Just as Jin Kui couldn’t help but curse the Liu family members as fools over the phone to Lao Wu on the other end, he knew that Xie Zhailing would definitely hit him. With precise timing, Xie caught the water bottle Jin Kui threw at him. The motion was too forceful, almost smashing the various metal chains Jin Kui wore for show against his face. Flustered, he hurriedly pulled off the chains and looked up to see a woman who had just stepped out of the funeral home entrance holding up her phone toward them.

Jin Kui squinted, “Is that woman secretly filming us?”

Xie Zhailing glanced over and asked, “Why would she film us?”

From that angle, they couldn’t see their faces clearly; even if she could, the distance was probably too far for a clear shot. Besides, there was no reason for her to film them specifically.

Jin Kui seemed to realize that as well and stared at the woman for a while before muttering, “Who knows? The Liu family people are all weird and not too bright.”

“But she’s not from the Liu family, right? I haven’t seen her before.”

“Definitely not.” Jin Kui was used to talking to himself and continued, “When you passed out just now, no one helped us except her. She asked if we needed an ambulance and even gave me half a pack of wet wipes.”

“She’s not bad, huh.” Jin Kui scratched his head, looking at the woman and chuckling to himself. “And she’s pretty good-looking.”

Xie Zhailing was accustomed to Jin Kui’s chatter; most of the time, he didn’t listen, letting Jin Kui talk to himself. As long as he waited to the end to catch the conclusion, that was enough.

But today’s conclusion was that she was quite attractive.

So Xie Zhailing instinctively turned to look again. The woman was holding her phone and matching the license plate of a white Volkswagen before getting into the car.

He didn’t have a strong concept of whether someone was good-looking, but since they had almost collided earlier, he remembered her face well—comfortable features, not aggressive, very quiet.

And, like him, she was dressed entirely in black.

She was probably the one, aside from him, who looked the most like someone attending a funeral at Liu Lingxu’s memorial.

He recalled that Liu Lingxu’s biological mother wore black clothes with subtle red floral patterns inside the funeral hall.

Leaning against the tree, Xie Zhailing watched as the white Volkswagen the woman sat in drove down the road in front of them. He instinctively took another look at the license plate, which was quite orderly, and memorized it.

He still had a fever and felt dizzy and uncomfortable. A funeral home was not the place for his mental state, but some things had to be done; otherwise, one could never rest in peace.

Seeing him still leaning there, Jin Kui didn’t rush him and started a game, cursing within a minute.

Xie Zhailing drank half a bottle of water, stood up straight, and as he passed Jin Kui, took out the medical tape he’d been carrying in his pocket and re-taped Jin Kui’s injured mouth.

“Let’s go,” he said, opening the passenger door.

Jin Kui jumped up and slid into the driver’s seat, not tearing off the tape immediately. After starting the car, he cheerfully peeled off the tape and shouted toward the end of the road, “Finally leaving!”

Xie Zhailing smiled but said nothing.

For Jin Kui, being away from the Liu family was a cause for joy.

For him, however, the thing he feared most in that tangled mess was leaving.

***

Because he was in a good mood, Jin Kui’s mouth didn’t stop all the way, from the studio’s recent orders to the exhibitions planned for the end of the year, then to the conditions of several cooperative clay mines.

“Sigh, I feel like we’ve really started to build something these past few years,” Jin Kui said, getting happier as he talked, his voice growing louder. “A few years ago, we were practically begging; I still often dream that someone’s hacking at our studio door with an axe, and outside are all the people coming to collect payments and debts.”

“Well, didn’t you chop back with the axe?” Xie Zhailing chimed in with a smile.

“When I was younger, I thought living by your wits was what made a man,” Jin Kui lamented, his green dreadlocks bobbing. “Now I think it’s money. Without money, you can’t even be a person.”

Xie Zhailing pointed at his dreadlocks. “Don’t say such normal things with that hairstyle—you sound like a possessed ghost.”

“It’s for the art!” Jin Kui shouted. “There are only two of us at the studio who can talk sense, but you always dress like a shady businessman. Among us, someone has to look like an artist.”

“Mm.” Xie Zhailing nodded. “The one who looks like a shady businessman handles ceramics, and the one who looks like an artist does the accounts.”

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Jin Kui paused, then laughed. “You really have a way with words. Next time, don’t tape my mouth shut. You’ve got a mouth more troublemaking than mine.”

Xie Zhailing grabbed a bottle of water and drank half of it.

“Still got a fever?” Jin Kui glanced at him. “Can you even fly with a fever?”

“How fresh is that? I’m just taking a plane, not flying it myself. So what if I’ve got a fever?” Xie Zhailing looked out the window, frowned, and looked again.

“What’s wrong?” Jin Kui quickly looked too.

Nothing special.

They had just left the provincial road, about to enter the highway. Traffic was light and looked normal.

“Stop beside that white Volkswagen with the plate ending in 81 up ahead,” Xie Zhailing said, pointing outside.

By the highway entrance, a white new-energy Volkswagen was parked. The driver stood outside, hands on hips, looking somewhat frustrated.

“Broken down?” Jin Kui didn’t understand. Xie Zhailing wasn’t the type to stop and help just because someone broke down.

Still, he quickly turned on the signal and parked in front of the white car.

The driver didn’t look their way. His face was grim as he cursed toward the rear window of his car. They could hear the swearing clearly when the car door opened.

It sounded like a dispute over a ride-hailing order; Jin Kui guessed the passenger had kicked the driver out and locked him out of the car.

The driver pulled on the doors several times, making threats and cursing loudly, looking ready to fight.

Xie Zhailing got out and walked over to the driver.

The driver was momentarily stunned by the newcomer.

Suddenly, the rear window, which had been tightly shut, rolled down, revealing half a face inside.

Jin Kui, still confused, stared at that face and finally said, “Aren’t you the one…”

The one who gave me wet wipes to wipe my face!

The half-exposed face inside looked shocked for a moment, then quickly smiled and said to Jin Kui, “What a coincidence, you’re here too.”

Jin Kui was slow to respond and didn’t catch her words.

Xie Zhailing bent down and asked, “What’s going on?”

His tone was familiar.

Jin Kui’s eyes widened in surprise.

***

Tu Qin felt Liu Lingxu would be displeased that she had seemingly taken a photo of his enemy outside the funeral home.

Karma came quickly.

The ride-hailing driver complained nonstop from the start. She temporarily shut him up with the excuse of live streaming, but he then started looking for trouble.

Of course, he didn’t dare pick on Tu Qin directly.

He slammed on the brakes frequently, cursed at the cars ahead, cursed female drivers, and ranted about the road conditions.

Tu Qin wore headphones and could only catch the gist, closing her eyes to rest.

Seeing Tu Qin’s lack of reaction, the driver fiddled with his two phones on the console, switching between screens, sending voice messages on WeChat, and scrolling through short videos.

Tu Qin had already decided to complain after the ride, giving the driver no eye contact.

The driver probably got carried away chatting. Whenever the light turned red, he’d fiddle with his phone, even checking notifications while driving.

He ran a red light at a three-way intersection.

During the sudden braking, Tu Qin’s shoulder was hurt by the rear seatbelt.

“Driver,” Tu Qin was angry, but her calm and clear tone made the anger seem even more chilling, “Please just stop here. It’s not far, and there’s no need for you to drive empty.”

The driver was angrier. He pointed at the red light and shouted at Tu Qin, “Why are you getting out? You made me run a red light, and now you want to get off?”

Tu Qin’s voice was even calmer. “I’m not driving, I didn’t press the accelerator, and I didn’t send any messages. How did I make you run a red light?”

If she had used the excuse of filming or live streaming, it would have made the driver angrier, so she stayed silent.

Unable to retort, the driver glared and drove on in silence.

Seeing the car approach the highway entrance, Tu Qin worried it would be too dangerous. After thinking it over, she spoke again, “Driver, can you let me get out?”

“First pay me the two hundred yuan fine for running the red light,” the driver said grimly.

Tu Qin replied, “There’s a place to park before the highway entrance. You should stop first. If you want the money, you have to stop and scan the code to transfer. I can’t just scan the QR code on the driver’s side; it’s regulated by the platform, right? Not appropriate.”

The driver glanced at Tu Qin through the rearview mirror.

Tu Qin showed no expression.

He glanced again at the highway toll entrance. It was the weekend, and the ETC lane was backed up.

He turned on the signal and stopped in the buffer zone near the highway entrance, pulled out his phone, opened a private payment QR code, and looked at Tu Qin.

Tu Qin cooperated, took out her phone, scanned, and transferred the money.

The driver’s face softened but he still locked the doors, not letting Tu Qin out.

He remained silent.

Tu Qin guessed he was afraid of her complaining.

This was a greedy but not very bold driver. At this point, he didn’t know what else to do and just wanted to stall, thinking a single young woman from out of town would give in since the money was transferred.

But Tu Qin’s anger had reached its peak; she had no intention of backing down.

She swiftly leaned forward and, catching the driver off guard as he briefly relaxed when the money arrived, grabbed one of the several phones beside the driver’s seat, opened the window, and threw the phone out.

The move was so fast the driver didn’t react immediately and cursed. His first instinct was to open the door to retrieve the phone.

The car was already unlocked, but Tu Qin didn’t get out. Instead, while the driver was outside, she closed the door and pressed the child lock, trapping him outside.

The action was seamless.

The window was left slightly open. Tu Qin curled up in the back seat and dialed 110.

As she called, she thought how strange it was that her phone seemed destined to make a call starting with 11 today.

Then she saw the enemy of the Liu family and the green-dreadlocked young man walking over.

She clearly saw the face of the Liu family’s enemy. He smiled, bent slightly, and looked at her inside the car window, asking naturally and familiarly, “What’s wrong?”

His face was flushed with illness, sweat glistening at his temples.

Radiant.

Liu Lingxu, Tu Qin thought to herself, this really isn’t my fault.

Your enemy is just too handsome.