20

"Give me your phone," Zhuang Xiaodie said. Rain pattered against the windshield, the wipers scraping rhythmically. Shen Tu Hai huddled in the back seat, silent. Nian Jinsi glanced over, neither speaking nor moving.

Zhuang Xiaodie held her palm up in front of her and repeated, "Cellphone."

"What do you want my phone for?"

Contrary to expectations, Nian Jinsi was completely uncooperative and wary. Zhuang Xiaodie said, "Didn't you want me to go back with you? Why don't you call Kong Yanchen first and see what's going on with him?" The wipers were still scraping, and the air was filled with the smell of damp mud and blood. The man's small black-covered notebook was tossed under the windshield, and Zhuang Xiaodie had put his ID and phone into a plastic bag. The car lights were on, and their faces seemed covered with a faintly glowing plastic shell.

"Why are you calling?" Nian Jinsi said, "Don't alert them. It's better to go back directly tomorrow."

"Why, you don't dare call with your number?" Zhuang Xiaodie asked. Her clothes were wet and heavy, sticking to her skin, making it difficult to breathe. She was starting to get impatient.

"Why did you bring this crappy notebook back? You're not really going to take care of that kid, are you?"

They had transplanted a few shrubs on the newly filled hole, which were now blown all over the place by the wind and rain. Zhuang Xiaodie suddenly felt cold. Something was wrong, something was really wrong. From the moment they met, Nian Jinsi wanted to go back with her. At that time, she had scars on her body and her expression looked like she was really afraid of Kong Yanchen, so she let her guard down. But the two consecutive blows tonight made the seeds of doubt take root. Zhuang Xiaodie believed that Nian Jinsi would be afraid of Kong Yanchen's violence. After all, he was the person she chose and loved sincerely. Suffering from his violence would be a severe trauma to her body and mind. Zhuang Xiaodie was willing to believe that she fled in fear. And in these two murders tonight, Nian Jinsi was swift, accurate and ruthless, without mercy. If she was forced into a desperate situation... would she really not fight back against Kong Yanchen?

If Nian Jinsi's phone was turned off and she had not contacted Kong Yanchen, why was she so sure that the other party did not follow her?

Why?

After being out for so long, Kong Yanchen really didn't call once, showing no interest in where she had been. Zhuang Xiaodie still remembered her ex-husband, the dumpling shop owner, and only gave up after the owner chased her for several blocks with a kitchen knife. Kong Yanchen had already started beating people, so how could he be so easy to talk to?

"Kong Yanchen called you?" Too many things happened that night and his mind was in a mess. Before he could sort out his thoughts, the words slipped out of his mouth.

"How is that possible!"

Hearing this, Zhuang Xiaodie felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave, and she suddenly looked to her side. Nian Jinsi leaned slightly to the side as if to dodge, but did not turn away completely. Her face was ashen, and her lips were pursed.

"...Why not?" Zhuang Xiaodie asked.

Nian Jinsi said nothing.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" Zhuang Xiaodie's lips trembled slightly. "Right?"

Nian Jinsi remained silent.

"Speak!" Zhuang Xiaodie hit her shoulder hard. Nian Jinsi trembled slightly, but she kept her lips tightly closed.

"It's almost dawn." A voice suddenly sounded from the back seat.

A cell phone was held up from behind, the screen filled with numbers: 3:30. Zhuang Xiaodie's hand, which was about to grab Nian Jinsi's collar, paused slightly.

"Although I don't want to disturb you two from reminiscing about the past, but - what about this car?" Shentu Hai leaned on the backrest, raised his chin slightly, and pointed at the red car in front.

Zhuang Xiaodie and Nian Jinsi looked over and saw that the person was buried, so the car was indeed a problem.

"Find a swamp and push forward?" Shentu Hai was the first to suggest.

"Where does the swamp come from?" said Zhuang Xiaodie.

"The river then?"

"You've watched too many movies." Zhuang Xiaodie continued to refute.

"Okay, then what do you say we should do?" Shentu Hai sat back suddenly and disappeared into the darkness.

Zhuang Xiaodie sat back down and touched the steering wheel. It was damp; after all, she'd been soaked when she got in. This job, though it had come suddenly and seemed only temporary, she actually wanted to keep doing it. Today, no, it was yesterday, as she drove back from work, Old Man Liao had left early. She drove alone, her mind wandering, thinking about how much she'd make per job, how much she'd make tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the next month, the next year, renting a place, going it alone, owning a place of her own.

Then she returned to Shentuhai's home and saw him and Nian Jinsi. Reality loomed over her like an airtight iron box. The night brought one unexpected event after another. When Wei Dahe was defeated, everything might have been salvaged, but he died. Then another person died. While digging a pit, Zhuang Xiaodie happened to look up and saw Nian Jinsi standing by the headlights, waiting for her shift to end. The light hit her, casting her shadow like a giant, pressing down on her. In that moment, she suddenly realized that many years ago, the possibility of a normal life had been lost to her.

Since there is no normal life anymore, since the false peace has been shattered, since old friends have been hiding something from me, since—

Just destroy it more severely.

"Drive back." said Zhuang Xiaodie.

"What if we are discovered?" Shentu Hai asked.

"This man is a wild dog." Nian Jinsi said from the side.

"What?" Shentu Hai didn't seem to understand.

"Wei Dahe, who was closest to him, is dead," Zhuang Xiaodie said. "The rest probably don't care whether he lives or dies. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen to the point of expecting me to have a conscience."

"Why, do you really want to raise that child?"

"I don't have a dime." Zhuang Xiaodie replied. She turned her head and poked Nian Jinsi's chest with her finger several times until Nian Jinsi raised her hand to cover it. Then she continued, "We are not done yet."

Nian Jinsi smiled faintly and said, "What else can you do? Slap me again?"

"You want me to go back with you so much, what good things can be waiting for me?"

"Our good relationship ended eight hundred years ago. Have you forgotten?"

The rain gradually subsided, barely audible on the roof. The wipers stopped, but tiny water droplets still clung to the windshield. Zhuang Xiaodie unconsciously recalled the spider webs covered in raindrops she had seen after a rainstorm. In the rearview mirror, Shen Tu Hai huddled up, his eyes flickering back and forth between the two of them. Zhuang Xiaodie got out and walked toward the red car. Nian Jinsi followed, ran across the front of the car, and grabbed Zhuang Xiaodie.

Zhuang Xiaodie roared: "Kong Yanchen is dead, right!"

"You owe me!" Nian Jinsi leaned close to her face, his voice hissing like a venomous snake, their noses almost touching, like a pair of close friends, but - "You owe me this. Zhuang Xiaodie, remember this!"

"You just want to drag me down with you!" Zhuang Xiaodie pushed her away fiercely.

Nian Jinsi was pushed back two steps, his back straight, his eyes cold and his heart cold, he said only: "You drive the red car ahead, I'll follow behind. If you try to run away, I'll hit you and kill you, and we'll die together - I mean what I say."

In the past, more than ten years ago, Zhuang Xiaodie only thought that she and Nian Jinsi were close friends, and she was very relieved because she had an outlet for her pain.

Who knew that this Wu Jian is also hell.