episode 23

"I'll ask you one more time, are you sure the person I'm being paired with this time is a skinny, pale-faced guy?"

Wearing a black old man's shirt, army green shorts that cost 9.9 yuan for two pairs from a street stall, slippers, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Liu Ye stared at the figure who had just gotten off the bus and was walking hurriedly in the distance. For the umpteenth time, he asked his boss on the other end of the phone to confirm the target with a look of suspicion.

"I've said it a hundred times! I'm sure! Just follow me, stop with the nonsense!"

"Okay, okay, I got it!"

Liu Ye impatiently hung up the phone, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and then turned his gaze back to the pretty boy not far away.

Liu Ye is a private investigator.

Of course, that's putting it nicely; in reality, the work he did was far removed from the core work of a private investigator.

To be precise, he is currently just an outsourced enforcer within the S City Detective Agency's staff.

Liu Ye was born in a small county town and disliked studying since childhood. His parents dragged him to school, but he only studied sporadically and was frequently sent home by his furious homeroom teacher.

The reasons are naturally varied and each has its own wickedness.

What happened? He got so angry after being refused when he tried to copy the math class representative's homework that he hit her with a chair; he burned the hair of the girl in front of him with a lighter; he filled a bucket with sewage and placed it on the door, causing the over-60-year-old principal to faint from the stench during a routine inspection...

In short, he doesn't do any of the things that people do.

Besides causing harm to the public, it also gave his own parents a lot of headaches.

In desperation, the elderly couple considered dropping their son out of school to find work and support themselves. Just then, they stumbled upon an online article where an expert was indoctrinating parents of teenagers. With what they thought was a grand and emotionally charged piece of music, the expert passionately and earnestly advised parents: For disobedient children, you must use corporal punishment! Don't listen to any psychologists' advice about individualized education; just beat them! Beating is the only way it works!

Deeply inspired, Liu's parents packed him up and sent him to a martial arts school the very next day, even though he hadn't graduated from elementary school yet.

After all, it's no longer effective for them to beat their opponents; they need to let outsiders do it.

Strangely enough, despite Liu Ye's lack of academic talent, he actually went to the right place. He has a real talent for fighting and killing.

He trained diligently at the martial arts school for several years, and because of his excellent skills, he later shaved his head and worked as a performing monk at a nationally renowned temple next to the school for a year.

Of course, though he's called a monk, he has absolutely nothing to do with Buddha; it's purely for performance purposes.

So, in a sense, the expert who gave advice to Liu Ye's parents was doing a good deed by accident.

—At least it eliminates the possibility that Liu Ye would be imprisoned during his youth.

He wasn't very bright, but his excellent martial arts skills earned him a place in a detective agency in S City.

But these kinds of people generally have a problem: they think men shouldn't be too good-looking. As long as a man is fair-skinned, they will automatically categorize him as effeminate.

The so-called "sissy" is a monster who is neither male nor female. In his hometown, they are called "two-chairs." He has disliked this kind of person since he was a child. They are effeminate and disgusting to look at.

Actually, this operation wasn't originally his turn, but the firm's employee, who is known for his high emotional intelligence, high IQ, and pretty good skills, unfortunately twisted his ankle this morning while going down the stairs. Forget about following people, it's questionable whether he'll be able to walk on the ground for the next few months.

Left with no other choice, the boss had to assign the task to Liu Ye, who was objectively the best in terms of skill.

After all, the client had repeatedly emphasized that the target was highly skilled, and they preferred to send someone whose skills were on par with the target.

The boss thought that it was just a matter of a few days, and he wouldn't have to do anything else. Liu Ye couldn't possibly be incapable of even handling such a small matter as reporting his whereabouts.

Liu Ye was quite happy, but when he received the notification with great enthusiasm and rushed to the scene with excitement, he immediately wilted upon seeing the target.

Keep in mind that this client has given the highest quote in the firm's history!

He was very indignant.

I thought he was going to be with some big shot! Turns out he's just a gigolo.

The arrogance and prejudice born from so-called male chauvinism caused Liu Ye to subconsciously overlook He Xun's overly neat walking posture and the extraordinary temperament that emanated from his bones.

In his eyes, He Xun looked like a weakling who couldn't lift a finger. Although he was quite tall, he was too thin.

Is there any need to send him out to follow along?

Liu Ye thought with a hint of disdain.

The people he used to work with were either business tycoons with assets of billions or seasoned business spies like himself.

...Well, if you're going to work for someone, you're going to be under their control. So what? You can't just quit, can you?

After thinking it over, he stubbed out his cigarette and quickened his pace to catch up.

*

He Xun discovered that someone was following him.

To be precise, he noticed it as soon as he got on the bus after leaving the villa.

The other party must have been some idiot sent by some moron; their method of tracking people was incredibly stupid.

Walking so blatantly behind him, did she really think he couldn't see her?! And dressed like an old man taking a stroll, her fashion sense is simply appalling!

Feeling looked down upon and possessing an absolute sense of style as a former entertainment reporter, He Xun was immediately annoyed and decided to teach the other person a small lesson before dumping him.

Ahead lies a crossroads, one leading to another main road, the other to a bustling pedestrian street.

He Xun narrowed his eyes slightly and quickened his pace toward the pedestrian street without making a sound.

Sure enough, as soon as he sped up, the man behind him immediately followed suit.

He Xun took the opportunity to glance at the other person and quickly concluded that this person was a martial arts practitioner who had been practicing for at least ten years.

The method for determining this is also very simple.

People who practice martial arts from a young age are unlikely to be very tall, because high-intensity strength training at an early age puts a lot of pressure on the growth plates, which may greatly affect the longitudinal growth of bones. Moreover, martial arts training consumes a lot of energy, and if the intake of energy such as protein, calcium, and vitamins is insufficient, it will further inhibit growth.

Moreover, there is the risk of sports injuries; overtraining will inevitably lead to growth plate damage.

Although there are scientific ways to avoid it, it is impossible to avoid in reality, especially in martial arts schools that take pride in enduring hardship. Most students leave their hometowns at a young age, and their adults are not around. Most martial arts schools still carry out rough semi-military management. No matter how old you are, once you come, you have to endure hardship and learn skills. Even adults don't take it seriously, so don't expect children to have any awareness of the need to replenish their physical energy. This is why most people who practice martial arts from a young age don't grow very tall.

Another thing He Xun noticed was that the other person's muscle lines were long and well-proportioned—thanks in large part to the fact that the other person was wearing an old man's shirt that exposed his arms. His transverse abdominal muscles were faintly visible under the thin shirt as he walked, which was definitely not the exaggerated muscles that are built up with protein powder in the gym to pursue visual effect.

His gait was steady and light, and his lower body was as stable as a rock. This was the result of years of practicing horse stance and bow stance. Moreover, although the opponent looked lazy, his upright posture could not lie. His shoulders were relaxed and his elbows were dropped. His eyes were also stern, which was instilled by the rigid and abnormal educational environment.

He's definitely a skilled fighter, but he doesn't seem to be very bright.

Having made up his mind, He Xun averted his gaze and easily slipped into the pedestrian street, using the rushing crowd to his side and dart into a clothing store.

The shop is small, and the clothes, which look cheap but are not cheap at all, are arranged by color and cover the walls. Next to the small counter is a white rack, which is full of large plastic sunglasses that cost five yuan a pair or ten yuan three pairs. However, judging from the layer of dust on them, they are probably rarely favored by customers.

The store's decor still bears traces of the millennium, and He Xun suddenly felt as if he had stumbled into some kind of time tunnel.

But now is clearly not the time to appreciate vintage clothing stores.

"Sister, can I borrow your hat and sunglasses for a bit? Here's ten yuan as a deposit, I'll come back for it later."

He Xun quickly pulled out ten yuan from his pocket, which he had saved for taking the bus, and stuffed it into the hand of the proprietress who was slurping up snail rice noodles. He then casually put on a black fisherman's hat and a pair of large black plastic sunglasses. As he spoke, he flashed a sweet smile, and his two little tiger teeth popped out suddenly, like a shy mimosa, as he greeted the proprietress behind the counter.

He Xun was already handsome; his cold expression was already very attractive, and his smile was even more captivating.

The eldest sister, who rarely saw such a beauty, was laughing so hard she was dizzy. She didn't care whether the little vixen was borrowing or pawning the money. She swallowed a mouthful of noodles and waved to He Xun affectionately, saying, "Go on, go on, handsome boy! See you later!"

*

As the sun sets, the golden afterglow of the sunset slowly slides down from the horizon, just beginning to pierce the curtain of night.

Liu Ye stood at the bustling street corner, bewildered and disoriented.

Where are they?

Where is the person he's pursuing?

Where did they go?

Where did that big, pretty boy go?!

How could they disappear in the blink of an eye?!

He clearly saw that the person was walking in this direction!

Losing track of his target, Liu Ye became increasingly agitated and lost his appetite for cigarettes. He angrily threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with his foot.

He took a deep breath, looked around again, his expression no longer showing the contempt and indifference he had shown before. Only after confirming that the target had definitely entered the street did he step into the street entrance with a serious face.

...Since they disappeared in the blink of an eye, it means they must have entered a shop.

Liu Ye grumbled inwardly, but there was no better or more convenient way to find the other party at the moment, so he could only check each shop one by one.

He couldn't very well call his boss now and tell him he'd lost track of a gigolo, could he? That would be too embarrassing!

And... the other party... probably didn't notice him, right?

With a glimmer of hope, Liu Ye was about to enter the nearest shop when he was suddenly blocked by a tall young man.

"Big brother, are you looking for someone?"

The young man, with his hands in his pockets, asked him with a bright, sunny smile.

Although he was wearing large sunglasses that covered half of his face, the young man had a very energetic demeanor and appearance, while the person he was targeting did not give him such a sunny feeling.

Liu Ye lowered his guard, looked the young man up and down, and nodded.

"Should we find a tall, slim young man?"

How did you know?

"Because I saw him just walk past from that side."

The young man pointed in a direction and said enthusiastically, "Look, it's over there. I saw him run there with my own eyes."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ye, who had been hesitant, immediately became anxious.

He ran there? That means the other party discovered his presence? That's terrible!

Liu Ye hurriedly left a thank you and strode off in the direction the young man was pointing.

But the moment he turned around, an inexplicable unease welled up in his heart.

Something just doesn't feel right...

As he walked, he recalled the young man's demeanor and, in doing so, remembered his clothing and appearance.

Dressing up...dressing up...no! Dressing up!

As if struck by lightning, Liu Ye suddenly froze, then whirled around and shouted, "You are—"

But it was too late. A large sack came flying straight at him, aimed at his head!