Night Plot

That night, a fierce wind howled across the city, swirling fallen leaves into eddies that swept through the streets and alleys, crashing into the roadside vegetation and startling the sleeping stray cats. In the darkness, a lithe figure cut through the night, running aimlessly through the swirling leaves.

As the night owls disappeared, broken branches pounded against the doors and windows, making a "thump-thump" sound.

Gu Nan held her breath, glanced around, and knocked on the rusty iron door.

Soon, the iron gate opened a crack from the inside, and a tall woman with indifferent eyes silently gestured for her to enter.

The room was dark, and the curtains were tightly closed, letting in no moonlight.

Gu Nan took a while to adjust to the darkness of the room before looking at the woman sitting across from him at the coffee table and breaking the silence: "Did you know I would come?"

"You recognized me in Houhai." Similarly, she recognized Gu Nan the moment they crossed paths. She turned on her phone, the faint light reflecting off her face. As the light dimmed, Meng Qing turned the phone around to show Gu Nan, "Your person?"

In the photo, Jin Yan is hiding furtively at the corner of the stairwell.

waste.

They were being spyed on and had their photos taken, but they were completely oblivious.

"No wonder he was able to pinpoint your location in just half a month."

This isn't just water, it's the four oceans.

Meng Qing put her phone away and said calmly, "Lu Yushi's men were following him too closely, and I didn't find an opportunity to reveal my whereabouts to him."

Gu Nan pursed her lips and cursed again, calling him a good-for-nothing.

"Shall we chat?"

"You are Lu Yushi's girlfriend."

“Then I won’t be here today, and you won’t either…” Gu Nan glanced at the closed door and said with amusement, “Leave the door open for me.”

Meng Qing was silent for a moment: "Have you dealt with your enemies?"

Gu Nan shrugged and shook her head, then asked, "What about you?"

After receiving the same answer, the room fell silent again.

They were not enemies, much less friends. The few words they exchanged when they parted years ago were not enough to sustain a familiar relationship when they met again.

The folds of the curtains completely blocked the howling night wind, and as the phone screen went dark, the room fell into an almost desperate silence.

Both of them kept their heads down, carefully considering everything from their breathing to their heartbeats.

Gu Nan spoke first, half-testing: "Back then you said your enemy was in Beicheng, so why did you come to Xuncheng to settle down?"

The words fell into the darkness, like falling into a bottomless abyss, crashing down without making a sound.

After waiting for a long time, Meng Qing finally answered, but her reply was irrelevant: "I still don't know your name."

"Gu Nan."

Upon hearing this, Meng chuckled lightly, her porcelain-white eyelids curving upwards in a smile devoid of genuine pleasure. "Real name?"

Gu Nan laughed as well: "What difference does it make whether someone is real or fake, for people like us?"

Having narrowly escaped death in Ulm, he returned home and remained unconscious for two whole months. By the time he recovered, the person he wanted to thank had vanished.

"I heard you left Ulm, and at that time I guessed you might have already returned home."

She didn't know his name, and his appearance was vague. Finding him by feeling made the encounter extremely difficult.

For a considerable period of time, she would try her luck at the boxing ring whenever she had the chance. None of the female boxers who were considered top-ranked in Beicheng matched her impression. She also kept an eye out in Xuncheng, but after five years of no news, she found out that it was all done without any effort.

The conflict at the Houhai coffee shop was still fresh in her mind. Meng Qing awkwardly covered her mouth and coughed lightly: "I urgently needed money at the time, so I impersonated you. I'm sorry."

Gu Nan shook her head, thanking him profusely, and had no intention of blaming him.

When she last met Walbus, if Meng Qing hadn't been quick-witted and bought her five more minutes to escape, she probably wouldn't have had the chance to sit here peacefully.

"It's just a little money, not worth your life."

She deliberately relaxed and moved slightly closer to Meng Qing, the distance between them decreasing slightly. Meng Qing lowered her eyes and watched her approach without making a move.

“After that day, Lu Yushi’s men started keeping an eye on me.”

Gu Nan was stunned for a moment, then realized why she couldn't find Meng Qing's whereabouts.

"He didn't do anything, he just sent people to keep an eye on me. I thought it was your doing."

"Uh..." The syllable was interrupted before it could fully slide out of the throat.

"Later I realized I was wrong." Meng Qing paused, ignoring the closeness of her body, crossed his arms and leaned back, his gaze fixed on her face. In the dark room, her eyes were even darker than the moonlight.

A long silence followed.

Gu Nan raised an eyebrow, her shoulders and neck aching slightly. "What's wrong?"

Meng Qing seemed tired of the probing, took a breath, and stopped beating around the bush.

“I can’t guess why you’ve come to see me, but it certainly isn’t to catch up. I’ve heard about the recent changes in Beicheng. Lu Yushi’s situation isn’t good; he needs help. If you’ve come here to persuade me to help Lu Yushi, then we don’t need to talk anymore.”

The two looked at each other.

Gu Nan sighed silently, slowly sat back down, ignoring Meng Qing's deliberate attempt to distance herself, and said leisurely, swinging her legs, "You can't be sure who the enemy is right now, but think about it carefully. After such a big incident, the only ones who could have quietly suppressed it are the five families of Beicheng, maybe with Master Wan at most. So, we have a common enemy. Fighting alone is no match for sticking together for warmth."

“If my enemy is Lu Yushi,” Meng Qing blurted out.

"Smack."

The lighter suddenly burst into flame, the faint light flickering in the endless darkness, and a crimson reflection appeared in both of their eyes at the same time.

They both lowered their heads at the same time, each with their own thoughts.

The faint firelight cast a hazy shadow on the corner of the wall, obscuring the two people's profiles, their emotions unreadable.

Swallow it down your throat to prove your innocence.

If the sound that falls into your heart doesn't cause pain, then it doesn't matter.

Gu Nan tossed aside the lighter, looked down and took out her phone. She hadn't had time to open the new email at the top, but the content was familiar. Without pausing, she scrolled down to the last page, where the contract seals of Xingzilou and Lu's were glaringly red in the darkness.

She bent her index finger and tapped the side of her phone listlessly, as if she were bored, or perhaps trying to dispel some inexplicable feeling within her.

“At the beginning of the year, Beicheng shared a draft of information through the traceability system. The bidding meeting is scheduled for next spring. This contract…” she said slowly.

Meng Qing pressed further, "How is it?"

"It will cause the Lu family to lose everything." This is how he proves himself.

Meng Qing scrutinized her, trying to gauge the credibility of her words. Her gaze, seemingly rooted to the spot, appeared to be looking through her to another figure: "It's been too long."

The sound was very low, tinged with ink.

"There are still six months until next spring. Spending every day together, have you ever thought about what it might be like to fall in love with him..."

Gu Nan gave a mocking smile and retorted, "Does this word even exist in our dictionary?"

Meng Qing simply smiled faintly.

Gu Nan shrugged indifferently, her tone firm and unquestionable: "That's impossible."

"If that day ever comes."

“My savior,” Gu Nan joked with a smile, “I always put you first.”

What do you need me to do?

Gu Nan's eyes lit up, but she didn't show much surprise on her face.

Meng Qing alone cannot affect the situation in Beicheng, but if Meng Qing's enemy is Lu Yushi, then her plans that she has been scheming for many years will be reduced to ashes.

She didn't care whether the Lu family was in trouble or not, but she couldn't let them die while they were still of use to her.

"Give me six months. Don't touch the Lu family during those six months."

In Beicheng, one person causing trouble is enough.

"Six months from now, no matter who your enemy is, I will be your sharpest knife."

Meng Qing remained silent for an even longer time.

Gu Nan didn't urge him, but silently added, "I can give you J's identity; at least it will guarantee you a comfortable life."

After saying that, he got up and walked to the window, listening to the gusts of wind outside through the thick sunshade and the window.

“I will deal with the people outside. Next month, no one will be following you.”

"Even Lu Yushi's men?"

Gu Nan rubbed her fingertips, lazily turning to the side: "What's different about him?"

Seeing that Meng Qing did not answer, Gu Nan swiped open her phone and said, "Shall we exchange contact information? I'll give you the contact person; from now on, you'll be J."

"I haven't agreed to it yet."

Gu Nan looked around: "At least give my great benefactor a change of living environment."

"What if I don't agree?"

“That’s human nature, I understand.” He changed the subject. “You’ve only been back in the country for five years. The reason you’ve settled in Xuncheng is because you don’t have your own power base in Beicheng. In six months, even if you can get your hands on Beicheng, can you guarantee you can reach the center of power? If you can’t strike the vital point in one fell swoop, making a rash move will only alert the enemy. You’re very cautious, so you can only wait.”

Meng Qing replied, "Whether we wait or not, waiting for you is the best option."

Gu Nan smiled noncommittally and asked again, "Contact information?"

"You have."

"Huh?" Gu Nan wondered if she had misheard. "What?"

How could she have the contact information of the person she's been looking for for five years?

Meng glanced at her, got up, took her phone from the table, opened the chat window, and handed it to her.

[Enemies? Lu Yushi didn't have many enemies.]

What I mean is, the enemy who bought the damaging information.

"It's you!"

Even though Gu Nan was able to control her facial expressions, she still couldn't help but widen her pupils when she saw the familiar chat history.

"Smack."

Gu Nan slapped his head and tilted it slightly, hissing softly.

She should have expected that Bei Cheng would have the audacity and confidence to confront Lu Yushi and speak coldly to clients.

He mumbled for a while, then asked, "Are you short of money?"

Meng Qing borrowed her light to light a cigarette, and Gu Nan, watching from afar, came up with an idea.

"There's a lucrative job out there, interested?"

—

As darkness deepened and the last shadows faded before dawn, the east began to glow with the pale light of dawn.

The security doors in the old residential area were practically useless, rattling loudly as they were knocked down early in the morning. Gu Nan walked out of the building and gazed at the white sky on the horizon.

Walking through the alley, the morning market was bustling with activity. Everyone's face was tired, but their eyes shone with youthful vigor. The vitality of life facing the sun is always easy to be infected by.

She sat down at the stall as if possessed, ordered a cup of soy milk, and sipped it slowly.

There were everyday conversations and whispers all around.

Wholesalers and vendors shouted in front of their stalls, "Take more today, I won't be setting up my stall tomorrow."

The customer jokingly retorted, "Your wife just gave birth to a big, healthy baby. Aren't you busy earning money to support your family? Why are you just thinking about being lazy?"

The vendor swatted away his hand as he reached for food, saying, "Have you forgotten? Tomorrow, September 26th, the Lin family is holding an ancestral worship ceremony at Xingyin Temple."

Another vendor slapped his forehead and chimed in, "I was just saying I'd been feeling like something was going on lately. Luckily you brought it up; I've been living in a daze."

The middle-aged woman in front of the vegetable stall, her rough hands counting her change, also came over: "The head of the Lin family is such a philanthropist. Every year when he holds the ancestral worship ceremony, he distributes a lot of money at the foot of Xingyin Temple. I managed to snatch several thousand yuan last year!"

"Who says otherwise? I used to say that there are no good people among capitalists, and look, this Lin family head has come out to slap me in the face."

The woman mysteriously raised two fingers: "Last year, someone roughly calculated that the Lin family head distributed at least 1 million in donations every year. 1 million! I might not be able to earn that much money in my entire life."

"No wonder the Lin family head makes money. Which of those capitalist dogs would be willing to give money to us ordinary people?"

“The head of the Lin family not only donates money to us, but he is also recognized as a philanthropic entrepreneur every year.”

Gu Nan silently savored the soy milk.

The soy milk with added sugar didn't taste as sweet as I remembered.

She stared at the rugged path, unable to recall the last time she had soy milk at the morning market.

All I know is that it tastes very sweet.

Perhaps because they are so young, their sense of taste is more developed.

The young man was indignant: "He deserves the award! Let alone the head of the Lin family, how many ordinary people can remember the source of their blessings?"

The woman clasped her hands together and said, "Thank you, Mr. Xue, for adopting the head of the Lin family. Mr. Xue and his family are all very kind people, which is why they raised such an excellent person as the head of the Lin family."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

Some people lamented, "Good people don't live long. On such a joyous day, a fire broke out, tragically affecting dozens of family members."

"Fortunately, the Lin family head came out to get the cake, and we escaped a disaster."

"Yes, it's been so many years. The Lin family head still comes back to offer sacrifices every year. The old gentleman's spirit in heaven should be at peace now."

"I'll go up the mountain first thing tomorrow morning, and pray that the Lin family head will make a fortune every year!"

"Bang!"

The soy milk bowl fell under the table, the warm liquid soaking the table legs, and the ceramic bowl shattered into pieces.

Gu Nan snapped out of her daze, stood up, and looked somewhat lost. She closed her eyes, suppressed her surging emotions, took a silent breath, and put on a smile.

"I heard that the number will be more than 1 million this year, so everyone should invite more people to come."