She had to leave. Now.
Feng Yulan slowly backed away, but accidentally kicked an empty can. The sound of metal colliding was particularly harsh in the silent corridor.
"Who?" the bald man shouted sternly.
Feng Yulan's heart nearly stopped. She turned and ran, feeling no pain as her bare feet stepped on the broken glass. Behind her came the sound of chaotic footsteps and shouting. Someone was chasing her!
She rushed out of the iron gate, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and ran desperately with her leather shoes and shopping bags. The footsteps behind her were getting closer and closer, so she turned into a side road, got into a half-open garage door, and huddled behind a pile of old tires.
Footsteps ran past the door, cursing and swearing as they retreated. Feng Yulan covered her mouth, fearing her panting would reveal her location. The garage smelled heavily of motor oil, mixed with the nauseating smell of her sweat.
Five minutes later, it was completely quiet outside. Feng Yulan trembled as she put on her shoes, climbed out of the back window of the garage, and walked around three blocks before she dared to return to the main road.
It was already dark, and the streetlights were gradually coming on. Feng Yulan's feet were burning with pain, probably from being cut several times. But she didn't care, her mind was filled with the scene she had just seen.
The white powder, the money, Zhang Shuo's calm negotiation... everything was completely different from the cowardly husband she knew.
It was already 7:40 when she got home. When Feng Yulan opened the door, Zhang Shumin was sitting in the living room watching TV. Her face immediately darkened when she saw her come in.
"Where the hell have you been? You're back so late!" Grandma's voice was as sharp as a knife. "Where's dinner? Are you trying to starve me to death?"
Feng Yulan's lips trembled: "I'm sorry, Mom... I have to work overtime at the supermarket..."
"Bullshit!" Zhang Shumin grabbed the remote control from the coffee table and threw it at him. "I called and asked, and your supermarket closes at six!"
The remote brushed against Feng Yulan's forehead, leaving a burning streak. She lowered her head, not daring to argue, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. If her mother-in-law knew where she'd been and what she'd seen...
"Kneel down!" Zhang Shumin said sternly.
Feng Yulan mechanically knelt down, her knees slamming heavily onto the tile. Pain shot from her kneecap up her spine, but she didn't react, her mind still full of scenes from the abandoned factory.
Zhang Shumin picked up a rolling pin from the wall and said, "Tell me! Where have you been fooling around?"
The rolling pin whistled against Feng Yulan's back, and she groaned, her body swaying. Normally, she would count the blows, but today she felt no pain at all, only a strange numbness.
"I...I felt uncomfortable on the way...I took a rest for a while..." She made up a clumsy lie.
"Uncomfortable?" Zhang Shumin sneered and hit him with the stick again. "I think you went to find a strange man?"
Feng Yulan remained silent. It was safer to let her mother-in-law think she was cheating; at least she wouldn't think she'd discovered Zhang Shuo's secret. The rolling pin fell again and again, and when she counted to the twelfth, the door locked.
Zhang Shuo is back.
Zhang Shumin immediately dropped her rolling pin, and the angry expression on her face instantly turned into a kind smile: "Xiao Shuo is back? Have you eaten yet?"
Feng Yulan raised her head with difficulty and saw Zhang Shuo standing at the entrance, still wearing the gray-blue jacket.
His eyes swept over his wife kneeling on the ground without any fluctuation.
"I've eaten." Zhang Shuo took off his jacket and hung it up. Feng Yulan noticed that his inner pocket was empty and the small paper bag was missing.
"Your wife came home late again today," Zhang Shumin complained, "and she lied about working overtime!"
Zhang Shuo then looked at Feng Yulan with a cold gaze: "Where have you been?"
Feng Yulan's throat tightened. Zhang Shuo's eyes were horribly dark in the shadows, like two bottomless wells.
She suddenly realized that this man might be more dangerous than she thought.
"I...I went to the pharmacy..." she whispered, "I've been feeling dizzy lately..."
Zhang Shuo stared at her for a few seconds, as if trying to determine whether she was true or not, then turned to his mother and said, "Mom, don't be angry. Let her go cook."
Zhang Shumin snorted: "Why don't you go now? Do you want to starve us to death?"
Feng Yulan stood up with difficulty, her knees cracking under the weight.
As she passed Zhang Shuo, she smelled a strange chemical smell on him, mixed with the scent of cheap perfume - exactly the same as the smell in the abandoned factory.
In the kitchen, Feng Yulan mechanically washed rice and cut vegetables, her hands shaking so much that she could barely hold the knife. The experience just now felt like a nightmare, but the pain in her feet reminded her that it was all real.
What illegal activity was Zhang Shuo involved in? Drugs? Smuggling? Whatever it was, if he were discovered, it would be the end of the family.
What's even more terrifying is that if Zhang Shuo knew that she saw...
"What are you daydreaming about?" Zhang Shumin's voice suddenly rang out from behind him. "The pot is burnt dry!"
Feng Yulan finally came to her senses and quickly turned off the heat. The vegetables in the wok were already charred black and emitting choking smoke.
"Useless thing!" Zhang Shumin slapped her on the back of the head. "You can't even cook a dish properly!"
Feng Yulan stumbled and grabbed the stove to avoid falling. At this moment, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure passing by the kitchen window - it was Zhang Shuo, who was standing in the yard, talking on the phone, his expression gloomy.
"...Someone saw it...I don't know who it was...We must find out..." A disjointed voice came through the window.
Feng Yulan felt a chill run down her spine. Was he talking about what happened today? Did he suspect someone was following him?
"What are you standing there for? Do it again!" Zhang Shumin's scolding interrupted her thoughts.
After dinner, Feng Yulan checked the injuries on the soles of her feet in the bathroom. Several cuts from glass had scabbed over, but it still hurt when she walked.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
