undercurrent
The rain fell for two days straight, sweeping away the city's accumulated dust and stifling air. The sky was a brilliant blue, as if washed clean, the sunlight was clear and sharp, and everything seemed distinct and defined. But beneath this clarity, something was silently deteriorating.
Ye Shu sat by the window, his gaze fixed on the street below. The rain washed the world clean, yet it also seemed to reveal certain previously hidden threads. The newsstand on the corner had been closed for two days. The young man in a doll costume handing out flyers had vanished. Even the old lady who always walked her dog at the scheduled time had been replaced by a new-looking nanny.
These subtle changes are like mud and sand stirred up by undercurrents in the water. Ordinary people would not notice them, but they could not escape Ye Shu's almost instinctive perception of rules and balance.
He turned his gaze eastward. The glass-walled buildings of the science park reflected a dazzling light in the after-rain sun, like giant, cold diamonds. But what he "saw" wasn't the brilliance of the surface, but rather the accelerating, overheated flow of information within, and a forcibly suppressed, unstable hum. That hum faintly echoed the tense tension he'd sensed earlier at the construction site.
In the afternoon, Chen Xu arrived. Instead of barging in as usual, he rang the doorbell. After Ye Shu opened the door, he didn't squeeze in immediately. Instead, he stood at the doorway, a rare look of mixed excitement and worry on his face.
"Ye Shu," his voice was lower than usual, but his speech was faster, "Have you seen the news? Something happened in the East District."
Ye Shu stepped aside and Chen Xu walked in. Instead of collapsing on the sofa as usual, he paced back and forth in a somewhat restless manner.
"The last time we walked past that newly developed area, there was a smart apartment project under construction called 'Platinum Future'. You know it? The one that's been hyped up." Chen Xu took out his cell phone, swiped the screen quickly, and then handed it to Ye Shu.
The screen displayed a local news feed. The headline wasn't particularly eye-catching: "Partial collapse at 'Boyue Future' construction site, suspected to be linked to repeated rainfall and construction techniques." The accompanying image showed a muddy corner of the construction site, a tangle of steel and concrete, and yellow warning tape. The report was restrained, stating only that there were no casualties, the cause was under investigation, and the developer pledged full cooperation.
Ye Shu's eyes swept across the screen, without taking the phone or asking for details.
Chen Xu put his phone away, his brow furrowed. "Damn it! Luckily it collapsed at night, so no one was hurt. But this is terrifying! They sold that building for ridiculously high prices, advertised it like a futuristic fortress, and it collapsed before it was even finished? Shoddy construction, huh?"
He took a breath, as if he needed to vent, and as if he hoped to get some kind of response from Ye Shu. "And you know what's even more bizarre? On the same night, the technology company responsible for the smart home system integration for this project - called 'Lingxi Technology' - their server room also seemed to have a major problem and was down for several hours. The specific cause has not been announced. It's too coincidental that they had problems at the same time. There are already conspiracy theories online..."
Ye Shu walked to the table, poured a glass of cold water and handed it to Chen Xu.
Chen Xu was stunned for a moment, then took a few gulps, water dripping down his chin. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at Ye Shu, his eyes filled with confusion and fear. "Do you think... is this just the beginning? A friend of mine works at Lingxi. He said that their system was rushed and not thoroughly tested. The underlying code might even have problems. They just forced it on... If that's true, what if the tenants move in and the system malfunctions one day, the door won't open, or there's a gas leak... hiss..."
He said this and shuddered himself.
Ye Shu's gaze passed Chen Xu, once again gravitating toward the glittering patch of land in the east outside the window. The sun was shining brightly, but what he "saw" were the subtle cracks beneath the glamorous surface, ripped apart by greed, impatience, and a blind pursuit of efficiency. The rain was merely a trigger; the true root of the problem had already been deeply rooted.
The sense of disharmony and tension he had felt in that direction a few days ago were not illusions.
"System..." Ye Shu repeated these two words softly, his voice so low that it was almost inaudible, like a gentle breeze blowing past, "It has its own cause and effect."
Chen Xu didn't hear clearly, or rather didn't understand: "Ah? What did you say?"
Ye Shu didn't answer. He looked away and looked at Chen Xu: "Your friend. In Lingxi?"
"Ah? Oh, not directly friends, but friends of friends..." Chen Xu scratched his head, "Why?"
"Nothing." Ye Shu said it lightly, not asking any more questions. But the question he had just asked was already an unusual concern.
Chen Xu seemed to have noticed something different about Ye Shu today. While he still looked indifferent, his absolute, detached air seemed to have weakened a bit. He seemed to be... listening, even silently integrating information.
"It's pretty scary anyway," Chen Xu sighed, his emotions calming down a bit as he slumped onto the sofa. "I hope nothing else goes wrong. I was thinking of waiting for that property to be delivered and looking for investment opportunities... but forget it for now."
Ye Shu walked to the window, his back to Chen Xu. The sunlight elongated his figure, casting it on the smooth floor.
Downstairs, a black sedan slid silently to the curb and stopped. Several formally dressed, serious-looking people got out and walked quickly into their apartment building. Ye Shu's eyes followed them until they entered the lobby.
His fingertips unconsciously tapped lightly on the window glass, the rhythm was unusually steady, like some kind of code.
The undercurrent is already surging.
Above the water, the sun shines brightly. Beneath the water, something is quietly converging in an unpredictable direction.
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