Chapter 93 (Two chapters combined)
At the same time, while some were committing crimes and singing songs on the riverbank, laughter still rang out freely in the scenic area.
"There are too many people. I was just taking pictures at the scenic spot, taking a family photo, and I couldn't even squeeze in." A young man was standing in front of Chunzhen's sugar cake shop making a phone call, his hand restlessly tugging at Chunzhen's roller shutter.
Chunzhen sat up and glared at him.
He ran off with a grin, telling the person on the other end of the phone, "The people here are so fun, even the old ladies are so stubborn. I'm off to location number 8, I heard there's a super theater there tonight."
Many people also came specifically to take photos with Chunzhen.
Chunzhen cooperated very well, making peace signs and heart shapes with her hands, her movements swift and precise.
The tourists were stunned, saying that the last time they saw such fast hand gestures was when Naruto performed hand seals.
Chunzhen didn't understand, so she made a six.
Qiaoqiao said that if you don't understand, it's okay, just compare six times.
Sure enough, the tourists' laughter was even louder, almost echoing throughout the entire art town.
Yu Jinyang's finger swept across the obscene photos on the screen.
He leaned back in the driver's seat, one arm casually dangling outside the car window smashed by the fire extinguisher. He flipped through a few pages with a weary expression and then stopped.
His usually gentle and straightforward eyes now showed a hint of disgust.
"Qian Dongchang, you haven't changed a bit over the years," he leaned back, not turning his head, glancing at him in the rearview mirror, then suddenly smirked and said, "With this little bit of stuff, who do you think you can ruin?"
Qian Dongchang tried to struggle and grab the phone back, but his hands were bound by the other man's tie. He growled in a low voice, "I'm warning you, don't call the police. Otherwise, I can't say where these photos will end up."
Yu Jinyang laughed out loud, pointed at the other person's bound hands with his eyes, and said indifferently, "You don't seem to understand the situation yet. Now you are the one begging me."
"..."
Yu Jinyang glanced out the car window and spoke again coldly:
"Let's make a deal, Mr. Qian. See that river over there? Either you jump in right now, or I'll brake the car and you and the car will go down together."
Qian Dongchang's pupils suddenly contracted.
"You dare?! You little brat! You dare!"
"There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do," he said in a cold voice, like water rising from the bottom of a river, calm enough to send chills down your spine. "You don't watch Detective Conan, do you? In episode 985, the culprit used this method to commit a perfect crime, only revealing a small flaw because the seatbelt showed no signs of struggle. But your car is too perfect. You tore the seatbelt yourself when you smashed the car, and it only has your fingerprints on it. If I push you and the car out now, no one will know. It's because my girlfriend has loved watching these kinds of shows since she was little."
Qian Dongchang stared at him in disbelief. He looked into the calm, sharp, and even cold black eyes in the rearview mirror, which seemed utterly lawless.
The law? He froze, a sudden tightness in his chest, and his Adam's apple began to spasm uncontrollably: "You... are not Yu Renjie's son, you... absolutely not."
Yu Jinyang then turned his head and looked at him in the eye for the first time in a real sense, but with an almost harsh scrutiny: "What, it sounds like you know better than me how to be a son to Yu Renjie."
He finally began to tremble uncontrollably.
Several loud bangs came from the back seat.
Qian Dongchang began frantically and unconsciously banging his head against the back of the seat.
Crazy! This guy is a complete lunatic!
As soon as Jiang Le and the girl she was with returned to the visitor center, they attracted the attention of the receptionist, who immediately came forward and asked, "Hello, you two 'Elsa' princesses, is there anything we can help you with?"
They looked like they'd fallen into a giant compact powder box, their entire bodies covered in white powder, their hair a mess with white powder at the ends. Passing tourists glanced at them, but since today's theme was the Wilderness Amusement Park, their makeup was only slightly rough and realistic compared to the zombie rampage of the Doomsday Group at Point 1.
Zhao Pingnan was well aware that such makeup and styling were not available today, so her gaze was more concerned and gentle compared to the others.
Jiang Le and her companion exchanged a glance and finally spoke up: "Sister, it was that super handsome guy who told us to come here and wait for him."
“Okay, come with me,” Zhao Pingnan nodded quickly. Hearing “super handsome guy,” she immediately recognized him and led them into the back lounge, thoughtfully closing the door behind them. “You two don’t seem to be doing well. Did something happen? Or should you call the police first?”
The two shook their heads firmly again.
Zhao Pingnan glanced at their school uniforms, then didn't press the matter further. He poured each of them a glass of water and said, "Okay, should I go out or stay here with you?"
He shook his head firmly once again.
Zhao Pingnan smiled helplessly and nodded, then got up and walked out, leaving them alone.
As soon as Zhao Pingnan left, the girl with the pear-shaped haircut immediately asked Jiang Le, "Jiang Le, do you think he'll be alright? I'm a little worried. Should we call the police?"
Clearly, it's usually this girl named Jiang Le who makes the decisions.
Jiang Le gave her a cold look and said, "Do you want to go home and get scolded by your parents?"
Indeed, they were already considered "bad girls" by others, and no one would sympathize with them after something like this happened, not even their parents.
Jiang Le changed the subject and said, "Guess what that fake security guard is up to?"
The other person shook her head, and Jiang Le showed her his phone.
Attention! Security guards at Xiaohua City are harassing and secretly filming women...
Before the rest of the text could be finished, Yu Jinyang smashed the car window as if falling from the sky.
“Yu Jinyang, that idiot handsome guy,” Jiang Le said with a smirk. “He doesn’t seem to use social media much. He doesn’t know that the content deleted by the editor will be backed up in the author’s center. I just checked it out, and that fake security guard’s target wasn’t us. It was definitely a business competition between their scenic spots. So I’m even less inclined to call the police. Why should I get myself into trouble?”
"Yeah, why did he pick us?"
“That fake security guard was definitely watching us from point number three. We’re students, so we’re easy to manipulate,” Jiang Le continued, analyzing with conviction. “Besides, this Yu Jinyang isn’t a good person either. He’s so handsome, but that’s all for nothing. I was actually quite grateful to him for saving me, and I was even thinking of becoming a fan. But he knew this was business competition, yet he didn’t just say so. He even asked us if we wanted to call the police, completely disregarding our reputations. If we call the police, what will the teachers and classmates say about us? We’ll be universally disliked.”
"Isn't he the target of everyone's criticism?" the pear-shaped haircut corrected.
"You've been watching too many short videos; you've accidentally let knowledge into your brain."
Jiang Le snorted and locked her phone.
Yu Jinyang pushed open the car door and got out. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he glanced at the residential building across the street out of the corner of his eye, then looked away.
Although there weren't many people at the dock, there were residential buildings across the street. The scene between them was more thrilling than a police drama: a car smashed to pieces, and Qian Dongchang tied up. Yu Jinyang originally wanted to record a video here, but then he remembered that he and Qian Dongchang were still wearing security uniforms, and it would be troublesome if they were filmed by some unsuspecting residents.
Thinking of this, he drove to the administrative art building near point 10. It was far from the center of the park activities and was the tallest building in the small art city. It was almost secluded, and the rooftop had high walls and railings, so no one could see inside.
The car was parked downstairs. He got out, opened the back door, grabbed the man by the collar without saying a word, and dragged him up to the roof.
His hands were tightly bound by Yu Jinyang's tie. Before he could even stand up straight, the man shoved him hard in the back of the knees, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
Qian Dongchang's temples bulged instantly, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at him fiercely, his neck stiff as if he could not bear such humiliation, and he struggled to get up.
"Kneel down," Yu Jinyang said, looking down at him coldly, his voice calm but carrying a sharp, oppressive quality. "Or do you want to go back to the car?"
Qian Dongchang suddenly shuddered, remembering the condition he had just proposed: "If I do as you say, will you really let me go?"
Yu Jinyang put his hands in his pockets and glanced elsewhere: "Maybe."
"Aren't you going to call the police?"
"Call the police?" Yu Jinyang glanced at him coldly, too lazy to deal with him. "There are so many tourists today, how am I supposed to appease them? If things get out of hand, who cares if you're really security? It'll just be Xiaohua City that gets into trouble, won't it? Who wants to make a big scene? Boss Qian, aren't you just taking advantage of this and trying to annoy Li Yingqiao before you go in? You're going in sooner or later anyway, so what difference does calling the police make to me?"
Seeing that his attitude had softened, Qian Dongchang immediately went along with it, even saying with a fawning look in his eyes, "Okay, I'll delete the photos. Just pretend you never saw me today."
Yu Jinyang chuckled, leaning against the railing and brushing the remaining fire extinguisher powder from his collar. The action seemed familiar; Zhang Zongxie could be quite convincing when he put on an act. He didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, revealing no emotion whatsoever: "Photos? Who cares about your photos? Even if they were sent out, what do those girls have to do with me, frankly? Boss Qian, you even know to buy facial recognition for your phone, how come you're still thinking with your lower body?"
Sure enough, when compared to others, the truly awful are bewildered, and Qian Dongchang was inexplicably intimidated.
Yu Jinyang finally raised his eyes, looking straight at him, and calmly said, "Boss Qian, I have to have some kind of guarantee, don't I?"
Qian Dongchang knelt on the ground again, this time bending his knees impatiently on his own.
“My name is Qian Dongchang… I admit, I’m a piece of trash.”
"Is this repentance if the emotions aren't strong enough?" Yu Jinyang leaned back, recording with his phone, and lazily interrupted him. "Usually, in situations like this, you have to slap yourself twice first, right, Mr. Qian? You've seen TV dramas, haven't you?"
Qian Dongchang's face twitched. He raised his bound hands and slapped himself without hesitation, gritting his teeth and saying fiercely, "My name is Qian Dongchang, and I am a beast!"
Yu Jinyang slightly raised his chin, signaling him to continue.
"Today is January 1, 2026. I secretly took upskirt photos of hundreds of women in Little City."
He took a deep breath, his eyes unfocused: "The goal is to ruin Xiaohua City's reputation..."
"Yes, I have a personal grudge against the manager of Xiaohua City. She discovered accounting problems between my travel agency and the scenic spot and sued me. I have to pay some financial compensation. I'm so angry that I want to ruin her reputation."
After he finished speaking, he looked up at him eagerly, waiting for his judgment.
Yu Jinyang said coldly, "Now, I'll say one sentence, and you'll say one sentence."
"Fine," he said through gritted teeth.
"You, Qian Dongchang, were once a teacher at Huacheng Elementary School."
His eyes widened in surprise, and he looked up sharply, his gaze hesitant as he stared at him.
Yu Jinyang remained unmoved: "Speak."
Having lived for so many years, this was the first time Qian Dongchang had felt such an unyielding sense of pressure from a younger generation. He slowly opened his mouth and said, "I... Qian Dongchang, was once... a teacher at Huacheng Elementary School."
The man continued without any mercy: "Now you are the owner of Starlight Travel Agency. You have used these two identities to harass and assault multiple women over a long period of time in a premeditated manner."
"...For those women who refused to comply, I used all my connections, even colluding with local criminal elements, to force them to lose their jobs and make it impossible for them to continue in the industry..."
As Qian Dongchang finished speaking, his mind went blank, his eyes hardened, and he suddenly looked up and said, "So you mean you're letting me go?"
He said impatiently, "I said, maybe..."
However, before Yu Jinyang could put his phone away, his eyes suddenly widened. Like a piece of pork belly that had been fried in a pan, he sprang up from the ground and, with lightning speed, bent over and slammed his shoulder into Yu Jinyang's abdomen!
Caught off guard, Yu Jinyang's first reaction was to protect his phone tightly!
His back slammed heavily against the rooftop railing with a loud thud. His vision went black, his internal organs twitched together, and even the oxygen in his lungs was instantly sucked out. In that instant, he suddenly understood how Zhang Zongxie's back had broken. Fortunately, the muscle memory he had developed from years of breaking training allowed him to reflexively tighten his core muscles at the moment of impact, using his abdominal muscles to forcefully absorb the impact on his back. However, he still couldn't withstand the excruciating pain in his bones.
Yu Jinyang gasped in pain, instinctively protecting his phone and quickly turning off the video, trying to put it back in his pocket. In that instant, Qian Dongchang, like a wild bull, fearlessly rammed his neck upwards from Yu Jinyang's knee!
Like a madman, he climbed over the fence, riding backwards on Qian Dongchang's neck. Qian Dongchang, the donkey, ran off without looking back, leaving him clinging to the railing, hanging precariously on the outer wall.
...
Qian Dongchang made a hasty escape, rushing downstairs.
He suddenly stopped halfway through the run.
He just grabbed the railing. If he dies, it's his own bad luck, and it has nothing to do with me.
video--
Originally, he might have been able to avoid jail time by paying compensation for his economic crimes, but now... he has no way out. It's all because that madman Yu Jinyang made him record the video.
You deserve to die.
Even if I die, I'll take someone down with me.
So he hardened his heart and ran away.
He panicked and ran aimlessly, not even knowing where he was. All he knew was that he couldn't go out right now, so he had to find a place to wait and try to sneak out when the park activities ended and the crowds were at their largest. Otherwise, he would definitely be caught by the security guards at the entrance.
However, there were too many surveillance cameras in the scenic area, and Li Yingqiao might be lurking somewhere waiting for him, so he gritted his teeth and plunged into the long queue of people ahead.
The tourists were completely unaware. At night, the small art town was even more lively, with people waving their sleeves like clouds and flowers in full bloom, and you could see interested faces in almost every corner.
If it weren't for Qian Dongchang, that troublemaker, today's park event would have been an unexpected success, generating a lot of buzz on social media and more and more posts discussing it.
The girls wearing skirts were completely unaware of this and continued to take photos at various spots, seemingly still enjoying themselves.
The crowds are shoulder to shoulder, but a crisis lurks beneath any mask, ready to explode at any moment.
After weighing her options, Li Yingqiao still called the police. With the Rainbow Youli in danger, she knew that it was crucial to avoid any mishaps and to prevent the tourists from being disturbed, as this could easily cause panic and lead to a stampede, which would be catastrophic.
She forced herself to calm down, but the thought of that extremely dangerous moment made her heart clench. She rushed back to the monitoring room, but her hand holding the walkie-talkie had been trembling ever since.
She rarely trembled so violently, even now; the lingering fear was like a dark cloud hanging over her.
The atmosphere in the monitoring room was tense. Pan Xiaoliang had never seen Li Yingqiao look so pale, but her voice remained calm as she continued her conversation with the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie.
“He hasn’t left yet, there’s no record of him leaving the park,” she said, her eyes scanning the screen intently. “I guess he might be planning to leave when the fireworks end later, when there are the most people. There aren’t many people at the park entrance now, so he would be too conspicuous if he left at this time.”
Yu Jinyang's eyes scanned the crowd on Chuanming Street. "Have all the security guards look for him. His figure is easy to recognize. Besides, the clothes he's wearing should be my dad's."
Li Yingqiao said, "Pan Xiaoliang checked the surveillance footage. Brother Siyi went into the changing room at 8:00 a.m. and didn't come out. Qian Dongchang changed into a security uniform and came out at 8:15 a.m.
“I just went to the locker room and saw that Qian Dongchang had knocked him unconscious. He’s still not awake. I called 120.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Yingqiao's eyes were fixed on the screen. Suddenly, her gaze settled on one of the monitors.
Pan Xiaoliang also spotted Qian Dongchang's trail at almost the same time and immediately zoomed in on the surveillance footage: "He seems to have entered the theater at point eight!"
***
Point number eight was so quiet it felt like another world, just like the peaceful afternoons at Huacheng Elementary School back then. No matter how noisy the outside world was, any sound Liang Mei and the others made would be covered up under a damp quilt.
And this is also the quietest place in the bustling park activities of the entire Little Painting City today. All the excitement will turn into an invisible wall here, automatically blocking it out.
Station number eight was packed with people, more like a trendy cafe in operation, with dozens of tables arranged neatly and evenly, all occupied. As soon as someone left, someone immediately took their place, and sharp-eyed waiters would quickly and efficiently clean up the mess before silently handing over a menu.
Some people are looking at their computers as if they are writing proposals, some are engrossed in assembling puzzles, some are writing furiously, and some are doing nothing but spacing out, as if they have entered the busiest Starbucks at lunchtime.
However, there was a two-meter-long black curtain at the side door of the coffee bar, drawn tightly shut, not letting in a single ray of light. No one knew what would appear there in the next second, because half an hour ago, a wave of zombies that only appeared at point number one had appeared.
"Bang--"
A heavy, muffled thud suddenly erupted in the theater.
The next second, a huge human figure suddenly fell from the glass window on the second floor of the theater and crashed heavily onto the floor, which was made of a special material.
Everyone's eyes turned to look, but the light was too dim, and no one saw the bloodstains seeping on the ground. Even if they did, it wouldn't have seemed too strange, since the zombies covered in sores would occasionally come out to refill their coffee.
Only Qian Dongchang slowly opened his eyes, and all he could see was crimson. Strangely, he felt nothing at all, not even a single wound.
He tried to sit up shakily, and as soon as his hand touched the surface, he felt a thick, warm red liquid. It was his blood!
He looked up abruptly, and behind the shop window on the second floor, he seemed to see a face that looked exactly like Yu Jinyang, smiling down at him from behind the cold glass.
His eyes were mocking and cold, as if to say: Mr. Qian, how does it feel to fall from a building?
Yu Jinyang didn't die; he's come to take revenge on him.
He frantically wiped the blood off his body, the sticky, bright red liquid instantly pulling him back to that summer evening many years ago, the moment Liang Mei smashed his head open.
He was taken to the hospital, and when the doctors and nurses heard he was a teacher, they all surrounded him, treating his wounds and asking him how he got hurt. He said he had fallen while working overtime. Everyone sighed with sympathy. He insisted on teaching for a week despite his illness, and that year he was awarded the title of honorary teacher. A reporter from the Fengtan Daily saw him and was deeply moved by his selfless dedication, writing several lengthy reports about him. His students respected him and called him Teacher Qian.
At that time, he was surrounded by honors and riding high on his success. No matter what mistakes he made, there were always people who would defend him.
Those female teachers cried and sobbed for a long time, but no one paid any attention to what they were saying, because even the principal was only staring at their chests, which were heaving with their emotions.
Why is Huacheng Elementary School always so quiet?
Because he's not the only one like this.
"Waiter! Waiter!" he suddenly began to shout hysterically, pointing at himself and then at the second-floor shop window, "Can't you see! I fell down, I'm bleeding so much! Are you blind! Someone pushed me upstairs!"
No one answered him.
Only a few tourists cast blank, indifferent, or spectator-like glances at him, but no one made a move.
"Hello!"
Are you all blind?!
"Don't they care about murder?!"
There was no response; it was deathly silent.
Everyone just stared at him indifferently, as if they were watching a clown on stage without a spotlight and with rather rough acting skills, completely unconcerned about it.
He was inexplicably enraged, and these people were even more wicked than him, shouting incoherently, "I f***ing! I'm Qian Dongchang! I'm Qian Dongchang! I'm rich! I've slept with many women! You sons of bitches! Are you all idiots! I just killed someone! I pushed him off the building! Deaf! A bunch of deaf people!"
Everyone treated it as a rehearsed skit, and nobody took it seriously.
Qian Dongchang looked up again at the tall figure hidden in the darkness on the second floor.
This guy is a complete madman!
No, that's not right! Yu Jinyang is dead, he fell to his death too, this is hell!
Yes, this is the real hell! Otherwise, why would they all be so indifferent?
Why don't they speak up? Why don't they make a sound?
Are they human?
Yes, they are not human.
Some people even seemed to sense the noise and got impatient, getting up and leaving.
At this moment, Qian Dongchang staggered to his feet and noticed a rule notice on the opposite wall—
"Point 8: Dear players, here you only need to complete one task. No matter what happens, please remain silent, do not talk, do not make a sound, and do not interact with any NPCs until you complete the puzzle piece you are assigned. Of course, you can also do nothing at all. Once you make a sound, all your shame points will be reset to full. If you believe you cannot complete the task, please leave the area in advance and do not disturb other players. Thank you for your cooperation."
(All materials in this project's scene are fake props. The floor and glass are made of special materials and will not harm any NPCs' health. Please rest assured.)
So this isn't his blood!
His mind went blank! What had he just said?!
At the same time, the walkie-talkie that had fallen to the ground with him suddenly seemed to connect to a signal, and a green light beeped on—
"Qian Dongchang," a clear, crisp female voice rang out from the walkie-talkie, breaking the theater's silence like a spring, steady, clear, and powerful, carrying an unprecedented sense of relief.
"Point number eight, no one makes me feel more welcome than you."
"So, how was my Wilderness Paradise? Was it fun?"
"Whether it's today or Huacheng Elementary School twenty years ago, would you dare let them speak? But sorry, this time everyone heard it."
Immediately following, footsteps sounded at the door, both hurried and resolute.
The tourists instantly snapped out of their daze and finally realized, "Holy crap! This wasn't a drill at all!"
The police burst through the door, several officers swarming forward and shoving Qian Dongchang's face against the wall covered with rules. "Don't move!"
Qian Dongchang still didn't understand why the rules on the wall were like that, and he hadn't even realized it yet. Suddenly, he burst into laughter: "A bunch of idiots! You're all idiots!"
"Shut up, you've got a chance to speak!" one of the policemen snapped, deftly pulling out handcuffs from behind his back and attempting to cuff the man's hands behind his back, only to find that the guy's arms were ridiculously short.
The policeman clicked his tongue in disdain.
I had to flip him over again and barely manage to hold him in place from the front.
"Behave yourself!"
As the police car drove away and the tourists on Chuanming Street dispersed, Li Yingqiao returned to her office, took off her name tag, grabbed her coat, and ran downstairs.
Yu Jinyang went to the hospital with Brother Siyi's ambulance. She hailed a taxi and waited for her downstairs. Before the elevator doors even opened, she practically pressed herself against them and rushed out impatiently.
However, when she went downstairs, she saw that figure waiting for her under the streetlight in the office at the entrance of the scenic area.
He was wearing a down jacket over his security uniform, an outfit she had seen countless times on social media today, worn by Sun Taihe, Zhong Su, and Yu Jinyang.
He was the most popular, everyone liked him, saying he was gentle, patient, and well-mannered. It was this Yu Jinyang, this Yu Jinyang who was finally being seen. When she was little, she always felt sorry for him. He was actually very outstanding, but because of this absurd "Fourth Brother," he was always put on the spot and received some inexplicable ridicule.
But he remained neither arrogant nor humble, and didn't take those opinions to heart. He always knew what he had to do and what he should do.
In his life, there were many important moments when he was waiting for her.
Just like now, his face looked a little pale under the streetlights, but he just stood there, quietly and patiently waiting for her.
It seems like he's been waiting for her for a very, very long time, from when she was a certain age, but she can't remember anymore.
The two were only a few steps apart, and neither of them spoke.
Once their eyes met, they couldn't look away, gazing deeply into each other's eyes as if they were battling against the moonlight, seeing who would concede defeat in this silent test. Neither of them seemed willing to admit defeat to the other.
However, the fear and lingering dread she had accumulated throughout the night burst into tears the instant she saw his feet firmly planted on the ground. She rushed into his arms, her suppressed sobs sounding like she was about to suffocate, muffled against his hard chest.
"I'm never watching Detective Conan again, Yu Jinyang."
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