Saturday.
In Shen Yao’s memory, Saturday was second only to Friday as a good day.
Compared to Friday’s sense of anticipation, Saturday was more of an empty void following enjoyment.
When he got up in the morning, Shen Qingxiao had already gone to work.
Formal employees at the Publisher naturally had a five-day work week with weekends off, and their social security was fully covered, but none of that had anything to do with Shen Qingxiao, who was a contracted worker.
More than once, she had lost her mind on Saturday mornings, vowing to bring explosives to blow up the workplace and kill all those formal employees.
Shen Yao thought, but nobody’s at work on Saturday—who would you blow up?
He looked at a table full of empty beer cans, feeling slightly helpless, cleaned up the trash, and stepped outside, just in time to see a Neighborhood Committee auntie awkwardly standing at his door.
“Xiao Shen, today is… the weekend, right?”
Though called the Neighborhood Committee, it was actually a converted Village Committee, and Shen Yao had privately nicknamed them the Busybody Squad.
“Wang Auntie, good morning.”
Wang Auntie noticed the full bag of empty beer cans in Shen Yao’s hand and frowned openly: “Did Shen Qingxiao drink all these? Hasn’t she quit drinking yet? That’s not what she said before…”
Shen Yao hurriedly explained, “It’s not Aunt who drank them. We had guests over yesterday—the guests drank them.”
“Guests? Who?”
“One of my classmate’s parents, surname Qiao, just moved here recently I think.”
Shen Yao had no qualms about lying; communicating with others could be difficult sometimes, especially when both sides had different positions.
A timely lie could save everyone a lot of time.
Wang Auntie swallowed and didn’t pursue this Qiao parent further.
Instead, she spoke earnestly:
“Back when we mediated, there was a promise signed. Shen Qingxiao was supposed to have a stable job, not drink or gamble—only then could she get your guardianship and the right to live in this house.”
“Xiao Shen, you’re well-read, you should know that drinkers are prone to acting up, and that’s not good for your growth environment, you really should—”
“Wang Auntie, I know, but Aunt really has quit drinking. She’s already gone to work at the Publisher. Besides, I have plans with classmates later. If it’s not urgent, why don’t you visit again tonight when my aunt comes home from work?”
Shen Yao cut off Wang Auntie’s nagging. She was just following the rules, perhaps out of genuine goodwill, but to Shen Yao and Shen Qingxiao, this goodwill was not of much use.
If not for Shen Qingxiao suddenly showing up, Shen Yao would have been sent to the Welfare Home long ago—how could he still be living in this single-family home left by his parents?
As for whether Shen Qingxiao was a mature and dependable adult, or whether she really drank or not, those things weren’t really important.
In Aunt’s own words, “When it’s about Shen Yao’s guardianship and upbringing, no one shows up. But when it comes to inheritance and property, all kinds of strange people come crawling out… Nothing but a pack of wolves.”
If not for Shen Qingxiao, Shen Yao had no idea what kind of person he’d be today, or if he’d even have the courage to go on living.
Maybe… being able to see the strange, and so easily being drawn to Qiao Yunxue, all had deeper reasons from the very beginning.
After sending off the meddlesome Neighborhood Committee auntie, Shen Yao locked the door, got on his little bicycle, and headed for the Villa District on Yunfu Street.
Summer was not a good season for cycling—too hot, too humid, with frequent storms, and swarms of roadside bugs that could fly into your teeth if you weren’t careful.
Shen Yao preferred biking out in the lush, bright spring.
In the past, he would ride with Cheng Orange on the back, the two of them singing, “Please take my song, bring it back to your home, please leave your smile behind~”
Back then, they thought that was forever, that they would be carefree for a lifetime.
Arriving at the Qiao Family villa, Shen Yao saw the glass on the second floor had already been replaced, and the area at the entrance had been cleaned up.
The wild night a few days ago had left no trace here.
He rang the doorbell, and the housemaid who answered the door greeted Shen Yao with a warm smile.
Shen Yao never knew why she seemed so happy.
He went upstairs and heard noise coming from the study. Walking to the door, he found Qiao Yunxue typing furiously at her keyboard.
Sneaking up behind her, he saw the girl was totally absorbed in her computer game, not noticing his arrival at all.
He had to admit, she really had nerves of steel. Just a few days ago, she’d played a deadly game of cat and mouse with something unnatural, and today she was already gaming without a care in the world.
Shen Yao had read some gaming magazines, and if he remembered correctly, the game Qiao Yunxue was playing was called… Counter-Terror Elite?
He couldn’t recall exactly, but it was something like that.
Qiao Yunxue stared intently at the screen, but suddenly, a red flash appeared before her eyes—she was shot by a sniper who had jumped out from a corner, and her body gave a visible jolt.
Shen Yao clicked his tongue in amazement. Was the game feedback really that intense?
It was only then that Qiao Yunxue realized someone else was in the study.
She whipped around, screamed when she saw the shadow, then, recognizing Shen Yao, furiously smacked him several times.
“What is wrong with you? Why didn’t you say something when you came in!”
“I did say something. You were just too into your game.”
Qiao Yunxue huffed, quickly quitting the game so Shen Yao wouldn’t see her embarrassing stats.
“I’ve been waiting for you forever—why are you only getting here now?”
“It’s eight miles from my house to the Villa District. I rode my bike, it’s not like I can fly here.” This time Shen Yao unceremoniously pulled up a chair.
“Let’s cut the nonsense, we have a lot to do today.”
Qiao Yunxue also dropped the attitude and ceded her spot at the computer. “That thing you said about the truth behind the strange event—what is it?”
Shen Yao opened the browser and typed “Xu Jia” into the Qiandu search engine.
Xu Jia was the middle school girl who had gone missing during the phone incident.
Shen Yao clicked on a recent news video. “Xu Jia is the anomaly.”
“What did you say?”
“No need to be so shocked. Didn’t I already float this idea before?” Shen Yao pointed at the girl’s photo on the screen, her parents weeping uncontrollably before the reporters.
“Even if Xu Jia isn’t the anomaly, she’s definitely involved in the case. I’m certain that the Phone Ghost was born from one of her intense emotions.”
“She’s missing and no one knows if she’s alive or dead—where do we even begin to look?”
Shen Yao snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Our mission today is to find her.”
Qiao Yunxue stared at Shen Yao in disbelief. She was starting to wonder if he was crazy. “You’re telling me we’re going to find a girl the police have spent a month looking for and still haven’t found?”
“The Police have to follow the rules and collect evidence, but we don’t have to. Plus, we’ve faced the anomaly in person and know things even the Police don’t.”
Qiao Yunxue looked even more confused. “I’m getting more and more lost here. Just tell me where to start. If you need money, I’ll handle it.”
How generous… Shen Yao couldn’t help but marvel. The hardest part of the mission was solved by just a word from her.
He dragged the video progress bar, stopping at the image of a handsome young man.
The subtitles revealed this was the Night News host of Yaoguang City, a Radio Host, and also Xu Jia’s Broadcast Teacher—Zhong Wen.
Zhong Wen faced the reporter’s questions with reddened eyes, answering in perfect broadcast diction: “Xu Jia has always been my best student. I never imagined something like this could happen to her…”
Shen Yao pointed at the screen. “That’s the one.”
“Him?”
Shen Yao nodded seriously. “Within the social circle of a student who hasn’t entered society, the person with the most complicated social connections is this Broadcast Teacher and News Host.
And if anyone could arrange to meet a female student in secret and had enough social influence to cover it up, it would be him.”
“You mean…?”
“He definitely knows where Xu Jia is. Or at the very least, he knows how the Phone Ghost came into being.”
As he spoke, Shen Yao got up and began packing his bag, preparing to track down this Zhong Wen.
Qiao Yunxue hesitated. “Isn’t that too much of a leap? You’re basing all this just on a news video?”
Shen Yao turned back and smiled. “Just like I said, we don’t need rules or evidence to find someone.”
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