The two of them found a teahouse nearby, sipping tea as they kept watch on the apartment not far away.
Shen Yao remembered how his father loved drinking tea when he was alive, even planting tea trees by their courtyard gate.
Whenever they made tea, his father would always call Shen Yao over to join in.
What Shen Yao loved most was the step of rolling the tea, pinching the tea leaves in his hands, rubbing them into strips, kneading them until they wilted, and finally covering them with a bamboo-leaf-woven basket.
Overcome by the scene and memories, he pinched his own thigh quietly, forcing himself not to dwell on the past.
Sometimes, the more one remembers, the more the pain etches itself deep into the bones.
If there were such a thing as a medicine for forgetting, he would probably gulp it down without hesitation.
Qiao Yunxue couldn’t hold out past three in the afternoon, laying her head on the table for a short nap.
Shen Yao looked at her sleeping face: her red hair flowed like a waterfall, sunlight passing through the strands, glowing faintly with a hint of dawn.
The skin of her cheek was slightly pressed in by her arm, as delicate as a drop of water.
Her skin was so tender that under the sunlight, it flushed with a mesmerizing blush.
As Qiao Yunxue slept, there was a fleeting, ephemeral smile on her lips, as if she was chasing after a half-remembered dream.
Her breathing was soft and even, her rosy lips gently parted, showing a neat row of front teeth—it made one’s heart ache with tenderness.
When she was awake, she was like a walking flame, or like a rampaging lava flow, fierce and unrestrained, making even the air sizzle.
But after she slept, she was the complete opposite, like a red lotus lying dormant beneath the water, its reflection glimpsed only through the shimmering surface and drifting mist.
Shen Yao silently gazed at the girl’s face, thinking, what a beautiful person she was—so beautiful that he lost himself, so beautiful that he couldn’t help but follow her down a road of no return.
He always thought he wasn’t a shallow person, that he was different from other men his age.
Yet after meeting Qiao Yunxue, the pounding of his heart made him tremble with fear.
He wondered, if Qiao Yunxue had firmly rejected him that day, or hadn’t spoken to him, could he have left behind this sprouting feeling without guilt and focused on his studies instead?
It was precisely because they maintained this ambiguous distance that he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Shen Yao looked out the window. The white clouds kept changing—one moment an old man, the next a dog. Unknowingly, it was already evening.
A deliveryman on an electric scooter arrived in front of the apartment, carrying a takeout bag marked “Guo Fushun Wonton Shop – Supports Citywide Delivery.”
Shen Yao’s eyes narrowed slightly. He shook Qiao Yunxue awake; she was still groggy, “What is it, what is it?”
“There’s movement.” Shen Yao pointed at the apartment.
They saw Zhong Wen open the door, letting the deliveryman inside, and before closing the door, he glanced around as if on guard against something.
After about ten minutes, the door opened again, and the deliveryman came out.
This time, his appearance had changed: beneath his helmet, he now wore a mask and sunglasses, along with an extra pair of gloves.
Not a single bit of skin was exposed. In this Daxia summer, why would someone dress like this?
Qiao Yunxue was fully awake now. She hurriedly pointed at the deliveryman mounting the electric scooter, “That’s Zhong Wen in disguise! Hurry, let’s follow him!”
Shen Yao frowned and pressed Qiao Yunxue down, “Wait a little longer.”
Not far off, the police who’d been covertly watching also started their cars and quietly tailed the disguised deliveryman. Sure enough, even the police thought this guy was suspicious.
Qiao Yunxue urged anxiously, “What are we waiting for? If the police get there first, all our hard work these days will be for nothing!”
“I don’t think Zhong Wen would be so careless… If he were really that stupid, he’d have been arrested long ago.” He was uncertain too.
“Let’s wait another hour. If there’s still no movement in the apartment, we’ll make another decision.”
But Zhong Wen’s patience wasn’t as great as Shen Yao imagined.
After just fifteen minutes, the back door of the apartment opened, and a man wearing a baseball cap and hoodie slipped out.
He carried a trash bag, pretending to throw it into the bin, but in reality circled around the large garbage can and headed off in another direction.
Shen Yao finally got up, “This is the real Zhong Wen. Let’s follow him.”
*
After winding through several streets, Zhong Wen hailed a taxi, spoke to the driver with his head lowered, and soon got in and was driven off, destination unknown.
Shen Yao, following behind, was getting anxious, “Can’t this electric scooter go any faster? That taxi is getting further and further away!”
Qiao Yunxue was exasperated, “I’m already going as fast as I can! This lousy bike tops out at forty kilometers an hour.”
Shen Yao simply got off the back seat and hailed a passing taxi, “Sir, follow that car ahead.”
“Kid, I’m already off duty! I’ve got to pick up my daughter from school!”
Qiao Yunxue pushed the scooter to the curb, pulled out a handful of hundred-yuan bills, “I’ll pay you five times the fare!”
Shen Yao was stunned—was this how the rich negotiated?
“All right, both of you get in!”
The two of them quickly got in the back seat.
Drivers in Yaoguang City seemed especially chatty, particularly when they saw young faces, always eager to find a topic—as if to prove they weren’t old yet, “Hey, young couple out on a date? Why are you tailing someone?”
“Who’s a couple with him!” Qiao Yunxue retorted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Shen Yao was speechless, “Sir, I’m her uncle.”
“U-uncle?”
Shen Yao nodded repeatedly, “Yes, I may look young, but I’m much older than her by generation. Isn’t that right, niece?”
Qiao Yunxue clenched her teeth with a grinding sound.
Shen Yao pointed at the taxi ahead, “Sir, the woman in that car is her aunt. I suspect she’s sneaking around on a date. Please help us keep up with that car.”
The driver’s mind was about to explode.
Through the rearview mirror, he stared dumbfounded at the young Shen Yao and Qiao Yunxue.
Uncle, aunt, niece—was this what young people were up to nowadays? Was he really too old now? Couldn’t keep up with their logic at all?
Shen Yao pushed his luck and patted Qiao Yunxue’s knee, “Niece, hold on tight.”
Qiao Yunxue clenched her fists and glared fiercely at Shen Yao, her eyes saying: Just wait and see!
The taxi carrying Zhong Wen deliberately circled within the city before heading toward the outskirts.
Qiao Yunxue suddenly realized, “Isn’t this road to the Comprehensive Logistics Park?”
“Comprehensive Logistics Park?”
“That’s my dad’s business.” Qiao Yunxue explained simply, “There are trucks, warehouses, and sorting stations—basically a bunch of miscellaneous stuff.”
The driver’s eyes widened, “Miss, your family’s in logistics? I tell you, these days, logistics and earthwork companies always have a little shady business!”
Shen Yao frowned, “What’s he going to the logistics park for?”
The driver chimed in, “Maybe to meet someone. That place is huge, perfect for a date, especially with night coming on.”
This reminded them both: the Comprehensive Logistics Park was far from the city and strictly managed by the company—a perfect place to hide people or things.
Shen Yao and Qiao Yunxue exchanged glances; the same thought occurred to them at once, “Xu Jia is being hidden in the logistics park!”
*
Zhong Wen got out of the taxi, casually pulled a hundred-yuan note from his wallet and handed it to the driver, “Wait for me here for twenty minutes. If I’m not back in twenty, just leave.”
Then he looked around to make sure no one was following, before heading into the empty logistics park after hours.
Twenty minutes later, Zhong Wen, drenched in sweat, emerged from the park and got back into the taxi to leave.
Once he was gone, Shen Yao and Qiao Yunxue emerged from their hiding spot.
Without a word, the two of them walked side by side into the logistics park, determined to find out what Zhong Wen had gone through all this trouble for.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.