Thursday was the favorite day for everyone in Class 7. The last class in the afternoon was Physical Education, and the teacher didn’t bother much with them. This meant everyone could play basketball, rush to finish homework in the classroom, or simply go to the internet cafe after the exercises.

 

While walking from the school building to the sports field, Mao Silu caught up with Zhong Qi, patting the basketball. “Zhong Qi, have you seen Kai Kai?”

“No.”

Mao Silu seemed puzzled: “He’s been missing these days, not playing ball with us, and said he’s been going to the internet cafe.”

Zhong Qi said, “You should ask him directly.”

“I did, but he didn’t say much. He just mentioned going to the internet cafe to play games.”

Zhong Qi was feeling a bit warm. He rolled up his sleeves and after a moment, he said, “I remember he usually goes to the internet cafe with you.”

“Right? That’s why I found it strange.” Before Mao Silu could finish his sentence, he turned and saw Lin Shiyu passing by. He called out to him. “Shiyu, want to play ball together?”

Without even turning his head, Lin Shiyu replied, “I’m not playing.”

“You’re free anyway. Let’s play together.”

Lin Shiyu turned his head. His gaze met Zhong Qi’s and he immediately gave him a glare.

Zhong Qi raised an eyebrow. “You’re holding a grudge like this? Didn’t I give you a ride back on my bike later?” 

Zhong Qi spoke up, “What else do you want?”

Lin Shiyu turned to face him. “So, I’m supposed to thank you?”

“It’s only right.”

“You played around with me!”

“Didn’t I compensate you with food?”

“Is that your idea of compensation? Is playing with me fun to you?”

“Petty.”

“Huh?!”

Mao Silu, bewildered, found himself stuck between the two. “Hey? Why are you arguing again? Come on, don’t argue.”

Shen Ziyi passed by, saying, “Haha, these two are having a tiff again.”

Tao Chen added, “They seem to have a great relationship.”

Lin Shiyu absolutely didn’t want others to misunderstand that he had a good relationship with Zhong Qi. He immediately shut up and walked away quickly, distancing himself from them.

Zhong Qi watched Lin Shiyu walk away, thoughtful.

After the warm-up run, everyone dispersed to play individually. Lin Shiyu, as usual, intended to return to the classroom alone. However, before he could leave the sports field, Zhong Qi appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path.

“I have something to ask you,” Zhong Qi said.

Lin Shiyu, his patience running out, asked, “You’re not done yet?”

Zhong Qi, looking utterly unconcerned, casually sat on a nearby ladder structure and gestured to the bottle of mineral water beside him, indicating Lin Shiyu to come and sit down.

Lin Shiyu, seeing that Zhong Qi wasn’t joking, hesitated for a moment. Eventually, he climbed the ladder and sat down, keeping some distance from Zhong Qi.

“When you went to the photo studio to take pictures, did you notice anything strange about the photographer?” Zhong Qi inquired.

His sudden mention of this incident left Lin Shiyu stunned. He thought for a while. While he didn’t know why Zhong Qi was asking this all of a sudden, he still responded. “I didn’t find anything particularly strange, but I didn’t like him.” As for why he didn’t like the photographer, Lin Shiyu couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason; it was more of a feeling.

Then, Lin Shiyu suddenly remembered the chaotic message Zhao Bin had left for him.

Zhong Qi seemed to have thought of something, but he didn’t rush and just quietly waited.

“However, later, he sent me some strange messages.”

“What did he say?”

“He said… he wanted me to pay money. Then he mentioned that if I went back to continue the photoshoot, I wouldn’t have to pay.” Lin Shiyu found it difficult to recall. That day, he casually glanced at the messages and quickly blocked and deleted the person without going into detail. He had almost forgotten about it now.

“Then what happened?”

“Then, I deleted him.”

Adjusting his posture, Zhong Qi folded his legs, resting them on the ladder steps, and leaned his arms on his knees. “What about the chat history?”

“I didn’t save it. Why?”

Zhong Qi stared at Lin Shiyu. The intense gaze made Lin Shiyu feel uncomfortable. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Have you ever thought that if he really installed a camera in the fitting room, it means the footage of the models changing clothes at that photo studio might have been recorded?” Zhong Qi asked Lin Shiyu.

Lin Shiyu immediately had a bewildered expression.

Zhong Qi continued, “By threatening you with the video, he wanted to further control you, and make you comply with his demands. He probably did the same to the models before.

“Furthermore, why did he look for student models at a high school gate? Why not advertise directly? Why only high school students? Have you ever considered the reason?”

Lin Shiyu’s expression indicated that he hadn’t thought about it at all.

Zhong Qi gave the answer with an impassive face. “Because high schoolers are really easy to fool, like you.”

“I–”

“He tells you to take photos, and you just go. You don’t even think of saving the chat history and you’re not even scared when threatened.” Zhong Qi lightly tapped Lin Shiyu’s head with the water bottle. “You’re quite something, Lin Shiyu.”

This time, Lin Shiyu was truly speechless. He had never thought about the things Zhong Qi was saying. He was solely focused on finding Zhao Bin weird and disgusting, wanting to distance himself from him without diving deeper into the motives behind all of Zhao Bin’s actions. He hadn’t even considered that Zhao Bin might have threatened more than just one person in the same way.

Lin Shiyu began to realize the seriousness of the situation. “Should we report it to the police?”

Zhong Qi thought for a moment and said, “Without evidence, the police might not be able to investigate deeply.”

Lin Shiyu questioned, “Why not just tell the police that he’s deceiving high schoolers for photoshoots and harassing them?”

“If you only want to catch him for harassing and threatening students, you can report it to the police now. But if he used those videos for something worse and no one knows about it, no one will take it seriously. He could destroy the evidence easily and secretly. Besides, you did hit him and broke his camera, so he might retaliate.”

Lin Shiyu muttered, “Right, I also took his money.”

The two crouched on the ladder, talking for a while and eventually came up with a plan. They decided to walk near the photo studio after school, wait for Zhao Bin to leave the studio, and then Lin Shiyu would pretend to have left something in the dressing room to check if there really was a hidden camera. If found, they would take it and report it to the police; if not, it would be even better, because it would indicate that Zhao Bin was only using verbal threats.

Opposite the ErLiuWan Photo Studio, in a cake shop, Lin Shiyu and Zhong Qi sat on a bench by the window, each with a bottle of water.

“I remember him saying at ErLiuWan they would work at the photo studio, and usually finish work at six.” Lin Shiyu checked the time on his phone and said, “Another twenty minutes.”

Zhong Qi remarked, “You’re quite motivated, aren’t you.”

Lin Shiyu was silent. It took a while before he cleared his throat but he still didn’t respond.

Initially, Zhong Qi’s words were casual. However, upon seeing a bit of embarrassment on Lin Shiyu’s face, a strange thought suddenly occurred to him.

Could it be that, due to his impulsive act of deleting Zhao Bin, which resulted in losing the chat history and the evidence left by him, Lin Shiyu felt guilty and decided to come back specifically to find evidence?

After six o’clock, Zhao Bin’s figure appeared at the entrance of the photo studio.

Lin Shiyu straightened his body and then paused for a moment.

He saw Zhao Bin followed closely by Xiao Ran. The girl remained quiet and didn’t engage in conversation with Zhao Bin, merely following a step behind him.

Zhong Qi asked, “Who is that girl?”

“She helps with makeup at the photo studio,” Lin Shiyu appeared somewhat puzzled as well.

“Are they related?”

“No.”

“Are they a couple?”

“Probably not…” Lin Shiyu couldn’t be sure. He hadn’t specifically observed the relationship between these two individuals, let alone asked. He only knew that they weren’t relatives. From his perception, at most, they were just regular colleagues.

Lin Shiyu muttered, “I remember she’s about the same age as me.”

Both of them realized a potential issue. If they were indeed a couple, then they were meddling unnecessarily. However, there was the tiniest chance that the girl was being “deceived” by Zhao Bin for some reason; and another possibility, if they left the city and went to an untraceable place, and if the girl lost contact, then the situation would become irreversible.

Lin Shiyu almost decided without much consideration. “Let’s follow them.”

After leaving the photo studio, Zhao Bin and Xiao Ran headed towards the subway station. Lin Shiyu and Zhong Qi followed from a distance and entered the subway station. Fortunately, this was the time when people were leaving work or school, and the station was crowded, so the two of them managed to maintain quite a distance from Zhao Bin and Xiao Ran, and waited at the entrance of the subway.

What puzzled Lin Shiyu was that Zhao Bin and Xiao Ran hardly exchanged any conversation throughout the journey, nor any eye contact. Hurried passersby might not notice these details, but to Lin Shiyu, who had been observing them, it gradually became evident that something strange was happening when two people who were supposedly friends and colleagues walked together without interaction.

Lin Shiyu felt he was missing something. He repeatedly searched his mind but seemed to lack a key reminder, leaving him puzzled.

As the train arrived, the crowd rushed into the carriage. Lin Shiyu, pushed and shoved by the crowd, stumbled towards the door on the other side of the subway, quickly raising his hand to grab onto something, and inadvertently caught Zhong Qi’s sleeve.

Zhong Qi stood in front of him, one hand supporting himself against the carriage wall, attempting to carve out some space in the midst of the crowd.

Lin Shiyu tried to see where Zhao Bin was, a few carriages away, but the crowd was too dense. His stature wasn’t particularly tall, and Zhao Bin wasn’t tall either, so neither of them could see each other. Zhong Qi found this amusing. He looked over, then turned back, “They’re standing near the handrails.”

Lin Shiyu could only say: “Oh,” seemingly a bit disgruntled. Seeing Lin Shiyu’s expression, Zhong Qi asked him to lean a bit forward in front of him, trying to look through the crowded gaps. Lin Shiyu could barely see Zhao Bin holding onto the handrail, looking at his phone, and Xiao Ran, facing away from them as she kept her distance from Zhao Bin.

Lin Shiyu shifted his gaze downward, lost in thought.

He has always been indifferent to things unrelated to himself. So many details are directly forgotten after a quick run through his mind. However, he could distinctly sense Xiao Ran’s reluctance to be close to Zhao Bin. Since she didn’t want to be near him, why was she working with him?

“I don’t quite understand,” Lin Shiyu murmured.

Zhong Qi bent slightly, whispering, “Understand what?”

Lin Shiyu made an effort to recall. “Earlier when I hit Zhao Bin, and was leaving, I saw this girl at the door. She told me not to come here to take pictures again, then pushed me out the door.”

“Then what happened?”

“She also said I could work at other studios, as if she really didn’t want me to stay at this photo studio. Why?”

“Explain her situation to me,” Zhong Qi said.

Lin Shiyu then told Zhong Qi everything he knew. To prevent the slightly peculiar conversation between the two from being overheard, Zhong Qi approached, one hand grabbing the handrail near Lin Shiyu’s ear, almost shrouding his upper body in the shadows and blocking the surrounding people.

After hearing Lin Shiyu’s words, Zhong Qi pondered for a moment, turning his head to look at Zhao Bin and Xiao Ran.

Lin Shiyu couldn’t make sense of it himself and asked Zhong Qi, “What did she mean by saying these things?”

Zhong Qi leaned in closer, his eyes lowered, casting a faint shadow from his eyelashes, appearing calm and aloof.

“Two possibilities.” Zhong Qi lowered his voice. “She is an accomplice or a victim.”

A chilling sensation crept up Lin Shiyu’s skin. “But she isn’t a model, she’s a staff member at the studio.”

“She’s a vulnerable girl,” Zhong Qi explained. “Graduating from high school and working alone indicates a difficult family economic situation. Her parents are not around, and she might not have any support in this city.”

Lin Shiyu finally understood. This thin, quiet girl didn’t speak to anyone in the studio, tidied up and left whenever Zhao Bin approached, and kept her eyes down when speaking to Lin Shiyu. Lin Shiyu initially thought she was naturally introverted and timid, but now it was entirely possible that she simply didn’t want to communicate with Zhao Bin.

In the brief interactions and conversation with Lin Shiyu, she spoke those strange words twice. It wasn’t dissatisfaction with Lin Shiyu’s professional ability or personality, but a warning. It could even be seen as a signal for help.

If Lin Shiyu had paid a bit more attention to her and been a bit more alert, perhaps this signal could have been successfully conveyed. However, Xiao Ran had just missed the mark. If it wasn’t for Zhong Qi noticing that something was off, this incident would’ve passed unnoticed by everyone in their lives.

Lin Shiyu clenched his fists, feeling a surge of anger, not only towards Zhao Bin but also towards his own foolishness.

Seeing him staring at the ground without speaking, Zhong Qi guessed he was probably sulking. Zhong Qi found Lin Shiyu’s stubborn and sulking appearance a bit silly but oddly felt it was a cute kind of stubbornness. He reached out and ruffled his hair. “We can still help her now.”

Lin Shiyu muttered, “But it’s been too long.”

“There aren’t many timely things in life.”

Zhong Qi leaned closer to Lin Shiyu, lowering his voice. “Later, I’ll ask you for one thing.”

The low, cold voice accompanied by warm breath reached Lin Shiyu’s ear closely. He instinctively turned his head slightly, his eyelashes quivering almost imperceptibly. “Don’t get this close.”

Zhong Qi said, “Later, whatever happens, don’t hit anyone.”

Lin Shiyu initially thought that Zhong Qi was going to say something important, but at his words, his attention was immediately diverted, leaving him almost gasping on the spot. “Am I such an impulsive person?”

Zhong Qi’s expression clearly meant to say ‘Yes, you are.’

Lin Shiyu raised his hand to grab Zhong Qi’s collar, but Zhong Qi instinctively caught his wrist and pressed it down firmly. “Stop messing around.”

“A perfect match,” a light and drifting voice came from beside them.

“Definitely a couple,” another voice intentionally lowered in tone.

Feeling frustrated, Lin Shiyu withdrew his hand and restrained his actions to avoid further misunderstandings.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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