It was noon when they finally entered the city.
Yi Sa didn’t head toward the city center. Upon seeing a decent hotel, she parked the car. High-end hotels had strict rules – Wu Gui couldn’t enter the guest rooms. After paying some extra money, they arranged for him to stay overnight in the food and beverage department. The department’s name sounded ominous, and Yi Sa genuinely worried that Wu Gui might be slaughtered like poultry.
As an “undocumented person,” Zong Hang lingered across the street as usual, occasionally gazing up longingly at the windows above, waiting to receive a signal. However, after waiting for a while, Yi Sa unexpectedly came back out and called to him: “Come with me to make a phone call.”
Why did she need someone to accompany her to make a phone call? Zong Hang was puzzled for a moment before realizing she was looking for a public phone booth.
Looking around, the streets were full of people glued to their mobile phones, heads bowed. In recent years, not just public phone booths but even home landlines have almost been completely replaced by mobile phones. They walked through several streets before finally finding a booth in a small alley.
Yi Sa exchanged some coins at a nearby convenience store and led him into the phone booth.
Indeed, few people used it anymore – there was a layer of dust on top of the phone, but fortunately, the dial tone in the receiver was normal. Yi Sa inserted the coins and dialed a number while looking at a photo on her mobile phone.
It was the missing person notice from Jing Xiu – was she calling Jing Xiu?
Zong Hang’s heart suddenly tightened.
While waiting for the call to connect, Yi Sa instructed Zong Hang: “Don’t say anything when she answers. Just listen to what I say to her.”
Zong Hang nodded. The phone booth had a door, and through the glass, he could see the outside – the sun was blazing and people were coming and going, but filtered through the phone booth, it didn’t feel stuffy or noisy.
Jing Xiu’s voice came through: “Hello?”
Zong Hang’s heart warmed – they had been friends after all: the small chat terrace at the Angkor Grand Hotel, and that colorful book “The Beauty of Angkor” – her voice brought it all back as if it were right before his eyes.
A strange voice spoke up: “Is this Jing Xiu?”
Zong Hang was startled, thinking a third person had suddenly appeared in the phone booth, and looked around frantically.
“Yes, who is this?”
“I saw your missing person notice…”
Zong Hang realized that it was indeed Yi Sa speaking, but her lips weren’t moving – he couldn’t tell where this eerie voice was coming from.
Jing Xiu’s voice carried a hint of impatience: “Is this some kind of prank call? Go ahead, tell me, what’s the name of the person I’m looking for?”
Can’t blame her for having a bad temper – since posting the missing person notice, she hadn’t received a single legitimate call, just people offering fake IDs, selling insurance, or promoting male enhancement pills. She was so annoyed she’d considered changing her number.
“Are you looking for Zong Hang?”
Jing Xiu’s end went quiet for a second or two, then her tone turned surprised and delighted: “Oh, yes, yes, I’m sorry, I thought it was a spam call… Do you have news about Zong Hang?”
“It’s not convenient to discuss over the phone. Could we meet in person?”
Jing Xiu hesitated a bit: “Well… that’s not very convenient. I’m not in Jiangxi right now.”
She suddenly became urgent: “But if you can wait a day or two, I can come over.”
“It takes that long? May I ask where you are now?”
“It could be as quick as one day, I’ll try my best to hurry. I’m in Taiyuan now…”
Yi Sa hung up immediately.
Zong Hang noticed that when she heard “Taiyuan,” her face darkened almost instantly.
He carefully asked: “What’s wrong? Is there… something wrong with Taiyuan?”
Yi Sa took a breath and rubbed her throat, returning her voice from ventriloquism to normal: “Ding Changsheng and his partner have two regular locations – one by the great river at Hukou, the other in the city for convenient access: Taiyuan.”
Jing Xiu stared blankly at her phone.
She had tried calling back twice, but there was no answer.
The real estate agent beside her was getting impatient: “Hey, miss, what do you think of this shop? It’s street-facing, 3,500 per month, very reasonable. Get a renovation team to partition it, live in the back, run a business in the front – perfect for both commercial and residential use, couldn’t be more convenient…”
Jing Xiu was a bit dazed: “I have something to attend to today, let’s look another time… another time.”
She pushed open the door, the glass door swaying twice, leaving the agent’s grumbling behind her.
This area wasn’t downtown – the residential buildings were grey and dim, the storefronts and signs were dull, and there were many taxis on the street, painted white on top and red on bottom. These should have been the most eye-catching colors, but many drivers were too lazy to maintain them, letting them gather dust.
From Siem Reap to Lake Poyang to Taiyuan, Jing Xiu felt like she was in a dream, her head spinning, decisions coming as carelessly as brush strokes.
That day, she had “explained” her relationship with Zong Hang in just a few words, having made up her mind: what couldn’t be said couldn’t be said, and if asked again, she’d give the same amount of information – don’t know!
Ding Xi was skilled at reading women’s emotions and thoughts. Observing her manner, he knew that pressing further would only cause resentment. Better to retreat to advance, and besides, he understood Jing Xiu’s position – Zong Hang must be connected to Yi Xiao, and Yi Xiao was too careful to reveal anything crucial to a temporary hire.
Anyway, from Jing Xiu’s words, he had confirmed that the person called Zong Hang was indeed still alive: what he saw in the kitchen was real, not his imagination or someone who looked similar.
So he changed the subject, turning to romance: “Are you going back to Siem Reap? What are your plans for the future?”
Jing Xiu felt uncertain: her work in Siem Reap had fallen through, and Yi Xiao and Zong Hang had both disappeared. If there was no news from them after this, what would she be? Someone who excitedly changed jobs only to have the new employer pack up and run after just a few days?
It seemed that way.
But looking at it closely, she hadn’t lost out – after all, she hadn’t been employed for even a month and had received a piece of persimmon gold.
Ding Xi’s next words made her heart flutter.
“Last time in Siem Reap, I asked about your feelings. Between us, there’s both emotion and fate.”
He took out a cigarette and lit it: “Don’t expect me to love you desperately – I’ve never been one for romance. I’ve had several women, but if you can settle down, I’m too lazy to change again.”
“In short, if you want to leave, I won’t stop you; if you want to stay, I’m willing to keep you. Think about it.”
The signal was very clear.
Jing Xiu’s mind was pounding. After steadying herself, she asked him: “Then what about Zong Hang… what’s the story? You’d seen him before, right?”
She couldn’t answer without clearing this up.
Ding Xi took a couple of drags on his cigarette, then held it and extinguished it: “Yes, I saw him. At the time, he had been kidnapped. I saw it, but the kidnappers were drug dealers, and I was too scared to interfere. I never wanted to mention it to anyone… first because I feared trouble, and second… well, it wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.”
This reason seemed logical and reasonable to Jing Xiu.
She said: “Let me think about it.”
Ding Xi’s words weren’t exactly sweet, but Jing Xiu found them authentic. Her tendency to be muddle-headed struck again, and she interpreted his “if you can settle down, I’m too lazy to change again” as “if you come, I can settle down for you.”
But she wasn’t given much time to think.
The next day, people on the boat began to disperse. The first group disembarked right there, and the second group got off at Laoyemiao, including Ding Xi. At the time, Jing Xiu was on the deck, and watching his departing figure felt like being struck with a club.
Was it her “let me think about it” that made him feel she was being affected? Did he decide to just not bother with her anymore?
She had nowhere to go, and still held onto the hope that “Zong Hang might come back,” so she stayed on the boat. However, when they reached Jiujiang, the journey ended, and as the staff cleared the boat, she couldn’t even stay there anymore.
Jing Xiu had no choice but to return by car to where she first boarded the boat. She printed some missing person notices and posted them all over the dock: you hired me, then disappeared, and I didn’t just walk away – I’m still trying to contact you, that’s loyal enough.
But loyalty isn’t stupidity, and she couldn’t wait forever. After waiting for almost a week in an unfamiliar place, Jing Xiu didn’t want to stay anymore. Besides, the missing person notices were still up with her phone number – if they wanted to find her, they could always contact her.
She packed her luggage and went to the bus station.
But in the bustling ticket hall, looking up at the bus schedule, she realized she had no idea where to go.
There was no point in returning to Siem Reap.
Kunming? She couldn’t face going back there. She had originally gone against her family’s wishes to follow her boyfriend to Cambodia to make their fortune, and now…
While she was hesitating, a man came over and handed her a connected phone, saying: “Brother Xi is looking for you.”
On the other end, Ding Xi asked: “Have you thought about it? I’m heading back to Taiyuan these days. If you’re willing, I’ll come pick you up and we’ll go together.”
Jing Xiu returned to the hotel.
When she opened the door, she heard the TV on inside. Sure enough, Ding Xi was there, sitting on the sofa watching television.
Hearing her come in, Ding Xi didn’t even lift his eyelids: “You could have stayed at my place, but you insist on spending money on a hotel. I offered to find you a storefront, with me as an investor, but you wouldn’t have that either. Since you’re here already, why play at being independent?”
He truly felt it was unnecessary – he could certainly afford to keep a woman or two.
Jing Xiu said: “Because I want to.”
Ding Xi laughed.
He felt that women who were too gentle and compliant lacked flavor, while those too sharp became tiresome. Jing Xiu was just right – a flower of understanding in leisure time, but with thorns upon closer inspection.
But his palms were calloused, and he wasn’t afraid of getting pricked.
“How’s the store-hunting going?”
“It’s okay.”
Jing Xiu was somewhat distracted, still thinking about the earlier phone call. Setting aside the news about Zong Hang, who was that woman who called? The voice was both strange and unpleasant, somewhat like Yi Xiao.
Ding Xi noticed the perfunctory tone in her voice and gave her a strange look. Just as he was about to ask something more, his phone rang.
It was San Tou Yin Ge – Ding Changsheng.
Ding Xi frowned, letting it ring for a few seconds before answering, but as soon as he connected, his voice became eager and pressing: “Godfather.”
Jing Xiu looked at him curiously.
Over the past few days of interaction, she felt that the relationship between Ding Xi and his “godfather” was quite intriguing, like the front and back of a person: on the surface, completely obedient, never defiant, always at beck and call, but in the shadow trailing behind, there lurked perfunctory compliance, resistance, and even a hint of disgust.
There was hesitation and contemplation in Ding Changsheng’s voice: “Ding Xi, there’s something you need to watch out for.”
Ding Xi glanced at Jing Xiu and walked toward the window. Jing Xiu sat without moving, using the remote to change channels while lowering the volume.
“I heard today that Ding Yudie, that fellow, has been asking several people if I have a kiln factory.”
Ding Yudie? That effeminate water ghost who always had a flower or butterfly in his hair?
Ding Xi was puzzled: “Why is he asking about that?”
“Exactly. This guy has never dealt with us, and he’s not one to meddle in affairs. Suddenly he’s eagerly asking about the kiln factory – the more I think about it, the more it seems wrong.”
Ding Xi pondered for a moment: “At most, he could find out about that old kiln factory you used to run, but that shouldn’t matter, right? It’s been paved over into an asphalt road long ago.”
“That’s true,” Ding Changsheng said meaningfully, “but the words ‘kiln factory’… you understand.”
Indeed, this was a major concern.
“What do you want me to do?”
“First, have some people watch Ding Yudie. You know, he doesn’t get along with anyone except Yi Sa. During the Jiang family’s opening of Jin Tang, they just met, and as soon as he returned, he urgently started asking about the kiln factory. Don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence?”
Ding Xi made a sound of agreement.
“Second, what’s the current situation at the kiln factory?”
Ding Xi said: “Yi Xiao…”
He glanced at Jing Xiu’s direction and lowered his voice further: “Yi Xiao was the last one. After she escaped, that place wasn’t of much use anymore. I left a few people to guard it, and withdrew everyone else.”
Ding Changsheng thought for a moment: “No, that’s not appropriate. Do this – go handle it in the next few days, bring out all the important items, and as for what’s left… burn it all down.”