Zhou Yu was about to hang the clothes out to dry. He shook them “puff puff” a couple of times, heard footsteps behind him, and looked back. Li Jin Yu had gotten up at some point and was leaning against the courtyard door, head lowered, taking a cigarette from the pack while casually asking: “Any news from Liang Yun An’s side?”

Zhou Yu thought you’ve finally remembered to care about me.

“We’ve been squatting until our legs went numb without seeing even a chicken feather from ‘Yin Zhen.’ Officer Liang is nearly fed up too.”

Just as he finished speaking, Li Jin Yu’s phone rang. He took it out and saw it was Liang Yun An, so he put the cigarette back, tossed it on the table, and answered: “Officer Liang?”

Liang Yun An’s voice seemed caught in the wind, accompanied by the sound of urgent swallowing: “Yesterday at three in the morning, a woman committed suicide by jumping from Hongguang Building.”

“Is there surveillance footage?”

“Someone recorded a video, and at the scene, we found a book—it’s Zhou Yu’s book ‘The Door.’ The woman was holding the book when she jumped from the building. We suspect this isn’t just an ordinary pyramid scheme organization. This ‘Yin Zhen’ might be a cult.”

At the same time, Ye Meng was scrolling through the “jumping video” on Weibo. After Gou Kai finished speaking, before Ye Meng could even roll her eyes, Tai Ming Xiao abruptly pushed open the door, and without a word, showed them the video. “This video is terrifying. This woman was doing some kind of ritual before jumping. I don’t know what kind of brainwashing she went through.”

The footage was blurry because it was three in the morning. In the entire frame, only the LED lights of the Hongguang Building were on. In the pale, dim moonlight, the woman’s silhouette appeared somewhat mysterious. The camera was shooting from below, so her features weren’t clear. From a distance, one could only see a vague, thin human figure standing on the rooftop. What made the scene eerie was that the woman on the roof moved like a withered puppet, pacing back and forth, each step taken particularly slowly. She seemed to be counting, and the scene was very quiet. The long-haired woman in white clothing moved like a wandering soul, slowly walking from one end of the roof to the other, completely unaware.

If not for the progress bar giving Ye Meng mental preparation that she would jump in the next second, just looking at this scene, one wouldn’t expect her to suddenly jump off the building. She seemed like a walking corpse, moving emotionlessly, and then in the next moment, she suddenly leaped into the night. The wind lifted her skirt, and if not for the dull, heavy thud, that light shadow would have seemed like just a white dress falling from the sky, something no one would notice.

Tai Ming Xiao shuddered with goosebumps: “I heard she was a college student. The police have issued a notice saying that when the girl jumped, she was holding a book called ‘The Door.’ You should check if any elderly relatives at home have this kind of book. It’s said to be used for brainwashing by pyramid schemes. Especially in small towns, elderly people are easily deceived.”

Gou Kai hadn’t spoken the entire time, having been interrupted. The roses had wilted and lost their fragrance. He stood up, casually tossed the flowers into the trash bin, picked up his suit, and turned to leave.

Only then did Tai Ming Xiao belatedly realize, “He-he-he isn’t pursuing you too, is he?”

Ye Meng, wearing a navy blue suit, looked capable and mature, leaning lazily against the edge of the desk, and gave an affirmative sound.

Tai Ming Xiao couldn’t help but rest his chin in his hand, seriously looking Ye Meng over, clicking his tongue twice before finally giving a warning: “Stay away from that naive fool. Let me tell you, he’s got a bunch of messy issues lately, busy to the point of distraction. That day, he was probably troubled by family matters and couldn’t hold back, which is why he acted that way with you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have—he really wouldn’t have, knowing you’re married—”

“What’s going on with his family?” Ye Meng curiously put down her water cup.

Tai Ming Xiao, holding nothing back, played with the globe on her desk and said, “What else could it be? He’s at odds with his mother. His mother never really cared for him since he was young, and now the old man has given him shares. Now she’s keeping a close eye on him.”

“Is Li Jin Yu her biological son? Why would she be against her son?”

Tai Ming Xiao laughed and said: “This woman, Li Ling Bai, if I hadn’t been close with Li Jin Yu since childhood, I wouldn’t believe such a woman exists in this world. She once filed a police report, hoping the police would arrest Li Jin Yu.”

“Why?” Ye Meng raised her head, her voice unconsciously trembling.

The office had a huge floor-to-ceiling window overlooking magnificent buildings and the stream of cars on the elevated highway. The world had never actually stopped, regardless of how many people died in a given second.

Tai Ming Xiao’s tone traced back to the past. He stared at the buildings rising in the sky, his gaze becoming distant and profound. “We all know that Li Jin Yu’s brother’s racing accident was just that—an accident. But Li Ling Bai insisted that Li Jin Yu killed Li Si Yang because, according to her, Li Jin Yu once told her that if his brother died, would she be nice to him then? She believed that Li Jin Yu’s love for her had transcended moral boundaries. She even told the police that Li Jin Yu wanted to have relations with her. Can you believe how absurd that is?”

“The police couldn’t have arrested him just based on that, right?”

“They did. Li Ling Bai pressured the police at the time.”

Tai Ming Xiao’s eyes were full of contempt. Even now, recalling the incident made him hate Li Ling Bai intensely. Gritting his teeth, he said: “Not just Li Jin Yu, all of us who were present that night were taken in and questioned one by one—me, Gou Kai, Li Chen, and many others. Each of us was interrogated for nearly two to three hours, repeatedly describing the details of that night. Until, finally, our parents came to pick us up.”

“What about Li Jin Yu?”

Tai Ming Xiao’s eyes showed a kind of helplessness, a helplessness about the past that pierced Ye Meng’s heart deeply. “He was questioned for forty-eight hours, a full forty-eight hours. The police took turns; when one got tired, another took over. When he walked out of there, Li Chen and I had only one thought left in our minds: he’s done for.”

What destroyed Li Jin Yu wasn’t the forty-eight hours of relentless questioning without sleep or rest.

It was the way people in that small dark room looked at him as if they were looking at a mentally ill person, or at a festering sore on the body of someone with a skin disease—the kind of contempt where they feared they’d be infected with pus just by looking.

They sat on their high horses, dividing the world into black and white, constantly whipping the young man’s will with their righteousness.

They naturally occupied the white end, unhesitatingly classifying him as garbage.

They loudly, repeatedly, and directly questioned the cold-faced young man: “Did you know the car was illegally modified? Did you damage the brake pads?”

“Li Jin Yu, do you have thoughts about assaulting your mother?”

“Li Jin Yu, do you have thoughts about assaulting your mother?”

“Li Jin Yu, do you feel that Li Si Yang took away your mother’s love for you, so you created this accident?”

“Li Jin Yu, I heard you’ve been seeing a psychologist for a long time. Is it because of your abnormal love for your mother?”

“Li Jin Yu, I heard you never have girlfriends?”

The young man felt as if he were a rotting organ, cut open by a doctor in front of everyone, then after a thorough examination of his veins, textures, and composition, they discovered that his entire body was rotten.

Li Jin Yu never spoke. Until the final few hours, when he seemed unable to endure anymore. He slowly closed his eyes, the corners tinged with a cold curve, even trembling slightly. His entire body was trembling, even his slender Adam’s apple couldn’t help but quiver. His throat, as if it had been cut, was so hoarse that no sound could be heard, but the person opposite could see his lips form the words—

“I did not.”

…

After Tai Ming Xiao finished speaking, he sighed, with a strange sense of relief: “Actually, that day, when I saw how he acted with you at the club, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he’s not obsessed with his mother. He hadn’t had a girlfriend for so many years, and I was quite worried. But you two shouldn’t get too close. Li Jin Yu lacks love and can’t resist temptation.”

Ye Meng lit a cigarette, holding it in her slender fingers, and said nothing.

Tai Ming Xiao slapped a file in her hand. She was startled, “What’s this?”

Tai Ming Xiao’s thoughts had returned to the present. He straightened his shirt collar, his eyes gleaming with an unidentified light: “An antique dealer has come from Guangdong. He’s a treasure in the circle. His nickname is ‘Ma Hou.’ In his early years, he was an artifact dealer. Many antique merchants in Guangzhou and Shenzhen got their goods from him. In recent years, he’s shifted to international lines and has a lot of information on foreign collectors. No one knows the market better than him. Many auction companies want to curry favor with him. After all, international lines are much easier than domestic ones, and the prices are higher. Those inviting him to dinner tonight are as numerous as fish crossing a river. If we can’t get an appointment, as a last resort, you could go to Pingling Cave to find some escorts for him, and see if you can extract some information.”

However, Ye Meng never expected that the person who would meet with Ma Hou would be Li Jin Yu. The two had just left the meeting room. The sunset was like embroidered brocade, with tall buildings and clusters of trees seemingly draped in a crimson kasaya robe as if all things could be delivered.

Tai Ming Xiao had his phone on speaker, asking which Li family’s second young master while exchanging a knowing glance with Ye Meng. Then they heard a deep male voice from the speaker, revealing a sense of pride as if he had chosen the best candidate among many suitors: “The second young master of the Hanhai Langan Li family, Li Jin Yu.”

Tai Ming Xiao silently cursed in his heart, “That’s the second grandson!” But on his face, he still wore an overflowing smile, his face full of wrinkles as he said: “Then after nine o’clock tonight, I wonder if Mr. Ma has—”

Ma Hou cut him off directly: “I’m not available today.”

“Click,” he hung up.

Tai Ming Xiao cursed angrily, “This Ma Hou is something. I didn’t expect him to be like this. He seemed so proper before, but now he’s putting on airs just because of Li Jin Yu.”

The two returned to the office. Ye Meng put down the file, took a sip of water, and asked: “Where is Li Jin Yu meeting him?”

“Bashan Club.”

Bashan Club was famously a money pit for the wealthy, opposite to Pingling Cave. Bashan Club had high-class escorts with a ranking system, some even highly educated. Not to mention how magnificent the main hall was, with two Roman columns carved with exquisite patterns at the entrance, instantly outshining Pingling Cave’s weathered arch.

Ye Meng looked at the two Roman columns and sighed: “Tai Ming Xiao, look at his class. Not only spending money but personally accompanying for dining, drinking, and visits. And you were thinking of Pingling Cave.”

Just as she finished speaking, the two heard a lazy voice from behind: “What are you two doing here?”

Both turned sharply to see Li Jin Yu getting out of his car, followed by a cautious Zhou Yu, who was repeatedly bowing to the doorman. Ye Meng feared Zhou Yu would greet her too familiarly, but fortunately, the young man read the situation and timidly called out, “Sister Ye Meng, Brother Tai.”

Tai Ming Xiao got straight to the point: “We heard you have an appointment with Ma Hou, so we came to try our luck.”

“Trying to steal my deal?” Li Jin Yu smiled.

Unexpectedly, Tai Ming Xiao said: “We can all share the entertainment.”

“Who told you I came for entertainment?” Li Jin Yu asked.

Tai Ming Xiao: “Coming to a place like this and not for entertainment? Who are you trying to fool? I see you acting so proper usually, not even getting a girlfriend, but you just come to places like this, is that it?”

“Fine,” Li Jin Yu couldn’t be bothered to argue. Looking down at them disdainfully, he jerked his chin toward Ye Meng very dismissively and asked, “Are you bringing her along too?”

“I won’t participate; I’ll just watch you guys, okay?” Ye Meng rolled her eyes.

“Fine.”

The second floor of Bashan Club contained private dining rooms that were no different from an ordinary five-star restaurant, luxurious but somewhat ordinary. After dinner, the waiters would lead guests along a secluded corridor past nine turns. After the nine turns was a bridge over a landscape, and beyond the bridge lay a completely different world.

Ma Hou had already arrived, idly playing with his phone in the private room, dressed in an immaculate suit. Seeing the four of them enter, he immediately greeted them with a smile, appearing completely different from the person who had so rudely hung up on Tai Ming Xiao. However, he hadn’t met Li Jin Yu before and asked with a smile, “Which one is Young Master Li?”

Li Jin Yu was the last to enter. As he spoke, he pulled out a chair and sat down carelessly, legs spread, leaning back to look at Ma Hou with a blank expression: “Me.”

He was dressed simply today—shirt and trousers, clean and sharp. The faint scar on his Adam’s apple made him appear even more aloof. It was only now that Ye Meng noticed he had a bandage on his neck. When had he been injured?

As soon as Li Jin Yu sat down, he began unbuttoning his shirt. He seemed completely unaware of how attractive he was. The waitress watched him with a flushed face, but he only looked down at the menu to order. After ordering a bunch of items, his gaze continued to search: “Two portions of abalone rice.”

“Five portions of sea cucumber.”

As he spoke, he realized there was no response. Instinctively looking up, he found the young woman staring at his collarbone. He casually buttoned up his shirt again, then somewhat embarrassedly glanced at Ye Meng, coughed, and said, “That’s all for now.”

From the moment she entered, Ye Meng had thought Ma Hou looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen him before. Until Ma Hou suspiciously spoke up: “Miss, haven’t we met somewhere before?”

Just as Ye Meng was about to say that she also found him familiar, Li Jin Yu leaned back in his chair, picked up an overturned cup, and while pouring water, casually remarked: “Mr. Ma, is your pick-up line always this unimaginative? Do women still fall for this nowadays?”

Ye Meng felt she was being mocked. Li Jin Yu seemed to see that she was about to follow up.

But she truly did feel she had seen him before.

Similarly, Ma Hou was also confused, “No, no, I have seen you before. Including you, Young Master Li, you also look familiar.”

“Then you must have mistaken me for someone else. I’m certain I’ve never seen you before,” Li Jin Yu calmly handed the water to Ye Meng.

Ma Hou embarrassedly replied: “Is that so? Alright then.”

Li Jin Yu poured a glass for Zhou Yu as well, and as if making casual conversation, he mentioned: “Mr. Ma, have you heard about this morning’s suicide case? The female college student who jumped from a building holding a book, something called redemptive suicide?”

“There is indeed such a concept,” Ma Hou nodded casually and said, “Why, is Young Master Li interested?”

Li Jin Yu nodded with interest, “Quite interested.” Then, caressing the side of his glass, he slowly said, “Actually, living is rather boring.”

These words were perfectly suited to him, with his entire demeanor exuding the apathy of a young master numbed by wealth.

Ma Hou chuckled, “Don’t joke. How could someone like Young Master Li, at the top of society, understand the four characteristics of ‘human suffering.’ You wealthy people play in such diverse ways. For instance, when it comes to oral pleasures, doing it with a virgin’s body versus a prostitute’s body is like the difference between heaven and hell. If I had Young Master Li’s wealth and looks, I’d have a different young girl every day. Would I still think living is boring?”

Ma Hou’s words were startlingly crass. Completely disregarding the presence of a lady, he laughed again and said to Ye Meng: “Miss Ye, don’t find it offensive. We coarse people speak this directly. But that’s just how it is.”

Ye Meng, suppressing her disgust, said she wouldn’t.

But men understand men best.

Li Jin Yu understood, Tai Ming Xiao understood, and Zhou Yu half-understood.

When most men speak those two explicit words in front of women, they have generally already made the woman an object of sexual fantasy. Lightly put, it’s sexual harassment; heavily put, it’s a mental violation. Ma Hou had already made Ye Meng the object of verbal play and even mental violation, at the moment he looked at Ye Meng’s face and uttered those two words. His entire body was numb. In his mind, he had already reached a climax.

Half an hour later.

Li Jin Yu leaned against the sink smoking, his shirt unbuttoned to the third button, revealing the band-aid on his neck. His sleeves were rolled up, and part of his shirt had been pulled out at the waist. He took occasional drags from his cigarette, his expression mild, but his whole demeanor looked fierce. The veins on his arms stood out prominently.

The bathroom door was being knocked on loudly, “Bang bang bang!” It was Ye Meng.

“Li Jin Yu, what are you doing in there?”

He didn’t respond, leaning against the sink and smoking nonchalantly, completely ignoring the voice from outside, disregarding it entirely.

Ye Meng, furious, turned to call for Zhou Yu: “Zhou Yu! Open the door! Otherwise, I’ll call the police!”

There were three people in the bathroom: Li Jin Yu, Zhou Yu, and Ma Hou. Tai Ming Xiao had received a call and left. When Zhou Yu heard the threat to call the police, he trembled and looked at Li Jin Yu. Li Jin Yu, as if certain Ye Meng wouldn’t dare call the police, leaned lazily against the sink, flicked his cigarette ash, and said: “Ignore her. If you open the door and let her in, I’ll finish you off too when we get back.”

Ma Hou was confused. He had been coaxed to the bathroom halfway through the meal, thinking there was something important to discuss. He had happily followed along, but as soon as they entered, before he could even dodge, he was unexpectedly kicked to the ground. He was the type who could endure humiliation, and he well understood the temperament of these rich second-generation heirs. Immediately, he sycophantically picked up Li Jin Yu’s leather shoe and, with a smarmy grin, tried to find a way out: “Polish, I’ll polish your shoes.”

Li Jin Yu’s next kick landed directly on his face.

Those shoes were both pointed and shiny, even cleaner than Ma Hou’s lewd face. Ma Hou himself obsequiously thought that the children of wealthy families had shoe soles cleaner than the toadies who had to watch others’ faces to earn their meals, let alone those who lived in the mire, to begin with.

“Li Jin Yu!” Ye Meng was still calling.

He completely ignored her, his cigarette-holding hand propped on the sink, showing no emotion, but Zhou Yu felt he was about to suffocate.

Ma Hou was kicked into a pile of mops with the second kick. At this moment, he wished he could transform into one of those mops and disappear. He truly had no idea how he had offended Li Jin Yu and was both anxious and distressed. He looked at Zhou Yu, hoping for some hint.

Zhou Yu was like a machine, doing whatever Li Jin Yu said.

Ma Hou, cowering in the haphazard pile of mops, felt uneasy, still unable to grasp what was happening. Trembling, he began to speak, “Li… Li…”

Li Jin Yu crouched down, hands on his thighs, looking at him lazily: “If I speak nicely to you, you won’t listen, right? Why are you being so roundabout with me?”

“No…” Ma Hou said.

“Fine, how do I contact ‘Yin Zhen’? Don’t say you don’t know. The fact that I’m looking for you means I’ve investigated you.”

“I… I am ‘Yin Zhen’,” Ma Hou finally stammered.

Zhou Yu’s expression changed upon hearing this, “Liar! You can’t be ‘Yin Zhen.’ I’ve seen ‘Yin Zhen’!”

Seeing he wasn’t telling the truth, Li Jin Yu took out his phone, and sat down, one leg propped up, one hand resting on his knee, the other holding up his phone to film Ma Hou. Zhou Yu felt that Li Jin Yu possessed a cold, inviolable aloofness, but the words coming out of his mouth were crude and provocative, yet somehow didn’t seem offensive, strangely dignified—

“Did you enjoy running your mouth just now? Got hard, did you? Huh? I’ll let you enjoy yourself now!”

With that, he raised his foot and kicked him hard again.