The next morning, Yu Jiuqi wore noise-canceling headphones, gulped down a large cup of strong coffee, her hair casually pinned up on top of her head. Buried in her bank cubicle passionately researching local pig farm operating permit policies and loan conditions for farms producing 100 heads of beef cattle annually, she suddenly received a call from Ge Fan. She stared at the phone for several seconds before answering.
Ge Fan was completely different from yesterday’s seriousness, relaxed and lighthearted: “Jiu, at work, right? I don’t have anything specific, but are you free for lunch?”
Yu Jiuqi spoke quietly, sounding lazy: “If it’s for filming that pig-slaughtering video, let’s do it another day.”
“Just need a bit of your lunch break time.”
“I’m especially busy today.”
“Oh…” He inexplicably drew out the sound. “Busy with work?”
Yu Jiuqi sighed lightly. It seemed necessary to explain: “I’ve taken too many days off lately. A lot of things have piled up. I have several rural commercial loan cases that must be processed before New Year’s. Not many days left.”
Ge Fan raised his voice: “No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat lunch, right? Just near your bank, I’ll treat you to a Family Bucket. Today’s Christmas!”
Right, Xiao Jiu looked up at the date on the computer—today was the 25th, Christmas.
“Okay.”
She tossed the phone aside and lowered her head to continue organizing loan materials for those breeding households. The breeding households were all country folks from county villages, raising breeding pigs, beef cattle, or sika deer and such. The quantities varied, qualifications were mixed, and most frustratingly, the loan applications were filled out chaotically, even carelessly and half-heartedly. But all banks were competing for commercial loan business by year-end, especially agricultural commercial loans. This money she absolutely had to loan out properly and in compliance with regulations.
Actually, this wasn’t really Yu Jiuqi’s backlog of work. Because she had been taking frequent leave recently, colleagues in the commercial loan group had divided up the easy and simple business, leaving her several hard bones to gnaw.
This morning the team leader had even specifically called her out, saying whether she could completely transition from teller to account manager next year depended on this critical moment.
Her neck was a bit sore. Xiao Jiu raised her hand to massage it, then wanted to make a cup of hot tea. Carrying her water cup around two short corridors, she came to the lobby’s water bar. Just as she was about to grab a bag of black tea, she looked up, paused slightly, her somewhat weary eyes falling blandly on that grandly framed large photograph.
It was the commendation photo from the pension fraud case she had helped crack last autumn.
Yu Jiuqi stood in the center, the bank president on one side, the deputy mayor on the other, a row of elderly victims’ family members who had come specifically to thank her in the back, and several close colleagues around them. Xiao Jiu’s eyes were swollen, her smile stiff, holding in her hands a large red-background black-character banner almost as tall as she was.
That incident had been prominently reported as the bank’s honor story. The photo was placed in the very center of the honor wall where she could see it every day. But even so, when Yu Jiuqi at this moment inadvertently caught sight of those few characters on the banner, she still felt her heart tighten.
During the process of cooperating with police to crack that fraud case, it wasn’t that she hadn’t been afraid. Several times when the fraudsters brought the elderly to withdraw money, she had to pretend to cooperate to extract information, sitting there trying to naturally complete the tasks the police had assigned. But once she stood up, her legs were shaking. Later, after the case was solved, there were also family members of the fraudsters who threatened her. The threatening texts were graphic, vulgar, and sensational. But she held on without panicking, until that day when she saw the deputy mayor bring this banner, saw those few characters, and suddenly couldn’t hold it together anymore.
Of course it was him. It must be him.
Besides the fact that a mutual friend they both knew was on the deputy mayor’s team, just those few characters evoking bright memories made Xiao Jiu know it was Sun Xi.
That day she cried and laughed, laughed and cried. The photo was taken several times before it passed. Everyone thought she was too emotional. She didn’t explain, just hid back in her cubicle alone after the commotion ended, edited a WeChat message to him—two characters: thank you.
But after hesitating for a moment, she deleted it.
At that time, she felt that between them, besides the remote distance, there was also a long stretch of time, twenty-some years of blizzards, an entire city. And this city—she refused to leave, and he couldn’t return.
Like two fish destined to drift apart with branching rivers, harboring warm feelings, at the two ends of the vast ocean, a distant glance at each other would be enough.
Even at this moment, Xiao Jiu still thought this way.
She wasn’t sure of Sun Xi’s specific plans for returning this time, but it was necessary to first settle the matter between them.
After last night’s childish war that could be called hand-to-hand combat, they embraced in a strange posture on the tea room’s fabric sofa. Undercurrents surged like tidewater, bit by bit, finally provoking a long, wet, sticky kiss that could only end with pain. Afterward, when Xiao Jiu made that ambiguous invitation, knowing he understood it was a cold condition, she waited for a long while without any movement above her head.
Until an abrupt vibration on the sofa shattered the tranquility—Yu Jiuqi’s phone rang. They hastily separated. Xiao Jiu answered Ge Fan’s deeply suspicious phone call.
Ge Fan explained he was calling only to discuss filming the next video. They hadn’t updated in several days and were losing followers. He said since everyone was stocking up for New Year anyway, he wanted to film a video about a Northeast domineering CEO slaughtering a New Year pig. Before Xiao Jiu could answer, he asked if she was home, saying he happened to be nearby getting a late-night snack, and this place’s spicy stir-fried rice cakes were pretty good—should he bring her some?
Yu Jiuqi straightened the V-neck sweater he had pulled crooked, grabbed her down jacket and headed out, telling him on the phone she was still out but almost home, no need for rice cakes. When Xiao Jiu hung up, she was already at the tea room door. Her hand pressed the doorknob. She turned her head slightly and saw him hunched over sitting on the sofa, silent, soundless.
“I’m leaving.”
“Mm.”
Xiao Jiu hesitated whether to confirm again or explain something.
He suddenly looked up at her darkly: “I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Her heart sank a bit.
But until today at noon, when Yu Jiuqi sat with Ge Fan at the KFC diagonally across from the bank with half the Family Bucket already eaten, she hadn’t received any message from him.
Eating a Family Bucket on Christmas wasn’t really any special rule. It was just that one Christmas year, Xiao Jiu, Ge Fan, and Zhu Duomei played Landlord at Yu Kaixuan’s house, playing until late at night howling wildly in the living room, making Brother Erkai and Auntie Hong so furious they kicked them out. So they transferred the battle to KFC and played through the night, incidentally eating two Family Buckets. Since then, every Christmas, not eating a Family Bucket felt like something was missing.
When Yu Jiuqi arrived, Ge Fan, wearing a trendy brand hoodie, had already ordered and was waiting. Xiao Jiu asked why he didn’t call Zhu Duomei too. Thinking of how Ge Fan had been blocked by his sister before, she said then I’ll give Sister a call.
Ge Fan quickly interrupted, saying don’t, Teacher Zhu is busy. Xiao Jiu asked busy with what? Ge Fan said haven’t you heard? Zhu Duomei has been getting cozy with Old Wang lately.
Xiao Jiu was shocked. The name on the tip of her tongue hadn’t had time to burst out when Ge Fan swallowed a bite of finger-lickin’ original recipe chicken, stretched out his finger and pointed, saying yes, that Old Wang. He’s been pursuing Zhu Duomei for a long time, spent a fortune, bought her several mink coats already. Then he added, you absolutely must not tell your Auntie Hong, otherwise there will be two battles.
Xiao Jiu shook the ice in her Coke. After a crisp rattling sound, she asked, why two battles?
Ge Fan said once Meng Huihong finds out, there’s no way she won’t interfere. Once she interferes, she and Zhu Duomei will have it out again. Best case scenario they part on bad terms, but most likely both will suffer losses. You think your Auntie Hong will be content with that? If not, what will she do? Won’t she charge upstairs to find Old Wang? Then it’ll be Wendu Water Resort and Lesheng Huang going at it.
Xiao Jiu imagined that scene and laughed for a long time, asking so what will you do? Upstairs one boss, downstairs your own mom—whose side will you take?
Ge Fan shook his head, saying does that even need thinking? Of course I’ll be a dutiful, responsible insider-traitor, take the opportunity to help Brother Erkai seize those two floors upstairs!
Xiao Jiu was delighted, saying okay, very principled, Dad didn’t raise you for nothing.
Ge Fan lifted a pair of peach blossom eyes, lightly landing them on Yu Jiuqi’s face and pausing. He also smiled apologetically. He liked seeing others happy, and even more liked making others happy, especially when that person was Xiao Jiu.
This was one of the few skills he could take pride in. Besides this, he couldn’t think of any other way to more smoothly dissolve last night’s tense standoff.
He really regretted interrogating her like that. He also thought himself stupid enough to think treating her that way would get him answers.
Putting down the chicken piece in his hand, wiping his fingers, Ge Fan opened a box of popcorn chicken and passed it to Xiao Jiu’s front. He also glanced at her, saw her smiling eyes pause lightly on her phone. The phone lay on the table surface, quiet and still, screen dark. Then her eyes moved to the window outside. The smile he had provoked in her eyes suddenly scattered, adding a touch of anxiety.
Ge Fan wasn’t really stupid. Of course he could see she had something on her mind. He wasn’t sure if it was what he thought, and he definitely wouldn’t rashly interrogate again. On the contrary, he felt it necessary to play dumb once and first untie the knot from last night.
So taking advantage of the relatively relaxed atmosphere, he proactively addressed it: “I thought about yesterday’s matter. Last time Sun Xi came back and ran into a wall, Xiao Zhuang and the others beat his head in, not to mention his uncle’s business couldn’t continue later either. He must blame our family, hate Sister Wen even more. But he doesn’t dare confront Sister Wen, so bullying the weak and fearing the strong, he picks the soft persimmon and fabricates stories about you. What a bastard! Damn, I was also brain-dead to actually believe him!”
Yu Jiuqi observed Ge Fan, unable to tell if his words were another kind of test. But since he brought it up, she’d first half-truth half-lie her way through this: “What he said isn’t all false.”
Ge Fan looked at her with surprise.
“I do have his WeChat.” Yu Jiuqi explained calmly. “We were in the same middle school. He was two grades above me. One year at a school sports meet or some activity, I forget, we exchanged phone numbers back then. Later when registering for WeChat, it imported from contacts and we just randomly added each other.”
Ge Fan nodded thoughtfully: “Oh, that makes sense too.”
“But we never contacted each other.” Xiao Jiu’s expression was natural, even smiled. “Between bank clients and bathhouse guests on my WeChat, adding this and that, I have over a thousand friends. I can’t even keep up with everyone’s Moments. He was at the very bottom. I forgot about it.”
Ge Fan nodded mechanically. Before he could say anything, a light suddenly struck the table—her phone. Ge Fan keenly glanced over—a green notification, a new WeChat message.
She immediately picked it up, unlocked it, eyes moving slightly downward, pausing lightly somewhere. Not knowing what she saw, her eyelashes flickered up and down.
Ge Fan saw her staring at the phone motionless and suddenly wanted to pierce something: “Something wrong?”
“Huh?” Yu Jiuqi looked at him, frowned, then pursed her lips. “Our leader, Sister Cai, asking when I’m going back. Says there’s a project I’m responsible for where the loan amount needs to be redetermined.”
Ge Fan glanced at the table: “You haven’t eaten much. Eat two more chicken pieces before going back.”
Yu Jiuqi nodded, randomly grabbed something and stuffed it in her mouth, then raised her hand to type on her phone. Clack clack, a brief reply, then she continued staring at the phone.
From Ge Fan’s angle looking over, Xiao Jiu in casual attire sat on the small chair by the window—loose white sweater, apricot-colored knit wide-leg pants, hair loose and messy, sitting posture as relaxed as possible. But the moment she picked up her phone, her unconsciously tensed spine, and the mechanical, strange chewing frequency of her cheeks when eating—he wasn’t any expert in micro-expressions, but he could still tell it wasn’t as simple as a leader urging her back to work.
Some speculations flashed through his mind, but he secretly hoped they were all paranoid delusions.
Yu Jiuqi didn’t know about Ge Fan’s internal criticism that had almost seen through her. She still thought she was acting well. After all, facing such a blade-like message that stirred people’s hearts, she had already made maximum effort not to show emotional flaws.
Naturally it was from the person who had made her anxious all day. The intention was also very clear: [Can you do tonight?]
Xiao Jiu of course understood what he meant: [Yes.]
Then she saw the other party typing. After waiting a moment, Xiao Jiu received a question: [Do you pick the place or do I?]
At this moment, Ge Fan across from her suddenly threw out a sentence: “Are you deciding now?”
Xiao Jiu looked at him shocked, her scalp instantly numb, uncertain if her face was red: “Huh?”
Ge Fan’s chin pointed at her phone: “I’m asking, are you and your leader deciding what amount right now?”
Xiao Jiu stiffly picked up her Coke, took a sip before saying: “Yeah, she’s asking my opinion.”
Ge Fan nodded, scrutinizing her.
Yu Jiuqi’s gaze returned to the phone dialogue box. Not wanting to deal with this trouble, she replied: [You decide.]
Sun Xi said: [Do you have any requirements?]
Requirements of course there were. Her hands clacked away typing: [Not in the city center, don’t go to crowded places, can be somewhat remote but not too remote. I thought about it—hotels won’t work, small inns also easily run into acquaintances. You decide. I don’t have any other requirements. Oh, and preferably also fewer surveillance cameras.]
Sun Xi was silent for a long time.
Xiao Jiu thought he was about to throw in the towel and refuse service. Finally one sentence popped out.
[Will contact you once it’s decided.]
Yu Jiuqi turned off her phone, drank the rest of her Coke in one gulp, saying she had to go back. Ge Fan said wait, Xiao Jiu paused, then saw him pinching a fluffy Santa Claus figurine KFC had given away, passed it to her, smiling and saying take it to play with.
Xiao Jiu accepted it with a smile and left.
After watching that slender straight figure disappear, Ge Fan stopped eating too. He went to the counter to buy a burger meal to go, went directly back to Lesheng Huang. As soon as he entered the fourth-floor lobby, he randomly grabbed a server and asked, where’s Xiao Zhuang? The server said, seems like he’s mixing drinks in the VIP room. Ge Fan frowned, saying go replace him, tell him to come find me in the office.
Ge Fan didn’t have an independent office, just a temporary break room converted from a private room with a broken exhaust fan. He kept it neat and orderly, occasionally calling everyone over for meetings and chats.
Xiao Zhuang came quickly. Ge Fan tossed him the takeout meal. The young guy wasn’t polite either, sat down, tore it open and ate, naturally knowing Brother Fan was looking for him for something. Cheeks bulging, he said Brother, whatever you need just tell me.
Ge Fan vigorously rubbed his face, took a heavy breath, squinted and asked directly: “Your family’s from Xifeng Street, right? Last time you said Sun Xi almost caused a death case back in the day, what happened?”
Xiao Zhuang didn’t ask much, answered directly: “I also just heard about it. After all it’s been so many years, don’t know the specifics, just that back then he apparently almost killed a classmate.”
“Male or female classmate?”
“Male. Also a troublemaker, a little punk.” Xiao Zhuang added, “Back then the impact was pretty big apparently. After that he left, left Shicheng.”
“What year was this?”
Xiao Zhuang thought hard: “That year I should have been in sixth grade. Oh, 2014! Exactly nine years ago!”
“2014 when?”
“End of the year.” Xiao Zhuang said decisively. “New Year’s Eve.”
“New Year’s Eve?”
“Right, it happened on New Year’s Eve.”
Ge Fan’s mind was a mess. For a moment he didn’t know where to continue asking, so he went straight to the point: “Did he have any girls he was close to before? When he was young?”
“Never heard of any.”
“Was he ever in a relationship?”
Xiao Zhuang shook his head vigorously: “Impossible. Back then he wasn’t like now, attracting attention. Everyone avoided him! Brother, think about it—the serial killer’s son, looks exactly like his dad, even looks more fierce, more terrifying. What girl would be willing to date him? Would she be crazy? Wouldn’t that be sick?”
Ge Fan frowned, his thoughts even more chaotic.
Xiao Zhuang firmly stated again: “Unless it was some angel young lady descended from heaven to save suffering and transform demons, no normal girl would hang out with him!”
Ge Fan sneered: “Angel young lady.”
Xiao Zhuang shrugged.
Not knowing what he thought of, Ge Fan suddenly became more serious again.
Before leaving work, Yu Jiuqi received Sun Xi’s selected rendezvous location based on her requirements. However, at that time she was busy arguing with a professional cattle farmer on the phone about the loan process, shouting at the top of her lungs for half an hour, until that cattle-raising uncle said I’m not going to waste words with you anymore, I have to go pen and feed my cattle, then hung up.
Xiao Jiu took a sip of water, scrolled through her phone, and at a glance saw the location he sent.
Hehe, couldn’t help laughing out loud.
What he sent was a location pin at the back gate of North Mountain Park. That place wasn’t exactly remote, but in Shicheng it was considered a place even ghosts would walk around. Moreover, there were no shopping districts around, and residential inns, hotels, and guesthouses were all far away.
Xiao Jiu replied with a question mark.
He caught on quickly and accurately, replying: [Do you mind if it’s in the car?]
Yu Jiuqi stared at that sentence for a while, her heart chaotic and flustered.
He sent another even more merciless one: [I remember you didn’t mind before.]
What’s with her fists hardening again?
Sun Xi seemed to sense it and sent another: [Or are you not satisfied with this place?]
Xiao Jiu took a heavy breath, steeled her heart, and replied: [Satisfied.]
[A place even ghosts wouldn’t dare come to catch adultery—especially good!]
After sending this, Xiao Jiu slapped her phone face down and continued burying herself in the mountain-like pile of materials. Soon the phone vibrated again, still Sun Xi.
She suddenly got irritated. Why was this never-ending?
Sarcastic words from a position of advantage said too much would invite hatred. No matter what he said next, she was determined to curse back.
She unlocked it and looked fiercely. Paused. Just an emoji.
The kind that comes with the phone system—a grinning, smiling, light yellow little expression.