When Yu Jiuqi said the back gate of North Mountain Park was a place even ghosts wouldn’t dare come to catch adultery, it wasn’t an exaggeration. That place truly was Shicheng’s most eerie and sinister location.

How sinister was it? Old men and women threatening bratty kids would embellish saying if you don’t behave, we’ll throw you at the back gate of North Mountain Park and let the little ghosts gnaw you like a radish—so many little ghosts, one bite each and you’d be gnawed clean. Young people bragging drunkenly would often stretch their necks and challenge each other: dare you come with me to live at the back gate of North Mountain Park for two nights? Let’s go! Anyone who doesn’t go is a grandson, and when they run into me later they better call me good grandpa.

The reason that place was so sinister had nothing to do with North Mountain Park itself, but was thanks to a patch of wasteland behind the back gate. The wasteland wasn’t small in area. Looking out, you could see Shicheng’s largest cemetery. The cemetery itself wasn’t really anything. The most eerie thing was that some years ago, someone wanted to develop the wasteland and dug up several sets of bones wrapped together. Thinking nothing of it, they separated them and handed them to the police. But within just three to five days, the workers and developers who dug up and separated the bones all mysteriously suffered terrible luck. After that, the project stopped.

Feng shui masters came in several waves. After looking, they all just shook their heads, saying it couldn’t be done. Over time, no one managed it. During the day there weren’t many people, and at night it was even more desolate. Everyone avoided it. At the beginning of the year, a wedding car convoy got confused and circled around there once, making the bride so angry she wanted a divorce that very night.

And Sun Xi had arranged to meet Yu Jiuqi right there.

Xiao Jiu of course wouldn’t think Sun Xi had been away from Shicheng too long and didn’t understand the local situation. On the contrary, this must be a rendezvous treasure location he had carefully selected based on her requirements after seriously researching every nook and cranny of Shicheng.

No wonder he was so smug.

After work, Yu Jiuqi was again held up by that difficult commercial loan cattle-raising uncle. She ground through circular conversations with him for ages until Sun Xi urged her once on WeChat before she stopped.

Sun Xi didn’t overtly urge, just asked if he needed to pick her up. Xiao Jiu quickly said no need, I just finished, leaving right now. She hurriedly brushed off that uncle, stuffed some document materials into her bag thinking she could still work overtime when she got home, bundled up tightly, walked with her head down to a street with fewer people, saw no acquaintances around, and hailed a taxi.

After the taxi dropped her off, without a single extra word, it turned around and sped away.

The back gate of North Mountain Park was initially planned as a commercial district. The road wasn’t narrow, but it had all been abandoned. The streetlights were still the old low single-arm lamps from years ago, without any of the colorful New Year decorations of the prosperous city center. Both sides were unobstructed, chilly and pitch dark. Yu Jiuqi hunched her shoulders and scanned around. Not seeing anyone, she called him.

The connection was quick. Xiao Jiu asked directly: “Where are you? I don’t see you.”

At this moment, two beams of light struck from the opposite side of the road beside her. He turned on his hazard lights.

“I see you, I see you.” Seeing the car door seemed to have movement, she quickly said, “You don’t need to get out. I’ll walk over.”

Sun Xi hummed on the phone, saying in a low voice: “The road’s a bit slippery.”

Yu Jiuqi looked at her feet. The accumulated snow hadn’t been completely shoveled and had already frozen solid, so she slowed her steps.

Turning her head, she saw at the intersection far away a simple signboard light box—an open small supermarket. While shuffling along, she frowned and asked him quietly: “Did you eat dinner?”

Sun Xi said: “I ate.”

“Want to eat something else?”

“I have snacks in my car.”

“What about drinks? Buy some water?”

“I have water in my car.”

Yu Jiuqi suddenly slowed her pace, hesitating: “Then…”

“Everything.” As if fully knowing what she was thinking, he emphasized: “I’ve prepared everything.”

Xiao Jiu quietly exhaled. Fine white mist dispersed in the cold air with a hissing sound. Her eyes dropped to the snowy ground, slowly avoiding places with a risk of falling. Her footsteps were steady, but everything inside her viscera was chaotic and upside down.

Couldn’t say she was chickening out exactly, but somewhat stage-frightened.

Moreover, Yu Jiuqi had an unpromising problem—every time she encountered something that made her stage-frightened, her stomach would feel acidic and distended. Not serious, but it would be nice if she had a bottle of soda water. But she had already walked to Sun Xi’s car, opened the back door, steeled her heart, and got in.

Just as she settled in, the person in the driver’s seat wearing a coarse-knit black sweater turned around and passed her something: “This is for you.”

Xiao Jiu looked—it was a small bottle of lemon-flavored non-carbonated soda water. She suddenly remembered that the method of drinking soda water to neutralize stomach acid was something he had taught her.

Looking up, she saw his complexion was obviously better than last night. His hair was styled neatly and properly. He seemed to have shaved. What drifted over was still that light fragrance like a forest after rain. His eyes rested slightly on her face. If you looked carefully, the usually sharp look in his eyes was much softer and lighter at this moment. Even when he shook his wrist again to pass over that bottle of water, the corners of his mouth pressed lightly, his chin nodding along, extremely patient, like coaxing prey about to be cooked to have one last satisfying meal and relax.

Yu Jiuqi felt inexplicably annoyed. This was clearly her home court. She was the one setting and grading the test. How did she get this stifled feeling of being turned from host to guest after a poor student guessed the questions right?

She readily accepted the soda water, said thank you, pulled down her down jacket zipper, took it off, casually tossed it aside, and glanced at him nonchalantly: “Aren’t you coming over? Not coming to the back?”

Then she looked at her phone: “My mom went to see a movie with Little Fu. It ends after nine. Let’s hurry up. Only about an hour.”

Sun Xi was stunned for an instant. His hand hung empty and still, then dropped. His distinct knuckles curved as they rested on the seat back. He glanced at her, turned to open the door and got out.

The car door slammed with a muffled thud. Before he could get in, in that very brief time, Yu Jiuqi quickly took an imperceptible deep breath. The uncontrollable panic made her start to doubt whether the initial motive and purpose of this affair was pure.

This thought flashed by, instantly pricking her whole body into tingling numbness, so that even her hearing lost its sharpness. Her phone sang half of the “Zootopia” theme song in her bag before she heard it.

More precisely, Sun Xi heard it first. As soon as he got into the back seat wrapped in a sharp light fragrance, he glanced at her bag and said your phone’s ringing. Xiao Jiu took it out and looked—her vision went dark. It was still that cattle-raising uncle who had been pestering her arguing for almost the entire day.

Adhering to the invisible work requirement of commercial loan staff to serve clients anytime, anywhere, unconditionally, Xiao Jiu raised a finger to Sun Xi, held it before her lips, earnestly opened her eyes wide to look at him, meaning I’m taking a call, don’t make a sound, it’ll be done in a moment.

Sun Xi lazily leaned against the window seat back, long legs bent toward her side, waiting quietly. He thought it was just an ill-timed spam call. He didn’t expect that once she answered, she would chat passionately and noisily for over half an hour.

At first he was still extremely patient.

Although he didn’t understand the specifics of their so-called commercial loan project, he could understand where the conflict was. Nothing more than that loud-voiced cattle-raising specialist wanting to get the money as quickly as possible, while Yu Jiuqi believed his collateral qualifications were insufficient and she could only approve half the amount for now. Originally a matter of a few sentences, the other party suddenly threatened that if not, he’d switch banks. Xiao Jiu chickened out, took out some materials and forms from her bag to verify and reason with him one by one.

Sun Xi was close and carefully glanced several times at her work documents. He saw different key points marked with different colored pens, with graceful handwriting making some notes beside them. She held the phone with two fingers, sitting hunched over. Most of the time she was listening, occasionally explaining a sentence or two with good attitude. She seemed patient, but the helplessness and exhaustion in her eyes were clear at a glance. Even when the other party started roaring, she lowered her head, using a pen to draw simple drawings one after another on paper to soothe her emotions.

Leaning slightly closer, Sun Xi saw clearly that what she was drawing were four-leaf clovers, one after another, piling up and overlapping. Soon they densely mixed into a mass. What was originally a cute, fresh pattern with auspicious meaning became increasingly violent and terrifying.

Then looking at her side profile that had already lost its spirit, somehow, he suddenly thought of that bright spring three years ago.

That was the second semester of Yu Jiuqi’s senior year. She was interning at a multinational 4A advertising company, leading a small team to a client company for a proposal meeting for the first time.

Sun Xi remembered that morning the sunlight was particularly good, and the traffic was unusually smooth. The day before, Yu Jiuqi had stayed at his place. He got up early to make breakfast. After eating, he drove Xiao Jiu to China World Trade Center Phase 3, accompanied her to the bottom of the client’s building, and like a parent sending their child to the college entrance exam, took out the soda water and chocolate he had prepared and handed them to her.

At that time, Yu Jiuqi wore a beige casual suit—relaxed wide-leg pants and a crisp blazer, stepping on eight-centimeter heels, standing under the black-blue transparent skyscraper, eating and drinking everything Sun Xi fed her, cheeks bulging as she looked at a line of white clouds in the distance, her almond eyes outlined with light makeup staring wide and round.

Then she lightly put her hand before him and asked: “What if I mess up?”

Sun Xi rubbed her hand to help her relax, just about to comfort her not to be nervous.

“How could that be!” She suddenly perked up again.

Sun Xi looked at her against the sunlight between the buildings, seeing her face covered in a fuzzy golden glow, tickling people’s hearts. Her eyes were also sparkling brightly, flashing with confident light. Her whole person was straight, capable, and refined—a full-fledged, high-spirited urban beauty.

“So many people in the whole company competing for this case, I’m an intern but I’m first. I won’t mess up.” She looked firmly into the distance.

“I prepared so thoroughly, I won’t mess up.”

“I’m so excellent, I definitely won’t mess up.”

He just nodded and smiled, raising his hand to wipe away a water droplet at the corner of her mouth.

“Our supervisor said if this case passes, I can become a regular employee and get a formal offer.” She looked back at him. “I can stay.”

“Do you want to stay?” he asked pointedly.

She looked at him for a while: “I do!”

Then carrying her laptop bag, she turned and walked into the China World Trade Building.

Sun Xi watched her back for a long time.

He had never felt such happiness and pride because of one person.

……

“No, sir, are you taking this loan to raise cattle or for your son’s wedding?”

“Don’t worry about how I use it. I’ll definitely pay back principal and interest on time and that’s that!”

Sun Xi was pulled back to reality by a heated argument in thick hometown accent. He was dazed for a while. Before he could figure out how the topic had progressed to such a magical degree, he saw the person beside him, known for her good temper, also frowning and shouting.

“But this is agricultural commercial loan business, sir! This money is for you to raise cattle!”

“I don’t care. I can’t wait anymore. If I can’t come up with the betrothal gift, my son’s marriage will fall through!”

“Your son’s marriage and the cattle are two different things.”

“Truth be told, Little Yu, my daughter-in-law is pregnant!”

“Your daughter-in-law being pregnant also has nothing to do with the cattle!” Yu Jiuqi realized something was wrong after saying it.

The uncle on the other end got anxious: “No, how are you talking? Young lady at such a young age talking so unpleasantly. What relationship could my daughter-in-law have with cattle? Aren’t you insulting me? I’m going to complain to your supervisor about you!”

Sun Xi couldn’t listen anymore. He leaned over and said quietly to Xiao Jiu: “Stop wasting words with him.”

Xiao Jiu pushed him, meaning don’t interrupt. But the irritable uncle on the other end keenly heard the male voice beside her.

“There’s someone next to you?” The uncle raised his voice. “Is it your supervisor? Let your supervisor take the call, I’ll talk to him!”

Xiao Jiu was about to explain when Sun Xi simply leaned toward the phone: “It’s after work hours. Look what time it is. If there’s something, talk about it tomorrow.”

“Who are you?”

Sun Xi frowned: “Nobody.”

“A supervisor?”

“No.”

“Then you’re her boyfriend?”

Sun Xi lifted his eyelids, out of patience, glaring at the phone’s incoming call interface labeled “Mei’an County 80-head Beef Cattle Farmer Gao Wanfu,” face stern. Just as that word was about to burst out, Xiao Jiu quickly pressed the hang-up button, cutting off the call.

Then turning around, Yu Jiuqi glanced at him, pretending she hadn’t at all seen that word he almost impulsively blurted out. She irritably tidied up the work materials scattered on the seat, saying in a muffled voice: “What time is it now?”

His cold, crisp voice landed on her head: “Almost nine.”

Xiao Jiu’s hand paused. She didn’t look up: “Let’s hurry up.”

Silence above her head. No movement for a long while.

Xiao Jiu also slowed her hand movements. After slowly putting away the last document, she finally slowly raised her head. Although mentally prepared, she was still shocked by the look he gave her—like looking at a stupid roe deer with such disdain.

Feeling somewhat guilty, she proactively explained: “Ah, I didn’t expect that call to take so long…”

Sun Xi couldn’t stand her empty-headed appearance: “You could have not answered, or hung up earlier.”

Xiao Jiu glanced at him: “Performance pressure’s been high lately. There aren’t many quality clients now. You understand, right?”

“Loaning money for a son’s wedding also counts as a quality client?” He sneered.

How dare he look down on people: “Why not? Even this is in demand! You almost offended him just now. I’ll have to go apologize later.”

“How did I offend him?”

“You just argued with him, forgot?”

“Weren’t you the one who argued first?”

“I didn’t argue!”

“Wasn’t it you who first mentioned his daughter-in-law and the cattle that started the argument?”

Xiao Jiu saw his neck stretched out stiffly, his face even reddening somewhat. She suddenly felt like laughing. She turned her head toward the window and said in a muffled voice: “I have to go home!”

Sun Xi stared at her slender neck, so thin, suddenly kind of wanting to wring it: “Then go!”

“First take me to the gas station up ahead.” Xiao Jiu assessed the situation, her tone softening: “…I don’t dare walk from here.”

The car door first went bang, a wave of cold air struck, then bang again. He got into the driver’s seat, started the car, and sped away from this unlucky sinister place.

He really stopped at the gas station one kilometer away. Without speaking, he turned his head slightly back, meaning we’re here, get out.

Xiao Jiu sensibly gathered her things and immediately got out, saying thank you by the way, and closed the door. She looked around. Fortunately, a taxi was refueling right there, so she walked directly over. Passing by the rear of Sun Xi’s car, she inadvertently glanced and suddenly froze, stopped walking.

She looked carefully again, confirming she hadn’t seen wrong. Suddenly she ran over, ran toward his driver’s side, wanting to ask him a question. But Sun Xi stepped on the gas and drove off.

That question wasn’t spoken, didn’t have time to be spoken. Xiao Jiu stood under the gas station’s bright orange sign, eyebrows tightly furrowed, unable to figure it out.

She couldn’t figure out why he had changed his license plate.

He had removed the original Beijing plate and replaced it with a local Shicheng plate. Why?

When Yu Jiuqi got home, she thought Wen Wen wasn’t there. But as soon as she pushed open the door, she smelled a strong alcoholic odor, then saw Little Fu sitting properly on the sofa scrolling through his phone. When he saw Xiao Jiu, he immediately stood up, explaining in a low voice that as soon as the Christmas movie started, Wen Wen found it boring and insisted on going drinking, pouring for herself. Before long she got drunk, so he brought Wen Wen back home.

Yu Jiuqi glanced at Wen Wen’s bedroom. Seeing she was already asleep, a small face slightly weary. Xiao Jiu wasn’t surprised her mother had deliberately gotten herself drunk. Every year after they paid respects to Auntie and Grandma, Wen Wen would get thoroughly drunk for two days, using alcohol to numb the awakened pain and also to dilute the useless guilt.

Little Fu saw Xiao Jiu had returned and said he’d leave first. Xiao Jiu tested his tone, confirming Wen Wen hadn’t encountered anything else today. It seemed she didn’t yet know Sun Xi had returned. The heart that had just risen sank down somewhat.

But it didn’t sink much. That question he had left behind with a step on the gas still tormented her. After hurriedly washing up, she lay in bed, tossing and turning in distress for a while, and sent him a message.

[Asleep yet?]

He replied quite quickly: [No.]

Yu Jiuqi sat up, legs bent, biting her lip. After thinking, she decided to be polite first: [What are you doing?]

[Lying down.]

[About to sleep?]

[No.]

Then he sent another: [Lying down looking at the light.]

Looking at the light? What light?

Too lazy to ponder. Enough pleasantries. Time to get straight to the point. Yu Jiuqi pressed her lips, fingers nimbly clacking away, charging straight ahead, in one breath.

[Um, nothing really, just when I got out of the car earlier I noticed you changed your license plate. Why did you change to a local plate?]

[This way when you go back you’ll have to change it back again. How inconvenient.]

[Anyway you’re going back in these couple days, right?]

Sun Xi didn’t reply for a long time.

Xiao Jiu suspected he was unhappy again.

At this moment, Sun Xi was lying in a small private room at Lesheng Huang, indeed with a stern face, not very happy, although right above his head was that tacky light ball he had been thinking about for several days.

After all, receiving those messages that seemed tactfully considerate but clearly told him to get lost early wouldn’t make anyone happy.

But that wasn’t the reason he suddenly stopped replying. It was because someone had come to find him.

The person who suddenly walked brazenly into the private room was Lesheng Huang’s owner, Wang Heyuan.

Sun Xi didn’t move at all, still lying on the sofa, long legs crossed, chin pressed down, eyes lifted up, looking at him darkly.

Wang Heyuan seemed to have drunk a bit. He was already used to Sun Xi’s thuggish, arrogant manner of completely ignoring him. Face flushed, he slumped down across from him, laughed with a hum, and said: “You’re a ruthless one, kid.”

Sun Xi remained impassive, listening to him continue.

Old Wang let out a long sigh, looked around the small private room, as if throwing in the towel, saying with a face full of defeat: “Fine, I admit it. As you said this morning, that number, plus another ten percent, within two days I’ll transfer it to you. Lesheng Huang is yours.”

Sun Xi didn’t respond, letting him suffer in place for a while before saying: “That was this morning’s condition. It’s different now.”

Old Wang got anxious: “Not even one cent less! You don’t want Lesheng Huang anymore?”

Sun Xi looked up at the light ball. Not knowing what he thought of, he was in a trance for a moment, then suddenly said: “Wait a second. Let me reply to a message.”

Then he unlocked the conversation with Yu Jiuqi, scanned up and down at her words telling him to get lost, raised his hand to quickly reply, also charging straight ahead, in one breath.

[I will leave.]

[But can’t come back for nothing.]

[Have to achieve my purpose before I’ll be willing to leave.]

[I’ll find you again tomorrow.]

He turned off his phone, tossed it aside, and once again looked darkly at Wang Heyuan, eyes flashing with bright light, answering his last question from earlier.

He said: “Yes, of course yes. This time back, I want everything.”