NHWSG chapter 7

Unless necessary, Xing Yingzhu would not go out, especially in such heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Actually, he didn’t care much about Diao Leyu’s disappearance. He only cared if others followed his rules. If others broke his rules, he didn’t care about their “difficulties.”

The reason he accompanied Sheng Zhao to look for someone today was because of this rain.

Shangdu City had an inland climate, with distinct seasons throughout the year. Although it was rainy in summer, it had never rained to this extent. It seemed like a flood was imminent.

This rain came out of nowhere. Seeing no signs of stopping in a short time, Xing Yingzhu felt that something was wrong.

When things go abnormally, there must be a demon. Moreover, this abnormality happened right under his nose.

Sheng Zhao didn’t know what Xing Yingzhu was thinking. He had a blank mind since Xing Yingzhu agreed to go out with him. He kept stealing glances at Xing Yingzhu on the way.

—This was different from what others had said. Sheng Zhao had heard from his former “colleague” that Xing Yingzhu hadn’t left the house for three years. Xiong Xiangsong also mentioned that Xing Yingzhu had strict rules, and no one was allowed to leave the building after eight in the evening.

But… Xing Yingzhu seemed reasonable and easy to talk to.

Sheng Zhao couldn’t help but take another look at Xing Yingzhu.

He was tall with long legs, holding a large umbrella steadily. His chin was tucked into the collar of the windbreaker, and when he remained silent, he seemed somewhat aloof.

In Sheng Zhao’s mind, he thought that although this person sometimes spoke impolitely, at least at moments like these, he seemed reliable. Plus, with such a handsome face, there were probably very few people who could resist him.

“No, What is this about?” Sheng Zhao shook his head, self-deprecating in his mind: “Men are indeed visual creatures.

“From the entrance of the building to here, a distance of less than twenty meters, you’ve looked at me six times.” Xing Yingzhu said, “What are you looking at?”

“Xiong ge said that the tenants in this building are not allowed to go out after 8 p.m. Why?” Sheng Zhao curiously asked, “Why?”

“No reason,” Xing Yingzhu said, “It’s my rule.”

Xing Yingzhu seemed to have the ability to talk people to death, his words overshadowing the impact of his face.

Sheng Zhao looked at him speechlessly and said, “In modern society, which adult would honestly abide by curfew? If they violate it, what can you do?”

“Not much,” Xing Yingzhu paused, turned around to look at Sheng Zhao, smiled ambiguously, and said, “They can never come back.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

I take back my thoughts just now, Sheng Zhao thought, who is this person, so domineering.

“Aren’t you looking for someone?” Xing Yingzhu said. “Why are you standing there?”

Sheng Zhao remembered the main purpose, quickly responded, and took out his phone from his pocket.

Before leaving, Xiong Xiangsong was afraid that Sheng Zhao and Xing Yingzhu would have no clues when searching for people, so he sent Sheng Zhao Diao Leyu’s work address and mobile number.

Sheng Zhao first dialed the number twice, but the other side was always in a shutdown state, unreachable.

Diao Leyu’s workplace was in the city, an internet operation company. According to Sheng Zhao’s understanding of such places, there should still be people around at 10 p.m. So he searched for the company’s front desk phone number online, called and inquired, only to find out that Diao Leyu had already left after work.

“From the city to here, there is only one bus, and the last bus arrives at 7:45. According to her clock-in time every day, she should have taken that bus,” Xing Yingzhu said, turning and heading left out of the community.

He rarely went out, but he was quite familiar with the surroundings. Sheng Zhao subconsciously wanted to follow him, but before he could take a step, a strange feeling suddenly surged from his heart.

“Boss,” Sheng Zhao stopped Xing Yingzhu, hesitated, and pointed to the right, saying, “I think we should go this way.”

Xing Yingzhu stopped, turned to look at him.

He assessed Sheng Zhao for a moment, didn’t say whether it was right or wrong, but asked, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Sheng Zhao scratched his head and said, “Just a gut feeling.”

After saying this, Sheng Zhao felt it was inexplicable himself, so he quickly waved his hand and said not to mind and started to walk in the direction indicated by Xing Yingzhu.

Unexpectedly, Xing Yingzhu walked towards him first, reached out, pinched Sheng Zhao’s shoulder, and turned him half a circle, making him face the right side of the road. Then he asked, “Do you think it’s this way?”

“Ah… I felt that way just for a moment,” Sheng Zhao said.

Xing Yingzhu didn’t say much. He looked at Sheng Zhao, then walked in the direction Sheng Zhao pointed.

He walked with determination, without hesitation, as if he didn’t think “intuition” was such an unreliable reason at all.

Sheng Zhao didn’t know why he stopped Xing Yingzhu just now; he just instinctively felt that he should choose the right side. It was Xing Yingzhu who had full confidence in his intuition, asking him every time they reached a fork in the road, which way he “felt” they should go.

After pointing several times, Sheng Zhao himself became confused and gradually couldn’t make up his mind.

Finally, at the next intersection, when Xing Yingzhu stopped and asked him for directions, Sheng Zhao was completely at a loss. He looked at Xing Yingzhu with a troubled face and said, “Don’t just listen to me, boss. I don’t know anymore. I just randomly pointed in a direction.”

Xing Yingzhu didn’t say anything. He looked at Sheng Zhao thoughtfully for a while, then took the umbrella from his hand.

Immediately after that, Xing Yingzhu covered Sheng Zhao’s eyes with his right hand.

His body temperature was colder than normal, and Sheng Zhao was startled by the chill. He subconsciously wanted to shrink back, but was stopped by Xing Yingzhu holding his shoulder.

Maintaining this posture, Xing Yingzhu pushed Sheng Zhao’s shoulder, guiding him to turn quickly two or three times. When Sheng Zhao’s head was spinning, unable to distinguish the direction, Xing Yingzhu asked him, “Which way do you think we should go?”

Before he could answer, Sheng Zhao pointed in a direction.

Xing Yingzhu looked in the direction he pointed, finding it to be an extremely remote alley between buildings.

Xing Yingzhu had a plan in mind. He let go of Sheng Zhao, took the umbrella back, and walked confidently towards that alley.

Sheng Zhao, dizzy and seeing stars, tried to keep up with Xing Yingzhu’s pace. He almost walked in an S-curve and felt like he was just a tool for directing in Xing Yingzhu’s eyes.

Standing still, he slapped his face, shook his head, and after finding balance, he followed Xing Yingzhu, hopping around and avoiding puddles.

When he caught up with Xing Yingzhu, he had already reached the intersection of the alley.

This alley was secluded, opposite to the direction of the bus stop, and only one street away from the main street. It was called a narrow alley, squeezed between the front shops and the residential buildings at the back. Since the main entrances of both buildings were on the other side, this narrow alley was rarely used.

Xing Yingzhu’s footsteps stopped at the entrance of the alley. Looking at the narrow alley, Sheng Zhao felt that his intuition was not reliable at all. He tried to persuade Xing Yingzhu indirectly.

“Boss, I think we’d better call the police or ask around near Diao Leyu’s company to see if she really came back.”

Xing Yingzhu didn’t speak; his gaze was fixed on the alley, inching forward as if looking for something.

After a moment, Xing Yingzhu’s gaze paused slightly, as if he had found the target. He walked briskly towards the alley.

Sheng Zhao frantically pulled out his phone from his pocket, opened the built-in flashlight, and shone it into the alley. Although he couldn’t see anyone, the light revealed a vague white shadow on the ground not far from the entrance of the alley.

Sheng Zhao was momentarily stunned and quickly walked towards it. As he approached, he realized that the fuzzy white shadow was an animal of an indeterminate species. The small creature seemed to be injured, with bloodstains on its fur, and it had probably been out in the rain for a while.

It lay on the steps behind a barber shop, half of its body submerged in accumulated water. Its eyes were half-open, seemingly in a critical condition.

Sheng Zhao couldn’t resist the sight of the pitiful little creature and felt a pang of sympathy.

“Hiss—” Sheng Zhao frowned, crouching down awkwardly. He looked hesitant, as if he wanted to touch it but was afraid to. “Why does it look like a big rat, pitifully so.”

“It’s a ferret,” Xing Yingzhu stood nearby with an uneasy expression. He lightly flicked the tail of the small ferret with his toe and added, “Your intuition is quite accurate. This is Diao Leyu’s pet.”

At the mention of Diao Leyu, Sheng Zhao suddenly became more alert.

“Could it be that Xiao Diao found out her pet was missing and came out to look for it?” Sheng Zhao speculated, “She might be too anxious to inform Xiong ge or didn’t have time—should we call Xiong ge first?”

Xing Yingzhu nodded in agreement.

Sheng Zhao, in a somewhat awkward position, crouched on the steps, tilting his head to find Xiong Xiangsong’s number in his contacts. Meanwhile, he gently touched the almost lifeless ferret, worried about its condition.

However, the moment Sheng Zhao withdrew his hand, in his blind spot, a thin black worm, as thick as a finger, suddenly emerged from under the ferret. It slid slowly along the ferret’s spine down the steps and into the water below.

Seemingly wary of Xing Yingzhu, the creature swam cautiously, barely noticeable in the pitch-black night. Half of its body slowly submerged into the accumulated water on the ground. After circling around half of the steps, it suddenly surged upward like an arrow leaving a bowstring, swiftly swimming towards Sheng Zhao.

Xing Yingzhu’s eyes were sharp as a knife. He turned his head forward, took a step, and precisely stepped on the creature.