Zhong Weishi thought that the feeling people described online as ‘a deer caught in headlights when running into the girl you like’ was just like that.
His heartbeat had never been so intense, almost pounding its way up his throat.
The Er’Gou they had been obsessively tracking for nearly a month, dreaming about catching, was now less than ten meters away from him.
Seeing Er’Gou was like seeing stacks of banknotes waving at him.
That was several thousand yuan.
It could top two months of rent.
As Zhong Weishi led Da Fei in a circle, getting closer, he mouthed to Gu Lizhou, “What should we do?”
It was his first time in such a situation; besides feeling nervous and excited, he was also afraid of alerting the target.
Gu Lizhou quickly switched to a spy-movie mode, giving Da Fei a look.
Da Fei immediately understood, stopped playing around with Zhong Weishi, and started glancing occasionally at Er’Gou’s position.
At that moment, Zhang Gou was focused on recording a young woman, completely oblivious to them.
“Notify Qiangzi and the others first,” Gu Lizhou said as he got closer.
Qiangzi’s group wasn’t responding for some reason, so Da Fei had to leave the stage.
As soon as Da Fei left, Zhong Weishi’s exaggerated Yangge dance moves came to a halt.
An auntie next to him asked with a smile, “Why aren’t you dancing ah? Young man, your moves are so graceful ah”
“Really?” Zhong Weishi was surprised, not expecting anyone to pay attention to him. “I was just messing around.”
Gu Lizhou went over to him, “Do you really think people are praising you?”
Zhong Weishi shot back, “If you think you can do better, go ahead. If not, shut up!”
As the dance music came to an end, the crowd scattered like birds and beasts, and Zhong Weishi felt his heart tighten as he watched Er’Gou put away his phone.
Not good!
Qiangzi and the others hadn’t arrived yet.
“Does it take a plane to get from the South Square to here?” Gu Lizhou said.
At this point, Zhong Weishi wanted to curse as well. “fvck, we’re not waiting! Let’s chase after him!”
Qiangzi and A’Wei both had electric scooters. One was parked on the south side and the other on the north side to avoid missing Er’Gou if he showed up unexpectedly.
Zhong Weishi had a key in his hand.
This was the first time Gu Lizhou had ever been up close with a small Aima1Brand lady’s electric bike that he didn’t know where to put his legs—It was even an eye-catching hot pink.
Before he could make a snarky comment, Zhong Weishi dramatically waved a hand at him. “Get on!”
The way he said it, with such flair, made it seem like he wasn’t riding a scooter but rather soaring on a rainbow cloud.
As Gu Lizhou climbed on, he felt all the eyes in the square on him.
He desperately lowered his head, rubbing his forehead. “You bought this thing ah?”
“Ah? This isn’t mine. It belongs to A’Wei’s jie,” Zhong Weishi said.
“Oh…”
Just as Gu Lizhou was about to comment on the color, he heard a voice in front say, “If only it were mine.”
“…” Gu Lizhou fell silent.
“Your feet, don’t let your feet touch the ground ah!” Zhong Weishi shouted as he drove at about 12 mph, trying to keep pace with Er’Gou. The guy behind him was still stepping on the ground for some reason, making the scooter wobble unsteadily.
“Then where am I supposed to put my feet ah!” Gu Lizhou was simply speechless. Sitting on this scooter was even lower than if he were squatting, leaving his long legs with nowhere to rest.
“Footboard ah, on the sides of the wheels. Just look down,” Zhong Weishi said, too busy keeping an eye on Er’Gou to glance down.
Gu Lizhou supported his waist and took a quick look. He confirmed that there was no footboard on either side, just two rusty screws. However, there was a footboard at the front.
Zhong Weishi’s feet were planted on it, trembling like he was operating a sewing machine, either out of nerves or excitement.
Gu Lizhou lifted his legs and placed them on either side of the footboard.
Zhong Wishi’s feet instantly stopped shaking.
“Why are you stealing my spot? Trying to show off your long legs?”
“What do you mean your spot? Did it say your name on it? Besides, my legs are long anyway; I don’t need to show off.”
“Shameless.” Zhong Weishi said.
Gu Lizhou slapped his waist. “Hurry up! Er’Gou’s turning!”
“I’m not fvcking blind!” Zhong Weishi shot back as they turned into a dimly lit alley.
Er’Gou was walking ahead, holding his phone in his right hand, seemingly talking to someone, his pace neither fast nor slow.
Zhong Weishi didn’t dare to get too close, maintaining a steady speed of 6 mph. With someone riding behind him, it was slow but it felt a bit strenuous.
“So why exactly are we riding this?” Gu Lizhou asked.
“I thought he had a car ah.” Zhong Weishi replied in a small voice.
Once they exited the alley, they found themselves on a narrow bluestone road that was over a meter wide.
Er’Gou was about thirty meters away from them.
Zhong Weishi wasn’t very familiar with this road—besides the routes within a kilometer of Lanshan Apartments, he was lost in the rest of the area.
The narrow path had no streetlights, and the end was invisible in the darkness.
On their left was a sewage canal, its surface covered with a layer of dark green moss, releasing a strange, pungent stench into the air. To the right were old houses with blue bricks and white walls.
Gu Lizhou pinched his nose: “What’s that smell ah?”
“It’s the smell of dead bodies. A while ago, someone found several corpses floating in the river,” Zhong Weishi replied somberly. “When they were discovered, they were already decayed, like pig trotters boiled for a day, flesh and bones separating. They couldn’t recover them all, so the remains are still in the river…”
“Are you serious?” Gu Lizhou frowned as he looked toward the canal, his grip on Zhong Weishi’s shirt tightening unconsciously.
The imagery was vivid in his mind.
For a brief moment, he truly believed this was once a crime scene until he heard Zhong Weishi’s laughter.
The kind of laugh that was very light, like someone reveling in a devious plot.
“Help me call to ask where Qiangzi and the others are,” Zhong Weishi said. “My phone’s in my pocket.”
Gu Lizhou rummaged through his pants pocket for the phone. “Password.”
Zhong Weishi: “Six eights.”
“How cliché,” Gu Lizhou said as he entered the numbers.
Zhong Weishi: “Cliché, yet you can’t guess it.”
“If you give me time, I’ll definitely get it right…” The vehicle was so small that when Gu Lizhou leaned down, his head nearly bumped into Zhong Weishi’s back. The bumps and jolts of the ride caused him to hit it several times.
His hair was all messed up.
“Is it done?” Zhong Weishi asked.
Gu Lizhou’s fingertips slid across the screen, spotting several names of top-tier celebrities. As well as, why does he have Spider-Man in his contacts?
“What did you note to Qiangzi?”
“Ancestor Yan.”2’彦’ means man of virtue and ability. ‘祖’ means ancestor, forefather, grandparents.
“…”
Just as Gu Lizhou pressed the phone to his ear, a mechanical female voice echoed, “Your phone has been suspended.”
“How is it suspended again?” Gu Lizhou asked. “Wasn’t it just a few days ago?”
“Oh,” Zhong Weishi replied casually, “I forgot to top up.”
Gu Lizhou found it hard to comprehend.
Using his own phone, he dialed the number. Before he could even say “hello,” a rapid stream of words burst forth from the other end like a dam breaking: “Where are you guys ah? Why is everyone dispersing? What about A’Wei’s bike? Did you ride over there? Is that person definitely Er’Gou?”
Gu Lizhou said, “We’re following someone right now, I’ll send the location to the group, you can come over by yourselves.”
“Success! We’ll meet up soon. I trust that…” Before Qiangzi could finish, the other side ended the call.
“… This person is a bit cold,” Qiangzi said to the blackened screen.
Previously, they had analyzed the situation and, using Gu Lizhou’s “Circular Hypothesis Theory”3Changing the name to this. I’ll probably edit the previous one… soon. deduced that Er’Gou’s residence was likely around the vicinity of Xingfu District.
Gu Lizhou turned on the hotspot and glanced at their current location while sharing the location.
They were quite close to Xingfu District.
However, Qiangzi and the others were still at North Square.
As their coordinates drew nearer to Xingfu District, Qiangzi and the others slowly began to move.
Gu Lizhou was focused on the enlarged map when the vehicle suddenly slammed to a stop, causing his face to crash into Zhong Weishi’s back.
Alongside the scent of tobacco, he caught a whiff of a faint medicinal smell.
Rubbing his nose, Gu Lizhou tilted his head and saw that Er’Gou went into a residential area.
This area was directly across from Xingfu District, featuring self-built two- to three-story duplexes. To enter the main gate, one had to swipe a card or enter a password to unlock it.
Due to the distance separating them too far, before they could figure out the situation, the gate behind Er’Gou had already locked itself automatically.
fvck,” Zhong Weishi shook the iron railing at the entrance. “This shitty place even needs a password.”
Gu Lizhou was about to suggest they wait until tomorrow to squat when Zhong Weishi had already stepped on the central horizontal bar of the railing and flipped over into the compound.
Under the dark moon and gusty wind, he moved with the agility of a habitual criminal.
Gu Lizhou had no choice but to give him a thumbs up from across the railing.
“Hurry up and come over too ah!” Zhong Weishi urged in a hushed tone. “Didn’t you say your legs are long!”
Gu Lizhou hesitated. Not to mention that the railing was at least three meters high, making it easy to sprain an ankle if he jumped down; he had never done anything like this before, not even watched anyone else do it.
Since getting to know Zhong Weishi and his gang, he had been continuously reevaluating his understanding of “moral boundaries.”
The expression on the man’s face inside the fence shifted from anxious to doubtful, as if the words “You can’t be serious, can you?” were etched on his face.
For the sake of a man’s dignity.
In the end, he still jumped over.
As he landed, a sharp pain shot through the soles of his feet. Fortunately, Zhong Weishi reached out to steady him, allowing him to regain his balance.
The sound Gu Lizhou made when landing was quite loud, causing Er’Gou to glance back. Whether he sensed something or not, he suddenly quickened his pace.
Thinking that they now had the advantage of two against one, Zhong Weishi pointed at Er’Gou’s head and shouted loudly, “Stop! Don’t run!”
Gu Lizhou couldn’t stop him even if he wanted to.
The two were initially only about 20 meters from Er’Gou, but as soon as Zhong Weishi shouted, Er’Gou darted away like a weasel, disappearing around the corner in an instant.
Zhong Weishi chased after him like a gust of wind, quickly turning the corner.
At this point, the sky had darkened, and there were no streetlights in the community. As they turned the corner, a sense of foreboding washed over them.
The path ahead was empty.
These small duplex buildings were separated by a distance in the middle of each two households, making it clear that Er’Gou had slipped away through one of the gaps after turning.
It was highly likely he was hiding somewhere nearby…
Perhaps even watching them.
Both of them had the same thought, and they couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat.
Zhong Weishi stared at the rows of identical buildings, and sank in despair.
Just then, a beam of light illuminated the path in front of him.
Gu Lizhou held up his phone and waved it side to side.
Neither was occupied.
“Be careful.”
Gu Lizhou whispered, stepping in front of Zhong Weishi and instinctively placing a hand in front of him.
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