Chapter 9

The little room grew quieter still, the insect sounds sharper, and for a moment no one spoke.

After a while, Lu Heyang asked, 'Did you lose on purpose tonight?'

Though he couldn't see clearly, Lu Heyang sensed that Number 17 was caught off guard — surprised, perhaps, that this was the question he chose to ask, rather than why he was in the alley, or why he'd saved him, or anything of the sort.

'Yes.' Number 17 answered.

So honest that Lu Heyang began to be surprised in turn.

'You were bleeding a lot.' Lu Heyang said.

'It's always like this.' Number 17 paused, his voice dropping a little, then asked, 'Is this... your first time watching?'

It was actually his second time, but Lu Heyang answered, 'Mm, first time here, don't know anything yet.'

The light patter of footsteps sounded outside. Number 17 immediately tilted his head toward the door and listened for a few seconds; only after confirming it was a passerby did he turn back to Lu Heyang and say, 'This place is dangerous. Don't come back.'

'Really?' Lu Heyang asked.

Number 17 hesitated visibly. It was hard to imagine anyone, having just been robbed, still asking a question like that — but the other's tone was so earnest, so earnest it sounded almost innocent, and he couldn't help but believe him.

'It's chaotic here. The public order is terrible.' Number 17 explained.

Lu Heyang answered, 'All right. I understand.'

After nearly another minute, Number 17 placed his hand on the lock and slowly turned the deadbolt. He said quietly, 'I'm leaving first. If nothing else happens in five minutes, go out, turn right, and at the end of the alley turn left — that'll take you back to the parking lot.'

'All right.'

In the darkness, Number 17 seemed to turn and glance at Lu Heyang once. Then he pulled the door open inch by inch. The streetlamp's light fell across him at an angle; the brim of his cap hid his face in profile entirely, leaving only the line of a high, straight nose — still marked with traces of paint and blood that hadn't been wiped clean.

'Thank you.' Lu Heyang said at last.

Number 17's figure paused. He gave a soft 'Mm,' then stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him.

He made his way back along the same route to the side door where the incident had happened — already empty. Number 17 walked to the wall, bent down, and picked up a wallet from the corner.

The wallet looked expensive, and new. The thugs had probably been too busy chasing after someone to bother with it. Number 17 slipped the wallet into his coat pocket, tugged the brim of his cap lower, and instead of going through the side door, walked straight out of the alley.

After waiting two or three minutes in the little room, Lu Heyang opened the door and stepped out — right, then left at the end of the alley — and stopped. He looked at the three Alphas standing before him, panting, and asked, 'Looking for me?'

The Alpha at the front froze for a beat, then pressed his earpiece and said, 'Found him.'

'From losing me to now — it can't be more than fifteen minutes, right?'

'We were just about to report in.' The Alpha answered in a low voice.

Lu Heyang smiled slightly. 'Then let's make a deal.'

The men opposite wore expressions of faint confusion. Lu Heyang went on, 'The fact that you lost me — I won't mention it, and neither will you.'

'Just this once.' He added immediately. 'I came out to make a call, walked while I was talking, got lost — nothing actually happened. No need to make it a big deal, right?'

The Alpha hesitated a few seconds, then finally gave a single nod. 'Understood. We'll be more careful next time.'

When He Wei and Gu Yunchi came out, Lu Heyang was standing by the car. He Wei stepped down off the curb in one stride and asked, 'What happened?'

'Get in the car first.' Lu Heyang pulled open the door.

The three of them got in. He Wei turned the wheel and glanced back as he drove. 'What happened? You said you were just making a call — why didn't you go back to watch the fights?'

'I got robbed.' Lu Heyang said.

He Wei slammed the brakes and twisted around to look at him. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine. Just lost a wallet.' And though the wallet was gone, the cash inside was still crumpled up in his pocket — the loss was negligible. Lu Heyang smiled. 'It was my own carelessness, going somewhere out of the way to make a call.'

'As long as you're all right.' He Wei exhaled in relief and started the car moving again. 'If anything had happened to you, Uncle Lu and my dad would have been the first to kill me.'

'Where were the bodyguards?' Gu Yunchi asked.

'I wound around inside the Underground Club for ages before getting out. They lost me.'

He Wei asked immediately, 'Then does Uncle Lu know too?'

'No. I worked it out with them.' Lu Heyang rubbed the back of his neck. 'Told them I'd just gotten lost, told them not to report it. Otherwise they'd be punished, and we'd never be able to come here again.'

He Wei clicked his tongue. 'They follow us everywhere normally, but the moment something actually happens, they're nowhere to be found.'

Having been followed by bodyguards since childhood, the three of them had long grown used to having their every movement watched. Like this trip to Chengxi — knowing full well that at least three bodyguards trailed each of them, they simply pretended not to notice. They'd been pretending for that many years already.

Gu Yunchi's brow furrowed slightly. 'Should we look into it, track the people down?'

'It's fine, no need.' Lu Heyang's fingertips rolled the crumpled roll of bills as he spoke. 'I'm not interested in that.'

Saturday morning, nine-thirty. Lu Heyang went downstairs for breakfast. Ten minutes later, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Lu Heyang looked up and saw the Omega descending in a deep-blue silk robe, her long hair loosely pinned up, revealing a face of fine features but marked by weariness.

'You only slept three hours.' Lu Heyang took a sip of milk and said.

'I have to get on a plane again this afternoon. There's no time — I can only sleep a little less.' Lu Qingmo sat down at the table and rubbed her temple. 'Anyway, I never sleep much normally. I'm used to it.'

'I can go to Luan Mountain by myself. When you're free next time, we'll go together.'

Lu Qingmo smiled faintly. 'Next time — who knows when next time will be. This time it had already been almost three months.'

'You put too much pressure on yourself.' Lu Heyang finished buttering a slice of toast and set it on the plate in front of Lu Qingmo.

'No pressure. I just wanted to go see it.'

'All right.' Lu Heyang said, 'I'll drive in a bit. You can rest on the way.'

After breakfast and a change of clothes, Lu Heyang had the driver bring over an ordinary car. Lu Qingmo took the passenger seat, a long, narrow gift box in her hands. Lu Heyang started the car and asked, 'What is it?'

'Paintbrushes.' Lu Qingmo said. 'Custom-made. I waited a long time for them.'

Lu Heyang looked ahead at the road. 'He'll be very happy to receive them.'

'I hope so.' Lu Qingmo rested her hand on the gift box, leaned back against the seat, and closed her eyes.

The drive to Luan Mountain passed through a stretch of the Old Town, not far from the Preparatory Academy. Every time he drove through here, Lu Heyang slowed the car — the road wasn't wide, and there were too many cyclists and pedestrians, crowded together, requiring extra care.

There were many breakfast shops along the road, but at this hour not many people were out buying breakfast. Lu Heyang glanced over without thinking, turned his eyes back to the road, then paused for a second before turning his head to look in that direction again.

An Alpha in a white T-shirt, holding a bottle of soy milk and a bag of bread, was pushing an old bicycle along the sidewalk after paying. His frame was tall and straight, and because he habitually watched the ground as he walked, his head was tilted slightly downward. He was dressed plainly, but the sense of detachment about him remained strong — utterly out of place among the busy passersby, as though he had wandered through by accident and didn't belong here at all.

Lu Heyang turned back and kept driving. About two or three meters later, at a turn, the wheels rolled over a shallow pothole, and afterward there was a distinct foreign-object sensation beneath the tires, accompanied by a creaking, scraping sound. Before long, the dashboard flagged an abnormal tire pressure.

Lu Heyang pressed the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

Lu Qingmo opened her eyes. 'What is it?'

'There's a problem with the tire.' Lu Heyang turned on the hazard lights, unbuckled his seatbelt. 'I'll go take a look.'