NB Chapter8

Around six or seven in the morning, the faint sounds of Zhang Mingsheng getting out of bed stirred me awake. Still in his pajamas, he came over and gently ran his hand through my hair. “Sleep a little longer.”

I disliked his naturally commanding tone, but I truly couldn’t resist the drowsiness surging over me like a tide. I gave a soft “mm” and closed my eyes again. Once I’ve been awakened, my sleep rarely becomes deep again; I just squinted as countless strange images flashed before my eyes. Was my brain gradually descending into chaos? I didn’t know.

The next second, a fact I had almost forgotten sliced through my light, drifting sleep like a bolt of lightning.

Li Yi was coming today.

In my conversations with Zhang Mingsheng, other people were seldom brought up; and within that narrow range, Li Yi’s name was the one that came up most often.

As for me, I had no father or mother; the friends I made through my studies and work comprised almost the entirety of my interpersonal relationships. Li Yi was a few years younger than me, but because he was quick-witted, he skipped grades and eventually arrived at the police academy, becoming my junior. We ate together and lived together, sharing that stretch of campus life everyone experiences; though not everyone manages to find happiness in it. But I knew that I was happy.

Because I had a good friend, Li Yi.

Though he loved to have fun, he always harbored a “wuxia” dream of becoming a peerless hero of the martial world.

My mentor once said that I lived my life with too much effort, rooting myself downward. He called it a “clumsy person’s clumsy method,” noting that it initially provokes a malicious person’s impulse to overturn or sever my roots. But if one can endure, then as time goes on, one gradually becomes as immovable as a mountain; the longer those who hate me gaze upon me, the more they will feel a sense of awe.

Li Yi was both shrewd and lazy; a single minute of his life held a thousand forms of joy. Had it not been for a sense of passion and an ideal sustaining him, he might not have become a police officer.

I listened intently.

Li Yi’s attitude toward this assessment was, “What is this? So pretentious. Teacher’s gone off again chasing that literary dream that always falls apart halfway.”

Our mentor shot him with an irritated glare, Shimu clapped and laughed heartily, and the younger junior sister stood to the side, smiling as well.

Back then, my mentor hadn’t been promoted yet and lived in an old house.

That building had poor natural light; all the furniture seemed draped in a layer of hazy mist. Shimu studied plants, so the balcony was filled with various shades of green. She also kept a large tank of black, white, and red goldfish; so many varieties that I couldn’t identify them all. The junior sister gave every single one a name. The laziest one was named Li Yi, and the quietest one was named Yu Fuchao.

Li Yi also leaned over the fish tank, squatting down to pretend to observe them. The aquatic plants in the tank had grown into a dense, verdant green, swaying gently in the water; just looking at them slowly soothed the heart into a quiet, softened calm.

Li Yi pointed at a chubby, beautiful little red fish and said, “Then this one will be called Shanshan.”

Shanshan was the junior sister’s nickname. She had just started university then, and her baby fat hadn’t yet faded. I thought it was very cute, though the junior sister herself didn’t like it. In fact, I think Li Yi liked it as well; he just refused to admit it. That goldfish named Shanshan was also the most vibrant and beautiful one in the tank.

Thinking back now, my mentor’s assessment has proven true for me, but only the negative side. My foundation has indeed been severed, and like a vine, I cling to Zhang Mingsheng for support.

But his assessment was not evident in Li Yi; Li Yi remained a police officer and did his job exceptionally well. Among the millions of young officers on Hong Kong Island, there was likely not a single one who did it better than he.

Sometimes I become a little superstitious, thinking that perhaps you really do end up receiving whatever you believe in.

Li Yi did not believe, and so Li Yi’s life belonged to himself.

I sat up and discovered my legs were locked. It made sense; today, Li Yi was coming.

In the past, as long as I slept on the third floor, which is Mr. Zhang’s domain, I did not have to move about in shackles. He truly is arrogant, confident that I could never escape again. I also understand where his confidence comes from. Over these years, the number of times I have attempted to flee is beyond counting, and even the attempts I thought were nearly successful were cruelly aborted by Zhang Mingsheng.

I pressed the bell beside me; Zhang Mingsheng would hear it.

He once told others, As long as my wife presses the bell, I will surely rush to his side immediately. I only found it laughable when I heard it. He spoke of himself as if he were my servant, but in reality, I simply had nothing to rely on and had no choice but to beg and seek him out.

Perhaps I should even thank him for installing a bell to preserve my dignity so that I wouldn’t have to voice my requests multiple times every day.

Zhang Mingsheng arrived unhurriedly. He didn’t look at me right away but instead went to open the wardrobe.

I sometimes wonder if Zhang Mingsheng’s childhood was so severely lacking that, as an adult, he developed such a love for playing game consoles and buying clothes to decorate his wife and children.

Keke already had so many clothes that there was no more space to store them, while Zhang Xiaoyuan even owned a custom-made racing suit. My own clothes filled the wardrobe to the brim; given the Zhang family’s reputation and Zhang Mingsheng’s carefully maintained public image, our attire naturally couldn’t reveal anything.

Zhang Mingsheng selected an outfit, holding the hanger as he slowly turned toward me. “Do you remember Song Yixing?””

“Who?” Being suddenly struck by a strange name left me completely bewildered.

“You don’t remember him, yet he sent over several sets of clothes—”

“Impossible. How could I not know him?” My body tense at once, afraid that I had missed something again, and left Zhang Mingsheng an opportunity to harm someone else.

“Because he had someone deliver them to my office.” Zhang Mingsheng said while wearing an utterly infuriating smile.

My heart immediately settled. I still had no idea who this Song Yixing was, but I could gather from Zhang Mingsheng’s words that the man had a decent sense of boundaries. If a person has a sense of boundaries, they usually avoid a lot of trouble; especially when dealing with someone like Zhang Mingsheng.

Still, considering how Zhang Mingsheng puts on a noble and virtuous front for the world, it’s impressive this surname Song could tell he is actually narrow-minded and petty. I’ve become somewhat curious.

In the years I have lived with the Zhang family, I have lived a secluded life; my circle of movement was pitifully small. Zhang Mingsheng’s desire for control is like a magnet beneath the floorboards, drawing me to move only within a few apartments and villas. On the rare occasions I do go out, I must be fully prepared with three or four bodyguards surrounding us. Only when going to places with few people does Zhang Mingsheng reduce the personnel, allowing only Ah Hai to accompany us.

Zhang Mingsheng, however, refused to admit that all of this stemmed from his own twisted nature. I once overheard him telling Ah Hai that putting oneself in the public eye was extremely dangerous, because you never knew who might be watching from the shadows.

Hearing that only made me want to sneer all the more.

I feel it necessary to remind Ah Hai of that famous maxim: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

After washing up, I hurriedly dressed with Zhang Mingsheng’s assistance, then sat on the edge of the bed and stepped into flat leather shoes.

The doorbell rang, its chime gradually echoing through every corner of the house.

It was exactly eight o’clock, Li Yi was perfectly punctual.

“He stood outside the door for a long while. Perhaps… half an hour?” Zhang Mingsheng spoke without any expression, his emotions completely unreadable. He turned on the large screen in the bedroom, and that familiar surveillance angle appeared on it once again.

Li Yi was pressing the doorbell; he had come alone. Ah Hai went to open the door, and Li Yi presented his identification. After a brief exchange between them, Ah Hai led Li Yi inside.

He was drawing closer and closer to me and further and further from the door.

Zhang Mingsheng suddenly laughed. “I really don’t know what he’s thinking, introducing himself as an inspector every single time. So, what if he’s an inspector? I wouldn’t necessarily even think much of a superintendent.”

I didn’t respond, only watched him silently.

Noticing my gaze, he turned his head as if suddenly realizing something. “Sorry, Officer Yu, I forgot; you never even had the chance to become an inspector. So, are you jealous?”

A thorn in the bottom of my heart was suddenly stirred by the wind. The pain was brief, likely because I had grown accustomed to the feeling of my ideals having long since shattered. I looked at his smile, and my heart gradually settled into an uneasy calm. Zhang Mingsheng had lost his composure today; a corner of the madness he had concealed for years was once again laid bare.

I said, “Do you remember what you promised me?”

Zhang Mingsheng pulled back his expression and asked slowly, “Laopo, I’ve promised you many things. Which one are you referring to?”

“You said that as long as I didn’t try to commit suicide again, you would never lay a finger on Li Yi.” I stated, emphasizing every word.

The corners of Zhang Mingsheng’s mouth curled slightly in a provocative manner. “Officer Yu, to be honest, you aren’t even willing to die anymore, are you?”

He suddenly stepped closer and lightly gripped my throat, forcing me to look up at him. He said in a low voice, “And Officer Yu, it seems you’ve remembered it wrong. What I actually said was this: if you ever think about dying again, it won’t just be Li Yi—I’ll kill your teacher, your junior colleague, your child, everyone and everything you care about, even animals. I’ll kill them all.”

After speaking, he let go of me. Neither of us spoke; for a moment, the only sound in the room was Aunt Liu’s enthusiastic voice on the screen as she hosted the guest. She was already asking Li Yi if he was married.

About two minutes passed before the floating madness in Zhang Mingsheng’s eyes finally subsided. I stared at him fixedly until he walked over and patted my shoulder.

“Alright, Laopo, stop glaring. Your eyes are already red. We should go downstairs. Inspector Li is very busy; we shouldn’t keep him waiting too long, right?”

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