Leaving the greenhouse shopping street behind.
The number of pedestrians and cars dwindled even further.
Not all the shops by the street were open—many had their shutters tightly pulled down.
Small cities really did seem quieter than before.
Or maybe, in my childhood eyes, even a small city this empty was already bustling and lively enough.
After all—no matter what, it could never be as deserted as that little island, where sometimes there weren’t even three ferries a day.
Walking past the school gate, the view opened up again. The grass on the riverbank had grown especially lush. An orange, curly-haired cat lay hidden in the grass, only half its body visible, with its tail sticking up like an antenna.
A little girl in red shoes was chasing a white butterfly along the riverbank, while on the other side, a young man smoking a cigarette shouted out from time to time.
“Ning Ning, slow down, don’t fall!”
“Second Dad!! Look, the little butterfly landed on my hand!”
“Mm, catch it and bring it home to raise.”
“No, no! It’s better to let them fly free!” “Then why chase them?”
“It’s just fun!”
“Don’t touch it carelessly. Butterflies are dirty.” The young man lay back on the sloping grass with his hands behind his head. “I really don’t want to take you for a bath today!”
Zhu Ying walked along the riverbank, tilting her head as she watched the tireless little girl in red shoes. “Kids who are lively but know their limits are so adorable.”
“Most kids are mischievous and don’t know their limits,” An Jing said quietly, swinging her body gently as she carried her bunny-eared bag.
“That’s why, ones like this are the cute ones.”
“But don’t you think it’s a little sad?”
“Hmm?”
“People can’t know their limits from the start. Either they’ve bumped into walls enough to learn where to draw the line, or they’ve always been timid and careful. For kids…”
“For kids, it’s just a necessary part of growing up. Really, Xiao Jing, why so pessimistic all of a sudden!”
“Cough.” An Jing coughed lightly and scratched her head, suddenly turning to look behind her.
There was nothing behind—just an uncle pedaling slowly past on an old bicycle.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing… Just felt like someone was watching me just now… Hmm… Strange.”
“In broad daylight? Someone following you?”
“Shouldn’t be… There was even a police car parked at the last intersection.” An Jing touched the bracelet on her left wrist. “Well, maybe there’s nothing to worry about.”
“What’s up?”
“That ability…” Suddenly, An Jing fixed her gaze on Zhu Ying. The latter barely had time to cast a confused glance before her eyes grew unfocused, and then, mechanically, she stood still, threw her arms around An Jing, and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Mm… Eh?!”
“So it’s this ability! Not bad—trying to use Butterfly Control on me to make me do something bad, huh? If it’s just a forehead kiss, can you keep doing it forever?”
“I-I was just demonstrating!”
“Hmph! You actually used such a dangerous power on me as a guinea pig!”
“Ahem, I-I didn’t mean it that way!”
“If you want to do this, why not do it as much as you like with Xiao Jing?”
“Hey, hey, hey! Let go—h-help, help!” “I won’t let go!”
“I-I need to use the toilet!”
“This is punishment—for using your ability recklessly!”
“I was wrong!”
“How long can you control for? If you want to?”
“I have to really focus… I don’t know how long… Maybe just a few seconds.”
“So it’s not enough to do really bad things yet—”
“I won’t use it carelessly!” An Jing hurriedly turned her head, looking toward the Public Toilet beside the school. “Mercy! Let me go to the toilet! Or I’ll get my skirt dirty!!”
“Hmph, I’ll spare you this time! Next time, no more using it on me, it feels awful!”
“I know, I know!” An Jing quickly struggled out of Zhu Ying’s grasp and dashed toward the toilet, leaving the other snickering.
“Hmph… I really shouldn’t have let her go…”
A gentle breeze swept by, pressing down the tall grass on the slope.
An uncle pedaled slowly past again on his old-fashioned bike, making Zhu Ying blink in surprise.
“Didn’t that uncle already ride by just now? Did I remember wrong…?”
◎
（二）
Lu Qiao Jingye hadn’t been idle lately.
Ever since he escaped from the psychiatric hospital, he’d been getting to know the city under another identity, drawing up an incredibly detailed map.
Maybe even the locals didn’t know the place as well as he did—after all, he’d even thoroughly explored the sewers, calculating several possible Escape Plans.
That’s the kind of professional killer he was: either don’t act, or act with an eighty percent chance of success.
As for last time’s failure—
That was because he thought the Line Worker here had handled everything. Who could’ve known the Local Intelligence System was full of holes, missing the information it needed, and overloaded with useless things…
The client hadn’t sent any new messages, only saying not to rush. So Lu Qiao Jingye didn’t plan to take action just yet; he needed the perfect opportunity, and a reliable retreat route afterward.
Now the problem was, by the time the funds from above trickled down through layer after layer to the intelligence agents, it had turned into a pathetic 2,000 yuan Salary—and even then, Social Security took another bite, with the boss paying a little, the agents paying a lot.
So, the Smuggling Plan for a freighter escape was handled with utter carelessness, and still, there was no reliable plan.
All of this would have to be sorted by Lu Qiao Jingye himself. He was cautious, so progress wasn’t fast, but at least he could ensure nothing would go wrong.
A complete Escape Plan had at least three variants. After all, he was an assassin, not a terrorist—if he couldn’t get away clean after a job, there was no point in doing it at all…
In the restroom, he removed his disguise and stuffed everything into the sports bag slung behind him before strolling out.
That girl named ‘An Jing’ had just returned to her companion, muttering something with a frown.
“Hey—Lu Ye!!” A young man’s shout came from the grass slope.
Lu Qiao Jingye turned his head as expected.
This was the first Line Worker he’d developed himself. The guy had no idea he was supplying intel to a Japanese assassin working for an International Organization.
Good thing kidnapping someone unharmed was much harder than killing them—otherwise, Lu Qiao Jingye would probably be back on that Sakura Island by now.
Lu Qiao Jingye stopped walking, and Zhao Lao’er ran over, panting, “Haha, long time no see! You’re not here to ask for money, are you? Let me say first, that money I borrowed last time was just to help prove you weren’t crazy! If you’re looking for me now, I’m broke—spent it all!”
“I’m not here for money,” Lu Qiao Jingye said seriously. “I’m just passing by.”
“Here to buy soy sauce?”
“No, I just bought a bottle yesterday. The Local Soy Sauce here is unique—I really like it.”
“Haha! Told you! The small town’s soy sauce with cold tofu is the best!” Zhao Lao’er slapped Lu Qiao Jingye on the back. “So what have you been up to lately, buddy?”
“Evading a manhunt.”
“Damn, you in trouble?”
“I escaped from the psychiatric hospital.”
“I was wondering how you got out!” Zhao Lao’er laughed. “Don’t worry, just drag it out for a while and they’ll forget about you. You didn’t pay the Drifters’ Ward fee anyway! Haha… But those days talking about life with you were really damn interesting!”
“Did you escape too?”
“No, I paid up, man! As long as you have money, you say you’re crazy, you are. You say you’re not, you aren’t. Money, that’s the virus of madness!” Zhao Lao’er fished a pack of Liqun from his left pocket, gave Lu Ye a sheepish grin, put it back, then dug a pack of Hongta Mountain out of his right pocket. He wanted to take two cigarettes, but ended up stingily handing over just one. “Bro, have a smoke.”
“No thanks.”
“Not smoking? Fine.” Zhao Lao’er didn’t care at all, lighting up for himself and chatting leisurely with this ‘acquaintance’ from the past. “Let me tell you, I thought it over after I went back that day—I still think it’s better to be a man. You wanna be a man, you are; you wanna be a woman, you are…”
（I）
“Those two just now looked familiar.” An Jing puffed out her cheeks, glancing back twice. “I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere.”
“Isn’t that the barber from before?”
“Oh, right! That’s him. Was he really a barber? When I passed by the school later, I took a good look, but never saw him in that barbershop.”
“Who knows.”
An Jing nodded and didn’t dwell on it—she was never the type to pursue questions to the end, or perhaps her curiosity was just weaker than most people her age.
“Should we keep walking this way?”
“Sure! Last time we went that way, right? Let’s not go to that mountain village today, how about heading to the lakeside? I remember people often go fishing there.”
“Oh, that place? My dad went there a few times. Even if there are people fishing, it’s still pretty empty.”
“Right, but with people around, it feels safer.” Zhu Ying pursed her lips and smiled. “Xiao Jing, have you ever seen someone fish themselves into the lake?”
“That shouldn’t happen, right?”
“It does! I’ve seen it—someone else pulled him out.”
“If no one was nearby, that’d be trouble.”
“Exactly, he got all tangled in the line. That’s when I learned fishing line is so tough! Even scissors can barely cut it.”
“That lake… I haven’t really been for a long time, though I pass by occasionally.”
“It feels special when it’s raining. There’s a Fishing Platform there—fishing under an umbrella is a lot of fun… Hey, Xiao Jing, look! A squirrel just jumped past!”
“Where? Where?”
“There, did you see it?”
“Wow, it’s huge. Its tail’s so fluffy!” “Ah, it’s gone…”
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