In mid-November, the bidding process for the capital’s western district redevelopment and expansion project officially began.
However, most people in the industry knew that the final outcome had actually been decided even before the bidding announcement was published.
The Gu family had won the contract, while the Wei family had lost.
At the same time, one of the subsidiaries under the Wei family’s name was discovered to be suspected of developing and testing prohibited drugs. This led to the exposure of various illegal business activities at an underground club in the western district.
Everything appeared to be information deliberately leaked by the Gu family during the project competition to crush their rival. It all seemed perfectly reasonable.
But that was as far as it went.
In the end, only a few insignificant scapegoats were implicated. Wei Lingzhou and Tang Feiyi successfully stayed out of sight and emerged completely unscathed.
When Xu Ze learned all this from Chi Jiahan, he remembered what Lu Heyang had once said: Getting rid of Tang Feiyi would be easy, but they couldn’t deal with him alone. There were many industries behind him, involving far too many people.
“After the new mayor took office, I thought he’d have some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out they’re all in cahoots with each other.” Chi Jiahan picked the scallions out of his food. “This is the capital, for God’s sake. They’re still this brazen right under the Alliance Council Chairman’s nose. Does the Wei family think they can get away with anything?”
Xu Ze looked at the food in his insulated lunch box.
“Is it because of the marriage alliance?”
“At first, the Wei family did indeed gain a lot of benefits from the marriage alliance. But there’s no way the Council Chairman would tolerate them indefinitely. So I heard that this year the Wei family has been getting close to another faction of officials within the Alliance government. And Wei Lingzhou has also gotten involved with Tang Feiyi.”
Chi Jiahan finally finished picking out the scallions and began eating.
“I think the Council Chairman probably knows everything. But given his position, the Alliance government can’t suddenly intervene in the capital’s affairs directly. So it’ll still take a long time to completely deal with Wei Lingzhou, Tang Feiyi, and their people. There’s simply too much involved.”
“Unless they actually cause some really serious consequences. Some things are delicate. Maybe all it takes is one final spark to make the Council Chairman feel that things have gotten out of hand. Then he might finally look down and do something about it.”
“This time, someone clearly released evidence deliberately to test the waters. I don’t think the Gu family necessarily did it. They were being far too lenient. When it comes to business competition, you need to be precise, decisive, and fast. This feels more like someone playing a much bigger game.”
After finishing his analysis, Chi Jiahan smiled at Xu Ze with his mouth full of food.
“Those are just my guesses, though. I might not be right.”
But Xu Ze knew that his accuracy was at least ninety-five percent. Chi Jiahan had grown up in a family of high-ranking officials. Every observation behind his words was backed by substantial firsthand knowledge.
“Stop spacing out. Eat your food.”
Chi Jiahan lightly kicked Xu Ze under the table.
He no longer brought up Lu Heyang in front of Xu Ze.
Lu Heyang, He Wei, and the others had completely stopped coming to school. The number of students in the two S-class specialized programs was also steadily decreasing.
Everyone was being pushed forward, forced to move on and go their separate ways.
And Xu Ze and Lu Heyang were perhaps the two people who were most inevitably destined to part ways.
Xu Ze had successfully passed both the preliminary and second-round examinations at all three schools he had applied to. Only the final interviews remained.
Chi Jiahan felt that Xu Ze’s current state was unexpectedly stable. Every day, he buried himself in his studies and maintained a regular schedule.
It was the most normal period of life Xu Ze had experienced since Chi Jiahan had known him.
After school, Xu Ze sat in the bodyguard’s car, staring at the rearview mirror inside the vehicle.
The brown minivan was still following them, maintaining a distance of seven or eight meters. Neither too close nor too far.
Xu Ze had lost track of how many days he had been followed. He was certain that the people behind it belonged to Tang Feiyi, but he didn’t know why Tang Feiyi had suddenly started doing this.
They were only following him. They hadn’t taken any other concrete action. It was almost as though they deliberately wanted to make him feel uncomfortable.
The bodyguards hadn’t reacted either, choosing to observe the situation without making a move.
After dinner, Xu Ze sat in his chair and practiced interview questions while facing the wall.
He wasn’t particularly good at interviews, so he was forcing himself to concentrate as much as possible.
When his phone rang, Xu Ze was momentarily stunned. It took him a while to pull himself out of his concentration before reaching for it.
It was an unfamiliar number, one that wasn’t saved in his contacts.
Xu Ze answered.
“Have you been doing well lately, Number 17?”
Xu Ze’s brows furrowed at the very first word. He closed his question booklet and asked, “What do you want?”
“Are you just going to let that six hundred thousand you owe for breaking the contract go unresolved? As I recall, Number 17 has always been someone who keeps his word. Why are you suddenly trying to get out of your obligations this time?”
Xu Ze knew Tang Feiyi had no reason to bring up the breach-of-contract payment only now. He didn’t want to waste even a single second dealing with the man.
He simply asked again, “What do you want?”
“I heard our Number 17 has been doing very well. You passed both the preliminary and second-round examinations with high scores. So the interview shouldn’t be a problem either, right?”
Tang Feiyi spoke leisurely.
“But I heard there’s still one last step afterward. A background investigation, isn’t there?”
Almost unconsciously, Xu Ze stood up and pressed one hand against the desk. He could feel his palm quickly growing damp with sweat.
“I’m thinking of putting together the transaction records between you and the club, along with photos of you working at the boxing gym, bars, and casinos, and sending them to the schools you’re interested in. That way, they can get to know you a little better. How does that sound?”
He should have realized this from the moment he failed to pay the breach-of-contract fee and Tang Feiyi still made no move. There was no way this matter would simply be allowed to pass.
“What do you want?”
“Simple. Let’s meet.” Tang Feiyi chuckled. “Relax. We’re just going to have a chat. If you’re scared, you can bring your bodyguards. Think it over and let me know. I’ll send you the address.”
Xu Ze didn’t answer. He hung up.
The investigation and closure of the club were still fresh in everyone’s minds. Xu Ze had no idea why Tang Feiyi wanted to see him now—but whatever the reason, it wouldn’t be anything good.
He should tell Lu Heyang. After receiving that anonymous text message last time and trying to keep it a secret, only to be seen through by Lu Heyang, Xu Ze had finally made a difficult decision. There were too many things he couldn’t handle on his own. If he kept hiding things instead of speaking up, eventually he’d not only turn his own life into a mess, but also wear Lu Heyang down.
But of all times, he and Lu Heyang had temporarily lost contact. The only connection he had left was the bodyguards around him, but they didn’t know Lu Heyang’s situation, and Xu Ze wouldn’t ask.
After standing in front of his desk for a long time, Xu Ze called one of the bodyguards.
“What is it?”
“Tang Feiyi asked to meet me. He has photos of me working at the club. They might affect my background investigation.”
Xu Ze briefly explained the facts without lying. He was harboring a rather shameful hope: he thought the bodyguard would report this, and perhaps Lu Heyang would find out too.
Even if Lu Heyang called and said, “I don’t want to deal with your problems anymore,” it wouldn’t matter. Xu Ze just wanted to hear his voice.
“You can go.”
There was no pause or hesitation. The bodyguard gave his answer immediately, as though he’d already received instructions on how to respond to this question.
Xu Ze froze for a moment. Lu Heyang had once warned him to stay away from Tang Feiyi, yet this time he was being given permission to meet him. Suddenly, Xu Ze realized that Tang Feiyi’s objective might have nothing to do with the breach of contract—or even with Xu Ze himself.
His target was Lu Heyang.
And Lu Heyang and the others had probably already figured that out. That was why they’d agreed to let Xu Ze go to the meeting.
On Friday, Tang Feiyi sent Xu Ze the address. It appeared to be an ordinary restaurant. After school, Xu Ze returned home. Not long afterward, a bodyguard knocked on his door to bring him dinner and, while he was there, handed him a tracking device and a listening device. Xu Ze slipped them into his pants pocket, finished his meal quickly, and sat down to work on his practice questions.
His phone chimed with a text message. Xu Ze opened it. It was from an unfamiliar number, and there were three pictures attached.
The room fell silent.
One minute passed. Then three. Then five.
Xu Ze suddenly stood up and went to the bathroom. He seemed to have no particular purpose in mind. First, he stood in front of the mirror for a while, then began washing his hands. Halfway through, he shut off the faucet. Without warning, he turned around and dropped to his knees in front of the toilet, retching. He had only finished dinner a short while ago, so it was easy to empty his stomach completely.
After catching his breath for a moment, Xu Ze got to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. He flushed the toilet and returned to the sink. He rinsed his mouth and washed his face again and again, until his mouth went numb and his entire face turned red.
Finally, with water still dripping from his face, Xu Ze returned to his room and called Tang Feiyi.
“I’ve already eaten. I’m not going to the restaurant.” His tone was calm, but his voice was slightly hoarse. “Drive to my place.”
Tang Feiyi didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”
A little over half an hour later, a car horn sounded downstairs. Xu Ze picked up his keys and phone and went out.
Even after losing an enormous underground club, Tang Feiyi seemed unchanged. His gaze swept over Xu Ze with a blatantly malicious appraisal.
“You’re being taken pretty good care of these days.”
“I’ll drive,” Xu Ze said.
“Looks like you’re really scared.” Tang Feiyi opened the door and stepped out, smiling suggestively. “What, afraid I’ll take you somewhere and sell you?”
Xu Ze remained silent as he got into the driver’s seat, fastened his seat belt, and shut the door. He had never gotten a driver’s license, but he knew how to drive. When he’d worked at the club, he’d often driven a van to deliver goods and transport supplies.
The old district was close to the suburbs. As the car drove farther out, the buildings gradually became sparse.
Tang Feiyi folded his arms and leaned back against the seat, looking perfectly relaxed.
“Looking at you, why do I get the feeling you’re the one who has something to ask me?”
The air conditioner was still blowing cold air. A chill crept across Xu Ze’s skin. He pressed his lips together and gripped the steering wheel tightly. His wrists trembled almost imperceptibly as he asked, “Have you ever killed a police officer?”
The question was completely unexpected. Tang Feiyi’s eyes shifted slightly before he let out a derisive laugh.
“Did Lu Heyang tell you to ask that? Does he think he can get me arrested by taking a recording of me admitting it to the police? Playing games this childish doesn’t sound like him.”
“Ten years ago, at the Lushan villa. Did you shoot and kill a police detective with a sniper rifle?”
After saying this, Xu Ze frowned and briefly closed his eyes. In that instant, the three pictures from the unfamiliar text message flashed through his mind.
The first picture was dated the same day as the surveillance footage screenshot he’d received earlier, the one concerning Shao Ping. But this time, there was an additional person in the frame: Tang Feiyi, walking ahead of Shao Ping. The gun in his hand had been highlighted in red in the blank space beside the image, with its model specifically identified: an ASG370 sniper rifle.
The second picture was another surveillance screenshot from the same date. Several detectives wearing bulletproof vests were climbing the stairs with pistols in their hands. The alpha at the front was Xu Ming.
The third picture was Xu Ming’s autopsy report. He had been shot in the neck. The bullet had passed through his trachea and shattered his carotid artery, killing him instantly. Based on the bullet’s diameter and type, it had been identified as a sniper round. Among the compatible weapon models was the ASG370 sniper rifle.
Xu Ze still remembered the shirt Xu Ming had been wearing beneath his bulletproof vest in the photograph. It was an old gray shirt. Qiao Yuan had told him countless times to throw it away, but Xu Ming had never been willing to part with it. He’d worn it beneath his formal suit on their wedding day.
None of that mattered. So many things didn’t matter anymore. Who had sent the text message, and why they’d chosen such a suspiciously perfect moment—right before his meeting with Tang Feiyi—to provoke him with such blatant evidence. None of it mattered.
At that moment, Xu Ze only wanted confirmation. He wanted to know the truth.
“Ah… Now that you mention the time and place, I remember.” Tang Feiyi tapped his fingers against his thigh, one after another. “That gun had just come into my possession back then. I simply picked a random police officer to test it out on.”
Then he touched his Adam’s apple, revealing a cruel, smug smile.
“I remember my aim was exceptionally good. Hit him right in the throat.”
The moment he finished speaking, Xu Ze’s expression turned blank for an instant. His mind seemed to have slowed to the point where he couldn’t react to anything at all. His foot remained firmly pressed against the accelerator, unmoving, as the car’s speed continued to climb.
“What was the point of Lu Heyang telling you all this? It was just some nameless, faceless police officer who died. He’s still alive and well, isn’t he? You’re not going to seek revenge on his behalf over something that happened more than ten years ago, are you?”
But Xu Ze acted as though he hadn’t heard a word. With his foot still on the accelerator, he turned the steering wheel a full rotation. The car tilted violently as it took a sharp turn, crushing gravel and kicking up dust as it sped onto a narrow road.
A river lay not far ahead. The sun was about to set, and the sky was growing dark. The car hurtled toward the riverbank at a terrifying speed, drawing closer and closer. Despite the violent jolting, Tang Feiyi remained composed, showing no trace of panic.
The wind whipped up by the car swept the weeds along the riverbank aside. Xu Ze kept his eyes fixed straight ahead from beginning to end, his face so pale he hardly looked human. Waves churned across the river’s surface. When they were only a few meters from the bank, Xu Ze suddenly slammed on the brakes. The tires skidded across the gravel under the force of the emergency stop, carving two long, deep tracks before the car came to a halt just one step from the river’s edge.
The force of inertia hurled Tang Feiyi violently forward. By the time he managed to recover, Xu Ze had somehow already gotten out of the car and walked around to the passenger side.
As Tang Feiyi unfastened his seat belt, Xu Ze yanked open the door, seized him by the collar, and dragged him out of the car with astonishing force.
The situation spiraled out of control in an instant. Tang Feiyi had no time to figure out what Xu Ze was planning. Instinctively, he reached behind him for his gun, but Xu Ze reacted with lightning speed, clamping down on his wrist and twisting his entire arm backward.
Tang Feiyi grunted in pain. The gun fell to the ground, and Xu Ze kicked it away.
Tang Feiyi was no amateur when it came to fighting. He immediately raised his other hand and swung a fist toward Xu Ze’s temple. But close-quarters combat was Xu Ze’s greatest strength. After countless bloody boxing matches, his attacks and defenses had long since become as precise as a machine’s. Xu Ze caught Tang Feiyi’s fist with one hand and clamped the other around his throat. He twisted, sending them both crashing to the ground. Then Xu Ze sprang up, straddled Tang Feiyi, and expressionlessly delivered several vicious punches to his eyes and nose.
Blood sprayed from Tang Feiyi’s nose. Xu Ze stopped, grabbed his collar, and hauled him partway off the ground. Staring straight at him, he finally spoke.
“He wasn’t some nameless, faceless police officer.”
“His name was Xu Ming.”
Tang Feiyi panted heavily. He looked at Xu Ze for a while, then unexpectedly burst out laughing.
“Xu Ming… Don’t tell me that dead police officer was your father…”
Blood kept trickling from the corners of his mouth, yet Tang Feiyi only laughed harder, his delight growing with every passing second.
“So that’s why you went crazy… Hahaha… Then do you know why he died? Did Lu Heyang tell you?”
An eerie, indescribable premonition rose in Xu Ze’s heart. He said quietly, “Drugs.”
“So he really didn’t tell you…” Tang Feiyi laughed until his whole body trembled. “It wasn’t drugs. It was a kidnapping.”
He leaned close to Xu Ze’s ear and lowered his voice.
“Do you know who was kidnapped? Do you know?”
“I don’t need to know,” Xu Ze answered calmly. Whether it was a drug bust or a kidnapping, it had been Xu Ming’s job and his duty. There was no difference. All Xu Ze needed to know was who the murderer was.
“You’ll want to know, Xu Ze.” Tang Feiyi lay back on the ground. His face was covered in blood, yet his expression was relaxed and triumphant. “You’ll definitely want to know.”
As though something had struck his body, Xu Ze’s shoulders suddenly shuddered. The sound of the river flowing seemed to disappear. He unconsciously held his breath. More than a minute later, he abruptly released Tang Feiyi’s collar and drew in a shaky breath. The wind tousled his hair. His lips parted and moved, but no sound came out.
“Still want to kill me? Got the guts to do it?” Tang Feiyi licked the blood at the corner of his mouth. “You don’t want to go to college anymore? Don’t care about your grandmother anymore? Some things aren’t as simple as killing someone, you kids.”
Xu Ze showed no reaction. He slowly got to his feet, his body strangely heavy, his back seeming incapable of straightening. When he started walking, he even stumbled, losing his balance for a step. Finally, Xu Ze mechanically raised his head and looked around. It was an unfamiliar place. It seemed he couldn’t find his way home.
He walked aimlessly for a while. The wind made him shiver. Xu Ze turned around. Tang Feiyi seemed to still be lying there. Or perhaps he had already gotten into the car. It was too dark to tell.
He couldn’t walk anymore. Xu Ze stopped and reached into his pocket. His fingers found the tracking device and the listening device. It took him a long time to work out which one was the listening device.
Xu Ze closed his hand around it. His legs gave way, and he sank to his knees, disappearing beneath the wild grass that seemed to be growing all around him. He lowered his head and slowly brought his face closer to his palm. His lips moved, and a hoarse sound escaped them.
He asked very softly, “Is that you?”
The listening device wasn’t a phone. It couldn’t give him an immediate response. All he could hear was the unceasing sound of the wind.
In the lounge at the training base, Lu Heyang sat quietly, staring at the glass of water on the table. A few seconds later, he removed his earpiece.
Jiang Wen sat across from him on the sofa. After a moment of silence, he picked up his phone and made a call.
“Let Tang Feiyi’s men go. Take Xu Ze home.”