The next day, Wen Xian was hummingly and murmuringly fished out from the quilt by Shen Lingge. She hugged his neck with her eyes closed, acting spoiled: “Just let me sleep for another half an hour, sleep another half an hour and I’ll get up.”
Shen Lingge was helpless: “When you used to go to school, didn’t you also act spoiled like this with your mom not wanting to get up?”
Wen Xian leaned against his shoulder and softly answered him: “Mm, as soon as I acted spoiled, mom couldn’t do anything.”
Shen Lingge lowered his eyes and stuffed her back into the quilt. He let out a low sigh: “I also have no way.”
But Wen Xian did not hear what Shen Lingge said, because as soon as she touched the soft pillow, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, and right after that, sleepiness completely drowned her thoughts.
Half an hour later.
Xiao Song knocked on Shen Lingge’s room door. After Shen Lingge opened the door, he handed the suitcase to Xiao Song, and then turned around and went back into the room.
Xiao Song waited for five minutes before he saw Shen Lingge come out. He looked at Shen Lingge and Wen Xian with a face full of black lines. Because Shen Lingge had directly carried both person and quilt out together, and the person in his arms had not woken up at all.
Xiao Song: “……”
Not that he wanted to say it, but he felt his boss really spoiled his boss lady too much.
By the time Wen Xian woke up again, she was already on the plane. She looked around at the surrounding environment with a face full of confusion. No matter how she looked, she was inside an aircraft cabin, but she was still in Shen Lingge’s arms.
Wen Xian blanked out, she raised her head and somewhat dazedly asked: “Shen Lingge, has the plane taken off?”
Shen Lingge raised his hand and opened the window shade, indicating for Wen Xian to look outside at the layers upon layers of clouds. His chin lifted slightly: “You look for yourself whether the plane has taken off or not. Sleeping just like Wen Xianxian.”
Wen Xian: “……”
Wen Xian pulled out her phone and took a glance. It had already been another two hours past the half hour she mentioned. She guiltily glanced at Shen Lingge and softly refuted: “I’m still a child just like Wen Xianxian.”
Shen Lingge sneered: “Wen Xian, if you say that on a private plane, see if someone raises their phone to record you.”
“…I’m not a naughty child, I’m very well-behaved.” Wen Xian said this with a bit of grievance, “And my parent is very fierce. If I don’t listen, not only do I have to go hungry, I even have to get hit.”
Parent Shen Lingge: “……”
The corner of his forehead twitched slightly. He frowned and asked: “When did I ever hit you?”
Wen Xian gave a light hum: “See, you admit to starving me, right? When I go back, I’ll let Wen Xianxian bite you.”
After saying this, Wen Xian hugged Shen Lingge’s waist and burrowed into his arms again, the fluffy head rubbing against his chin: “Shen Lingge, it’s really too hard on you to accompany me back. Why not find an island and parachute down, let Xiao Song drive a boat to pick you up.”
Shen Lingge: “……”
He rubbed his brow, then instructed another assistant to bring up the breakfast prepared by the kitchen for Wen Xian.
Wen Xian sat on his lap and finished eating before realizing she was still wearing sleepwear. She tilted her head and thought for a moment—by the time they arrived at Licheng, it would be deep night anyway. Even if she changed clothes now, she would still have to change into sleepwear again after getting home.
So she simply stayed curled up in his arms wearing sleepwear, watching TV, occasionally looking up to ask him: “Shen Lingge, am I heavy? Are you tired?”
Shen Lingge only lowered his head and kissed her face: “Not heavy, not tired.”
Wen Xian gave a sound of acknowledgment, then continued watching TV. It wasn’t until lunch time that she climbed down from Shen Lingge’s lap. After the two of them finished eating, Wen Xian ran to sit on the seat to the side to play on her own, and Shen Lingge also began using the free time to handle emails.
—
Jicheng, Qingshui County.
The high-speed rail station and the passenger transport center in Qingshui County were only separated by an underground passage. Chang Shang carried a bag on his back, wearing headphones, silently walking in the passage. He lowered his eyes and looked at the messages Wen Xian had sent him a few hours ago.
[Wen Xian: Shang Shang, is your money enough? If it’s not, tell Jiejie.]
[Wen Xian: Be careful when you’re outside, if there’s anything call me. When you get home, also remember to tell me.]
Chang Shang hesitated for a moment, but still replied to her message.
After replying, Chang Shang took out the information the private detective had sent him. Qingshui County was the final stop on this trip for him. If things went smoothly, he could return to Mingcheng; if not, he would have to ask the private detective to continue investigating.
After Chang Shang stepped out of the elevator, he went directly toward the passenger transport center. He had to take a bus to reach the place shown on the information. Following the signs, he found the bus heading to Xishan Town.
In the past two years, Xishan Town’s tourism industry had developed rapidly. From the county to the town, a new road had been built. On this journey, there was almost no bumping, and Chang Shang arrived at Xishan Town.
Xishan Town had green mountains and clear waters. At the entrance of the town was a gas station.
Chang Shang crossed the road and walked toward the gas station. The people working there were locals. Chang Shang pointed at the address on the paper and asked for a long time before barely understanding that the place he was looking for was in a village under the town.
By now it was already noon, but Chang Shang had no appetite for food. He went directly to the town station to transfer to the vehicle heading to the village.
As soon as the driver heard his accent, he knew he was not a local. He not-so-fluently reminded him in Mandarin: “The last bus back in the afternoon is at four-thirty. Any later and you’ll have to call a car.”
Chang Shang nodded and thanked him, then found a seat in the last row and sat down. He silently watched the bustling life outside the window. The people in the town all seemed honest and harmless, but what kind of people they really were, no one knew.
Before the vehicle started moving, Chang Shang received a call from the private detective. The man’s tone on the other end of the line was lazy: “Kid, where are you now? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at the high-speed rail station?”
Chang Shang replied: “I couldn’t wait. I’m already in Xishan Town.”
The man bit on the cigarette in his mouth: “Alright. You know how to get in, right? I’ll drive straight down to the village to meet up with you. Don’t wander around. Just wait for me at the village station.”
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Once he arrived at Zhangxiang, Chang Shang understood why the man had told him not to wander around. What he saw when he got off the vehicle was almost all elderly people. There were barely any middle-aged people, and even fewer who could understand Mandarin.
From the moment he got off the vehicle, there were constantly sizing-up gazes moving toward him.
Chang Shang felt a little uneasy, standing in a corner waiting for that private detective. The private detective he had found in Jicheng was called Old Wang, a middle-aged man around forty years old.
After around twenty minutes, Old Wang drove up and accurately stopped in front of Chang Shang. From inside the car, he only took one glance and immediately recognized his client. The boy’s aura was too noticeable.
Old Wang was driving a Volkswagen. He rolled down the car window and lazily said: “Kid, get in.”
After confirming that the man’s appearance matched the photo, Chang Shang opened the car door and got in. The man wearing a plaid short-sleeved shirt tossed a bottle of mineral water to him: “Such hot weather and you don’t even find a shady place to stand.”
Chang Shang turned his head to look outside the window. All the places where the sun didn’t reach were full of old people sitting.
Old Wang noticed his gaze and casually explained: “They’re just curious about what you came here for. No bad intentions.”
Saying this, he drove the car, turning right up the mountain. While driving, he bit on an unlit cigarette and vaguely said: “The person you asked me to investigate, Zhao Chengshan. Four years ago, he was already gone. Died in his thirties. I heard he was a co-pilot for a rich boss. The plane had an accident. Not a single person on the plane survived. That year this incident even made the news.”
“Zhao Chengshan studied elementary school in Zhangxiang. Junior high and high school were both in the county. This kid studied hard. Later, he tested into Licheng’s Aviation University. Someone sponsored him to finish college. After graduation, he worked for a few years and then quit to fly private planes for rich families.”
“His family was poor, with a younger brother and a younger sister below him. After graduating, he earned quite a bit of money and gave it all to his family. Over thirty and still had no wife or kids. Only heard he had a girlfriend.”
“I haven’t found out the identity of his girlfriend yet. She’s not from Jicheng, and he never brought her back.”
“If you need, I can keep checking.”
Chang Shang didn’t hesitate: “Check. Whatever the cost, just say it.”
Old Wang bit his cigarette and laughed once: “We’ll talk about the money after I find it. It’ll probably take about a month. After all, it’s been a long time.”
Chang Shang looked at the winding and undulating mountains outside the window, his Adam’s apple rolling slightly: “I can wait.”
While the two of them spoke, Old Wang stepped on the brake and stopped the car at the village entrance. At midday, there weren’t many people at the village entrance. After Chang Shang got out of the car, he looked around. This mountain village was surrounded by mountains, mostly bamboo mountains.
Old Wang led him around into a small path, speaking as he walked: “I came here once before. Zhao Chengshan’s parents already moved away a long time ago, bringing along his younger brother and sister. Heard they moved to Jicheng; I’ve already found the address. Now this place only has his grandfather left. His grandmother passed away over ten years ago. This old man, who knows why he’s still living here alone. Last time I came wasn’t lucky; the old man had just gone up the mountain.”
The small path was paved with uneven cement. The cement walls on the side had already turned black, with some wild vines climbing over them. Weeds grew in clusters along the roadside, and a hen swaggered across the middle of the path.
Walking further ahead were some already-collapsed old houses. At the end of the path grew a tall ginkgo tree. After passing by a well, Old Wang finally stopped walking. He stopped in front of a yellow wooden door.
In front of the door hung a round brass handle.
Old Wang knocked on the door. There was no response from inside.
Chang Shang frowned slightly.
Old Wang knocked again, then said a sentence in dialect. After a while, an aged and hoarse voice came from inside, like a heavy cart grinding over gravel, along with grinding over a few stalks of straw by the roadside.
Chang Shang looked toward Old Wang: “What did you say?”
Old Wang smiled: “I said we came looking for Zhao Chengshan. Your feeling wasn’t wrong—this family is a bit strange. That old man told us to wait, he’ll come open the door.”
After waiting for about five minutes, there was some movement from behind the door. With a creak, the handle on the wooden door swayed slightly, and a face full of wrinkles poked out from behind the door.
His hair was already half white, his eye sockets were cloudy, his eyeballs moving slightly as he sized up the two people at the door. He opened his mouth and said a sentence: “You’re here looking for Shan Zi?”
Chang Shang couldn’t understand the dialect here, so he looked toward Old Wang.
Old Wang pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out two and handed them to the old man, replying: “Yes, we have some things we’d like to ask you. Don’t know if it’s convenient for you?”
The old man took the cigarettes from Old Wang’s hand. After opening the wooden door, he let them in.
After entering, Chang Shang heard the sound of chains. He turned his head to look. The old man added another lock behind the door, thick chains wrapping around a few times before fastening with a lock.
He quietly held the phone in his pocket.
Old Wang patted his shoulder, signaling him it was nothing.
After locking the door, the old man hunched his back and led them inside the house. Old Wang followed first. Chang Shang sized up the courtyard. The courtyard wasn’t big. In the corner was piled some coal, a water vat, and a few miscellaneous items, nothing else.