Chapter 21: “You Smell Strongly of Perfume”

Ning Shuang gently blew on his wound. “If it hurts, just say so. I’m not a dentist—saying it hurts will only make you grit your teeth and bear it for a moment.”

Ji Huaizhi was amused by Ning Shuang’s words. He looked up at him and asked casually, “You smell strongly of perfume.”

“That strong?” Ning Shuang lifted his sleeve to sniff it before explaining, “Probably picked it up from talking to that new student in Accounting Class 4 today.”

“He was wearing some.”

“It smells bad,” Ji Huaizhi said bluntly.

Ning Shuang was a little stunned. “That bad? I think it’s fine.”

Ji Huaizhi pursed his lips and fell silent. Ning Shuang then said, “Well, when I go out to walk Ning Dundun later, I’ll just change my clothes.”

“I’ll come with you,” Ji Huaizhi said.

Ning Shuang paused. “I’m not heading to the park today. I want to take it over to the night market side for a stroll.”

“I can go too.” Ji Huaizhi looked Ning Shuang up and down. The light overhead reflected in his eyes, creating a subtle gleam that was hard to ignore.

Ning Shuang was heading to the night market for serious business, and bringing someone along would make things inconvenient. He opened his mouth to refuse, but then he met those beautiful eyes.

His heart skipped a beat, and he took half a step back. “Fine, fine, come along.”

“Together, then.” Ning Shuang nodded vigorously.

“Good.” Satisfied with the response, Ji Huaizhi’s tone lightened noticeably.

Ning Shuang finished rebandaging his wound, then went upstairs to change clothes. By the time he came back down, Ji Huaizhi had already put on his jacket and was waiting downstairs, holding Ning Dundun’s leash. He’d been there for a while.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ning Shuang, still in his slippers, bounded down the stairs with quick thuds of his feet.

Ji Huaizhi leaned against the cabinet nearby. He glanced at Ning Shuang and said, “It’s fine. Change your shoes first.”

“Then hold my bag for a sec.” Ning Shuang handed his bag over to Ji Huaizhi.

Ji Huaizhi took it, but as he pulled his elbow back, he accidentally bumped into a photo frame on the cabinet. He reached out quickly to catch it, but he was a step too late. The frame hit the floor, and the glass shattered with a sharp crack.

“Sorry.” Ji Huaizhi clearly hadn’t expected to cause such a mishap. He apologized immediately and crouched down to pick up the shards, but Ning Shuang grabbed his hand. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Don’t touch the glass shards.” It was just a broken frame—Ning Shuang didn’t take it to heart at all.

Ji Huaizhi looked back at him, his face full of regret. “I didn’t mean to.”

Ning Shuang felt a bit helpless, though he had to admit that Ji Huaizhi’s cautious expression was a rare sight on that face. He glanced at him and said, “I know you didn’t mean to. It’s fine.”

“I’ll grab the broom. Don’t touch the glass.” Ning Shuang let go and hurried to the kitchen to fetch the broom.

He swept all the glass shards into the dustpan one by one.

Then he crouched down, picked up the frame, and shook it to dislodge any remaining pieces.

“It’s no big deal. I’ll just put the photo away.” Ning Shuang removed the picture. It was a photo of him and Lu Yuyang. Back when Lu Yuyang had visited his home, he’d insisted on displaying it there. Ning Shuang had warned him that the spot wasn’t safe and passersby might knock it over, but Lu Yuyang hadn’t listened.

Now that it had fallen and shattered, Ning Shuang felt like it was entirely predictable.

Ji Huaizhi watched as Ning Shuang tucked the photo into a drawer. A shadow passed through his eyes, though he said nothing.

The two of them quickly cleaned up the mess and headed out the door together.

The breeze that evening wasn’t as chilly as it had been the past few days. University Town Night Market wasn’t far from home, so they walked there.

The night market was open, bustling with university students from all over the area. It was lively everywhere.

Ning Shuang held Ning Dundun’s leash, his eyes drawn to the stalls lining both sides of the road, selling all sorts of small trinkets.

“Ji Huaizhi, check out this cup—it’s hilarious.” Ning Shuang nudged the person beside him with his elbow and pointed to a cup shaped like Super Mario on the stall.

Ji Huaizhi followed his gesture. Every cup on the stall had some quirky shape. “Yeah. Want to buy it?”

“Nah, I’ve got a ton of cups at home that I’ve never even used.” Ning Shuang shook his head and led Ning Dundun onward. “I’ll look for a nice one when we get back and give it to you.”

“Thanks.”

Ning Shuang shot him a look. “You don’t have to thank me all the time. We’re pretty close now, right?”

“Sure.”

Ning Shuang thought to himself that Ji Huaizhi really didn’t talk much.

They strolled slowly to the bridge in the night market. Ning Shuang pulled out his phone to check the address, confirming that the person had hidden the “medicine” under the walkway bridge.

“What are you looking at?” Ji Huaizhi noticed Ning Shuang glancing around.

Ning Shuang replied, “I bought something from someone, and he said he’d hidden it here for me. I need to pick it up.”

He opened his phone and showed Ji Huaizhi the photo the guy had sent.

There was no harm in telling him—after all, they wouldn’t see the person anyway. Once he had the medicine, he could use the Mother Gu hidden in the cash to track the guy’s location.

“Down there, under the bridge.” Ji Huaizhi glanced at the photo, then at the scene below.

Ning Shuang nodded. “Yeah. You watch Ning Dundun for me. I’ll go down.”

“We’ll go together,” Ji Huaizhi said.

Ning Shuang considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Sure.”

So the two of them descended the stone steps beside the bridge to the lakeside. Plenty of people were there cooling off, and lots of couples were on dates. Following the photo, Ning Shuang found the medicine under a rock.

He also tucked the bag of cash under the same rock.

Ji Huaizhi eyed the vial in his hand curiously. “The medicine you bought?”

“Yeah.” Ning Shuang nodded.

Ji Huaizhi glanced around. “Are you sick?”

“Nah, buying it for someone else.” Ning Shuang lied casually. “Let’s head home.”

Ning Shuang had no patience for waiting around for the guy to show up. He’d wait until the person took the money later, then use the Child Gu in his possession to find him.

The two of them and the dog slowly made their way back home. Once there, Ning Shuang said he was a bit tired and would probably turn in early, suggesting Ji Huaizhi do the same.

It was a clumsy lie, but Ji Huaizhi had no intention of calling him out on it.

As Ning Shuang opened his bedroom door to go in, Ji Huaizhi suddenly called out, “Ning Shuang.”

Ning Shuang tilted his head back to look at him. “Yeah? What’s up?”

Ji Huaizhi’s gaze was calm, his tone cool and detached. “Good night.”

Ning Shuang blinked, a little surprised, but he raised his hand and returned the good night.

The night was peaceful.

The soft rustle of wind through the leaves outside the window was the perfect lullaby.

Yet Ning Shuang had no intention of sleeping.

He crouched in front of the wardrobe and pulled out a transparent glass vial. Inside was a black flying insect the size of a bee, with scarlet eyes and nearly transparent wings. It was frantically battering itself against the glass in agitation.

This was the Child Gu. The Child and Mother were one, inseparable. Ning Shuang had left the Mother Gu in the cash. When the person took it, the Mother Gu would stay on him. It wasn’t true gu—even experts in Gu Studies might not detect it. Ning Shuang needed the Child Gu to track him down.

He hadn’t wanted to get involved in the first place. Besides, he wasn’t one of those big shots from the clan who could just drag the guy back. He was operating from…

Ning Shuang thought about it. Right—he was taking the moral high ground to condemn the man!

To condemn him for acting so recklessly, potentially dragging all the innocent Miao Frontier folk like them into it.

If the guy wouldn’t listen, that was fine. Ning Shuang had plenty of ways and means.

He slipped the Child Gu into his pocket, put on his jacket, and quietly opened his bedroom door. He crept downstairs on tiptoe.

He had just changed into his shoes when a cool, flat voice came from the second floor. “Ning Shuang.”

It startled him into a shiver. He looked up quickly and saw Ji Huaizhi standing at the railing, staring down at him with a complicated expression.

“Why are you awake?” Ning Shuang felt a pang of guilt at first, but then he thought better of it. Even if he was sneaking out in the middle of the night, who could stop him?

Ji Huaizhi gripped the railing and came downstairs. “Are you heading out?”

Ning Shuang blinked, his mind racing to concoct a lie. “Yeah, going to meet a friend.”

The excuse was so lame that Ji Huaizhi didn’t even want to poke holes in it. He spoke slowly. “Alright. Be safe.”

“Got it. You get some sleep.” Ning Shuang pulled on a baseball cap, opened the door, and left.

Ji Huaizhi walked to the window, his face cold. He watched quietly as Ning Shuang’s figure receded into the distance.

Once Ning Shuang was out of sight, Ji Huaizhi pulled out his phone and made a call. It was picked up almost instantly on the other end.

“You can move in now.” Ji Huaizhi’s thin lips parted, delivering that single line before hanging up.

He pocketed the phone and sat on the edge of the sofa. Ning Dundun had woken up by then. It stared at Ji Huaizhi in confusion for a moment. He reached out and patted its head.

Ning Shuang, you liar.

~~~

Thick clouds veiled the moon, blocking its pale light. Wind rustled through the leaves, and the night breeze twisted through the alley like the wail of some tormented thing.

Ning Shuang released the Child Gu and followed it all the way to the foot of a residential building near University City.

These residential buildings were mostly home to local workers or university students living off-campus—out-of-towners, for the most part.

Ning Shuang didn’t come here often.

The Child Gu circled the first floor once before flying upstairs.

Ning Shuang followed it up the stairs to the sixth floor, stopping in front of one apartment door. The Child Gu flew back to his side, and Ning Shuang uncorked the bottle. It slipped inside of its own accord.

This had to be the place.

Ning Shuang raised his hand and knocked on the battered iron door.

A middle-aged man’s voice came from inside. “Who is it?”

Ning Shuang stayed silent and kept knocking.

The door was already rusty and worn, and each knock produced a harsh, grating clang. It set Ning Shuang’s teeth on edge, and he doubted the man inside found it any more pleasant. The metallic echoes rang through the stairwell.

Ning Shuang could sense the man standing right behind the door—maybe hesitating, or peering through the peephole. Ning Shuang leaned in slightly, a faint smile on his lips. “I know your secret. If you don’t open up, you’ll regret it.”

A long moment passed before the sound of the bolt sliding free reached his ears. The man must have figured a grown guy like him had nothing to fear.

The door cracked open just a sliver.

A pair of weary eyes, crinkled with exhaustion, peeked out to size up Ning Shuang.

Ning Shuang smiled faintly and pulled the medicine bottle he’d acquired that day from his pocket. “I know what’s in here. And I know who you are.”

In the next instant, the man tried to slam the door shut. Ning Shuang shot out a hand to brace it. No matter how hard the man shoved from the other side, it wouldn’t budge.

Ning Shuang’s strength was nothing to scoff at. Back in his hometown, he’d helped his parents with all the heavy lifting. Even after leaving for school, he kept up a regular workout routine—and at his height, he packed some serious power.

“Who the hell are you?! I’m calling the cops!” The man’s voice was a low, urgent hiss.

Ning Shuang smirked. “Go right ahead. Thing is, I’m counting on you not to.”

“You from the clan?” the man asked warily.

“Keep pulling this kind of despicable crap, and the clan really will come for you.”

“Then who are you?!” The man let out a visible breath of relief at that.

Ning Shuang looked down at him. “You don’t need to know my name. But hear this: stop using gu to make this junk…”

He didn’t get to finish. Footsteps pounded up the stairs from below—several sets.

Ning Shuang’s eyes narrowed. He started to pull his hand from the door when a shout rang out behind him. “It’s this place! That’s the guy who lives here!”

Here for the man too?

Ning Shuang turned and spotted the two middle-aged men in the lead.

Hey, the clan’s two Elders?

A handful of police officers trailed them. They shouldered past Ning Shuang, barged into the apartment, and in short order had the man subdued. They marched him downstairs and into a squad car.

As a witness, Ning Shuang should have gone to the station too. But the two Elders murmured something to the cops, and he was left standing there.

He watched the taillights of the police car fade into the distance, still a little dazed. How had everything wrapped up this fast?

“It’s really you,” said the stubble-chinned man. He’d been studying Ning Shuang for a while before working up the nerve to speak.

Ning Shuang crossed his arms and eyed them. “You know me?”

“If you’re here, does that mean you’ve already met him?” the man pressed.

Ning Shuang blinked in confusion. “Who?”