Chapter 14

The meeting dragged on until after nine in the morning, fully three hours after that phone call.

Bo Chengyan lingered at the hotel a while longer. The chief assistant had already booked a return flight for early the next morning.

He could probably still make it back in time for Qi Jing’s birthday.

Just not at the stroke of midnight.

This year’s gift was a custom-made watch, its band slimmer and more delicate.

Qi Jing was still growing, his limbs slender and fine-boned. A band that was too wide wouldn’t suit him at all.

Bo Chengyan glanced at the box.

His expression was mild, his eyes gentle.

But at that moment, his phone buzzed. The remote monitor showed the target on the move, body temperature plummeting rapidly.

It happened in an instant.

Bo Chengyan’s face tightened. He reached for his phone to call without a second thought, his mind a blank.

The call connected.

But all that came through was static—

“Hello.”

“…Mr. Bo… hello… I…”

The connection was choppy, but Qi Jing’s voice sounded steady enough. Nothing catastrophic had happened yet.

They couldn’t communicate.

Bo Chengyan rose to his feet and, phone in one hand, dialed another number.

The night was deep and still. He frowned faintly.

“Go find Qi Jing. Our call keeps cutting out—check on him.”

The person on the other end seemed to hesitate for a beat. The moonlight here was still clear and bright, after all. But they sprang into action right away.

Bo Chengyan could hardly describe how he passed those next few minutes.

Anxiety?

Not quite.

The chief assistant got roused in the dead of night and hastily shelled out top dollar to change the ticket.

A red-eye flight! Damn!

But when the fat transfer hit his account, he couldn’t help the upward twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Why sleep too much in life? Death brings eternal rest.

There was nothing amiss at first in the scenic area.

Only when they sent people to look did they discover the kids’ tents were empty. A missing persons report had already gone out.

Bo Chengyan tried calling again, but it wouldn’t connect.

He told himself he was staying calm enough.

~~~

Several hours earlier—

Qi Jing checked his watch, worry gnawing at him. It was already five o’clock, past the 4:45 Lin Yuze had promised.

Especially since Bo Chengyan had warned him about dead zones without signal—like that karst cave…

They wouldn’t have gone there, would they?

And they still weren’t back.

The boy asked around the nearby astronomy enthusiasts. They suggested waiting a little longer; maybe they’d been held up on the road.

He waited another half hour. Now it was 5:30.

Qi Jing found it impossible not to worry. Full night had fallen, and even though the cake delivery had arrived, he had no appetite for it.

Be responsible. Get along well with your classmates.

Stay calm when trouble strikes.

That steady voice echoed in his mind.

…

Calling the police might be the smart move, but it would only ramp up his friends’ guilt. They’d be convinced they’d ruined his birthday.

Qi Jing had picked up a lot during his time here. He thought it over, then slipped quietly out of the tent, 996 perched on his shoulder.

With a cheat like this, it should be no problem.

Three hours later—

Big trouble.

996 had successfully led him to his friends, but the slime had gorged itself on too many snacks, damaging its functions. In trying to block the smart wristband’s signal, it made the wristband start smoking.

It had marked their path along the way.

But the markers had glitched into gibberish.

Qi Jing felt utterly deceived. He sat in the karst cave with his classmates, staring at one another, fidgeting with his fingers as he looked down.

But in truth, his heart was pounding hard.

For a different reason.

【Ruan Heng will attend university in Capital City—a top-three school—but he’s from a poor family. He’s self-reliant, tutoring on the side and moonlighting as a bartender.】

【That’s how he met Bo Chengyan: drugged and harassed, it led to a one-night stand.】

Qi Jing had no interest in listening.

There was water pooling underground in the karst cave. Getting down here had been a challenge already, and everyone had cheered when they found the others.

But when it came to finding the way out… one dead end after another.

“…”

Huang Ze said in high spirits, “No worries. We’ve shared hardship now—someone’s bound to find us tomorrow.”

“But how did Little Jing find us?”

“Soulmates!” Huang Ze was still bursting with energy.

Lin Yuze only frowned. “We ruined his birthday.”

An awkward silence fell.

Qi Jing stammered, “No, no,” but the truth was he’d been distracted the whole time. Bo Chengyan had called him.

He was done for.

The odds of getting replaced for this disobedience had just shot way up.

The boy was tied in knots.

But right then, 996 piped up: 【Recovered! I’ve restored our path. Let’s go!】

Qi Jing’s eyes lit up. He turned to his friends. “I remember the way now! One more try—this time it’ll work!”

Everyone was bone-tired, but not a soul grumbled. They followed him once more through the shallow water.

Hand in hand, shoulders brushing shoulders—fear was minimal, excitement everything.

Youth knows no real terror.

Until Huang Ze picked up on some muffled sounds and blurted, “It isn’t raining outside, is it?”

Lin Yuze frowned. “Shut it.”

The air down here was already thin, the water everywhere. Rain up top in the mountains…

He didn’t dare imagine a flood.

About five minutes later.

Good news: They found the exit.

Bad news: A torrential downpour outside, rocks blocking the way.

“…”

Qi Jing stared in shock. The gap he’d jumped through earlier wasn’t this narrow; now it was choked with piled stones. He could only see slits dripping water.

996 said gravely: 【I could use some external force to shift them, but your classmates might think it’s haunted.】

That wouldn’t fly.

Qi Jing frowned in thought, then turned to his friends. “Let’s see if we can budge a small rock—make the rest come tumbling down.”

“But it might smash someone.”

Lin Yuze’s brow furrowed. He reached out, pulling Qi Jing back a step and shielding him from the rain pattering down from above.

The boy was slight of build. In his rush to leave, he’d come out in just a plain T-shirt.

No jacket even.

Qi Jing’s body temperature really was dropping.

His face was pale, the tips of his hair wet, his expression wan.

What to do—

Huang Ze volunteered, hoisting a rock from the ground and smashing it against the blockage. Credit where due: the narrow slit widened to fist-sized. But still not enough for a person to squeeze through.

The group fell into a puzzled, awkward hush.

“It’s actually pretty safe. My family set eight o’clock for a call—if they can’t reach me, they’ll come looking.”

“Mine too.”

“Same here…”

Huang Ze said quietly, “But what if they call the cops? That’d be so embarrassing. I don’t want to end up on the social news.”

“…”

Qi Jing’s worry wasn’t the police. It was facing Bo Chengyan…

The smart wristband started beeping.

Everyone’s eyes turned to it. Qi Jing looked down blankly. Fixed?

But just then, faint scraping sounds came from above as stones shifted. Lin Yuze reacted fast, yanking Qi Jing back to safety once more.

The spot where he’d stood moments ago was now buried under a cascade of rocks.

Rain poured through the new hole overhead. A big stone was wedged there, but it was climbable now.

Everyone lit up with relief—Huang Ze especially. “I’ll go up. That rock’s dicey; I’ll shift it and pull you all up.”

He’d been on the junior high sports team for a stint, built the strongest of them, and still had gas in the tank.

Lin Yuze eyed Qi Jing’s elbow, where the skin was scraped raw, though the boy seemed oblivious.

His family… they wouldn’t come looking, would they?

The boy twisted his brow again, dimly sensing things might be going south.

But he had no Band-Aids on him.

Qi Jing’s eyes shone bright. Once Huang Ze was up, he’d pull them all out—then straight back to the tent.

They’d make it in time.

No signal in the karst cave. Prolonged darkness warps your sense of time. It was already the next day, but their heightened adrenaline kept them convinced it was still yesterday.

The meteor shower had come and gone, but the downpour afterward had chased the astronomy buffs back to their cars.

The whole mountain lay eerily empty.

Save for the firefighters sweeping inch by inch, flashlights on their heads.

Qi Jing caught faint voices too. Better get out quick. Bo Chengyan must have noticed he was gone, but if they hustled back to the tent and borrowed someone’s phone…

He could still explain.

It’d be fine. Fine.

The boy’s hair ends were soaked, his cheeks pale and chilled, but he reached up and unclasped his smart wristband, handing it to Huang Ze.

“You take it up. It just beeped—has GPS tracking. Not sure if it’ll work, but it’ll make us easier to spot.”

Huang Ze took it. He was freezing too, pants sodden; he buckled it onto his wrist without a fuss.

He stretched his arms and started hauling himself up. Lin Yuze stepped forward to brace his legs. “Step on my shoulders.”

The karst cave had only the faint glow of a flashlight—no signal. It was their sole light source.

But right then, it shut off.

Pitch darkness enveloped them.

The only sound was Huang Ze straining to climb.

Crack.

“What happened!”

Lin Yuze asked in a panic. From above came a shout: “Damn, why’s the wristband beeping?”

It was a total disaster.

Qi Jing had always had sharp ears. Anxiously, he said, “Huang Ze, Huang Ze, hurry to the camp. There must be firefighters there. Your hand is injured; you can’t pull us out. There’s a girl here—go quickly.”

“Did my smart wristband beep? It has features. Go find help.”

The young man spoke very seriously, his emotions remarkably stable, the ends of his hair wet and slightly curled.

Lin Yuze glanced at him a couple of times. He didn’t have a jacket either. Frowning, he asked, “Are you cold, Little Jing?”

Why had he run over here to find them?

Qi Jing wasn’t actually that cold, because the smart wristband was heating up, shifting around like a hand warmer.

Fortunately.

The rain outside grew heavier, pounding on the rocks with a crackling clamor that drowned out any chance of hearing new footsteps.

The karst cave already held some water, and the piled-up stones took up space, the water gradually rising until it lapped at their calves.

Lin Yuze tried to climb up on his own, but it was impossible. Without any help, the drop was still too high. When Qi Jing had descended earlier, there had been steps left by explorers, but now there was nothing—it was like scaling a building.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but the downpour intensified, and Qi Jing grew groggy, even swaying slightly before Lin Yuze steadied him.

“Is this the spot?”

“Yes, yes—right here!”

Finally, piercing the curtain of rain came beams of flashlight light. The firefighters shoved the rocks aside and bellowed into the distance, “Found them! Over here!”

Qi Jing couldn’t make out the people above clearly, blinded by the harsh glare. It sounded like the firefighters were saying, “The height isn’t too bad. Let’s see if we can haul them up directly.”

“Start with the skinniest one!”

Qi Jing instinctively turned toward Jiang Yao. “Girls first—”

But the voices from above called down, “Hey, kid, what’s with the yielding? No need—you’re skinny enough. Come on, come on. We can pull you all up.”

A hand stretched down.

Jiang Yao said worriedly, “Little Jing, hold on tight!”

Lin Yuze edged forward a step, afraid he might slip.

Qi Jing had no choice but to lift his hand and grasp that sturdy, powerful grip. But in the instant he was hauled upward, some long-buried body memory stirred to life, and he seemed to realize something.

Too late.

He was swept up in one smooth motion, perched on the man’s forearm like a child, dazed and chilled to the bone.

The assistant had popped open an umbrella for himself, then another for the boss, looking utterly pitiable in the process.

Qi Jing snatched the umbrella handle to shield his view. “I—I’ll hold it.”

Obediently.

Bo Chengyan exchanged a few words with the firefighters before carrying him off. Water had sloshed into Qi Jing’s shoes, leaving his feet ice-cold, so the man simply slipped them off.

Without a hint of hesitation, he wiped the pale ankles with his overcoat and tucked the bare feet inside the coat’s folds to warm them.

Qi Jing draped over the man’s shoulder, tilting the umbrella low, his fingers damp and chilled as he bit his lip gingerly.

Because he had spotted the black bracelet in Bo Chengyan’s hand.

“…”