"What do you plan to do?" Fei Zuohua spoke, realizing his voice was raspy. He cleared his throat. Opposite him, Shi Yuanchen pushed up his glasses, paused what he was about to say, and instead suggested, "Have some water."
Fei Zuohua picked up the glass but waved his hand, signaling for the other man to continue and not worry about him.
Shi Yuanchen leaned back. "First, we need to obtain investigative authorization."
Fei Zuohua set the glass down without speaking. His exhausted face flickered with resentment. "It’s been four days since the incident, and we still haven't been able to initiate the procedure to investigate Bai Shi..."
Shi Yuanchen gave him a reassuring look. "There’s no helping it. For one, Bai Shi leaving the police station without permission that night only amounts to non-cooperation at most. Even if he had a physical altercation with the police, a charge of assaulting an officer is a far cry from what we actually suspect. Secondly, the Bai family has too many connections. So many people depend on them for their livelihoods. Given how closely Bai Shi is currently tied to the family, it’s not surprising they’re protecting him with everything they’ve got."
Fei Zuohua interrupted him. "So you mean if the Bai family's assets could be severed from Bai Shi, they would abandon him?"
Shi Yuanchen fell silent for a moment, which served as a tacit agreement. After a pause, he continued, "Shareholders' meetings have been frequent. Funds to stabilize the stock price have been pouring in for days."
Fei Zuohua frowned. "Then... should we wait until these people stop protecting him before applying for an investigation?"
Shi Yuanchen shook his head. "No, the pursuit should be launched as early as possible. The longer the delay, the more dangerous it is for the hostage. What I mean is..." He leaned forward.
Just as he was about to speak, footsteps echoed outside the office. A moment later, several police officers walked in, chatting.
This was a large office without much private space. Shi Yuanchen and Fei Zuohua were using their lunch break to discuss the matter.
As soon as the officers entered, the two fell silent. This sudden, eerie stop clearly tipped off the newcomers. They also ceased their conversation, silently gathered their things, grabbed their coats, and walked back out.
Five minutes of absolute silence followed.
Shi Yuanchen looked at Fei Zuohua, who was staring down at his water, and then at the officers who had avoided them. He realized that Fei Zuohua had no teammates; he was, for all intents and purposes, an isolated man.
One officer walked slowly, glancing at Fei Zuohua before exiting. Shi Yuanchen watched him and suddenly remembered that Tu Ziyun belonged to this very branch. When something happened to one of their own, and no one even came to ask Fei Zuohua—the person who knew the situation best—it was enough to see where Fei Zuohua stood.
After they left, Fei Zuohua quickly looked up. "Continue."
"My point is, if you go through the formal approval process, you will undoubtedly face interference from many people for various reasons. But if you obtain 'tacit' permission to track him, fewer people will come forward to stop you. Even if you find Bai Shi, the 'Bai family' members who have completed their severance from him won't be harmed."
Fei Zuohua pursed his lips. "Tacit permission... you mean like my master, taking the unorthodox path?"
Shi Yuanchen did not answer.
Fei Zuohua let out a soft, bitter laugh. "If he hadn't insisted on working in the shadows back then, would he have ended up like this?"
Shi Yuanchen took a sip of his tea, which had gone cold.
Fei Zuohua didn't speak for a long time, staring fixedly at a cracked tile on the floor. Finally, he looked up. "I understand."
***
Fei Zuohua was busy. Besides handling his father's burial and receiving condolences from his father's subordinates, he had to find time to visit his master, who wouldn't wake up. His master didn't even have any relatives and lay alone in the hospital. Fortunately, Fei Zuohua's mother was a formidable woman; she had almost no time for reaction or grief, taking on the entire arrangement of the funeral herself. Thus, Fei Zuohua visited Tu Ziyun once every day.
It was already seven in the evening when he left the hospital. He hadn't eaten yet. Standing at the hospital entrance, he recalled the doctor telling him, "The situation isn't good; you should prepare for the possibility that he won't wake up."
He clicked his tongue in frustration. The application to the police department to investigate Bai Shi had made no progress. The Criminal Investigation Division Superintendent said there was no evidence proving "Pei Cangyu" was involved in the case, so they couldn't suspect Bai Shi of kidnapping him. Meanwhile, the Bai family produced "hospital certification" claiming Bai Shi had injured his leg while skiing and was recuperating in Switzerland, and that he would return to fulfill his responsibilities once healed. As for the various clues Tu Ziyun had found linking Bai Shi to Ding Chuan’s Anhuo Group, they were all attributed to "gang internal strife" following Ding Chuan's death.
Fei Zuohua pulled out a cigarette, irritably took one out, and produced a lighter. He turned his back to the wind, cupping his hands to light it, the flame illuminating his face.
Just then, someone called out tentatively, "Fei Zuohua?"
Fei Zuohua looked up. A man stepped out of the shadows, looking to be in his early twenties. He wore a crossbody bag, an athletic headband, a white shirt with suit trousers, and Cortez shoes. His hair was neatly styled, making him look like he was at the intersection of university and professional life.
"Fei Zuohua," the man walked toward him, pointing at himself. "Kong Ping."
Fei Zuohua reacted quickly. He put away his lighter and reached out. "Oh, oh, long time no see."
Kong Ping shook his hand. Fei Zuohua smelled the familiar scent of burning incense on him and saw cigarette ash on his hand.
"Looking for me specifically?" Fei Zuohua asked.
Kong Ping hesitated for a second before answering, "Yes. How did you know?"
"Did you come from my house?"
Kong Ping nodded. "Yes. I offered incense for your father and sat with your mother for a while. For this to happen... it's really..."
Fei Zuohua nodded. "Thanks." He gestured outward with his chin. "Let's talk while we walk. I haven't eaten yet."
Kong Ping followed him. "Neither have I. Let's go together."
They hadn't been close in school; at this moment, they were more like two strangers who were mere acquaintances.
Fei Zuohua sized him up. "Did you just get here?"
"Yes, by plane. Arrived at five."
"Are you working now?"
Kong Ping shook his head. "Not yet. I was recommended for grad school; I'm doing an internship."
"Oh." Fei Zuohua walked toward a ramen shop. "Is ramen okay?"
"Fine."
As soon as they sat down and the waiter served tea, Fei Zuohua asked, "What do you want with me?"
Kong Ping hesitated. "Um... regarding Bai Shi's case, are you the one investigating?"
Fei Zuohua looked up at him. "What case of Bai Shi's?"
"The matter of him kidnapping Pei Cangyu."
Fei Zuohua stared at him. "Who said Bai Shi kidnapped Pei Cangyu?"
"I did," Kong Ping said, looking at him calmly.
The waiter brought the ramen, placing the bowls before them one by one. Neither spoke. Fei Zuohua looked at Kong Ping through the rising steam, realizing that Kong Ping had come to him because he knew something.
***
At eleven o'clock, Shi Yuanchen was preparing for bed.
Recently, he had started listening to music and doing light stretching before sleep; otherwise, he would have nightmares. This incident had affected him more than he imagined. He had taken a few days off to delve into Pei Cangyu's past records, effectively becoming a "Pei Cangyu" expert.
He finished his shower and lay in bed, putting on an eye mask. "Turn off the lights," he said. The AI turned off the lights in sequence, leaving only a dim bedside lamp with a light cycle suitable for brain waves. He drifted slowly into sleep.
Then, he was jolted awake by a sharp ringing.
Shi Yuanchen sat up abruptly. This was the special ringtone he had set for Fei Zuohua. He knew Fei Zuohua wouldn't call him for no reason; a call only meant one thing—they had received approval.
But Fei Zuohua's voice sounded high-pitched. "I have something to tell you. Come out for a bit."
"Alright. Where are you?"
"Anhua Street."
"Anhua Street? I live near there. Why don't you just come over?"
Fei Zuohua didn't come alone; he brought Kong Ping.
Shi Yuanchen opened the door for them and recognized the person following at a glance. He reached out his hand. "Kong Ping?"
Kong Ping shook his hand in surprise. "You know me?"
"I saw your photo while reading the materials on Pei Cangyu. Your face hasn't changed much."
Kong Ping said nothing and nodded.
This Kong Ping was exactly as Shi Yuanchen expected: a cautious person with a lot on his mind.
They sat down. Fei Zuohua glanced at Kong Ping. "Tell him."
Kong Ping didn't speak immediately. Instead, he looked at Shi Yuanchen. "Please introduce yourself as well."
Shi Yuanchen smiled. "Of course."
After the three of them had exchanged backgrounds, Kong Ping finally felt somewhat at ease. He had only told Fei Zuohua part of it before; now he was prepared to tell them everything he knew.
"I think I know where Bai Shi and Pei Cangyu are right now," Kong Ping told them.
The two stared at Kong Ping in silence.
Kong Ping took a sip of water. "I'll start from the beginning.
"It all started with a debt issuance project at the company where I'm interning. My part of the internship involves reconciling bank statements. There was basically nothing wrong with the project; it was a project for a subsidiary of the Bai Corporation. What I found strange was that it wasn't a cutting-edge project and had limited profit margins. I always thought our company was just helping out because of close cooperation with the Bais in other areas. For convenience, let's call this debt-issuing company 'OP.'
"OP's business is extremely singular; it's responsible for the privatization of public facilities. This kind of business hasn't been popular in the last two years. The reason I noticed an anomaly was that while OP's business is varied, a few years ago, its geographical scope was restricted to L City. At first, I thought it was just following a regional development strategy. OP is registered offshore, and its cash flow is mostly related to overseas accounts; the funds stay within the country for a very short time.
"In L City, the business revolved around XX University. This included the university's transition from public to private, land auctions, and dormitory project contracts. And the cash flow related to this university project all came from the same overseas account. The strange thing is that this account doesn't participate in anything other than the university's business. Furthermore, this account was the first one established, providing a large amount of capital for the project in the early stages when OP was not yet profitable.
"This is a private account, anonymous, with no affiliated companies, yet it previously all went through the Bai Corporation.
"By now, I think you know. I suspect this is Bai Shi's private account."
Kong Ping stopped. Fei Zuohua looked at him. "And then?"
"Originally, I didn't think much of it. It wasn't anything important. Later, I saw the missing person report on the news, and 'Pei Cangyu' was among them."
Fei Zuohua glanced at Shi Yuanchen. Shi Yuanchen told him, "Pei Cangyu's homeroom teacher filed the report."
"Anyway," Kong Ping continued, "the reports said Bai Shi also left that day. At the same time, the day before yesterday, the freeze on this account's statements was lifted. My boss received some kind of news and told us to stop tracking the cash flow. This means the account is currently being utilized and can no longer participate in the project."
Hearing this, Fei Zuohua and Shi Yuanchen realized something.
Fei Zuohua spoke first. "You're saying Bai Shi activated this account?"
Kong Ping nodded.
"But that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Pei Cangyu. Why do you suspect they're linked?"
Kong Ping looked at Shi Yuanchen. "I looked at the contact information for that missing person report. It was an email address. I checked, and it's your email, isn't it?"
Shi Yuanchen gave a silent nod.
"Usually, you'd leave a family member's contact info, but Pei Cangyu has no family. You left a work email, so I was wondering why." Kong Ping paused. "Maybe someone else had the same thought as me." He turned to Fei Zuohua. "As for why I think Bai Shi kidnapped Pei Cangyu..."
The two looked at Kong Ping.
"The university that Bai Shi's account was primarily responsible for is the one Pei Cangyu always wanted to get into," Kong Ping added. "Since the privatization, the admission scores have dropped significantly, and many new majors have been opened..."
Fei Zuohua frowned.
Kong Ping continued, "Plus, back when we were in school, I always felt Bai Shi was a bit off. One thing led to another, and I just feel Pei Cangyu's disappearance is inextricably linked to Bai Shi. As for asking about your backgrounds earlier, I'm sorry, I just wanted to confirm you had no ties to the Bai family. This circle isn't large. Making such a bold suspicion could invite resentment, especially since the Bai family is my firm's client..."
Shi Yuanchen smiled, expressing understanding. "You said you know where they might be?"
Kong Ping nodded. "The account was established in Montenegro, and there's a sub-account for spending there."
Fei Zuohua's eyes lit up. "As long as we get investigative permission, we can check if the account belongs to Bai Shi. If it does, and there's recent spending..." He paused, then asked for confirmation. "If it's used, must it be him in person?"
"Yes," Kong Ping nodded. "It's an old-fashioned check transfer. It requires a signature."
Shi Yuanchen interjected, "According to that, if Bai Shi is in Montenegro now, he will definitely leave the area after withdrawing the money."
Kong Ping was puzzled. "Why?"
Fei Zuohua looked at him. "Because people are chasing him."
Shi Yuanchen continued, "If Bai Shi needs to flee, he needs a large sum of money, which requires him to be there in person. So he must be there right now."
Fei Zuohua raised a question. "Is it possible he's withdrawing small amounts, waiting for the heat to die down before coming back?"
Shi Yuanchen shook his head. "Based on my understanding of Bai Shi, he has no attachment to the Bai family or the Bai Corporation. Now that he has Pei Cangyu, he has no reason to return."
Kong Ping frowned with disgust upon hearing this. He had no favorable impression of that strange gay guy, Bai Shi. "You understand Bai Shi very well?"
Shi Yuanchen thought for a moment. "Profiling. Professional habit."
Kong Ping maintained respect for fields outside his expertise and nodded. He asked Fei Zuohua, "What do we do next?"
Fei Zuohua clenched his fist. "I'll call in a favor. I think because of my father's death, I can still squeeze out an investigative permit." He added, "Though there might not be any funding."
Fei Zuohua thought for a moment and said, "Better to avoid mentioning Bai Shi. We'll just say we're looking for 'Pei Cangyu.' They already suggested I take a leave of absence anyway; I'll just treat it as using my vacation time to find a missing person. Besides, there are international anti-trafficking agreements. Maybe we can get help with local investigations and extradition."
Shi Yuanchen and Kong Ping both agreed.
"But," Fei Zuohua said with some difficulty, "funding for finding a missing person is even scarcer. It might not even cover the plane tickets. In some cases, family members provide the funds, but on our end..."
Shi Yuanchen was silent for a moment before speaking. "About that... I think I know someone who would be willing to help."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
黑山 | Montenegro | Literally "Black Mountain."
阿甘鞋 | Cortez shoes | Nike Cortez, famously worn by Forrest Gump (A Gan).
保研 | Recommended for grad school | Short for 推荐免试研究生 (Postgraduate recommendation).
L市 | L City | A common placeholder for a city name in Chinese fiction.
xx大学 | XX University | A placeholder for a university name.
安华街 | Anhua Street | A street name.
