Bai Shi was focused on tailing Pei Cangyu.
However, Pei Cangyu’s movements were remarkably simple. The only addition to his routine was the extra time he spent sitting at the abandoned fitness grounds; everything else remained the same. Bai Shi couldn't understand—if his actions were this monotonous, where did the idea of being "caught" come from?
Tonight, because he had been following his classmate, he returned home quite late. He happened to run into Bai Hai and his female companion coming downstairs, laughing and leaning into each other. As soon as the woman saw someone approaching, she hurriedly pushed Bai Hai away.
Bai Hai looked up and saw it was Bai Shi, so he pulled her back. "It’s fine."
The woman remained somewhat reserved, refusing to stay entangled with Bai Hai. Instead, she greeted Bai Shi with poise and introduced herself.
After listening, Bai Shi shook her hand. She had a respectable background that matched her upbringing; he had no idea how she had ended up with Bai Hai.
Bai Hai saw her to the door and then turned back. Seeing Bai Shi standing by the window looking out, he walked over to him. "Interested in women? I thought you didn't feel anything for anything." As he spoke, he flicked Bai Shi’s forehead, noticing that Bai Shi seemed to still be growing taller.
Bai Shi didn't look at him. He stared at a silver car in the garden and jerked his chin toward it. "Whose is that?"
Bai Hai followed his gaze. "Bai Yinhua’s."
"Tch."
Bai Hai froze for a moment, confirming that this sound of dissatisfaction had indeed come from his habitually quiet younger brother.
Bai Shi turned to look at Bai Hai. "So, it seems I’m the only one without a car."
Bai Hai frowned. It had been a long time since he’d spoken to his brother. In his memory, Bai Shi was still a ragdoll with no presence, someone who felt neither joy nor sorrow, submissive and somewhat gloomy. Although he didn't know what kind of madness had possessed him last time, he seemed to have returned to normal quickly, and everything had proceeded as usual since then...
But Bai Shi seemed to have suddenly matured, bursting forth from his shell with such force that there was no transition—just a direct metamorphosis. The way Bai Shi said "no car" now sounded exactly like Bai Yilong.
Bai Shi glanced once more at the flashy silver sports car, then turned and left.
***
"So? What are the results of your stalking?" Miss Shang wanted to change to blue nails today. She was mixing the polish, adding a bit more white.
Bai Shi shook his head. "I can't tell. It’s very strange."
"How so?"
"It’s just home and school. This semester, he doesn't even go to Heping Road much. I asked that junior who often looks for him; they haven't seen each other in a while either."
Miss Shang finished mixing the color. "And his grades?"
Bai Shi glanced at her. "Much better."
"Doesn't tailing a classmate distract you?" she laughed, her words laced with hidden meaning.
Bai Shi shook his head. "It trains my focus."
Miss Shang gave a noncommittal smile and offered no further comment.
"So, Detective Bai, what are your thoughts?"
Bai Shi leaned back against the chair. "I thought about what you said and read a few books. It’s more or less as I suspected, because there aren't many types of events that can cause such a drastic change in a person in a short time. His family members are healthy, it doesn't seem to be debt-related, and there’s no sign of his biological mother returning. So, I guess it’s possible he encountered something related to 'sex.' After all, just discussing the topic caused him a great deal of distress for a long time."
"Be more specific?"
Bai Shi shook his head. "I don't know. But his temper has been extremely foul lately. He got into a fight with a student from the neighboring class, and even Pigou could barely hold him back. And it was apparently just because that student stepped on his foot."
Miss Shang gave a casual "oh" and asked, "What else?"
"I wonder if he got involved with some troublesome woman who’s extorting him?" Bai Shi looked up at Miss Shang. "Is that kind of tactic possible?"
Miss Shang shrugged.
"But one thing is strange—why doesn't he tell his friends?" Bai Shi frowned. "I imagine they would love that kind of thing."
Miss Shang blew on her freshly painted nails. "Who knows?"
Bai Shi rummaged through his schoolbag. "Can I do my homework here?"
"Sure." She began painting her other hand.
The curtains in the room were tied in a decorative knot by the window, which was half-open. A gentle sunset breeze blew in, and the orange-red sky dyed a patch of the floor near the window in bright hues, meeting the light spilling from the dim lamps.
Bai Shi did his homework at the desk while Miss Shang sat with her legs crossed, her bare feet resting on the table, slowly and carefully painting her nails.
They each went about their business in silence.
Bai Shi turned a page and was about to write "Solution" when he heard Miss Shang call his name.
"Bai Shi, have you ever been a girl?"
Bai Shi didn't even turn his head, and the pen in his hand didn't stop. He gave a small laugh. "How could I have been?"
Miss Shang laughed as well. "True. But there are all sorts of catalysts that make a girl realize she is a girl."
Bai Shi turned to look at her, not understanding. "What?"
"Did you know? Women have a strange, shared intuition." Miss Shang mysteriously waved her colorful nails. "When we talk about a certain movement a man makes, we don't need a detailed explanation of what they did; women just understand what happened."
Bai Shi still didn't understand. "Is it because you're too sensitive?"
Miss Shang shook her head. "No, it’s not our problem." She stared at Bai Shi. "It’s a male problem."
Bai Shi put down his pen. "I don't follow."
"Has anyone ever held you by the waist?"
Bai Shi froze for a moment, thought back, and honestly shook his head.
"Moments like that—you can magnify them a hundred times or shrink them a hundred times. Within that range, women who have been 'hinted' at understand exactly what certain actions mean." Miss Shang looked at him. "There’s no helping it. You haven't had that experience, so you might never understand."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"That’s just how he is." Miss Shang gently closed the cap of the nail polish. "He can't figure it out, yet he insists on searching for an answer, hoping he can find an excuse for the perpetrator so that he doesn't have to be the victim. Do you know what the most terrifying part of this kind of thing is?"
She rested her chin on her hand and looked at Bai Shi. "It never fades. It never disappears. it grinds one's self-esteem into dust, making a person feel utterly useless. The more they force themselves to return to normalcy, the easier it is to collapse."
Bai Shi gazed at her. After a moment, he asked, "Are you saying... it wasn't voluntary?"
Miss Shang gave a silent affirmation.
"But..." Bai Shi faltered. "There shouldn't be anyone in school who can beat him in a fight. Even high schoolers are no match for him..."
Miss Shang said nothing.
Bai Shi suddenly choked on his words. "An adult?"
Miss Shang tidied the table, casting a glance at Bai Shi, who had suddenly stood up.
Bai Shi was thinking: *The pool hall owner? Mahua from the barbershop? Could it be a teacher at school?*
Miss Shang also stood up. "I’m leaving. Go home and do your homework."
"Oh." Bai Shi was still thinking as he packed his things.
Miss Shang jiggled her car keys and asked, "Want a ride?"
"No thanks, I'll walk."
Because of this hypothesis, Bai Shi’s powers of observation were even sharper the next day.
Liu Yaosheng showed up again after a long absence. This time she brought a small booklet containing an interview with an author. She brought it for Pei Cangyu to see, hoping to motivate this classmate whose grades had been fluctuating wildly.
"Mindset," she said. "That’s the most important thing. After all the hardships you've endured, there are new opportunities. For example, we all hit bottlenecks in our studies, but once you get past them—hey, haven't you noticed? The horizon just opens up."
Pei Cangyu didn't even lift his head. He pushed the book back to her. "Don't want to see it."
Then he slumped onto the desk.
Liu Yaosheng looked awkwardly at Bai Shi. Bai Shi smiled but said nothing.
She whispered, "Is he in a bad mood?"
Bai Shi shook his head. "Not sure."
Liu Yaosheng patted Pei Cangyu’s shoulder. "It’s not that bad, is it? At our age, we don't have to worry about anything except studying. It’s the best time of our lives. Look at the protagonist in the book; he has to struggle just to survive. Being alone is what’s truly difficult..."
Pei Cangyu sat up abruptly with irritation. He glanced at Liu Yaosheng, and for a moment, Bai Shi thought he was going to lose his temper. But Pei Cangyu just looked at her, then turned his head away and said in a low voice, "I don't want to see it. It’s too fake. I don't want to see it."
Liu Yaosheng repeated what she had said before: "It’s based on a true story. There’s a real-life prototype."
Pei Cangyu knit his brows and turned his face away, preferring to stare at the wall. He didn't want to get angry at Liu Yaosheng, nor did he want to argue with her. Rather, he didn't want to do anything at all; he wished he could just become invisible.
Bai Shi gently took the booklet Liu Yaosheng was holding and flipped through it. "Forget it."
Liu Yaosheng’s eyes lit up. "Are you going to read it?"
Bai Shi smiled as he flipped to the last page. "Isn't it foolish to pin reality on this kind of garbage?" Having said that, he gently handed it back to Liu Yaosheng, pausing in front of her and smiling to signal her to take it.
Liu Yaosheng froze in place, embarrassed. Even Pei Cangyu, who seemed to be in another universe, turned to glance at Bai Shi. Liu Yaosheng took it back. She didn't argue with Bai Shi—perhaps because of his expression or his tone—but in any case, she didn't dispute him. She simply took the book, stood up, and left.
Even Tang Qi, who was standing nearby, didn't speak up as he usually would.
Pei Cangyu looked at Bai Shi again, guessing that this was just the "top student aura," and then slumped back down.
Tonight, Bai Shi’s tailing was particularly difficult because Pei Cangyu didn't go somewhere to sit. He just wandered the streets, drifting from one block to another, carrying his sagging schoolbag. It took him a long time to remember to pull it up and tighten the straps. When he wandered to Heping Road, he saw from a distance the eighth-grade juniors eating barbecue at a beer stall. Bai Shi saw them too and assumed Pei Cangyu would go over, grab a few skewers, and chat. But Pei Cangyu didn't. He flinched at the sound of their boisterous shouting and, before even stepping into the light, quickly walked away along the shadows.
Bai Shi followed him.
Bai Shi had to admit, his tracking skills were becoming increasingly consummate.
Pei Cangyu walked slowly ahead, his head down, like an animal that navigated by scent rather than sight.
They were almost at the residential complex. Bai Shi thought regretfully that he had gained nothing again. If it were someone from outside the school, perhaps they had been following Pei Cangyu this whole way too? But he hadn't seen anyone.
How strange.
Pei Cangyu was about to enter the complex. Bai Shi stayed a block away, preparing to turn back; any closer and he would be discovered.
Just then, someone passed by Bai Shi and called out Pei Cangyu’s name. Bai Shi jumped, thinking that if Pei Cangyu turned around, he would be spotted.
But as he watched, Pei Cangyu didn't turn. He froze in place as if struck by lightning. His shoulders slumped instantly, giving the impression that a bone had been removed from his body. His feet shuffled sideways against the ground as if he were trying to press himself into the wall.
Bai Shi stopped in his tracks and watched the man stride over. The man reached out and draped an arm over Pei Cangyu’s shoulder, pulling the boy toward him.
In an instant, Bai Shi remembered the gift Pei Cangyu had taken him to buy for his father, and he realized who the man was.
The man held his son just as any father would. Bai Shi couldn't see anything unusual about it. He just didn't understand why Pei Cangyu looked so strange, as if he had forgotten how to walk and needed to be told to move.
Seen this way, it looked as though Pei Cangyu was being dragged inside.
Bai Shi didn't leave. He followed them, not knowing what he intended to do.
The man had his arm around Pei Cangyu’s neck, looking down and saying something to him. Pei Cangyu nodded, his hands deathly tight on his schoolbag straps, his head hanging even lower than it had during the day.
Bai Shi had already walked up behind them. He spoke: "Pei Cangyu."
Both of them turned around.
Bai Shi was instantly horrified by the expression on Pei Cangyu’s face. It looked as if it were about to shatter. He was vacant and lost, his skin a deathly, sallow pale.
The man looked down at Pei Cangyu. "A classmate?"
The pitter-patter of slippers came from behind as Grandma rushed over with blankets. "Oh dear, you're back so late. Your dad went looking for you..."
Bai Shi understood. He understood the moment he looked into Pei Cangyu’s eyes.
The root of the nightmares.
He took a step forward and looked up at the man, who wasn't much taller than him. "Is it you?"
The man frowned. "What?"
But Pei Cangyu jolted violently. He thought Bai Shi knew.
Grandma draped a large blanket over the man and a smaller one over the boy, then spotted Bai Shi. "Isn't this student Bai?"
Bai Shi reached out to grab Pei Cangyu’s arm, but Pei Cangyu grabbed his hand first. As if wearing a different face, Pei Cangyu stared at Bai Shi with a fierce, stern look. His voice was pressed very low: "Get lost."
Bai Shi tried to pull him. "You..."
Pei Cangyu repeated it, almost through gritted teeth: "I said get lost."
The man watched them, picked up the blanket that had fallen from Pei Cangyu, and draped it over him again.
Bai Shi withdrew his hand and nodded. "Fine."
He took one more look at the man, then turned and walked away into the empty street, not daring to look back.
***
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Stolen Jade | Chapter 99 | The Root of Nightmares | Novela.app | Novela.app
