Chapter 48
I checked my bearings and headed toward the subway station.
This month, the only time I'd withdrawn any money was right after leaving the hospital—three thousand yuan. Eight hundred went to the hospital bill, and I haven't touched the rest since, so I still have cash on me. There's also thirty to forty thousand in my bank account, but now I seriously doubt that card hasn't been tampered with by Shang Guan. My ID and passbook are both with him anyway, so it would be easy for him to withdraw all that money. That's why I don't dare spend freely, and besides, in N City, taxis aren't really any faster than the subway.
"The Underwater World" is in the southern suburbs of N City. It takes an hour and a half to get there from the city center, and if there's traffic, two or three hours is completely normal, so I still have plenty of time.
As I walked, my thoughts scattered everywhere—sometimes about the savings I'd accumulated over these years, sometimes about what of mine was left at Hong Lin's place.
I could still remember the amount in my savings, but try as I might, I couldn't think of anything important that Hong Lin had.
Besides clothes, just some daily necessities—were any of these things worth making a trip back for? As I thought this, my pace quickened with every step.
I didn't dare stop, didn't dare stop reminiscing. How many shirts, how many ties, how many coats—even the colors of these clothes, I went over them again and again in my mind. If I couldn't remember, I forced myself to keep trying.
A tightness began to build in my chest, the nausea growing heavier. I kept pushing my memory to its limits, unable to stop, can't stop.
But even so, Yang Yun's voice still echoed in my ears: "That would be such a wonderful gift..."
And accompanying his sighs were those ice-cold fingers.
A chill began to spread through my body,明明已经跑的出汗，冰冷的感觉却越来越浓烈。 Even though I'd been running and sweating, the cold sensation grew more and more intense.
Memories connected to Yang Yun flashed rapidly before my eyes. That clear voice like spring water, those elegant features, that carefree demeanor, those lips curved upward—and most vivid of all was that天真而冰冷的眼神. That naive yet icy gaze.
That guy was a lunatic!
No morality, no law, no conscience held any restraint over him. Human life in his eyes probably mattered less than a toy. He would kill me without hesitation—so what about Shang Guan...
In an instant, countless scenes from movies I'd seen flashed through my mind. Wealthy families, palace intrigues, the bonds between brothers were absolutely nothing compared to power. Yang Yun called Shang Guan "Brother Fei" endlessly, but did he truly have even a shred of respect for him? If something happened to Shang Guan at the "Underwater World," Yang Yun wouldn't be suspected in the slightest, would he?
It sounded like Yang Yun wanted Shang Guan to help him solve some trouble, but couldn't that be a smokescreen?
I didn't know how much power and wealth the Shang Guan family had, but I knew the company was one of N City's several well-known industries. The game "Star Fire" alone brought the company over ten million in profit each year, and the other established products had even greater added value.
They say three hundred percent profit can drive people mad. Such enormous interests—how could anyone remain unmoved? And especially someone like Yang Yun, who never knew the meaning of restraint.
Without realizing it, my pace slowed, and finally I stopped altogether.
Just a phone call, I told myself. I just needed to make one phone call. Hong Lin's place didn't have anything important anyway, so if it got lost, so be it. As for my ID, you can get fake documents made on every street corner nowadays—just a few hundred yuan—and I could also go home to replace it.
And those tens of thousands in my savings—I'd check on them later. If the money was still there, I'd withdraw it all at once. If it wasn't... then consider it two years' rent. Actually, when you think about it that way, I'd still be coming out ahead.
I forced a bitter smile. Just moments ago I'd sworn I'd fight the Shang Guan family to the death, and now I'd already backed down. But I couldn't just watch Shang Guan get trapped by Yang Yun's scheme, could I? And if I didn't take advantage of this perfect opportunity to leave, did I really expect to compete with Shang Guan first?
I took a breath and walked up to the public phone. With something resembling a solemn, sacrificial mood, I dialed the number. This number was one Shang Guan had forced me to memorize all those years ago—it had taken a full week to memorize that string of digits. During that time, he would randomly quiz me at unpredictable moments each day, and the slightest hesitation meant facing a tirade. So although I'd been using the direct dial in my phone for the past two years, I'd never forgotten this number.