In the narrow alley that only allowed one person to pass through, two figures were walking in close to the wall.
Through the dark green glass of a nearby house, Li Chuchu saw several black sedans cruising on the road. They were like ghosts prowling in the pitch - black night, menacing and closing in like two huge hands slowly coming together, trapping Li Chuchu and Shen Yanshan in the cramped alley.
The searchlights scanned left and right, and the sound of accelerating engines grew louder and louder. The commotion was so great that it woke up many city residents.
From above came a series of angry outbursts:
"Damn it! Have you no decency? Racing around in the middle of the night!"
"Can't we get any sleep at night? Are you in such a hurry to go to your mother's funeral?"
"Damn it! You just won't let people have a moment's peace."
In this situation, Li Chuchu playfully nudged Shen Yanshan's arm, gloating a bit. "They've mobilized the entire city's police force just for you, Shen Yanshan. You've really upped your worth this trip."
Even Shen Yanshan, who was extremely worried about Li Chuchu at this moment, couldn't help but show a helpless smile. She was still teasing him at a time like this.
She didn't realize that by not leaving, she was now in the same boat as him.
...
Those sedans were heading in the direction of the dock.
They surrounded the fishing boats, and the black - clad men who got out of the cars immediately took control of the fishermen at the dock. The passengers on the boats were not spared and were all driven off.
This used to be an unspoken smuggling route, but since it was an illegal business, those people were a bit nervous. Now that their operation had been raided, they were visibly panicked. Some were so scared that they burst into tears.
The black - clad men searched every corner of the boats.
After a few of them came out, they shook their heads at the leader.
The rest of the people were all tied up, and even the seaside fishermen and the rickety fishing boats were seized. Li Chuchu could faintly hear the cries of women and children from that direction, but after a while, the sounds stopped.
Were those people arrested or...
How dare Qian Guangjin be so bold? This was a society ruled by law. Did his influence extend not only to the political circle but also to the underworld? It occurred to Li Chuchu that even if they had managed to get on the fishing boat just now, it would have been like throwing themselves into the enemy's arms.
Seeing this scene, Li Chuchu's palms were sweating, and they felt sticky and damp.
Shen Yanshan subconsciously tightened his grip on Li Chuchu's wrist. "We were just a step away... just a step away from you boarding the boat."
"I'm really lucky," Li Chuchu sighed to herself and whispered, "Amitabha, may the Buddha protect me. Those who survive a great disaster will surely have good fortune later. Shen Yanshan, you must never take me to jail in the future."
Shen Yanshan didn't catch what she was saying.
Just now, the moon had been hanging high in the gap between the buildings. Now, dark clouds were gathering, gradually covering the moonlight and leaving only a dim gray.
The cries of a child who had been woken up in the middle of the night came from inside the building, making people feel extremely uneasy.
This was the drawback of the old school district. It wasn't very sound - proof.
Li Chuchu bent down to rub her sore calves from standing and then sat down on the ground, leaning against the slippery wall. She patted the dust off her hands, not caring about how dirty it was at this moment.
There was nowhere for them to go now.
Go back to the hotel?
It was obvious that wouldn't work. Since Qian Guangjin could find them on the beach, he must have already checked the hotel. Going back would be like walking into a trap. Li Chuchu still wanted to live a while longer. Although this place was dirty, it would take some effort for the enemy to find them here. It was better to wait until morning and then see what the situation was.
Li Chuchu let out a long sigh to the sky.
Oh, the heavens, why are you so cruel to me!
Shen Yanshan didn't say a word. He sat down beside Li Chuchu.
One of his hands hung down on his knee, and his back was against the hard lime - cement wall. He looked up at the narrow strip of sky that was blocked by the buildings.
His eyes were dark and deep, with an indescribable sense of coldness and desolation. Although one person couldn't cover the sky, there were always people who could block his path.
Li Chuchu turned to look at Shen Yanshan.
In her twenty - odd years of life, there had been many close calls with death. But if anyone had a hard life, it was Shen Yanshan. Her hardships had only lasted for two years, and if she didn't die, she might even get rich once Shen Yanshan's business took off. But Shen Yanshan had endured hardships for more than twenty years and had died in his prime, in his thirties.
Strangely, this comparison gave Li Chuchu some psychological comfort. He was more pitiful than her.
Thinking of this, Li Chuchu patted Shen Yanshan on the shoulder and comforted him. "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it always first frustrates his spirit and will, exhausts his muscles and bones..."
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
A sudden growl from her stomach rudely interrupted her long - winded speech.
Shen Yanshan looked at Li Chuchu in confusion, only to see her calmly covering her stomach. "The snacks I ate this afternoon have been digested. I'm a bit hungry."
Sweet foods filled the stomach when eaten, but they were easily digested.
They had been too busy running for their lives just now to think about food. Now that she was hungry, there was nothing she could do.
Even though Li Chuchu had a space, taking out something to eat right now would be too obvious. To avoid arousing Shen Yanshan's suspicion, she decided to endure the hunger for a while.
The black - clad men on the shore seemed to be waiting patiently like hunters for a long time. In the early hours of the morning, Li Chuchu felt a bit sleepy. Her head drooped like a chick's, and finally she couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep with her knees hugged.
...
Shen Yanshan sat in the alley for a while and didn't dare to sleep.
He took out a shirt from his suitcase and covered Li Chuchu with it.
Then he walked to the side, lit a cigarette with a match, and took a puff now and then.
The flickering light in the alley was like Shen Yanshan's wavering heart.
They had gone to such great lengths just to drag him down completely. Those people had really gone to a lot of trouble. What kind of dirty deeds had they done? After all these years, they were still afraid that the descendants of the Shen family would rise up and seek revenge.
When a person couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, they were prone to recalling the past.
To be honest, Shen Yanshan's memories of his parents were very faint.
He only remembered that during that period, his father had been away from home for a long time, and his mother had been crying all the time until she went blind in one eye. Then someone came and took her away, while he was left with relatives. But because the matter was of great significance, the relatives were afraid of being affected, so they sent him to an orphanage after a few months.
But he was quite lucky now. Fortunately, it wasn't winter at that time, or he might not have survived in the orphanage. Those relatives would sometimes come and bring some money and clothes, but they never met him.
The children in the orphanage didn't like him and would knock over his food bowl. When he was so hungry that he couldn't bear it anymore, he had to fight with the dogs for food.
Thinking about it, Shen Yanshan always felt that nothing good had ever happened to him in his life.