"Why not let me in first?"
The youth, having been somewhat disheartened by He Ao's recent door-closing, tentatively pointed inside.
"Let's just talk here."
He Ao shook his head.
"It's too crowded and noisy here..."
The youth cautiously said.
He Ao gave the youth a look, as if he were looking at an idiot, and reached out to close the door again.
In this old apartment building with two units per floor, even neighbors were hard to come across, let alone a crowd.
"No, no, no!"
The youth quickly extended his hand to stop the door from closing.
He Ao calmly squatted down, fetched a slightly rusty little hammer from the corner behind him, and if the youth dared to reach in, He Ao was ready to swing.
Intruding into someone's home was illegal, after all, and this would be self-defense.
Seeing the small hammer, the youth sheepishly withdrew his hand.
He had just finished picking the lock and had snapped a photo with his phone through the door to find the living room empty before going down to buy bolt cutters. In just a few minutes, this guy had appeared out of nowhere.
But this guy was really something—this eerie oppressive aura was overwhelming. He had been full of confidence before, but now, his momentum was mostly deflated, completely suppressed.
After a moment of hesitation, he pulled out two photos from his pocket.
He Ao glanced at them. The top photo was of himself, and the one underneath appeared to be of a girl, but the angle was reflective, making it hard to see clearly.
The youth turned the girl's photo over and handed it to He Ao.
Hmm...
It was someone familiar...
It was Liu Nan.
The photo looked like it was taken surreptitiously.
The composition wasn't great; she was made to look a bit ugly.
The youth, not noticing He Ao's increasingly strange expression, smiled as he explained, "Brother Ao, this girl is the daughter of the chairman of Wanhe Industrial. While Wanhe Industrial may not be very famous in Xidu City, it's a top-tier conglomerate in the south. Her dad is the richest man in the province back in his hometown. If we kidnap her, we can ask for any amount of money."
He Ao's expression grew even more peculiar.
In the whole Xidu City, who didn't know that I, He Ao, was an upright, law-abiding citizen?
"Brother Ao, we also heard about you from local brothers in Xidu City. They say you're Xidu's most infamous villain, so we came to you specially to offer a fortune that's heaven-high."
The youth spoke with increasing enthusiasm, as if he had regained his confidence.
And He Ao's face could almost be scribbled with 'little question marks; do you have lots of friends or what?'
This fool must have been set up, right? My reputation as a good guy was acknowledged by the entire underworld of Xidu.
"Actually, we already sent someone to capture the girl," the youth chuckled, and he wasn't quite sure why this student before him was the big-time villain who made the entire underworld of Xidu quiver in fear, "They should have her by now. All we need is for you, Brother Ao, to help us find a place to keep her hidden..."
'Sell cool noodles~ delicious and sweet cool noodles~'
The old-fashioned singing interrupted the youth's words.
That was He Ao's ringtone.
He Ao picked up the phone and saw it was from an unknown number. After thinking it over, he hung up directly.
Seeing He Ao hang up the call, the youth was getting ready to speak again.
'Sell cool noodles~ delicious and sweet cool noodles~'
The old-fashioned singing rang out again.
The youth's words were harshly swallowed back again.
This time He Ao answered.
"Is this He Ao? I'm Liu Nan," a somewhat reserved female voice came through the phone, "I got your number from a classmate. Are you busy right now? I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
She was referring to the reason why He Ao had just hung up on her. She was worried that He Ao might be in the middle of something, and she had planned to call again later if she couldn't get through now.
He Ao glanced at the youth standing outside the door, "No problem. Sales calls usually don't happen twice, so I hang up directly on unfamiliar numbers the first time."
"Ah?"
Liu Nan was taken aback, clearly not catching on.
"What's up?"
He Ao quickly asked.
"Well... Thank you so much for today... Have you had dinner... Why don't I treat you to dinner tonight? How about Qiuwushe Restaurant on Light Secure Road in the city center?"
Liu Nan realized she was having a hard time keeping up with He Ao's pace and could only cautiously ask, as she was not one to like owing favors to others, therefore she wanted to repay He Ao as soon as possible.
"Just a moment,"
He Ao put down his phone and quickly opened the map app, searching for Qiuwushe Restaurant.
The map showed he could take Subway Line 6 to Line 1, then transfer to Line 3, costing six yuan, taking fifty minutes. With He Ao's Xidu subway card, which gives a ten percent discount, it would be five yuan and forty cents, and it would take him about ten minutes to walk to the subway station.
Two hours for the round trip, a total of ten yuan and eighty cents for the fare, while the cost of a bowl of pea and mixed sauce noodles downstairs was ten yuan.
It was a loss.
So, he decisively told Liu Nan on the other end of the phone, "Not going, it's too expensive."
"Huh?"
Liu Nan was bewildered for the second time.
"Right," He Ao glanced at the youth before him, "you should be careful lately."
——
"Huh?"
Liu Nan's exclamation didn't come out, because He Ao had already hung up the phone.
"What did He Ao say?"
The girl sipping her milk tea poked her head out from the side.
"He said 'not going, it's too expensive,'" Liu Nan held her phone, looking at the girl confusedly, "but isn't it my treat?"
"Did he say anything else to you?"
The girl thought for a moment and asked.
"He said... to be careful of my safety?"
Liu Nan recalled and said softly.
"I get it," the girl adjusted her glasses, "he likes you!"
Liu Nan: "?!!!!!"
"Look, he says it's too expensive, he must be upset about you spending money, especially since Qiuwushe is so pricey. Plus, he said for you to be careful, he must be worried for your well-being, given you were almost attacked by a bad person today."
The girl reasoned seriously, "Combine that with what he said this afternoon, I'm telling you, he's playing hard to get; I'm so familiar with this tactic! Although I've been single for eighteen years, I don't know how many of these romance novels I've read..."
"?!?!?"
While the logic seemed sound, Liu Nan still felt something was amiss, also, aren't you only eighteen years old...
——
After He Ao hung up the phone, he looked up at the youth, meeting his burning gaze.
"Brother Ao, who was that just called you?"
The youth asked tentatively.
"It was Liu Nan,"
He Ao nodded and then casually dialed Captain Liu's number.
It was the first time he had come across such a ready lead, and he wondered how much the reward would be for reporting it.
"Hello, He Ao? What's up?"
The call connected quickly, and Captain Liu's somewhat weary voice came through. He seemed to still be working overtime at this hour.
"Captain Liu, it's like this," He Ao looked at the youth, "about the kidnapping case this afternoon, which seems like an abduction, there's a person who might be a behind-the-scenes mastermind right outside my door..."
He Ao had not finished speaking when the other end of the line immediately said, "He Ao, take good care of yourself, do not provoke him, I'll be right there."
What followed was the sound of hasty footsteps and the panting of Captain Liu running.
"Okay."
He Ao responded and observed the scene before him.
But now, it seemed a little late.
The youth, who had been previously subdued by He Ao's presence, now had his face flushed red; he swelled up like a balloon, his huge muscles tearing through his suit. His originally slight figure now bloated like a hefty little mountain,
"You tricked me!?"
He charged like an angry bull, smashing into the security door.
Bang—Craack—
The solid welding point of the security chain split open.
At that moment, He Ao suddenly realized.
The world might have changed.