"I've been watching you."
Jiang Cailang was actually a very decent person, at least on the surface.
He took Meng Lan to a rooftop Japanese restaurant. The average cost per person was high, but there was no sense of showing off.
As Meng Lan ate her salad, she suddenly felt it was a bit strange for the two of them to be sharing a bowl of salad, too intimate. But she didn't show it on her face.
"Let's talk about your uncle. Maybe I can remember something," Meng Lan said.
"My uncle disappeared seven years ago without a trace. His parents suspected he had been assassinated and his body disposed of. He used to do business in Hong Kong, very smart and capable. Over the years, I've been looking for information about him. Last year, when I was cleaning up his warehouse, I found a safe with your photo inside," Jiang Cailang said, "I thought there might be some secrets, but maybe you're a secret too."
"Do you want to test our DNA?" Meng Lan asked. "You seem to have a sense of regret like in a TV drama where lovers end up as siblings."
"I'll consider it. If you really are my uncle's child, he should take good care of you. But obviously, you don't even remember him," Jiang Cailang said regretfully.
"There are too many mysteries. I can't solve them," Meng Lan said lightly.
"You don't seem anxious about it," Jiang Cailang smiled.
"Anxiety won't solve the problem," Meng Lan smiled back.
Jiang Cailang turned his head and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the endless night. "Do you still feel like someone is following you? Or have you seen Zhang Jinlong again?"
"No."
"That's good."
After the two finished their meal, He Wanwan had already returned home. Meng Lan saw the baked broccoli and garlic prawns she had prepared on the table, and a rare embarrassment appeared on her face, even a hint of regret.
At the moment she and He Wanwan looked at each other, it was as if the air around them froze.
Especially when Meng Lan saw He Wanwan's surprised expression turning into a look of grievance!
Don't.
Don't cry!
"You, have you eaten already?" He Wanwan pursed her lips. She had done well in her interview today and had deliberately come home early to make dinner for Meng Lan. Originally, she wanted to ask what Meng Lan wanted to eat, but after thinking about it, she decided to give her a surprise and didn't send a message.
Who would have thought that Meng Lan, who rarely ate out, had just eaten outside!
Jiang Cailang watched the scene like he was watching a play, observing the slight twitch of muscles on Meng Lan's neck.
"That, I haven't eaten," Meng Lan smiled, "Thank you for making dinner for me."
He Wanwan blossomed with a relieved smile and came over, saying, "I knew you would be hungry so late! You said you wanted something vegetarian, so I made broccoli for you. It should be pretty good, I practiced all night."
Jiang Cailang stifled a laugh, his eyes shining with warmth as he watched the scene unfold.
—Meng Lan had just eaten a bowl of foie gras rice, half a bowl of salad, and some sea urchin and salmon sashimi. It didn't look like she could eat half a bowl more.
Meng Lan felt a little guilty about her promise just now, and when she saw He Wanwan's almost tearful expression of grievance, she suddenly felt emotional and a little at a loss, even though she was usually rational.
She felt a faint movement of air beside her, and she smiled slightly, "Teacher Jiang didn't eat for me either, and since I'm not hungry today, the three of us have enough to eat."
Jiang Cailang: ...
"Really? I made a little too much!" He Wanwan said.
"That's just perfect!" Meng Lan said with a smile.
Jiang Cailang: Is it still possible to leave now?
Meng Lan whispered, "You treated me to a meal, and I'll treat you to one. Then we're even."
Jiang Cailang: That sounds reasonable, but not like this!
This meal lasted for a whole hour and a half. Jiang Cailang had never eaten so many carbs at night before. He Wanwan seemed to have an endless enthusiasm, constantly using a ladle to serve him more food when his plate was empty.
Meng Lan smiled lightly.
!ChatGPT
The warm and comforting summer breeze dispersed all the clouds and fears of the day.
The sudden appearance of Zhang Jinlong was like a strange dream. Although Meng Lan was concerned, she didn't let it continue to affect her routine. She carried on with watching the news, analyzing stocks, trading, and attending her yoga and fitness classes every afternoon without fail.
Initially, He Wanwan wanted to pay the rent for Meng Lan, but Meng Lan firmly refused. She mentioned that she could easily earn several times the rent with just a few clicks, so she didn't need to live frugally.
Weekends were for grocery shopping, usually done by He Wanwan alone. But today, she felt that something was off, so she stuck closely to Meng Lan. After Meng Lan's class, they went to buy groceries together. The upscale supermarket wasn't crowded, and there weren't many salespeople around. Strange and exotic fruits and vegetables were neatly arranged on the shelves.
Here, there were no red lights and buzzing flies like in the meat stalls of He Wanwan's hometown market.
"What do you want for dinner tonight?" He Wanwan asked.
"Do you sense that something's wrong?" Meng Lan responded, knowing that He Wanwan's intuition was usually spot on.
"Not really. I just wanted to spend time with you today," He Wanwan said. "I'll go check out the spare ribs. Don't wander off, or I won't be able to find you."
He Wanwan thought Meng Lan was looking at alcoholic beverages, so she didn't bother her much, but she reminded her, "You better drink less. Your attention might drop if something happens."
She sounded like a mother.
"Okay."
Meng Lan hid behind the beverage counter. There was only a middle-aged woman picking out baby formula at the adjacent shelf. Meng Lan observed her, feeling someone's gaze on her. She stopped what she was doing and looked at the woman.
As their eyes met, the middle-aged woman turned around. Her pitch-black pupils resembled two holes, while her crimson lips seemed to be chewing on flesh.
The woman put down the baby formula, and her weathered hands began to pull at her own hair. Coarse and dry strands wound around her fingertips, gradually being plucked out. Her face started to contort, muscles bulging and receding, with flesh on her cheeks flowing like liquid. She threw the hair to the ground, blood oozing from the swollen pores on her scalp.
"I've been watching you."
"I've been staring at you."
Suddenly, the woman's contorted face turned into Zhang Jinlong's.
His voice was coarse and ferocious.
Not just in front of her, but Zhang Jinlong's figure began to flicker behind the shelves around her.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm.
Meng Lan jerked her head back, only to find Zhang Jinlong staring at her with a malicious smile, holding a fruit knife stained with blood.
Meng Lan grabbed a glass bottle of soda from behind her and swung it towards Zhang Jinlong's head!
But...
The next moment...
Her hand stopped in front of Zhang Jinlong's forehead!
The hand that grabbed hers was warm, and He Wanwan's anxious voice came from beside her. Meng Lan felt dazed. Zhang Jinlong disappeared from her sight, leaving only He Wanwan's panicked expression. "Meng Lan, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
"There's a problem. Someone is tracking us," Meng Lan's voice was low. "Do you feel it?"
"Now, I do." Despite feeling safe just a moment ago, a chill ran down He Wanwan's spine. She glanced around, feeling as if countless eyes were watching them from behind the shelves.
Meng Lan's gaze locked onto a slightly chubby man's jacket behind the seasoning shelf.
"Zhao Che," Meng Lan called out his name. Sure enough, he had been following her all along. This man must have fabricated the story about her being kept as a mistress and donating money to escape, found her classmates, and learned some personal information about her. She had felt his presence at school that day.
Zhao Che timidly stepped forward, his eye sockets dark, showing signs of sleeplessness for a long time. He looked much thinner compared to last time, and his eyes flickered with fear, like a thief roaming the streets afraid of being caught by the police.
"So, you have indeed been following me," Meng Lan's tone was stern. "Why would you do this?"
"I... I wasn't tracking you! It wasn't me who was tracking! You felt it too, right? Someone is observing us in secret. They're all dead, Liu Ming, Liu Ming is dead, and next, it'll be my turn! No, next will be you... next will definitely be you!" Zhao Che sounded somewhat crazed, but he didn't dare to get too close to Meng Lan, as the aura emanating from her was also quite frightening.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand. Since you said we're being targeted, we're like grasshoppers on the same line now. Explain the situation clearly, and we might have some room to maneuver." Meng Lan's tone wasn't particularly gentle, but it was enough to calm down Zhao Che's agitated heart.
"I can't sleep every night! Someone is watching me, behind the curtains, inside the wardrobe, under the bed, in the mirror. I can feel its presence, but... but I can't find him!" The man was becoming frantic, his voice growing louder, disturbing the shelf stacker.
The confused shelf stacker approached.
Meng Lan gave the shelf stacker a clear look.
"Do you know that Liu Ming is dead?" Meng Lan asked.
"Liu Ming works for our company, of course, I know! There's no way he could have committed suicide, he must have been unable to bear the surveillance!" Zhao Che shouted. "Now someone is surveilling me. They must enjoy torturing people and want to catch us all."
"Why would they be surveilling you, why do they want to kill you?" Meng Lan walked slowly towards Zhao Che. "Calm down a bit, I can help you, and the police can protect you."
"No, no police!" Zhao Che's eyes were wild. "I don't want to see them! Only we can protect ourselves. Qi Huan said killing people can gain energy from the hidden cards, that's why we're being hunted! Now they've targeted both of us, you, you! You're stronger than me, and it was because of you that we cleared the last mission!"
Meng Lan looked at the man's frenzied appearance. If the person surveilling them was nearby, then the man's intentions behind saying this were obvious: "Are you trying to tell the person tracking you that I'm more valuable than you?"
"I... I wasn't!" After having his chaotic thoughts exposed, Zhao Che became angry and embarrassed. "I was just trying to warn you, I was just trying to be helpful." Days of insomnia had overloaded his heart, and the emotional turmoil made his chest ache faintly!
"I'm also trying to be helpful," Meng Lan said.
The shelf stacker had already called the police, and the police nearby rushed over to subdue the crazed Zhao Che. The man's rationality had long since disappeared, and his chaotic roar vented the inner turmoil and fear within him.
"Don't touch me! You'll kill me!" Zhao Che struggled and resisted being handcuffed, but he was eventually restrained.
The police asked Meng Lan and He Wanwan to go to the police station to make statements.