It was already past ten in the evening, and the restaurant was getting less crowded. Kong Daming had earlier urged Xiang Qingde to head home early, but Xiang Qingde disagreed, insisting on waiting until after work to leave.
"Then I'll take you home, it's quite late," Kong Daming said.
"No need, it's only a ten-minute walk. How could I possibly get lost? You go ahead and close up, I've got a flashlight."
Xiang Qingde put on his coat, waved at Kong Daming to reassure him, and then left the restaurant.
"Be careful."
Kong Daming thought about the old man's robust health; a ten-minute walk at night should pose no problem, so he didn't think much more about it.
Yu Lei, who had been sitting in the café all afternoon, noticed Xiang Qingde leaving the restaurant. He quickly packed up his laptop and followed him.
