There was a smell of chicken manure inside the coach bus.
Beneath the seats in the back row sat two chicken cages, with listless hens crouched inside. It had just rained, and the bus had been driving along the muddy mountain road for more than three hours. It had been rear-ended and had blown a tire; the fact that it still had not fallen apart was already a miracle.
Pulling into a gas station by the roadside, the vehicle slowly stopped. This was the last chance to use the restroom while still within China’s borders. The driver shouted loudly, “Ten-minute stop,” and the inside of the bus instantly became noisy and chaotic.
The passengers were all very tired. More than half of them stood up, and even those who did not need to use the restroom got off to stretch and get some air. Yan Ye sat in the seat beside the aisle. As people moved past, someone bumped into the suitcase on his knees. The case tilted, and a thin cord connected to his wrist slipped out from his sleeve.
His gaze, hiding sharpness beneath it, followed that person’s back for a long time before withdrawing. Yan Ye steadied the suitcase and heard the man sitting beside him say, “I’m going to the restroom.”
The man was in his fifties. His cheeks were sunken, his eyes dull, and he wore a bitter expression. Inside the filthy, rundown coach bus, only he wore a full white suit and a Western-style cream-white hat, completely out of place among those struggling to make a living along the border.
Yan Ye did not open the path for him. His gaze passed through the window toward the crowd swarming toward the restroom, and he said warmly, “There are many people now. Go later.”
At this moment, someone stood up from the very back row of the bus. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, a vest with many pockets, and sturdy, durable hiking shoes. One glance at this outfit was enough to tell that he was a trader who moved between the two countries.
For almost the entire journey, he had been sleeping, arms crossed as he leaned against the bus window like a duck that had stopped breathing, his head swaying back and forth. Only when the bus stopped for the restroom would he wake up and slowly go take a piss.
When seven or eight of the ten minutes had passed, Yan Ye finally stepped aside under the urging of “White Suit.” He got off the bus with him, carrying that suitcase in his hand as they walked into the filthy restroom.
The restroom was basically empty already, leaving only overlapping muddy footprints. White Suit pushed open a stall and said rather urgently, “My stomach hurts. I’ll squat for a while. The case… give it here?”
“I’ll go in with you.” Though Yan Ye’s words were spoken gently, there was no warmth in them at all.
“Aiya, with you watching, how can I…”
“According to the contract, during transport, the consignment cannot leave our sight.” Yan Ye looked humble, but his tone was firm. “Mr. Zhang, if it disappears while it’s in our hands, are you compensating for it, or am I?”
White Suit undid his belt and tried to negotiate. “How about this? Give me the case. Just two minutes. You wait outside, all right?”
Yan Ye’s smile lingered on his face for only an instant. “Why doesn’t Mr. Zhang hold it? We’ll cross the border in another hour.”
“When nature calls, how am I supposed to hold it? I’ll leave the stall door cracked open. That should be fine, right?”
Outside the window, the passengers had already begun boarding in twos and threes. Only one-third of the cigarette in the bus driver’s hand remained. Yan Ye was silent for a moment, then undid the cord tied around his wrist and handed the suitcase to White Suit, saying in a low voice, “Be quick.”
The bus began swaying again. The sky grew even darker, as if heavy rain might arrive at any moment. The coach traveled for nearly another hour before the sound of a loudspeaker broadcasting in two languages suddenly came from the distance. Amid that mechanical, repetitive sound, the people who had been drowsy suddenly “came alive,” like rice seedlings meeting rain after a long drought.
Large and small bags were dragged down from the racks. The hens in the chicken cages flapped their wings and stretched their necks. Lao, Burmese, and Chinese mixed together inside the carriage, making it as lively as a boiling pot.
“We’re finally crossing the border.” White Suit also stretched lazily. “I’m old and can’t compare to you young people. After sitting in the car for so long, my bones have gone stiff.”
He took out an unfiltered cigarette and put it in his mouth. As he dug for his lighter, he said, “In a while, we’ll undergo border inspection. Once the inspection is over, we can cross the border. The people meeting us on the other side have already arrived. After crossing, we’ll take a car to Professor Fang’s residence. Once the goods are inspected, you can take the check and leave.”
He held the lit cigarette between his fingers outside the car window and smiled. “No need to rush off either. It isn’t easy to come here. I can take you around the red-light district. I guarantee it’s something you’ve never seen back home.”
After saying all kinds of things, White Suit looked toward Yan Ye and saw that he merely lifted the corners of his lips and simply thanked him. Tsk. The man exhaled smoke out the window, and his expression fell.
The bus finally stopped. White Suit pointed ahead. “That’s the border gate. We’ll line up there for border inspection in a moment.”
Following the flow of people off the bus, White Suit threw away his cigarette and straightened his hat. He had just been about to stride off and line up when someone grabbed his wrist.
He lowered his head to look, then coldly looked at Yan Ye. “Something wrong?”
Yan Ye remained polite. “Mr. Zhang, let’s inspect the goods here.”
“Inspect the goods?” White Suit was impatient. “After crossing the border, we’ll inspect them at Professor Fang’s house.”
“According to the rules of our trade, for a cross-border escort, the goods must be inspected before leaving the country.”
A trace of contempt appeared on White Suit’s face. He lazily checked his watch. “Unnecessary. This case has never left our sight, so the goods are definitely still inside. Besides, border inspection will check it in a while too. Let’s not waste time.”
“Border inspection only sends it through an X-ray scanner. They won’t open the case. As long as there’s nothing prohibited inside, it’ll pass without a problem.” A faint chill settled over Yan Ye’s otherwise gentle expression. “Please understand, Mr. Zhang. Every trade has its rules. Before we leave the country, the case has to be opened and the goods inspected.”
The dark clouds in the sky grew even heavier, much like the unclear look in White Suit’s eyes at this moment. He tilted his head and looked into the distance, toward a young man standing straight on the other side of the border several meters away.
Dark-skinned, thin, yet also solid and strong. The young man’s gaze paused on White Suit for a moment, then slowly slid toward Yan Ye. As it happened, Yan Ye also looked over. Their eyes met, one like a blade quenched in poison, while the other was faint and indifferent, not caring at all, even sending over a careless smile.
“Mr. Zhang, open the case.”
The suitcase was placed on a table inside the border checkpoint. Yan Ye removed the wrist cord and made a gesture of invitation.
White Suit walked up to the case, crooked his finger, and knocked on it, asking Yan Ye sinisterly, “General Manager Yan, are you sure you want to inspect it?”
Yan Ye lowered his head and glanced at the chat window with Xue Bao Tian on his phone. The last message still remained on the other party’s “He harassed me.” The corners of his lips lifted, revealing his first genuine smile of the day. He raised his head and said faintly, “Open it.”
The combination lock turned. Click. The case opened, revealing black velvet lining and absolutely nothing else. The suitcase was empty!
The corner of White Suit’s eye jumped. Yan Ye abruptly drew his brows together. The two of them quickly looked at each other, both of their eyes filled with shock!
Dark clouds hung low against the window. A tremendous clap of thunder split the dim sky. It really was going to rain…
At this moment, a thousand li away, Xue Bao Tian closed the conference room door, placed his hand on the child’s shoulder, and asked coldly, “Explain this clearly. Why is Yan Ye in danger? And how do you know he’ll be in danger?”
The child shrugged, making the candies in his pockets rustle. He sat back on the sofa and lifted his head. “Someone set a cage for my boss.”
“Set a cage?”
“It means laying a trap to frame someone. Underworld jargon. Can’t blame you for not understanding.”
Xue Bao Tian’s eyes narrowed, and an icy chill covered his gaze. He slowly sat down on the sofa beside the child, his cold eyes fixed tightly on the person in front of him, not letting even the slightest change on his face pass. “How are they setting up the trap? And how are they going to frame him?”
The child shook his head without hesitation. “Don’t know. I only know someone wants to harm him.”
Xue Bao Tian once again looked over the thin, filthy child. Lowering his eyes, he bit a cigarette into his mouth.
“Tell me how you know someone wants to harm Yan Ye.”
“A few days ago, I listened to you and decided to go to school. I went to the Education Bureau and the community office, and they agreed to help with my enrollment. But because I’m an orphan, they planned to send me to a welfare home.”
“There are too many rules in welfare homes and no freedom. I didn’t want to go, so I ran. The money you gave me would last a while, but not forever. I started racking tables at a billiards hall to earn enough to eat. I didn’t expect to run into Qian San’er.”
Xue Bao Tian lifted his long, narrow eyes, but did not interrupt.
“Qian San’er is a local snake who’s hard to mess with. Before I knew who he was, I tried to fake an accident against him. He caught me and locked me in a dog cage for three days without food, so… I’m afraid of him.”
The child seemed embarrassed by that admission. He secretly glanced at Xue Bao Tian, sniffed, then continued. “Yesterday he suddenly came to the billiards hall. I hid before we came face to face, but he and another man happened to enter the room where I was hiding. I was so scared I could only lie behind the sofa.”
Xue Bao Tian’s expression was tense as he pressed, “You heard them say they were going to frame Yan Ye?”
The child shook his head again. “The man who went in with Qian San’er seemed more powerful than him. Qian San’er owed him money and waited on him like a grandson. When they talked about repayment, Qian San’er said he had a job in progress. They’d just set a cage for someone, and in half a month the trap would pay off, so he’d have money to settle the debt. The other man casually asked what kind of job it was and who the cage had been set for. Qian San’er hemmed and hawed, only saying it was a ruthless character, a bodyguard boss who’d been making a name for himself lately. Then the other man said my boss’s name!”
Xue Bao Tian kept the cigarette between his lips, smoke slipping from one corner of his mouth. He picked a candy from the nearly empty tray, leisurely peeled off the wrapper, and stuffed it into the child’s mouth. Lifting his eyes, he smiled. “What should I call Little Trash?”
The child rolled the candy over in his mouth, wrinkled his pale brows, and stiffened his neck as he replied, “Just call me Master Bai.”
“Master Bai?” Xue Bao Tian’s smile widened, though his eyes were full of hostility. “What are you, seven? Sharp tongue for a seven-year-old little master. Tell me, Seventh Master, the day we met, you and Yan Ye never spoke in front of me. How did you know his name? And how did you know what kind of relationship we have? Lover? You fucking know a lot for a little kid!”
“You suspect I’m lying to you?”
Pfft. The child spat the candy onto the carpet and stared straight at Xue Bao Tian. “I’m ten, not seven. If I want to follow someone as my boss, how could I not even know his name?”
“That day, after you two rode away on the bicycle, I followed from far behind. My boss knew. Only you, pretty boy, had no vigilance and never noticed!”
“When you got off to buy roasted sweet potatoes, my boss talked to me. He said he wasn’t part of the underworld. Being a bodyguard means protecting other people’s safety, and if I wanted to follow him, I had to become a decent person.”
As the child’s voice fell, Xue Bao Tian felt like a balloon that had been punctured, his momentum gradually weakening. “So he told you his name himself?”
The child remembered the broad hand extended toward him, the man lowering himself to look at him with a gentle, friendly smile. “My name is Yan Ye. What’s yours?”
It was the first time the boy had ever formally introduced himself while being treated with respect. He wiped his dirty hand on his pants and took the large palm that made him feel inexplicably safe. “Bai He. My name is Bai He.”
Coming back to the present, the boy looked at Xue Bao Tian again. “As for how I knew what you two were? I’ve seen plenty out on the streets. What’s so shocking about it? Besides, you two were kissing in the office that day, and you didn’t even turn off the lights.”
Fuck! Xue Bao Tian shot up from the sofa. He had overestimated both his thick skin and his shamelessness. Faced with this grubby little flower of the motherland, his face flushed scarlet.
Thinking carefully, Xue Bao Tian remembered that after Yan Ye pushed him onto the desk that day, he had turned off the lights. The whole room had been dark except for the moonlight. Presumably, whatever happened afterward had not further corrupted this flower of the motherland that had already grown crooked.
Feeling slightly reassured, Xue Bao Tian’s gaze cooled again. “Little Trash, tell me the detailed information about this Qian San’er.”
The child looked disdainful. “You don’t suspect me anymore?”
Having wrongly accused him, Xue Bao Tian did feel a little guilty. He looked at the boy’s bulging pockets and said carelessly, “Master Bai, consider the candy my apology. Once I rescue your boss, I’ll hold a banquet to thank you.”
“Deal.” The adult and the child reached an agreement.
That night, the lights in the secretary’s office at Ruixiang Pharmaceuticals stayed on until very late.
The glamorous woman held the phone and cooed flirtatiously, her voice twisting through one coy turn after another until the man on the other end was thoroughly charmed. They talked romance, poetry, and faraway places, and before hanging up, she arranged a dinner with him.
The instant she put down the landline, the smile vanished from her lips. She picked up the phone beside her and dialed a number.
Airport announcements came through the receiver first. Then a cold, sharp voice gave a single command: “Speak.”
The secretary picked up the notes she had made while flirting and reported calmly, “President Xue, I managed to get the information out of the ticketing company that works with Yanyue Security. General Manager Yan’s destination on this trip isn’t Guangxi. It’s Yunnan.”
Xue Bao Tian’s voice clearly hesitated. “Yunnan?”
“Yes. Judging from the flight booking records, at least the first destination is Yunnan.”
“Besides him, who else from their company went on this business trip with him?”
After the secretary listed several names, she heard her boss murmur, “Zhou Yi Ming… Book me a flight to Yunnan immediately. The sooner, the better.”
“Also, starting this month, your salary goes up thirty percent.”