Chapter 15 Xishui Port
Xishui Port was built on the outskirts of the city. To get there, one had to take the maglev train.
It was a new energy vehicle, similar to a subway built above ground. Suspended in mid-air, it bypassed buildings and shuttled over everyone’s heads. The tracks extended in all directions, connecting the entire city like snakes prowling in a jungle, slithering wantonly through every corner.
[I’m going over first. You guys take your time. Of course, if you’re too slow, I won’t wait for you.]
Yan Hengze threw a provocative kitten emoji in the group chat. Li Nanyi turned off his phone, ignoring the cat-and-dog fight that erupted between Xiang Zhengming and him over an emoji.
“Face recognized, payment successful… Face recognized, payment successful… Palm print recognized, payment successful…”
Accompanied by the continuous broadcast of an elegant female voice, the gates at the ticket checkpoint opened and closed, lights switching back and forth between green and red.
“Beep. Detected contraband on passenger. Please hand it over to the storage counter immediately, otherwise passage will not be granted.”
“Fuck his grandfather! It’s just a lighter, why so serious! I bought a ticket!”
“Let me through! I have urgent business!”
The man at the front shouted in embarrassment, waving his arms excitedly. But no matter how much of a scene he made, the gate refused to open for him. The complaints from the crowd lining up behind grew louder. The man glared fiercely behind him twice before slinking away.
Nowadays, all public transportation ticket checking was handled by artificial intelligence. For them, the only things to obey were the implanted program regulations. Acting according to laws formulated by humans was their underlying logic.
Throwing a tantrum was useless; they couldn’t understand such emotions, nor would they open the gate for them.
Rigorous, disciplined, efficient, without warmth—but it had indeed established a relatively orderly society. Li Nanyi spread his arms. Green light scanned over him, emitting a prompt tone for passage.
“Which payment method would you like to choose?”
“Face recognition.”
“Face recognition passed, payment successful. Welcome to ride Train No. 235.”
Through the train glass, Li Nanyi watched the prosperous scene of the city. The interchange bridges transported batch after batch of traffic. Inside the carriage, where the temperature was suitable, crowds were packed tightly together. The train doors slid shut. He held the handrail to steady himself. In his vision, the scenery outside the window retreated rapidly.
…
“Terminal station, Xishui Port arrived. Thank you for riding.”
Li Nanyi walked off the train. The waiting area was deserted, with only the emergency exit sign glowing green. From boarding until now, he was the only one left on the entire maglev train.
It seemed the news of the explosion forecast had spread. Li Nanyi scrolled through the chat history and found the entrance address Yan Hengze had reported to them. Just as he planned to go out, a drop of water suddenly fell on his face. He wiped off the cold droplet with his finger; a fishy smell floated in the air.
Just as he looked up, a drizzle began to fall from the sky. Li Nanyi sighed. He had to borrow an umbrella from the front desk. The plain-colored umbrella opened over his head, and he quickened his pace, rushing to the meeting point before the rain got heavier.
The overall development of the outskirts was inferior to the city center. Simple walk-up buildings, large stains on the ground, rusted street lamps missing bulbs. The neighborhood security guard was dozing off in a dilapidated booth. The walls were plastered with messy small advertisements and covered in graffiti sprayed by delinquents.
Most of the people living in this old neighborhood were workers of Xishui Port and their families. Occasionally, passing by, one could hear shouts from card games and mahjong. When Li Nanyi passed the alley entrance, he kicked a flattened plastic bottle. Who knew who threw it there; the plastic bottle rolled and lay on the other side of the road.
Security here didn’t seem very good either. Li Nanyi dodged a hand reaching out from a thief on a motorbike, only to encounter a group of guys who looked like delinquents blocking the road. Their hair was multi-colored and stood straight up, and tattoos on their arms extended to their backs. Li Nanyi glanced around wildly, spotting a shop owner sitting at a corner store. The shop owner met Li Nanyi’s gaze, poked his head out to look, and then decisively pulled down the rolling shutter.
Li Nanyi: “…”
“Hey, you new? Let me tell you, this road was opened by me. To pass, you have to pay the toll first!”
A blond guy who wasn’t even as tall as Li Nanyi’s neck pointed his chin at him arrogantly. The rest of the “Shamate family” nodded hurriedly, looking like a group of typewriters that had come to life.
“What, you unwilling? Let me tell you, don’t be too arrogant!”
Li Nanyi, who hadn’t even had time to speak: “…”
The blond guy was about to say something else when a calloused hand suddenly reached out from behind him, grabbed his ear, and dragged him backward. The blond guy looked back in horror to see a middle-aged woman in a plum-colored shirt staring wide-eyed, a huge volume erupting from her mouth: “You little bastard! Your dad works himself to death outside to earn money, and you fool around causing trouble! I have to wipe your ass every day! I’ll break your legs!”
“Mom!”
“Don’t call me Mom!”
The other hooligans scattered the moment they saw the woman coming. The blond guy was held by the ear by the woman as they roared at each other. Li Nanyi rubbed his ears, sighed helplessly, and slumped his shoulders.
“I’m really sorry to have caused you trouble…”
The woman suppressed the blond guy and apologized to Li Nanyi. Li Nanyi waved his hand. “It’s fine, he didn’t really do anything.”
“Sigh, young man, are you here to find work at Xishui Port?”
Li Nanyi: “Uh, I have a friend at Xishui Port, I came to find him.”
“Oh, that kind. Those still working at Xishui Port now are all rich foremen. Young man, could I trouble you to ask when this Xishui Port will start work again? Xiao Lin’s dad has been idle at home for a month. We’re running out of food.”
Hearing he was there to find a friend, the woman’s eyes lit up. She hurriedly grabbed his hand and spoke eagerly. Li Nanyi nodded reluctantly before the woman let go and dragged the blond guy away.
So work has been stopped for a month. Li Nanyi walked past the alley entrance holding the umbrella. Just at the next corner, he suddenly heard a familiar voice: “Hey, Li Nanyi!”
Looking up, he saw Xiang Zhengming splashing through the puddles toward him. He wrapped an arm around Li Nanyi’s neck and shook his hair. The cold moisture made one shiver. He said happily, “Good thing I met you. It rained suddenly today, and I didn’t even bring an umbrella.”
“Mhm.”
Xiang Zhengming was long used to his coldness. While squeezing under the umbrella, he chattered incessantly, complaining about how excessive Yan Hengze was being. Li Nanyi let it go in one ear and out the other, not listening at all.
Finally reaching the port, Xiang Zhengming was about to demonstrate his superior hurdling skills to get in when he was stopped by the security guard stationed there. The guard watched them warily, holding a baton.
“Hey hey hey, no idlers allowed inside.”
“What are you here for? Heard Xishui Port stopped work and came to be phantom thieves? I’ve seen plenty like you these past few days.”
“No, we’re here to find someone.”
Li Nanyi frowned and looked around for Yan Hengze. The security guard looked them up and down, then sneered, “Find someone? Who are you fooling?”
He pointed at Xiang Zhengming, who had one leg over the barrier. Li Nanyi had never felt such a headache. He took out his phone planning to call Yan Hengze. Just as he opened his contacts, a figure walked out from the port.
“Guard, let them through. They’re here to see me.”
Li Nanyi looked up sharply. Lu Xiuan stood in the middle of the road holding a black umbrella, smiling at him.
“Director Lu! Oh my, I didn’t know they were here to see you.”
The security guard panicked slightly and hurriedly raised the bar to let them through. Xiang Zhengming jumped aside hastily. “Damn, that was close.”
Lu Xiuan waved his hand to signal them in, saying, “It’s fine, Old Liu. I didn’t report it in advance. You were just fulfilling your duty.”
Xiang Zhengming squeezed under Li Nanyi’s umbrella again, leaning tight against him. “Ah, I’m all wet. Lend me some cover, brother. I’ll definitely bring an umbrella next time.”
Lu Xiuan’s movements paused, the smile on his face fading slightly. A subtle, inexplicable displeasure rose from the bottom of his heart. He shook his umbrella, walked to Xiang Zhengming’s side, and under Li Nanyi’s gaze, shoved the umbrella into Xiang Zhengming’s hand.
“If Mr. Xiang doesn’t mind, you can use this umbrella first. It’s big and won’t get you wet.”
“Thanks! Then you…”
Before Xiang Zhengming could finish, Lu Xiuan had already smilingly taken the spot where he originally stood. “It’s fine. I can share one with Xiaoyi.”
Xiang Zhengming: “But didn’t you say the umbrella was big…”
Lu Xiuan: “I’m not used to sharing an umbrella with strangers.”
Xiang Zhengming stared blankly: “Then right now you…”
Lu Xiuan: “Xiaoyi doesn’t count as a stranger. We are friends.”
Li Nanyi couldn’t help but curl the corner of his mouth, gently tilting the umbrella toward Lu Xiuan.
Xiang Zhengming followed behind them, looking at the two standing very close together. Lu Xiuan was taller than Li Nanyi; he bent his waist slightly, practically leaning on Li Nanyi, obscuring most of his back view.
These two… why do I feel weird about them?
Xiang Zhengming couldn’t figure it out.
This confusion turned into anger the next moment he saw Yan Hengze hiding from the rain under a factory shed.
“Hey, you guy! You said you’d wait for us to go in together, where did you go!”
Xiang Zhengming rushed over like a cannonball, the umbrella shaking water droplets everywhere. Yan Hengze curled his lip and retreated several steps before slowly adjusting his suit.
“Didn’t I say? If you’re too slow, I won’t wait for you.”
“You… you selfish ghost who only cares about yourself!”
Yan Hengze’s indifferent attitude made Xiang Zhengming jump with rage. Li Nanyi stepped forward with a stern face. Yan Hengze glanced at him. “What? You have an opinion too?”
“Don’t let there be a next time. This is a group mission. I don’t want the mission to fail because of your personal issues. Reel in your young master temper.”
“Do you think you look cool acting like this?”
Li Nanyi looked at him sideways. “If you’re not convinced, we can fight later.”
“Fight then, who’s afraid of you!”
Yan Hengze, a conglomerate young master, had always been pampered. Being lectured by someone other than his dad for the first time today, he was quite unconvinced in his heart.
He clenched his fist secretly, thinking he would definitely teach this guy and that big idiot a lesson after the mission.
Lu Xiuan stood under the umbrella, his gaze sweeping over the group, finally stopping on Li Nanyi, quietly gazing at the water droplets about to fall from his hair and his slightly pale lips.
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