Chapter 27: Carousing

The road to Xicheng was far from easy, consisting mostly of winding mountain paths. Qiao Yanxin had always lived a life of luxury and privilege; how could she possibly endure such hardship? She lay in the passenger seat, her face pale, eyes closed in an attempt to rest.

At night, Xicheng lost the serene beauty it possessed during the day, replaced instead by a sense of foreboding. The surrounding mountains stood in the darkness like towering, man-eating monsters. Secretary Zhang sat in the back, trembling, not daring to look at the scene outside. Perhaps because the people of Xicheng were deeply devout, prayer flags and statues of Buddha were visible everywhere along the road. While these items appeared solemn and mysterious by day, they took on a vastly different impression at night.

Seeing Qiao Yanxin lying in the passenger seat as if drifting off to sleep, Secretary Zhang hurriedly grabbed a blanket, intending to cover her. But Gu Tingchu, sitting beside her, was faster; he snatched the blanket and draped it over Qiao Yanxin himself. Perhaps it was the suddenness of the movement that caused Qiao Yanxin to stir and wake. Upon seeing the blanket and Secretary Zhang behind her, she immediately waved a hand.

"Xiao Zhang, come and drive."

It must be said, Gu Tingchu handled this situation much better than Qiao Yanxin. Forcing a young girl like Secretary Zhang to drive through such a place in the middle of the night—Qiao Yanxin was truly not a conscientious boss. Though terrified, Secretary Zhang had to obey her employer's command. She tremblingly climbed into the front seat and began to drive.

In truth, I felt a strange sense of anticipation that night. I was curious about what Gu Tingchu was really up to and what his next move would be. Watching him slander me step by step—yet knowing I was already dead and that these things couldn't hurt me—there was a bizarre satisfaction in it. Throughout the night, I wondered what tricks he would play next. Would he sabotage the car, perhaps? But nothing happened; the night passed without incident.

Whether due to altitude sickness or something else, Qiao Yanxin didn't close her eyes once all night. By the next morning, her eyes were bloodshot and her face etched with exhaustion. The closer they got to Xicheng, the worse her expression became. Perhaps it was because she was about to see me? But I was already dead; she would never find me in Xicheng.

Upon arriving in Xicheng, Qiao Yanxin frowned slightly at the sparse population.

"Where is Qiao Yunzhou now?"

Gu Tingchu acted the part, pulling out his phone and reciting an address. "My friend says Brother Yunzhou is staying right here."

Something crossed her mind, and with a livid expression, Qiao Yanxin left Gu Tingchu and Secretary Zhang outside. "You two wait here; I’ll go up and take a look." With that, she turned and headed upstairs, moving with such speed that one might think she was genuinely worried about me.

Only I knew the truth: she wasn't worried. She simply feared that if I were currently dallying with some woman and the two of them saw it, it would damage her reputation. As the prestigious CEO of the Qiao Corporation, how could she be cheated on? If anyone were to be cheated on, it should be her doing the cheating.

Reaching the door, Qiao Yanxin took a deep breath, steeling herself before raising her hand to knock. "Qiao Yunzhou! Qiao Yunzhou, open the door!"

There was dead silence inside; no one came to open the door. Qiao Yanxin’s patience reached its limit. "Qiao Yunzhou, open the door! You have the guts to fool around with someone else, but not the guts to open the door? Come out! I know you're in there!"

Seeing that no one answered, Qiao Yanxin kicked the fragile wooden door open. "Qiao Yunzhou, get out here!"

In the entryway, several pairs of women’s and men’s slippers were scattered about. Walking further in, women’s lingerie—some of it risqué—was strewn across the sofa. Used condoms lay carelessly on the floor. The entire room was filled with the stench of debauchery.

Qiao Yanxin frowned deeply at the sight. "Qiao Yunzhou, get out here! What kind of game are you playing now?"

The room was in complete disarray, suggesting that the occupants had already left, leaving behind the uncleaned mess. Qiao Yanxin clearly realized this possibility, but she didn't give up, pushing open every door to search for me, yet finding nothing. It was clear the occupants had fled, leaving only chaos in their wake.

I frowned as well. Even if Gu Tingchu wanted to frame me, couldn't he have made it more convincing? Since when was I such a slovenly person? While I wasn't obsessively clean, I would never have left a place in such a state. The environment was so repulsive I wouldn't have been able to stand it for even a minute.

Realizing that "I" had already left, Qiao Yanxin kicked a trash can over in a fit of rage. "Qiao Yunzhou, you’d better pray I don't catch you!"

Although Qiao Yanxin hadn't asked Gu Tingchu to follow, he wouldn't miss the chance to watch the show. Seeing the wreckage of the room and Qiao Yanxin's volatile state, Gu Tingchu curled his lips in satisfaction. Yet, on the surface, he feigned concern. "Yanxin, what's wrong? Don't be angry... My god, what happened here?"

"Brother Yunzhou... what has he been doing in Xicheng all this time?"

Qiao Yanxin’s eyes were bloodshot, and a flush crept up her cheeks—whether from anger or shame, it was hard to tell. Witnessing this scene, I found it absurdly funny. Oh, Qiao Yanxin, if only you had investigated properly! If you had truly looked into it, you would have known I had never been to Xicheng. And we grew up together; didn't she even know what kind of person I was? How could the person who lived in this room possibly be me?

The commotion they made in the room soon attracted the neighbors. "Yo, what’s going on here?"

Qiao Yanxin swept a cold glance at the man at the door. "The man and woman who lived here—where did they go?"

"Oh, them? They left a while ago. I remember it was last night; they left with their suitcases. Don't know where they went, but they seemed to be in a real hurry."

"Where did they go!"

The man looked Qiao Yanxin up and down. "Who are you? Why should I tell you?"

Without a word, Qiao Yanxin opened her wallet, pulled out a stack of hundred-yuan bills, and slapped them onto the man’s face. "Now, can you talk?!"

The man grinned and stuffed the cash into his pocket. "Easy, easy. I don't know where the man went, but I heard them say they were going off to find some 'freedom.'"

"Do you know the name of the man who lived here?"

"Name? I’m not too sure. I only remember the man’s surname was Qiao!"