TBWE Chapter 11

Photographs

Two o’clock in the afternoon.

A black Bentley drove into the bustling commercial district. Outside the car windows, heat waves surged like tides, crosswalks twisted and blurred, while cool air circulated within the vehicle.

The rearview mirror reflected the young man in the back seat, dressed in an expensive and refined black suit, work documents resting on his crossed legs. Gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, softening the inhuman quality of his features.

He stared unblinkingly at Chu Li beside him. She only gave him half her profile, all her attention focused outside the window, like a bird eager to escape its cage.

Xi Chu’s eyes darkened slightly, suddenly generating a sense of hunger.

Unsatisfied.

He wanted to occupy all of her gaze, attention, every inch of her body, taste her carefully with his tendrils, then wrap her completely…

“Mr. Huo, Miss Chu, we’ve arrived.”

Assistant Lin pulled over and stopped, got out to open the car door for Chu Li, and handed her a sun umbrella.

Outside the car door was the bustling commercial center with people coming and going.

“Thank you.” Chu Li didn’t linger for a moment, immediately bending down to step out of the car.

As one foot touched the ground, her wrist suddenly felt cold, grasped by an icy palm.

Goosebumps crawled from her arms all the way to her back. Chu Li’s breathing stopped for several beats, maintaining a calm expression with a slight smile as she turned back to meet those abyss-like eyes. “What’s wrong?”

In reality, she was extremely tense, even prepared for this monster to change its mind.

The cold hand slowly loosened. Xi Chu’s gaze was heavy, his tone gentle. “Don’t play too late, be wary of strangers, come home early.”

Chu Li hadn’t heard such reminders since third grade, forced a smile and nodded, then grabbed her bag and walked away quickly without looking back.

The delicate, warm sensation still lingered in his palm.

Xi Chu watched the figure disappear into the crowd like a nimble fish, his expression inscrutable.

“To the company,” he said.

****

Xin Tong stood outside Starbucks, watching a familiar figure approach with an umbrella.

Pale complexion, hurried steps, as if ghosts were chasing behind her.

“Li Bao, you…”

Before she could finish speaking, Chu Li grabbed her hand, the temperature was cool, without any unnecessary words, her voice light as wind, “Taiqing Temple, go to Taiqing Temple.”

The afternoon sunlight was scorchingly hot, and Xin Tong inexplicably shivered.

Passing through winding cobblestone alleys, the ancient vermillion gates of Taiqing Temple stood silently.

Chu Li’s heart skipped several beats as she stepped forward and knocked forcefully on the door.

The “bang bang” sounds echoed through the small alley, and the owner of the neighboring grocery store emerged, waving a large palm fan.

“Little sister, Taiqing Temple hasn’t opened these past few days. The Taoist master from the temple went out, so no one will answer even if you knock.”

Chu Li’s palms felt numb and hot, her fingers curled up as she asked in bewilderment: “Went out?”

“Yes, it was several days ago. Oh right, you look familiar – have you been here before?”

Xin Tong quickly replied, “Yes, we’ve been here before to pray for peace.”

The shop owner put on his reading glasses, suddenly understanding, “I remember now! You came together once, and this young lady came by herself a few days ago. The Taoist master left that very night, very hurriedly. When I asked where he was going, he didn’t even respond. You’re so urgently looking for the Taoist master – did something happen to you?”

Xin Tong: “Li Bao, you came by yourself?”

Heat rose from the ground, the alley like a cramped steamer, cicadas crying incessantly.

“Fruit popsicles, two yuan each——“

The vendor’s call drifted from the next alley, carrying all sorts of chaotic sounds into Chu Li’s ears.

Master Ming Wei had left.

He couldn’t solve this matter, which is why he left so hastily.

Perhaps worried about bringing trouble upon himself, he didn’t even dare leave her a message.

Her vision grew slightly dizzy. Chu Li swayed, leaning against Taiqing Temple’s main gate, unable to help closing her eyes.

“Li Bao? Are you… are you alright? You seem to have heat stroke. Let’s go sit in a coffee shop first.” Xin Tong supported her. “There are many other masters in the city, I’ll help you find them!”

Xin Tong pulled the dazed Chu Li into a quiet coffee shop tucked away in the alley.

The shop was small with few customers.

The staff brought two cups of low-ice, caffeine-free drinks to their table. After Chu Li drank a few sips, the dizziness gradually subsided.

“Feeling better?” Xin Tong touched her hand, then her forehead.

“Tong Tong, you and Huo Xiu have been in private contact all along, haven’t you.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, her tone casual, yet it made Xin Tong’s hand instantly freeze in place, her lips opening and closing for a long while without uttering a single word.

“You… found out?”

“Mm.” Chu Li’s attitude was calm. “Thank you for all the hints you’ve been giving me lately, both openly and subtly, and thank you for coming to ask me out yesterday. Huo Xiu is dead. Don’t get involved in this matter anymore. Go back.”

Since they became friends in middle school, Xin Tong had never heard her speak with such polite, clearly demarcated attitude.

****

Xin Tong had a distant cousin who she only saw during New Year visits.

Her cousin was a famous photographer, constantly traveling, possessing a unique temperament that Xin Tong deeply admired.

Out of this admiration, she began obsessively loving photography, but her parents were ordinary office workers, and she had a younger brother two years her junior – she could only get half or less of everything.

Her family couldn’t possibly support such an expensive hobby.

All she could use was an old phone discarded by her father, which lagged when starting up and had picture quality as blurry as a landline phone.

Teenage girls love beauty and comparison. Especially after a well-off deskmate appeared, her envious emotions reached their peak.

It was a very ordinary evening.

Xin Tong finished her homework and tried photographing the orchid on the balcony with her laggy phone.

A stranger added her social media account, offering generous compensation that was an astronomical figure for a middle school student.

The request was strange: become friends with Chu Li, buy a camera, report on her daily activities.

If discovered, the payments would stop.

When Xin Tong was half-believing and half-doubting, she received a letter containing a thick stack of red bills.

Chu Li loved to laugh and could get along with anyone.

As deskmates, Xin Tong quickly became close with her and acquired a camera. Under the pretense of practice, she often photographed Chu Li.

Initially, it was because of teenage vanity, but after the excitement wore off, they had become very good friends.

Xin Tong was unwilling to continue betraying her friend by sharing her photos and schedule with people of unknown origin.

Sensing her reluctance, a message popped up in the chat box:

“If our transaction becomes public, what do you think Li Li, your parents, and classmates would think of you?”

Xin Tong felt like she’d fallen into an ice pit.

Once this transaction began, the right to stop it was no longer in her hands.

She could only be doubly good to Chu Li, trying to eliminate the guilt in her heart.

“So strange, why don’t they play with me anymore?”

“Tong Tong, is it because my personality isn’t very good, and people don’t like me?”

“Tong Tong… I always feel like there are eyes watching me.”

When Xin Tong heard such words, she didn’t dare look at Chu Li’s confused and sad expression.

She knew clearly that she was the only one allowed to be Chu Li’s friend.

She was the eyes.

The eyes that monitored Chu Li on behalf of that person.

So when she received Chu Li’s distress text, she thought Huo Xiu couldn’t help but reveal his dark side.

According to their deal, Xin Tong should have reported this to Huo Xiu.

Compassion overcame cowardice, and she chose to call the police, asking her cousin who worked at the public security bureau for help, never expecting to have a car accident halfway.

In the following time, the chat box remained silent.

Even when she deliberately didn’t forward her conversations with Chu Li, the other party didn’t press her.

Combined with Chu Li’s recent situation, Xin Tong realized——

Huo Xiu had been replaced.

****

The coffee shop played gentle melodies.

Xin Tong froze in place, staring at Chu Li for a long time, past memories surging like an avalanche.

The bright, laughing girl in her memories and the pale-faced woman now seemed like two different people.

“I’m sorry, I…” She opened her mouth, wanting to say that she had only been blinded by money initially, and had been unwilling to do this afterward.

But she had still done it, standing silently in the shadows all these years.

Acquiescing to Huo Xiu controlling her life.

Xin Tong hung her head deeply, swallowing her sobs. “I’m sorry.”

“Li Li, I truly, truly consider you a friend. I never wanted to hurt you. Please let me help you, whatever you want to do, I’ll help you…” She gripped Chu Li’s hand tightly, nearly incoherent.

Chu Li watched her silently.

If Huo Xiu hadn’t interfered, they would have been good friends without barriers.

“Remember the car accident from before?” She slowly and firmly withdrew her hand. “That was his warning to you, not to meddle in my affairs.”

Chu Li was certain that Xin Tong asking her out today had already crossed that monster’s bottom line.

One more time, and she might lose her life.

The copper coin threaded with red string swayed on her wrist, occasionally touching her skin with a cool temperature.

Chu Li lowered her eyes to stare at her wrist, her voice very light, “You can’t help me. Go.”

A copper bell hung on the coffee shop door.

Xin Tong left in a daze, the bell chiming as she pushed the door.

Chu Li held her drink as it slowly warmed to room temperature, ignoring the curious glances from the staff, sitting there in a daze.

A breeze swept by, and a young man in low-key clothing and a baseball cap sat down across from her.

“Hello, Miss Chu.” He lifted his cap slightly, revealing a sharp canine tooth when he smiled. “We meet again.”

Chu Li frowned and thought for a while before remembering who this somewhat familiar person was.

The person who had bumped into her when she and Xin Tong first went to Taiqing Temple.

Seeing her full of wariness and not responding, the young man curved his eyes, holding an old photograph between two fingers and displaying it in front of Chu Li.

The edges of the photo were yellowed, the image quality not very clear, with ancient, solemn Chinese architecture in the background.

More than ten people were in the frame, dressed strangely, like some ethnic minority. The person standing in the center was small in stature, wearing heavy clothing, with a mysterious and eerie mask covering their face.

Chu Li’s gaze swept across the photo, her pupils contracting when she saw a particular face.

A girl with double braids had beautiful features, looking coldly toward the camera, bearing a seventy percent resemblance to her.

“Mom…” she murmured, forcefully snatching the photo to examine inch by inch.

It was indeed an old photograph, and the middle-aged couple beside the girl also bore some resemblance to her.

Chu Li looked up at the young man. “Who are you?”

The young man removed his cap, his expression gradually becoming serious. “My surname is Chu, Chu Song. I’m here to save you.”