"People always keep some life-saving money on hand."
Nan Yue thanked Old Wu again, promised to return if she felt unwell, and headed downstairs.
Behind the dilapidated building lay a patch of excavated land; construction had halted when the demolition project stopped, leaving a deep pit exposed.
Rainwater would collect there, and the stench of trash rising from within was something one simply had to endure.
No one cleaned it, and everyone found it convenient to toss their garbage inside.
Nan Yue found Jiang Siyan in the trash pit, squatting as he spoke to a child with a runny nose.
Seeing Nan Yue, he signaled to her and nimbly climbed out a moment later.
"I asked around; this Old Wu does indeed have quite a reputation here."
"That woman was from a nearby village. She received some money from the demolition, and since her new house hadn't been built yet, she was staying here temporarily."
"When she felt unwell, she went to the city and even to provincial hospitals, but they all said there was no cure. Old Wu’s medicine kept her alive for an extra month."
"At the time, Old Wu was spoken of as if he were a miracle worker. Many people from the urban villages came to him for treatment."
Jiang Siyan kept his distance from Nan Yue, worried he smelled like garbage.
Nan Yue nodded. "That old man is a bit off. He’s likely a fraud, but it's unlikely the people around here are lying."
Jiang Siyan said, "Let's wait and see."
Jiang Siyan walked ahead, moving quickly; he wanted to go up and take a shower.
Nan Yue caught up from behind and gave him a tug, causing Jiang Siyan to freeze in place.
Nan Yue leaned in like a puppy and sniffed. "Mhm, there is a bit of a trash smell."
Then, she pulled the stiffened Jiang Siyan upstairs to shower.
By the time they reached the third floor, Xie Hui was awake. Her door was open, and her voice drifted out from inside.
"Thank you all for your support. Our next listener letter is from Miss Su in City X."
Someone had mentioned earlier that Xie Hui was a freelancer, and it turned out she was a private radio host, seemingly for an emotional advice program.
Jiang Siyan obediently went back to shower while Nan Yue leaned against the doorway and listened for a while. Xie Hui had noticed her long ago and waved her over after a moment.
"What would you like to drink?"
Nan Yue sat down. By then, the broadcast had ended, and the radio was playing a different program.
"Water is fine, thank you."
"Are you a radio host?"
Xie Hui smiled. "It's just a small station. I mostly help people analyze their relationship problems. It's just to make a living."
Nan Yue praised her, "That's very impressive."
Scavengers were born only knowing how to purify pollution; they had no freedom of choice. Thus, every time they encountered the lives of Federation citizens, they felt a sincere sense of envy.
Xie Hui tilted her head as she looked at her, a hint of teasing appearing on her face. "You and that handsome young Jiang... you're a couple, right?"
Nan Yue's mind raced, and a flush rose to her cheeks. She pursed her lips and remained silent.
Xie Hui's eyes lit up. "I love couples the most! Tell me more about your story; consider it providing me with some material."
Nan Yue offered a few excuses, saying they weren't officially together yet, and Xie Hui didn't push her.
"If you want to confess, you can use my program. I do confessions on my show too."
Nan Yue feigned curiosity. "What platform is your program on? What’s it called?"
Xie Hui told her, though she added a couple of explanations.
"In our profession, it's not like a regular nine-to-five job. Sometimes we update every day, and sometimes we don't for a long time, so it's not necessarily on every day."
Nan Yue nodded, and Xie Hui continued, "Ah, I really love couples. That feeling of love in the air is truly enviable."
Nan Yue smiled. "Why don't you date someone yourself?"
Xie Hui curled her lip. "Dating is too much trouble. It's more interesting to watch others."
Nan Yue found the girl interesting. Based on the age Sister Deng had estimated, Xie Hui should be around a sophomore or junior in college, roughly the same age as Nan Yue.
The two chatted about various things for a while as Nan Yue subtly fished for information.
She learned that of the three previous rooms, two were occupied by couples, though usually, couples only stayed here out of necessity.
As soon as they had money, they would move out as quickly as possible.
"I remember Xiao Min and her group only stayed for two months before leaving. The girl in the other family had a bad temper; she always had a long face when she saw me, so I didn't pay much attention. They left even earlier, probably in less than a month."
Nan Yue asked, "I heard many people leave without officially checking out?"
Xie Hui sighed. "Yeah. There’s no deposit here, so what’s the point of checking out? Everyone just wants to leave as fast as they can."
"I heard many of them didn't leave during the day. The people around here didn't see anyone moving out, so there's been a lot of gossip."
Xie Hui gave a bitter smile. "Everyone has to make a living during the day. If you're going to move, you have to do it at night."
Nan Yue realized, "That's true."
They talked a bit longer, and Xie Hui’s liking for Nan Yue grew; she invited them over for dinner several times.
Just then, Jiang Siyan came out after his shower. Nan Yue smiled at Xie Hui and took her leave.
As the two walked upstairs, the smile on Nan Yue's face vanished.
Xie Hui was lying, or at least, she wasn't telling the whole truth.
Admittedly, for workers, they have to work during the day and can only move after returning at night.
But there was a difference between moving at night and leaving in the dead of night when no one could see.
Why didn't the people who left come back and move while it wasn't too late, instead choosing to leave in the early hours of the morning?
After hearing Nan Yue's thoughts, Jiang Siyan analyzed, "There are two possibilities. Either this is just Xie Hui's speculation and those people didn't leave in the early morning—or they never left at all."
"The other possibility..."
Nan Yue finished his thought, "They did leave in the early morning, but the reason was... to hide from someone."
Which one was the truth?
Walking through the hallway, Nan Yue remembered the message Jiang Siyan had sent her yesterday.
"You said someone was following you when you went downstairs yesterday?"
Jiang Siyan gave a soft, cold chuckle.
"Yeah. I don't know when they started following, but the sound of high heels began appearing at the fourth-floor landing."
Either that person lived on the fourth floor and happened to be going out, or someone was waiting for him there.
It was hard to determine who it was.
"The footsteps were very heavy, and the way they walked sounded awkward. I don't know if they were injured or what, but a normal person doesn't walk like that in shoes."
Nan Yue nodded. "Was it a person?"
Anything eerie appearing in a mission was possible; the other party might not be human but something within the broken building.
Jiang Siyan shrugged. "Hard to say."
He had heard very faint breathing, but it was possible for some things to pretend to be human.
"The point is, why would she do that?"
When Nan Yue returned, Granny Li’s door happened to be closing. Gu Xiang Kai was standing opposite, seemingly having spoken with her for a moment.
"She asked me who I was."
Gu Xiang Kai spread his hands. He had been waiting in Nan Yue's room, and when Granny Li came out to toss the trash, he followed her, pretending it was a chance encounter.
Rate on N.U.
