Chapter 310: Confession

2022-05-20

Seeing how cooperative I was, Brother Feng nodded with satisfaction and said, “You know this is my turf, right? Glad you understand the situation. If you stay put, I’ll let you walk out of this KTV in one piece. But if you make a wrong move, I’ll break your leg, you got it?”

I looked at Brother Feng and gave him a quick grin. “I’m not moving. Promise.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than everyone burst out laughing. Even Xu Man joined in, treating me like some clueless fool.

But right then, Brother Feng stepped up to Zhao Mingkun, reached out, and brushed his hand across Zhao Mingkun’s face while saying, “So, how much can a reporter really make in a month? Why not join us here at the KTV? I can hook you up with a job.”

The people around us kept laughing, like that was all they knew how to do.

Yet the laughter died in a heartbeat. Suddenly Zhao Mingkun lashed out and kicked Brother Feng flying. Brother Feng never saw it coming—he wasn’t ready at all. He flew into the coffee table with a loud crash.

That table was sturdier than I thought. It didn’t budge an inch, but Brother Feng was sprawled on the ground, struggling to get up.

The room went quiet. Not a single person could keep laughing.

“Get him!” Brother Feng shouted. “Go on! What are you all waiting for?”

That snapped everyone out of their daze. They charged toward Zhao Mingkun, eager to grab him. But Zhao Mingkun just sat there, calm as ever. The first guy reached to pull him up, but his hand froze in midair, and he couldn’t bring himself to finish.

Those behind had no idea what was happening and kept pushing forward, but the guy in front refused to go any farther.

“Stop pushing, just stop!” the guy at the front screamed, panic in his voice.

Zhao Mingkun slowly got to his feet. The crowd around us looked stunned.

He glanced down at Brother Feng on the floor. “Quit pretending you’re dead.”

Brother Feng awkwardly picked himself up.

I watched him and said, “See, Brother Feng? I didn’t move.”

Brother Feng looked at me with a hint of grievance. “No, you really didn’t. You were good.”

He hurried to add, “I don’t know who you two really are—I was out of line.”

I let out a sigh. “I warned you before, didn’t I? Xu Man, can we talk now? Seven years ago, were you pregnant with Hu Pei’s child?”

Xu Man nodded, finally speaking up to share the story of that night, seven years ago.

That evening, Xu Man lay in bed, her belly swollen, when her parents walked in. Seeing them, she felt just a little relief. People always say all parents love their daughters, but that saying couldn’t be more wrong.

Looking into her parents’ eyes, Xu Man didn’t see concern or sadness. All she saw was anger and disgust. In that moment, she realized what she truly meant to them. She also had a younger brother, and she thought, if he’d gotten someone pregnant, their parents would probably be proud.

That night, her parents left her four thousand yuan and told her to handle the problem herself. But it had been too long—no reputable hospital would take her. By then, Xu Man could even feel the baby moving.

She was painfully aware her child was growing inside her, a living being. Xu Man wasn’t a killer, and she didn’t want to destroy the life within her. In her own words, that would be too wicked—she’d go straight to hell for it.

That’s why Xu Man held on for so long. Only when she started having early labor pains did her parents finally notice. Their answer was to cut her off completely, which only made things worse. The only person she could turn to was the child’s father—Hu Pei.

That night, after the pain eased, Xu Man called a taxi to the construction site, hoping to find Hu Pei.

The driver was a gentle, middle-aged man. He politely asked if she was headed for a prenatal checkup, and why her husband wasn’t with her.

Xu Man forced a bright smile, though she was bleeding inside. “He’s waiting for me there. He’s so anxious. It’s only six months, so really, I’m fine.”

The driver smiled back. “You two must be newlyweds. The way you smile—you look so happy together.”

“Yeah,” Xu Man replied, wishing it were true.

The driver, forty years old and still naïve, didn’t realize a smile can be nothing but a mask. In her most desperate moment, Xu Man’s parents had turned their backs on her. Hu Pei wasn’t answering her calls either. She felt abandoned by the world, her only comfort the baby growing inside her.

When she got out, Xu Man stood in the quiet night, dialing Hu Pei over and over, but no one picked up. With tears streaming down her face, she waited by the huge construction site. At that moment, a man dashed out. He wore camouflage, rushing toward the site. Xu Man figured he must be one of the workers.

She wanted to ask about Hu Pei and the interns but noticed how flustered the man looked. Clearly, something urgent was going on. Xu Man tried calling Hu Pei again, but he wouldn’t answer. She tried Lü Zhiqiu too but got no reply.

That’s when Xu Man realized something was wrong. Both were ignoring her. Maybe Lü Zhiqiu was keeping Hu Pei from picking up.

She stood outside the construction gate, dialing over and over, but nobody answered.

It hit her—she truly was alone. She waited by the gate, frozen. She thought, if only it started to rain, her misery would feel more complete. But the weather was perfect—a warm summer night, with a gentle breeze on her face.

People enjoying the cool air kept saying what a lovely night it was.

Still, she was alone.

It felt like she was the only soul left in the entire world.

Before long, the man in camouflage came running out again. His face was full of panic. He stopped and waited for a moment when he saw Xu Man. She and the man locked eyes, but at the time, she didn’t care. Later, when things calmed down, she realized something was off about him.

I glanced at Zhao Mingkun. We both caught the hint in Xu Man’s story—someone else had gone to the site that night. So many people had seen Lü Zhiqiu in just one evening, and now another mysterious figure appeared. Who was this man? What was he doing there?

I asked, “Do you remember what that guy looked like?”

Xu Man didn’t know who we really were, but she didn’t dare hide anything, either. After a pause, she thought back and said, “I was all alone at the construction gate that night. It was so special, I’ll never forget it.”

Looking at us, she continued, “He was about 1.78 meters tall. When he went in, he wore camouflage. But when he came out, his shirt was off and he carried it in his hand—something was wrapped inside. Whatever it was, it wasn’t big. He and I made eye contact. He looked like he wanted to come over, but after glancing warily back at the site, he took off running.”

“I think he was probably there to steal something,” Xu Man added. “But he was so skittish, he left right away.”

I nodded slightly. From her account, this hurrying, nervous ‘worker’ felt more suspicious than that. Even if a real worker wanted to sneak back in at night and steal something, would they really be so panicked? I suspected whatever he took might have been way more serious.

At that moment, a chill ran through me. Suddenly, a crucial detail clicked in my mind, one I’d completely missed before. If a worker wanted to steal something from the site, and it was small enough to wrap in a shirt, maybe… maybe it wasn’t just any item.

I pressed on, “Did you see anyone else that night?”

Xu Man shook her head. “No, just him. He was the only one I saw that night.”

I started piecing things together. Lots of people had come looking for Lü Zhiqiu that night, but Xu Man waited a long time outside and never saw anyone else exit. That meant, time-wise, she must’ve spotted the man in camouflage after Wang Yikai and Yang Licheng had left, but before Liang Mei came out.

“So you really didn’t see anyone else besides him that night?”

I turned to Xu Man, waiting for her answer.