My heart felt as though a heavy weight had settled on it.
The skinny man turned to look at me, his expression darkening as well.
I didn't leave the fried chicken shop. I just waited by the kitchen door.
Someone had already called the police. Judging by the skinny man's reaction, they might have called earlier, too.
Most of the customers who had been inside had already left.
The rats and cockroaches that had suddenly swarmed out were enough to drive anyone away. Most of the customers here were students, and they could hardly stomach a scene like that. A few bolder boys craned their necks, seeming to want to peek into the kitchen, but they still hesitated.
The skinny man was looking pretty dejected now and didn't try to strike up a conversation with any strangers. When some students asked what we'd seen, I just told them about the rotten meat, the blackened oil, and all the bugs. That took most of the wind out of their sails.
I took out my phone and called the others. My younger sister was with them, and there were people around me now, so I stuck to what was obvious. The Fatty seemed to guess some of what was going on. After a pause, he agreed to keep an eye on my sister.
The skinny man was looking around. I followed his gaze and saw Guo Yujie walking in from outside, looking a little dazed.
Guo Yujie was usually carefree, but I didn't know whether she was afraid of rats and cockroaches. I hadn't seen her earlier, so I'd assumed she'd run off like the other girls. But looking at her now, that didn't seem to be the case.
Guo Yujie came over to us, looking torn.
"What's wrong? What did you