Run, I'll Cover Your Retreat

Jiang Xia checked the recording, casually set the video camera aside, and sent Kinoshita Yoko a message.

Kinoshita Yoko was a dedicated celebrity and did not carry her phone while working. She probably would not see it for a while.

So while waiting for her, Jiang Xia boredly looked over at Chizawa Yuko, who was lying nearby.

Usually, when he knocked someone out with a hand chop, he knew exactly how hard he had hit them and could even estimate how long they would be unconscious.

But the blow he had given Chizawa Yuko just now had been a reflex after she startled him. Jiang Xia had no real grasp of how much force he had used.

In other words, Chizawa Yuko could wake up at any moment.

...Although her fighting ability was laughably weak, she would still be troublesome if she made a scene.

After thinking it over, Jiang Xia picked up the scarf Chizawa Yuko had dropped and used it to tie her up securely.

Then he found a napkin and covered Chizawa Yuko's face as well.

Jiang Xia did not want Chizawa Yuko to see his face, so he was wearing a face mask.

But keeping a face mask on indoors was stuffy and hot.

Since he had already subdued her, he might as well cover her with a cloth to block her vision.

That took care of it.

Having arranged a suitable environment for himself, Jiang Xia sat back down on the sofa and waited for Kinoshita Yoko to return.

More than an hour later.

Kinoshita Yoko finally got off work.

She retrieved the phone the staff had been holding for her. When she opened it and saw Jiang Xia's text message, she was rather surprised.

To be honest, since they had parted ways in the car that day, Jiang Xia had never contacted her again. Kinoshita Yoko had thought he had stood her up.

She had not expected him to remember, much less catch the person so efficiently.

...He really had turned over a new leaf. With this kind of efficiency, he was better than plenty of detectives. Just as expected of someone with a paparazzi background.

Kinoshita Yoko could not help feeling touched.

She soon returned home.

After entering and greeting Jiang Xia, Kinoshita Yoko remembered that he had been waiting for quite some time. She planned to make him tea and prepare something to eat before slowly asking about the situation.

As she passed the sofa, her gaze shifted, and she accidentally caught sight of the humanoid creature lying on it.

She froze. Her relieved expression shattered.

—On the sofa lay the "captured stalker."

Unlike the terrifying molester Kinoshita Yoko had imagined, judging by the stalker's clothes and figure, the person appeared to be a fashionably dressed woman.

Yet the woman's clothes were covered in wrinkles, as though she had been mercilessly beaten, and she lay there without moving.

Most notably, her face was covered by a piece of white cloth.

"..."

The heart Kinoshita Yoko had just calmed instantly leaped back into her throat.

Looking at her like this, the stalker...

Was probably dead.

It was good for young people to be dedicated, but how, how had he gone and killed someone...

Seeing Kinoshita Yoko return, Jiang Xia walked to the coffee table and picked up the video camera. He was about to hand it to her for inspection.

But when he turned around, he saw Kinoshita Yoko looking at him with incomparable sorrow, one hand pressed to her chest. "Go. I won't tell them I ever saw you."

Jiang Xia: "...?"

What did that mean? Throw him away after using him?

Kinoshita Yoko did not notice the change in Jiang Xia's expression.

She quickly dug out her wallet, pulled out all the cash, and even poured the coins into her palm.

After gauging the thickness and seemingly finding it too little, she took out a checkbook and pen.

Kinoshita Yoko bit off the pen cap. Just as she was about to write Jiang Xia some "escape funds," she suddenly paused thoughtfully and muttered,

"No, the law says adulthood starts at twenty now. You're not an adult yet, are you? Besides, today the stalker was the one who illegally entered the house first. And you only took... somewhat excessive measures against her because I hired you. Rather than running away, it would be better to..."

Kinoshita Yoko frowned, trying to think of the best way out and deeply hating herself for not having studied law back then.

"Wait." Jiang Xia vaguely understood. After a moment of silence, he pointed at Chizawa Yuko on the sofa. "She's not dead yet."

Kinoshita Yoko: "?!"

She stood there blankly for a while, then walked over to the sofa doubtfully and carefully reached for the "corpse's" neck.

...Warm.

A pulse was beating.

...She really was alive!

Kinoshita Yoko let out a huge sigh of relief and collapsed weakly onto the sofa, jolting the "corpse" slightly.

Realizing she had not pushed a minor into the sinful abyss of murder, Kinoshita Yoko's conscience no longer hurt. Only then did she have the energy to notice more details.

For example, on closer inspection, she had seen the stalker's outfit today.

...It seemed to belong to that fellow celebrity with the terrible temper.

Jiang Xia sat down beside her and introduced her. "Her name is Chizawa Yuko. You should know her." As he spoke, he handed over the video camera. "Take a look at this. It captured something very useful."

Kinoshita Yoko accepted it and examined it carefully.

At first, the footage was somewhat horrifying. Watching Chizawa Yuko's strange expression in the recording as she scattered Blood Letters everywhere made Kinoshita Yoko's scalp tingle.

But by the end, her gaze had become somewhat sympathetic.

—Too miserable. Chizawa Yuko was truly too miserable.

...But it had to be said, well done.

After carefully watching it through, Kinoshita Yoko set down the video camera, filled out a check for twice the standard commission fee, and handed it to Jiang Xia. "Thank you. You were a huge help."

Jiang Xia did not refuse, but truth be told, what he wanted was actually a different kind of reward.

Jiang Xia glanced at Kinoshita Yoko's wrist.

The Ghost Infant clinging there felt a chill down its back. It silently shuddered, wriggled a little closer to Kinoshita Yoko, and hugged her arm tightly.

Jiang Xia clicked his tongue inwardly, temporarily withdrawing his yearning gaze. He removed the videotape and handed it to Kinoshita Yoko.

If this were sold to Chizawa Yuko's company or one of her rivals, it could bring in several times the income.

But that would be troublesome, and Jiang Xia did not want to get any more deeply involved. Besides, he was not short on money—he occasionally earned income from the organization, and Jiang Xia Tongzhi's parents had also left behind a considerable inheritance.

Across from the sofa, Kinoshita Yoko looked at the videotape Jiang Xia had handed her, slapped her forehead, and suddenly realized that although she had tried to raise the price, she had still paid too little—her manager had always handled these sorts of matters, so she rarely dealt with them herself.

Thinking about the potential value of this scoop, Kinoshita Yoko picked up the checkbook again and sincerely consulted the fake paparazzo before her. "I can't just take this for free. How much do you usually sell this kind of information for?"

"You already paid the commission fee. How is this taking it for free?" Jiang Xia did not care much about money. He only wanted ghosts. "Don't worry. This is information obtained while handling your commission. It's part of the job. I won't sell it to anyone else. What you do with it is up to you."

Kinoshita Yoko was touched again.

—She had not misjudged him. He really was such a good kid with so much potential!

Still, she definitely had to pay him extra.

Since Jiang Xia would not name a price, Kinoshita Yoko planned to ask her manager.

And while she was at it, she would ask her manager to come over and help deal with the stalker.

While Kinoshita Yoko made her call in a low voice.

Beside her, Jiang Xia took a tablet-sized Custom Screen from his bag. Several Surveillance Footage feeds were connected to it.

He opened one of them and enlarged it. A trace of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

After finishing her call to the manager, Kinoshita Yoko suddenly remembered that it was dinnertime.

Thinking of how long Jiang Xia might have been waiting nearby to stake out the stalker, Kinoshita Yoko hurriedly stood up. "You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll make you something."

But Jiang Xia looked toward the front door. "No rush. There's one more."

"One mo—" Kinoshita Yoko had still been smiling.

A second later, she suddenly realized that "one more" meant another stalker, and her face turned deathly pale. "There's another one?!"

Jiang Xia nodded. "Yeah, it's..."

He had been about to say, "a very fat man," so Kinoshita Yoko could guess it was her ex-boyfriend and prepare herself mentally.

But then, from the corner of his eye, Jiang Xia noticed Chizawa Yuko's head tilt ever so slightly toward him.

...It looked exactly like someone unconsciously pricking up their ears after hearing a topic that interested them.

Jiang Xia silently stared at Chizawa Yuko and the Face-covering Cloth over her face. "..."

Her mental fortitude really was something else. Even in this situation, she still had the mind to pretend to sleep and eavesdrop on gossip.

He cut himself off and stood, walking toward Chizawa Yuko.

Chizawa Yuko had originally been straining to listen, trying hard to eavesdrop.

But when Jiang Xia suddenly stopped talking, panic rose in her. She abruptly realized something was wrong and tried to shrink deeper into the sofa.

However, that level of escape was obviously useless.

Jiang Xia struck with a hand chop. Pain thudded against the side of Chizawa Yuko's neck, and she fell unconscious again.

Jiang Xia withdrew his hand in satisfaction.

This time, he had acted with complete rationality and could estimate roughly how long Chizawa Yuko would sleep.

At last, he would not have to constantly guard against her waking up.

Kinoshita Yoko had blankly watched the entire thing.

At first, the existence of a second stalker had made her little face go pale with fright.

But seeing Jiang Xia's crisp movements now, she suddenly felt that stalkers were not all that intimidating after all.

...They were kind of weak.

Calming down, Kinoshita Yoko looked at Jiang Xia, wanting him to continue what he had been saying.

But Jiang Xia did not speak again.

He gestured for Kinoshita Yoko to be quiet, then silently walked toward the entryway.

At the door, Jiang Xia pressed himself behind it and listened. Then, timing it precisely, he abruptly pulled it open.

On the other side of the door was a heavily built man who had also been pressing himself against it to eavesdrop.

When Jiang Xia suddenly opened the door, the man lost his support and stumbled heavily forward.

Before he could recover, Jiang Xia grabbed him by the collar and threw him over his shoulder into the entryway.

After throwing him down, Jiang Xia reached back to close the door and clicked the lock shut. He nodded in satisfaction.

—Stalker Number Two, captured successfully.

Stalker Number Two was clearly dazed by the throw. Grimacing on the floor, he stared at the ceiling light in Kinoshita Yoko's entryway and could not sit up for a long while.

After locking the door, Jiang Xia turned around and prodded him with the tip of his shoe to urge him along, only to find that Stalker Number Two had no intention of getting up.

Jiang Xia had no choice but to bend down, grab his collar, and use some force to drag him all the way into the living room. He placed him before Kinoshita Yoko—or rather, before the Ghost Infant.

Just as expected, the Ghost Infant began to whine, seemingly cursing—probably unhappy to see its father thrown and dragged around.

After whining, it continued to hug Kinoshita Yoko's arm tightly and looked at her pleadingly, hoping its mother would condemn the barbaric paparazzo before them and let it experience the deep marital affection between its parents.

But things were completely different from what it had imagined.

As Kinoshita Yoko looked at the man at her feet, her eyes held only fear, disgust, sorrow, and an indescribable trace of hatred.

Stalker Number Two looked at her with eyes begging for reconciliation. He wailed "Yoko" while stretching out an Erkang Hand toward her.

Kinoshita Yoko shuddered and instinctively hid behind Jiang Xia.

Then she nervously took out her phone and called her manager again, asking when she would arrive.

The manager had already rushed to the building and had brought several bodyguards with her.

After receiving the call, she hurried upstairs.

Upon entering the living room, the manager looked at Jiang Xia, then at the two stalkers, who looked miserable no matter how she viewed them. After hesitating for a moment, she told the bodyguards to remain outside.

The fewer people who knew about today's events, the better.

...Since Jiang Xia was already involved, he might as well stay and take the place of a bodyguard.

After all, the ex-boyfriend on the floor was a heavyweight human being, at least two or three hundred pounds, heavier than her and Yoko combined.

If that bastard truly threw caution to the wind and tried to take them down with him in Mutual Destruction, his weight alone could crush them both to death.

Without Jiang Xia there to keep him in check, the manager truly would not have dared to face him alone with Kinoshita Yoko.

Three people made for quite a drama.

Jiang Xia stepped back a few paces, away from the battlefield, and silently watched from the sofa.

Through his fabricated "foresight," he had learned quite a bit of the backstory and took the current turn of events in stride.

But the Ghost Infant was not doing so well.

Under the Ghost Infant's trembling gaze, a years-long entanglement was dragged into the open.

Shameless plug for my own book ()