The Person Without A Shadow

The familiar scent of the cigarette stirred Chen Ge's memories. He was not a sentimental man, yet at this moment, he still slowed his pace.

"Leaving me behind to fend for myself while you run off to such a dangerous place—just how many things are you still keeping from me?"

He knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response. Chen Ge whispered, "Is anyone there?"

No sooner had he spoken than a voice filled with surprise drifted from behind the door.

"Boss Chen?!"

The sound of iron chains sliding and a latch snapping open followed. After a long pause, the seemingly ordinary door finally creaked open.

Fan Cong stood behind the door in his pajamas, tear tracks staining his face. The moment the two-hundred-plus-pound young man saw Chen Ge, he lunged forward, intent on giving him a bear hug.

"Control yourself." Chen Ge stepped back, noting the intense agitation in Fan Cong's emotions.

"I knew you'd come! Boss Chen, I thought I'd never see you again!" Fan Cong's voice cracked with a sob. He had so much he wanted to tell Chen Ge, but he didn't know where to start. He paced around the room, his heavy belly wobbling with every step.

"Calm down first. Is your phone with you? We spoke on the phone a few hours ago; let me see your call logs." Chen Ge was testing him. When Fan Cong went missing, his phone had been left in his room, and later, Fan Dade had used that very phone to communicate briefly with Chen Ge.

"It's not with me. I was in such a rush to escape that I left it in the room." Fan Cong gestured to his oversized pajamas, which had no pockets.

Chen Ge nodded and glanced into the room. It was