"Keep sending people to look for Wang Jiu. Use the Zheng residence as the center. We need to see him alive or find his corpse."
A while later, Lin Xiu's icy voice rang out.
"Yes, Section Chief!"
Officer Liang hesitated, then asked, "Then what about Fang Shuwen? Should we arrest him and torture him for answers?"
"No. Just have people keep him under covert surveillance."
Lin Xiu's gaze darkened as he glanced at Officer Liang.
"Understood."
Officer Liang quickly replied, then bowed and left.
Once the office had fallen quiet, Lin Xiu's gaze turned distant.
A good-for-nothing son from a fallen family. Even if he'd been lucky enough to get into the Elite Class, all he had was a hundred-odd pounds of strength in one arm and the ability to make his bones crack once.
So Wang Jiu's disappearance probably had nothing to do with him. Perhaps something had happened to Wang Jiu himself.
Or had Zheng Yuanpei made a move?
After a moment's thought, Lin Xiu had a plan.
The clock in the Western-style bell tower chimed.
With his book bag on his back, Fang Shuwen walked through the gates of the Public Middle School.
The students passing by wore Paramount suits if they were rich, or elegant Western-style dresses.
Those without money,
at the very least wore clean, tidy uniforms or plain-colored skirts and blouses.
By the time Fang Shuwen entered the classroom, most of the Elite Class was already there.
He took a seat in the third row by the window and stuffed his cloth bag under his desk.
His classmates had gathered in small groups, chatting.
If not for what he'd been through these past few days, Fang Shuwen might have thought he'd returned to his old school days.
Just then, the classroom door opened.
Zhou Changping, the dean of studies, walked in with a stack of papers. His gaze swept across the room from behind his glasses.
The classroom fell silent at once.
"Today, I have two announcements."
Standing at the lectern, Zhou Changping spoke in a low voice, yet every word carried clearly to everyone's ears.
"First, starting this week, the school will introduce New Martial Arts classes. Your Elite Class will be the first trial group."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over each student in turn.
"Second, in three months, Jiangnan Province will hold its first Middle School Martial Arts Tournament. Xikou County has two spots, and the competitors will be selected from your Elite Class."
The moment he finished speaking, the classroom erupted.
"A martial arts tournament?"
"The whole province? Doesn't that mean we'll be competing against students from big cities like Shenghai and Jinling?"
"Two spots, and forty of us in this class..."
Excited, nervous chatter rose from all sides, every face showing a mix of anticipation and unease.
Zhou Changping raised a hand to quiet them.
"The selection rules are simple. The whole school will take a martial arts exam. Students from the Elite and regular classes will compete together, and the two with the best scores will represent Xikou County."
"So don't assume that getting into the Elite Class means you can rest easy."
He paused, letting his gaze linger for a moment on Han Tieshan before sweeping over Fang Shuwen.
"All right, let's begin class."
Cultural studies in the morning, martial arts in the afternoon.
The Elite Class's martial arts instructor wasn't the regular PE teacher, but Chen Zhengqing, a special instructor from the Xikou County National Martial Arts Hall.
A true martial artist at the late Bright Force stage.
He was an excellent teacher. As he explained and demonstrated the popular Body Strengthening Fist, it even took on the air of an advanced martial art.
In the blink of an eye, the sun was setting.
The dismissal bell rang,
and Fang Shuwen walked out of the school with his cloth bag on his back. He bought a bag of hot, sugar-roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, tucked them into his coat, and headed toward the Zhao Estate.
As soon as he turned into the alley behind the Zhao Estate, he slowed to a stop.
Two people stood beneath the old locust tree at the mouth of the alley.
Moonlight spilled through the leaves. One of them was Cuicui.
She wore a flower-print blouse that was neither new nor old, and her hair wasn't braided as usual.
Instead, it hung loose, with a few strands lifted by the night breeze and brushed against her cheek.
He couldn't see the other person's face.
But judging by his figure alone, it was Li Tong.
As expected, Cuicui hadn't taken his advice and was still mixed up with Li Tong.
Fang Shuwen shook his head and decided to take another route back.
You couldn't talk sense into someone bent on their own ruin. Since Cuicui wouldn't listen, there was no need to get involved any further.
After all, you couldn't keep offering someone a warm face only to get a cold butt in return.
"Brother Tong!"
Cuicui's voice drifted from the mouth of the alley, soft and shy.
Fang Shuwen hugged the wall and silently slipped into a side passage.
Behind him, Li Tong's voice followed, low and tender, like poison wrapped in honey.
"Cuicui, was what you said before true...? Master Zhao really gave... that kid a hundred silver dollars as a reward?"
"Of course it's true... I don't know what kind of dog luck Little Fang had... He got into the Elite Class, and his ranking was so high."
"I only got twenty dollars as a reward. He must've gotten at least a hundred. And two bolts of silk..."
"A hundred dollars?"
Li Tong's voice rose slightly, then he quickly lowered it again, as if restraining himself.
"Cuicui, tell me, that kid... He's just the gatekeeper's son. What makes him deserve that?"
"Who knows?"
"Cuicui, help me invite Little Fang out tomorrow."
"Why do you want to meet him?"
"Nothing. I just want to make friends with him."
Li Tong spoke again, feigning casualness, as if he'd merely asked on a whim.
"All right, I know."
Elsewhere,
Fang Shuwen stood in the corner by the wall.
Their fragmented conversation reached his ears.
One corner of his mouth lifted.
It wasn't quite a smile. It was an expression he couldn't quite put into words.
Cuicui wasn't exactly bad, but she wasn't exactly good, either.
She was just an ordinary person.
When she saw someone doing well, envy soured her heart.
When she saw someone fall on hard times, a little sympathy stirred in her.
Most people in this world were like that.
And Li Tong, whose conduct Fang Shuwen had witnessed, was no good man. He used his looks to lure women into human trafficking.
Why did he want Cuicui to invite Fang Shuwen out?
He'd probably set his sights on that hundred silver dollars.
After all, these days you could sell two people for only fifty silver dollars!
Fang Shuwen straightened from the wall and quietly pushed open the side door.
He didn't keep listening. He didn't need to.
He pushed the door open and walked into the courtyard.
The kitchen light was on. Hu Da squatted by the door, smoking his pipe. When he saw Fang Shuwen, he grinned.
"Little Fang, you're back? We've got braised pork on the stove today. Steward Chen said to save you a bowl."
"Thanks, Uncle Hu."
One evening, before school had let out,
Cuicui, who usually never spoke to Fang Shuwen, came over to him.
"Fang Shuwen, are you free after school today?"
Fang Shuwen looked up at her.
Cuicui smiled, but it looked forced, and she seemed afraid to meet his eyes.
"What is it?"
His tone was flat, revealing nothing.
"I... I want to treat you to a meal."
Cuicui's voice dropped lower, as if she were afraid her classmates might hear.
"A new restaurant just opened at West Street Crossing. I heard the food's good. Shall we meet there after school?"
Fang Shuwen looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.
Under his gaze, Cuicui grew uneasy. She lowered her head and twisted her fingers tighter.
"Sure."