The next morning, the sun rose in a cloudless sky. It was another beautiful, sunny day.
A little after six, in the Huizhou-style courtyard in University Town on the outskirts of the Capital, dew clung to the flowers and plants as they faced the morning sun, giving off wafts of fragrance.
In the two-story building at the center of the courtyard, Mr. Pig sat near a window, eating boiled eggs and fried dough sticks and drinking soy milk.
As he ate, he looked out and saw that the street outside the courtyard was badly congested, almost packed with private cars. On the main road not far away, dense crowds dressed in sportswear were running out in batches.
University Town was hosting a marathon today. It was a lively affair, with reportedly several thousand participants.
Weighing a full 132.5 kilograms, Mr. Pig had no interest in this sort of exercise. He watched the athletes with a critical eye while eating twelve boiled eggs and an entire plate of fried dough sticks.
To be honest, his appetite was only so-so today. What Li Yan had said last night had almost demolished his original plans for playing the odds, leaving him unable to sleep all night.
He needed to rethink things and sort through the information from all sides again before making a decision.
Beep, beep!
A phone on the table vibrated slightly.
Mr. Pig picked it up and skimmed a message he had just received on a social app.
His expression underwent a complicated series of changes within seconds: first delighted surprise, then stunned silence, and finally solemnity.
Tap, tap!
Hurried footsteps rang out as the young man in his twenties ran upstairs. "Boss."
Mr. Pig deleted the message, put down his phone, and looked up. "What is it?"
"...The person in