This painting gave Hou Biao a strange feeling, as if it were telling a story. The girl he had seen before gave him the same feeling, as if she had a lot of unspoken thoughts and grievances to tell someone. But the girl was shy and reserved; she only used her finger to tell you, "Go there, all my secrets are there."
Hou Biao only saw the last mural after following the girl's directions.
He slowly walked toward the mural, and in a daze stepped into the dimly lit street in the painting. Rainwater accumulated on the dark brown stone slabs, and the road surface still had water ripples left by people's footsteps, but there was no one on the road, only the shadowy figures underwater.
Hou Biao finally understood what the girl wanted to tell him. She should have been walking on this road, but for some reason, she suddenly became a person in a painting. She wanted to return to this road, perhaps to go home, perhaps to keep a promise. Her family or lover might be waiting for her at the crossroads ahead, but she was already a person in a painting.
Among the many shadows underwater, there must be one that belongs to her. Her person is frozen in the painting, but her shadow remains on the street. When the water dries up, the shadow will also disappear.
Her shadow underwater seemed to be sobbing, and all the shadows here seemed to be sobbing. Hou Biao heard a buzzing sound, but there were too many people; he couldn't hear what they were saying or tell who was who.
He walked along the street, carefully searching among the many shadows. He didn't know what he was looking for; perhaps he was looking for the girl's shadow, or perhaps he was looking for his own, because when he looked down, he realized that he himself had no shadow.
Amidst the flickering shadows, Hou Biao caught a glimpse of a figure in a pristine white floral cheongsam, standing out strikingly against the grey ground.
He vaguely remembered that the girl in the painting was wearing the same dress. Although it was only a back view, he was certain that it was the girl!
The girl suddenly turned around and smiled sweetly at him. That smile was captivating; no man could resist such a smile, not even a tough guy like Hou Biao. His heart stirred deeply, like ripples spreading from his shoes on a puddle.
The other shadows around him began to blur, turning into wisps of smoke, like the reflected clouds in the sky. But when he looked up, there were no clouds in the sky, and there was no sky at all.
The smoke and shadows snaked underground, some converging at his feet; others converging at the feet of the girl's reflection.
Hou Biao roughly guessed that what gathered at his feet would become his shadow, while what gathered at the girl's feet would become her. When she appeared on the road, would she still be in that painting?
As he thought this, he reached into his suit pocket and gripped the pistol. The coldness of the metal traveled from his fingers to his heart, but he knew this was probably not real, none of this was real—the shadow, the girl...
He wasn't sure if he was actually holding the gun, but it didn't matter. As long as he drew and fired, using his Mental Power as the bullet, it would be enough to kill the girl and her shadow. He just wasn't sure where this sophisticated hypnosis method came from, or if an even more powerful figure was lurking in the shadows.
However, Hou Biao did not draw his gun.
He saw the white-clad girl's reflection slowly reveal her true form above it. She stood before him, wearing a white embroidered brocade cheongsam, her hands folded in front of her lower abdomen, smiling gently at him.
The streetlights shone brightly, like a spotlight on a stage, making the woman look incredibly beautiful. He couldn't see her face clearly before, but now that he could, he suddenly realized that she looked a lot like Yao Jingjing.
Not just similar, but exactly the same! Even the expression matches. The corners of her eyes, the lines of her lips, her smile, the way a soft strand of hair flutters by her ear—these are things that no one who has never seen her in person can imitate.
Hou Biao's heart skipped a beat again.
The shadow beneath his feet was rapidly converging, almost taking shape.
His hand trembled slightly. If he were to draw his gun now, he would have to shoot her, but even though he knew it was an illusion, he hesitated.
Hou Biao had to admit he had regressed. If it were before, he would have acted long ago. But he didn't regret it, nor did he miss the past. He felt he was living a better, more authentic life now. What was the point of living if one had no emotions? Back then, he was nothing more than a walking corpse, a killing machine.
Of course, he wouldn't just sit and wait to die. He would still fire the shot; after a brief hesitation, he prepared to draw his gun.
Yao Jingjing called at that moment.
Hou Biao felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. The buzzing sound reverberated through the air, making the entire dimly lit street tremble.
The gathering shadows, like a school of startled fish, suddenly exploded and scattered in all directions. Yao Jingjing was gone, the puddle on the road was gone, and Hou Biao was back to reality.
He found himself facing a wall with a painting hanging on it. The painting depicted a young girl wearing a flower crown and a white floral cheongsam, her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen, her right index finger slightly raised as if pointing something. The painting itself wasn't particularly outstanding, but the girl's eyes, from any angle, seemed to be staring at you, with a hesitant, unspoken expression that evoked tenderness and affection.
Hou Biao's right hand was tucked into his left breast pocket, gripping a cold pistol. With his left hand, he took out his still-vibrating cell phone from his pocket, answered the call, and casually walked past the painting, loosening his grip on the gun and taking out a piece of chewing gum to pop into his mouth.
Chewing gum is a staple for secret agents, with many ingenious uses and convenient portability. It can be used to stick explosives, block gun holes, and even open coconuts when there's nothing else to do.
At this time, Professor Mei and his group were still visiting the exhibition hall in the order it was scheduled. Hou Biao chewed gum while talking on the phone with Yao Jingjing.
"Do you think I'm getting old?" he said, recalling his earlier reaction.
Yao Jingjing was puzzled and asked, "Did nothing happen?"
Hou Biao said, "It's alright, you can continue."
Yao Jingjing then mentioned the key issue and asked him to inform Professor Mei.
"Okay, I'll get back to you in a bit," Hou Biao said hastily, chewing his gum vigorously.
Yao Jingjing asked curiously, "What are you eating? It looks so delicious, I can hear you drooling on the phone."
Hou Biao said, "I'll buy some for you when I get back."
Yao Jingjing laughed and said, "Then I'll be waiting!"
After hanging up the phone, Hou Biao took the chewed gum, which had lost all its sugar flavor, out of his mouth and pinched it into two small beads in his hand. He glanced at the location of the camera, walked past the painting with his hands behind his back, and flicked his fingers twice. The two gum beads flew out and stuck to the eyes of the girl in the painting.
Hou Biao joined the crowd viewing the painting, following Mei Yiqiu as they slowly moved in this direction.
As Mei Yiqiu passed by the painting of the young girl, he glanced at it a couple more times, noticing that the two "eyeballs" in the painting were somewhat abnormal. However, this painting, having lost its "finishing touch," was not particularly remarkable, and he quickly walked past it without anyone stopping to look at it.
No one questioned the presence of chewing gum in the painting, assuming it was intentional. Some even praised it, saying, "This painting was originally quite ordinary, but look at how those eyes were treated—it immediately makes it three-dimensional, vivid, and interesting! What a remarkable artistic technique!"
Someone chimed in, "Yes, yes, I'm even thinking of buying this painting myself!"
Hou Biao looked at his rough, calloused hands. If killing was an art, then his hands certainly had an artistic quality.
He straightened his suit and tie, smiled, and followed the professor. Then, seizing a moment, he whispered in the professor's ear, " President Yao some business to attend to back in his hometown and would like to entrust the keys to Bian Ziyuan for a couple of days. Is that alright with you?"
Mei Yiqiu was taken aback for a moment. " Xiao Bian is back?" He immediately reverted to his usual carefree demeanor and said nonchalantly, "Alright, fine, Xiao Bian can have it."