The car he had booked online was already waiting at the entrance to the villa complex.
The driver was a middle-aged man with a ring of hair around his head, the bald patch in the middle gleaming.
Jiang Nan checked the license plate, climbed into the back seat, and said, "Let's go, sir."
"Sure thing," the driver answered enthusiastically.
"This is my first time picking someone up from a place like this." The driver was very chatty, talking to Jiang Nan while playing "Little Apple."
In the back seat, Jiang Nan gave a polite reply.
Then he took his wireless earbuds out of his pocket and was about to put them on.
The driver spoke again. "Don't rich families like yours all have their own personal drivers?"
"Did you have a huge falling-out with your parents?"
"But seriously, your neighborhood really is luxurious. People say you can't live here without three generations of accumulated wealth."
Jiang Nan only wanted to listen to music in peace. He hadn't expected this man to be so talkative.
He paused, then said, "I just killed someone."
The car jolted violently.
"What?"
The driver looked over in horror.
Jiang Nan said, "My family's dirt-poor. I went into showbiz to make big money, but unfortunately, a producer took a liking to me because I was too handsome. He brought me here while I was drunk. I only came out after I finished him off."
The driver went utterly silent.
Even his breathing grew quieter.
Satisfied, Jiang Nan put on his wireless earbuds and started listening to music.
771 piped up noisily: [Why are you lying?]
Jiang Nan: [I'm not lying.]
He added: [Out in the world, your identity is whatever you say it is.]
When the taxi stopped, Jiang Nan said out of habit, "Thanks for the ride, sir."
With that, he pushed open the door.
One foot had barely touched the ground when he saw two police officers carrying stun batons, watching him with stern expressions.
Jiang Nan pulled his foot back inside.
He sat back in the car, and the driver shuddered as the door closed.
Jiang Nan said, "I must have opened the door wrong."
Clinging to a shred of hope, he opened the door again.
The officers were still watching him.
Jiang Nan slowly squeezed the words out of his throat. "Sir, did you take me to the wrong place?"
The driver finally reacted.
He quickly unbuckled his seat belt, opened the door, and slipped out.
Sticking out his beer belly, he scurried behind the two officers.
Both officers were tall, lean, and straight-backed, but even the two of them together couldn't hide his plump figure.
Trembling, the driver jabbed a finger at Jiang Nan. "Officers, it's him. I recorded everything. He admitted himself that he killed someone."
Jiang Nan: "..."
If silence had a sound, his would have been deafening.
771 laughed, eager to stir up trouble: [Oho, you're in trouble now.]
Jiang Nan had gone out wearing a T-shirt with GG Bond printed on it, looking like a college student who still hadn't quite lost his boyishness.
He never could have imagined that his outing today would end at the police station.
"I was just talking nonsense. I didn't kill anyone." His eyes were utterly sincere.
The driver rubbed his round belly and said, "You're lying. You sounded dead serious in the car."
Jiang Nan was furious. "If I'd actually killed someone, I should be running away right now. Why would I tell you?"
The driver argued confidently, "Murderers usually like revealing the truth to people who don't matter, and that ends up becoming a clue to solving the case."
Jiang Nan froze for a few seconds, then humbly asked, "Where did you acquire such profound insight?"
Cradling his belly, the driver proudly raised his bald head. "I really enjoy crime-solving shows."
"Clap, clap, clap, clap-" Jiang Nan applauded expressionlessly. "Fucking amazing. A true master. Your talents are wasted driving a taxi, sir."
"Not at all, not at all." The driver waved a hand. "It's all about serving the people."
The two went back and forth for quite a while. After the police sorted things out, it finally turned out to be a misunderstanding.
They wrote their names on a form, then left.
Outside the station, the driver rubbed his forehead. "Sorry, young man. I got it all wrong."
"How about this? I'll take you there for free."
Jiang Nan had been about to politely decline, but the moment he heard "for free," he turned and got into the car. "Let's go, sir."
At a café downtown.
A woman wearing red lipstick and a beige business suit sat in a corner.
A cup of coffee sat before her.
She seemed to be waiting for someone. Even after her coffee went cold, she still hadn't heard from the person she was waiting for.
She glanced at the watch on her wrist, and her expression instantly darkened.
She took out her phone and furiously typed.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
When Jiang Nan got out of the car, notifications kept popping up on his phone.
He lowered his head and saw that GG Bond had sent him a ton of messages.
Without reading them, he shoved his phone straight into his pocket.
771: [Why aren't you reading them?]
Jiang Nan: [There's a hundred percent chance it's nothing nice. Why would I put my eyes and brain through that?]
771: [You really know how to say no to mental drain.]
Jiang Nan paused mid-step.
771: [What is it now?]
Jiang Nan said: [I've noticed you've been getting way better at playing along with jokes lately. You're almost as good as me.]
771 rubbed his nose and said nothing.
That was because, these past few days, he kept secretly scrolling through Jiang Nan's phone whenever Jiang Nan wasn't paying attention.
Douyin helped people improve and keep up with the times.
Even a black sphere was no exception.
Zhu Xia hadn't received a reply, and her face had turned green. Just as she was about to take her phone outside to call and yell at him,
someone pushed open the door and came in.
The young man was tall and long-legged, with cool, pale skin and a striking head of pink hair. His white T-shirt was paired with black jeans, his figure lean and straight.
Zhu Xia couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
Professional habit made her look the young man up and down.
He was at least 180 centimeters tall, which ruled out Omega, but she couldn't tell whether he was an Alpha or a Beta.
His features were exceptionally handsome, too, though a little familiar.
The young man looked around, his gaze finally settling on her, then walked over.
Within a mere thirty seconds, Zhu Xia recognized him with a start.
It was actually Jiang Nan.
Zhu Xia's gaze flickered with surprise and uncertainty.
She and Jiang Nan hadn't seen each other for a full six months.
He had previously offended a producer and been blacklisted. Zhu Xia had always put profit above everything else, so naturally, she no longer placed any hopes in Jiang Nan.
She had long since put Jiang Nan out of her mind. If that roasting video hadn't made the trending searches this time, bringing Jiang Nan attention and invitations from several variety shows, she never would have contacted him.
It had only been six months, but he seemed to have changed quite a bit.
In the past, Jiang Nan had always kept his head down and never had a pleasant expression for anyone. He had a gloomy air and poor emotional intelligence; every time he spoke, he could instantly kill the conversation.
Yet looking at him now, he seemed languid, like the carefree, irreverent campus heartthrob at school, someone whose mere appearance put people in a good mood.