Chapter 13

Chapter 13

We hit the road at dusk. I took the night shift, and Li Ding took the day shift.

Li Ding was a veteran long-haul trucker who used to run solo.

Now that he was getting older, he wanted more stability, so he started working in logistics for Tang Dong.

“When I first started with Tang Dong, I didn’t know about the history between you two. I thought you’d just retired and left the industry,” Li Ding chatted with me as we drove.

“It wasn’t until later that I found out Tang Dong had screwed you over.

“Tang Dong is too ambitious for his own good, always chasing pipe dreams. If I hadn’t signed a contract, I would’ve jumped ship to another company long ago.”

“You can know a man’s face but not his heart. I never expected him to turn into the person he is today…”

Li Ding and I swapped shifts, and the first two nights passed without incident.

“Brother Long? Brother Long?”

When Li Ding woke me up, it was getting dark again. A light drizzle was falling outside, and we weren’t far from the Shuanglong Tunnel.

A thin layer of mist had begun to settle over the road, and I could feel Li Ding’s tension.

“Let me take over.” I swapped seats with Li Ding, and he moved to the passenger side.

“I’m not sleepy yet. I’ll stay up and keep an eye on things with you for a bit.”

“Did Mr. Xue call? Did the police find them?” I asked.

Li Ding shook his head. “He called once this morning. He said the surveillance cameras haven’t picked up Tang Dong’s truck at all, and neither of their phones are going through. The police suspect Tang Dong might have kidnapped Xue Liang.”

I remained noncommittal. That was certainly something Tang Dong was capable of doing.

Suddenly, Li Ding sucked in a sharp breath, his whole body jolting.

“What’s wrong?” I glanced at him.

Li Ding blinked hard. “Brother Long, did you see that bus that just passed us?”

“I saw it. It was going pretty fast.”

The bus had overtaken us and was now disappearing into the fog.

“I think that’s the third time I’ve seen that bus,” Li Ding said, scratching his ear. “The license plate ended in 219 every time.”

“Get some rest. You’re seeing things,” I said bluntly. A driver’s worst enemy is an overactive imagination.

Li Ding wasn’t a rookie; he knew better than to distract me.

But after a moment of silence, he glanced at the side mirror. “It-it’s back again, Brother Long!”

A bus of the same color pulled up from our rear right. Li Ding pressed his entire back against his seat.

As the vehicle overtook us, I glanced to the right as well.

I couldn’t blame Li Ding for being scared. There was something wrong with that bus-it looked like everyone on board was standing up.

They were packed together, shoulder to shoulder. Looking through the windows, all I could see were pale, white hands swaying back and forth.

I slammed on the horn.

The bus whooshed past us. I checked the plate-the tail number was 133.

Li Ding opened his mouth and let out a long breath, visibly relaxing. “Thank god. It wasn’t 219.”