Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Wen Miao and Nan Mu stepped out of the mall. Night had fallen, and the sky was already draped in a tapestry of stars.

The streets were a river of traffic, illuminated by the dazzling, multicolored lights of the city. City A had begun its nightly display of opulence and glamour.

“Are we heading back?” Wen Miao asked, looking up at Nan Mu beside her.

“I heard there’s a pedestrian street behind here that sells delicious candied strawberries. Do you want some?”

Wen Miao was taken aback. “How did you know I like candied strawberries?”

Nan Mu gave a soft chuckle. “There’s a lot I know.”

Wen Miao arched an eyebrow. “What else do you know?”

“Want to find out?” Nan Mu wore a mysterious smile.

“Of course.”

“I don’t do business at a loss. If you want to know, you’ll have to trade a new secret of yours for it.”

“Listen to you. You sound like some kind of businessman.”

Nan Mu shrugged and spread his hands. “I don’t look the part?”

Wen Miao nodded. “I think you’re better suited for academic research. Being a businessman… handling interpersonal relationships would probably be quite exhausting for you.”

Nan Mu paused, slightly surprised by her words.

She seemed to understand him better than he had imagined.

=

The two of them walked over to a candied fruit stall.

Nan Mu bought a stick of candied strawberries for Wen Miao. At her urging, he bought a mixed stick of candied hawthorns and grapes for himself.

The hawthorns were exceptionally sour, especially in contrast to the sugary coating.

Nan Mu swallowed a piece whole, only to find Wen Miao staring at him with bright, expectant eyes. “Well? Is it good?” she asked.

Nan Mu thought for a moment. “Yeah. Want a taste?”

Wen Miao hesitated, looking at the stick in his hand with a conflicted expression. “Oh, no thanks…”

“Just one bite. It’s actually quite good,” Nan Mu said earnestly, holding the stick out to her.

Wen Miao finally relented and bit off a grape.

“How is it?”

Wen Miao nodded. “Delicious!”

Nan Mu: “…”

He really hadn’t expected that.

He looked at the stick where the hawthorns and grapes were threaded alternately. To get to the next grape, he had no choice but to brace himself and eat another hawthorn-so sour!

After finishing it, he bit into a green grape encased in sugar.

The sudden tartness set his teeth on edge.

“Hahaha-”

Beside him, Wen Miao suddenly doubled over with laughter. “I totally tricked you!”

Nan Mu rubbed his jaw with a deadpan expression. Truly, he had brought this on himself.

=

It was a considerable distance from the pedestrian street’s night market to the subway station, so Wen Miao suggested taking a shortcut.

Though she called it a shortcut, the path was actually quite wide.

This area used to be a village within the city. After it was demolished recently, the land had been taken over by two real estate developers who were erecting large buildings on either side.

The road in the middle had been completed long ago, but the buildings were still under construction. Signs reading “Caution: Construction Site” were posted along both sides, and few people usually walked this way.

At this hour, work on the site had stopped. The construction areas on both sides were dark voids. On the silent road, the dim streetlights stretched their shadows out long and thin.

As they reached the midpoint, a pair of headlights suddenly swept over them from behind.

Wen Miao instinctively turned around. The glaring high beams were piercingly bright, making it almost impossible for her to keep her eyes open.
It was a motorcycle, and the person on it was wearing a helmet. Seeing them look back, the rider suddenly shifted into neutral and revved the engine. The engine roared repeatedly, sounding distinctly threatening.

“What’s…”

Before Wen Miao could finish, the motorcycle suddenly accelerated against the wind and charged straight toward the two of them.

“Watch out!”

Nan Mu acted quickly, grabbing Wen Miao’s arm and pulling her toward him, narrowly avoiding the speeding motorcycle as it brushed past them.

Wen Miao looked at Nan Mu, still shaken. Before she could even ask what was going on, she heard the ear-piercing screech of tires rubbing against the asphalt as the motorcycle braked.

As the bike slowed, the rear tire swung around in a smooth arc, performing a U-turn to charge at them once more.

Silence hung in the air for two seconds.

Nan Mu shielded her behind him and shouted calmly, “Hey man, what are you doing? Is your bike broken?”

The rider’s face was hidden behind the helmet, and they remained silent, coming to a halt. However, both of them saw the rider suddenly reach out a hand and make a provocative gesture toward them.

This was hardly the reaction of a normal person. Wen Miao felt a chill run down her spine as a terrifying thought formed in her mind: they were doing this on purpose!

The rider gunned the engine, and the motorcycle accelerated toward them again.

This time, Nan Mu pushed her away.

“Run inside! Get behind the trees!” Nan Mu barked.

Wen Miao reacted quickly. Using the momentum from Nan Mu’s push, she ran toward the non-motorized vehicle lane.

On this road, the main lanes and the bike lanes were separated by a green belt planted with many trees. She crossed the green belt and ran onto the adjacent path.

But at that moment, the unexpected happened.

The motorcycle veered mid-course, abandoning Nan Mu who was standing in the middle of the road. Instead, it lunged toward Wen Miao, who was now separated from him by the green belt.

Wen Miao’s heart sank as a strong premonition rose within her: this person wasn’t some lunatic looking to take their anger out on society-they were coming for her!

The rider was highly skilled. Just as the front tire hit the curb of the green belt, they suddenly yanked the handlebars up. In the next second, the motorcycle took flight, soaring through the air before landing steadily on the bike path.

Wen Miao gasped, but in the face of imminent danger, she was surprisingly calmer than she expected.

She stared fixedly at the rider. The moment she was certain the bike could only travel in a straight line, she lunged to the side, dodging the impact. However, the sudden jump threw her off balance. She tumbled to the ground, and as she braced herself, a sharp crack echoed from her hand. Her entire arm, from joint to elbow, went numb.

Nan Mu had already rushed over. When he saw the motorcycle charging at Wen Miao, he had been scared out of his wits. He had bolted toward her immediately, but he hadn’t been able to beat the motorcycle there.

He quickly hauled Wen Miao up from the ground. The roar of the engine sounded once more; it was clear the rider intended to keep going until they were dead.

Wen Miao looked at Nan Mu standing in front of her, desperately wanting him to get away.

The rider’s target seemed to be her alone, though she had no idea what kind of grudge they could possibly hold against her.

“Nan Mu!”

Her eyes suddenly widened. To her shock, Nan Mu was charging straight toward the high-speed motorcycle!