“Don’t you work overtime if something’s up?”
Good question… I lean the umbrella and seriously think of an excuse.
Peng Deng is a typical smartphone zombie who doesn’t even focus on eating. Most of his attention is on his cell phone, but he’s actually a very sharp person. He’s good at capturing details and can always easily see through my lies.
Of course, most of those lies were a product of not putting enough thought into it. They’re more like jokes.
I can’t tell him that I’m trying to jump off a building, right? After some thought, I rap the table.
“My boss wants me to pick up a foreign guest at the airport tomorrow.
“And he’ll only give me the details at night. I’ll have to make some preparations. I need to practice my accent and contact a driver to confirm the schedule. It’s plenty of work.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Peng Deng takes a bite of rice and the meat shreds before swallowing it.
Then, he asks with a smile, “The Casanova boss you mentioned before?”
“I never said that.” I outright deny Peng Deng’s claim.
When he looked up at me, I smiled.
“I said he fooled around.
“You mustn’t make mistakes when passing judgment.”
“Tch.” Peng Deng replies before looking down at his phone.
Before long, the dishes I ordered are served. One is stir-fried sliced beef, and the other is tomato fried egg soup.
The oil on the former glistened, and the aroma of celery perfectly fused with the beef’s aroma. The meat was very tender, and its juices were salty, but not excessive. The sauce was filled with flavors, and with just one plate of this meat, I could finish it with three bowls of rice.
The tomato fried egg soup is part of Sichuan cuisine. Lard is used first. After it’s heated up, beaten eggs with water and salt are added to the mix until it’s completely cooked.
This way, the fried eggs would be fluffier, and there will be a certain level of saltiness to it. Following that, water and processed tomatoes are put in, along with a few green vegetables.
Finally, the soup will have the obvious fragrance of oil and eggs, mixed with the sweet and sourness of tomatoes. The freshness of the green vegetables make the soup have the delight of a meat soup, but without the cloyed taste at all.
Just as I drink a bowl of delicious egg soup, the boss walks over with a bowl of rice and a bottle of cold Coke.
“Ice Cock.” I can’t help laughing inwardly as I heard his accent.
Considering that I have to “jump off a building” later, it wouldn’t be good to eat too much. I ultimately only have two bowls of rice. Of course, I definitely wouldn’t waste the meat and eggs.
At this moment, Peng Deng still has a third of his food left.
“Don’t use your phone while eating; don’t eat while using your phone.” I stand up and give him a heartfelt lecture.
At the same time, I boldly pay only for my share.
Peng Deng and I aren’t hypocritical friends who insist on footing the bill.
Furthermore, it’s the end of the month. Finances are always a little tight during this time of the month.
“F*ck, you didn’t even give me a bottle of Coke.” It only took this long before Peng Deng realized it.
“I’m done eating.” I pick up the umbrella leaning against the table.
“Extravagant.” Peng Deng appraises my choice of buying a bottle of Coke. “Something good happened to you? Or are you moonlighting…”
Before he can ask me, his gaze suddenly stops on the umbrella with the rabbit ears in my hand.
“Hey.” He makes a strange sound.
“My boss lent it to me. You know that he has many girlfriends.” I understand what Peng Deng is thinking.
“How boring.” Peng Deng turns his attention back to his phone again.
I enter the old compound of my rented apartment after leaving the shop.
The tallest building is only six stories, so there aren’t any elevators.
When I pass the entrance to the first floor, I catch a glimpse of the mailbox through the corner of my eye.
“Uh…” Some memories churn, making me walk over involuntarily and open the letterbox that belongs to Unit 602.
There’s a postcard lying quietly inside.
Even without looking, I know that she was the one who had sent it.
She was a middle school classmate and high school classmate with me and Peng Deng. She later went overseas for studies and is currently working in this city.
Her family background is good, and she often travels. From time to time, she’ll send local specialties or postcards to friends in the same city.
I hesitate for two seconds before picking up the postcard.
The back is indeed familiar as graceful handwriting is plastered across it:
“This is the famous Sedlec Ossuary around here…”
I flip the postcard and take a look. The pillars and walls that are lined with skulls make me feel horrified.
Then, I feel that strange sense of holiness.
Shaking my head, I put away the postcard and return to Unit 602.
This is an old apartment with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It has a history of at least 20 years. I live in a guest room, and a young couple lives in the master bedroom.
This couple are nice people. Not only do they have a sense of hygiene, but they often cook by themselves and invite me to eat together. The only problem is that they quarrel at least twice a week. It’s quite annoying.
I plan to move to stay with Peng Deng when the rental contract is over.
Of course, the prerequisite is that he hasn’t started living with his girlfriend yet.
After putting down the umbrella, I go to the window of the guest room. I peek out and look outside, considering whether I should jump.
Although the rain has stopped, the sky is already dark and there aren’t many pedestrians.
Sixth floor… Forget it, I’ll go to the building with the small supermarket. I think it’s better to be safe for the first time.
It’s only three stories.
This neighborhood is very old, and it has a large population. Hence, there are plenty of stores on the first floor. There are hairdressers, eateries, as well as grocery stores and repair shops. One doesn’t even need to leave the compound to have access to these amenities.
I change into black clothes as a protective color and take my keys and phone. I arrive at a small supermarket after circling the compound for a while.
I go up the stairs to the rooftop. Looking at the height, I finally feel confident.
When I headed downstairs just now, I tried to jump from one flight of stairs to the other. It greatly improved my confidence in the “Leap of Faith.”
Waiting until there’s no one below me, I take a deep breath, climb over the railing fence, and pose in a ready stance.
It’s raining and the road is very slippery. How about next time?
If I fall and get sent to the hospital, I’ll die a societal death if everyone misunderstands this as me attempting suicide…
It’s only three stories. There was nothing wrong with the feeling I had just now…
After some random thought, I raise my middle finger at myself and exhale slowly.
With a tremble, I leap up and adjust my body.
The speed I descend at is slower than normal. The wind turns into a blanket, holding me up in silence.
This kind of slowness is only relative. I still quickly land on the ground steadily, without wobbling or splashing up the muddy water on the ground.
At that moment, I feel like a sharp feather.
What a marvelous feeling.
10 points! I praise myself.
Th-this is really too exciting!
I’m a true-blue assassin who has surpassed all mortals!
Heart blazing, I dash back to the building where my rented apartment is.
I can’t wait to test the Leap of Faith from the sixth floor.
The experience just now tells me that six floors isn’t a problem. If it’s any higher, I’ll have to be like Jackie Chan, finding items in the middle, like an air-conditioner, to break my fall, jumping down several floors at a time.
On the way, I widen my eyes in an attempt to find any acts of sexual misconduct by hooligans, robberies by ruffians, or extortions by baddies. I want to let them have a taste of the power of an assassin, but…
Sigh, the security in the neighborhood is really good…
I sigh and head home.
At this moment, my phone rings twice.
I take it out and discover that it’s from my company’s Old Ai. It’s the information regarding our VIP.
Zaratulstra… what a complicated name. I smirk and decide on reading the details after another Leap of Faith.
Sigh, even if I’m an extraordinary assassin, I still have to work on stuff my boss instructs me to do after work like, as the Japanese put it, a shachiku—a corporate cattle.
Otherwise, I won’t be able to survive!
What can an assassin do? Buy a Spider-Man’s mask and do a Parkour live-stream session? Without being in a rush to enter the bedroom. I once again think about how to make money using my assassin abilities.
At this moment, someone knocks on the door.
“Who is it?” I ask loudly.
“I’m here to check on temporary living permits!” someone outside replies.
I don’t have it, goodbye… I lampoon as I walk to the door and look outside through the peephole.
Two people in police uniforms stand outside the door, with one of them standing in front, blocking the face of the other.
He has a receding hairline and his eyes are slightly gray.
For some reason, I suddenly quiver and feel inexplicably sad.
I open the door.
“My surname is Deng, and I’m the officer in charge of this compound,” the gray-eyed officer introduces himself with a smile.
Then, he looks at the information in his hand.
“Zhou Mingrui, am I right?”
