Chapter 134: Qing Ren Lane
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Without saying a word, Chen Taitong pulled a long face on their way back. The driver sitting next to him kept sweating as if he was sitting by a bomb that could explode at any second.
“Stop the truck!” Chen Taitong suddenly said.
“What?” The driver was shocked, “Boss, we are not back to the store yet.”
“I know. Stop the truck!” Chen Taitong repeated.
The driver didn’t know what was in Chen’s mind. He stopped the truck as instructed.
He slowly pulled over.
Chen Taitong jumped out of the truck and looked around.
The driver was being nice, “Boss, the closest public bathroom is over there… That bathroom is very dirty and smelly. You will be better off solving your problem behind a pole…”
Chen Taitong was up to the ceiling. “Bullsh*t! I am not a dog. I don’t pee behind a pole.”
The driver was frightened to death. He thought he was just being nice and didn’t anticipate making his boss mad.
Chen Taitong lit up a cigarette, “Why don’t you guys go back to the store first.”
“What?” The driver was shocked again, “What about you?…”
Chen Taitong stopped him, “I have some urgent matters to handle. I will go back to the store later.” He waved away the driver, not speaking another word. “Go! Go! Go! Put away the pets and go home early today.”
The driver was thrilled to hear that he could go home early.
“Okay. Then I will leave you alone, boss.”
“Go!”
Chen Taitong was uneasy as he watched the small truck disappear at the corner of the street.
He looked around again. He felt that pedestrians passing by were looking at him, as though they could see his thoughts. He couldn’t tell if this was an illusion.
“F*ck!” He was choked by the cigarette. This was accompanied by coughing a few times, causing his eyes to get watery.
He spat a few times, threw away the half of a cigarette and stepped it out.
What should he do?
He looked up and saw there was a lane not far from him.
It was a narrow lane where a car could not even conduct a three-point turn.
The lane was very quiet. There wasn’t a single person who went in or came out from there since he had gotten out of the truck. Even passersby would not look down there.
In short, it was a very unlucky looking lane, suitable to film horror movies on.
Once someone walked down this lane, he might not be able to get out.
Chen Taitong wasn’t scared.
Chen Taitong observed a little longer. When there were people walking by, he pretended to rub his head so he could use his arm to cover his face and quickly walked in the lane.
What a whole new world inside the lane!
The noisy cars and pedestrians were left behind. Nothing but quiet was left.
The lane wasn’t open and straight. Some old buildings on both sides were sticking out and some were leaning in, which created a layered view that was difficult to see through. Someone might be hiding in the shade of the building without being seen.
No one was in the lane besides Chen Taitong. A dirty street cat was playing with a plastic bag. It looked at Chen and returned to its game with the plastic bag.
It was a black cat, a sign of misfortune.
A unfortunate cat in an unlucky looking lane.
Chen Taitong took a deep breath. He bent down to pick up a rock and wanted to scare the cat away. When he stood back up, he found the cat was gone.
He laughed, threw away the rock and saw there was a metal plate on the wall that read “Qing Ren Lane”
Qing Ren Lane. What a weird name! Chen Taitong wondered who named it. It was even more hilarious that someone changed the writing to a different Chinese character that pronounced the same yet meant a lane without a person.
Qing Ren Lane, a lane meant to be kept quiet.
Chen Taitong proceeded deeper into the lane.
The further he walked in, the noise from the main road became fainter. Halfway into the lane, the outside noise had completely disappeared.
Chen Taitong could only hear his own footsteps.
He suddenly turned around.
Nothing was behind him. Nothing was ahead of him either.
He was suspicious someone was following him.
Highly nervous, blood-pressure rising and turning around too quickly all contributed to his dizzy head. Blood was flooding into his brain.
Holding his fists tight, he continued walking.
Under such a nerve-racking moment, a normal person would make some noise to comfort himself. So did Chen Taitong. Although he was way past the age of acting like a teenager, he started humming a song, whistling and kicking a rock along the ground.
The ground was wet. Household dirty water was floating everywhere. It gave out a strong odor because no sun could evaporate the water. The water at least was a proof that there were residents in this lane.
He heard a squeaking noise.
Frightened, Chen Taitong felt like electricity had suddenly stricken his body, which gave him goose bumps all over.
There was something behind him. This wasn’t an illusion this time!
His heartbeat was raising. His head hurt.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned around, scared.
The street cat was 60 feet behind him. With its yellow eyes staring at him, there was a big rat struggling in its mouth.
The rat made another squeaking noise.
A man and a cat were staring at each other in dead silence.
Chen Taitong glanced at the ground, trying to search for the little rock he had been kicking. The little rock rolled into a deep swamp from the underground drain.
Normally, he would not be so afraid of such a cat. However, he felt that the cat was blocking his way.
The street cat’s mouth came loose. The rat fell down and wanted to escape. The street cat patted without even looking and its paw landed on the rat’s tail. The rat could not get out no matter how hard he struggled.
It upset Chen’s stomach. The street cat was playing with the rat. It would eat it only after it had enough fun and the rat became desperate.
Cats are born this way. However, it looked awfully disgusting at this moment.
He raised his hand and pretended he was going to beat up the cat.
The cat didn’t go away. It smiled as if it was laughing at him.
Chen Taitong pointed at him and yelled, “Don’t follow me! I will beat you up!”
He stepped back as he spoke.
The street cat didn’t follow. It bowed down and took a bite out of the rat’s head.
The rat shook and died.
This was scarier than a horror movie! The only thought in Chen Taitong’s mind was to run away.
The lane wasn’t long at all. Soon he was at the end of it.
It was a dead end.
Holding on to the wall, he was breathing rapidly.
He turned around and saw the street cat was enjoying its meal. It didn’t follow him.
A three-story building was standing at the dead end. A dusty sign read “Qing Ren Consulting Firm.”
Chen Taitong rang the doorbell as he was trying to catch his breath.
A cold voice came out from the speaker after a bit, “Who is it?”
“My name is Wang Qi. I called before,” Chen Taitong said.
The door opened after a minute.
