Chapter 23

Baroque 3, Mofei's Life

"Where to?" Mofei asked Anger.

"Hmm..." Anger stood at the door, looking up at the clear sky, and replied, "Let's just wander around."

"Ah?" Mofei stared at him, surprised, and asked, "Aren't you going to investigate the case?"

Anger looked back at him and smiled, saying, "What's the rush? Work should only take up a third of one's life."

Mo Fei couldn't help but want to smile as he walked over to open the car door and asked An Ge'er, "If work takes up a third, what about the other two-thirds?"

"A third is work, another third is love, and the last third is for rest," An Ge'er shrugged. "If you've put in two-thirds of the effort, there's no reason not to take a break, right?"

"I wouldn't have guessed," Mo Fei buckled up his seatbelt and said, "I thought you were half detective, half artist."

"Tsk, tsk," An Ge'er lightly shook his finger, saying, "Detective work is just a sprinkle in my life, while art is the essence that runs through my entire existence."

Mo Fei pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what is love?"

An Ge'er adjusted his position to a more comfortable angle and said, "Love is the most beautiful part of life that one can preserve."

As Mo Fei drove out of the alley, apart from a slight upward curve of his lips, he couldn't think of any other expression to respond to An Ge'er's words just now... This person, a blend of stiffness and romance, how to put it, could only be described as exceedingly odd and unaware of it.

"Where shall we go for a stroll?" Mo Fei asked An Ge'er.

"I told you, just a casual walk," An Ge'er said. "I've noticed that you need a clear starting and ending point for everything you do, otherwise you get anxious."

Mofei, half laughing and half crying, said, "I'm not familiar with the roads here."

An Ge'er nodded, stroked his chin, and suggested, "Then let's go somewhere you know well, like a city you've lived in before."

Mo Fei was taken aback, turned to look at An Ge'er and asked, "My home?"

"Yeah," An Ge'er nodded, "I've taken you to meet my grandmother, so it would be unfair if you didn't show me your family."

Mo Fei hesitated, saying, "There's nothing much to see, I don't get along well with my family."

An Ge'er turned to look out the window and said, "I just want to see the place where you used to live, just a bit curious, that's all."

Mo Fei thought for a moment, then turned the car around, heading towards the highway leading out of S City, adding, "I used to live in K City, which is quite far from here."

"It's fine," An Ge'er said, "We can return tomorrow. Not doing business for two days won't starve us, Os probably won't get fired, and S City won't be destroyed by criminals."

Mo Fei laughed and asked, "Why the sudden desire to visit where I've lived?"

An Ge'er blinked and replied, "I want to find out what makes you so upset."

Mo Fei froze, then took out a cigarette, saying, "It's not about being upset."

An Ge'er, leaning on the window with one hand, watched his actions and asked, "Then what is it?"

Mo Fei put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, but didn't inhale, simply removing it and said indifferently, "I'm not upset anymore."

An Ge'er rolled down the window, letting in the breeze, and said somewhat stubbornly, "It is being upset."

Mo Fei shook his head helplessly and continued driving... For the rest of the journey, they both remained silent, Mo Fei driving with focused or unfocused attention, while An Ge'er quietly observed the scenery outside the window.

Since they left early, they arrived in K City before noon. Following An Ge'er's request, Mo Fei drove and narrated, "That’s the bar where I used to work... That’s the construction site where I moved bricks... And over there is the high school I attended... I slept on that bench in the garden for two nights... The wonton stall up ahead is really good..."

An Ge'er, leaning against the car window, listened quietly until he spotted a small church in the distance and asked, "That church there, have you ever been inside?"

Mo Fei replied indifferently, "I'm not religious."

An Ge'er looked at him, "You seemed a bit averse to churches the last time we went. Are you an atheist?"

Mo Fei shrugged, "Can't really say."

"Then why do you have an aversion to churches?" An Ge'er seemed to have found the crux of the matter and asked with interest.

Mo Fei parked the car about forty to fifty meters away from the church's main entrance, looked at the slightly ajar iron gate, and said, "As a kid, my parents brought me here to confess."

"Confess?" An Ge'er asked, "What does a child have to confess?"

"I hurt someone," Mo Fei didn't hide the truth, admitting frankly, "I seem to have a bit of a violent streak, like last night, once I start, I can't stop."

An Ge'er stroked his chin, "Last night they had knives, and if you hadn't fought back hard, they would have hurt you. Plus, they started it, so what's there to say about a violent tendency?"

Mo Fei smiled faintly, "I never start trouble with others unless they provoke me first."

"Then you're just normal," An Ge'er said, "So why confess?"

Mo Fei gazed at the cross atop the church spire and said, "That day, the priest told my parents that I was a child possessed by the devil, that Lucifer was God's forsaken, and I shouldn't enter the church."

An Ge'er crossed his legs and laughed, "You're not Lucifer... Lucifer loved God but despised humans, you're just the opposite."

Hearing An Ge'er's words, Mo Fei lowered his eyelids in silence, started the car to leave the church, and apologized, "You'll have to stay in the car, and I can't get out either. I'm too well-known around here, wandering around would cause a lot of trouble."

"Hmm," An Ge'er chuckled, "So where will you spend the night?"

Mo Fei thought for a moment and said, "I know a good place to stay overnight."

"It's not night yet," An Ge'er wouldn't let Mo Fei off the hook, "Take me to see your home."

Mo Fei turned to look at him, and An Ge'er's eyes twinkled with a smile, "You must also want to go back and see it, right?"

"Haven't been back in a long time," Mo Fei hesitated, then turned the car around, driving down a narrow and noisy street, and eventually stopped at the entrance of a residential area. Lighting a cigarette, he told An Ge'er, "Wait here for me."

Throughout the afternoon until dusk, An Ge'er saw Mo Fei's parents, his brother, some neighbors, and even some classmates who had fought with Mo Fei as a child, all from the car.

Around five o'clock, Mo Fei asked An Ge'er, "Seen everything? Are you satisfied now?"

An Ge'er turned to look at him, "And what about you? Are you satisfied?"

With a smile on his lips, Mo Fei reversed the car, heading down another street, and said, "Let's just make do at my place for the night."

"Okay," An Ge'er nodded and then suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, I know who sent the severed head."

Mo Fei almost slammed on the brakes, turning to An Ge'er with a mix of astonishment and annoyance, "Could you not drop bombshells like that out of nowhere?"

Angler shrugged, "I knew it when Os mentioned the case just now."

"Who?" Mo Fei asked curiously, "Why didn't you say it earlier?"

Angler stroked his chin, saying, "If for the sake of law and morality, I think he should be apprehended, but personally, I don't think his existence is necessarily a bad thing."

"Like the kind who maintain justice in the dark world, as you mentioned?" Mo Fei pondered, adding, "But those blondes didn't deserve to die... even though they were indeed detestable."

"Maybe that person can't control his emotions either?" Angler suggested, "After such incidents, they might uncontrollably rage, kill someone, and send the victim's head, so I decided to let Os catch him in a couple of days. Perhaps he might slip away in this time."

At this time, Mo Fei's car had stopped in a secluded alley, feeling like the back alley of a factory, in front of a red, quaint brick wall with an iron staircase winding upwards.

"Let's get out of the car," Mo Fei opened the door and said to Angler, "It might be a bit basic."

Angler got out of the car and followed Mo Fei up the simple handrail to the third floor, where there was a grey iron door. Mo Fei felt around on the wall, grabbed a movable brick, pulled it out to reveal a hole. He reached in, fumbled around, pulled out a key, put the brick back, and unlocked the door with the key.

Inside the room was pitch black. Mo Fei reached out and turned on the light switch on the wall... the room brightened up.

"Come in," Mo Fei gestured, pulling Angler into the room and closing the door.

"You live here?" Angler curiously surveyed the room... It was a spacious area, over fifty square meters, with quite complete furniture, though old, giving a sense of home, now looking quite stylish. The walls were brick, giving an artistic feel, with a partitioned bathroom and washroom in the corner, small square windows high on the walls, and an induction cooker on the table.

"This place is really interesting," Angler, staring at an old electric fan, touched his chin and asked, "Did you find it yourself?"

"No," Mofei replied, removing the inner pot from the induction cooker and rinsing it under the tap. "I rented it from an old man who used to work in this warehouse when I was working at the bar. He lived here and bought all these things. When the warehouse closed, they owed him a pension, but he just asked for this little house instead. He moved out two years ago and rented it to me for three thousand yuan a year."

"Oh..." Anger nodded and asked, "Then why is there water and electricity?"

Mofei chuckled, "You do have some common sense, knowing that life needs water and electricity, huh?"

Seeing Mofei tease him, Anger frowned. Mofei quickly explained, "He's a genius. He siphoned water and electricity from nearby factories. We can use it freely without paying." While speaking, he opened a cabinet next to the fridge, rummaged through it, and took out some instant noodles and sausages, asking Anger, "This is all we have. Are noodles okay?"

"Hmm," Anger sat on the bed, picked up a magazine from the bedside, and, surprised by Mofei's tastes, asked, "All geography magazines?"

Mofei boiled water on the induction cooker, added the noodles to the pot, and said, "Yeah, I like looking at beautiful landscape pictures." Soon, the aroma of cooking noodles filled the air. Anger walked over, watching the bubbling water and rolling noodles. Mofei sprinkled the seasoning and added sausages. Looking up, he saw Anger sitting at the table, chin in hands, gazing at the noodles. Anger's face, softened by the steam rising from the pot, had an indescribable gentleness.

"We only have chopsticks, no bowls," Mofei said, pulling out the only two pairs of chopsticks from their holder. "I live alone, so I usually just eat straight from the pot."

Anger took the chopsticks, started to fish out the noodles, and asked, "Haven't you brought anyone here before? Not even a girlfriend?"

Mofei shrugged, eating his noodles, "I prefer living alone. Being too close to others makes me uncomfortable."

"Hmm?" Anger blinked, "What about me?"

Mofei blew on his hot noodles, "Well, you're okay."

Anger stuffed noodles into his mouth, chewed, and declared, "These taste awful."

Mofei swallowed his mouthful of noodles, "I'll buy you some bread later."

"No need," Angler stubbornly continued eating his noodles, muttering between bites, "It's awful."