Chapter 73 Treasure Hunt

Chapter 73: Treasure Hunt Game

The doctor said his wound was still in a critical healing stage, and after taking a long-haul flight, it was already a good outcome that it had only reopened—if it had been worse, a second surgery might have been necessary.

"Knowing you were injured and still getting on a plane, if you want to die, just say so." Li Wangyue held the medicine he had just picked up.

"Then I'd rather die on the plane, just to give the crew a scare."

"You're insane."

Ting Zhenxi's injury was below his left rib. When the doctor had just re-stitched and changed the dressing, Li Wangyue got a look—his clothes were soaked through with blood, making it impossible to see how big the wound was. After that, Li Wangyue went into the sterile room.

On the way back, Li Wangyue drove slowly and steadily, avoiding any sudden braking that might cause the seatbelt to jerk and end up killing Ting Zhenxi in his car.

Ting Zhenxi lowered the window a crack, letting the outside wind rush in and clear out the thick medicinal smell inside the car.

Li Wangyue stopped at a red light.

The light was long, and even though it wasn't a busy suburban road, he didn't know why the red light lasted two minutes while the green light only lasted twenty-odd seconds.

"How's Ting Huayi?" he asked.

"I thought after all this time, you'd ask how I was first."

The sky was gloomy and misty, with a light drizzle falling.

Ting Zhenxi reached out a finger and wiped the rainwater off the rearview mirror.

"I've already seen how you are. No need to ask."

"You've seen it?" Ting Zhenxi countered.

"What do you mean?" Li Wangyue always found talking to him exhausting, just like he never knew what was really going on in Ting Zhenxi's mind.

Ting Zhenxi didn't answer his question.

An awkward silence stretched for half a minute before he spoke again: "He's dead."

"He died right there in the explosion. The firefighters dug out his remains, and you couldn't even tell it was a person."

Li Wangyue's hand on the gearshift tightened slightly.

"How come you're okay?" he asked.

Ting Zhenxi reached out and fiddled with the peace charm hanging from his rearview mirror. "Only the wicked live long. Did you buy this?"

It was a simple red charm pouch, with a gold "fortune" character embroidered on it on the front and "safe travels" on the back. If you sniffed it closely, there was a faint herbal scent—it was a handmade sachet.

He had gotten this when he first arrived in the capital, dragged to a temple by Ji Zhijia to pray for it.

Ji Zhijia had said, "Since we're new here, let's find the nearest temple and pay our respects, to keep the house safe or whatever."

They went together, burned incense, bowed to the Buddha, and got some small trinkets, just to feel better.

It turned out the abbot was holding a ceremony that day, and everyone got a red string. Ji Zhijia figured it was better to take it than not to, so he bowed and accepted it with both hands.

Li Wangyue didn't like wearing things on his wrist, so he didn't wear it. Instead, he used the red string to hang the charm in his car.

He didn't believe in gods or Buddha, but he still went with Ji Zhijia all morning to get these protective items.

"Just something I got for good luck." Li Wangyue said.

There were only ten seconds left on the red, so he shifted gears and got ready to go.

Ting Zhenxi looked at the little sachet with interest, his finger tracing the red string, his face unreadable.

"Does it actually work?"

"Not really." Li Wangyue's tone was flat. "Stuff that wards off evil and blocks disasters can't block everything."

Like, it couldn't block someone.

Ting Zhenxi hung it back. "It's good to have something to believe in."

The car drove onto a wide, empty road, and Li Wangyue pulled over. "Where are you going? Text me the address."

"Can't you just take me home?" Ting Zhenxi said, then pretended to get it: "Oh, right. That's your home, not ours. It'd be weird to just barge in."

"Don't be a smartass." Li Wangyue snapped at him. "Give me the address, or get out. Your call."

Ting Zhenxi gave him the address of a hotel.

Li Wangyue didn't ask further and started the car again. His phone screen lit up with a call from Ji Zhijia.

Li Wangyue's heart jumped, the car jerked twice and stalled.

He hung up the call and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Why didn't you answer? Is it inconvenient with me here?" Ting Zhenxi propped his chin on his hand.

Li Wangyue took a deep breath and restarted the car.

After driving for a while, Ting Zhenxi suddenly reached over and took the phone out of his pocket.

Li Wangyue tried to stop him, but a car in the next lane was overtaking, so he had to steady the wheel first.

Ting Zhenxi took his phone, unlocked it skillfully without even guessing the password, and entered it correctly.

"This is my number." Ting Zhenxi saved a new contact in his address book. "Call me if you need anything."

"I won't need anything."

"You can call even if you don't need anything."

"What if I don't?"

"Then don't."

"...What do you want?"

"What kind of answer are you hoping to hear?"

Li Wangyue was silent.

He didn't know.

He had thought he just didn't understand Ting Zhenxi, but now it seemed he didn't understand himself much either.

The car pulled up to the hotel entrance. Li Wangyue unlocked the doors, not saying a word, but the message to leave was clear.

Ting Zhenxi unclipped his seatbelt and got out.

Li Wangyue didn't think he'd just drop it. Ting Zhenxi walked around to his door and rapped on the window.

The hotel entrance was packed with people coming and going, and cars were lined up dropping off and picking up. Li Wangyue glanced around, then rolled the window down, but reluctantly, and leaned back a little. "What's up?"

"Yeah. Bro, let's play a treasure hunt." Ting Zhenxi bent down slightly, his eyes hidden in the shadows from the backlight. "I just put five cameras and three bugs in your new place. Go find 'em."

Li Wangyue grabbed him by the collar and yanked him into the window. "Are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy. You're the one who's more messed up." Ting Zhenxi blinked and lightly tapped the back of his hand.

The security guard at the entrance was already looking their way. Li Wangyue barely held himself back, slowly letting go, veins bulging on his forehead.

Ting Zhenxi turned and walked into the hotel lobby.

Li Wangyue drove away, stopping at a deserted spot. He pressed his fists against the steering wheel and slammed them down.

·

Ji Zhijia made it home first. He'd originally planned to tell Li Wangyue his overtime got canceled last minute, so he could make it home for dinner. He was at the grocery store, about to ask Li Wangyue what he wanted for dinner.

But Li Wangyue wasn't picking up, and later texted back saying he was driving.

When Li Wangyue got home, he looked terrible. Ji Zhijia asked what was wrong, and he said a scooter had darted out and almost hit him.

"Some people are such a pain, popping out of nowhere. You're driving fine, and then something comes out of nowhere—you can't even avoid it." Ji Zhijia clumsily handled the shrimp, cutting off the heads, squeezing out the guts, and scoring the backs to marinate.

Li Wangyue forced a smile and agreed, then headed to the living room.

He thought back to where Ting Zhenxi had been: the entryway, the hall, by the cabinet.

He looked around but didn't find any cameras or bugs.

Ji Zhijia started the rice and wiped his hands. "What're you looking for?"

"A SIM card. I took the old one out when I got the new one, and now I can't find it." Li Wangyue knelt on the carpet, leaned down, and felt under the coffee table.

"Such a small thing, hard to find, and the carpet's pretty thick. Wait till I finish cooking, and I'll help you look."

"Yeah." Li Wangyue agreed for now.

He searched almost every inch of the carpet but still found nothing.

Before Ji Zhijia came out, he got up and said he found it.

Otherwise, if Ji Zhijia helped and found it first, it'd be hard to explain.

During dinner, Ji Zhijia noticed he seemed tense and on edge.

"What's really going on? Something happen?"

Li Wangyue set down his chopsticks and shook his head. "I've just been feeling off lately. Got dizzy while driving earlier."

"You need to go to the hospital?" Ji Zhijia stood up, ready to grab his jacket and keys.

"I already went, this afternoon. It's nothing serious." Li Wangyue said. "It might be psychosomatic. I'll talk to my therapist later."

The earliest appointment he could get was tomorrow, and even though he didn't actually need it, he had to play along to keep up the lie.

"I have to go out tomorrow, probably be gone for two days." Ji Zhijia remembered and mentioned it.

"A business trip?"

"Sort of. I have to run back and forth delivering documents, so I figured I'd just stay there to avoid the hassle."

"That works." Li Wangyue felt relieved. If Ji Zhijia wasn't home, it'd be safer.

After dinner, Li Wangyue did the dishes as usual, while Ji Zhijia played games on the couch for a bit before showering.

Taking the chance, Li Wangyue searched again. Nothing.

He sat on the carpet, staring at his phone for a long time, then picked it up and found the number he'd just saved.

(Cough cough—Nai Nai Wu Nai Dai)

"I give up. I can't find them. Where are they? Just tell me."

The message got a quick reply. He'd planned to put the phone down and get the laundry, but it rang as soon as he set it down.

"Sure, but why? Your confused face is cute. I want to see it a little longer."

Li Wangyue was exhausted.

"Stop messing around. Just tell me where they are, or give me a hint."

No response from the other side.

Li Wangyue thought his phone had lost signal, but switching to the web worked fine.

After who knows how long, the phone lit up again.

"Lie down and you'll see."

Li Wangyue lay on the floor, turning his head left and right. Still nothing. He suspected he was in the wrong spot.

"Didn't find it. Where should I lie?"

After sending it, he felt the sentence was a bit off, but there was no recall function for texts.

After another moment, Ting Zhenxi said, "That's a hint, not the answer."

Li Wangyue then realized it was another word puzzle.

The answer was "Lie," the same word as "lie down," and the sentence was indeed a lie, because lying down wouldn't reveal anything.

A lie.

He hadn't installed any cameras at all.

Li Wangyue's heart dropped with relief, but then he felt furious.

"Is lying fun?"

"Isn't it?" Ting Zhenxi said matter-of-factly. "I just wanted my brother to think about me all night."

Li Wangyue was half-convinced, feeling it couldn't be that simple. "You really didn't install them?"

"No."

"How do I know you're not lying to me now?"

After all, Ting Zhenxi had lied to him plenty of times, sometimes without any specific purpose, just to see his reaction for fun.

"Believe it or not," he said. "But I have no interest in watching others on surveillance. I only want to watch you."