SES Chapter 101 Part 2

“She said, Wenwen died so horribly. How can you still be living so well? How have you not faced retribution?”

Huo Zihong’s lips trembled. Mu Dai, calmer than her, said, “I’ll get retribution eventually.”

A pause. Then softly, “Sooner or later.”

She stood, rubbed her neck, then braced her hands against the wall and flipped into a handstand. Her hair spilled down in a dark cascade, like clouds unraveling across the floor.

From her upside-down view, Huo Zihong’s figure was inverted too.

“Luo Ren’s gone,” Huo Zihong said.

“Mm.”

“Didn’t go well?”

Mu Dai thought for a moment. “Not really about going well or not. Luo Ren never liked me. He likes Xiaokoudai. I can see that.”

“Does it hurt? Be an adult—speak honestly.”

“No. I don’t think I deserve too much love. That wouldn’t be fair to Wenwen.”

“And you? Do you still like Luo Ren?”

Mu Dai laughed, and this time her smile was stunningly beautiful.

“I’ve always liked him,” she said.

With that, she rolled over and sat up straight.

“Hong Yi, do you think I’m sick?”

What could she say? If she said yes, would it push the girl over the edge? But if she said no, that videotape and her odd behavior were undeniable proof…

Huo Zihong felt a wave of panic.

Mu Dai said, “I don’t think I am. But if all of you say I am, then fine—let’s just say I am.”

She sounded utterly indifferent.

Huo Zihong didn’t know how to respond. After a pause, she said, “Get some rest tonight. Dr. He mentioned there are a few new medications on the market. We can try one of them soon.”

“Okay,” Mu Dai said.

—

After leaving the club, Luo Ren never once stopped his car. He just kept driving, with no intention of resting.

Outside the window, the scenery kept changing. Endless cars, filled with countless people, all heading who knew where. Daylight faded, and night began to spread across the sky. Then his phone buzzed—a new message.

He picked it up absentmindedly. A group chat: Phoenix Special Ops.

He tapped it open.

It was a system notification.

Mu Dai had left the group.

Luo Ren said nothing, set his phone back down, and kept driving. But the longer he drove, the more restless he felt. Finally, he pulled over, slammed the door behind him, and walked a few steps before collapsing onto the roadside barrier, breathing hard.

He tilted his head back. Sparse stars scattered across the sky.

His phone kept buzzing—probably Cao Pangpang and the others, chatting, asking, guessing.

Luo Ren didn’t want to look.

A car braked nearby. He looked up to see an SUV stop not far away. A burly driver leaned out the window. “Car trouble, brother?”

Luo Ren waved him off, gesturing that he was fine—just tired, stopping for a breather.

The driver nodded in understanding, rolled up the window, and drove off into the night.

After that, no one else stopped. Every car that passed swept by with a rush of wind. Luo Ren counted them.

One hundred. Two hundred. Three hundred strangers, all rushing past.

Wasn’t he already surrounded by enough strangers?

A sudden, furious anger rose in him.

Why?

He pushed himself up, turned the car around, and headed back toward Kunming.

By the time he arrived, dawn was breaking. Unexpectedly, he ran right into Huo Zihong and Uncle Zhang at the entrance. Both were carrying luggage, clearly preparing to leave. They looked startled to see his car.

Luo Ren braked hard, jumped out, and asked, “Where’s Mu Dai?”

“She ran,” Huo Zihong said.

For a moment, Luo Ren couldn’t even process the meaning of those words.

Huo Zihong turned, pointing up at a window on the second floor of the club.

“You know how good Mu Dai is at climbing. The doors were never opened. She must have slipped out the window in the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep.”

“She didn’t take her phone or her bank card. Probably just whatever cash she had on hand. She left a note.”

“What did it say?”

Huo Zihong gave a bitter smile.

It said: Don’t look for me. You won’t find me anyway.

She had planned it all along. The moment she sweetly agreed to “try a new medication,” she had already decided.

Luo Ren clenched his fists, spun around, and strode toward his car. He was about to grab the door handle when Uncle Zhang said, “Forget it.”

“She’s been gone most of the night. You don’t even know which direction she went. Chasing her would just be a waste of energy.”

The sun was high now, golden light spilling across the earth. The streets grew noisy with cars, and crowds hurried past.

Mu Dai strolled past a fruit stand, then circled back.

“How much for strawberries a jin?” she asked.

“Twelve.”

She pulled out her wallet and began counting. Only two large bills, the rest in small notes and coins, jingling in her hands.

She scooped up a fistful of loose change. “Two jin.”