SES Chapter 107 Part 2

The rice stalks in the distance swayed in the dark. A rat darted out from the roots, squeaking as it ran.

Mudi was certain she had brushed against something. But as soon as she touched it, it vanished without a trace.

Was she just imagining things?

Behind her, Zhang Tong shivered violently, then stood with his bottle of white-out. “Man, this wind is creepy as hell.”

“Scared?” Mudi asked.

Though she was older, Zhang Tong puffed himself up in front of the opposite sex. “Who’s scared?”

“Just air currents,” Mudi said.

She led him back through the rice field to the road. Zhang Tong, mission accomplished, was in high spirits, even whistling. “See? That was easier than I thought. I’d been losing sleep over it for days.”

“Now I feel enlightened. Transcended. Leveled up.”

Mudi gave him a sidelong glance. What does a little punk like this know? One tiny problem had him worried sick. One day, when real troubles hit, he’ll realize these things aren’t even worth a fart.

Of course, that wasn’t her wisdom—someone long ago had already put it into words.

Now that I’ve tasted the full flavor of sorrow, I can only say: ah, the coolness of autumn.

Mu Dai followed Zhang Tong back to the bridgehead near town, which naturally marked the border between city and countryside—one side bright with lights, the other pitch dark.

The night stalls along the bridge were buzzing. A crowd sat on little stools eating barbecue. Some of the faces she had seen yesterday were new.

When the group spotted Zhang Tong, they whooped and hollered. As Mu Dai walked past, she faintly heard Zhang Tong bragging behind her:

“I went just like I said I would. There was this pretty girl who was afraid to walk alone at night, so I brought her back with me. See? The one who just passed by…”

The buzz-cut guy squinted. “Wasn’t it the one walking behind you?”

Zhang Tong froze, every hair on end. “What?”

He whipped his head around to look at the path. The others burst into laughter again. A guy in a checkered shirt punched the buzz-cut man in the shoulder and said, “Chao, quit spooking him. Look at how rattled he is…”

The buzz-cut man looked puzzled. “I really did see someone…”

Another round of laughter drowned out his voice.

Back at the restaurant, the late-night shift was winding down. Zheng Shuiyu looked a little upset but didn’t say anything to her.

Before bed, Zheng Li cozied up and asked, “Mumu-jie, where’d you go?”

Mu Dai instinctively pulled back, raising a hand to block her.

Zheng Li froze.

Mu Dai felt awkward too. After a pause, she said, “Stay away from me. I’ve got a cold these days.”

“Oh…” Zheng Li stepped back toward her own bed. As she lay down, she said, “Auntie should have cold medicine. I’ll grab you some tomorrow.”

Mu Dai said, “I’ll just go to the hospital myself.”

Her mind was full, the kind of night where she should’ve been tossing and turning. But strangely, she blacked out and didn’t wake until past ten the next morning.

After washing up, she came downstairs and overheard Zheng Li loudly announcing, “My Mumu-jie has a cold.”

Since the lunch rush hadn’t started, the restaurant felt quiet. Zheng Shuiyu and He Qiang were outside chatting with nearby neighbors.

Zheng Li was wiping down tables, moving slowly, glancing outside again and again.

Something felt off. Different somehow.

When she saw Mu Dai come down, she hurried over, then remembered her warning and quickly stepped back a little.

She whispered, “Mumu-jie, something happened in the county.”

Her voice dropped lower. “I think someone was killed.”

Nantian County sat at the junction of Chongqing, Hunan, and Guizhou. Public security had always been good. Sure, there had been accidents—someone drunk stumbling into a river, car crashes—but those weren’t violent crimes.

It had been years since there was an actual homicide.

Could it have happened last night?

Zheng Li said, “Word spread this morning. In a small place like ours, gossip lasts for months. They say it was a student, a senior in high school. Fell from the bridge and died.”

“Because he couldn’t swim?”

“No, not in the water—he hit the bridge embankment, still a few meters from the river.” Zheng Li’s tone was oddly excited, like tragedy on a boring day made for good chatter. “Bad luck, really. If he had landed in the water, he might’ve lived.”

Mu Dai said, “Why do they say it was murder? Couldn’t he have fallen on his own?”

“Because someone saw it happen!”

That settled it. Nothing more to say.

Zheng Li pointed at the gossiping crowd outside. “They say a woman pushed him. Somebody saw it.”

Mu Dai only smiled faintly, grabbed a rag, and started wiping tables from the other side.

She remembered spotting the county hospital the other day. But for a proper check-up… maybe she should go to a bigger city. It’d be safer.

Outside, a car screeched to a stop. The gossiping crowd scattered. Zheng Li tensed up. “Mumu-jie?”

Mu Dai looked up. To her surprise, it was a police car.

Two officers got out—one in uniform, one in plain clothes—along with a buzz-cut young man whose head drooped.

She watched as the uniformed officer spoke to Zheng Shuiyu. After a few words, Zheng Shuiyu turned, looking flustered, and pointed in her direction.

Then, almost everyone outside turned to look inside.

Their eyes were complicated.

The back of Mu Dai’s head prickled. This couldn’t be good.

The two officers led the buzz-cut young man toward the restaurant.

Zheng Li stammered nervously, “Mu… Mumu-jie?”

Mu Dai said nothing. Standing by the table, her hand slowed, rag dragging across wood as breathing grew heavy.

The glass door creaked on its hinges. They stepped inside. Air flowed between the street and the shop.

The uniformed officer said, “Ma Chao, come identify her.”

The buzz-cut young man shrank as he stepped forward. His eyes flicked over Zheng Li’s face, then landed on Mu Dai’s. For two seconds, he stared, startled, then dropped his head.

The first two times she’d seen him, he’d strutted like some big brother with his gang. But now, trailing behind two policemen, he was just a kid barely grown, shoulders sagging.

Mu Dai heard him stammer, “It’s her.”