SES Chapter 112 Part 2

Yan Hongsha whispered, “Mu Dai?”

“I can’t sleep. Tossing and turning was keeping you up. I’ll just sleep here on the couch.”

Yan Hongsha didn’t know what to say. She turned over, staring wide-eyed into the dark, her mind muddled. After a while, she suddenly thought of something, fished her phone out from under her pillow, silenced it, found Luo Ren’s WeChat, and sent a message.

“You up?”

He replied almost instantly: “Up.”

So he couldn’t sleep either. Staring at that single word, Yan Hongsha froze, unsure what else to type.

After a while, another message came: “Open the door.”

She startled, then scrambled out of bed, hurrying barefoot to the door. Passing the sofa, she glanced at Mu Dai—despite all the noise, she hadn’t looked up.

Poor girl, Yan Hongsha thought. Poor thing.

She opened the door. Luo Ren stood there.

She had a bellyful of words but didn’t know how to say them. He probably understood anyway. She pointed helplessly into the room, face full of frustration.

Luo Ren smiled and handed her a key. “Go sleep in my room.”

She didn’t hesitate—took the key and ran.

Luo Ren sat down beside Mu Dai.

He said, “Don’t worry too much. Didn’t Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua say there was a third witness on the bridge? If we can track her down, there’s still hope.”

Mu Dai shook her head. “Not much hope. I felt it already. Even before you came back, I knew there wouldn’t be good news.”

Luo Ren teased, “What’s this, clairvoyance? Since when did you start sounding like some fortune-teller? Oh, by the way—the trickster went to Hangu Pass. Did you know?”

Mu Dai didn’t care where the trickster went.

“Luo Ren, it’s two against one now.”

“You knew from the start there were already two people testifying against you.”

“Not the same,” she whispered. “After your investigation today, it feels different.”

Her voice dropped lower. “Now, even I can’t help wondering if I really did go to that bridge. After all… those two men have no grudge against me. Why would they frame me?”

“But if I were on that bridge… I’ve thought and thought about it. It couldn’t have been any of the three personalities Dr. He mentioned.”

She raised four fingers. “That means there’s a fourth personality. A dangerous one. One that kills for no reason.”

“Mu Dai, don’t jump to conclusions,” Luo Ren said firmly.

“It’s not jumping. Deep down, you suspect it too, don’t you? You and Cao Yanhua, Yi Wansan—you don’t say it out loud, but I can tell.”

He chose his words carefully. “Mu Dai, you have to understand. This isn’t a matter of trust.”

“I know.”

“I taught you this, remember? Don’t give up till the river runs dry. And the Yellow River hasn’t run dry yet—we still have that third witness.”

Mu Dai smiled faintly.

“If—and I mean if—that third witness also swears I was on that bridge…”

Instead of answering, Luo Ren asked, “So, you really can’t sleep tonight, huh?”

“No. I can’t.”

“Then come drive with me.”

She was still in pajamas and slippers. Luo Ren glanced at her and said, “You’re going out like that?” He paused, then added, “Whatever. Your call.”

She followed him downstairs. At the front desk, the night-shift clerk was fast asleep. When they pushed open the glass doors, the midnight chill hit them.

Luo Ren started the car. The roads were empty. The car sped through alleys, over the bridge, then roared down a dirt path outside the city. In the distance, Mu Dai glimpsed the silhouette of the Tengma platform—and then it flashed past behind them.

Nan Tian County, too, seemed to slip away into the dark.

Maybe she should never have come here.

Mu Dai said quietly, “I came to Nan Tian to untie a knot. To start over. Like a soiled shirt—I thought if I washed it, or turned it inside out, I could wear it again.

“But now it’s all holes. No matter how I wash it or flip it, it’s ruined.”

“Where do you want to stop?” Luo Ren asked.

“Don’t stop. Either keep going or circle back. Just don’t stop.”

He understood and pressed harder on the gas.

He suddenly remembered that night when Xiao Shanghe took them to the desert to see the stars—racing across the Gobi, plunging down dunes.

But here, even beyond the county, the land was too cramped, not the same.

Mu Dai repeated her question.

“If that third witness also swears I was on that bridge—what then?”

Luo Ren was silent for a long time before he answered. “Then you’ll have to decide for yourself. Make a responsible decision.”

Mu Dai turned her head, gazing out the window at her own blurred reflection.

“Got it.”

 

 

 

This novel will continue on 9 Oct 2025.