Qiuzhen once again looked around him. The shops in that place were very diverse. This section of the road appeared to be the commercial center of that area. Qiuzhen racked his brains to find similarities between Xinxiu and Zhengyi as a starting point he could use to track down the two people's whereabouts. Then Qiuzhen remembered that Xinxiu really liked to cook, while Zhengyi really liked to eat. So the similarity between them was food. Maybe this time, they stopped by a restaurant that was there.
Of course, Qiuzhen realized such thoughts were completely unfounded. They left the house after lunch time. So, most likely they had eaten before leaving. There was almost no reason to fill their stomachs anymore. Moreover, it was not yet night. Even if it was confirmed that the two of them had stopped by the restaurant, Qiuzhen couldn't possibly know which restaurant they were at either. There were too many restaurants on this road.
Now, where should I go? Uh? What kind of food do they sell there?
Thinking of the food, Qiuzhen felt hungry. Even though he had lunch earlier, he had just run so fast that his energy was drained. He walked on to see which restaurant he should go to. Quickly, Qiuzhen had to satisfy the hunger that was whacking him. After walking for a few minutes, he finally entered a restaurant that didn't seem to be very crowded. According to his calculations, a restaurant filled with customers must have very busy employees, so it was likely that the food ordered would take longer to arrive at the customer's table.
Only waiting five minutes, the waiter had served the food in front of him. Qiuzhen ate voraciously. While he was eating, he tried his best to forget everything. Focus only on the food he is eating. After knowing Shanquan for so long, to some extent, he felt Shanquan's philosophy had influenced him. Shanquan so highly values food. For Shanquan, daily eating, which to others was a trivial matter, had almost become a matter of ritual.
The food that Qiuzhen ate was really delicious. Qiuzhen didn't know what food it was. He had never eaten such a dish. Earlier, he just ordered any food he saw on the menu. In a menu sheet the waiter handed to him, the dish he had ordered was also written in a larger size and bold font, apart from being at the top. Throughout its history, the big city had received a lot of immigrants. People who came from different parts of their new world brought their own cooking style. They took part in coloring the city's culinary culture. It was one thing Shanquan and Qiuzhen liked about the city.
After eating, he decided to just sit there. This restaurant wasn't crowded, so it was fine if he stayed there for a long time. At least, a little longer than usual. Qiuzhen took out the small notebook he always carried with him. He decided to write down in detail the things he had experienced during the past two days. If he didn't write down those things, usually there were always things he forgot. It was impossible for him to forget the main things, but the small things, usually after a few days, quickly disappeared from memory.
How about those two? Is it time I give up on looking for them?
Unconsciously, Qiuzhen had been in the restaurant long enough. He wrote interspersed with daydreaming. Sometimes Qiuzhen felt that Shanquan really had a significant impact on him. He even had the habit of daydreaming like Shanquan. Qiuzhen didn't know if that was a good thing or not. One thing he was sure of, Shanquan's influence was natural. Everyone, consciously or not, would definitely influence each other. More dominant people would leave a larger footprint of influence.
Finally, Qiuzhen felt it was time for him to leave that place. His next destination was the flyover station, which he had only seen before. Qiuzhen also had no plans after arriving at the station platform. He really didn't know what to do there. Qiuzhen shook his head several times. He laughed to himself. Doing something without such careful planning was Shanquan's style. It seemed that everyone in their group had been affected by that style.
The sun was already sliding below the horizon. Qiuzhen walked along the sidewalk in that section of the street. He sauntered. Not rushed at all. While walking past a small alley at the end of the road, he suddenly heard a loud noise from inside the alley. It was like the sound of a tin barrel being hit by a wooden block. After that, he heard the sound of people screaming. The alley was so dark, Qiuzhen couldn't see clearly. It sounded like someone was fighting in the alley.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Qiuzhen didn't want to interfere. For a moment, he was worried. He knew he had to admit that some crime might be going on there. There was a chance someone in there needed help. But he also couldn't deny the possibility that he could get hurt if he was too rash and interfered in the matter. For a moment, there was a terrible inner conflict in Qiuzhen's mind.
Is it a big sin if I just keep quiet?
Suddenly, there was the sound of approaching footsteps. Qiuzhen looked around him. The road wasn't tranquil, but the only person who stopped when they heard a voice coming from inside the alley was only him. Without thinking, he promptly walked a few steps forward and directly entered a cake shop which was right next to the mouth of the alley. The front of the shop was made of glass so Qiuzhen could see out from inside the shop.
Just as Qiuzhen was inside, he turned around at once. This time, he could clearly see the street outside. He saw a figure passing in front of the shop. When Qiuzhen entered the shop earlier, that person wasn't behind him, so he must have come from the alley earlier. Qiuzhen held his breath. That person was one of some people who followed Xinxiu and Zhengyi. The man's hand gripped his stomach. Looked like he was hurt. Qiuzhen didn't know how badly injured that person was. However, he was still able to move quickly, so it seemed he could still seek help on his own.
For a while, Qiuzhen was still inside the shop. He couldn't decide whether to follow the person who had just passed or enter the alley to check the place out. Qiuzhen was worried about his friends. He had to find them as soon as possible.
While he was still in doubt, another figure appeared from the left. Qiuzhen couldn't tell if this figure was from inside the alley earlier or if it was just someone who happened to be passing in front of the shop. That person was very tall. Taller than Zhengyi. According to Qiuzhen's estimation, he was in his mid-sixties. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit. Qiuzhen didn't know how much it cost. What Qiuzhen knew was that the suit looked very luxurious. What stood out the most about him was the black hat he was wearing. The hat also looked very expensive.
Just like the person who looked injured earlier, that person walked towards the station. After waiting a few seconds, Qiuzhen came out of the shop. The tall man in the black hat walked about forty meters in front of Qiuzhen. Qiuzhen didn't dare to walk too close to that person because that person seemed very dangerous. He didn't stop at the train station but walked straight to the crossroads. Qiuzhen continued to follow the person. Because he was tall, that person's footsteps were longer than Qiuzhen's. Qiuzhen tried to go faster, but he had to keep the distance between himself and that person from getting any closer.
Arriving at the intersection, the person turned right. Qiuzhen guessed he was heading to the bus stop earlier. After the man arrived at the bus stop, from a distance came a bus. The man seemed to get closer to the edge of the bus stop, so it was clear that he was going to get on the bus. Qiuzhen quickened his pace. He didn't want to miss the bus. Once at the bus stop, Qiuzhen quickly got on the bus.
The person in the black hat sat at the front, two rows from the front, to be exact. He sat in the right lane, right next to the window. Calmness was something Qiuzhen had to pay attention to at that time. Qiuzhen tried not to stare at the person. He continued to walk to the back of the bus. Qiuzhen sat in the right row, two rows from the back. The bus route was the same as the bus he had taken earlier. The route was so long that it took quite a while to get to the last stop. Qiuzhen was grateful that he had eaten earlier, so he was prepared if he had to follow this person for a few hours.
The sky was dark. Even though there were lights on the bus, they were not as bright as the sun's light. Luckily, Qiuzhen's eyesight was still relatively good. He could still clearly see things that his friends couldn't. All he needed to do was concentrate fully so that he didn't lose track of the person he was following.
The bus kept going. Qiuzhen was feeling a bit bored. Part of him was afraid. The other part was curious. He also felt a little bored because he wanted to know what would happen right away. When Qiuzhen was feeling sleepy, suddenly, the person in the black hat stood up. Looked like he would get off at the next stop. Qiuzhen also prepared to get off the vehicle. He stood up and headed straight for the exit at the back of the bus. He wanted to get off the bus before that person, so it wouldn't be too apparent that he was following him. Qiuzhen was fully aware that doing so might actually make that person aware of his presence, but at that moment, that was the only thing that crossed his mind.