Qiuzhen's attention was now torn between listening to the conversation of the two people sitting to his left and observing the person sitting on the bench in front of the food stall to his right. Fortunately, the conversation of the two people on Qiuzhen's left, at that time, only contained things that Qiuzhen thought were not very important.
The person sitting on the bench of the food stall that sold dishes made from tuna was currently wearing a light blue shirt. After ordering food, the person left the bench. Qiuzhen heard the food vendor said that he needed time to prepare the dish. The dish would be ready in at least the next twenty minutes. The person had already ordered, so he would most likely be back in twenty minutes.
Where did he go? Late at night like this, not many places are still open around here!
The two people to the left of Qiuzhen had almost finished their meal. Perhaps as soon as they finished eating, they would get up from the bench and leave the stall. Qiuzhen hesitated for a moment. Now, he had two options. The first option was to follow the two people. Qiuzhen suspected that the things that person mentioned were directly related to his friends. Qiuzhen felt he had to know about how far that person's actions could harm his friends.
The second option was to remain seated at the stall and wait for the person in the dark blue shirt to arrive. The two people on Qiuzhen's left seemed harmless. At least, less dangerous than the person in the light blue dress. But Qiuzhen couldn't just trust his own hunch. He was completely inexperienced in these kinds of things, so he knew he might be wrong.
Fifteen minutes had passed. Finally, the two of them stood up. They were ready to leave the stall. Qiuzhen actually also finished eating ten minutes ago. He even had paid for the food and drinks he ate. The two of them then started walking, but there was no sign that the man in the light blue shirt would return soon. Qiuzhen took out a coin from his trouser pocket. On one side of the coin was an engraving of a phoenix. On the other side was an engraving of a dragon. Qiuzhen spun the coin. The coin then spun on the table. After twenty seconds, the coin stopped and fell to one side. The side facing up was the side engraved with a phoenix. Qiuzhen stood up. He walked after the two people who had just left the stall.
Maybe it is fate that I have to reveal what their conversation was about!
They went up to the floor above the underground mall. It looked like they were heading to the station platform. Carefully, Qiuzhen walked some distance behind them. At the moment, the atmosphere at the station was so quiet. If Qiuzhen was too close to them, they could easily notice that Qiuzhen was following them. It turned out that Qiuzhen's guess was correct. They headed to the platform of Line 15.
After paying for the train ticket, Qiuzhen entered the platform and promptly sat on one of the long benches. The two people he observed were standing about fifty meters away from him. They were still talking. Even though he really wanted to hear the contents of their conversation, Qiuzhen could not act rashly. If Qiuzhen approached, they would definitely be suspicious. So, Qiuzhen just sat there waiting to see what the two of them would do next.
In less than five minutes, the train arrived. One of the two of them then got into the car. The one who didn't get on the train was the one wearing the dark green coat. He waved his hand at his friend, who was now in the carriage. The train then started running. The person standing on the platform was still waving his hand. He only stopped waving when the train had actually left the station. The person then turned around and walked off the platform.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Qiuzhen did not immediately follow him. He was worried that, at that moment, his luck would end. In such a non-crowded situation, it would be odd for him to always be around that person. After the person was out of sight, Qiuzhen hastily got up from the bench and ran after him. Right in front of the platform, there was a stall selling hats and sunglasses. Without bidding, Qiuzhen instantly bought the two items and put them on right away.
Qiuzhen looked around for a while before finally finding the person with the dark green coat. The person seemed to be heading towards the escalator. Luckily, he chose to use the escalator. If he took the elevator, Qiuzhen would definitely have a hard time guessing the person's destination.
Several people had already started arriving at the station. They seemed to be construction workers who had to start work early in the morning. Qiuzhen caught up with the person he followed while half running. Luckily, he was wearing shoes whose soles were not made of wood or other materials that made a loud noise when he stomped his feet on the floor.
Qiuzhen had suspected that the person was going to take the Train Line 21, whose platform was exactly one floor below the Line 15 platform. He was already preparing to buy a ticket to enter the Line 21 platform when he saw the man in the dark green coat standing in front of the vending machine.
He just ate and drank! How could he is already thirsty again?
After getting the drink he wanted, the person forthwith left in front of the vending machine. This time, he walked back toward the escalator again. This made Qiuzhen a bit confused and worried at the same time. If he really intended to go down to a floor far below, he shouldn't have had to stop by that floor. Drink vending machines were available on every floor. He could directly buy a drink at the vending machine on the floor he went to.
Qiuzhen was worried about the possibility that the person had already realized that Qiuzhen was following him. If that was the case, that person dropped by the floor they were on, only to confirm whether Qiuzhen had really followed him. Qiuzhen stood frozen, thinking about the possibility. But after a while, he decided to continue his action. Everything was already done. Had that person known, Qiuzhen would have been ready. Qiuzhen was sure that person wouldn't do anything dangerous.
While walking, the person did not look in any direction at all. He walked on without stopping at all. This made Qiuzhen even more confused. In the conversation he had heard earlier, that person had considerable experience observing or supervising people. If that was true, he would have known that Qiuzhen had been following him all along. Qiuzhen was worried that the person was deliberately letting Qiuzhen follow him for some reason. However, since he was determined to continue following that person, Qiuzhen could no longer retreat.
The person took the escalator to the lowest floor. If people want to go straight to the bottom floor, they usually use the elevator, not the escalator. Qiuzhen could only guess that the person might be afraid of being in an enclosed space like an elevator. That conjecture flashed through Qiuzhen's mind.
The bottom floor had several tenants. Because the most famous was Xindongchang, many people think the bottom floor was identical to Xindongchang. In fact, several other companies had opened businesses there. But after midnight like that, it was certain that no one was passing by there, so it was silent.
Qiuzhen strode discreetly. He didn't want to make a sound that would arouse suspicion. Such silence, even the faintest sound, might be heard clearly.
When Qiuzhen reached the bottom floor, he couldn't see that person anymore. Qiuzhen noticed his surroundings. There was hardly anyone else there. For a moment, his mind was stuck. He didn't know what to do next.
Qiuzhen sighed. Due to his careful steps, he lost track of that person. Maybe that person had come down there on purpose to outwit him. He pretended to go down to the lowest floor. But actually, when Qiuzhen couldn't see him, the person immediately returned to where he was before or went up to one floor above.
In his confusion, Qiuzhen just circled around in that place. Except for the Xindongchang warehouse, all the business units there were locked, so it was almost impossible for anyone to enter any of the rooms used as offices or shops on that floor. But then Qiuzhen realized the possibility that the person was one tenant of the place there. If that's the case, that person could be hiding somewhere on the floor right now.