Chapter 25

Page Twenty-Four

Night Recon Operation (II)

Because I was wearing loose beach pants, there wasn’t much urgency, and after a series of tense events, I didn’t even notice when Xiao Changkai entered his power-up mode.

It’s so embarrassing, having something unclean on a girl’s thigh who turned from a brother, and the roadside trash bins look so welcoming, as if they were my refuge and my heart’s solace.

Xiao Lei, who had escaped her mother’s fear-inducing aura, became lively again. She slapped my back with a crisp “slap.”

“Enough, Chairman. I know that’s just a normal physiological reaction! If I’m not bothered, why are you moping around?”

She didn’t seem bothered at all; rather, she looked quite happy.

Holding a man and feeling something unclean on her thigh while being happy… Is her head okay? Or am I an exception?

“And if you keep thinking about this, Old Feng will pack up and leave!”

At her reminder, I quickly peeked out from behind the wall. Old Feng had already stacked the plastic table and chairs onto the food cart and climbed onto the seat.

Just as Xiao Lei said, Old Feng was ready to leave.

“Team Member Xiao Lei, let’s continue our mission.”

“Yes, Chairman!” She saluted me, as if she were a Kuomintang female spy.

Old Feng’s food cart was modified from an electric tricycle. This tricycle wasn’t fast to begin with, and dragging the heavy food cart made it move like a slow old turtle, causing quite a bit of anxiety.

Firstly, we could definitely keep up with its speed. Even if walking wasn’t enough, we had shared bicycles everywhere.

Secondly, Old Feng’s home wouldn’t be too far away. Considering how slowly the food cart moved, I estimated he wouldn’t get far even if fully fueled.

Two people tracking simultaneously would easily expose us, and there weren’t enough utility poles on the highway. So, I retreated to a position farther from Xiao Lei.

The food cart swayed out of the village, heading toward Mí Fēng Street along the main road.

Old Feng riding in front was fine, but Xiao Lei and I were often startled by wild cats and dogs darting out from the roadside. These small animals were drawn out by the smell of stir-fried dishes from the food cart, especially some of the young ones reminding me of the cute little Orange when she was young.

This food cart was more spirited than I expected. I thought it would take no more than ten minutes, but after passing Mí Fēng Street, the cart showed no signs of stopping.

“Although a bit tired, I’m far from reaching my limit!”

Accompanied by the noisy engine like a tractor, it seemed the food cart was saying this.

The summer night was unusually hot. Sweat drops slid down my side, making me feel itchy.

Xiao Lei, walking ahead, occasionally lifted her hoodie to fan herself, exposing a slender waist in the moonlight. The sweat-soaked skin seemed to emit a faint glow.

“Chairman, do you think your speculation might be off?” Xiao Lei’s voice came through the earphones with a hint of complaint.

I checked my phone; it was almost 11 PM. Although my body felt drained, I didn’t want to give up after tracking for so long.

“At 11:10 PM, if Old Feng hasn’t returned home, we’ll turn back.”

“Alright, if we go back too late, we won’t wake up tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, grades will be announced tomorrow, right?”

Summer vacation hadn’t started yet, but there was still half a day of classes left, and final exam results would also be released.

Regarding the final exams, my grades were consistently average and stable, generally placing me in the upper middle ranks.

Zhào Zhào, or Xiao Lei, had equally average and stable grades—always failing across the board. He was nicknamed “Red Light District.”

“That’s right, grades will be announced tomorrow. By the way, in our school, if you’re at the bottom of the class, even if you pass the retake, you still have to attend summer tutoring sessions. You’d be in a room with a muscle-bound teacher discussing philosophical ideas.”

“Really? Then what about my plan to play basketball and hang out with girls during the summer?”

Ah, you’re still thinking about that? And you’re the one getting hung up on, aren’t you!

In this casual conversation, we followed the food cart for another ten minutes or so, leading us to the riverside road. Just as the deadline approached, our special correspondent, Team Member Xiao Lei, finally reported good news.

“Chairman! Old Feng has left the main road! He’s riding the food cart into the… well, the riverbank.”

“Riverbank?”

Because the terrain was open, I noticed the food cart struggling on the stony path of the riverbank. The uneven ground made the cart shake violently, raising concerns about it flipping over.

The cart continued to rock as it rode into the bridge tunnel under the river and never came out. I had a bad feeling about this.

“Xiao Lei, go check. Be extremely careful, and call me if anything seems wrong.”

“Okay.” Xiao Lei agreed and climbed over the highway guardrail, sliding down the slope to the riverbank. Xiao Lei was a basketball player and managed to stay balanced during this slide.

There were three possibilities regarding Old Feng entering the bridge tunnel.

First, Old Feng might just park the cart here and go home himself. However, considering the ingredients on the cart, this was unlikely.

Second, Old Feng might actually live in the bridge tunnel. This was more tragic and likely, given Old Feng’s business methods… his sales volume couldn’t be high.

Third, Old Feng might have discovered someone was following him and deliberately hid in the tunnel to ambush them, putting Xiao Lei in danger.

I hoped for the first possibility, but the second and third were more likely.

Xiao Lei reached the entrance of the bridge tunnel, moving cautiously along the wall, afraid of making any noise that might alert Old Feng.

“There are two flat-roofed houses near the bridgehead. The food cart is parked at the entrance. It used to be a bridge maintenance station, probably rented by Old Feng,” I listened to Xiao Lei’s low description through the earphones.

“Where is Old Feng?”

“He’s packing up the ingredients to take home for refrigeration. There’s a large basin of dirty bowls next to the cart… they must be washed… sigh, Old Feng really isn’t treated fairly by fate.” Xiao Lei seemed indignant at the end.

I didn’t expect Old Feng to live in such a place. Wasn’t he disturbed by the constant traffic overhead? Did he not have a house? Or did he give it to his ex-wife during the divorce?

“In any case, tonight’s mission is accomplished. Let’s retreat, Team Member Xiao Lei, El Psy Congroo.”

“Chairman, can a beautiful girl’s notebook really change Old Feng’s situation?”

Seeing the cruelty of society, Xiao Lei’s mood was somewhat down, unwilling to engage in my playful banter.

Xiao Lei is such a good child, her empathy towards those suffering is one of humanity’s excellent qualities.

Thinking about her question, I pondered and replied:

“If Old Feng continues this life after transforming, losing his adult male advantages, I dare say he will only fall into greater misfortune.

But the notebook offers a turning point, a chance for unfortunate people to start anew.

A beautiful girl who isn’t blind or disfigured and has top-tier chef skills would have many more possibilities and a brighter future than Old Feng now. But as the saying goes, success depends on oneself. If Old Feng doesn’t make changes, all possibilities are just talk.”

“You’re always so eloquent when talking about big principles.”

We returned home, drenched in sweat, and naturally needed to take a shower.

Out of courtesy, Xiao Lei had already finished her bath, wearing my T-shirt and shorts, playing with her phone in bed.

I took the clothes to the bathroom, seeing her hoodie, black stockings, and my khaki five-inch shorts carelessly thrown in a bamboo basket. They were soaked with Xiao Lei’s “sweat,” weren’t they?

For a moment, I felt a tremor. I felt those mysterious female hormones attracting me to smell them, to inhale them into my chest. Especially those original black stockings of the beautiful girl, which reminded me of my mother’s fried egg rolls, wanting to put them in my mouth… wait, I’ve never seen my mother or eaten anything like that before.

I ended up taking a cold shower.

While cold water wasn’t as effective at removing sweat, it cooled both my brain and Xiao Changkai.