The weight of Xu Bilin's lie lingered in Xu Mo's mind, leaving him unable to muster any enthusiasm for the rest of the outing. He mindlessly accompanied Tang Guo and Lin Yijing through all the attractions at the dinosaur amusement park, but his thoughts were elsewhere. When they finally exited with the crowd, he felt drained.
Tang Guo, though unsure of the reason, could tell that Xu Mo was no longer in the same upbeat mood as before. She sighed helplessly, stretched, and yawned, saying, "I'm tired. I'm heading home."
Xu Mo was startled. "What? You're not staying for the movie?"
"What's the fun in watching a movie with someone who looks half-dead? Besides, today's movie is Resident Evil 5. Sure, it's a blockbuster, but it doesn't fit the mood right now. If you two want to watch it, go ahead. I'm out."
With that, she lazily strolled to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and waved at them listlessly before the car drove away.
While the three of them had been together, Lin Yijing hadn't thought much of it. But now that it was just her and Xu Mo, she suddenly felt a little uneasy despite usually being calm and composed. She glanced at him cautiously and hesitated. "Maybe… we should skip the movie. I don't really like horror films anyway."
"That works." Xu Mo had no real interest in the movie either. He hailed a cab and opened the door. "It's getting dark, and it might not be safe on the way back. Let me take you home."
Lin Yijing instinctively wanted to decline, but then she suddenly remembered Ning Ning's incident, and a strange unease crept into her heart. In the end, she accepted Xu Mo's offer without further protest.
Lin Yijing's home wasn't far from the amusement park—less than a fifteen-minute drive.
After getting out of the cab, Xu Mo handed both the fare and the three remaining movie tickets to the middle-aged driver. The driver, grateful for the unexpected gesture, simply waved him off and refused to take the fare.
"So… this is where you live?" Xu Mo looked at the somewhat dilapidated three-story red-brick buildings before him, surprised.
He was quite familiar with this area. Years ago, his mother, Liu Shuxian, had worked at a nearby valve factory. When he was about eight or nine, he often played around the factory's employee housing. But after the factory went bankrupt, its land and equipment were sold to private owners, and his mother was laid off. He never came back.
The old employee housing had stood for over thirty years. It was originally built for factory workers, but after the factory was auctioned off, the property rights of these buildings were sold individually. However, due to the poor condition of the houses and their remote location, they were practically given away for next to nothing. Even so, very few people bought them, so those who settled here were mostly among Shang Shan City's poorer residents.
Lin Yijing had always ranked first in her grade and carried herself with grace and confidence. Xu Mo had assumed she came from a well-off family—perhaps even a scholarly household. The stark contrast between expectation and reality truly caught him off guard.
"Surprised that I live here?" Lin Yijing noticed his reaction and asked with a faintly indifferent tone. Still, a nearly imperceptible trace of self-consciousness flickered in her eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." Xu Mo quickly realized his misstep and tried to explain.
"It's fine. I'm used to it." Lin Yijing shook her head lightly, her expression returning to its usual calm detachment.
Xu Mo knew that over-explaining would only make things worse, so he forced a smile and let it go. Stepping ahead of her, he entered the dimly lit alleyway, moving a rusty old bicycle out of the way. Turning back, he chuckled. "It's been almost ten years, and Old Li's rickety bicycle is still here, blocking the alley every night. No one's complained?"
"Oh? You know Old Li?" Lin Yijing was slightly surprised. She replied instinctively, "Plenty of people have asked him to move it, but he always says…"
"'It helps keep thieves away,' right? That old man is as stubborn and unreasonable as ever, but he's got a good heart."
Xu Mo skillfully maneuvered around the clutter in the alley. His familiarity with the place even surprised Lin Yijing, who had lived there for seven or eight years. Unable to help herself, she asked, "You seem to know this place really well?"
"Heh, I used to play here almost every day as a kid. My mom worked at the valve factory, and I knew nearly all the old residents here. Honestly, even after nearly ten years, I still feel nostalgic about this place."
Hearing this, Lin Yijing's expression softened. She nodded in agreement and walked a few steps ahead, pointing to a corner stairwell. "That's my home. Third floor, right-hand side… You don't need to come up. Thanks for walking me back."
"Alright. Be careful on your way up."
As he watched her walk away, Xu Mo was about to turn and leave when he suddenly noticed a few figures moving in the dimly lit stairwell ahead.
People?
In a residential area, seeing people coming and going was normal, but Xu Mo wasn't the type to take chances. He quickly pulled out his silver mask and activated the dual-mode night vision and zoom functions to lock onto the figures inside the stairwell.
Three men. Two young, one middle-aged.
The two younger men had cigarettes dangling from their lips, one even wearing an earring. Their postures were arrogant as they gestured toward the middle-aged man, who appeared to be in his forties—mature, handsome, and dressed in a suit, exuding the air of a successful businessman. However, he was currently bowing and pleading with them in hushed tones.
The trio didn't look like common thugs. Xu Mo was about to leave when he suddenly saw the middle-aged man rush toward Lin Yijing, grabbing her hand anxiously while gesturing back at the two younger men.
Lin Yijing's expression darkened instantly. She struggled fiercely, shaking off his grip, and hurried upstairs. But the man refused to let go, chasing after her and grabbing her again despite her resistance.
Noticing the two younger men also moving forward, Xu Mo still didn't know the exact situation, but he knew he couldn't just stand by. Retracting his mask, he quickly strode forward.
"Let go of her! Whatever it is, talk it out!"
For some reason, Xu Mo suddenly felt like his words sounded a bit silly.
"Xu Mo!"
Lin Yijing's eyes lit up as if she had found a savior. She broke free from the man's grasp and hid behind Xu Mo, clutching his shirt tightly.
The middle-aged man frowned and pushed Xu Mo aside impatiently. "Kid, I'm talking to my daughter. Mind your own business and step aside."
"Daughter?"
Xu Mo barely managed to stop himself from swinging his fist. He turned to Lin Yijing for confirmation.
She lowered her head painfully. "Sorry… He really is my father."
Hearing this, Xu Mo hesitated. If the man was indeed her father, standing between them felt somewhat inappropriate. He quickly stepped aside, intending to let them speak. But to his surprise, Lin Yijing clung to his shirt even tighter, as if she had no intention of facing her father at all.
Realizing that something deeper was at play, Xu Mo spread his arms slightly to shield her and asked in a low voice, "Can someone tell me what's going on?"
"It's nothing serious," the young man with the earring said lazily, fiddling with a lighter. "Her old man owes us money. He can't pay it back, so he wants to borrow some from her. Simple as that."
"Enough!" Lin Yijing suddenly shouted in anguish. "You and my mom divorced eight years ago! She raised me alone, and you never paid a single cent in child support. Now you think you can just show up and demand money to pay off your debts?"
The middle-aged man hesitated, unable to refute her words. Then, his eyes landed on Xu Mo, and his face brightened. "You're my daughter's boyfriend, right? How about this—you cover my debt, and from now on, Yijing is yours. Don't worry about her mother's approval—I'll take care of that for you."