Chapter 006
Nangong Iren
After the meeting with his former colleague ended, Iren did not immediately return home. He wandered around to see other places. Places where he might be able to find a decent place to live. He just returned home around six in the afternoon.
At that time, Yihshyong had just arrived home. They did not immediately enter the house but chatted briefly with the neighbor from next door. From that person, Iren and Yihshyong knew that yesterday there was a package for them. Not long after the conversation with the neighbor, their two friends, Shinnshiow and Jenqyih, arrived home. The four of them entered the house together. Except for Shinnshiow, who walked straight to the kitchen, the three of them sat on the sofa in the living room.
"You look dazzling this afternoon?" Yihshyong patted Jenqyih's back. "Is there anything out of the ordinary that I need to know about?"
"It's just Shyongge's feelings," said Jenqyih. "Nothing special happened."
"Is that true?" Yihshyong looked at him suspiciously. "Iren, what do you think?"
After watching Jenqyih's face for about thirty seconds, Iren nodded. "Shyongge is right! Something has happened!"
"Nothing," said Jenqyih. "Today everything I experienced was relatively the same as other days. Not a single piece of surprise happened to me."
Iren didn't believe Jenqyih's confession at all. The facial expression that Jenqyih showed, there must be a reason.
"If you don't believe me, just ask Shinnshiow," Jenqyih said.
"Shinnshiow!" Iren shouted in a loud voice. "You arrived home at the same time as Yihge. Did you see anything earlier?"
Shinnshiow hurriedly ran into the living room. He appeared with a slightly annoyed face. "What's wrong? Renge, I was in the bathroom!"
Iren immediately pointed at Jenqyih with his index finger. Shinnshiow tilted his head. Apparently, he didn't understand what Iren meant.
"Our Jenqyih seems very cheerful. Don't you think you know what caused it?" Yihshyong smiled widely.
Shinnshiow shook his head. His eyes were spinning. He seemed to be trying hard to remember something.
"Just blurt it," Iren urged.
"Ah!" Finally, Shinnshiow let out a loud enough exclamation. "Maybe because of the girl."
"What girl?" Iren leaned towards Shinnshiow. The few words that came out of his best friend's mouth had piqued his curiosity.
"Earlier, in front of this complex, we met a girl. She was carrying a lot of things. Then a little boy ran and hit the girl."
"Then the things fell off?" guess Yihshyong. His face also looks curious.
Shinnshiow nodded. "That's right! Everything was scattered on the sidewalk. Yihge and I helped the girl collect her scattered things." He explained while moving his hands here and there.
"This is just incredible news!" Iren laughed loudly. He gave a thumbs up and patted Shinnshiow on the back. "Then what happened next?"
"Nothing. The girl continued on her way to nowhere, while we headed straight home."
Yihshyong gaped at Shinnshiow and Jenqyih. "You didn't ask the girl anything?" He asked in a tone of disbelief.
"Ask about what?" Shinnshiow turned to look confusedly at Yihshyong.
"Are you crazy?" Iren became impatient. "Of course asking where her house is, what her phone number is, why she's walking alone. Stuff like that!"
Isn't that too vulgar? Shinnshiow scratched his head. "She might even get scared."
"I don't think it's vulgar at all," Yihshyong said. "It all depends on how you ask."
"Would Shyongge do something like that if Shyongge was the one who met that girl earlier?" asked Shinnshiow.
"Of course not?" Yihshyong replied as fast as lightning.
"But didn't Shyongge just say it wasn't vulgar?"
"Shyongge's looks and appearance are not at all suitable for doing such things," Iren preceded Yihshyong to answer the question. He then pointed at Shinnshiow and Jenqyih. "But actions like that match your looks so well!"
Yihshyong burst out laughing while Jenqyih glared at Iren. The calmer Shinnshiow just grinned.
Iren hadn't stopped talking. He immediately continued his words. "And even if you still think it's too vulgar for you to do, then you might act worried when you see the girl alone. It's a way of getting further opportunities. For example, the chance to take the girl home. You could have told her it's a bit unsafe here lately."
"Actually, I did think that way." Jenqyih finally said something. He finally admitted that something had happened on the way back home. "But Shinnshiow asked me to hurry home instead."
"That's because I needed to pee," said Shinnshiow. "Besides, Yihge doesn't show any signs of wanting to linger in the middle of the road either."
"That's not what I had in mind," Jenqyih said. "It all happened so fast. So by the time I finished thinking, the girl was already moving away from us."
"Hah! You guys really suck!" Iren said resentfully. "You are really hopeless!"
"Then why is our Jenqyih acting like this?" Yihshyong looked at Jenqyih with a questioning look.
"Maybe because that girl was laughing all the time when she saw Yihge," said Shinnshiow.
"Is that all? She did nothing else?" Iren patted his forehead. That ridiculous fact made him a little irritated. Everyone would definitely think that such a thing was not fun at all. Iren was absolutely sure of that.
"Doesn't that mean I'm pretty decent in that girl's eyes?" There was a note of pride in Jenqyih's voice.
"Pretty good in what way?" Yihshyong laughed loudly. His eyes narrowed.
"She laughed when he saw me, didn't it mean she thought I'm quite qualified?"
"What do you mean by quite qualified? Maybe today's scorching heat has made your brain short circuit." Iren also laughed.
"But she smiled and laughed at me!" Jenqyih insisted.
"A girl's smile and laugh can have many meanings." Yihshyong explained.
"Right!" Iren added. "A girl will laugh when she sees a strange boy who looks stupid and tacky. She will also laugh when she sees an ugly man who is like a big frog jumping in the fields!"
Jenqyih glared at Iren's answer. He stood up and was about to put his hands on Iren's neck.
"That's it! No need to continue," said Yihshyong. "We were just joking. Maybe you're right. The girl might find you so unique. But next time you should ask her. At least you should know her name."
Jenqyih released his grip from Iren's neck. He returned to his seat. It was clear that he was still sulking. After about fifteen seconds, Jenqyih finally said something.
"Earlier, you two seemed to be having a great time talking to our neighbors. Is there any interesting new gossip?"
"No gossip at all!" Yihshyong laughed. "He said yesterday that there was a package for us. Since we weren't at home, he received the package. This afternoon he handed over the package to Dahge, who turned out to be already at home. After that, not long after, he saw Dahge leaving the house again."
"Back then, wasn't he the one who received our package as well?" Jenqyih raised her eyebrows.
"Yes. I hope he didn't peek at what's in the package this time," Yihshyong said. "But he does quite like telling stories."
"If he handed over the package to Dahge this afternoon, then what was he doing outside our house this afternoon?" Jenqyih frowned. "Is he purposely waiting for us to get someone to chat with?"
"He was not standing in front of our house, but in front of his own house. Every time we walk home, we do have to pass in front of his house," said Yihshyong. "When he saw us he started talking to us."
"Then why is he standing in front of his house?" Jenqyih did look ridiculous when he asked that question.
Iren shook his head. "It's his own house. So it's up to him if he wants to stand or hang out in front of his house all the time!"
Jenqyih laughed. It seemed that he was just having fun so that he asked such an unreasonable question. Maybe he was just teasing Iren to reply to the mockery Iren had directed at him.
"So the story goes like this." Yihshyong explained. "Yesterday he bought a new television. After trying it at home, the picture and sound quality were good. But this morning the television won't turn on, so he called the electronics store where he bought the television to ask them to send someone to fix the television. They said they would come around four o'clock in the afternoon. But until we entered the house, no one had come yet."
"I'm so sorry for him," said Jenqyih. "I want to watch the news on television first before taking a shower. Who knows if it turns out that this evening there will be interesting news!"
Jenqyih then walked to the front of the television. When he was about to turn on the television set, he blurted. "Eh! What is this?" His index finger pointed to something on the television set.
Iren got up from the sofa and approached their television. There was a note. It turned out that this afternoon, before leaving, Shannchyuan had time to write a brief message for them. He wrote to them about the phone call and package from Songfei.
Jenqyih was laughing while reading the note. "Maybe it's just Songfei's game."
Iren frowned. "But he's never been to this extreme. He always tells us his plans before engaging us in his game."
"There is always a first time for everything. Maybe this time Songfei designs a surprise for us," said Jenqyih.
"I agree with Renge," Shinnshiow, who had been quiet again after recounting what had happened on the way home, also spoke up. "This seems serious. I think we should be on guard."
"If this is serious, Dahge will definitely call us for help soon." Yihshyong said.
"It's only six o'clock. According to the next-door neighbor, Dahge only left around three o'clock. Right now, maybe he just arrived at the Dahfeisy Tower. So he also does not know exactly what happened yet." Said Iren.
"Then tonight, we'll just be on guard. If Dahge calls later, then the problem is serious." Said Shinnshiow.
Hopefully, Dahge will call us soon. Whether or not it is important, he should have let us know what he saw there.
After Iren took a bath, they had dinner together. This morning Shinnshiow cooked a lot. It seemed Shannchyuan had lunch at home this afternoon. Yet, there was still plenty of food left, so they had to eat it up tonight.
"How is it today?" Yihshyong asked his three friends.
"I still haven't found a suitable house yet," said Jenqyih.
"I'm not making progress either," said Iren. He didn't want to go into detail about what happened.
Shinnshiow, who was really quiet, just shook his head.
"Well, usually, at the last moment, we will find a place, don't worry too much," said Yihshyong.
Done eating, they watched television. Initially, those four men all watched a detective drama. At the time of the commercial, Iren changed the channel. This time the news channel. The four were interested in listening because there was news about a place close to them.
Earlier, around ten in the morning, an incident occurred in a mall near a subway station. The place was so close to their house. Witnesses had stated that there was a light explosion inside the mall. They'd called it an explosion because it was like a bomb but only light, so no metal fragments, flakes, or anything were found in the blast. The burst of light itself did not appear to be any harm. Some people report vision loss. However, it was only temporary because their vision had recovered as before, about ten or fifteen minutes later. The incident injured several people. It happened because people were panicking. These victims are usually people who have fallen or been trampled by other visitors when they run around in panic. The police and fire department had found nothing, so the mall was not closed.
"Eh, so that's what happened this morning!" Yihshyong said aloud. When his three friends turned to look at him, Yihshyong continued his sentence. "I was there earlier. But only briefly. I got out and got on the bus at the bus stop in front of the mall. When the bus started running, suddenly people ran out of the mall. I don't know what happened after that because the bus didn't stop."
Iren suddenly remembered something. "I was also standing across from the mall."
"You didn't you get inside?" asked Jenqyih.
"No. I just stood there. I saw Dahge entered the mall."
"Oh, I think you're right," Yihshyong put on the look on the face of someone who suddenly remembered something. "This morning, around ten o'clock, after we parted in front of the station exit, I went to the mall. There I saw Dahge on the ground floor of the mall. When I went down to the ground floor, I still saw him there but suddenly he walked really fast towards the mall's main exit. Then I lost track of him. After that I left the mall and took the bus to another place."
"So the three of you came to the mall after we left the station," said Jenqyih.
"I did not enter, just standing across from the mall," said Iren.
"Then why didn't you come in?" asked Jenqyih.
"Because I have other business," replied Iren. He didn't want to explain about the apartment he failed to get. "I don't want to bother Dahge, anyway."
"What do you mean by didn't want to bother him?" Shinnshiow broke into the conversation again. He seemed interested in hearing the last sentence Iren said.
Iren then straightened his sitting position. He knew his friends knew that if he had posed like that, he must be getting ready to tell something important.
"So, here it is." Iren put on a serious face, or at least he tried hard to show a serious look. "Yesterday afternoon, when I came home from the painting exhibition where I met Tsaehorng, I saw Dahge having a conversation with a girl."
Iren stopped talking. He watched the expressions on his friends' faces.
"A young girl?" asked Jenqyih.
"Right. About twenties. I think the girl may be in her mid or late twenties."
"What were they talking about?" asked Yihshyong.
"I don't know. Dahge and that girl are quite far from me, so I can't hear a thing."
"Why didn't you come closer?" asked Jenqyih.
"Because I didn't want to disturb them. Anyway, I was tired then. I wanted to get home as soon as possible, so I could take a warm bath and then have dinner."
"So you just went home," Jenqyih still urged Iren.
"That's right, I just came home," answered Iren. He expected Jenqyih to see the annoyed look on his face.
"But yesterday, you didn't tell us anything," said Yihshyong.
"After taking a shower, I forgot. Besides, my focus was on the news I brought. I just remembered what I saw yesterday, right after I saw Dahge across the mall this morning."
"When you saw him this morning, was he alone?" asked Yihshyong.
"He's alone. But across the street, right in front of the mall door, there was a girl who I saw yesterday chatting with Dahge. After seeing the girl, then Dahge ran across the street and followed the girl into the mall. I thought they must have made an appointment or something. Then I left the place. So I don't know what happened next."
"That's right," said Yihshyong. "Earlier, Dahge seemed like he was looking for something or someone. But he was alone on his way to the mall exit. Which means they did not make an appointment."
"Or maybe they were looking for each other inside the mall. After failing to meet the girl, Dahge went outside. Then they met each other there," said Shinnshiow.
"This is very interesting," said Jenqyih. "I think we should ask this after Dahge gets home." Jenqyih nodded with a big smile.
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