The following day, Xiao Wu awoke exceptionally early. Facing the large mirror, she hesitated. Should she return to that subterranean passageway?
Ultimately, she forewent her performance attire, opting instead for her everyday clothes. She resolved to go, driven solely by the desire to ascertain Zhang Jie's well-being.
It was an overcast day, the morning slightly frigid. Though past six o'clock, the streets remained sparsely populated.
With apprehension, Xiao Wu entered the deserted passageway. Upon hearing the familiar guitar strains, her anxiety subsided.
Standing before him, he wore the same ensemble, though it appeared somewhat cleaner. His groomed hair enhanced his handsomeness considerably. 13 did not look up; the tempo of his strumming remained unaltered, as if oblivious to the world around him.
"Injured just yesterday, yet in the mood to perform today?" Xiao Wu inquired with a smile.
"Are you not performing today?" 13 paused, asking calmly.
"No, I've decided to find another location. After all, offending ruffians is unwise. You should relocate as well," Xiao Wu advised.
"I dislike evasion. Thank you..." 13's casual remark stung Xiao Wu.
"Easier said than done. If one possessed the capability, who would choose evasion? In society, we are merely the vulnerable," Xiao Wu attempted to salvage her pride.
"Perhaps..." 13 lowered his head once more.
"Let's not dwell on it. Have you eaten? Allow me to treat you to breakfast," Xiao Wu shifted the topic.
13 paused, contemplating. Yesterday, he had consumed two buns, but the preceding strenuous "activity" had depleted his energy. He genuinely felt a pang of hunger now. In truth, since discovering Angel's pendant, 13 had not eaten his fill, diligently saving every penny.
He set down his guitar. "I eat a substantial amount. Do not regret this later and demand I pay."
"I said I'd treat you; why are you being so pedantic?" Xiao Wu had never encountered such a parsimonious individual. Though not a peerless beauty, she ranked among the attractive students at her school and had never carried her wallet when dining with boys. Yet, with him, she felt utterly taken advantage of. How exasperating...
Arriving at the familiar food street, Xiao Wu understood the implication of 13's earlier warning. For noodles priced at merely two yuan, he managed to consume over twenty yuan's worth. How he survived daily on just two buns remained a mystery.
Upon their return, Xiao Wu pulled 13 towards the park. After today's departure, she likely wouldn't return for some time. Consider this a final memento...
Indebted by both favor and food, 13 felt disinclined to refuse Xiao Wu's insistent request.
The early morning park was exceptionally serene. A gentle breeze whispered through the trees, dislodging a few leaves that drifted to the ground. Though a twenty-year-old university student, Xiao Wu retained a childlike, innocent disposition, skipping along merrily. Witnessing the cheerful figure ahead, 13's heart quivered. He thought of Angel, profoundly...
Reaching yesterday's rockery pond, Xiao Wu finally sat down, seemingly fatigued from walking...
"Would you say we are friends?" Xiao Wu asked, gazing at the tranquil water surface.
"What is your definition of a friend?" 13 sat down beside her.
"It means caring for each other, sharing burdens, rejoicing in their happiness, and sorrowing in their unhappiness. Protecting them immediately when harmed, helping them to the utmost when facing difficulties..."
"If that is the case, then we are not friends," 13 interrupted Xiao Wu's "discourse."
"You are remarkably candid..." Xiao Wu sighed, glancing at 13. She had hoped he might prevaricate slightly.
"Friends do not deceive one another," 13 looked at Xiao Wu. His expression remained unchanged, yet to Xiao Wu, it felt incredibly gentle.
"Are you implying you consider me a friend?" Xiao Wu was somewhat astonished.
"I suppose so. You provided something I needed, and I assisted you in return," 13 stated slowly.
"Was it when you rescued me?" Xiao Wu asked casually.
"No..." 13 shook his head. "Those ruffians were not simple; he possessed the means to find you anywhere in Wuhan. Therefore, I eliminated him for you. You need not have left..."
"Heh heh... Are you jesting?" Panic seized Xiao Wu's heart; she couldn't believe her ears. Although the battle between 13 and the Elf had been broadcast globally, the lack of close-up shots and 13's blood-covered face upon reveal meant few ordinary people could recognize him.
"I dislike jesting. I killed him..." 13's eyes betrayed no falsehood.
No further conversation ensued... Suddenly, the person before her felt utterly unfamiliar...
"Unable to accept it?" 13 leaned back, supporting himself with both hands, gazing up at the dim sky, a flicker of desolation in his eyes.
13 was not garrulous, but towards the first person to call him by name...
He wanted to try, to make her accept him, without any ulterior motive. Simply to be accepted by an ordinary person...
"My former profession was killing. Ending others' lives holds no particular significance for me. I consider you a friend, hence I do not wish to deceive you..." He exhaled, pausing. "My previous designation was 13, sniper for Special Ops Team 7. Designated firer for the seed special munition. Currently, I am a street performer named Zhang Jie, saving money to purchase a pendant of immense importance to me. And I have made a friend..."
13 strove to make his words sound utterly mundane. Xiao Wu stood up, silent, and ran away swiftly. So fast...
"What exactly am I doing?" 13 laughed self-deprecatingly. "Actually expecting to integrate into the world of ordinary people? Another misjudgment." 13 recalled the female soldier during the "examination." Last time nearly cost him his life; this time cost him someone who could be called a friend.
Xiao Wu didn't want to flee. She desperately wished she could look at 13 and say, "It doesn't matter. You are my friend. Your past does not concern me. I will always consider you my friend..." But the words wouldn't come. The image of him destroying Taipei made her body tremble. It was fear of inhuman power. Xiao Wu was right; she was vulnerable in life. She simply couldn't comprehend the mindset of the powerful, this perspective where killing was as simple as breathing.
Returning home, she closed her door, lying on the bed, hoping sleep would come quickly. Perhaps upon waking tomorrow, everything would be just a dream. She would still perform in her ballet costume, and opposite her, he would still be playing that unchanging melody...
After parting, 13 returned to the underground passageway. Pedestrians were numerous now. 13 sat on the ground, resuming his "performance"...
They had no further contact.
In the blink of an eye, March arrived. School commenced, and Xiao Wu returned to the routine of studies. She passed each day numbly, waiting for time to slowly fade the memory of him. But time failed; his image was etched in her heart, growing deeper. Xiao Wu knew she had fallen for this peculiar person. Fallen hopelessly in love, yet unable to see him, though certain he was still there. His past was too difficult to accept; they belonged to entirely different worlds. Let this become a knot, forever buried in her heart...
"Target located. Identity confirmed. Proceed with action?" At night, on the street, a man clad entirely in black observed Xiao Wu's dormitory, speaking into a phone.
"Only two requirements: one, acquire the notebook. Two, if the target refuses to surrender it, eliminate her. The notebook must absolutely not fall into the hands of the Chinese government."
"Understood..." The man in black hung up, melting into the shadows.
Meanwhile, far away in Henan province, Heilong, awakened late at night, smiled as he closed his phone, comfortably settling back into bed...
March 12th, 2013. A monumental change began here.
Awakened by her alarm clock, Xiao Wu groggily opened her eyes to find an unfamiliar face before her. Xiao Wu's immediate reaction was to scream, but a large, coarse hand clamped over her mouth.
"You'll wake the others. If that happens, I'll be forced to kill them. Do you wish for that?" The hand's owner spoke, raising a silenced pistol with his other hand and firing two rounds at the still-ringing alarm clock. The room instantly fell silent.
Xiao Wu's tears stained the pristine white bedsheet.
"Nod if you understand my meaning. I will release my hand."
Xiao Wu nodded involuntarily; she was terrified. More terrified than during the previous harassment. She sensed that disagreeing with this man would result in her actual death...
The stranger slowly lowered his hand, standing beside the bed, allowing her a moment to compose herself.
Quickly scrambling to the foot of the bed, curling into a ball, Xiao Wu looked tearfully at the stranger.
He was a man around thirty, exceedingly ordinary in appearance, resembling countless commuters on the street. His sturdy frame was clad in a neat black suit; he stood at least 1.8 meters tall.
"What do you want? I'm just an ordinary student, I don't have much money. There's over a thousand yuan in the second drawer over there, take it..." Xiao Wu trembled.
"Rest assured, I am not a thief. I merely require one item from you. Give it to me, and there will be no trouble," the stranger stated, pulling over a chair and sitting down.
"What item?" Xiao Wu wiped away a tear, her heart steadying somewhat.
"Your father's—the Deputy Director of the National Procuratorate General—notebook," the stranger revealed his condition.
"Notebook? I honestly don't know!" Xiao Wu grew agitated, nearly shouting.
"Lying is futile. Our investigation revealed you are your father's only daughter; such an important item must be with you. If you claim ignorance again, I will have no choice but to kill you. I am, after all, an assassin. Compared to searching for items, I prefer killing..." The stranger lightly tapped his thigh with the back of the gun.
He stood up, walking to the window. This was the second floor. "I will give you time to recall. I will return this afternoon. If you cannot provide an answer then, I will kill you..." With that, he leaped out.
"Why do so many things happen to me?" Xiao Wu murmured to herself. "Who can help me?"
Hugging her knees tightly, Xiao Wu found an answer to her final question—Zhang Jie.