It All Began With a Confession

Gripping the gift box tightly in his hand, Hou Rui stared anxiously at the doorway, murmuring under his breath, “It’s almost eleven, why isn’t she out yet? Could Fatty Zhang have been playing a trick on me?” But just as his patience was about to run out, a group of chattering youths suddenly spilled out of the house. After a round of laughter and farewells, they quickly split into smaller groups, heading off in different directions across the city.

A moment later, Hou Rui’s phone vibrated with a new message. He glanced down to see: “Little Monkey, your love is heading your way. This is the last chance in high school, bro—good luck with your confession.” Hastily shoving his phone into his pocket, Hou Rui spared Fatty Zhang a fleeting moment of gratitude before he took off after the slender figure in red not far ahead.

Like her, Hou Rui was a student at City No. 1 High School. From the first moment he saw Jin Shanshan after enrolling, he knew he was doomed—completely captivated by her lively, adorable smile. For three whole years of high school, Hou Rui’s gaze had rarely strayed from Jin Shanshan’s silhouette. Even though they’d never ended up in the same class despite all the reshuffles, his affection for her only grew deeper with each passing day.

Now, with the ordeal of the “black June” exams behind them and the ensuing celebrations fading, this group of classmates was about to scatter to universities all over the country. Who knew when they’d meet again? Spurred on by Fatty Zhang and the others, Hou Rui finally decided to seize his chance and confess.

But fate had other plans. The students from Class One had spontaneously arranged to go out singing that night, so the ever-popular Fatty Zhang volunteered to infiltrate as an informant, while Hou Rui lay in wait nearby, hoping to intercept Jin Shanshan for his heartfelt confession. So far, everything was going according to plan: the girl who haunted Hou Rui’s dreams was walking ahead with two friends.

As midnight approached, the three girls moved along, laughing and whispering, while an excited, nervous, and uneasy Hou Rui followed at a discreet distance, feeling rather like a stalker. The Montblanc Kennedy fountain pen, bought with the pooled funds of all his friends, was now drenched in the sweat from his palm, soaking through the wrapping paper.

As they drew closer to Jin Shanshan’s neighborhood, Hou Rui’s anxiety mounted. Several times he mustered his courage to rush forward, only to retreat at the last moment—unable to tell whether he feared embarrassing Jin Shanshan in front of her friends or simply dreaded rejection.

When Jin Shanshan finally parted ways with her last companion, Hou Rui realized he had only three minutes left. If she reached her building’s gate, the security checkpoint would make it impossible to approach.

At that thought, Hou Rui closed his eyes, steeled himself, took a deep breath, and strode forward, determined that, no matter what, he owed it to his three years of devotion to let her know how he felt. The outcome no longer mattered.

His soft-soled sneakers made little noise as he quickly closed the gap.

Twenty meters, ten, five—then, in a burst of courage, Hou Rui caught up, grabbed Jin Shanshan’s left hand, startling her into a gasp. She spun around, eyes wide, and gave a startled cry, “What are you doing?”

“It’s me, Hou Rui from Class Three.” Realizing his abruptness, Hou Rui let go at once, but then stood there, utterly at a loss for what to say next.

As the two stood awkwardly facing each other, a minivan roared past, then, just a dozen meters ahead, swerved onto the crosswalk. With a heavy thud, it struck a pedestrian, hurling the body fifty or sixty meters before slamming into a wall and finally tumbling to the side.

When the chaos subsided, Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan were frozen in shock. To come upon such a gruesome scene in the dead of night—any trace of embarrassment between them had utterly vanished.

“Call an ambulance!” Recovering from her initial shock, Jin Shanshan instinctively moved to help, assuming Hou Rui had just pulled her out of the way of the out-of-control vehicle. Without pausing to think, she hurried toward the scene.

Hou Rui’s confession forgotten, he fumbled for his phone. But as he prepared to dial, a sudden thought flashed through his mind—something was off about this accident.

Even if the minivan had lost control, it should have shown some sign of swerving or braking, not plowed straight into the person. Unless the driver had done it deliberately. And after such a collision, a truly out-of-control vehicle would likely have kept going, perhaps crashing into the buildings alongside the sidewalk.

While Hou Rui was still piecing this together, three men got out of the van. The leader, a fashionably dressed middle-aged man, was followed by two hat-wearing subordinates.

“You, check on the target. You, take care of the two who wandered into this,” the leader ordered. “They’re unlucky tonight.”

The man in the red baseball cap headed toward the fallen pedestrian, while the one in the black cap strode swiftly toward Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan.

“Damn, this isn’t an accident—this is a hit!” Hou Rui scanned the deserted side street—he and Jin Shanshan were the only witnesses. In an instant, he grabbed Jin Shanshan, who was still dazed, and ran in the opposite direction.

“Bastard!” The man in the black cap, seeing them flee, reflexively reached for his waistband, drawing a Type 64 pistol and aiming it at Hou Rui’s back.

At the critical moment, the fashionable man barked, “Put that away! This is one of the strictest countries in the world for gun control. If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you.”

Chilled by the icy tone, the black-capped man reluctantly put away his weapon, mentally reviewed the local street map, and chose a shortcut to give chase.

Once the others were gone, the leader turned to the man in the red cap. “Clean up the blood, get the target in the van. Looks like we’ll be spending extra time tying up loose ends tonight.”

Two streets away, Hou Rui was dragging Jin Shanshan at a desperate pace. Years of sedentary schooling had left them unprepared for such a frantic escape. Hou Rui’s legs felt weighed down with lead, his lungs stabbing with pain at every breath. That Jin Shanshan could even keep moving was a small miracle.

“Stop, stop! Why are we running? The accident has nothing to do with us,” Jin Shanshan managed to gasp.

“No time to explain—just run!” Hou Rui replied without looking back, pushing himself harder.

“Where are you taking me?” Jin Shanshan was nearing the limit of her patience.

“There’s a 24-hour supermarket just ahead,” he panted. His plan was to reach the store, where cameras and witnesses might offer them some measure of safety.

But Jin Shanshan, upon hearing this, finally snapped. She yanked her hand from his grip, staggered to a halt by the wall, and, bending over, gasped for breath while complaining, “Are you insane? Running for your life just to get to a supermarket?”

“No, listen—” Hou Rui, carried forward by momentum, took a few more steps before stopping. But as he turned to pull Jin Shanshan along, a silent shadow had already slipped up behind her.

The man in the black cap had caught up. With a cold smirk, he delivered a swift, vicious chop to the back of Jin Shanshan’s neck, dropping her like a rag doll to the ground.

Seeing his goddess struck down, Hou Rui’s eyes blazed with fury. He threw himself at the attacker. “I’ll fight you to the death!”

“Idiot,” the man sneered, easily deflecting Hou Rui’s desperate punch and driving his own fist hard into Hou Rui’s stomach, sending him crashing to his knees.

“You’re still too green, kid. Just lie there and wait for death. Next time, don’t wander the streets at night.” With a final kick, he sent Hou Rui sprawling in the alley.

As the pain in his abdomen eased, Hou Rui groped for a wooden stick in the shadows, but as he struggled to rise, the man’s whip-like leg lashed out, snapping the stick and slamming into Hou Rui’s chest.

This time, blood began to trickle from Hou Rui’s lips, and the pain and tightness in his chest told him his ribs were likely broken. As his consciousness faded, he saw the man crouch beside Jin Shanshan, lift a strand of her hair, and mutter, “At least you have good taste in girlfriends, kid.”

Darkness—nothing but darkness. Hou Rui tried to open his eyes, but saw nothing. Since collapsing in the alley, he had no idea how much time had passed or where he was now.

Suddenly, a jolt—the van seemed to hit a shallow pothole, lurching upward before slamming back down. The pain in his battered ribs drove away the fog, and Hou Rui forced his eyes open.

The first thing he saw was a face, battered beyond recognition and wrapped in plastic, staring at him through the gloom—a grotesque, horrifying sight, the likes of which he’d seen only in American horror films.