Chapter 47: Lurking
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
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“These goods need to be sold quickly. The longer we hold onto them, the hotter they get.”
In the pitch-black night, the aunt opened the door to 504. As soon as she did, the piled-up goods inside resembled undulating hills, strewn across the cement floor, box after box stacked as high as a person, arranged haphazardly, blocking the path to the living room.
“How many times have I told you, the goods should be organized by category! Look at how you’ve stacked them; it’s impossible to walk around here!”
The aunt complained as she entered, struggling to find gaps in the chaos to place her feet.
Finally, she maneuvered her way to the living room and took a look around, immediately shouting again, “Didn’t I tell you last time? This cloth needs to be covered; look at how this batch of goods is getting damp! This is the south, not the north…”
The tall, thin man at the door rolled his eyes, irritated by the aunt’s incessant chatter. He skillfully maneuvered through the disorderly crates in the living room and walked over to inspect the water-damaged goods. The items in the living room were relatively valuable.
—He didn’t bother to close the door.
Using 504 as a free warehouse was just too convenient. Over time, the aunt and the tall, thin man had become increasingly brazen. With nobody on the fourth or fifth floors, the drunkard in 403 was out drinking, and 404 only had a seven-year-old kid at home. Even if they heard any noises, what could this little kid possibly stir up?
The door was left half-open.
Underneath the halfway-open door.
Little Shiyu hid in the corner of the staircase landing, like a lurking little black panther. His eyes gleamed brightly as he stared at the light seeping through the partially open door. He crouched down, ready to pounce, and suddenly leaped up.
He darted behind the door first, listening to the voices inside.
Little Shiyu observed the layout of 504. Behind the door was a small corridor leading to the living room, littered with boxes haphazardly placed by the tall, thin man.
Both the tall, thin man and the aunt were in the living room. There was a wall between the living room and the entrance.
Little Shiyu heard the tall, thin man chuckle as if assessing the stack of goods in front of him and scolded the aunt, “Stop fussing over nothing. Everything is fine. There’s no water damage.”
As he spoke, Little Shiyu lowered his head and slipped through the crack in the door.
Suddenly—
The tall, thin man abruptly turned around.
“What are you doing? Stop being so jumpy,” the aunt said.
The tall, thin man hesitated, looking towards the wall behind him, which led to the corridor to the door.
Seemingly remembering that he hadn’t bothered to close the door, he turned back and headed towards the entrance…
Thud, thud, thud.
Footsteps approached from the living room.
Little Shiyu hid behind a large crate about the height of a person.
Similar large crates were on either side of him, forming a corner with the wall. Little Shiyu, like a hunting leopard, crouched in this narrow space.
Through the gaps between the crates, he peered outside.
Thud.
The tall, thin man’s footsteps stopped.
His worn-out leather shoes appeared through the crack, bearing various unseemly mud stains that marred the otherwise respectable appearance of his suit shoes.
If this person were to crouch down, he would definitely discover an extra child in the gap.
Little Shiyu held his breath, his presence fading away, concealed in the corner of the crate.
His heartbeat remained steady, devoid of nervousness or trembling. In the damp chill of the deep night, the surrounding air felt like water, and Little Shiyu suddenly felt like a fish returning to its ocean in that moment.
Comfortable, content.
Emotions that shouldn’t exist in such a situation surged through him, as if he were born to be proficient at this.
Compared to indistinct consonants and vowels, endless arithmetic, and incomprehensible English, sneaking into the smugglers’ warehouse upstairs in the dead of night was something he excelled at.
Click.
The tall, thin man closed the door, glanced around, then circumvented the crates and returned to the living room.
“Why did you come in without even closing the door!” the aunt scolded him.
“You were babbling about things getting damp, so I came to check it out!” the tall, thin man muttered, “You didn’t remind me to close the door either.”
The aunt, irritated, shot him a glare. Seeing the tall, thin man trying to shift the blame, she exploded, “Enough! Just get rid of these goods as soon as possible and let me have a comfortable year! This will be our last cooperation!”
“It’s not like I’m unwilling to sell the goods,” the tall, thin man said calmly. “Things have been a bit tight lately.”
“That’s because you’re in trouble yourself! Who else can you blame?!” the aunt yelled.
The tall, thin man looked up. His eyes, sharp on a dejected face, seemed to slice through the aunt like ice-cold blades, as if he were dissecting her piece by piece.
The aunt’s whole body went cold, and she dared not speak again.
After a while, she managed to utter, “You… deal with it. Count the goods in that bedroom again. I… I’ll go down first…”
Click. The aunt opened the door. Sometimes this tall, thin man frightened her a bit, and she wanted to leave quickly.
Instead of properly closing the door behind her, she swung it shut with a push and hurried downstairs.
As the door swung shut…
The door gradually closed, the protruding latch on the door gradually approaching the recessed groove of the lock. Little Shiyu knew very well that once they clicked together, it would be very difficult for him to get out again.
If this door clacks shut, he would have to open it himself if he wanted to leave. And once he opens it, there will be a clacking sound, which the tall, thin man would hear.
If he continues to lurk, when the tall, thin man leaves alone, he will definitely lock the door properly. Little Shiyu won’t be able to slip out, and he’ll be trapped here.
The door is about to close…
At the moment the door is closing, the aunt had already reached the corner of the stairs and cannot see the door on the fifth floor, while the tall, thin man was inspecting the goods in the living room, separated by a wall, so he cannot see the door either.
Little Shiyu decisively rushed out, grabbing the door handle abruptly. He pulled out a small piece of prepared cardboard from his pocket and quickly stuffed it near the door lock, wedging the bolt, preventing it from entering the latch groove. At the same time, he lifted his wrist, causing the door panel to knock against the door frame, emitting a reassuring:
Bang—
The departed aunt and the tall, thin man in the living room both heard this sound and assumed the door had closed.
Little Shiyu wedged the bolt with the cardboard, then hid back behind the crate, observing the movements of the tall, thin man in the living room.
Little Shiyu crouched in the dark corner, quietly counting heartbeats. After about fifteen minutes, the tall, thin man seemed to have finished counting the goods in the living room and began to walk towards the bedroom…
The bedroom was at the other end of the living room, and once he turned into the bedroom, he won’t be able to see the living room.
Little Shiyu patiently waited for two minutes, ensuring the tall, thin man wouldn’t come out of the bedroom for the time being. He crawled out from behind the crate, crouching and moving silently toward the living room, his steps as quiet as a cat.
He quickly surveyed the surroundings, looking for crates that had already been opened, and soon spotted the goods that the aunt complained about being damp earlier. These goods were not packed in boxes but placed on the table, leaning against the wall. The table had been covered with a black moisture-proof cloth by the aunt.
Little Shiyu laid down, pressing his entire body against the ground, and slid under the table to prevent his body from touching the moisture-proof cloth hanging from the table. He mustn’t let the fabric move or make any noise.
Little Shiyu hid under the table, silently reaching upward and feeling a rectangular, paper-wrapped object. When Little Shiyu took it down and looked at it:
It’s a pack of cigarettes.
A brand Little Shiyu has never seen before, not sold in any store he knows of. He pocketed the pack of cigarettes. He listened intently for any movement from the bedroom.
Scratch, scratch, scratch—the tall, thin man was still clueless inside.
Little Shiyu crawled out from under the table with the stolen pack of cigarettes, making his way along the crates as stealthily as possible. If the tall, thin man suddenly appeared, he’ll still have a place to hide.
After circling several crates and passing through the narrow passage, Little Shiyu silently returned to the door, grasping the handle and pulling out the cardboard he wedged in the lock.
The small Little Shiyu calmly walked out of the door, not feeling the usual sense of stolen victory most people would in this situation, nor did he panic and rush away like a typical wrongdoer. Little Shiyu calmly held the door handle.
He controlled the force in his hand, slowly pressing down the door handle.
The protruding bolt retracted inward. Little Shiyu gently pusheed the door against the lock, gradually releasing the pressure on his hand—
The raised door handle gradually returned to its original position, while the bolt gradually protruded, slowly aligning with the groove inside the door lock.
—The door closed completely.
Not a single sound was made throughout the process.
Most people would feel a sense of success at this moment and quickly run home…
But that would be the end of it.
Little Shiyu’s mind was clear. Although he didn’t make a very detailed plan in advance because he couldn’t predict the actions of the aunt and the tall, thin man, too many factors could change, and he could only adapt as the situation unfolds. But he hadn’t forgotten that the aunt has already gone back, and she can see the fourth floor at all times. Whoever comes down from the fifth floor will be clear as day.
If he, who should be in Room 404 now, is spotted by the aunt coming down from the fifth floor, then it’s all over.
Little Shiyu turned around and started to climb the stairs to the rooftop.
—The wooden plank on the rooftop.
Before heading to the rooftop, Little Shiyu took out the piece of cardboard he used to jam the door lock from his pocket, threw it down the stairs leading to the fifth floor, then turned and left.
The rooftop.
The cold winter night wind blew past his ears.
Little Shiyu, dressed in black clothes and black pants, stood on the edge of the rooftop, blending into the black night.
The clouds were heavy tonight, with no moon, no stars, no trace of light. Darkness and the narrow wooden plank stretched out beneath his feet.
Fearlessly, Little Shiyu took a step forward, just like the countless times he had walked over it since childhood, walking on the wooden plank suspended above the fifth floor, moving forward…
There were no protections on either side. On the suspended wooden plank, a small figure stood between the two buildings.
Little Shiyu stood at the highest and most dangerous place in this residential building, taking a deep breath.
In Little Shiyu’s mind, scenes of daytime, sunny days, and vast blue skies came to mind. Little Chu Feng stood on the high flag platform, wearing a bright red scarf and swearing with other top students to become the first batch of first-grade Young Pioneers.
The Little Shiyu below the stage thought that Little Chu Feng was standing so far away. When he looked down, all he saw was the dense crowd of black little heads on the playground.
And he was one of those little black heads, drowned in the sea of people.
With the stolen pack of cigarettes in his pocket, Little Shiyu briskly ran on the high wooden plank. Both residential buildings were beneath his feet.
Someday he will stand on a higher place, instead of rotting away here.
Little Shiyu ran to the back of the other building, where the X01 and X02 rooms were located.
From the rooftop of this building, Auntie’s 401 room window overlooked the corridor of the opposite building’s 403 and 404 rooms, but cannot see the corridor in front of her own door.
Starting from the rooftop of this building, Little Shiyu descended, from the fifth floor to the fourth… to the first floor, then through the courtyard, where he picked up the umbrella he had previously placed under the old locust tree.
It’s about time.
He opened the umbrella and walked to the entrance of the residential building. Soon, he saw a familiar figure:
“Mom—”
Little Shiyu ran over with the umbrella.
His mom looked a little surprised, “Why aren’t you asleep so late?”
Little Shiyu, holding the umbrella high, said in a childish voice, “I saw it raining! I brought an umbrella for Mom…”
His mom looked up at the sky and seemed to notice a slight drizzle:
“Silly child! How could you possibly get wet in such a light rain? Go back quickly, it’s so late…”
Auntie from 401 room was monitoring the situation from the window.
Before long, she saw the mother and son from the Xie family walking up together, Little Shiyu holding an umbrella, with an innocent and naive expression on his face.
His mom opened the door, and Little Shiyu jumped into the room.
Click, the door to 404 room closed.
Auntie from 401 room yawned.
—She didn’t find anything.
***
Next door, Little Shiyu put away his innocent and naive expression, and he double-checked the pack of cigarettes in his pocket.
In a couple of days, Little Shiyu planned to put this pack of smuggled cigarettes in Uncle’s convenience store.
Before bed, Little Shiyu brushed his teeth carefully in the bathroom with strawberry children’s toothpaste.
—He wondered what expression the tall, thin man and Auntie would have when they saw their smuggled goods appearing in Uncle’s convenience store?
Little Shiyu was very curious.
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