I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 24: Chapter 22: Hanging by a Thread

Su Miaoyi took out her phone and glanced at it.

It was a call from Zhuang Yanzheng.

She answered the phone. When she looked at the woman again, she saw her already walking toward her.

"Where are you?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

Su Miaoyi didn’t have a chance to answer. She glanced around before quickly heading back toward the company where she had just interviewed.

"Su Miaoyi?" Zhuang Yanzheng called out her name.

"Captain Zhuang, I think someone is following me." Su Miaoyi glanced back and broke into a jog. "I’m in Hedong District, near Xiangyao Street."

After she spoke, she heard Zhuang Yanzheng seemingly say to someone beside him, "Call the Hedong District precinct. Xiangyao Street area." Then, to her, "Su Miaoyi, is there a bank nearby? Get to a bank or a similar place."

"I was here for an interview, I’m heading back to the company—" Su Miaoyi didn’t finish her sentence. She saw a man slowly walk up to the building of the company she had interviewed at. He stood at the entrance, watching her.

The man was very tall, looking to be well over six feet.

He was also dressed all in black and wearing a mask.

Su Miaoyi couldn’t see his face clearly, but the moment she saw him, she felt a sense of danger.

There was another, unidentifiable emotion as well, but she had no time to ponder what it was.

Her body’s instincts were screaming at her not to go any further.

She stopped in her tracks, looked both ways, and chose a direction that she thought would lead to a more crowded area.

"Su Miaoyi?" Zhuang Yanzheng called her name again.

"There’s a man standing in front of the company I just interviewed at. The one following me is a woman. They’re dressed similarly—black clothes, black masks." Su Miaoyi said as she ran. "The nearby shops are all for rent, so there’s no one around at this time. It might be more crowded once I get off Xiangyao Street."

"A crowded place won’t work! Find a bank. It’s best to go to a place like a bank." Zhuang Yanzheng’s speech quickened with anxiety and urgency. "They will likely kill, and they might even do it on the street. A crowd won’t stop them."

Su Miaoyi was shocked.

’How could people like this exist?’

’And why do they want to kill me!’

But she didn’t have the luxury of asking these questions now.

Staying alive was what mattered.

She was running so fast and was so tense that her mouth was too dry to speak.

"Share your location with me," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi glanced back as she ran.

The man was gone. Only the woman was still behind her.

She kept her distance, neither too far nor too close, and didn’t press forward.

Xiangyao Street ran east to west, and she was heading west.

The buildings on the north side had a path that could loop around to the front.

So, Su Miaoyi immediately crossed to the south side of the street.

"Su Miaoyi," Zhuang Yanzheng called out again. "Listen, you have to be on your highest alert. Keep a clear head, don’t let your emotions get the best of you, and don’t assume you’ll get lucky. You’re not dealing with normal people, so don’t think about them like you would normal people. You have to hold out until the police arrive."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Su Miaoyi shared her location with Zhuang Yanzheng and picked up her pace, running toward the end of Xiangyao Street.

The entire street was deserted except for a few people out buying groceries.

Her frantic running drew frequent glances from them.

But she couldn’t afford to care about any of that.

But just as she feared, the man emerged from an alley on the north side, blocking her path ahead.

Su Miaoyi stopped, gasping for breath, and glanced at the woman behind her.

She surveyed her surroundings.

The street was wide, a two-way road for traffic.

But she was already running out of strength.

No matter how wide the street was, trying to run past them would only get her caught.

Seeing the man and woman about to close in on her in an instant, Su Miaoyi didn’t hesitate and bolted into an alley to the south, turning into it.

Besides the shops for rent, this area was filled with old, traditional buildings on both sides.

The alley, too, was lined with old houses.

Su Miaoyi had been here a few years ago.

She had come to experience the charm of the old architecture and the traces time had left on the buildings.

She still remembered some of the layout and knew how to get out of the alleyways.

She entered the alley and turned left.

There was someone in the alley. Su Miaoyi glanced at him.

"Su Miaoyi?" Shen Yanzhou looked at her in surprise.

"It’s you." Su Miaoyi glanced behind her and kept running forward.

As she passed Shen Yanzhou, he grabbed her arm. "What’s wrong?"

"Just pretend you never saw me." Su Miaoyi didn’t know what Shen Yanzhou’s relationship with Zhuang Yanzheng was.

’Those two are after me,’ she thought. ’I can’t get anyone else involved or hurt.’

She tried to pull away after speaking, but Shen Yanzhou didn’t let go. "Is someone following you?"

Su Miaoyi heard approaching footsteps and wrenched her arm free from Shen Yanzhou’s grasp.

And in that very instant, the woman rounded the corner into the alley.

She was so fast that Su Miaoyi couldn’t even clearly see her movements.

And then she was right in front of her.

But she didn’t touch her.

Shen Yanzhou had blocked her.

He raised an arm to block the woman’s hand, then with a twist of his wrist, he pushed her away.

The woman stumbled back a few steps before immediately charging forward again.

Shen Yanzhou dodged to the side, then grabbed the woman’s hand to counterattack. At the same time, he turned his head to Su Miaoyi and said, "Run."

Su Miaoyi looked at the two of them. "Be careful."

With that, she turned and ran.

’Left, then left again, then a right, and I’ll be out.’

But as she was about to make the right turn, the man appeared in the alley.

Su Miaoyi stopped abruptly. She felt like her lungs were about to explode as she heaved for breath.

She didn’t know why the man was suddenly in front of her.

She didn’t know how he had gotten there so quickly.

The man walked toward her.

Su Miaoyi could only back away.

"This weak?" the man said, looking at her.

Su Miaoyi tried to steady her breathing as she retreated. After backing up a few steps, she saw her chance and spun around to run.

But she hadn’t taken more than a few steps before the man caught her.

The man stood behind her, his left hand gripping her throat, the dagger in his right hand pressed against her neck.

Su Miaoyi held her breath. A moment later, her breathing began to tremble and her entire body went numb. She didn’t dare move an inch as tears instantly streamed from her eyes.

She didn’t even realize it.

She had never in her life experienced anything like this.

Having a dagger held to her throat by someone who would dare to kill on the street.

The man’s hand released her neck, and he pressed a finger against her cheek.

Su Miaoyi flinched violently.

She closed her eyes and took a moment to steady herself before realizing she was still alive.

She looked at the man’s hand.

The man rubbed his fingers together, let out a soft laugh, and said, "The first time I saw her, she cried just like this. So pitiful. She had eyes that could speak."

Su Miaoyi didn’t dare speak. She didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. She wanted to placate the man, to stall until the police arrived, but her mind was a complete blank.

His voice was right above her; she could even feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke.

The man chuckled softly again. "Qin Leyan is dead. If another person who is *really* named Su Miaoyi dies now, especially a citizen so enthusiastic about helping the police solve cases..."

The man suddenly started laughing. "I’d love to see the looks on their faces. Anger, hatred, regret... and powerlessness, panic."

Su Miaoyi listened to his laughter, and then she felt the dagger press closer.

She felt it break her skin.

Her breath hitched with terror.

The man leaned down slightly and whispered in her ear, "When you get to the other side, if you see Qin Leyan, remember to tell her: the man she gave her life trying to kill is still alive."

...

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