The 99th Divorce

Ye Qianqian couldn’t contain herself any longer and looked at the female officer as she asked, “Just where did he go?”

The female officer had no reply for her. She simply looked back at her and smiled in response.

Ye Qianqian felt her heart plummet to her stomach.

…

Kingstown was an old city interspersed with streets and lanes and many other alleys leading into smaller villages.

Off a major avenue was a small street known as Songyun South Street. Shen Zhilie followed his GPS navigation, and after searching around for some time, finally found the chess table.

There was a group of gray-haired elderly people sitting around it, and another old man came over, riding on his bicycle. A large umbrella stood above them. The five individuals looked to be in their sixties. A few of them were wearing just an undershirt, a fan in their hands and their legs spread out. The others were immersed in a game of chess.

“And my knight takes yours!” The old man’s hoarse voice was energetic, and he smiled excitedly.

Shen Zhilie walked forward and took a look. He faced one of the old men and said in a soft whisper, “I’m here to buy.”

The old man’s smile froze in place, and he turned to look at Shen Zhilie, scrutinizing him carefully.

Shen Zhilie’s lips were red, and his face was white. Although there were dark rings around his eyes, it wasn’t the same sort that drug users sported. Clearly, he wasn’t the sort to buy.

The old man decided to feign ignorance. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I’m here to buy,” Shen Zhilie repeated himself and took his phone out. He opened the WeChat app and sent a message to a newly added contact. Soon later, a call came in. Shen Zhilie answered the call and passed the phone to the old man.

It was clear that the ruffian was on familiar terms with the old man. The old man looked Shen Zhilie up and down carefully before mumbling something into the phone that Shen Zhilie couldn’t catch. After a few grunts of affirmation, the old man pointed inside with his fan and sent someone a short message via WeChat before returning the phone to Shen Zhilie.

Shen Zhilie understood immediately. He kept his phone in his pocket and headed in the direction the man had pointed in. There were very few people inside, and there was a little kid running around the entrance.

Shen Zhilie walked in, and when he saw the child, he asked, “Hey, little kid. Are there any adults inside?”

The child wasn’t afraid of strangers and innocently pointed to the back with laughter on his face.

Shen Zhilie went in and saw that the main door was wide open. Stepping inside, he found a middle-aged woman in her thirties. Her skin was tan, and she was scratching her head. She looked at Shen Zhilie and asked, “What the h*ll do you want?”

“I’m here to buy,” Shen Zhilie repeated himself.

The woman asked, “For whom?”

“Him.”

Shen Zhilie took out his cell phone and showed her the WeChat message. It was the same message that the old man outside had sent. The woman looked at it and replied, “Five thousand.”

Shen Zhilie had no idea what the market rate was, but he had brought a lot of money with him. When he heard that, he dug his cash out and counted five thousand yuan before passing it to her.

Only after the woman verified that the cash was real did she take out a small bag the size of two fingers from a drawer in the table.

“That’s all?” Shen Zhilie asked with a frown.

The woman laughed chillingly. “This must be your first time buying. You’ll get used to it after a while. F*ck off now, and watch your step on the way out.”

‘What a horrible attitude this woman has!’

Shen Zhilie didn’t say a word. He shoved the thing into his pocket and walked out.

Before he could exit the alley, he received another call from an unidentified number. It was from a landline again. The man kept calling him from different landlines, but Shen Zhilie was used to it by now.

Upon answering the call, a very unpleasant voice sounded over the phone, “Walk out.”

“I’m already out.”

“Turn left.”