Chapter 003: Shadows of the Dark Night

Nuan Nuan glanced at me: "Of course I'm anxious, school starts in another month, and there won't be time then." She smiled sweetly: "What's wrong with you, Wu Chen? Why are you acting like a detective?"

He goes on like this, burdened with worries all day long. If he were to die in the future, it would not be from illness or old age, but rather from the exhaustion of overthinking. Bitter Melon did not know when he had arrived by our side, and he began to jest.

Why are you in such a hurry to leave

Liu Cuili was in high spirits, pulling Nuan Nuan along and chatting non-stop. Wu Chen noticed that Ryan had been secretly observing him, while Si Yan was looking at the girls with a strange smile.

Nuan Nuan did not understand why Wu Chen asked this, so she smiled and replied: "Si Yan and Liu Cui Li."

Nuan Nuan, did you just say that it is not just the three of us going? Are there others?

Wu Chen shook his head and asked, "Nuan Nuan, who brought up the matter of going to the United States?"

Perhaps it was a trick of the mind, but Wu Chen always felt that the attention of Ryan and the others was focused on him. No matter when he looked at them, he found them stealing glances. Time passed monotonously, and as the boarding time approached, Wu Chen suddenly noticed a bruise on the left eye of Sha Shidi, who had taken off his sunglasses. Just as he was about to take a closer look, Sha had already passed through the security check and put his glasses back on.

Hearing his question, Xia Xiaonuan nodded slightly: "I still have a few friends at the library, you met Liu Cuili yesterday, and her boyfriend, as well as a few other friends who happen to be traveling there."

Wu Chen was trying hard to recall exactly which part of that shadow he had struck. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that his body mechanically followed Nuan Nuan and Ku Gua as they moved forward, until Ku Gua stretched out his arms and exclaimed: "America, you capitalists, I, Ku Ye, have come to inspect your lives."

She might have made a phone call while parking. At this moment, Bitter Melon also came out of the house and, seeing Wu Chen jump down from the roof, he was very surprised: "What were you doing on the roof?"

The plane finally stabilized, and the bitter melon returned to its usual state, starting to joke and tease again. Wu Chen gazed silently out the window at the white clouds, always feeling as if he had one foot in the path of life and death, and his hands were pushing open the door of right and wrong.

Wu Chen waved his hand without saying much. Xia Xiaonuan entered the room and threw a bag to the two of them. Upon opening it, they found several new clothes that she had bought for them during the day. After changing into the clothes that Xia Xiaonuan had purchased for them, the two of them directly went out to the car.

After arriving at the airport, since the ticket booked was for China National Airlines at 2:00 AM, there was still plenty of time. Nuan Nuan made a phone call to Liu Cuili. A few minutes after hanging up, the others began to arrive one after another

Wu Chen felt dazed as if he had entered a battlefield, trapped in a cave. The enemy had released poison gas, and he had nowhere to hide, forced to wait for death in the cave, even able to see the blood flowing from his seven orifices.

Wu Chen particularly understands Xia Xiaonuan; she is a girl with ideals, viewing Dada Manlei as her idol, filled with avant-garde thoughts, possessing the temperament of a romantic poet, and she greatly enjoys urban exploration, always wanting to capture some astonishing photographs. It is not surprising that she has such thoughts, but Wu Chen still has some doubts.

What Wu Chen did not expect was that there were as many as ten people on this trip. Liu Cuili, Wu Chen, and Kuguo had met yesterday, while the other three men were strangers, along with five young and beautiful women. Liu Cuili greeted them warmly. Xia Xiaonuan introduced both sides: Liu Cuili, a history major from Columbia University in the United States, stood next to a young white man with a nose full of freckles, whose Chinese name was Rein. He was from the same school and was also her boyfriend. Xia Xiaonuan introduced both sides: Liu Cuili, a history major from Columbia University in the United States, stood next to a young white man with a nose full of freckles, whose Chinese name was Rein. He was from the same school and was also her boyfriend.

Xia Xiaonuan's vehicle is a red Cheetah, rugged and fierce in appearance. Inside, the song "You Could Be Mine" by Guns N' Roses is playing. She is just that kind of person—serene on the outside, wild on the inside. However, she appears extremely attentive to Wu Chen, asking him through the rearview mirror with a serious expression: "What's wrong? Haven't you taken a break?"

In the time it took to say these few words, Kuguo had already devoured three servings of jianbing guozi and downed a cup of soy milk in one go. Wu Chen handed him two servings of jianbing guozi, and as he ate, he said: "Wu Chen, sometimes you can be such a busybody. Why do you care who goes along with what? You overthink everything; how many brain cells are you wasting on this? Wouldn't it be better to use those brain cells to contemplate life? Why waste them on such trivial matters?" As he continued eating, he reiterated: "Wu Chen, sometimes you can be such a busybody. Why do you care who goes along with what? You overthink everything; how many brain cells are you wasting on this? Wouldn't it be better to use those brain cells to contemplate life? Why waste them on such trivial matters?"

He suddenly shivered and opened his eyes, drenched in sweat. It was only then that he realized it was already completely dark outside. He had fallen asleep while thinking about something, and after falling asleep, he had this strange dream. Just as he was relieved to realize it was just a dream, he suddenly noticed that there was another person in the room.

Warm and attentive, noticing his expression that suggested he had something on his mind, she smiled and said, "Not used to flying?"

Nuan Nuan gave him a light slap to stop him from talking nonsense. Wu Chen was very familiar with what bitter melon was like, so he ignored him and asked Nuan Nuan, "Do you know these people?"

At this moment, Wu Chen was puzzled by one thing: did that person intend to strangle him, or were they trying to take the pocket watch from around his neck? Lost in these thoughts, he neglected to respond to Xia Xiaonuan, who was concernedly observing him through the rearview mirror while Kuguo waved his hand to signal Xia Xiaonuan to leave him alone.

The other two men. One is bald, has an ordinary appearance, and cold eyes, with a very vivid nickname from a comic book called "Sha Shidi". The other, who wears glasses, is called "Si Yan Er". I did not remember the names of the other girls, including Wu Chen, but I know that all these individuals belong to an urban exploration club.

This person stood in the pitch-black room, quietly extending both hands towards Wu Chen's neck. Wu Chen, just awakened from a nightmare, was suppressing a surge of anger, and judging by this person's appearance, it seemed he intended to strangle him. Wu Chen swung his fist and struck this person unexpectedly; after taking a step back, he twisted his body and jumped out of the wide-open window behind him

Not knowing why, when Wu Chen heard Xia Xiaonuan mention Liu Cuili from yesterday, he felt that something was amiss. However, he couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong, so he could only nod and ask, "When do we depart?"

Wu Chen originally felt that this matter was somewhat strange, and upon seeing this, he became even more puzzled. He often had the feeling of being kept in the dark, and the inexplicably appearing shadow added to his unease. After thinking it over, he felt quite agitated. Just then, Liu Cuili went to be affectionate with her boyfriend, Ryan, so he approached Nuan Nuan.

Xia Xiaonuan said: "The flight ticket is for early this morning. You don't need to worry about the visa and such; just prepare yourselves. I will come to pick you up at ten o'clock tonight"

After watching Xia Xiaonuan drive away, the two returned home. Wu Chen did not need to prepare anything; his father had already passed away, and his mother had returned to her hometown, saying she could leave at any time. Upon hearing that he was going out with Xia Xiaonuan, Bitter Melon's mother immediately clapped her hands in agreement, as she was very fond of Xia Xiaonuan.

Wu Chen suddenly realized that they were already on the plane. After takeoff, the intense sensation of acceleration left the usually bold Kuguo pale with fear. However, Wu Chen maintained a blank expression as he stared at Sha Shidi, who was not far from their seats, contemplating whether he was indeed the person who wanted to take the watch last night

The two of them were solely focused on going to the United States, and this day passed in a dull manner. After drinking a few bottles of beer at noon, they chatted idly in the room. Kuguo was very excited, constantly waving his hands and saying he wanted to check what kind of extravagant lives those capitalists in America were living. After chatting for a while, Kuguo's enthusiasm waned, and he lay down on the bed and fell asleep

Wu Chen also jumped out, only to find that the person had already turned a corner. He pressed his body against the wall, using both hands to grip the crevice as he inverted himself. His toes were hooked onto the protrusions in the wall, while his hands pushed and pulled from below, allowing him to ascend to the rooftop. From that height, he looked down but did not see the shadow; instead, he noticed Xia Xiaonuan approaching the bitter melon house.

They are all friends who enjoy urban exploration, and they met in a club! Nuan Nuan held his hand and said, "Wu Chen, do you think Liu Cuili's cousin wanted to see your pocket watch the day before yesterday, so he has some thoughts about her and her friends? Mike's grandfather is a collector; it's not surprising that he is interested, right? Perhaps he wants to add your pocket watch to his collection."