Chapter 17
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After I left the small adult store, I searched the surroundings for Xia Qingzhi, but to no avail. The broad road was teeming with cars, yet her figure was nowhere in sight.
Wondering where she had gone, I decided to make my way towards her school, since she had spent the entire afternoon toiling over her homework and couldn’t risk getting reprimanded by her teacher for forgetting it.
But before I could get very far, I heard the sudden sound of a bottle breaking in an alleyway behind a nearby shop.
“Qingzhi, is that you?”
I cautiously made my way towards the sound, peering into the dimly lit alleyway, where I saw a teenage girl clad in a school uniform with dyed yellow hair, holding a broken bottle, and looking like she was ready to fight.
“Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? Do you really think you’re some kind of saint?”
As I observed the situation, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the impulsiveness of today’s youth. Violence seemed to be their go-to solution for any conflict. It was clear that the school needed to intervene and handle this matter. It was not appropriate for outsiders to get involved.
Just when I was about to leave, I overheard the girl with the yellow hair shout, “Take off her clothes and get ready to record a video. Let the whole class see what a s*ut she really is!”
“That’s too vicious,” Her words were vicious and malicious. It strengthened my belief that human nature tends towards evil and that education was necessary to instill morality. The girl was clearly lacking in that regard. I felt the urge to slap her and teach her how everyone was equal.
“Did you hear that? You filthy pervert who frequents adult stores. Stop pretending to be pure!” This time, it was a man speaking. Judging from his accent, he didn’t sound like a student.
“I’ve never been able to stand her. At school, she always puts on a cold and superior demeanor, but after school, she goes to those dirty places. Disgusting!”
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it because you feel ashamed that we discovered you’re a dirty thing?”
The malicious words from the back alley never stopped, and even I felt a little embarrassed listening to them.
“Listen up, Brother Chen wants to invite you to drink and sing Karaoke tonight. Don’t act so arrogantly just because you have a good-looking face. Listen to brother Chen’s words, or you’ll regret it.” The little girl gestured with a broken wine bottle as she spoke.
“Enough, don’t hurt her. This little girl has an excellent figure and face.” The one speaking seemed to be that Brother Chen: “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed that this seemingly well-behaved student would run to such a place after school and stay there all afternoon.”
Chen laughed wickedly: “If you can let the others enjoy, then you can have me enjoy it too. Tonight, we won’t come back until we’re completely drunk.”
“Chen, what about me?” The girl beside them pouted, demanding attention.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll have a double score tonight!” Chen, the leader, responded with a lascivious grin as his henchmen started to pull and drag the defenseless girl.
Suddenly, a loud slap echoed through the alleyway.
“Damn it! You dare to slap me? Brothers, let’s teach her a lesson!”
The thugs began to brutally beat the girl in the corner, their violent actions showing no mercy.
Unable to stand by any longer, I stepped forward and confronted them. “How can you big men bully a young girl and still have the audacity to show your face?”
“Who do you think you are? I’m warning you—don’t make trouble for yourself!” One of the thugs, with an earring, pointed at me and cursed.
“I wasn’t planning on getting involved, but you keep calling my hard-earned little shop a dirty place, and I won’t tolerate that.” Rolling up my sleeves, I challenged them. “Come at me; don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”
I might not be able to handle ghosts and monsters, but if I couldn’t even take down a few street thugs, then I’d be letting down all the clubs I joined back in the police academy.
“Shut up, you son of a b*tch!” Two thugs came at me from the left and the right.
“Your movements are too slow. You’re not even as flexible as the square dance aunties.” When they got close to me, I bent down and dodged one person’s punch, then my right leg, which I had been building up energy in, blasted out like a cannonball, kicking the other thug away.
The thug was hit hard in the spleen and kidneys and was lying on the ground, groaning and unable to stand for a long time. “Are your legs weak? How dare you fight like those street fighters with this kind of physical fitness?”
“Damn it, let’s attack together!” The remaining thugs rushed over. The alley was narrow, and I couldn’t use my full strength. In addition, my calf was burned and not very flexible, so I took a few punches during the fight. However, having persisted in physical fitness training in the police academy for years, I could take quite a beating without falling down. If they wanted to knock me down, they had a long way to go.
After the melee scuffle, I finally used my ultimate move—the 8,000 volt Anti-Wolf Electric Shock Device—to subdue them. Seeing the figures in the alley foaming from their mouths and convulsing, I felt a great sense of accomplishment.
“The next time you bully anyone, think about the feeling of being electrocuted today.” This is what I call punishment—even the plea for mercy could not be uttered by these villains who have been beaten senseless.
After dealing with the hooligans, I walked deeper into the alley and spotted a girl standing there, staring at the ground. Her school uniform zipper was broken, and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her as she leaned against the dirty wall. Her backpack had fallen onto the muddy ground and bore several footprints.
It was the first time I had taken such a close look at her. The pain and fear that she couldn’t hide were etched onto her young and tender face. Although her facial features were soft, her expression was all the more heartbreaking.
“Xia Qing, it’s okay now.” I said as I gently ran my fingers through her black hair. It was the most intimate gesture we had ever shared.
The girl, who had kept her head down all this while, slowly lifted her face. It was then that I saw her biting her lip and trying hard to keep the tears at bay, but the marks on her face were clear as day and impossible to hide.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” The girl grabbed my clothes, and I didn’t know how to comfort her. At that moment, I suddenly realized that because of the existence of the underworld show and her brother’s disappearance, and because of this unspeakable secret, I might be the only person in the world who could understand Xia Qing.
When everyone else had distanced themselves from her, thinking she was an irredeemable lunatic, a monster with a split personality, only I could stand up and accompany her around since only I knew that what she said was the truth.
“Here, your textbook and homework. You’re already so grown up, but you’re still losing your things.” I picked up her schoolbag, brushed off the dirt from it, and said, “Let’s go eat first, and then I’ll accompany you home. Maybe we can make some breakthroughs by looking at the marks your brother left behind.”
I went back to the store and found one of my shirts for Xia Qing to change into. Then, under the gaze of some passersbys, we had a quick meal.
“Xia Qing, there’s something I don’t know whether to tell you or not.”
“En?.”
“For our job as private detectives, generally when we go out to eat with clients, the client pays for the meal…”
“I’m wearing headphones and can’t hear anything; by the way, can you help me plug in the cord?”
Twenty minutes later, I and Xia Qingzhi, who was dressed in new clothing, arrived at her residential complex. As we made our way upstairs, a few elderly folks who were enjoying the cool breeze pointed and whispered at us.
“When your parents ask about my identity, what should I say?” I asked.
“Just say you’re a teacher from our school here for a home visit,” she replied, quickly coming up with a cover story. However, as we stepped into her house, we discovered that her parents were not yet home.
“Perfect! Take me to your brother’s room. Let’s make this quick and efficient,”
.
Xia Qingzhi’s house had three bedrooms and a living room. From the decorations, it didn’t seem particularly wealthy, but it was at least a middle-class household.
“This is my brother’s room, but it’s now being used as a storage room, so it’s a bit messy,” she explained as she turned on the lights and led me into the room.
“Where’s the mark you were talking about? Let me take a look.”
“Under the bed.”
Moving some things aside, I crawled under the bed.
“Close to the wall, there are some red letters carved with a small knife.”
I used my phone’s flashlight, and sure enough, I saw several crooked red letters carved in the spot Xia Qingzhi had described.
“The colors are very dark, and they are carved with a knife dipped in blood.” The handwriting was very messy, as if someone was trembling in extreme fear while carving the words.
“When will this nightmare end? I don’t want to conduct the live stream. I’m going to die, I’m going to die!”
“My points are negative, I can feel them coming! Don’t take me away; I don’t want to die!”
“Are they crawling outside my window or lurking in the hallway next to my bed?”
These were the words written on the bed board, left behind by Xia Qingzhi’s older brother. His points were deducted to negative, and he was about to be eliminated by the sinister live streaming platform.
However, these words only proved that the underworld show had the power to make people evaporate from the face of this world, and they didn’t offer me any help.
“Did your brother leave any other information?”
After thinking for a while, Xia Qingzhi pulled out a framed photo from her backpack: “This is the only photo my brother left behind. I have been keeping it since he went missing.”
In her hand was a family portrait, with Xia Qingzhi, her parents, and a tall, handsome boy holding a basketball, whose face could not be seen.
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After I left the small adult store, I searched the surroundings for Xia Qingzhi, but to no avail. The broad road was teeming with cars, yet her figure was nowhere in sight.
Wondering where she had gone, I decided to make my way towards her school, since she had spent the entire afternoon toiling over her homework and couldn’t risk getting reprimanded by her teacher for forgetting it.
But before I could get very far, I heard the sudden sound of a bottle breaking in an alleyway behind a nearby shop.
“Qingzhi, is that you?”
I cautiously made my way towards the sound, peering into the dimly lit alleyway, where I saw a teenage girl clad in a school uniform with dyed yellow hair, holding a broken bottle, and looking like she was ready to fight.
“Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? Do you really think you’re some kind of saint?”
As I observed the situation, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the impulsiveness of today’s youth. Violence seemed to be their go-to solution for any conflict. It was clear that the school needed to intervene and handle this matter. It was not appropriate for outsiders to get involved.
Just when I was about to leave, I overheard the girl with the yellow hair shout, “Take off her clothes and get ready to record a video. Let the whole class see what a s*ut she really is!”
“That’s too vicious,” Her words were vicious and malicious. It strengthened my belief that human nature tends towards evil and that education was necessary to instill morality. The girl was clearly lacking in that regard. I felt the urge to slap her and teach her how everyone was equal.
“Did you hear that? You filthy pervert who frequents adult stores. Stop pretending to be pure!” This time, it was a man speaking. Judging from his accent, he didn’t sound like a student.
“I’ve never been able to stand her. At school, she always puts on a cold and superior demeanor, but after school, she goes to those dirty places. Disgusting!”
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it because you feel ashamed that we discovered you’re a dirty thing?”
The malicious words from the back alley never stopped, and even I felt a little embarrassed listening to them.
“Listen up, Brother Chen wants to invite you to drink and sing Karaoke tonight. Don’t act so arrogantly just because you have a good-looking face. Listen to brother Chen’s words, or you’ll regret it.” The little girl gestured with a broken wine bottle as she spoke.
“Enough, don’t hurt her. This little girl has an excellent figure and face.” The one speaking seemed to be that Brother Chen: “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed that this seemingly well-behaved student would run to such a place after school and stay there all afternoon.”
Chen laughed wickedly: “If you can let the others enjoy, then you can have me enjoy it too. Tonight, we won’t come back until we’re completely drunk.”
“Chen, what about me?” The girl beside them pouted, demanding attention.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll have a double score tonight!” Chen, the leader, responded with a lascivious grin as his henchmen started to pull and drag the defenseless girl.
Suddenly, a loud slap echoed through the alleyway.
“Damn it! You dare to slap me? Brothers, let’s teach her a lesson!”
The thugs began to brutally beat the girl in the corner, their violent actions showing no mercy.
Unable to stand by any longer, I stepped forward and confronted them. “How can you big men bully a young girl and still have the audacity to show your face?”
“Who do you think you are? I’m warning you—don’t make trouble for yourself!” One of the thugs, with an earring, pointed at me and cursed.
“I wasn’t planning on getting involved, but you keep calling my hard-earned little shop a dirty place, and I won’t tolerate that.” Rolling up my sleeves, I challenged them. “Come at me; don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”
I might not be able to handle ghosts and monsters, but if I couldn’t even take down a few street thugs, then I’d be letting down all the clubs I joined back in the police academy.
“Shut up, you son of a b*tch!” Two thugs came at me from the left and the right.
“Your movements are too slow. You’re not even as flexible as the square dance aunties.” When they got close to me, I bent down and dodged one person’s punch, then my right leg, which I had been building up energy in, blasted out like a cannonball, kicking the other thug away.
The thug was hit hard in the spleen and kidneys and was lying on the ground, groaning and unable to stand for a long time. “Are your legs weak? How dare you fight like those street fighters with this kind of physical fitness?”
“Damn it, let’s attack together!” The remaining thugs rushed over. The alley was narrow, and I couldn’t use my full strength. In addition, my calf was burned and not very flexible, so I took a few punches during the fight. However, having persisted in physical fitness training in the police academy for years, I could take quite a beating without falling down. If they wanted to knock me down, they had a long way to go.
After the melee scuffle, I finally used my ultimate move—the 8,000 volt Anti-Wolf Electric Shock Device—to subdue them. Seeing the figures in the alley foaming from their mouths and convulsing, I felt a great sense of accomplishment.
“The next time you bully anyone, think about the feeling of being electrocuted today.” This is what I call punishment—even the plea for mercy could not be uttered by these villains who have been beaten senseless.
After dealing with the hooligans, I walked deeper into the alley and spotted a girl standing there, staring at the ground. Her school uniform zipper was broken, and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her as she leaned against the dirty wall. Her backpack had fallen onto the muddy ground and bore several footprints.
It was the first time I had taken such a close look at her. The pain and fear that she couldn’t hide were etched onto her young and tender face. Although her facial features were soft, her expression was all the more heartbreaking.
“Xia Qing, it’s okay now.” I said as I gently ran my fingers through her black hair. It was the most intimate gesture we had ever shared.
The girl, who had kept her head down all this while, slowly lifted her face. It was then that I saw her biting her lip and trying hard to keep the tears at bay, but the marks on her face were clear as day and impossible to hide.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” The girl grabbed my clothes, and I didn’t know how to comfort her. At that moment, I suddenly realized that because of the existence of the underworld show and her brother’s disappearance, and because of this unspeakable secret, I might be the only person in the world who could understand Xia Qing.
When everyone else had distanced themselves from her, thinking she was an irredeemable lunatic, a monster with a split personality, only I could stand up and accompany her around since only I knew that what she said was the truth.
“Here, your textbook and homework. You’re already so grown up, but you’re still losing your things.” I picked up her schoolbag, brushed off the dirt from it, and said, “Let’s go eat first, and then I’ll accompany you home. Maybe we can make some breakthroughs by looking at the marks your brother left behind.”
I went back to the store and found one of my shirts for Xia Qing to change into. Then, under the gaze of some passersbys, we had a quick meal.
“Xia Qing, there’s something I don’t know whether to tell you or not.”
“En?.”
“For our job as private detectives, generally when we go out to eat with clients, the client pays for the meal…”
“I’m wearing headphones and can’t hear anything; by the way, can you help me plug in the cord?”
Twenty minutes later, I and Xia Qingzhi, who was dressed in new clothing, arrived at her residential complex. As we made our way upstairs, a few elderly folks who were enjoying the cool breeze pointed and whispered at us.
“When your parents ask about my identity, what should I say?” I asked.
“Just say you’re a teacher from our school here for a home visit,” she replied, quickly coming up with a cover story. However, as we stepped into her house, we discovered that her parents were not yet home.
“Perfect! Take me to your brother’s room. Let’s make this quick and efficient,”
.
Xia Qingzhi’s house had three bedrooms and a living room. From the decorations, it didn’t seem particularly wealthy, but it was at least a middle-class household.
“This is my brother’s room, but it’s now being used as a storage room, so it’s a bit messy,” she explained as she turned on the lights and led me into the room.
“Where’s the mark you were talking about? Let me take a look.”
“Under the bed.”
Moving some things aside, I crawled under the bed.
“Close to the wall, there are some red letters carved with a small knife.”
I used my phone’s flashlight, and sure enough, I saw several crooked red letters carved in the spot Xia Qingzhi had described.
“The colors are very dark, and they are carved with a knife dipped in blood.” The handwriting was very messy, as if someone was trembling in extreme fear while carving the words.
“When will this nightmare end? I don’t want to conduct the live stream. I’m going to die, I’m going to die!”
“My points are negative, I can feel them coming! Don’t take me away; I don’t want to die!”
“Are they crawling outside my window or lurking in the hallway next to my bed?”
These were the words written on the bed board, left behind by Xia Qingzhi’s older brother. His points were deducted to negative, and he was about to be eliminated by the sinister live streaming platform.
However, these words only proved that the underworld show had the power to make people evaporate from the face of this world, and they didn’t offer me any help.
“Did your brother leave any other information?”
After thinking for a while, Xia Qingzhi pulled out a framed photo from her backpack: “This is the only photo my brother left behind. I have been keeping it since he went missing.”
In her hand was a family portrait, with Xia Qingzhi, her parents, and a tall, handsome boy holding a basketball, whose face could not be seen.
After I left the small adult store, I searched the surroundings for Xia Qingzhi, but to no avail. The broad road was teeming with cars, yet her figure was nowhere in sight.Wondering where she had gone, I decided to make my way towards her school, since she had spent the entire afternoon toiling over her homework and couldn't risk getting reprimanded by her teacher for forgetting it.But before I could get very far, I heard the sudden sound of a bottle breaking in an alleyway behind a nearby shop.Qingzhi, is that you?I cautiously made my way towards the sound, peering into the dimly lit alleyway, where I saw a teenage girl clad in a school uniform with dyed yellow hair, holding a broken bottle, and looking like she was ready to fight.Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? Do you really think you're some kind of saint?As I observed the situation, I couldn't help but shake my head at the impulsiveness of today's youth. Violence seemed to be their go-to solution for any conflict. It was clear that the school needed to intervene and handle this matter. It was not appropriate for outsiders to get involved.Just when I was about to leave, I overheard the girl with the yellow hair shout, Take off her clothes and get ready to record a video. Let the whole class see what a s*ut she really is!That's too vicious, Her words were vicious and malicious. It strengthened my belief that human nature tends towards evil and that education was necessary to instill morality. The girl was clearly lacking in that regard. I felt the urge to slap her and teach her how everyone was equal.Did you hear that? You filthy pervert who frequents adult stores. Stop pretending to be pure! This time, it was a man speaking. Judging from his accent, he didn't sound like a student.I've never been able to stand her. At school, she always puts on a cold and superior demeanor, but after school, she goes to those dirty places. Disgusting!Why aren't you saying anything? Is it because you feel ashamed that we discovered you're a dirty thing?The malicious words from the back alley never stopped, and even I felt a little embarrassed listening to them.Listen up, Brother Chen wants to invite you to drink and sing Karaoke tonight. Don't act so arrogantly just because you have a good-looking face. Listen to brother Chen's words, or you'll regret it. The little girl gestured with a broken wine bottle as she spoke.Enough, don't hurt her. This little girl has an excellent figure and face. The one speaking seemed to be that Brother Chen: If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that this seemingly well-behaved student would run to such a place after school and stay there all afternoon.Chen laughed wickedly: If you can let the others enjoy, then you can have me enjoy it too. Tonight, we won't come back until we're completely drunk.Chen, what about me? The girl beside them pouted, demanding attention.Don't worry, don't worry, I'll have a double score tonight! Chen, the leader, responded with a lascivious grin as his henchmen started to pull and drag the defenseless girl.Suddenly, a loud slap echoed through the alleyway.Damn it! You dare to slap me? Brothers, let's teach her a lesson!The thugs began to brutally beat the girl in the corner, their violent actions showing no mercy.Unable to stand by any longer, I stepped forward and confronted them. How can you big men bully a young girl and still have the audacity to show your face?Who do you think you are? I'm warning youdon't make trouble for yourself! One of the thugs, with an earring, pointed at me and cursed.I wasn't planning on getting involved, but you keep calling my hard-earned little shop a dirty place, and I won't tolerate that. Rolling up my sleeves, I challenged them. Come at me; don't say I didn't give you a chance.I might not be able to handle ghosts and monsters, but if I couldn't even take down a few street thugs, then I'd be letting down all the clubs I joined back in the police academy.Shut up, you son of a b*tch! Two thugs came at me from the left and the right.Your movements are too slow. You're not even as flexible as the square dance aunties. When they got close to me, I bent down and dodged one person's punch, then my right leg, which I had been building up energy in, blasted out like a cannonball, kicking the other thug away.The thug was hit hard in the spleen and kidneys and was lying on the ground, groaning and unable to stand for a long time. Are your legs weak? How dare you fight like those street fighters with this kind of physical fitness?Damn it, let's attack together! The remaining thugs rushed over. The alley was narrow, and I couldn't use my full strength. In addition, my calf was burned and not very flexible, so I took a few punches during the fight. However, having persisted in physical fitness training in the police academy for years, I could take quite a beating without falling down. If they wanted to knock me down, they had a long way to go.After the melee scuffle, I finally used my ultimate movethe 8,000 volt Anti-Wolf Electric Shock Deviceto subdue them. Seeing the figures in the alley foaming from their mouths and convulsing, I felt a great sense of accomplishment.The next time you bully anyone, think about the feeling of being electrocuted today. This is what I call punishmenteven the plea for mercy could not be uttered by these villains who have been beaten senseless.After dealing with the hooligans, I walked deeper into the alley and spotted a girl standing there, staring at the ground. Her school uniform zipper was broken, and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her as she leaned against the dirty wall. Her backpack had fallen onto the muddy ground and bore several footprints.It was the first time I had taken such a close look at her. The pain and fear that she couldn't hide were etched onto her young and tender face. Although her facial features were soft, her expression was all the more heartbreaking.Xia Qing, it's okay now. I said as I gently ran my fingers through her black hair. It was the most intimate gesture we had ever shared.The girl, who had kept her head down all this while, slowly lifted her face. It was then that I saw her biting her lip and trying hard to keep the tears at bay, but the marks on her face were clear as day and impossible to hide.It's okay, it's okay. The girl grabbed my clothes, and I didn't know how to comfort her. At that moment, I suddenly realized that because of the existence of the underworld show and her brother's disappearance, and because of this unspeakable secret, I might be the only person in the world who could understand Xia Qing.When everyone else had distanced themselves from her, thinking she was an irredeemable lunatic, a monster with a split personality, only I could stand up and accompany her around since only I knew that what she said was the truth.Here, your textbook and homework. You're already so grown up, but you're still losing your things. I picked up her schoolbag, brushed off the dirt from it, and said, Let's go eat first, and then I'll accompany you home. Maybe we can make some breakthroughs by looking at the marks your brother left behind.I went back to the store and found one of my shirts for Xia Qing to change into. Then, under the gaze of some passersbys, we had a quick meal.Xia Qing, there's something I don't know whether to tell you or not.En?.For our job as private detectives, generally when we go out to eat with clients, the client pays for the mealI'm wearing headphones and can't hear anything; by the way, can you help me plug in the cord?Twenty minutes later, I and Xia Qingzhi, who was dressed in new clothing, arrived at her residential complex. As we made our way upstairs, a few elderly folks who were enjoying the cool breeze pointed and whispered at us.When your parents ask about my identity, what should I say? I asked.Just say you're a teacher from our school here for a home visit, she replied, quickly coming up with a cover story. However, as we stepped into her house, we discovered that her parents were not yet home.Perfect! Take me to your brother's room. Let's make this quick and efficient,.Xia Qingzhi's house had three bedrooms and a living room. From the decorations, it didn't seem particularly wealthy, but it was at least a middle-class household.This is my brother's room, but it's now being used as a storage room, so it's a bit messy, she explained as she turned on the lights and led me into the room.Where's the mark you were talking about? Let me take a look.Under the bed.Moving some things aside, I crawled under the bed.Close to the wall, there are some red letters carved with a small knife.I used my phone's flashlight, and sure enough, I saw several crooked red letters carved in the spot Xia Qingzhi had described.The colors are very dark, and they are carved with a knife dipped in blood. The handwriting was very messy, as if someone was trembling in extreme fear while carving the words.When will this nightmare end? I don't want to conduct the live stream. I'm going to die, I'm going to die!My points are negative, I can feel them coming! Don't take me away; I don't want to die!Are they crawling outside my window or lurking in the hallway next to my bed?These were the words written on the bed board, left behind by Xia Qingzhi's older brother. His points were deducted to negative, and he was about to be eliminated by the sinister live streaming platform.However, these words only proved that the underworld show had the power to make people evaporate from the face of this world, and they didn't offer me any help.Did your brother leave any other information?After thinking for a while, Xia Qingzhi pulled out a framed photo from her backpack: This is the only photo my brother left behind. I have been keeping it since he went missing.In her hand was a family portrait, with Xia Qingzhi, her parents, and a tall, handsome boy holding a basketball, whose face could not be seen.
