Chapter 21: I'm Sorry

Outside the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Qiye, I really am...!" Li Yifei stood there, his head lowered, repeatedly apologizing. "I was just so scared at that time. I... I didn't think things through, I just ran..."

"I left you and Jiang Qian behind, and... I caused her..."

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but we're classmates, and I still want to apologize to you!"

Li Yifei didn't dare to look Lin Qiye in the eye, but his words were sincere.

After he finished speaking, Lin Qiye slowly responded.

"Running for your life when faced with danger is only human. There's nothing wrong with that." Lin Qiye patted his shoulder. "And if it were me back then, I'd have run even faster than you."

Li Yifei: "..."

Li Yifei scratched his head, as though thinking of something. "By the way, did you sign that confidentiality agreement too?"

Lin Qiye paused, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

"It seems Zhao Kongcheng wasn't lying," Lin Qiye thought. "They really won't harm the witnesses. Li Yifei must have signed the confidentiality agreement after escaping from the monster. It makes sense."

If Lin Qiye wasn't wrong, Liu Yuan must have signed the same agreement as well.

Although Lin Qiye hadn't signed it yet, he figured it was only a matter of time. If he admitted he hadn't signed it, it would raise too many questions and be hard to explain.

"Honestly, even if they didn't let me sign, I wouldn't have said anything." Li Yifei sighed. "That scene... I never want to remember it again."

"Plus, if we break the agreement, we'd end up in prison for life. I don't want to be the one who buries my own future." Li Yifei placed both hands on the railing, looking down at the bustling campus below, a glimmer of longing in his eyes.

"Actually, I do wish I could join them."

Lin Qiye was surprised. "You want to join them?"

"Yeah, when I signed the agreement, I even offered to give up my studies to join them. Unfortunately... they turned me down."

"Why do you want to join them? Your grades aren't the best, but weren't you about to be recruited by the Sports Academy?" Lin Qiye asked. "Being a sports student is boring... Actually, being an ordinary person is boring."

Li Yifei's eyes started to shine with excitement. "To join a mysterious and powerful organization, to fight in the shadows against the enemies hidden in human society... to build countless achievements. When everything comes to light, everyone will remember my name!"

Li Yifei clenched his fists, speaking passionately, "This is the dream of every man! This is the life that has meaning!"

"You're dreaming too beautifully," Lin Qiye said bluntly, shattering his fantasy. "Maybe you'll die on your first mission, ripped to shreds by a monster, buried anonymously in the mountains, and your parents might never even know how you died. You'll just leave this world all alone."

Li Yifei: "..."

"Qiye, your imagination is way too bloody," Li Yifei commented nervously.

"This isn't imagination," Lin Qiye shook his head. "What you just said—that's what would really happen."

Li Yifei sighed helplessly. "Anyway, they don't want me, so I won't bother thinking about it. As long as I can take this secret to the grave, that's fine."

"Mm."

Lin Qiye glanced at the time. "We should head back. Class is starting soon."

The two walked back to class. Lin Qiye could sense that Li Yifei was much more relaxed now compared to before. It seemed the guilt he felt for leaving Lin Qiye and Jiang Qian had put a lot of pressure on him.

Both Li Yifei and Liu Yuan had run away, but their choices were completely different.

As for Liu Yuan, Lin Qiye had no interest in going out of his way to cause trouble for him, but if the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson.

After a day of classes, Lin Qiye put his backpack on and headed home.

The deaths of Wang Shao and Jiang Qian in the past couple of days had caused quite a stir at school. Due to the pressure, the school had to cancel evening self-study sessions, letting students go home early.

What surprised Lin Qiye, however, was that the Night Watchmen's authority seemed to be really high. Normally, after two students had died, people like Lin Qiye and Li Yifei, who had been with the victims, would have been questioned by the police.

But two days had passed, and no one had come to interrogate them.

It seemed that the Night Watchmen had completely taken over the case, and their authority was strong enough to keep the local police silent.

As Lin Qiye walked, the sky gradually darkened, and light raindrops began to fall.

By six o'clock, the sky was already dull and gloomy.

Lin Qiye furrowed his brow. He hadn't brought an umbrella, so he had no choice but to walk briskly toward home.

The rain grew heavier, and by the time Lin Qiye arrived home, he was drenched. However, as soon as he opened the door, a rich scent of food immediately hit him, washing away all his negative thoughts.

"Ah! Little Qiye, why are you so drenched?" His aunt, who was busy in the kitchen, rushed over as soon as she saw him.

"The rain's heavy outside, and I didn't bring an umbrella," Lin Qiye smiled.

"Didn't bring an umbrella? You should have taken shelter somewhere or called me to pick you up. What if you catch a cold?" His aunt pretended to scold him.

Lin Qiye chuckled, scratching his head, and didn't say anything further.

"Go dry off. Oh, by the way, your teacher came to find you. I told him to wait in your room."

"Teacher?" Lin Qiye was taken aback.

"Yeah, your PE teacher. He said he wanted to talk to you. Go meet him quickly. Don't keep your teacher waiting."

Lin Qiye took the towel and wiped his hair in a daze.

"What the heck, why would the PE teacher come to find me? I've only been at this school for a few days, and I haven't even had PE class yet. Why is he looking for me?"

Could it be...?

Lin Qiye's mind flashed with a thought. He dropped the towel and hurriedly ran into his room.

There, sitting in a familiar chair, was a middle-aged man, holding a tea cup and smiling at him.

Lin Qiye's brow furrowed. "You? How did you find my house?"

Zhao Kongcheng smiled faintly, picked up the emblem on the table, and shook it. "After you slipped away that night, I became cautious. Last night, I dropped this in your pocket. It can track your location."

Lin Qiye locked the door and walked straight to his bed, sitting down. "I told you, I'm not joining you guys."

"I know," Zhao Kongcheng said, shaking his head. "That's not why I'm here."

"Then you're here to get me to sign the confidentiality agreement?"

"Not that either." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "I reported to the others that you were missing. Since I've decided to let you go, I can't let you sign the agreement. Otherwise, they'll find out you're not really missing, and they'll send someone to persuade you... and trust me, they won't be as easy to handle as I am."

Lin Qiye was puzzled. "Then why are you here?"

Zhao Kongcheng pulled a roll of parchment from his pocket and placed it on Lin Qiye's desk, slowly unrolling it...

"The Night Watchmen's compensation is much better than you think. After working all these years, I still have a fair amount of savings." Zhao Kongcheng spoke as he unrolled the parchment.

The moment the parchment was fully opened, Lin Qiye's gaze froze.

Inside was a thick stack of money.