Yore Descry (昔日的描述)

Glimpse 17; The Black Van

"Look, Jianhua. It's one of those cute social experiments~" Qiaohui was at a restaurant, having dinner with her group of 4 friends when she showed her smartphone screen to her best friend seated next to her.

"It really is, look how cute the little girl is~!"

"I was a victim once before, and it kind of reminded me of my little brother." Lingyun snickered as he ate a few pieces of fries.

"Those experiments do appear harmless, but I wondered if there was ever an instance where something like this went wrong." Haoyu said before he sipped his iced tea.

"You and your dark thoughts are at it again, huh..." Lingyun groaned.

"Am I the only one who watched the news this morning?" Jianguo asked, getting the attention of everyone at the table.

"I entertained myself with pottery instead of television today," Haoyu replied bluntly, "Why? Did something like that happen recently?" he referred to the notion he had just said moments ago.

"Yeah, a 6-year-old was taking part in one of those social experiments just a few weeks ago and got kidnapped. She was supposed to ask the man if he would help her cross the street, but now she's being held captive." Jianguo told them, "It's not unexpected, especially how social experiments are meant for complete strangers."

"Are you kidding me? How many child predators are out there??" The topic hit too close to home for Lingyun, who was immediately uncomfortable and irked by the news. But Jianguo's eyes were nowhere but observing Haoyu, curiosity and suspicion was in his dark eyes as he watched Haoyu's expression remain unfazed.

"Those rumours stuck around for a long time; despite the countless times he brushed it off. Those rumours lingered for a reason, which in my believe, is hard to believe to be untrue." Jianguo recalled something Wufei had said to him, a formally-taken photograph of Haoyu was on the coffee table between them. "I've seen him a couple of times, and in my opinion... Something in his eyes told me, that he is capable of the indefinable."

"Maybe, I really am not just chasing a pointless hunch..."

Haoyu visited a grocery store downtown that afternoon, carrying a shopping basket in his left hand as he looked through the aisle of pasta ingredients.

"Will fettuccine be fine? Zhiming didn't tell me which one he wanted..." Haoyu thought to himself, he paused for a few moments, but puts the pack of fettuccine pasta into his basket.

"Kid?" a voice Haoyu had heard many times called out, and he turned to see someone he was expecting, just at the location he was at.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Liu." A pleasant smile etched on Haoyu's face, a bright beam to show his good mood. "I didn't expect to see you presently,"

"Likewise,"

"Oh? Who is this?" a middle-aged woman walked up to the two from behind Mr. Liu, her friendly yet curious smile made Haoyu's smile turn polite.

"This is a kid from the shop I got your hand fan and tea set from,"

"Oh, the antiquarian? You're so young,"

"I hear that often; I suppose my preferences are somewhat odd."

"How old are you? You look like a college student,"

"I graduated last year when I was 21,"

"Whoa, you must be very smart~"

"I've been noticing some of his habits and regular behaviours from the many times I've been around this kid," Mr. Liu thought, "Whenever he meets people or is engaged in small talk, he doesn't really bother to give much thought and give genuine answers. He speaks whatever comes to mind first, white lies or truths that are irrelevant to him."