At 10:30 p.m., a light rain fell in Mingtai City.

In front of a convenience store on the corner of Parkson Street, a girl in her twenties poked her head out of the store and glanced out into the wet street, holding a mobile phone in her hand and making calls in her ear.

"Well, I know, don't worry about me. The weather is so bad today, there are no customers in the store, so I will close and go home. ”

The girl hung up the phone, retracted back into the store, reached out and dusted off her bangs, which had just been soaked by the rain, and took a soft breath.

She turned back to the counter, locked the drawer, pulled an umbrella from the bottom compartment and went straight out.

Turning off the lights and turning the closing sign over, the girl began to lock the door. It's a day-to-day job, not boring, but never passionate. However, the girl's mood was still a little higher today, because of the weather, she secretly left work half an hour early behind her boss's back.

The girl inserted the key into the lock hole, spun it for a moment, then frowned, and muttered in a low voice: "The lock is not good, I have to find someone to fix it tomorrow." ”

"Closed?"

The man's rough words suddenly sounded behind her, and the girl screamed in surprise and turned around with a pale face. At the same time, the bunch of keys in his hand also fell to the stone floor of the door with a thud.

A meter in front of the girl, a tall man stood, and the dim light of the street lamp cast a shadow on him. He wore a loose black coat with a hood pulled up to cover his head, and by the way, his face was also hidden. The dripping rain hit his coat, flowing down silently, rolling down the corners of his coat and falling to the ground.

In the middle of the night, in the middle of the night, in the deserted streets, encountering such a tall and mysteriously dressed man, any single woman had to be vigilant. The girl shifted back, her dirty white sneakers crashing against the glass door of the convenience store with a restless noise. She leaned against the glass door of **, feeling her buttocks soaked by the rain, and her back was also slightly cold.

"You... You want to buy something?" the girl's voice was a little dry, her eyes staring at the man in front of her without blinking, and her cheeks were full of unease. She stiffened her chest and stood on tiptoe, but she found that even so, she was still not as tall as the chest of the man in front of her.

How did he come to be so burly? It's hard to get the right clothes, right?

At this moment, this absurd idea inexplicably surged up in the girl's heart.

The man seemed to be looking at the girl in front of him, and he was silent for a moment, then suddenly took a step forward, and then leaned forward.

"Ah!" the girl screamed, and her body jerked backwards, and she pushed her back against the glass door and retreated into the shop.

The man bent down under the girl's frightened gaze, picked up the set of keys that had fallen from the doorway, and handed them to the girl.

Cautiously looking at the man's cheeks hidden in the shadows, the girl shivered and did not reach out to take it.

The big hand paused in mid-air for a moment, and when he realized that the girl didn't answer, he hung the key on the bulletin board at the door.

"It's closed. The man turned to leave, and there was a little more disappointment in his tone full of vicissitudes.

Glancing at the key hanging on the bulletin board, the girl took half a step forward, clasped her arms around her chest and shouted, "Hey!"

The man's tall and majestic back paused.

"What are you going to buy?" a smile tugged at the corner of the girl's lips, "I mean, it's still a little bit close." ”

"Oh. The man turned again, "Cigarettes, ropes, and matches." ”

"Okay, it's raining outside, come in. The girl smiled and beckoned, then turned the light and walked around behind the counter to find what the man needed.

It seemed that after a moment of hesitation, the man walked back slowly, he lowered his head and went into the convenience store, and looked around, as if he was extremely vigilant.

"What brand of cigarette do you want?" the girl said as she carefully examined the appearance of the man in front of her by the bright light of the convenience store. He is about thirty years old, with a square face, and his brows are tightly wrinkled into Sichuan characters, looking very serious, but a little wooden.

"It's a little bigger. ”

The girl frowned, turned around and looked at the cigarette rack, and finally took out a pack of cigarettes: "How about this brand? It is Lingang local tobacco, authentic old smoke, very strong, and people with weak bodies will get dizzy when they smoke it." The older generation at the beach loves this smoke, which is said to dispel dampness. Hehe, but I've heard that I don't smoke..."

"Good. ”

"Well, that's it. The girl put the cigarette on the counter, bent down and took out a box of matches from underneath, and then went from behind the counter to the shelf, raised her voice and asked, "Which kind of rope?"

"Sturdy. ”

The girl glanced at the man and couldn't help but chuckle, "How can you buy something like this?"

"What's wrong with me?"

The girl didn't answer, but pulled a nylon rope from behind her, and asked with a smile, "Is this okay?"

"Yes. ”

"How long do you want to go?"

"Ten meters. ”

The girl nodded, measured the ten-meter-long nylon rope with a meter ruler and cut it, then tied it into a bundle and returned to the counter: "Sixty-eight pieces in total." ”

The man took out a large roll of brand-new bills from his pocket, pulled one out of it and handed it to the girl.

Taking the banknote, the girl looked at it carefully. With the man's appearance, she even thought it was a counterfeit bill for a while.

"Really?" the girl pouted.

"What?" the man looked up into the girl's eyes, a puzzled look on his cheeks.

"Ah, nothing. The girl opened the drawer with the key and rummaged through the change for the man, and while she was at this time, she asked casually, "You are not from Lingang, are you? ”

"Hmm. ”

"Do you come to Lingang to do business? I don't think you look like a businessman, you have relatives and friends here, right?"

"Find someone. ”

"Oh, looking for relatives. The girl looked suddenly enlightened, she handed the change to the man, "Find you thirty-two yuan, this is your thing, take it." ”

After a pause, the girl said, "Is the person you are looking for here?" I am familiar with these nearby streets, so if you need any help, please come to me." ”

The man took his things and turned around to leave, but turned back when he heard the girl's words. He slipped it into his coat pocket, then pulled a picture out of his inner pocket and handed it to the girl.

"Have you seen this man?"

The girl tried to take the photo, but the man held it tightly. For a while, the fingers of both people pinched this small character photo, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.

"Well, yes. The girl stared at the middle-aged man in the photo and nodded, "This photo was taken in Wangjun Harbor, right? My aunt's family lives in the north of the port, and the railings there are all like this." ”

"Where is he?"

The girl's face changed: "He is your relative?"

"Strangers, some private matters to him. ”

"Oh. The girl breathed a sigh of relief, "He lives at No. 73 on the street in front, he just moved here a few days ago, and he often comes to my store to buy things, he should... Belong to the kind of people who don't get along very well. ”

"You know him well?"

The girl hurriedly waved her hand: "I don't know him well, I just feel that he should be quite rich, I don't know why he lives in this kind of place." ”

"Well, thank you. The man thanked him and turned to go out.

The girl stared at the man's back and disappeared in front of the convenience store, and her eyes couldn't help but be filled with curiosity. This man is really strange, what is the purpose of him looking for that guy?

I thought for a moment with my hands on the counter, and the hands of the wall clock ticked and circled. The girl pulled out the drawer and turned off the light. She picked up the key from the bulletin board and inserted it into the lock hole, and with a slight twist, this time it was surprisingly smooth to lock the door. She turned around and opened her umbrella and walked briskly out of the convenience store.

Hurrying through the block, the girl quickly turned into the street in front of her, and she walked all the way forward, stopping in front of apartment building No. 73, her eyes sweeping in all directions.

"Why are you following me?"

A deep voice suddenly sounded in her ears, and the girl was so frightened that she clenched the handle of the umbrella and staggered half a step. She looked in the direction from which the voice had come from, only to see the man she had seen at the convenience store crouching in the shadows below the stairs, the red spark of the cigarette in his hand flickering and disappearing.

"I—" the girl reached out and pointed upstairs, "I live here, and... And the person you're looking for is a neighbor. ”

"Oh. The man replied softly, seemingly surprised by the girl's answer, "Why didn't you tell the truth before?" ”

"He—" the girl lowered her head, staring at the tips of her dirty shoes, "he harassed me yesterday, and was a little scared..."

After a while, the man raised the cigarette in his hand: "The smoke is good." It's late, you go upstairs. ”

The girl nodded with a little fear in her eyes, and went upstairs with her head down. After she had stepped up a few steps, she suddenly heard the man whispering something from behind.

"What did you say?" the girl turned.

"I'm sorry. The man whispered, rising from the shadows under the stairs and heading towards the end of the street.

"Hey!" the girl yelled at the man's back, "aren't you looking for someone!"

The man did not answer, and his tall figure disappeared into the dark night.

"What a weirdo. The girl tilted her head and looked up at the gloomy sky, where the rain seemed to be heavier than before.

A cold wind blew, and the girl couldn't help but shiver, and hurriedly turned around and went upstairs.

Two minutes later, a woman's frightened cry came from the hallway...