Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Man Waving the Torrent (Four)

Yu Manyi had never dealt with someone like this. She had seen bad people—those from the Yu family, those from the You family, the hired thugs employed by Liu Fengyan... but she had never seen anyone like this.

He was like a wall, blocking her path, with a smell of rust and smoke that she found unbearable, and a scar across his face. Yu Manyi was choked by the smell and took two steps back, immediately coming up with a name for him in her mind—Scarred Fish.

He asked her two questions: how long she had been standing there and if she had seen anyone enter or exit. Yu Manyi had been living in the apartment for over two weeks, and apart from Song Qi, she hadn't seen any young men in suits.

Was he looking for Song Qi?

A flash of a scene from her home being ransacked suddenly appeared in Yu Manyi’s mind—it was the only time she had ever had any indirect contact with these people.

She looked at him, then, like a jolt of electricity, quickly averted her gaze. He sensed the abnormality, took a step closer, and his tone became grim: "You're afraid to look at me? Is there something you're hiding?"

"I..." Yu Manyi tried to remain calm, "Of course, I'm afraid of you. We’re just ordinary residents. It’s normal to be afraid when people like you in uniforms come up to us."

Even though the world was chaotic, Yu Manyi still didn’t believe that there was no rule of law in the French Concession. She was simply standing here, painting. Was he really going to take her away?

Uncle Qi, who had seen her being stopped from a distance, immediately stood up from in front of the door, looking anxious. Yu Manyi, seeing him approaching, immediately lowered her hand that had been hidden by her side, just out of the scarred man’s line of sight.

Luckily, Uncle Qi stopped.

Yu Manyi’s appearance at this moment provided a lot of persuasion. She wore a dress, was not very tall, and had concealed any sharpness in her gaze, making her appear completely harmless, and her fear seemed entirely reasonable. The scarred man took another look at her, then extended his hand, "Give me your ID."

Yu Manyi lowered her head and took out her passport from her clothes. The man glanced at it, finding that it was an Australian passport and an Italian one, then raised his head to scrutinize Yu Manyi again.

Italians usually had black hair and eyes, but Yu Manyi explained that she was of mixed heritage, though her appearance resembled her mother’s more, and her surname came from her father. She had become thinner recently due to her studies, and her facial features had become sharper—her high nose bridge and slightly higher-than-usual brow bone made her appear like a mixed-race person, which wasn’t entirely baseless.Perhaps Song Qi had noticed these features of her face at the time, which is why he fabricated such a flawless lie for her.

He had said that these lackeys who fawned over the West wouldn’t dare to act up around foreigners, and it seemed to be true. After flipping through Yu Manyi’s documents, the man didn’t even ask for further verification, simply handing the passport back to her.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Sketching."

"Sketching what?"

"...Just drawing some streets."

"Why are you drawing here? What's so special about this place?"

"The architecture is very classic. It was designed by a Jewish architect," Yu Manyi had recently learned some new terms in Western painting, and immediately used them. "The building’s top is Baroque style, and the statues outside the door are from the Renaissance..."

"Alright, alright."

The man, clearly irritated by these cultural terms, stopped her immediately. Her words had completely cleared her identity, and the man’s interrogation finally moved past her.

"Did you see anyone in a suit coming or going?"

"No, I didn’t see anyone," Yu Manyi gathered her courage and looked him straight in the eye, as she had heard that direct eye contact made what one said seem more convincing. "I was just sketching for a while. Apart from the old man at the door, I haven’t seen anyone else."

"Damn... where did he go?"The interrogation by the scarred man finally ended with a curse, followed by the flick of a cigarette as he walked toward the other end of the street. Yu Manyi was drenched in cold sweat. She considered packing up her easel but then felt that immediately running away would seem too deliberate. So, she grit her teeth and continued sketching.

On the paper, some crooked strokes were added. Yu Manyi heard that voice again, as it turned back towards her. Her back stiffened as another male voice joined in.

The new voice said, "Checked three or four times already, still can't find anything! I think we don't need to follow Song Qi anymore!"

"Why not? His disappearance isn't suspicious?"

"The British company he works for said he's on a business trip, what's suspicious about that?"

"How convenient! A business trip to Wuhan? Someone like him, with all these suspicions, being linked to Wuhan only makes him more suspicious! Damn it, I should have been watching him all the time. The moment I saw him board the ship, I should have caught him, instead of just waiting for him to return! This time when I interrogate him, I will..."

"I've had enough of you! If I were Song Qi, even if my father was in prison..."

Yu Manyi's face tightened: Song Qi’s father is in prison?

"...those businesses and connections wouldn't go to waste. And what about having an aunt with such a reputation? Why would a good young master like him want to do these dangerous things? A person must be out of his mind to give up wealth and seek death! I don't want to waste any more time on Song Qi! I have a wife and family! I'm going home to eat!"

Yu Manyi was drawing instinctively, each stroke becoming more bizarre. One breath left, but another stayed by the roadside, occasionally glancing at her stiff back.

She closed her eyes for a moment, crumpled up the first sketch, discarded it, and quickly started another one. Then, she hurriedly left the street where Song Qi lived.

"Manyi, is this the new... work you drew?"

In the principal's office, Jiang Yu's voice was still gentle. She wasn’t a woman to show her emotions, and it was hard for anyone to tell whether she was satisfied or dissatisfied.But Yu Manyi knew that Jiang Yu had formed an opinion about her.

The sketch of the apartment was chaotic, even worse than the assignments she usually submitted to the Business Printing House. She didn’t want to leave Jiang Yu with such an impression, but the interrogation with the scarred man and the subsequent conversation had left her troubled, making it hard to focus even during class.

Recently, You Hong had been observing her closely, as if she had some thoughts about her, but Yu Manyi had no energy to care anymore.

"Teacher Jiang, I... I..." Yu Manyi tried to organize her words, and thankfully, Jiang Yu was willing to wait for her stammering, "I encountered some issues that delayed my sketching. Teacher Jiang, I’ll adjust my state next week and draw another one for you. Is that okay? This one, this one doesn't count, it's not my true level..."

"Drawing eventually becomes an instinctive reaction, just like eating and drinking. Even if the state is poor, as long as the technique is right and the heart and hands align, the only thing that might be lacking is the spiritual quality. If the state is poor and you can't draw well, then it shows that your foundation isn't solid. You don’t need to draw for me anymore."

"Teacher Jiang, I..."

"I'm not criticizing you."

Jiang Yu was still smiling, but Yu Manyi immediately shut her mouth. She suddenly felt that Teacher Jiang was even more intimidating than the scarred man. In most places, attacks are straightforward with obvious weapons, but in the business world, survival often depends on hidden daggers. What she did, and what was hidden in her heart, only she knew.

"Before you started learning painting, besides Lu Yueting, who else did you study under?"

"One... a painting teacher from the countryside in Shaoxing, his surname is Su."

"You seem to really like imitating others' brushwork?"

"...Mm."

"So these awkward brushstrokes, are they from your teacher, Su?"

Yu Manyi felt embarrassed for Teacher Su."I can tell who you've learned from. Teacher Su, Lu Yueting, and some lesser-known small painters. The reason you imitate them is because..."

"Because their art books are cheap..." Yu Manyi almost shrank into the sofa, "The art books of famous artists are too expensive..."

"I see now, I understand."

Jiang Yu took a piece of manuscript paper from the drawer and spread it on the desk. Then, she unscrewed a fountain pen and wrote a few lines on the paper. She looked up at Yu Manyi and said, "Go to the bookshelf and bring me my seal."

Yu Manyi immediately jumped up and ran to get the principal's seal, handing it to Jiang Yu with both hands—

Soon, a permission letter with the principal's red seal was handed to Yu Manyi.

"Now that you've entered the Business Printing House, you should make use of the resources here. Have you been to the Eastern Library?"

Jiang Yu was referring to the five-story building on the street that Yu Manyi saw on her first day at the library. She shook her head, feeling embarrassed, "I've been so caught up with my coursework that I've run out of time, so..."

"Others manage their coursework, and you manage yours. What makes you stronger than them?" Jiang Yu sighed in regret.

"As for the Eastern Library, it's a place that outsiders can't get into. Since you've gained access, you should make the most of it. But on the fourth and fifth floors, there are some rooms with very precious ancient books and art catalogs that ordinary students can't view. Keep this permission letter safe, and show it to the old man at the entrance. He'll naturally let you in."

The permission letter was thin, almost weightless, yet it could open such an important door. Yu Manyi carefully folded the paper and placed it into her briefcase.

"What a special briefcase," Jiang Yu rarely gave an opinion. For her, a girl’s mismatched outfit might be more painful than anything else, "Why is a young girl using something like this? It doesn’t match your clothes at all."

"Well... it's a gift from a good friend," Yu Manyi quickly explained.

Once she said it, she suddenly realized that both her outfit and the briefcase were gifts from this "good friend."It was quite a coincidence today; this entire outfit was a gift from this "good friend." She still didn't know where this "good friend" was now.

It had been over a month. Not only Wuhan, but even the northeast could be visited in that time. After realizing this, Yu Manyi took out the note with the address of the electrical company that Song Qi had left her and studied it under the lamp, but it was only studying.

She didn’t know when she had become such a cautious person, especially after being interrogated by Scarred Fish that day. Since then, she had developed a sense of being monitored and followed—even though no one was actually watching or following her, she had picked up some of Song Qi's difficulties from the words of that person.

She didn’t want to cause Song Qi any unnecessary trouble because of her own mistakes. She had already caused him a lot of trouble before.

So, Yu Manyi spent all her free time in the Eastern Library. The more she looked, the more she realized how formidable the library's collection was.

The five-story building's collection was vast, with countless rare books, precious editions, and unique copies. When she was at the Yu household, she could only rely on copying packaging to improve her techniques. But now, looking around, in addition to hundreds of thousands of newspapers and periodicals, there were also imported anatomical drawings, oil paintings, and original photographs.

When she used Jiang Yu's permission letter to enter the fourth floor and above, the bookshelves contained many books that couldn’t be found on the market, including color prints and oil prints of paintings. Yu Manyi felt like a sparrow that had fallen into a grain pile, working tirelessly all day, so much so that it felt like she was overwhelming herself.

The fourth and fifth floors were not only for fine art collections; some books that were prohibited from being sold outside the library were also hidden in unlisted sections. They could only be found by searching through them one by one, like panning for gold.

That day, Yu Manyi discovered a shelf labeled with the word "RADIO." Surprised, she immediately squatted down to pull out a book and study it. She found that the books here weren’t in English, but in German. The details in the illustrations, the precision of the parts' dimensions, far exceeded the book Song Qi had taken home earlier.

RADIO, RADIO wasn’t just a radio. Yu Manyi suddenly realized—

RADIO, it was wireless communication!

...What yellow channels! He had lied to her!

Yu Manyi, belatedly realizing she had been deceived, dropped her face and grew even more anxious for Song Qi to return. But this time, it wasn’t out of longing; it was out of an urgent need to ask him questions.How many things had Song Qi really lied to her about? He had lied about RADIO, about his family background, and about his famous aunt and hidden identity as a young master? The truth had actually come from Scarred Fish!

Fine, it seemed like that night at Aunt Ping's house, when Song Qi had her sign an IOU, he had completely treated her like a child, coaxing her. He had promised that he wouldn't hide anything from her, but in the end, he had kept it all from her effortlessly—he was guilty of so much that not even a whole sheet of paper could cover it. She was really going to question him properly this time!

Yu Manyi, for the first time in a while, didn’t spend her evening talking to the great masters of the art world through books, but instead spent hours flipping through an English book about radio, preparing to learn some professional terms so she could speak with confidence and scare him a little. She stayed in the library later than usual, until the old man at the door reminded her to leave.

The books on the fourth floor couldn’t be borrowed like those on the lower floors. Yu Manyi quickly returned the book to a distant shelf, then lifted her heavy briefcase and headed back to the dorm.

Speaking of the dorm, she had to mention her roommate, You Hong.

Recently, Yu Manyi had run into her in the library a few times and only then realized that You Hong’s early departures and late returns were because she was studying in the Eastern Library. She had originally thought You Hong was dedicating herself to art, but when she secretly checked You Hong’s borrowing records that day, it turned out that it was mostly English and math books.

But wait, she was working so hard on English and math, how did she still only get 17 points?

Yu Manyi didn’t understand. It was hard to understand people sometimes. Maybe You Hong didn’t understand why Yu Manyi’s art scores improved so slowly either.

Anyway, she had completely given up on comparing You Hong to You Xiaoqing. That woman didn’t deserve to be a stand-in for Sister You. Yu Manyi had had enough of the sound of her roommate’s nightly washing and the noise she made when leaving early in the morning. She was a person with exceptional artistic talent but was as jumpy as a frightened bird, harboring unexplained hostility toward anyone who tried to get close.

Yu Manyi felt very busy—she had to worry about becoming a salesperson, about Liu Fengyan and the Yu family's past issues resurfacing, and about Song Qi’s silence. She had no intention of wasting time arguing with You Hong.

But she didn’t go looking for You Hong. Instead, You Hong came to find her.

To be precise, You Hong wasn’t really looking for her—she was just sitting on the bed, glaring at Yu Manyi with hatred and discontent when Yu Manyi returned to the dorm. Yu Manyi was confused by her stare, and as she bent down to grab the basin, she suddenly heard You Hong’s mocking voice:

“Really calculating.”

Yu Manyi: ...??She stood up holding the basin, staring directly into You Hong's gaze, and looked back.

Normally, every time she saw the birthmark on You Hong’s face, Yu Manyi would feel a pang in her heart. But this annoying girl had exhausted her patience to the point where today, when she looked at that birthmark again, she felt no stir in her heart at all.

"Who’s being manipulative?"

"You."

"What did I do?"

"Everyone else is quietly studying," You Hong said, her eyes red with anger. "But you, you don't focus on your classes, instead you go and ask the teacher to help you cheat, and you even went to the fourth floor to look at the exam papers!"

…………………………

Yu Manyi almost wanted to laugh out loud.

"Who doesn’t know that the fourth floor of the Eastern Library is where the exam papers are kept?" You Hong said.

"Who told you that?" Yu Manyi asked while holding the basin. "The fourth floor is full of bookshelves, there’s no place for exam papers!"

"You say whatever you want, anyway, we can’t get to the fourth floor, and only you have seen it," You Hong twisted her body. Yu Manyi was so upset, how had she ever thought this person resembled Sister You?

"Instead of improving your own skills, you just try to please the teacher," You Hong continued, growing angrier and more serious. "Why does Teacher Jiang like you so much? Did you give her something in return?"

……………………

"You’re just good at sucking up to people. When you first met me, you tried to get close, saying my name sounded nice. Who can’t tell that my name is so cheap…"I’m trying to please you?!

If your last name weren’t You, or if you didn’t have that birthmark, I wouldn’t even look at you!

Yu Manyi was burning with anger. She was about to explode the moment she put the basin down. But just then, the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open. Yuan Wan, with her hair tied up in a bun, stuck her head inside and said:

"Manyi, the people from the translation department on the first floor said there’s someone waiting outside... Manyi?"

The atmosphere in the dorm was really tense. You Hong was sitting on the bed, her eyes red, her body stiff like an awkward branch, shaking with anger as if she were the one being bullied.

Meanwhile, Yu Manyi had thrown the basin on the ground. The toothbrush and towel had scattered all over the floor, and her hair was a mess after taking her hairpin out. She had her hands on her hips, looking like she was about to argue with You Hong.

"What’s going on?" Yuan Wan asked, shocked.

"She’s having a tantrum," Yu Manyi replied, irritated.

"You’re the one having a tantrum!"

"How old are you two?!" Yuan Wan finally started acting like the older sister, "Manyi, go downstairs, they’re waiting for you."

Yu Manyi gave You Hong one last glance, but You Hong, with her neck stiffened, refused to make eye contact. She really felt like she was punching cotton. In the end, her frustration turned into a sneer. She casually ran her fingers through her hair, threw on a light shirt over her new skirt, and followed Yuan Wan downstairs.

"What’s going on?"

"She said Teacher Jiang is helping me cheat."

"Helping you cheat is no big deal," Yuan Wan said, "She’s jealous of you, you should be proud."What a self-deceptive victory mindset.

Yu Manyi was left speechless with these two. She could only walk downstairs with a dark face. A few male colleagues from the translation department were drinking and smoking on the first floor, which was even more irritating. None of them looked more pleasant than Song Qi, even though Song Qi, due to deceiving her multiple times, was now also causing some displeasure.

She walked to the door and opened the dormitory entrance. The cool night air hit her face, and Yu Manyi stepped outside, standing still. From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow quickly approaching as soon as the person noticed her coming out.

She shifted her gaze toward the newcomer, and then a strong smell of machine oil hit her face.

Yu Manyi felt a sense of familiarity, or perhaps, an intense familiarity—

This was the scent often present on Song Qi, the smell that comes from spending day and night around machinery, the kind of scent that gets soaked into one’s clothes. She could even tell that these two types of machine oil were likely the same brand.

Amidst the machine oil scent, a middle-aged man, wearing a hat and slightly chubby, ran towards Yu Manyi, panting heavily.

"Miss Yu? Miss Yu Manyi?"

"I am. And you are...?"

She didn’t recognize his face, but the moment he introduced himself, the note Song Qi had left her before leaving flashed through her mind.

Mr. Xu, from the electrical company.

"Miss Yu, do you have time now? Would it be convenient for you to come with me?"

Yu Manyi’s wariness immediately heightened. "Where to? What for?""To the electrical company, Mr. Song should have told you about me. As for what we're doing... doing what..."

The man took off his hat, and Yu Manyi saw his forehead covered in sweat. He used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead, put the hat back on, and lowered his voice, saying:

"It was my own decision. I think, Mr. Song right now, needs... to see you."