Chapter 115: The Bathroom

"A thousand years of waiting" is a heartbreaking love story. A snake falls in love with a human, only to end up imprisoned in a pagoda, while the human waits outside, waiting in vain for nothing.

Reality outside of stories is much the same. Once a person begins to wait for another, their heart has already been broken. At the very moment of separation, they are shattered into pieces, and even if they manage to patch themselves back together later, there will always be an unfillable void.

A young mother waited for that man for many years, but even when little Flower was as tall as her waist, there was still no news.

Zhang Xiaoman waited for that man for a long time, but as dusk fell, he never saw him emerge from any manhole.

All roads lead to Rome, but deep affection often ends in lingering regret. Those bound by fate will eventually meet; those without the connection will walk right past each other without even a flicker of recognition, leaving only the hollow ache of a hopeless wait.

Zhu Dachang and Hou San had a connection with Wang Chao, so even though one was below and the others were above, they still crossed paths—briefly, in a hurried collision.

The young mother and that man lacked the connection, so even when they stood on the same street, they never encountered one another. The man, wearing Pao Fanshan’s clothes, walked in from one end of the alley, while the young mother pulled little Flower out from the other.

Zhang Xiaoman and Wang Chao also lacked the connection. When Zhang Xiaoman pried open the manhole cover that the electric scooter had just passed over, Wang Chao had already departed through the interconnected sewer system. Just as all rivers eventually return to the sea, the sewage in the pipes is still water; it inevitably finds a convergence point, and that was how Wang Chao merged back into the sea of humanity.

The man in Pao Fanshan’s clothes walked up to Zhang Xiaoman, gave a stiff smile, and tried to speak in a normal tone, "Excuse me... could I trouble you for a moment?"

Zhang Xiaoman, squatting by the manhole, glanced at the man’s disheveled hair and stained clothes, waving him off. "My pockets are cleaner than your face. I really don't have any change. I'll pay you back another day."

"No, no..." The man hurriedly fished out Pao Fanshan’s wallet, pulled out a few red banknotes, and explained, "I have money... I'm not a beggar. I just accidentally fell into the sewer, and I'm in a bit of a state. I wanted to ask if you knew of a place nearby to take a bath..."

Zhang Xiaoman looked at the money in the man’s hand, his gaze sweeping over a blue medical insurance card in the wallet. He gave a soft "oh," stood up, and pointed toward another street. "I just passed by a bathhouse over there. It’s 88 a day, or you can pay by the hour. You can go check it out."

The man glanced in the direction Zhang Xiaoman pointed, cupped his hands in thanks, and turned away.

Watching the man’s retreating back, Zhang Xiaoman felt an indescribable strangeness. It was as if the man’s clothes, shoes, and hat had been stripped off someone else; nothing about them fit quite right. Frowning, he pulled out his phone and dialed He Wei’s number. As he walked toward the taxi stand, he asked in a low voice, "He Wei, have you found anything on your end?"

He Wei’s breathless voice came through the phone, "I've searched several streets... I haven't found the person you described..."

"I found a few fingerprints on the edge of a manhole cover here; it’s likely that bastard’s... Anyway, stop looking," Zhang Xiaoman checked his watch. "It’s been half an hour; that bastard has probably already gotten out of the sewers. Help me check on something else now—or rather, someone..."

"Who?"

"I don't know. I just have a feeling it’s a bit strange. Everything about him is completely illogical, so I want you to look into him."

"A stranger? If you don't know anything about him, it's going to be hard to investigate."

"When he opened his wallet just now, I memorized his medical insurance card number. You just need to check the medical insurance system, and you should be able to find out who he is."

"Tell me the number then; I'll check it when I get back to the station."

"256743598764..."

"Wait, you'd better text it to me. My memory isn't as freakish as yours..."

"No problem, I'll send it now!" Zhang Xiaoman reached the taxi stand, hailed a cab, got in, and hung up the phone. He gave the driver a destination, but just as he was about to send the text to He Wei, he received a message from someone else. After reading it word for word, he wore a strange expression. "This method... is that too dirty?"

"Dirty?"

Wang Chao stared coldly at the bathhouse owner and slapped a red banknote onto the counter. "If it weren't dirty, would I be here? The person might be dirty, but this money certainly isn't."

The owner glanced at the cash and pursed his lips. "One note isn't enough. Once you're done, I have to pay people to clean and disinfect the place. If it weren't for the stench on you, it would drive away how much of my business?"

Wang Chao pulled out a few more red banknotes and slammed them onto the counter, his voice icy. "Is this enough now?"

"Enough!" The owner immediately beamed, tucked away the cash, and took a wristband from the drawer. "The lockers are on the left. There are slippers and toiletries inside. You can store your valuables with me; if they go missing from the locker, this establishment assumes no responsibility."

Wang Chao took the wristband and, without another word to the owner, headed toward the lockers with a cold, stern face. He took out the toiletries and walked briskly to the bathing area. The moment he stepped inside, Wang Chao began to deeply regret having been so generous with those red banknotes.

In the several-dozen-square-meter bathroom, white mist filled the air. Wooden partitions separated showerheads covered in rust, and a thick, pungent smell of urine hit him in the face.

Wang Chao bit his lip, took a deep breath, and randomly chose a stall. He took off his blackened clothes, turned on the shower, and tilted his head back, feeling the warmth of the water soaking his body. He shuddered in relief, picked up a milky-white bar of soap, and slowly scrubbed his entire body.

Suddenly, just as Wang Chao was humming a little tune, a bar of the same milky-white soap slid in from under the partition door.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

A knocking sound came from the partition. Wang Chao looked at the soap in his hand, then at the one on the floor. His eye twitched, and he said coldly, "Don't even think about it. I am not picking up that soap for you. This damn bathroom stall doesn't even have a door; that move isn't safe..."

"Heh heh heh," a harsh, grating laugh drifted from the next stall. "Brother, you're overthinking it. Although it's been a long time since I've practiced the 'winding path to a secluded spot,' I have no interest in those who are also equipped with 'hardware.' How about this... just kick the soap over to me? My body is too dirty; I can't get clean without soap."

Wang Chao let out a scoff. "Brother is a man of culture, I see. A 'winding path to a secluded spot'—after hearing you say that, I suddenly feel that the 'deep zen chamber and flowers' have a unique charm as well. Brilliant, brilliant..." He gently kicked the soap toward the next stall with his foot. "Get ready, here it comes."

"Heh," the man’s grating laughter came again. "I've already set my posture. Come on! Hurry, I can't wait!"

Wang Chao shook his head and laughed, continuing to wash himself. After lathering up three times, he lifted his arms and took a few sniffs; the foul stench of feces had finally dissipated. He let out a long sigh, and as he wiped the water from his body with a towel, he glanced sideways at the showerhead in the next stall, which was still spraying warm water. He sniffed toward the next stall, pursed his lips, and said, "Brother, how many days has it been since you bathed? The smell is heavier than the sewer."

"Days? Heh heh heh..." The man's voice drifted over lazily. "I've forgotten when I last bathed. It could be years, or maybe over a decade. A day in the mountains is a thousand years in the world."

"Brother, if you're going to brag, you're going to end up in jail," Wang Chao sneered. "A thousand years in a day? Even a god couldn't handle that."

"Heh heh heh heh heh..."

The man’s grating laughter came from behind the partition once more. Wang Chao stopped wiping his body, his eyes narrowing into slits. He felt like he had heard this man’s voice somewhere before. He coughed lightly and probed, "Brother, your accent doesn't sound like a local. Are you here in A City for tourism? I know a few good spots; the scenery is absolutely enchanting. Have you ever been to 'Jiangnan Hao'?"

"'Jiangnan Hao'? I've never even heard of it, let alone seen it..." The man let out a long sigh. "I am indeed not a local, but I'm not here for tourism either... Actually, I've been in A City for many years, staying at a relative's house, and I haven't stepped out once, so I don't know much about the city... Brother, besides that 'Jiangnan Hao' you mentioned, what other good places are there? Tell me about them, and in a few days, I'll go visit them all one by one."

"You haven't stepped out once? Then you've lived these years in vain..." Wang Chao finally remembered where he had heard the man’s voice. He turned the shower back on, soaked the towel in his hand, lowered his gaze, and said, "There are seven other places in A City just like 'Jiangnan Hao.' There are many twists and turns inside; you're unfamiliar with the area, you might get scammed. Why don't we set a time, and I'll take you to see them all?"

"That would be wonderful," the man suddenly remembered something and paused. "Brother, do you know where the Yang Group company is?"

Wang Chao walked out of his stall on tiptoe and spat out two words, "I know."

"Then could I trouble you to take me there in a little while? I need to go find a relative to borrow some money, and then we can go enjoy all those places you mentioned."

"Borrow money? I can lend it to you; no need to find your relative. But there is one thing I’d like to borrow from you as well."

"What thing?"

Wang Chao arrived silently behind the man, glanced at the jagged, bony structure of his back, and suddenly tightened the wet towel around the man’s neck, his voice chillingly low in the man’s ear: "Your life!"