Mo Du (默读) - Silent Reading

Julien XXVI

These tall buildings presented icy exteriors. Their straight-up-and-down trunks were oppressive. Their lobbies were usually floored in bright, reflective stone, and the front desk attendants and security guards would fix their gazes on anyone who set foot inside.

Each building had its own distribution of elevators—all the elevators had their own systems. Some couldn’t go up, some couldn’t go down, some distinguished between odd and even floors, some could only be used after swiping a card; they formed a body unto themselves, often leaving strangers at sea, leading them to feel estranged from these repellant little “states.”

But the Gemini Building was different. Even though it had already been completely redecorated, it was still as familiar to him as the palm of his hand—he had done an internship here for half a year, but afterwards he hadn’t stayed, because they’d just had to have an exchange student from a “well-known school” who only understood European and American legal systems.

There was no comparing the present to the past. These people waving around attractive legal assignments could only review a basic contract. In order to handle any matter that required a very high level of specialization, they had to ask him to come back and act as adviser. In this building, the intern Xiao Zhao had become “Mr. Zhao” with the wave of a hand.

But each corridor, each stairwell hidden in the shadows, was carefully recorded in his mind. Even if the power hadn’t been turned off, he still had the assurance of being able to avoid the building’s security cameras.

But sadly, while all the conditions were perfect, someone had upset his plans.

When he’d been mixed in with the crowd, ready to watch a splendid “performance” on the Canopy of Heaven only to be interrupted midway by Fei Du, he’d flown into a rage. He’d decided almost at once that this was a base publicity stunt—perhaps he was supporting his drinking buddy, and perhaps there was some commercial purpose.

These people controlled assets and social resources that it was hard for him to imagine, even though each one was a blockhead, even though listening to an ordinary due diligence report could have them ready to pass out, yawning their heads off—if through the efforts of countless experts they could occasionally pretend to issue one or two obvious conclusions, then they would immediately be lauded as “young geniuses”.

A policeman leading several security guards temporarily hired to help with the evening performance hurried over to maintain order. “Everyone, please don’t hang around near the high rises. We’re still investigating the rooftops, there’s a chance of danger here. Will you cooperate? Thank you, sorry, it’s for your safety…”

Hearing this, the crowd slowly moved away. No one noticed a fair and refined man turning and disappearing into the darkness.

The police dispersing the crowd here clearly indicated that they would soon come to search, and that stupid woman still hadn’t jumped.

He didn’t know whether she’d gotten scared at the last moment, or whether she’d been hoodwinked by that pretty boy’s inferior performance. In accordance with reason, he had a contingency plan—only one side of the rooftop of Tower A faced the central square. He had fixed up the guard rail so that even if she hesitated at the last moment, the loosened guard rail would help her make her decision.

His arrangements ought to have been foolproof. What had gone wrong?

He had to go back to look.

He considered briefly and pulled out a crafty idea. He didn’t go into Tower A, but went around to one side of Tower B, going in through the side door of a coffee shop on the ground floor of the office building. He familiarly went up the emergency passage specially provided for package and fast-food delivery people, running up to the eighth floor—there was an open-air corridor linking the two towers, connected to the eighth floor emergency stair.