Mask

Now Wen Yiqian finally understood why An Zhi had been so hostile toward him at the amusement park.

“Didn’t you suspect something was off about her?” he asked, after turning it over for a moment.

“Compared to her, you’re the bigger problem,” An Zhi said, without softening it.

Wen Yiqian opened his mouth and closed it again.

“What did she look like?” he asked after a beat. “Any distinguishing features?”

“She…” A look of recollection crossed An Zhi’s face. “A woman. Very beautiful. Very striking.”

“Very beautiful and striking?” Wen Yiqian’s frown deepened slightly, and before he could stop himself: “More beautiful than you?”

An Zhi stared at him without expression.

“Forget I said that.” Wen Yiqian pressed his lips together.

“One more thing.” An Zhi’s expression shifted as the memory came back. “Today, when you came to the Crescent Moon Hotel looking for me, I got the message and left early.”

Her face tightened. “But not long after I left, I was knocked unconscious.”

“Was it Liao Tong?”

“I never actually saw Liao Tong.” An Zhi’s look was strange. “When I came to, I had a bomb, a phone, and a pair of scissors on me. Then Liao Tong called and explained the situation, told me what he wanted, and used the bomb to keep me in line.”

“I don’t think it was Liao Tong who knocked me out.”

She hugged her arms to her body. A chill had moved through her that hadn’t quite left.

“Why not?” Wen Yiqian felt his own scalp prickle.

“Instinct.” An Zhi rubbed her arms. “The timing is too precise. I was knocked out almost immediately after leaving the hotel. Whoever did it had been watching me the whole time, and I hadn’t stepped outside once during the night.”

“You mean all of this, including Liao Tong, might have been arranged by that woman?” Wen Yiqian stared at her.

An Zhi gave a noncommittal shrug.

“Why are you telling me any of this?” Wen Yiqian asked, genuinely puzzled. “Shouldn’t you be hoping something terrible happens to me? Unless you’re…”

“Unless I’m what?” An Zhi looked at him blankly.

“You know. A maso—”

“Get lost.”

“I have too much going on in my head and no one to say it to.” The anger faded from An Zhi’s face, and for a moment something quieter and lonelier showed through. “And right now, you’re probably the only person who would actually believe me.”

She straightened up and checked her phone. “It’s getting late. I’m going.”

She left without waiting for a response.

Wen Yiqian found a nearby step and sat down, turning everything she had said over in his mind.

If she wasn’t lying, then someone had been working behind the scenes through both incidents today.

What made it worse was that the target had clearly been Wen Yiqian all along.

A woman. Beautiful and striking. Wen Yiqian ran through every female character he had written, searching for a match. Nothing lined up.

The problem was that “beautiful and striking” was far too general. Without something more specific, there was nothing to go on.

Who could it be?

…

Officer Xiao Sun dropped him off at Happiness Residential Complex. Wen Yiqian said his goodbyes, his thoughts still tangled as he headed inside.

The whole business sat like something lodged under his skin. He doubted he was going to sleep well.

At this hour the complex was quiet, almost no one around.

He walked with his head down, following the path toward his building, still turning things over.

Then something made him look up.

Ahead, under a slightly yellowed streetlamp, a figure stood quietly. Crimson. Graceful. Impossible to miss.

Wen Yiqian’s expression flickered. “Is that a ghost?”

He rubbed his eyes, confirmed the figure was real, steadied himself, and kept walking.

There were no ghosts or monsters in his book, and this was the only way home.

As he drew closer, her features came into focus.

She was strikingly beautiful. A bright red cheongsam fitted close to a figure that drew the eye, and there was something in her gaze: not just allure, but depth, and behind it, something that set off a quiet alarm.

Beautiful. Magnetic. And dangerous.

A cold instinct moved through him. He dropped his gaze, picked up his pace, and did his best to pretend she wasn’t there.

“Did you enjoy yourself today?”

Her voice stopped him before he had cleared her. Soft, unhurried, the kind of voice that made you want to hear more of it. Paired with the red dress and that look in her eyes, the effect was something he couldn’t easily dismiss.

He kept his head down and kept walking.

“Didn’t you like the Children’s Day gift?” A slight pout entered her voice. “I thought you had quite a good time.”

Wen Yiqian stopped and turned around.

“What do you want?”

“Two things.” She smiled. “A gift. And an assessment.”

“An assessment of what?”

“Have you heard of…” She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Mask?”

Wen Yiqian’s expression shifted.

“The world’s most elite criminal organization.” A note of quiet pride entered her voice. “Every official member is a master of their craft.”

On the surface he stayed still. Underneath, his thoughts were already moving at speed.

He had never outlined his novels, but his head was always full of ideas. The ones that felt promising, he jotted down.

The organization called Mask was one of them: a concept he had held in reserve, something that might anchor the main plotline of a later arc. It shared its name with the novel he was serializing. It felt right for that reason.

But it had never made it onto the page. He hadn’t been certain enough to commit to it, and he had kept it as a single line of notes:

The world’s most elite criminal organization, where every official member is a criminal genius.

That was all that existed of it. One line. In his own private notes.

And yet here it was, standing in front of him in a red cheongsam.

“What I arranged for you today was the assessment for full membership.”

The woman’s words pulled him back.

“You want me to join?” Wen Yiqian’s voice came out steadier than he felt.

“We’ve been watching you for some time.” Her smile stayed in place, warm and unhurried. “Today was when we chose to begin the formal assessment. Your performance was exceptional. You have everything it takes to become a full member.”

She tilted her head slightly.

“Wen Yiqian. Would you like to consider joining us?”

(End of Chapter)