CH 24

Arriving at the mountains, they saw a few cars parked there. Kou Chen’s dad pointed at a Land Rover: “That’s Old Yang’s car.”

“Old Yang?” Huo Ran’s dad was confused. 

“My daughter’s boyfriend,” Kou Chen’s dad said. “Old Yang.”

“Is he… old?” Xu Zhifan couldn’t help but ask. How old do you have to be for even your girlfriend’s dad to call you Old XXX?

“No, he just turned thirty.” Kou Chen’s dad said. “I call him that to make him feel older, to tell him that he needs to treat his girlfriend well. You’re Old Yang, so don’t you feel the need to take good care of your twenty something girlfriend? You’ll understand when you have kids, right Old Huo?”

“That I can’t relate to,” Huo Ran’s dad laughed as he parked the car. “I only have a son… Those two cars will have to stop here, they won’t fit.” 

“What if they drive off the road?” Kou Chen’s dad asked. “Besides the paths, the fields, will that work?”

“It’s all bumps, rocks, ditches, and forest over there. We better not wreck the cars before we find them.” Huo Ran’s dad said.

“You guys go check out the villages, see if it’s good to live in. Two of you should stay and wait for the cops,” Kou Chen’s dad poked his head out of the window and yelled, “Call me if anything comes up.”

“Okay, leave it to us.” They replied.

Huo Ran’s dad drove further in, and Xu Zhifan checked his phone. Neither Huo Ran nor Kou Chen had replied to his messages, but the group chat was unusually lively.

Xu Chuan and Wei Chaoren were added in, and they were trying to guess the situation.

At first they were all really worried, considering calling a helicopter to go rescue them. Xu Zhifan told them they were probably fine, that they were safe at the moment, and they calmed down. They reminded him to take photos and to start a video call if there was signal, so they could get in on the fun live.

The roads got bumpier the further in they went, and Xu Zhifan secured himself safely with the seatbelts. 

“Kid, have you been out with Little Huo before?” Kou Chen’s dad asked.

“Nope,” Xu Zhifan said. “I’m not interested, but picnics are alright.”

“Kids these days,” Kou Chen’s dad sighed. “Not interested in the great outdoors, not athletic, and no hands-on skills. My daughter was really just looking for something new to do. When she told me they were going hiking I didn’t think they could make it over five kilometers.”

“Kou Chen’s really athletic.” Xu Zhifan said. 

“Athletic my ass,” Kou Chen’s dad said. “I can take on eight of him with one hand.”

Xu Zhifan shut his mouth. By that logic, Kou Chen’s dad could take on over ten of him.

Huo Ran said that this path was relatively easy, and Xu Zhifan couldn’t even imagine what a hard path would be like. There wasn’t a second the car wasn’t shaking the whole way there. It made him sleepy but at the same time he couldn’t fall asleep, so he could only look out the window in case there were any suspicious people around. 

A while later, Xu Zhifan noticed that there was no signal.

“There’s no signal here, how much longer?” He asked. “It won’t go through if Huo Ran or the police tries to call us, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Kou Chen’s dad took out a black phone from his bag and waved it at him, “I brought a satellite phone.”

“Looks like you’re very prepared?” Huo Ran’s dad laughed. 

“I quite like the outdoors too, it’s just been a while since I’ve gone.” Kou Chen’s dad said. “Buying stuff like this is pretty much just for fun. I bring it when we go out to tourist farms, so I can turn my phone off.”

“You can set up a tent in your backyard.” Huo Ran’s dad suggested.

“I’ve thought about it,” Kou Chen’s dad said. “I can bring my wife and we’ll spend a day or two outside, but she doesn’t want to do it. Just thinking about sitting out there alone while they’re all inside watching TV is boring.”

Xu Zhifan couldn’t help but laugh along with Huo Ran’s dad. 

As they were laughing, the satellite phone rang.

“It’s Kou Chen, that damn thing.” Kou Chen’s dad glanced at the phone and picked it up. “Where are you guys?”

“The camp at the river mouth.” Kou Chen said. “Did you come with Huo Ran’s dad?”

“Yeah,” His dad said. “And one of your friends too, how’s your sister?” 

“My sister is fine, absolutely peachy.” Kou Chen glanced at Kou Xiao, who was eating off to the side. “Dad, give the phone to Huo Ran’s dad, Huo Ran wants to talk to him about the paths and stuff.”

“Where’s your sister?” His dad asked again.

Kou Chen sighed, moving the phone over to Kou Xiao, “Hurry, say something.”

“Dad, I’m fine!” Kou Chen called out, “Give the phone to Ranran’s dad, it’s important business!” 

“Here,” Kou Chen handed the phone to Huo Ran, “Your dad.”

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“I’m almost at Baimao Hill.” His dad said. “I have to take a detour. We called the police, are you at the river mouth?” 

“Yeah, we’ve been here for a while. The village police just got here.” Huo Ran said. “Have you seen a lady wearing Arc’teryx shoes? With tattered clothes too.”

“We haven’t seen anyone,” His dad said. “But the police will want to search around later.”

“The police want to take us back, but they don’t have the space, only a tricycle that can fit two of us.” Huo Ran said. “Should we have Kou Xiao and Old Yang go back first?”

His dad repeated all that to Kou Chen’s dad, and Huo Ran heard him say: “No, no, no, my daughter can’t go on that. There’s not a single athletic cell in her body, what if she falls off? She’ll ride in our car.” 

“Hear that? Do they have other officers there?” His dad asked.

“Yeah, I’ll go back first with Kou Chen then.” Huo Ran said. “You guys come pick up Kou Xiao and Old Yang.”

“Okay, you can talk to Zhifan,” His dad said, “Here’s here too.”

“Damn, I knew he would want to come,” Huo Ran laughed, “Lemme talk to him.” 

“Take some photos, they want to see your miserable condition.” Xu Zhifan said.

“How terrible of you guys.” Huo Ran said.

“When have we been nice in times like this? Jiang Lei’s going around telling everyone, the whole class probably knows now.” Xu Zhifan said. “I bet he’s gonna want to interview you guys over a meal too.”

“Leave that Kou Chen.” Huo Ran glanced at him. 

“What?” Kou Chen raised an eyebrow and spoke before waiting for an answer, “No problem.”

“You gotta put on a presentation when we go back.” Huo Ran said.

“Forget it,” Kou Chen waved it off with a face of modesty. “There’s nothing much really, what do I say? We just ran into some suspicious human traffickers, and saved a lady… Although we didn’t succeed, we still fought them…”

“I’ll fill you in later.” Huo Ran said. 

“Okay.” Xu Zhifan nodded.

Old Yang had also just finished explaining everything to the police.

“We’ll look for her,” An old officer said. “We’ve called Tang’s Hollow, and they confirmed there was such a person. She married an idiot in their village a couple years ago, and her head’s a bit muddled, but we still have to confirm the details.”

“Will you let us know if you find anything?” Kou Xiao asked. “No matter what, it’s still really dangerous for her to be running around like that.” 

“We will find her, you can trust our experience in this area.” The old officer said. “We’ll find those locals you’ve mentioned too, and we’ll let you know if anything happens. You can call us to ask yourselves as well.”

“I’ll take two of them back first,” A younger officer said. “The rest of you shouldn’t go any further, since those locals are still out there. Safety first.”

“We’ll go first.” Huo Ran pointed at Kou Chen.

“You two?” Disdain flashed across the young officer’s eyes. “You’re making a girl wait here?” 

“Her dad wants to come pick her up himself.” Kou Chen said. “Her butt is way more precious than ours. She can’t ride on that. Her dad was still carrying her around everywhere in middle school…”

“Hear that? He’s clearly jealous.” Kou Xiao’s mouth twitched.

In the end, Huo Ran and Kou Chen got on the tricycle. Huo Ran sat behind the officer while Kou Chen sat in the sidecar with a leg propped up due to his ankle injury. 

Barely ten meters out, he immediately took his leg back.

“Holy shit, it’s so bumpy.” He hugged his knees, “My leg’s gonna break if I keep it there.”

“There’s no helping it, only these bikes work in the mountains here.” The officer said. “Hold on tight.”

“Mister,” Kou Chen hugged his legs, “Does stuff like this happen a lot here?” 

The officer glanced at him: “We don’t know the details yet. If you’re talking about human trafficking, then it hasn’t been common the last couple years. We’re not that off the grid, campers come and go and we have plenty of contact with the outside. Don’t worry.”

“If it’s not human trafficking, then it’s an idiot taking in an intellectually disabled wife, and he beats her.” Kou Chen asked, “Are you guys responsible for that?”

“If there’s a report then we must look into it.” The officer sighed. “But how many people would actually call the police? We had a case before where the victim was beaten to death, and they still thought it was just family matters.”

Kou Chen didn’t say anything else, and Huo Ran didn’t know what to say either, so the three of them just bounced along the road in silence. 

A while later, Kou Chen reached out his hand and grabbed Huo Ran’s hand.

“Hm?” Huo Ran looked at him.

“Hm?” Kou Chen looked back at him. 

“What’s wrong?” Huo Ran looked at his hand.

“What do you mean what’s wrong?” Kou Chen looked a bit annoyed, “I’m just holding your hand for a bit, is there a problem?”

“You’re holding his hand.” The officer laughed.

“I’m worried he’ll fly off.” Kou Chen said. 

“Then it’s better if you hold onto his pants.” The officer said.

“Gege,” Kou Chen looked at him. “What’s wrong with you? Just shut up and drive!”

The officer laughed: “Relax, don’t worry.”

“Am I nervous? What is there to be worried about?” Kou Chen retorted. 

“Trust the police, we will get to the bottom of this.” The officer looked at him. “You don’t believe us, do you?”

“To be honest,” Kou Chen said, “Not really…”

“Then let me put it this way.” The officer thought for a moment, “There’s quite a few cops like me.”

“Like what?” Kou Chen asked. 

“The type that wants to and will tell you to trust us police officers.” The officer answered.

“Damn,” Kou Chen froze, turning his head to the side. “Don’t do that, you’re gonna make me cry.”

“Cry, cry, cry, man…” The officer suddenly started singing, “It’s not a crime… How is it? Do you feel better now?”

Huo Ran couldn’t help but laugh, before finally calming down and saying: “Thank you.” 

He didn’t know if Kou Chen felt better or not, but his hand never left his. When the paths got bumpier, the two of them held on tight like the other was their lifeline.

Resulting in a handful of sweat.

Halfway through, they were greeted by a Jimny flying down the hill. 

“Oh my!” The officer braked, “They’re here to pick you guys up, right! How fierce.”

“It must be because of Kou Xiao’s dad.” Kou Chen finally let go of his hand and hopped off. “Maybe he’s even regretting that he didn’t call a helicopter to pick up his precious daughter.”

Huo Ran got off as well, waving at the Jimny. He could see that his dad was behind the wheel.

From looks alone, he could tell that the person sitting in the passenger seat was Kou Chen’s dad. The so-called horror movie butcher. 

“Uncle…” He was cut off before he could finish.

“We’re not getting out, we’re not getting out!” Kou Chen’s dad poked his head out and glanced at them. Then he yelled at the officer, “Thank you, Mr. Officer! We’re gonna go pick them up now! We’ll leave these kids to you!”

“Alright, stay safe.” The officer said. “You’re driving too fast!”

“Okay, okay,” His dad poked his head out too and waved, “You guys go on first. 

“Xu Zhifan!” Kou Chen walked to the car and yelled, “Are you coming?”

“Am I supposed to fucking walk back then?” Xu Zhifan’s head appeared from behind the seats. He held his phone up and started taking pictures of them, “How are you two?”

“Pretty good, we’re fine.” Huo Ran rubbed his face. “Don’t just post the photos everywhere!”

“I’m just commemorating the moment.” Xu Zhifan looked down, “What’s wrong with Kou Chen’s foot?” 

“Twisted it.” Kou Chen said.

“Old Huo, hurry up, come on, come on. You guys can talk when we get back!” Kou Chen’s dad yelled. “It’s just a twisted ankle, it’s not like it’s broken!”

“See you later! We…” Before Xu Zhifan could finish, his face already disappeared out of view.

The Jimny flew past their bike and disappeared, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. 

As they got back on the bike, Kou Chen grabbed Huo Ran’s hand again.

Huo Ran didn’t ask him what’s wrong this time, he only stared at him for a bit.

“Keep staring and I’ll punch you!” Kou Chen turned around and glared.

Huo Ran turned back around in exasperation, and they kept a firm grim grip on each other’s hand as they headed back down the bumpy road. 

They reached the exit as the sun was beginning to set, and they saw the police and three men.

The men were probably Kou Chen’s dad’s friends, all horror movie butcher looking guys.

“Are you guys okay?” One of them came over and looked them up and down, patting them on the shoulders. He said to Kou Chen, “Your dad said they’re on their way back.” 

“Thanks Uncle Wu, Uncle Liang, Uncle Li.” Kou Chen said. “For making you come all the way out.”

“Don’t mention it. Relax, even if your dad wouldn’t come, we would still come to pick you up!” Uncle Wu patted him on the back again and smiled. “If your sister wasn’t here, your dad seriously might not have come.”

“You guys really know him.” Kou Chen smiled back.

“Thank you Mr. Officer!” They all surrounded the officer, “Come have a smoke and rest.” 

After repeating their story to the cops that were waiting for them, Kou Chen got out his phone and sent a message in the group chat.

-we’re back

A video call request immediately came through.

“What?” Kou Chen accepted it and raised the phone so he was in frame. 

“Holy shit, are you two okay?!” Jiang Lei’s eyes were wide, face so close to the screen you could only see his nose. “Where’s Huo Ran?”

“He’s here, hold on,” Kou Chen tugged Huo Ran over by the arm, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Look at us, don’t we look good?”

Huo Ran smiled at the camera: “I bet you guys were waiting to see our miserable states.”

“Xu Zhifan said you two got into a fight,” Xu Chuan said. “Are you hurt? You can’t compare those locals to students, they’re actually good.” 

“We’re fine…” Huo Ran said.

“Whether they’re good or not would have to depend on who they’re up against.” Kou Chen said.

Huo Ran turned to look at him.

They were both very realistic people that had screamed out “RUN” when facing those locals. Kou Chen could actually say that like it was second nature to him. 

“Damn,” Wei Chaoren said. “Good thing it was you two. If it were me…”

“Now you can say you two have been through something huge together.” Jiang Lei said. “It’s like, a friend in need is a friend indeed? Something like that?”

“Mhm,” Kou Chen nodded, turning to Huo Ran. “Come here.”

“For wha…” Huo Ran suddenly realized what was going on, and he immediately tried to push Kou Chen away. “You fucker…” 

Kou Chen tightened his grip before he could do so.

Smack!

He placed a kiss on his face.

It was a forceful kiss, making Huo Ran feel like he just got bit on the face. He could even feel the fucking wetness of it.