After AFK for five years, I returned to be number one in the entire server.

October st.

The dormitories at Ningchuan University were mostly empty, and the usual noise was absent from the corridors.

Lin sat at the table, his phone screen lit up with a message from Su Nian.

"I'm getting on the bus. I'll cover for you if your aunt asks."

Lin replied with an "Mm" and locked the screen.

He stayed at the school because he received a mission from Tian Shu.

The target is Shen Yi.

The person originally in charge of surveillance was a field agent from the intelligence department.

When the branch office retrieved Ningda's interpersonal relationship network, they discovered that Lin Ye had had multiple contacts with Shen Yi, so they temporarily assigned the task to him.

The mission briefing did not specify the reason, only requiring Lin to record all of the target's whereabouts during the vacation.

The branch did not arrange special transportation this time; everything was done according to the travel routes of ordinary students.

Lin took the high-speed train for two hours to reach Linan Station. Outside the station exit, there was a row of passenger buses heading to the towns and villages below.

The bus that went to Changshui Town was an old green minibus.

A middle-aged woman stood next to the car door, with a small black imitation leather purse slung over her waist.

"Changshui, Changshui, just two more, just two more, let's go right now!" The woman's voice was loud, drowning out the roar of the engines around her.

Lin also got into the car.

The carriage was filled with the smell of fermented sweat, engine oil, and some kind of cheap tobacco.

Several fertilizer bags were piled up in the passageway, filled with sweet potatoes covered in mud.

The car was almost full, so Lin found a seat towards the back.

The man in front of me was in his fifties. He had a red plastic bucket at his feet, and several fish were swimming around in it.

Water splashed out and landed on the shoes of a curly-haired woman next to her.

The woman frowned, pulled a tissue from her bag to wipe her shoes, and moved her legs further into the aisle.

"Put the bucket over there a little more," she said curtly.

The man glanced at it but didn't move his foot: "The car is only so wide, where am I supposed to put it?"

The woman crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it on the ground, her voice rising several decibels: "How can you be like this? Don't you have any sense of reason?"

"You're taking a two-yuan bus ride and you think you're flying first class?" the man muttered.

The two men's voices grew louder and louder, attracting the attention of those around them.

A woman with a coin purse slung over her waist squeezed through the front and impatiently patted the back of the chair.

"Alright, alright, if you want to argue, go do it somewhere else. Don't delay me from starting the bus."

The arguing gradually subsided, turning into low-pitched curses and glares at each other.

The engine emitted a deep, muffled roar, and the bus swayed as it pulled away from the station.

After arriving at his destination, Lin got out of the car, took out his phone, and quickly located Shen Yi's position according to the guidance of west Wangmu.

Her home is located in a courtyard with two old houses: a main house and a kitchen.

When Lin saw her, she was washing clothes on a washboard.

After washing the clothes, she took a bamboo broom and swept the fallen leaves and trash in the corner of the yard into one place.

Her movements were fluid, without the deliberate slowness she displayed at school.

She no longer possessed the delicate fragility she occasionally displayed at school; now she appeared very calm, even somewhat wooden.

As darkness fell, the courtyard gate made a scraping sound and was pushed open from the outside.

A middle-aged woman in a dark blue factory uniform walked in. Her faded cloth bag was hanging on the iron nail behind the door. She walked to the sink and turned on the tap to wash her hands.

Shen Yi carried two bowls of white rice out of the kitchen and placed them on the old wooden table in the living room.

"You're back." Shen Yi pulled out a long bench.

"Mm." The woman dried her hands and went over to sit down.

"You can rest well during your few days off. I'll take care of the chores in the yard when I get back." The woman glanced at the clean yard and the clothes drying on the nylon line.

"Mom, you're not feeling well, and I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway, it won't be a hassle," Shen Yi said with a smile.

The woman then asked, "Do you have enough money at school?"

Shen Yi lowered her head and ate her rice: "It's enough. I found a part-time job nearby, and I get paid."

After dinner, it was completely dark.

Shen Yi came out of a grocery store, carrying a plastic bag containing some daily necessities.

On her way home, she ran into a girl wearing a miniskirt.

"Isn't this Shen Yi?"

Shen Yi paused for a moment, then looked at the other person's face clearly.

This is her high school classmate, Wang Xuan, but she dropped out of school a long time ago.

Shen Yi didn't reply, but moved slightly to the side of the road, preparing to go around it.

"Our college student is back." Wang Xuan looked her up and down. "How's it going in the big city? Ningchuan is a big place, the expenses must be high."

Shen Yi said, "Excuse me."

Wang Xuan sneered: "What's the rush? With a face like that, haven't you found a rich tycoon to keep you as a mistress?"

As Wang Xuan finished speaking, only a few faint chirps of insects could be heard around them.

Shen Yi looked at Wang Xuan, and the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing a smile.

"Yes, I looked for it."

Her tone was soft, almost nonchalant. She switched the plastic bag from her right hand to her left, leaving a red mark on her knuckles.

"Unfortunately, they don't even like me."

Wang Xuan was stunned. She had prepared a lot of things to say, but this frank statement choked her up, leaving her speechless for a moment.

Shen Yi took half a step forward, closing the distance between the two.

"I'm timid and can't take risks." Shen Yi stared into Wang Xuan's eyes. "I can't compare to you. You were already having sex with people in small hotels a long time ago."

"What did you say!" Wang Xuan's voice rose, becoming sharp and shrill.

"fallen woman."

Wang Xuan was furious and shoved Shen Yi on the shoulder.

Shen Yi took a half step back, and the plastic bag in her hand made a rapid rubbing sound.

She quickly regained her balance, raised her free hand, and forcefully pushed below Wang Xuan's collarbone.

Wang Xuan, wearing high heels, lost her footing and stumbled back several steps before regaining her footing.

"Chen Fei!" She turned her head and called out towards the entrance of the billiards room not far away.

A young man with a tuft of red hair lifted the curtain and came out.

He walked over to Wang Xuan, who pointed at Shen Yi and said, "She pushed me just now, hit her!"

Chen Fei is Wang Xuan's boyfriend. When his girlfriend gave the order, he didn't care about the details and went to get close to Shen Yi.

Shen Yi stood still and did not dodge.

She looked at Chen Fei and suddenly gave a charming smile.

Moonlight fell on her face, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned, her smile was gentle, revealing an unguarded vulnerability.

Her features were already quite striking, and under the bright moonlight, her face was so stunning that it was impossible to look away.

Chen Fei stopped, his cheeks slowly turning red, and he swallowed.

"What are you doing! Attack me!" Wang Xuan shouted.

Chen Fei turned around: "What are you fighting for? Fighting a woman? Am I crazy?"

"Chen Fei, are you a piece of trash?!" Wang Xuan kicked him.

"What's wrong with you!" Chen Fei kicked back.

The two started pulling at each other on the roadside, and the noise grew louder and louder, causing people inside the billiard hall to peek out.

Shen Yi didn't look at them again and went home along the street.