"Do I have a sickness? Why would I harbor an assassin? Little Fatty and I have just arrived at New Star, strangers in a strange place, only knowing a few people... Why would I protect an assassin?"
"Exactly." Sheng Xinhua also voiced agreement with Tang Fei’s words, saying, "There must be some misunderstanding here."
"Misunderstanding? Lucky they didn’t suspect that Little Fatty and I were the murderers..." Tang Fei pretended to be indignant.
Sheng Xinhua looked thoughtfully at Tang Fei, saying, "You, on the other hand, are quite capable of doing such things..."
"Little Fatty is so kind-hearted, he probably couldn’t kill a chicken... If I were an agent of the Monitoring Bureau, I’d exclude him first."
Tang Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Sheng Xinhua hadn’t seen Little Fatty swinging the Skull Hammer and smashing someone’s head to pieces. If she had, she surely wouldn’t think this way...
"What’s with that expression?" Sheng Xinhua, seeing Tang Fei’s strange look, asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"You seem to know Little Fatty pretty well." Tang Fei said.
"Of course." Sheng Xinhua said proudly, "Little Fatty is like a bottle of pure water, transparent at a glance."
"What about me?" Tang Fei asked.
"You’re like cola. All fizz when you take a sip."
It was still early for the midnight New Year’s celebration, so Tang Fei and Sheng Xinhua found a café on the roadside to drink coffee.
Sheng Xinhua looked at Tang Fei, asking with curiosity, "Where’s Little Fatty? Didn’t we say we’d celebrate New Year’s Eve together?"
"Little Fatty said he’s not interested in these activities, said he wants to go back and watch movies..." Tang Fei replied while sipping his coffee.
Sheng Xinhua’s eyes were teasing as she sized up Tang Fei, "You’re not harboring any indecent designs on me, are you?"
"How could that be?" Tang Fei immediately denied.
"See, such an important day, you invite me to celebrate New Year’s together, and you send away your inseparable Little Fatty... Must be because you think this third wheel is too dazzling, right?"
Sheng Xinhua poked the back of Tang Fei’s hand with her finger, saying, "Tell me, where’s the hotel booked? Is it the one I like?"
"Which one do you like?" Tang Fei asked.
"Wow, Tang Fei, you rogue, it was just a test, but you actually do have designs on me... How can you live with that? How can you live with the deep affection Xiu Xue has for you?"
"I just wanted to ask... so I could someday stay there with Phoenix..." Tang Fei said earnestly.
Now it was Sheng Xinhua’s turn to be overwhelmed, she said through gritted teeth, "Tang Fei, you heartless... to think I ran out in the middle of the night to spend New Year’s with you..."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Tang Fei asked.
Sheng Xinhua was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.
At 11:50 PM, Tang Fei and Sheng Xinhua left the café.
Imperial Square was already packed, a dense crowd as far as the eye could see.
"So many people." Tang Fei remarked.
It was his first time participating in a New Year’s event and also the first time he’d seen so many people gathered together.
Everyone was cheerful, their faces brimming with jovial spirits—a completely different atmosphere from the somber hues of Old Land.
"Previously, the New Year’s event wasn’t held at Imperial Square but in the western city at Taiji Square..." Sheng Xinhua explained, "But later, because of an incident, the government moved the New Year’s event to Imperial Square..."
Tang Fei’s heart sank subconsciously, feeling that the incident was related to him, but his face remained expressionless as he asked, "What happened?"
"At that time, a Great General defected, and to deter the rebel party, the Empire executed the general’s family by fire on this square..."
"Later, anyone caught from the rebel party was brought here and beheaded... After a while, Imperial Square was shrouded in such sinister energy that people said they saw headless shadows in military uniform wandering around..."
"For a long time, people dared not approach Imperial Square... it became a square with no visitors..."
"Later, the government thought this wouldn’t do, such a prime location, the heart of the city, how could it be devoid of people? It just so happened that the Spring Festival was approaching, so the government moved the New Year’s event here..."
"This strategy was truly effective. The massive flow of people made everyone realize that Imperial Square was not as terrifying as the legends suggested..."
"More and more people, more and more businesses, and so Imperial Square became lively and bustling once more..."
Engrossed in recounting that dark history, Sheng Xinhua didn’t notice that Tang Fei, still smiling brightly, was digging his fingers into his own flesh.
He thought back to that video he once saw, of the huge cage, roaring flames, the middle-aged couple desperately clinging to each other, holding their tiny infant tightly in their arms.
That child who was burnt to death should have been him.