The rain is like countless cold needles, piercing the night in the old town of Linyuan City.
Shen Ye put out the cigarette butt in the water-logged depression, and there was a soft hiss, which was swallowed up by the louder sound of rain.
He had just finished handling a police case involving drunkenness and causing trouble. His partner drove away first, and he chose to walk.
He deliberately avoided the "Changning Road" three blocks away - the place where his father Shen Xiao was shot and died while chasing drug dealers.
It's not that he's afraid, it's just that he's tired of the feeling of being looked at by memories and other people's eyes at the same time, like an old piece of clothing that doesn't fit, suffocating him.
The alley is very narrow, with peeling old walls on both sides. Rainwater collects into turbid streams on the potholed road.
The street lights were dim, and their halo melted away in the rain, barely illuminating the distance a few steps ahead.
The air is filled with the smell of rust, mold, and the smell of rain-soaked decay unique to the urban fringes.
His hand in his jacket pocket touched a small bottle of cheap whiskey, and a faint warmth came from his fingertips.
Just as he was considering whether to take a drink here, a sharp roar of an engine that should not be present in this one-way alley tore through the rain.
Shen Ye raised his head suddenly.
The car lights were like two violent meteors, instantly filling his entire field of vision.
