When storm clouds gathered and torrential rain poured down, I’d just changed clothes at home and was about to head out.

Ouyang Earth had originally planned for me to rest at home for three days. But in the end, he gave in to my insistence.

Though I’d have to bring that sniper along.

“How’re you feeling?”

Walking down the tree-lined path in my residential compound, I kept one hand in my pocket as I spoke to the black-clad man trailing behind me like a loyal guard dog.

He looked utterly ordinary—jeans, a hoodie, a violin case strapped to his back. Lean build. The kind who’d vanish in a crowd. But I knew better. That “violin case” held a disassembled sniper rifle, two smoke grenades, plus two pistols and four combat knives I’d personally seen him stash somewhere under his clothes.

“What?”

Ouyang Earth hadn’t given me his name. Just told me to call him 043.

“I mean… with rain this heavy, maybe skip it? Won’t your gear get soaked?”

I held my umbrella over his already half-drenched shoulder, trying to convince him to stay behind.

“Won’t.”

043 was quieter than anyone I’d ever met. Probably came with the job. Just standing near him sent chills down my spine—a cold aura of death and violence. I couldn’t imagine what childhood forged someone like him.

Today, I needed to check on Azure Excellence.

Through hacker networks, I’d tracked his location last night.

A hospital.

My gut screamed something had happened to him.

*“Vehicle starting. Please hold on. Next stop…”*

The bus rumbled to life in the downpour.

Rush hour meant it was packed despite the rain—not crushingly so, but moving freely was impossible.

After guiding me to a less crowded spot, 043 silently positioned himself in front of me.

Suddenly, a shrill voice shattered the bus’s quiet: “Thief! Driver, don’t open the doors! Stop the bus!”

A woman in her thirties shoved her way to the rear exit, arms spread wide. “My wallet’s gone! Over three thousand yuan inside!”

Murmurs rippled through the passengers.

Three grand wasn’t pocket change—not for most Shangjing City residents anyway.

But it was rush hour. Rain lashed the windows. Few had patience for wallet hunts.

*Someone else’s lost wallet? Even if it held a million, it’s not my problem.*

When the driver halted, protests erupted immediately:

“Seriously? I’ll be late for work!”

“Yeah! Ten minutes late means three days’ pay docked—over 200 yuan!”

“I’m still on probation. One late mark and I’m fired…”

No company cared about your reason for being late. Punch clocks ruled无情ly. Like factory machines—precise, efficient, heartless.

“It won’t take long! Just forty people. A quick pat-down each—five minutes max!”

The victim blocked the door, acting like this was perfectly reasonable. Passengers sighed but reluctantly agreed.

I’d seen this before. Last time, the victim was male. When he demanded searches, most women refused. After a long argument, the driver dropped off those already searched and took the rest—including the victim—to the police station.

Soon, the woman reached me and 043.

“Sorry, little sister. I’ve no choice—this was my grandma’s medicine money.”

As she leaned toward me, *shink!* Two combat knives flashed, pressing against her throat.

043 stood rigid before me, eyes sharp with warning.

“Whoa! What’re you doing?!”

Several passengers surged to their feet behind us.

“Think carefully! Theft gets you jail time. Murder gets you executed!”

“Yeah! You look young—don’t do something stupid!”

The woman stammered, trembling: “Y-you don’t… have to… I won’t search her…”

Her eyes accused us of being the thieves.

“043. Lower the knives.”

I gently pulled his knife-holding hands back.

“Tell her who stole it.”

A pro sniper-bodyguard like him couldn’t have missed what happened.

My order was absolute. Under everyone’s stares, the cold青年nodded. He strode to a black-clad man near the door.

“What’re you staring at? Think it was me?” The man sneered. “She already searched me! Back off!”

043 glanced at me.

I nodded.

A blade flashed—*rrrrip!*—his knife sliced the man’s belt clean through. A small women’s handbag tumbled from his pants.

So did his trousers, revealing floral underwear.

After three stunned seconds, the whole bus erupted in applause.

…

“Is Azure Excellence in this hospital?”

I dashed straight to the reception desk, rainwater dripping from my clothes.

I’d stationed 043 on a nearby rooftop for surveillance.

“Just a moment.”

The diligent nurse typed quickly. “Fifth floor. Hematology Department.”

The elevator carried me up. At the nurse’s station, I found Azure Excellence’s room.

Pushing the door open, I saw three elderly patients in beds. The only minor here, Azure Excellence had been chatting cheerfully on Bed 4 with a fatherly man—until the door startled him. He turned.

“Yi Yao? What are you doing here!”

His eyes held surprise, panic, and a deep reluctance to let go.

I tightened my coat. Hands in pockets, I walked over.

“What happened?”

A glance at his chart showed “LIQUID DIET” stamped beside his name and age.

“Nothing serious! Just a small illness. A few days’ rest and I’ll be fine.”

Same loud, careless tone from school. But exhaustion carved deep lines into his young face.

I took a slow breath. “This is the hematology ward.”

I knew this department well. Only severe illnesses landed patients here.

Seeing he couldn’t hide it, Azure Excellence rubbed his head awkwardly. “Mediterranean anemia. No big deal.”

My body trembled at those words.

A hereditary disease. Survival time varied by severity. Like leukemia—a death sentence.

I knew because in my past life, while caring for Mom in the hospital, the little girl in the next bed had it. She never cried through needles or pills. Always smiling. She died before my mother did.

Snapping back, I forced calm into my voice: “Minor type?”

Minor cases rarely threatened life if managed well.

Azure Excellence just grinned sheepishly, avoiding my gaze.

“This young lady is…?”

His father intervened smoothly.

“My classmate—”

“I’m his friend. Yi Yao.”

I bowed politely to the middle-aged man.

“Yi Yao…” Azure Excellence’s voice turned pleading despite the IV in his arm. “Please don’t tell our classmates about my illness, okay? I… I don’t want to leave them with bad memories.”

As if the ending was already written.

As if a dying elder, refusing to burden his family, quietly packed his bags and vanished.

Now I understood why I’d lost contact with him in high school. Why classmates gave vague answers.

He hadn’t run away as a delinquent.

He’d died before reaching high school.

Those “skipped classes” and “unfinished homework”? Emergency hospital visits. No time for assignments.

*If you’re a troublemaker, no one notices when you disappear.*

*If you have no friends, your leaving won’t disturb anyone.*

I’d once thought acing every middle school exam made me the center of the world. Today, I realized my world meant nothing compared to his.

“Enough about that!” Azure Excellence struggled upright, fumbling in his bedside drawer. He pulled out a newspaper, pointing at the headline: *“16-Year-Old Boy Hides in Suitcase to Sneak into Paris, Obsessed with Eiffel Tower.”* “Look! I made the news!”

He beamed like a child awaiting praise.

“Heh, Yi Yao—you know what? After landing, I realized France speaks *French*. My memorized English phrases were useless. No ID got me sent to the embassy. But the French staff admired my guts. When they heard my story, they took me to see the Eiffel Tower!”

He flipped open his phone gallery.

Hundreds of photos showed him grinning beside foreigners at the tower. Even then, his face was deathly pale, lips bloodless—but his smile blazed brighter than the Paris sun.

“Told you traveling’s simple! I went to Paris with 308 yuan. Came back with over 200 left!”

He weakly reached for a black baseball cap on his pillow. “And this—*real* French souvenir. From that embassy officer.”

He pressed it into my hands. “Promised I’d bring you something back. Your bro keeps his word, huh?”