Under the shade of a tree on the playground, two people were having a meal. Li Cu recounted everything that had happened to Su Wan. Su Wan listened in disbelief, and when Li Cu finished, he said, “Are you sure your head isn’t injured? How could there be such things in the desert?” Li Cu took out the phone from his bag and showed it to Su Wan, who saw that there was only one number saved in it.

Su Wan fiddled with the phone and thought that Li Cu didn’t seem like the type to make up stories for fun, but it was still hard to accept. “Did you call that number again afterward?” Su Wan asked. “Did you manage to rescue anyone?”

“I didn’t dare to call. To be honest, I also want to know what exactly happened over there. But I feel that if I get involved with them again, something bad will happen to me,” Li Cu replied. “Besides, they said that I can’t reach that number anymore.”

Su Wan said, “That makes sense. It’s better to avoid trouble. But I envy you; after all that happened, your old man must have let you off the hook.”

Thinking of his own father, Su Wan realized he hadn’t communicated much with him about these matters. His father hadn’t asked him much either, but his attitude towards him seemed less harsh. He felt that at least the issue of him wanting to run away was behind him. However, there were still many days ahead, and his father wouldn’t just let him continue to act recklessly because of this.

Su Wan fiddled with the phone, seemingly deep in thought. Li Cu asked, “What are you pondering?”

“I’m thinking about when you’ll pay me back. I don’t think there’s much hope for that. How about you give me this phone? I’ll deal with it myself, and we’ll call it even.”

Li Cu snatched the phone back and said, “In your dreams!”

“Then how are you going to pay me back? You didn’t even pay for lunch,” Su Wan replied.

“This phone is a testament to my adventure this time. I probably won’t get another chance to experience something like this in my life. I won’t give it to anyone; I’d rather help you copy homework for a semester or wash your dad’s car,” Li Cu said.

Su Wan sighed and muttered to himself, “So you’re saying this is the most thrilling and adventurous thing in your life?”

“Yes, even though you have more money than I do, the chances of an ordinary person encountering something like this are definitely low. Go ahead and be envious,” Li Cu said. Deep down, he felt a bit of satisfaction, but it was much less than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was because he was too close to Su Wan that he didn’t feel much sense of achievement in boasting to him.

People always want to show off to those who look down on them. Even if a best friend boasts about their success, it doesn’t bring much pleasure. Su Wan sighed and just smiled. Li Cu found his expression strange and asked, “Why are you acting all moody? There’s no one else here.”

Su Wan reached into his pocket and pulled out another phone, handing it to Li Cu.

Li Cu took it and compared it with his own, only to find that it looked exactly like the one that the guy in sunglasses had given him. Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out on his back. He opened Su Wan’s phone and found that the contact list also contained only one phone number, identical to the one saved in his own phone.

“What’s going on?” Li Cu asked.

“I don’t know either. This afternoon we’ll skip class; come with me to my house,” Su Wan said. “I have something even scarier to show you.”

“Skip class? This is my first day back at school,” Li Cu said. “Although I don’t love studying, I haven’t even warmed the seat yet.”

“You don’t need to worry. If you disappear now, no one will care; they’ll think you’ve gone back to the hospital for a follow-up,” Su Wan said.

Li Cu thought for a moment and agreed. He looked at his phone, cursed, and said, “Fine, but I don’t want to wait until we get to your house to find out. You need to tell me on the bus.”

The two of them put down their lunch boxes and returned to the classroom to pack their bags. At noon, when the school closed, they went to the back door of the gym and climbed over the wall. There was a secret gap that everyone at the school knew about, making it easy to get out. Outside was a main road. As they climbed down, wearing their school uniforms, passersby glanced at them sideways. Li Cu, experienced in skipping class, immediately took off his uniform and stuffed it into his bag. Su Wan did the same.

They were afraid of being seen and questioned by the disciplinary office, so they didn’t dare to wait for the bus at the school gate. They walked a stop before getting on the bus, and Li Cu urged Su Wan, “Hurry up and tell me.”

Su Wan said, “This thing isn’t mine; it’s yours.”

“Mine?”

“Yes, didn’t you lose it? I’ve been picking up your letters and magazines at school for you,” Su Wan explained. “I found this in the package sent to you.”

“Ah?” Li Cu was even more confused. “But that blind guy already gave me one. And you actually opened my package?”

“It wasn’t that I wanted to open it; it was because something inside was making noise,” Su Wan said.

“And then?”

“I opened the package and saw that this phone was receiving a call, so I answered it,” Su Wan continued. “The caller was a woman; she said she was your friend and had something to send over. However, the things sent to your home always got returned, so she asked if I could provide a more stable address. I thought it would be a hassle to send it to school, so I gave her my home address.”

“When did this happen?”

“It was a week after you left when I got the call,” Su Wan wiped his face. “You know I lent you a significant amount of money; I was counting on that money to buy game cards. And since you were out of sight, having something as collateral at my place was also good.”

“I understand now. And then? Continue,” Li Cu said.

“And then it went crazy,” Su Wan said. “During the time you were gone, I received packages from them every day, and it only stopped yesterday. My room was completely filled.”

“What kind of things did they send?”

“Ah, those things were terrifying,” Su Wan said, but his expression wasn’t one of fear; it was excitement. “But they were so cool!”