Chapter Forty-Six: Caught in the Act

Boss Le regained his composure faster than the woman. His expression turned serious as he pressed, “You were followed? All the way to this neighborhood? Don’t worry, I’ll go with you to the property management! I know Manager Sun from the property office very well—he’ll definitely help you check the surveillance footage!”

As he spoke, he patted his chest, tied the obedient dog’s leash to the pet cage, told Sheng Yao to watch the shop, and bustled about, ready to accompany the woman to property management.

The woman quickly waved her hands. “No... there’s no need, really.” She smiled, the worry vanishing from her face, and spoke calmly, “Thank you, boss, but that won’t be necessary.”

Boss Le insisted, “Don’t worry about the trouble. Getting a dog can’t fix everything. I’ll go with you to the property office, and then we’ll stop by the police station. I know the community police officer here too—he’s been working this area for ten years, knows every block, and patrols regularly. When you go to and from work, you can give him a call to escort you. Or call me. My shop keeps me free most of the time—I can pick you up or drop you off. I’ll put on a vest, and with my height and these muscles, whoever’s bothering you won’t dare show up again.”

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the sturdy arms that could easily lift a sixty-pound Samoyed.

Anyone else might have been suspicious of his intentions with such a display, but his earnest, sincere face put the woman completely at ease, dispelling her panic and anxiety.

“Really, it’s not necessary.” She thanked Boss Le, then smiled at Sheng Yao. “Thank you, too. I’ll check the surveillance with the property office when I get home, see what’s going on. Maybe I’m just overthinking things.”

Sheng Yao nodded.

Boss Le wanted to say more, but the woman’s smile gently stopped him.

She politely thanked them again and left the pet shop.

After she left, Sheng Yao’s gaze landed on the street across the way.

He’d been meaning to leave earlier; now, after a quick word with Boss Le, he stepped outside.

“Oh, you were about to leave, weren’t you? Remember to bring your girlfriend if you decide to get a pet.” Boss Le saw him to the door, watching as he and the woman headed in the same direction, and fell into thought.

He glanced in the opposite direction but saw no one suspicious. Then, watching the woman and Sheng Yao walking away, he scratched the back of his head.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” The dog barked anxiously in the shop, tugging at its leash, as if afraid Boss Le would leave it behind.

Abandoning his previous plan, Boss Le went back inside, patted the dog’s head to calm it down.

...

Sheng Yao didn’t walk with the woman for long. At the intersection, she crossed the street and kept going straight, while Sheng Yao changed direction, crossed two more roads, and walked along a parallel sidewalk.

His eyes landed on a man ahead—a hunched figure, head drooping, who kept glancing across the street.

As they neared the next intersection, the man sped up as if to catch the green light, preparing to dash across the crosswalk.

Sheng Yao reached out and gripped the man’s shoulder. The sudden force pulled the man backward, nearly making him fall, but Sheng Yao steadied him, holding him in place.

The man looked around in confusion. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Sheng Yao smiled. “That’s my question for you. Why are you following that young lady?” He glanced at the woman, now turning the corner across the street.

The green light turned red. It was too late to catch up.

Sheng Yao raised his free hand to his mouth like a megaphone, drawing a breath to call after her.

The man panicked, grabbing Sheng Yao’s arm in distress, pleading, “Don’t call her! Please, don’t call her!” He kept his voice low, afraid to draw attention, his struggles weak and half-hearted.

Sheng Yao had planned to drag the man to the woman and go to the police, but seeing the man’s state, he hesitated and abandoned the idea.

When he let go, the man simply stood there, dejected, making no move to resist or run.

Sheng Yao, still holding his shoulder, said, “Let’s find somewhere to talk. If we speak here, that lady might hear us.”

The man nodded helplessly.

Finding a quiet spot near this old residential area wasn’t easy.

---

Sheng Yao half-dragged the man a long way before they found a small mall, settling in a corner of a fast-food restaurant.

“Want something to eat? A drink?” Sheng Yao asked.

The man, looking like a chastened student, kept his head down. He appeared older than Sheng Yao, maybe around thirty, yet seemed far more ill at ease than the university-aged Sheng Yao. They had walked in silence, and now, sitting face to face, the man remained silent.

Sheng Yao ordered two sodas and some food, then returned to the table.

The man hadn’t fled.

“What’s your name?” Sheng Yao set a drink before him.

The man gripped the paper cup, nervously rubbing its surface. His nails were short, uneven at the tips—he clearly bit them habitually.

“What’s her name? Why were you following her?” Sheng Yao asked again, sipping his drink.

The man pressed his lips tight, refusing to speak.

“If you won’t talk, I’ll call the police. They’ll check the surveillance and contact her. You’ll have to explain yourself to both the police and the victim,” Sheng Yao threatened.

But he had no intention of actually calling the police. As the complainant, the police would look into his identity as well. How could he explain why a sixty-year-old man had the face of a nineteen-year-old?

Still, warning the man not to follow the woman would likely have little effect. Boss Le’s imposing figure might scare off a stalker, but Sheng Yao’s youthful appearance lacked any intimidation. The man had been easily subdued and obediently followed him, but that didn’t mean he was afraid. He was only scared of being discovered by the woman, and couldn’t be bothered to resist a teenager.

Sure enough, when Sheng Yao mentioned the police, the man’s expression barely changed. But upon mention of the woman, he became anxious.

He looked at Sheng Yao, and after meeting his calm gaze, his resistance faded.

“My name is Tong Bin,” the man said softly, lowering his head.

“What about the girl you were following?” Sheng Yao asked.

Tong Bin lifted his head, then lowered it again, remaining silent.

Sheng Yao didn’t mind, continuing, “What’s your relationship? You didn’t just see her on the street and decide to follow her, did you?”

Tong Bin lapsed back into silence.

Patiently, Sheng Yao tried, “If you know her, just talk to her openly. If you like her, confess. If she agrees to date you, all is well; even if she doesn’t, you can’t keep pestering her. Shouldn’t you try to be your best self?”

Tong Bin couldn’t help but look up. “I haven’t been pestering her. We’ve known each other for fifteen years.”

Sheng Yao was surprised.

Tong Bin, as if giving up, bowed his head and continued, “We were college classmates, worked in the same research group, then joined the same company after graduation, got assigned to the same team. Three years ago, we got promoted together, then ended up on the same team again. It’s been fifteen years...” He covered his face. “Everything was fine before. Every year on our birthdays, we exchanged gifts. We gave each other things for holidays too... Last year, she changed jobs. After that, she got a new boyfriend. He was her high school classmate, studied abroad after university, worked overseas, only returned to the country a few years ago...”

It sounded like a tangled love triangle.

Now it was Sheng Yao’s turn to fall silent.

Tong Bin scrubbed his face with his hands, hiding his expression. “I only found out about it a few days ago from our class group. Today, I went to her new company after work, hoping to talk to her, but... I didn’t plan to do anything, just unconsciously followed her for a while...” He dropped his hands, looking dejected again.

Sheng Yao frowned.

The woman had been so frightened she was willing to buy a dog for protection. Her panic didn’t seem like a result of being followed just today. Yet, after calming down, she didn’t strike him as absent-minded or erratic...

“What’s her name?” Sheng Yao prodded.

Tong Bin didn’t answer.

“You don’t know her name, do you? You made all that up,” Sheng Yao said deliberately.

---

Tong Bin frowned and blurted, “Her name is Kong Yajie. I didn’t make up any of it. We really have known each other fifteen years and have always been close.”

The name didn’t sound invented. The pain, frustration, and confusion in his voice when recounting the story didn’t seem fake either. The conviction and assurance in his tone was equally genuine.

Sheng Yao studied him, his lifeless face reminding him of Liu Yu and the Monster Clinic. Immediately, he dismissed the thought. Tong Bin was just lovesick, not sick in the clinical sense—not one of those split personalities from melodramatic TV shows.

He thought of the years after Bai Xiao’s death, when he had been just as despondent. If not for his parents and in-laws needing his support, he might have done something reckless.

Compared to himself back then, Tong Bin had already taken the first step down a dangerous road.

Sheng Yao reflected that ever since he’d joined the Monster Clinic, “stalking” had become as routine as eating or drinking. The difference was, he was skilled enough not to alarm his targets. Even that “advantage” disappeared after Mao Mao barged into the clinic and he’d frantically called Liu Yu and Lu Meimei. Not to mention the likes of Chen Jin at Longevity Park—he and Bai Xiao had made their lives difficult back then. He really had no right to judge Tong Bin’s actions.

Sheng Yao smiled wryly to himself.

A group of kids, just out of school, entered the fast-food restaurant, making the place lively.

Sheng Yao exhaled and said to Tong Bin, “You’ve already frightened Miss Kong. Did you see her go into the pet shop?”

Tong Bin looked up, confused.

“She came in asking whether the shop had any fierce guard dogs,” Sheng Yao explained.

Tong Bin thought for a moment before he understood, then became restless, placing his hands on the table as if to leap up, insisting, “I only followed her for a bit... I almost missed her on the subway, spent ages looking for her. I wasn’t even that close...”

“But you still scared her.”

“I didn’t mean to... I just... I only wanted to talk to her...” Tong Bin shrunk in his seat. “I saw her at her company, but she didn’t see me. I tried to call her, but it was crowded, and maybe I wasn’t loud enough. I just wanted a chance to talk, to ask her... I never wanted to hurt her.” He covered his face again, sliding his hands over his cheeks and forehead, gripping his hair at the back of his head until his forehead nearly touched the table.

He looked thoroughly remorseful.

Sheng Yao believed he was genuinely regretful, and his feelings for Kong Yajie were real.

“Let’s exchange contact information. If you ever feel the urge to do something like this again, call me. Once you’ve calmed down, you can formally invite Miss Kong to sit down and talk things through.” Sheng Yao pulled out his phone.

Tong Bin, without much thought, seemed to accept his suggestion, taking out his own phone. He didn’t seem to care about Sheng Yao’s youthful appearance at all.

“Thank you... I... I won’t do it again,” Tong Bin promised.

Sheng Yao smiled, but didn’t believe the promise. At this moment, Tong Bin was sincere, but like a gambler or a drunk vowing to stop—their words weren’t to be trusted.

Looking at Tong Bin, Sheng Yao said earnestly, “I know that when you love someone, sometimes your actions are hard to control. Just as you’d instinctively risk yourself to protect someone in danger, you might also hurt others without meaning to. If there’s someone to remind you at those moments, things can turn out very differently. If you can’t talk to anyone else about you and Miss Kong, you can talk to me, a stranger. If anything happens, call me.”

Tong Bin looked at Sheng Yao’s youthful face, and for the first time, smiled—a self-deprecating smile. “You look young, but you’re more mature than I am.”

“That’s because I’m an outsider in this situation. You’re the one caught up in it, fifteen years of feelings for Miss Kong...”

Sheng Yao’s smile turned bitter.

Fifteen years... He hadn’t even had fifteen years with Bai Xiao. The time he’d spent mourning her was longer than the time they’d actually shared.

“If anything comes up, contact me.” Sheng Yao stood.

Tong Bin nodded and thanked him.