A new day begins as Li Heng woke up to his alarm at 6am. He felt his mind more tiring, his body more sore and his limbs felt slightly heavier.
He lay there, staring at the ceiling before slowly sat up and rubbed his temples.
Li Heng: "Must be the exhaustion" He muttered
He got up and quickly prepared for the day. The ring lay where he had placed it, resting quietly at the table. No lights, no glow, no warmth
The campus was crowded as usual. Students walking to their lecture classes, complaining about deadlines, scrolling through their phones. Nothing looked different
In the cafeteria, Ren Yen waved at him
Ren Yen: "Morning, you looked terrible"
Li Heng: "Didn't sleep well" He replied
Tang Yong Sheng dropped his tray loudly.
Tang Yong Sheng: "You skipping basketball again? Coach's gonna kill me."
Li Heng: "…When was I an official basketball player?"
Qi Chen Xian shoved a carton of milk toward Li Heng.
Qi Chen Xian: "Drink. You're thinking too hard again."
They laughed. They talked. Life went on.
In the evening,Li Heng after a match of basketball with Yong Sheng was walking back to his home when his mother called him
Wu Shao Ning: "…Li Heng, can you check up on Huang Bai Zhe? Aunty Huang called us because he didn't called them"
Li Heng: "Mum, I'm busy and...We don't talk much anymore"
Wu Shao Ning: "But you two were friends, aren't you? I remember he, Ren Yen and Chen Xian always come over to our house and study with you, isn't it?"
Li Heng paused. The memories returned as soon as they vanished. Eventually, he agreed and turned his direction to another district
The streets was as lively as usual. Vehicles constantly honking over positions and courier service drivers casually floods the streets. Business ads constantly flickering onto one another on billboards. Food stores greeting guests constantly and with tourist groups swarmed the tourist attractions.
After several minutes of walking, he arrived outside at a modern apartment. He walked to the guard house, said his name and purpose, bringing up Bai Zhe's name, floor and room number and a signature from himself before entering the compound and into the lobby
At the lobby, he approached the apartment caretaker- Lim Hai Yang or Mr Lim they personally addressed, notable for his bald head, was looking at the newspaper. Some news were locally, some were globally, the one that interested him was titled [Uyghur Rebel Group crushed by Huang family], [Li family internal power struggle?] and [Mysterious vanishing in multiple provinces]
Li Heng walked up to him and Mr Lim surprised by his appearance, put down his newspaper and got up.
Mr Lim: "Hey, Li Heng! Long time no see, I haven't seen you for weeks. How have you been?!"
Li Heng: "Hey Uncle Lim. Its been a while. I'm fine as always and…I'm looking for Bai Zhe"
Mr Lim paused for a few seconds and looked at Li Heng in the eyes
Mr Lim: "Li Heng, Bai Zhe never came back yesterday. I thought he was with you?"
Li Heng: "…Well, did he say anything to you or anyone else?"
Mr Lim paused again and tries to remember the weeks before
Mr Lim: "Well…Bai Zhe never say much but he always muttering or arguing with himself…And there was police looking for him yesterday"
Li Heng was stunned for a second. (Did he get caught by the police?) He thought to himself
However he calm himself down and took several deep breaths
(No, if he was caught. His parents would be contacted by the police then…!)
Mr Lim: "Did something happened?"
Li Heng: "No, nothing happened…I'll be leaving now, thank you Uncle Lim"
Li Heng quickly dashed out onto the streets and quickly located Bai Zhe's phone using a third party software to a abandoned warehouse
(Here goes nothing…) Li Heng thought to himself before hastily making his way to the abandoned warehouse