48 Hours a Day

“Bai Qing, let me have a look at your math workbook. I have two wrong questions to correct.”

“Okay.”

Bai Qing heard Chi Jia’s voice, put down the pen in her hand, and took out the math workbook from her schoolbag. She handed it over, but continued holding on to it.

“Yes?”

“Sorry, I got distracted.” Bai Qing apologized and let go of the book.

“Were you thinking of him again?” Chi Jia took the workbook and raised her eyebrows.

“Yes.” Bai Qing automatically glanced at the seat beside her, but some other girl had occupied it.

Three months had passed since the battle at the construction site, and that was the last time she ever saw him. When she opened her eyes again, she had already arrived at the police station with the other survivors.

As expected, no one believed the story they told the authorities. The four bodies found at the construction site had been curiously stolen that afternoon, and when Bai Qing told the police about the glass factory, they hastily deployed a special-forces team to the location. When they got there, however, the factory had already been emptied, and they found nothing beneath workshop No. 3.

The good news was that her mother’s body and the other aliens had disappeared at the same time. Due to lack of critical evidence, and since her mother was found alive, the criminal lawsuit against her father was withdrawn. All that happened before seemed like a bad dream. Everything went back to normal miraculously after Bai Qing opened her eyes.

On the other hand, Zhang Heng was charged with illegal possession of guns and ammunition, driving without a license, hitting a pedestrian with his car, and suspected homicide. Getting rid of all the charges would be near impossible, so after calling his grandpa one last time, he disappeared.

The police were not too concerned. Hunting down a high school student with no social experience could not be easier for them, not to mention the presence of security cameras everywhere in modern society. A high-school student like him couldn’t be on the run forever.

However, what happened next went beyond anyone’s expectation. Zhang Heng’s escape was clean and flawless, like a drop of water falling into an ocean. Even after trying a myriad of investigative methods, the police still failed to catch a glimpse of him.

“That guy…is really as good as you said?” Chi Jia asked.

“Yes, I sometimes wonder if he is from another planet. Otherwise, there is no way to explain how he could fight those things on his own.”

“Is he like the Superman from Krypton?” Chi Jia curled her lips, “Are you trying to be Louis Lane?”

Bai Qing blushed. “I just don’t know how he is doing now.”

“If he is really as good as you said, you don’t need to worry at all,” Chi Jia said. “Maybe he’s returned to Krypton in his spaceship.”

Seeing Bai Qing’s expression, Chi Jia paused, and a grin appeared on her face. “Oh, you are not really worried about him, are you? You are wondering why he didn’t contact you after so long. I can see that you miss him a lot.”

“I’m not missing him! What are you talking about?” Bai Qing picked up the book and pretended to smack Chi Jia with it.

The latter turned around, ran away, back to her seat, and picked up her school bag. “I’ll make a move. My sister and I are going to get our nails done tonight. You can carry on thinking about your Mr. Superman.”

“…”

When everyone in the classroom was almost gone, Bai Qing packed her books and looked at the unrecognizable seat beside her before leaving the building.

Once she left the gates, she strolled to the bus stop with her schoolbag.

She had been feeling restless recently but couldn’t figure out why.

Bai Qing remembered the feeling she had when she was stalked around Children’s Palace. Three months later, the same feeling struck her again. Bai Qing quickly turned around and looked behind her. However, it was the peak hour where everyone had just gotten off work and school. The street was crowded, and she could find nothing unusual around her.

So she could only tell herself that she was paranoid. The trauma that she has been through must have made her oversensitive.

After that, Bai Qing came to the bus stop as usual, where she saw a man wearing a mask and a hoodie. Although he didn’t look at her, Bai Qing felt that he looked somewhat familiar, only that she couldn’t remember where she saw him.

The bus that she had been waiting for had finally arrived. Bai Qing and other passengers swiped their cards and got on the bus. Right before the door was about to close, the mysterious man stepped into the bus as well.

Bai Qing could not help but stare at him again. The familiar feeling kept on lingering in her mind.

She was on the verge of recognizing him. After that, she subconsciously took a few steps forward, moving away from him. She then looked out the window, trying to stabilize her emotions.

And it did work. After a while, her mood improved, until she saw a law firm on the street. Then, she finally remembered who the mysterious man was.

He used to be her father’s defense lawyer. They had met before, but she had a bad feeling about him. Especially his emotionless eyes; they made her extremely uncomfortable.

After experiencing a series of bizarre incidents, Bai Qing did not think that it was a coincidence that she met him here. When the bus stopped at the next stop, she quickly squeezed her way through to the door and got off the bus.

However, this was an area she was not familiar with. She had no idea where she was and could only choose a place convenient for hiding. A shopping mall was nearby, so she headed in, walking through the cosmetics and jewelry counters on the first floor. Upon arrival at a fire exit, she opened the hinged door, and outside was an open-air parking lot.

Bai Qing was looking for an exit, but she saw the mysterious man standing there the next moment.

Not bothering to hide his intention this time, he walked towards her instantly.

Bai Qing turned around and ran into the mall, but then she found out that the door could not be opened. She shook the door lock vigorously, desperately trying to attract attention to herself. However, the closest counter was still far away from the fire exit. Seeing that the distance between her and the mysterious man was less than 20 meters, she could only give up and run to the back of the parking lot.

The masked man took out a knife from his briefcase and followed her.

He spoke in a hoarse voice, “It’s time to make him pay.”