The dark storm clouds hung over the sky above Xinchuan City, threatening to rain at any moment. The city's outskirts bustled with excitement as the crowd rushed to get home before the first drops fell.
In a run-down apartment near the market, a young lady was preparing to leave.
"Make sure to carry an umbrella," a voice rang from the depths of the apartment.
The girl, who seemed to be in a rush, was already at the door. She hurried back inside.
An old man stepped out, carrying an umbrella, and handed it to her.
"Thank you, Mr. Li. I almost forgot," she said.
"It's alright, Lu'er. It is the least I can do. You have done so much for us," the old man said warmly."The last two months have been easy for my wife and me, thanks to you. Ever since she found you by the roadside that morning…"
He paused.
"Well, we are glad you stayed."
'Lu'er' , the name Mr. Li had given her, because she had not known her own, smiled at him. It was a smile of gratitude, built from two months of small kindnesses, warm soup, and an old couple who asked nothing of her except that she eat properly and wear sensible shoes.
"I will be back before the rain," she said.
"You always say that," he replied, squinting at the sky. "You will not be back before the rain."
She laughed and stepped out into the grey afternoon.
She walked gracefully along the small road to the market, wearing a blue short-sleeved blouse and a pair of mid-length jean shorts that covered her thighs, looking fresh and beautiful. Her face was elegant and refined even without makeup. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, revealing her long, slender neck. Her smooth, jade-like skin made her appearance even more alluring, drawing many glances as she walked down the street.
The market on the edge of Xin Chuan was a different world from the city's glass towers, narrower, louder, filled with the smell of wet concrete, roasting meat, and the sweetness of fruit stacked too closely together in the warm air.
Lu'er moved through it easily. She knew the vendors by now, knew which stall had the freshest vegetables and which offered the best discounts.
She had learned all of this in the two months she had been staying here.
She still did not know who she was. She had stopped expecting the memories to return the way people said they would, in a rush, all at once, like a dam breaking. They did not return that way. They came in fragments, if they came at all: a familiarity with certain fabrics, an instinct for numbers that Mrs. Li had noticed when Lu'er balanced their household accounts effortlessly, and a recurring dream of rain on glass and the sensation of falling without any clear image, only the feeling.
She had stopped waiting. She had started living in the present, which was small, warm, and smelled of Mr. Li's cooking and she had decided that was enough. For now.
She paid for the vegetables, tucked them under one arm, and turned toward home.
She noticed a man standing by a nearby stall. Although he tried to hide it, she clearly saw him looking at her before quickly turning away.
Lu'er did not know why she noticed this. She did not know that she had once been trained to notice exactly this kind of movement that in another life, she had killed countless targets and learned to distinguish between someone waiting and someone hunting.
Her chest tightened, and a voice echoed in her head:
"Move."
Trusting her instincts, she moved.
She slipped between two stalls, changed direction, and kept walking. Behind her, she heard movement. Someone was following her, more than one person.
She glanced back once. There were three of them. They were no longer pretending to shop.
Her pace quickened.
Steps turned into strides then into a sprint.
She ran. She did not know what the men wanted from her, and she was definitely not willing to stay behind and find out. Clutching her bag tightly, she ran as fast as she could.
The market narrowed ahead into a lane of close-packed stalls and tarps. The path seemed dangerous.
She took it anyway there was nowhere else to go.
The vegetables she had been carrying fell somewhere behind her, but she did not stop.
The men pursuing her were faster than she expected, or perhaps she was slower. She had been ill for weeks after Mrs. Li found her, and her body had not fully recovered.
A hand caught her sleeve. She tore free and kept moving.
Then...
A dead end.
"Hehe… little miss, you have nowhere to run," the burly man said, licking his lips.
Lu'er wanted to scream, but she knew her voice would be drowned out by the noise of the marketplace.
The burly man, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and grabbed at her clothes, tearing the fabric.
Fear surged through her, freezing her in place.
"Although the boss said to get rid of you, we might as well have some fun first," he said, grinning.
He stepped closer...
Then...
SCREECH!
A brand new black Bentley Arnage pulled up behind them.
The doors burst open.
A man stepped out.
He wore a tailored suit. His face was refined, his build lean and disciplined. He was tall, with dark, unreadable eyes.
He looked at her his expression flickering for a brief moment before turning his gaze to the three men.
They froze.
They clearly knew who he was.
A second man stepped out of the car broader, quieter. The bodyguard.
The suited man walked toward Lu'er. None of the men dared move.
He removed his coat and draped it over her shoulders.
"Stay here," he said.
It was not a request.
He handed her gently to the bodyguard, who positioned her behind him.
Then he turned and walked toward the three men.
What happened next was brief.
She watched from behind the bodyguard's shoulder, her breath ragged, as rain began to fall in heavy drops.
A movement fast, precise.
One man went down.
Another followed.
The third tried to run, but the bodyguard stopped him just as efficiently.
It lasted perhaps forty seconds.
When it was over, the man straightened his sleeves and walked back to her.
He was not breathing hard.
He looked at her.
"You're okay."
His voice was softer now.
Lu'er stood in the rain, in a street she did not know, with vegetables lost somewhere behind her, and two months of borrowed identity. She had no idea who she was or who this man was.
But one thing felt real.
The way he hugged her. The look of worry in his eyes. This man truly cared about her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but it vanished just as quickly.
"Someone who has been looking for you," he said.
The rain grew heavier, soaking them instantly. She trembled slightly, though not from the cold.
"You should come with me. It's warmer in the car," he offered.
"Thank you very much, sir, but I live nearby. I will be alright," she said.
Before he could respond, she turned and ran into the rain, disappearing around a corner.
He did not chase her.
He simply entered the car.
"Follow her," he ordered.