26: Chapter 26 Scouting

At 3:40 PM, Qiao Yichen walked out of the office building of Zhengde Law Firm.

The sky was oppressively gloomy; the cloud layer resembled heavy, waterlogged gray cotton batting, weighing down between the buildings.

He stood by the roadside, hesitating for a few seconds—Should he return to the company now? It was almost quitting time, and the routine administrative tasks had already been handled that morning. Furthermore, the project had entered its final, stable phase.

Should he go directly back to the residential area where he lived? NO, NO, NO. Although he had scouted the location for the 'part-time scam' he needed to get involved in tomorrow afternoon, he still felt uneasy.

His gaze fell upon the mobile navigation: the words 'Creative Park' were followed by 'seven subway stops' not far away.

I’ll go. One more look, and I’ll feel more confident.

As the subway car swayed, he sent a message to Liu Yanran:

"Yanran, just left the law firm. Not going back to the office today."

Almost instantly, the screen lit up.

"Got it."

Concise, as always, yet he could almost see her expressionless face through those few words. The corner of his mouth unconsciously curved upward, and his fingertips tapped out another line:

"The weather is bad. Go back early if you have nothing else to do."

"Mm."

Half an hour later, Qiao Yichen stood again at the entrance of the Creative Park. On a weekday evening, the park was noticeably quieter than on the weekend, with only a few scattered people hurrying past, carrying cameras or laptop bags. The streetlights had already turned on early, casting clusters of dim yellow light against the darkening sky.

Qiao Yichen headed straight for Creative Park Zone C. Since he had scouted the area over the weekend, he navigated it with ease.

Qiao Yichen stopped in front of a five-story building—this building was the closest in Zone C to the main road. Its exterior combined gray stone cladding and a glass curtain wall, and it looked significantly newer than the surrounding buildings.

He pushed the door open and walked into the lobby. There was no one at the reception desk; a quick glance revealed directional signs hanging on the wall.

He scanned them rapidly: Floors 1-3 housed companies like 'Xingmang Media,' 'Guangying Workshop,' and 'Zhichuang Design.' The 4th floor was marked as the 'Shared Office Area,' and the 5th floor was 'Available for Rent / Management Office.'

Without hesitation, he walked directly to the elevator and pressed the button for the 5th floor.

The elevator ascended smoothly. The brightly colored event posters pasted inside the car contrasted sharply with the current silence.

He leaned against the car wall, his thoughts turning. What plausible identity could he use to appear near Studio No. 3 tomorrow? A stranger barging in would surely arouse suspicion.

When he first saw the words 'Available for Rent,' he suddenly remembered that he needed a location to establish his studio today, and this reason would work perfectly.

When the door opened on the 5th floor, the corridor was utterly silent—just as the sign indicated, this entire floor had clearly not been rented out yet. There were six rooms along both sides of the corridor, all with closed doors. However, through the glass panels, he could see that the interiors were empty: concrete floors, white walls, and no partitions.

Qiao Yichen didn't just stand in the corridor. He walked to the room furthest east—the door was unlocked, and it opened with a gentle push.

The room was about forty square meters, rectangular in layout, with windows facing east. He stepped inside, his footsteps echoing in the empty space. A few scraps of paper and a short piece of electrical wire were scattered on the floor. There was a water stain in the corner of the wall, suggesting a past rain leak.

He walked to the window. From this height on the fifth floor, he could roughly see the layout of most of Creative Park Zone C.

His gaze locked diagonally across—that was Studio No. 3 shown on the mobile map, only about a hundred meters away from the current office building.

Looking down from this angle, although the sky was dark today and visibility wasn't great, he could still see the entrance to the main passage of the studio, as well as the side road connected to that passage.

After pausing for a moment, he exited the room. Instead of taking the elevator, he turned into the emergency stairwell and walked down to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor was the shared office area, decorated in a modern style, partitioned into small workstations using glass dividers. At this time of day, seven or eight people were still working at their stations, facing their computers. The common area included a coffee machine, bookshelves, and a few sofas.

A young man wearing a plaid shirt, holding a mug, walked out of the pantry. Seeing Qiao Yichen, he politely nodded: "Looking for someone?"

"No, just checking out the environment," Qiao Yichen replied naturally. "I'm thinking of renting a place to set up a studio."

"Oh, then you should find the management office," the young man said, gesturing toward the stairs with the hand holding his mug. "There should be a reception desk on the first floor, or contact information posted on the wall. This entire floor is leased out as a whole; we don't rent individual spots."

"Is this floor usually crowded? Is it noisy?"

"It's usually full during the day, but it gets sparse in the evening, like now," the young man said, taking a sip of coffee before returning to his workstation. "Overall, it's relatively quiet; everyone needs to get work done."

Qiao Yichen circled the shared area once and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the east side. From here, he could see several blue plastic crates stacked near the main entrance passage of the studio, a uniquely shaped camphor tree at the end of the side road, and the faint traces of graffiti on the studio's side wall.

Leaving the new building, he turned toward an adjacent three-story, red-brick old building. The exterior walls showed traces of age—it was unclear if this was an intentionally preserved retro style or simply due to age. The first floor housed a coffee shop, while the second and third floors had signs for 'Photography studio' and 'Fashion Design.'

He walked up to the third floor. The corridor was narrow, and the walls were somewhat mottled. Faint music could be heard coming from the room at the very end of the corridor; the door was slightly ajar. He moved closer and peeked through the gap, seeing a young girl adjusting her dress in front of a full-length mirror. A fill light and a phone stand were set up next to her; she was clearly preparing for a live stream. He did not disturb her and quietly backed away.

On the exterior wall of the next small building target, a hand-written rental notice was posted, the script slightly sloppy.

Qiao Yichen went directly to the third floor. A door at the end of the corridor was wide open, from which came the rhythmic whirring of a printer and low-toned discussions. He walked over and saw it was a small graphic design studio; two men who looked like partners were arguing over a draft poster on a computer screen.

"Hello, who are you looking for?" one of the men, wearing black-rimmed glasses, looked up and asked.

"Excuse me, is the manager of this building here? I want to see the room available for rent on the second floor," Qiao Yichen asked.

"Oh, you're looking for Brother Li," the man put down his mouse. "He usually comes around a little after 5 PM. Would you like to wait?"

"I'll come back tomorrow afternoon. I just wanted to check the environment today."

"Alright, the room on the second floor is empty, and the door isn't locked. You can go in and look."

Qiao Yichen thanked him and returned to the second floor. He looked at the vacant room, then walked to the window on the west side of the corridor to look out.

The time approached 5:30 PM, and the twilight deepened. Qiao Yichen walked to the security booth at the park entrance. The guard on duty was a kind-faced uncle who was eating dinner from a lunchbox. Seeing him approach, he put down his chopsticks.

"Uncle, I need to ask something," Qiao Yichen offered him a cigarette. "Among these buildings in Zone C, which one has more standardized management? I'm looking to rent a studio."

The uncle took the cigarette, skillfully tucked it behind his ear, and opened up: "If you want standardized, it has to be that new glass building; they have a proper property management company. The old buildings are mostly privately owned by landlords; some are good, some are unreliable."

He gestured toward the building with the handwritten notice. "That one, run by Fatty Li, he controls several units. The guy himself isn't exactly cunning, just lazy and doesn't pay much attention to maintenance."

Qiao Yichen nodded, chatted for a few more minutes about the daily management and foot traffic in the park, and finally managed to get the phone number for that 'Brother Li.'

As he left the Creative Park, he glanced back one last time. Studio No. 3 was just a silent silhouette in the heavy evening gloom.

On the subway ride back, Qiao Yichen received a WeChat message from Brother Li.

On the subway ride back, his phone vibrated. It was 'Brother Li' who had accepted his WeChat friend request and sent a message:

"Brother, have you seen the room? I'll be over tomorrow at two o'clock. See you at the second-floor room?"

Qiao Yichen tapped a reply:

"Okay, I'll be there on time."

Locking the screen, he leaned back against the seat. The rapidly receding lights outside the window reflected on his expressionless face.

Renting a place—a perfect, irrefutable reason. Tomorrow, he would be a 'potential tenant coincidentally looking for office space nearby.'

It was already past 6 PM when he returned to Ruiyuan Residential Area. After finishing dinner at the familiar noodle stall near the entrance, he went back to his rented room. First, he washed his face, then sat down at his desk.

Spread across the desk were 'Appreciation and Collection of Ming and Qing Furniture' and 'research on huanghuali furniture,' both borrowed from the library. Several sticky notes filled with annotations were tucked between the pages.

He opened the book.

The night gradually deepened.