After struggling to escape the crowd, Rong Xianning boarded a business van under the escort of security guards.
Meanwhile, the other four team members were crammed into a beat-up minivan behind him.
The differential treatment left a chill in their hearts.
As the vehicle drove away, the rearview mirror reflected the frenzied crowd chasing after them, gradually turning into blurry black dots, a dense mass resembling a looming storm cloud.
Rong Xianning calmly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and smoothed out the creases on his sleeve. His composed demeanor gave no hint that he had just escaped the eye of a storm.
Methodically smoothing the wrinkles, he turned his head to look out of the car window. The late-night sky was moonless and starless, shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Inside the minivan behind them, tension hung heavy in the air.
