Border Prisoner: The Mad Boss Seduces Her Every Night

The project officially started the following day.

Led by Xu Jia, Shi Luyu and other members of the project team arrived at a village near the northern border of the Thai-Mai border.

This documentary project is called "Border Night Flight: Migration, Markets and Faith on the Northern Route of Taimai".

Officially, it is a field film project jointly initiated by the Faculty of Media and Arts at Tammy University and the Centre for Local Culture Studies.

The filming content mainly includes real-time recording of border night markets and folk markets, the daily lives of cross-border vendors, mountain ethnic handicrafts, border Buddhist temples, sacrifices and beliefs, and the migration stories of rainforest villages.

And there are also historical memories of old mining roads, old railways, and river valley wharves.

It sounds like a typical field trip to explore local customs and traditions.

But after actually setting foot on this land, Shi Luyu realized that the so-called "northern route" was not so simple.

During the day, the village stretches out quietly on the edge of the rainforest.

Wooden houses stand on damp, muddy ground, with strings of dried chilies and herbs hanging under the eaves. Elderly people sit on bamboo chairs weaving rattan ware, children run barefoot across the stone path, and mountain women hang dyed cloths under the eaves, the vibrant blue, red, and orange colors dazzling in the tropical sunlight.

The members of the photography club were divided into several groups.

One group filmed handicrafts, the second group filmed the lunch market in the village, and the third group followed the local guide to take pictures along the old mine road.

Shi Luyu was responsible for shooting the series "Cross-border Merchants and Daily Life".

She carried her camera through the local market, capturing images of an old man selling spices, a boy pushing a fruit cart, a woman carrying a bamboo basket, and rows of seemingly ordinary stalls that concealed unfamiliar secrets.

Xu Jia walked not far from her.

He had a clean and refreshing demeanor, never overstepping his bounds, and always maintained a respectful social distance from her, displaying gentlemanly manners.

Suddenly, Shi Luyu almost stepped into a ditch while trying to find a good shot. Xu Jia helped her up and quickly let go.

"The ground here is unstable. No matter how good your camera is, don't risk your life."

Shi Luyu paused for a moment, then nodded: "Thank you, Assistant Professor Xu."

Teaching Assistant Xu.

Not Jiajia's brother.

Xu Jia looked at her, a faint sadness flashing in his eyes, but he still just smiled: "Just call me Xu Jia."

She didn't reply, but instead looked down to check the camera.

After a full day of filming, the project seemed to be going smoothly, but Shi Luyu had a vague sense of unease in her heart.

The people here are too diverse.

There are ordinary vendors, as well as unfamiliar men with cold, hard eyes and bulging waists. By day, it's a tropical border scene captured by tourists; after nightfall, some stalls suddenly disappear, while some inconspicuous doors open silently.

Perhaps it was because she had experienced so much since arriving in Southeast Asia that she was naturally wary of these unfamiliar places.

After dark, the project team chose the Chao Phraya Old River Port Night Market as their last filming location.

The old river port is adjacent to a dark, murky waterway.

Floating vendors poled their small boats to the dock, warm yellow lanterns hanging from their bows. The shore was lined with border snacks, handicrafts, prayer lanterns, dyed fabrics, and silver ornaments. In the distance, someone was beating a drum, and folk songs and dances unfolded lively in the damp night breeze. Tourists held up their phones to take pictures, and laughter mingled with the sound of water, making it look like a grand border night market at first glance.

Shi Luyu was quickly drawn to the light and shadow.

She photographed the reflections on the water, the prayer lanterns drifting downstream, the white smoke rising from the grilled fish stalls by the old pier, and several cross-border vendors haggling with tourists in three languages.

Xu Jia came over to remind them: "Ordinary tourists can only take pictures in the front area; don't go to the back area of ​​the convention center."

Shi Luyu looked up.

There is indeed a closed guild hall behind the old river port.

Black tiles and wooden windows, dimly lit corridor, and several men in black standing at the entrance. It was completely different from the bustling night market in front, like another world forcibly separated.

She nodded: "I know."

However, in the latter half of the shoot, in order to take a panoramic view of the night market from a high vantage point, Shi Luyu still walked up the stairs on the side of the pier to an old second-floor corridor.

The old wooden planks of the corridor were damp, there were few lanterns, and the wind made half of the wooden window sway gently.

She originally just wanted to find an angle to photograph the entire Night Flight Market.

But just as the camera was set up, she suddenly saw a private tea room inside the clubhouse through the crack of the half-open wooden window.

Shi Luyu's pupils contracted slightly.

She saw several people sitting in the tea room inside.

She had seen one of them on the local news.

It is Mayor Taimai.

The mayor, who usually appears at government meetings, charity dinners, and public ribbon-cutting ceremonies, was standing by the tea table, leaning slightly forward, and personally lighting a cigarette and pouring tea for the man sitting in the main seat.

And the person sitting in the main seat...

It turned out to be Xu Yuanjia.

The man, dressed in a black suit, leaned casually against the back of his chair with his long legs crossed. Before he even lit his cigarette, he merely raised his hand, and the mayor leaned over to light it for him.

At that moment, the hierarchy of power and position became glaringly clear.

He is neither a student nor a prominent figure on campus.

It was not the "Brother Jiajia" she knew.

In the shot, Hsu Yuan-chia is sitting, while the mayor stands respectfully in front of him, bowing his head.

Behind the tea room wall, a black emblem with a gold serpent and eagle was half-hidden in the shadows.

Looking up at that familiar yet chilling badge, Shi Luyu trembled uncontrollably, but her fingertips pressed the shutter before reason could.

"Click."

The sound was very soft.

She stared at the photo on the camera screen, overwhelmed by a mixture of terror, confusion, and anger.

Why?

Why is Xu Yuanjia here?

Why did the mayor light his cigarette and pour him tea?

Why did that snake-eagle pattern appear behind him?

All the doubts she had suppressed these past few days resurfaced at this moment. She remembered Chen Yutang's fear as she knelt before him, Xu Jia's hesitant gaze, and Xu Yuanjia's repeated evasive smiles.

Has Jiajia's brother been hiding a lot from her?

Too much.

The night market was still bustling, with the sounds of drums, people, and water all surging around her, but Shi Luyu felt as if she were standing in a cold darkness.

She didn't take any more pictures.

He didn't tell anyone about the photo.

The next morning, before it was fully light, she didn't wait for the main project team to assemble and took the first bus back to the city alone.

Throughout the journey, she held her camera, her fingertips repeatedly stroking the memory card.

Anger overwhelmed exhaustion, and also fear.

She wanted to ask him directly.

As the shuttle bus entered the city of Thamai, dawn was already breaking. Breakfast stalls had just been set up downstairs in the small apartment building, and the air was filled with the aroma of rice noodle soup and hot coffee.

Shi Luyu didn't even buy breakfast. She carried her bag upstairs, and her hands were still shaking when she inserted the key into the lock.

She flung open the door, stormed in, pulled a printed photograph from her bag, and her voice trembled with tension:

"Brother Jiajia! Tell me what's going on—"

The words came to an abrupt halt.

The living room was dark, with the curtains half-drawn, and only a little morning light peeked in through the gaps, illuminating the floor.

Xu Yuanjia fell to the ground.

His face was so pale it was almost bloodless, his bangs were damp with cold sweat, and his lips were frighteningly pale.

That person, who was usually so carefree and assertive, seemingly never going to fall, was now lying silently on the floor of her small apartment.

It is so fragile that it is almost unfamiliar.

The photo slipped from Shi Luyu's hand.