Chapter 55: Where Have You Been?
“Go arrest her.”
Xu Qing leaned back in his chair and gestured towards the door.
“You’re twisting the facts! You can’t decide whether it’s illegal, and neither can I…”
“Then who can?”
“I can, I can!” Wang Zijun hurriedly tried to diate. “What’s going on here? Why are we talking about arrests… and if she’s arrested, who’s going to take care of her?”
Qin Hao said nothing. Xu Qing glanced at him, then at Wang Zijun, and asked, “Does that girl look like a criminal to you?”
“No!” Wang Zijun shook his head like a rattle drum.
After a pause, he asked curiously, “So… what’s her story? No family, no ho, no identity. What are you planning to do?”
“We’ll see when the ti cos.”
“When we were having barbecue last ti, you asked about her, right?” Qin Hao spoke up.
“Yeah.” Xu Qing was straightforward. “Can you get it done or not?”
“Nope.”
“If you can’t, then why are we even discussing this? Isn’t she going to end up at the shelter?”
“…”
Qin Hao realized he’d been led astray by Xu Qing. He took a sip of tea and changed the topic. “What did she do before?”
“Heh.” Xu Qing chuckled. “She didn’t commit a cri, so why are you investigating her?”
“Can’t I just ask?”
“Is that what you’re doing?”
Seeing the two of them heating up again, Wang Zijun quickly raised his hand to stop them. “Alright, alright. If you’re so free, Haozi, go deal with the holess people under the bridge near Changchun Park.
But seriously, Xu Qing, what’s your plan?”
He turned to Xu Qing and asked, “If there’s sothing to take care of, just do it. We have Haozi here… or do you plan to keep hiding her?”
“We’ll see how things go. She doesn’t ntion her parents much… maybe she really doesn’t know, or maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it. She might have run away after being abused. I’ll wait until she relaxes a bit more and see if I can ask her about it.”
Xu Qing leaned back in his chair and said casually, “For now, I’ll just take care of her. It’s not like I can’t afford it… and having soone at ho to cook isn’t bad either.”
As long as Jiang He didn’t cause trouble and stayed put, at most she’d be questioned. They couldn’t use tech to investigate her; she was basically a modern-day drifter. The timing wasn’t right yet, and nothing was ready. He just needed Qin Hao to know about her existence. Once everything was in place, he’d try to resolve it.
“Aren’t you afraid she’ll commit a cri while staying at your place?” Qin Hao sneered.
“You’re a cop. Everyone looks like a criminal to you. Go ahead, arrest her then.”
“…”
“Are we done yet?” Wang Zijun was getting impatient. “Are we here to eat or argue?”
“I think you’re the one with the problem,” Qin Hao said stubbornly.
“I don’t have a problem.”
“Then why are you hiding her?”
“To avoid trouble.”
“Trouble’s going to co anyway. Are you just dating her for fun? Planning to dump her in a couple of years?”
“We’ll take it slow. Maybe she’ll decide to find her parents.” Xu Qing spouted nonsense.
“Didn’t she say she didn’t have parents?”
“She said that, but you never know… When I was a kid, my old man used to whip with a copper-tipped belt. I wanted to run away and be a drifter too.”
“She doesn’t have a residence permit.”
“Fine then. How much? Fifty?”
“…”
“Are you two idiots?” Wang Zijun couldn’t take it anymore and got up to call for the food.
Xu Qing leaned back lazily, locking eyes with Qin Hao. After a long pause, Qin Hao pointed at him.
“I’ll trust you for now.”
“Hmph.” Xu Qing snorted and looked away, then back again. “If you’ve got ti, see if you can figure out a way to solve this for your sister-in-law.”
“F***… get lost.” Qin Hao trembled with anger. This guy knew police procedures better than he did.
“Alright, enough. The food’s here. Let’s drink.”
Wang Zijun brought in two bottles of strong liquor, poured them a glass each, and grumbled, “I left my warm bed and my girlfriend to co out in the snow just to listen to you two bicker?
Oh, by the way, my girlfriend’s birthday… you owe two drinks.”
“Fine, I’ll owe you three.”
Xu Qing didn’t argue further. He downed a shot and grimaced at the taste. “I’m not scared, but I’m not drinking this. I’ll get sothing else.”
“You’ll need it soday. Keep it on standby. My girlfriend’s birthday is next month; don’t…”
“Wait, how many tis does your girlfriend have a birthday in a year?”
“Just once. We broke up, rember? I posted about it on WeChat. Then I got another one.”
“…”
“…”
“You call that a breakup?” Qin Hao’s face darkened—it was already dark, but now it was even darker. “When can I have a breakup?”
“Hey, you should just beco a monk. A warrior monk.”
“Shut up and eat.”
Outside, snowflakes drifted down in the cold winter night. Inside the private room, the three of them ate heartily. They knew there was no point pushing further; Qin Hao understood that by now.
If Xu Qing said there was nothing wrong, there probably wasn’t. This guy was sharper than anyone—always small troubles, never big ones. He knew exactly what he could and couldn’t do.
“Honestly, Haozi, you should find a girlfriend. Isn’t it boring being alone all the ti?”
“Is that really the issue?” Qin Hao sighed.
“I’ll lend you my car. Just hang around outside the bar for a few days, have a few drinks.”
“And that’s how you find a girlfriend?”
“What else?”
“…”
Qin Hao’s face turned red. He took a swig of liquor. “Forget it. I can’t learn your tricks, and I don’t want to.”
“Pfft, learn from Qingzi. One angry mont for his girl, and boom, girlfriend.”
“Hey, she was my girlfriend already,” Xu Qing corrected. “No anger involved. That b*****d just needed a beating.”
“Fine, cheers.”
Wang Zijun clinked his glass and looked at Qin Hao. Suddenly, he said, “Haozi, you’re still… a virgin, right?”
“F***… so what? I’m proud of it!”
“Good for you. Sigh…”
“Sigh your a**!”
Qin Hao held his ground. So things were worth holding onto.
Xu Qing smiled, swirling his glass, and looked out the window. The snow was falling heavier now.
I wonder if that girl has eaten…
“Another round!” Wang Zijun raised his glass.
“No more. I’m good. Eat up.” Xu Qing finished his drink and stopped.
After a satisfying al, they stepped outside. A layer of snow blanketed the ground. Since they’d all been drinking, Wang Zijun called a designated driver. Qin Hao left first, and Xu Qing squeezed into the back of the Cadillac with Wang Zijun.
“There was sothing I couldn’t say earlier. Do any of your shops have jobs that don’t require an ID?”
“Hey, no. Except for temporary gigs…”
“That’s what I ant.”
“Huh?” Wang Zijun thought for a mont. “Planning to get your girlfriend a job? No problem. Just say the word.”
“No, just for later. If she needs an ID… she can’t drift forever. Having so traceable work experience helps.” Xu Qing mused. “Sothing for a sixteen-year-old, like a sumr job. See if you can arrange it.”
“You’re serious?” Wang Zijun gave him a surprised look, then nodded in understanding. “You an… she worked at my shop a couple of years ago?”
“Exactly. Can you do it?”
“I’ll figure it out.” Wang Zijun patted his chest. “Leave it to .”
“Great. Drop off on the way.”
…
Under the cover of night, Xu Qing returned ho. He opened the door to see Jiang He engrossed in a ga on the computer, more focused than if she were working overti.
“Had dinner?”
“Yeah, I left so for you. Want it?”
“No need. You even saved food now…” Xu Qing chuckled, his voice tinged with alcohol as he flopped onto the couch. Ho felt good.
After a pause, he said, “I’ll eat later if I’m hungry.”
“Okay.”
Jiang He sniffed. “You’ve been drinking again.”
“Yeah, just a little.” Xu Qing looked at her, feeling the urge to give her a hug.
Alcohol makes you sentintal…
He opted to pick up Winter lon and gave the cat a good rub.
“You…” Jiang He sniffed again and caught a faint scent.
“…Did you go to a brothel?”
“Huh?”
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