Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Qin Song lay in bed for a while longer, then went downstairs to find something to eat.
After wandering around, he ended up at the same pizza place as last time.
He chose a seat by the window and ordered a pizza, an order of cheese fried chicken, a Coke, and a coffee.
After he finished eating, he didn’t leave right away. He sat by the glass window, staring into space as he took tiny sips of coffee through a straw.
He had nothing to do, and he didn’t know where he should go.
He could feel his condition slowly improving, but spending every day with nothing to do was undeniably boring.
Qin Song glanced around. There weren’t many people in the pizza place. A very skinny boy was eating pasta, a young couple had brought their child to order food, and two little boys who looked like elementary school students, one tall and one short, were chasing each other around.
Qin Song heard the two boys speaking Chinese.
The taller boy said, “Stop, stop. Don’t run anymore. Let’s just go outside.”
The shorter boy asked, “Why?”
The taller boy lowered his voice. “Your mom said last time that we weren’t allowed to mess around in the shop.”
The shorter boy said, “Who cares? She’s not here right now.”
The taller boy looked around. “Where did your mom go?”
The shorter boy said, “I dunno. She left just now.”
The taller boy pointed diagonally across the street. “How about we go play at my place? My family’s supermarket just got a bunch of new chips in.”
Qin Song understood now. The taller boy’s family ran the supermarket, while the shorter boy was the pizza shop owner’s child.
He followed the direction the taller boy was pointing and saw a large supermarket diagonally across from the pizza place.
A man wearing black-rimmed glasses walked out of the supermarket with a bottle of water. He stood by the road and impatiently twisted the cap open to drink.
Just then, a girl walked up to him and struck up a conversation with a smile. The man in glasses froze for a moment, and then the two of them started chatting.
Qin Song rubbed his eyes and took a closer look at the girl – it was Jingjing again, the one who had slurped down two popsicles that day!
It was as if she had absolutely nothing to do all day long. Whenever she caught someone, she had to chat with them for a few minutes.
Qin Song saw her point toward the hotel and say something. The man in glasses immediately frowned and even craned his neck forward, listening to her intently.
Qin Song waved the shorter boy over. “Hey, kid. Come here for a second.”
The shorter boy obediently ran over. “Hello. What would you like to order?”
Qin Song smiled. “Can you do me a favor?”
The boy asked, “What favor?”
Qin Song pointed at the two people in front of the supermarket. “I’ll give you some money. Go buy yourself some snacks at the supermarket across the street, and while you’re at it, listen to what those two are saying.”
The boy thought for a moment, then pointed at the menu on the wall and said, “Order another pizza, and I’ll help you.”
Qin Song said, “I’ll give you the money for a pizza separately. You don’t need to actually give me the pizza. Is that okay?”
The boy nodded and promptly ran out.
He ran to the entrance of the supermarket and squatted beside the checkout counter, pretending to seriously pick out chewing gum.
Before long, Jingjing and the man in glasses walked one after the other toward the hotel.
The boy ran back, grabbed the payment QR code from the cashier counter, and held it up in front of Qin Song.
Qin Song scanned it and paid for a pizza, then asked him, “Thank you. What were they saying just now?”
The boy glanced around, then said in a low voice, “That big sister told that uncle he should switch hotels.”
Qin Song asked, “Why?”
The boy clutched his chest. “She said there’d been a murder at the hotel where he was staying. A man killed a woman and stuffed her under the bed.”
Qin Song asked, “And then? What did that uncle say?”
The boy curled his lip. “He’s a scaredy-cat. He said he was going back to pack his luggage and move somewhere else. The big sister said she’d help him pack, and then they left.”
Qin Song thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Did she say which room the murder happened in?”
The boy clapped his hands. “Oh! She did, she did! Right, I almost forgot that part. She said Room 107! My classroom number is 107. What a coincidence.”
Qin Song asked, “So that uncle with the glasses is staying in 107?”
The boy said, “No, he said he was staying on the fifth floor. Then that lady said it didn’t matter which room he was in – this whole hotel was unlucky anyway.”
Qin Song thoughtfully patted the boy on the head. “You did great. Thanks.”
The boy suddenly gave him a wicked grin and asked, “Why’d you make me listen to them? Is she your wife? Did she cheat on you?”
Qin Song stared at him in surprise. “You little brat… how old are you?”
The boy shook his head like a rattle drum. “I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything. Heh heh heh… It’s fine, I’ll keep your secret for you, bro!”
Qin Song smiled helplessly, then got up and left the pizza place.
He went out onto the street and followed Jingjing and the man with glasses from a distance.
He watched the man with glasses enter a hotel, then come out a short while later dragging a suitcase – but it wasn’t the hotel Qin Song had originally been staying in.
Jingjing helped the man pull his suitcase and led him toward the hotel Qin Song was currently staying at.
After seeing the man with glasses into the hotel, Jingjing smiled and waved, then turned to head back.
She had only taken two steps when she ran straight into Qin Song.
Jingjing froze for a moment, then put on her signature smile. “Hello.”
With that, she tried to walk past him, but Qin Song grabbed her by the arm.
Jingjing shook him off in a panic. “What are you doing?!”
Qin Song said, “I heard what you said to that guy just now.”
Jingjing glanced around. “Where did you hear that?”
Qin Song said, “That’s none of your business. Didn’t you tell me yesterday that the room where the accident happened was 416? How did it suddenly become 107?”
Jingjing’s eyes darted around. “Maybe I remembered it wrong yesterday. It really was 107.”
Qin Song grabbed her arm and started dragging her toward the hotel he’d originally stayed in. “If you remembered wrong, then let’s go ask that unlucky hotel and find out what’s really going on.”
Jingjing screamed, “Let go… you’re hurting me!”
Qin Song stopped. “Tell me the truth. What the hell are you up to? Are you trying to scare me on purpose? Why were you so determined to make me switch hotels?”
Rubbing her arm, Jingjing muttered, “I was just trying to be nice and warn you guys…”
Qin Song said, “My word alone doesn’t count, does it? Should I go find that gentleman with the glasses from earlier, and the three of us can discuss this together?”
Jingjing sighed and pulled Qin Song to the side of the road.
“Fine. I’ll tell you the truth. The hotel I took you guys to is run by my family. I was just trying to drum up some business for them…”
Qin Song glared at her angrily. “So you’re basically a shill. A scammer!”
Jingjing said, aggrieved, “Well… more or less. But the price and the rooms are about the same, so it’s not like you lost anything!”
Qin Song stared into her eyes. “Then did that thing you told me about yesterday actually happen or not?”
Jingjing looked down at the ground. “No. I made it up.”
Qin Song let out a breath of relief.
Jingjing said, “Don’t make a big deal out of it, okay? I’ll waive two days of your room fee, all right…?”
Qin Song said, “Fine. Refund me for yesterday and today.”
Jingjing said, “Okay, okay, I got it… I’ll pay you back myself…”
Then she asked in a small voice, “So… are you still going to stay there?”
Qin Song said irritably, “What’s the point of moving back and forth? I’ll stay. But don’t let me see you again these next few days. I’m sick of you.”
Jingjing quickly nodded.