Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Zhang Qiong turned back into the room and grabbed a bottle of Coke from the fridge.
Qin Song pulled out his wallet, counted out six hundred yuan, and shoved it into the delivery driver’s hand.
The delivery driver snapped, “What are you doing? I don’t want it! You people are going too far, I’m telling you. This isn’t over-I’m going to report this!”
“Brother, it was all a misunderstanding,” Qin Song said. “Calm down. Take this red envelope for good luck…”
The delivery driver pushed Qin Song’s hand away. “This isn’t about the money! You people are terrifying. You pinned me against the wall the second I showed up! It’s a good thing I’m strong and wouldn’t back down, or else you would’ve dragged me inside! I see now that even men have to protect themselves when they’re out and about!”
Suppressing a laugh, Qin Song looked down and counted out another four hundred, stuffing the full thousand into the driver’s pocket. “I’m sorry. Just consider this a late fee for delaying your next delivery, alright? We were just in a desperate rush. We had quite a scare last night!”
Zhang Qiong quickly shoved the Coke into the driver’s hands as well. “We’re sorry, Big Brother. Please don’t hold it against us. Take a bottle of water for the road…”
The delivery driver didn’t pull the money back out this time. As he stepped into the elevator, he muttered, “Please just blacklist me on the app so I don’t have to deliver to this unit anymore!”
Qin Song offered a conciliatory smile. “Right, sure thing, brother. I’ll blacklist you… wait, no, you blacklist us, okay? Cool off, cheer up, and stay safe on the road!”
Just as the elevator doors closed, the neighbor’s door opened.
The old man from next door stepped out with a bright, piercing gaze, clutching a watering can.
Even though the old man tried his best to look natural, as if he were “just heading downstairs to water the plants,” Zhang Qiong could tell at a glance that he had heard the commotion in the hallway and had come out specifically to gossip.
Sure enough, the old man opened with, “Oh, Xiao Zhang, quite a lively scene here…”
With Qin Song still standing there, Zhang Qiong felt a bit awkward.
She pointed at Qin Song. “It’s nothing, Uncle. My younger brother just came over to talk to me about something.”
The neighbor glanced at Qin Song, then back at Zhang Qiong. “Your man still hasn’t come back?”
Zhang Qiong responded stiffly, “Yeah, my husband and the kid went back to our hometown.”
“He left with the child in the middle of the night?” the old man asked.
Zhang Qiong was completely bewildered. “The middle of the night?”
“Last night, around the time that knocking started,” the neighbor said. “I was a bit worried, so I woke my wife up. She told me not to meddle in the affairs of young people at my age and made me go back to bed. I lay down but couldn’t sleep. About twenty minutes later, I heard someone open your door and come out… the front door, this time.”
Qin Song shot a look at Zhang Qiong, who remained silent.
The old man pressed the elevator button, muttering to himself while holding his watering can, “Couples shouldn’t let a grudge last overnight; a fight at the head of the bed should be settled at the foot. Life is meant to be lived in harmony…”
Once the door was shut, Qin Song asked immediately, “Were you staying here alone last night?”
Zhang Qiong looked at him. “Of course.”
“Did you go out in the middle of the night?”
“Of course not!”
“Then what he just said…”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? He’s gone senile,” Zhang Qiong countered. “Who goes out in the middle of the night? I don’t sleepwalk!”
As she spoke, she sat down and opened the takeout. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat first. This whole thing is really strange; we’ll discuss it once we’ve eaten our fill.”
Qin Song watched her silently for a moment before suddenly asking, “Who is Liang He?”
Zhang Qiong’s hand paused as she set things out. “I told you last time. A friend who used to live in the same residential complex.”
“Is that true?”
Zhang Qiong looked up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Qin Song took a deep breath. “It doesn’t mean anything. One order of takeout isn’t enough for two people. Let’s go out for lunch. I’m going downstairs for a smoke; I’ll wait for you in the car.”
With that, he turned and left.
Zhang Qiong sat alone in the living room, her head buzzing.
If it wasn’t the delivery man, then who could it be? Who had she actually offended?
And then there were the things the old man next door had mentioned-the bathroom, leaving in the middle of the night… Was he really just senile?
What did Qin Song mean by what he said earlier? One delivery order for two people… Was he suspicious that she was seeing someone, or was she overthinking it? If she wasn’t overthinking it, then his words were incredibly harsh.
She went back to the bedroom, took off her pajamas, changed into her street clothes, and used the restroom.
Checking her phone, she saw that Liang He still hadn’t sent any more messages. He really was a heavy sleeper.
Before heading out, Zhang Qiong shot a sensitive glance at the bathroom door.
She suddenly felt a strong urge to knock on it.
But she didn’t dare. She was afraid that the sound of the knock would be exactly like what she had heard last night. If that happened, she would lose her mind.
After a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed her keys and headed downstairs.
Qin Song took Zhang Qiong to a hot pot restaurant. He said that hot pot was lively and could drive away the “chill” of daily life.
Zhang Qiong rested her chin on her hand, watching the tofu and meat slices tumbling in the red chili oil. The spicy aroma suddenly felt too sharp for her nose, so she tilted her head back to put some distance between herself and the pot.
As her gaze drifted away from the hot pot, it passed through the restaurant’s glass window and onto the street outside.
Her eyes suddenly went wide.
Who was that?
“Sis, what do you want to drink?” Qin Song asked.
Zhang Qiong turned her head back. “Oh, I’ll have… I actually am quite thirsty. I want some milk tea; I saw a shop across the street. I’ll go buy it now. WeChat me what flavor you want, okay? I’ll go wait in line!” With that, she stood up quickly and hurried out.
Through the swirling steam of the hot pot, Qin Song watched Zhang Qiong’s retreating figure with an unreadable expression.
Once Zhang Qiong reached the other side of the street, she didn’t go into the milk tea shop to wait in line.
Walking until she was out of Qin Song’s line of sight, she continued forward with long strides, eventually breaking into a light jog.
She had seen Liang He. While she was in the hot pot restaurant, she had spotted him on the street.
It was fate that Liang He had been able to find her contact information among a sea of people. It was even more of a coincidence that she had run into him on the street like this.
By now, she was less than fifty meters away from him. Zhang Qiong picked up her pace and finally caught up to Liang He, catching that faint scent of tobacco again.
She lightly tapped his shoulder. “Hey!”
Liang He turned around and looked at her in surprise.
Zhang Qiong clutched her chest, panting. “You walk so fast. I saw you just now, but it was exhausting trying to catch up.”
Liang He stammered, “I…”
Zhang Qiong said reproachfully, “Aren’t you supposed to be in Sanya? Did you just get back today? You didn’t even tell me in advance!”
Liang He scratched his head. “Miss, have you perhaps mistaken me for someone else?”
Zhang Qiong laughed. “What kind of joke is this? It’s me! Don’t you recognize me? Did you forget what I look like?”
Liang He looked at her blankly, then finally seemed to remember something. “Are you… the one from that time in front of the bank?”
“Yes!” Zhang Qiong replied. “Why are you acting like we’re strangers? We’ve been chatting for so many days… Don’t tell me you have social anxiety too?”
“Miss, you really might have the wrong person,” Liang He said.
Zhang Qiong found it strange; he didn’t look like he was joking at all.
She asked tentatively, “Aren’t you Liang He?”
“You’ve got the wrong guy, Miss,” he replied. “My surname isn’t Liang. It’s Li. My name is Li Shihao.”
Zhang Qiong froze.