Chapter 93
Chapter 93
He Qian and He Yuchuan began taking turns tailing Huang Yuanrui and Zhang Qiong.
Zhang Qiong’s routine was extremely fixed. For the most part, she only traveled between home and the office.
The places Huang Yuanrui went, however, left them baffled-she kept going to a school.
More accurately, she kept heading toward the school’s back gate.
Even her outfits were different when she went there. She always dressed like a teacher.
The path leading to the school’s back gate was narrow and empty, so He Qian didn’t dare follow too closely.
Every time she waited until Huang Yuanrui had reached the end of that path before catching up, Huang Yuanrui had already vanished.
He Qian was sure Huang Yuanrui had entered the school, but she had no idea how.
She circled near the back gate twice, then spotted the security cameras on the wall and carefully turned around and left.
On the first day of tailing them, He Yuchuan still felt the thrill of being in a cops-and-robbers movie. He wore a Polo shirt and a pair of aviator sunglasses, sitting bolt upright with a grave expression on his face. He even played a DJ bass-boosted version of “Black Street” in the car.
By the tenth day of tailing them, he was sitting in the passenger seat drinking a cup of Coke and eating a cheese beef wrap.
By the thirteenth day, he had already started reclining the seat and sprawling there while scrolling through short dramas.
He Qian, on the other hand, never got distracted. She was always focused, her eyes fixed firmly ahead.
That day, He Qian drove slowly after Zhang Qiong while He Yuchuan sat in the passenger seat playing on his phone.
She turned to glance at He Yuchuan. He was smoking while looking through someone’s WeChat Moments.
He Yuchuan wasn’t just scrolling through his feed. He had tapped into a specific person’s Moments album.
That person’s Moments had a lot of photos of children. He Yuchuan carefully opened one post and swiped left and right through the pictures.
The little girl in the photos looked about four or five years old. She had a round face and delicate, pretty features.
He Yuchuan gently stroked her small cheek through the screen with the pad of his finger, then exited the Moments album.
He tapped open the profile picture of the account owner and looked at it for a while before slowly putting down his phone.
While waiting at a red light, He Qian raised a hand and rubbed her eyes.
He Yuchuan cleared his throat and asked, “Where are we now?”
He Qian narrowed her eyes and looked around. “Guangyuan Street is just up ahead. Put out your cigarette. The smell’s too strong.”
He Yuchuan tossed the cigarette butt out the window. “Guangyuan Street… There are several banks there. Is Zhang Qiong going to a bank?”
He Qian teased, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go ask her?”
He Yuchuan said, “Which bank does Qin Song’s company use to pay employee salaries?”
He Qian frowned and thought for a moment. “Maybe Agricultural Bank of China. People from Agricultural Bank of China are always calling him to discuss business.”
He Yuchuan said, “The bank that discusses business with him isn’t necessarily the same bank where the employees’ payroll cards were opened.”
He Qian said, “Then I don’t know.”
He Yuchuan said, “Let’s give it a try. Once this light changes, drive faster and get ahead of her. I’ll go into the bank first.”
He Qian asked, “Why do you have to go first?”
He Yuchuan said, “Me going in before her is less suspicious than me going in after her, idiot.”
He Yuchuan locked the car and went into the bank. He Qian climbed into the back seat, shrank down, and watched his back.
Today, he was wearing a pale blue striped shirt and a pair of gray dress pants. He looked simple and fresh. He had left a bit of stubble on his cheeks and chin, and He Qian had sprayed a little Hermès Terre d’Hermès on his cuffs.
With that whole outfit, it wouldn’t be quite right to call him a refined scumbag, but he was still fairly close to that popular online phrase: “a dad with youthful vibes.”
He Yuchuan’s plan was simple: take a number at the bank and pretend to be waiting in line for business. Once Zhang Qiong came in, he would stare at her with eyes full of admiration. When she looked up and met his gaze, he would gently look away. Meet eyes again, then look away again. After two rounds of eye contact, he would go up and ask for her WeChat. Success rate: 90%.
He said a friend had taught him this. Supposedly, it worked like a charm in every setting, from libraries and shopping malls to bars and nightclubs.
He Qian’s comment on this method was: “Even if it’s only eye contact, it’s still a form of harassment toward women.”
He Yuchuan’s response was: “I’m handsome, so it doesn’t count as harassment.”
He Qian’s conclusion was: “No matter how handsome you are, it’s still harassment.”
He Yuchuan’s rebuttal was: “If she meets my eyes with mutual understanding and then gives me her WeChat, that means she approves of this kind of harassment too.”
He Qian’s rebuttal was to raise her hand and smack He Yuchuan on the head.
Asking a woman for her WeChat wasn’t difficult for He Yuchuan at all. Women had asked him for his WeChat before, and he had asked women for theirs. A tiny social interaction like this came as naturally to him as breathing.
He Qian turned to look behind the car and saw Zhang Qiong’s car slowly approaching.
Zhang Qiong pulled over by the roadside, got out with a shoulder bag, and sure enough, headed toward the Agricultural Bank of China.
Another car stopped behind hers. He Qian looked closely, and her breathing instantly quickened-it was Qin Song’s Volvo.
Without a doubt, the person driving it was Huang Yuanrui.
He Qian dialed He Yuchuan’s number. “Guess who’s here?”
He Yuchuan said, “Who?”
He Qian said, “Huang Yuanrui! She followed Zhang Qiong here!”
He Yuchuan said, “Oh? Then I’ve got a new good idea.”
He Qian asked, “What are you going to do?”
He Yuchuan said, “Heh. I’m coming out to watch the show!”
He Qian grew anxious. “What is wrong with you? Don’t be willful. Since she’s here, you should at least find a way to get to know her!”
He Yuchuan had already pushed open the door and stepped out of the bank. Zhang Qiong was just about to climb the steps.
All of a sudden, Zhang Qiong’s ankle twisted. She tripped, and her whole body fell straight into He Yuchuan’s arms.
He Qian covered her mouth in shock, then turned to look at Huang Yuanrui’s car.
She couldn’t see clearly through the glass, but she knew Huang Yuanrui must have seen it too.
A chubby traffic cop in glasses came over from the roadside. He rubbed his nose, then stuck a ticket on the car window.
He Qian wanted to stop him, but she was afraid Huang Yuanrui would see her, so she could only keep huddling silently in the back seat.
Outside the window, she saw He Yuchuan smile and say something to Zhang Qiong. Then he immediately started walking toward the car.
Zhang Qiong stood behind him, staring blankly at his back.
He Yuchuan got into the car, and Zhang Qiong was still looking at him.
Through the car window, He Qian watched Zhang Qiong and quietly reminded He Yuchuan, “There’s a ticket! Go tear it off!”
He Yuchuan gave a soft “Oh,” then got back out and tore off the ticket.
Zhang Qiong was still looking this way.
He Yuchuan started the car and drove off. He Qian looked back, and Zhang Qiong was still standing there, dumbstruck.
For the first time, He Qian truly felt that in this society, being good-looking really did have its uses.
He Qian asked, “What did you say to her?”
As He Yuchuan turned the steering wheel, he answered, “I was originally planning to get to know her inside the bank, but then didn’t you say Huang Yuanrui had arrived? So I changed my mind and ran to the entrance. I was just about to start a conversation with her at the door when she actually fell right onto me… And then I changed my mind again. I didn’t ask for her contact info.”
He Qian said, “Stop, stop, stop. I don’t understand. Why did you have to run to the entrance just because Huang Yuanrui showed up?”
He Yuchuan said, “You wanted me to approach Zhang Qiong to help you observe her. But the way I see it, instead of being an observer, it’s better to be a participant. Maybe my extra little move can inspire that woman Huang to come up with something new. I’m this handsome, right? Maybe my influence is huge. Heh heh heh heh…”
He Qian was a little angry. “You’re messing around! After all that fuss, you still didn’t get to know Zhang Qiong!”
He Yuchuan freed one hand and gently squeezed He Qian’s shoulder. “Sis, relax. Don’t get worked up.”
He Qian turned her head away. “I don’t understand a single thing you’ve said today.”
He Yuchuan patiently explained, “We’ve been following the two of them for a long time now, right? Facts have proven that Huang Yuanrui still hasn’t done anything to intensify the conflict between them. If she doesn’t drive Zhang Qiong away, she won’t come looking for you-we don’t have time to keep wasting on her forever.”
He Qian asked, “So?”
He Yuchuan said, “So since we had this opportunity today, I gave her something fresh to work with. Let’s see if she can make good use of it.”
He Qian said, “I still don’t understand why you didn’t follow our plan and get to know Zhang Qiong!”
He Yuchuan looked at He Qian seriously. “I can appear in Huang’s field of vision, but I can’t let her target me. As long as Zhang Qiong and I don’t know each other, I’m still an outsider. If she saw me striking up a conversation with Zhang Qiong today and adding her on WeChat… Well, tomorrow, it won’t be me following her. I’m afraid she’ll be following me.”
He Qian said, “I can more or less understand the gist of it, but I still think part of this was you messing around.”
He Yuchuan said, “You’re too by-the-book. You’re steady, so you’re not flexible enough when you do things.”
He pointed at his own forehead. “Your thinking. Loosen it up a little, and you might get a pleasant surprise.”