Chapter 68: A Zodiac Cycle Apart

Today, Banshan City was shrouded in dark clouds, and the temperature plummeted.

Cheng Jiabao, the elementary school student, had skipped class in a fit of anger and run away from home. Meanwhile, her idol—Cheng Simin, the college graduate—was also having an equally disastrous day, overwhelmed with troubles.

Shi Ying had finally taken a day off, and just before falling asleep in the early morning hours, the two of them had meticulously planned out their date itinerary for the next day.

At six in the morning, they’d planned to have a Northwestern-style breakfast at a desert restaurant, watch the sunrise, then return to the room for a nap and some quality time together. By noon, they’d officially rise, check out on time, and drive back to the city for a meal of lamb cooked in ice.

In the afternoon, they’d take it slow—watch a romantic movie, spend some time at the arcade, find a teahouse to chat, and by evening, Cheng Simin could take the hamster to wait outside the school gate. If all went well with handing over the hamster, Shi Ying wanted to take Cheng Simin to a hot spring at a guesthouse beneath Helan Mountain.

The plan was beautiful, but unfortunately, plans often can’t keep up with the speed of life’s changes. When the alarm rang for watching the sunrise, Cheng Simin, still deep in sleep, instinctively reached out blindly and immediately silenced it.

Two phones, three alarms, ringing six times. Each time, not lasting more than a second, Cheng Simin’s fingers quickly pressed the stop button.

The mattress beside her shifted slightly as Shi Ying’s eyelashes fluttered, and his arm moved faintly. Cheng Simin clung to him like a koala, refusing to let him get up. Half her body was draped over him, and she nestled into a comfortable position, nuzzling his neck with her forehead.

With his arm pinned down, Shi Ying gave up trying to lift his head and let it flop back onto the pillow. Pulling the blanket over them, they both fell back asleep in each other’s arms.

The sun rose in the east, slowly climbing to the center of the sky. When Cheng Simin stirred, scratching her bottom and waking up to the sound of Shi Ying’s phone ringing, it was already past one in the afternoon—they’d slept for a full ten hours.

The caller was Lao Zhao. After clearing his throat, Shi Ying sat up and answered the call.

The sunlight pierced through the window, shining directly onto Cheng Simin’s closed eyelids. She scrunched up her face and buried her head under the covers. Muffled by the blanket, Shi Ying’s voice during the call was soft and indistinct, though she could faintly hear Lao Zhao’s voice.

When the call ended, Cheng Simin finally poked her head out. Her round face, squished like a steamed bun, asked groggily, “Is the sunrise over?”

“Mm-hmm. Are you hungry? Get up, get dressed, and we’ll go eat.”

It wasn’t just the sunrise that was over—it was high noon, and they’d missed lunchtime entirely.

Shi Ying scrolled through his contacts and called their neighbor, Zhou Yan. When she didn’t answer, he hung up and tried again.

Cheng Simin assumed Lao Zhao’s call was work-related and stretched lazily, glancing disappointedly at Shi Ying’s profile. “Does the winery need you to go back? Is our date canceled for this afternoon?”

“No. He asked if I was home and told me to check on the neighbors. He said he and Sister Zhou had agreed to have lunch at the winery this morning. They were in contact earlier, but now, when it’s time, neither WeChat nor calls are going through.”

“He’s worried.”

“President Zhao and Sister Zhou are having lunch at the winery? What does that mean—are they on a date?”

Cheng Simin was utterly baffled. The last time they’d all met at the winery, the two didn’t seem particularly close. Sister Zhou was forty-three, and Old Zhao—at least fifty-five—looked even older.

Though love knows no bounds, there was a full zodiac cycle between them.

“Probably? No wonder the other day he kept pestering me about which perfume brand was better. That old fox.”

Shi Ying hadn’t even given him Zhou Yan’s contact information—how on earth did they start talking?

Cheng Simin found this matchmaking attempt amusing, but she was genuinely concerned about this pair of late-blooming lovers. Picking up her phone, she opened WeChat and muttered to herself, “It should be fine, right? Maybe they’re driving and accidentally put their phone on silent. Let me try calling her on WeChat.”

Before she could tap on Zhou Yan’s name, Cheng Simin noticed the 99+ unread messages in the property management group chat, which she had set to mute notifications.

The group chat was usually quiet, used only for announcements about gas inspections, water or power outages, and the like. Curious, Cheng Simin tapped in to see what the fuss was about. To her surprise, after scrolling up a few pages, she found gossip about her own building.

Everyone was discussing the altercation that had occurred earlier that morning between a tenant and an owner on the twelfth floor of Building 6. Someone even posted a video of a police car taking Zhou Yan away.

There was no way Cheng Simin could stay in bed after that.

She bolted upright, scrambling to find her pants. “Shi Ying, something happened to Jingang and Beibei! Sister Zhou got into a fight and was taken away by the police. We need to hurry to the police station!”

________________________________________

At the Yingbin Street Police Station, Zhou Yan and the male homeowner from Building 4 were placed in separate holding rooms. Their phones had been confiscated in the police car, and they were now being questioned individually by officers.

The man from Building 4 had been slapped twice by Zhou Yan, and his phone screen was smashed. Looking quite pitiful, he immediately began complaining loudly as soon as two officers entered with a mediation form. “Officer, I’m the victim here! Why am I being detained too? I absolutely refuse mediation!”

Pointing to his cheek, he continued, “That woman hit me first and even snatched my phone! You should send me to get checked for injuries—I might have a concussion. All those people living in public housing on the twelfth floor are thugs! Arrest them all—not just her, but also the guy who owns the dog and that black dog!”

The officer on the left slammed the table to silence his rant.

“Start from the beginning. According to our investigation, you live in Unit 5, Room 302 of Building 4. Why were you at Building 6 this morning? What were you doing there?”

“I went to confront the dog owner! This morning, my family of three went out to buy breakfast. We didn’t bother anyone, but their dog attacked us. Not only did they sic the dog on us, but the owner also assaulted me! I went to demand an explanation.”

The two officers exchanged a glance. The one on the right gestured toward him. “Where were you bitten? Where’s the wound? Did you see a doctor?”

The man rubbed his rear end. “Uh, my butt. We dodged when the dog lunged, but the owner pushed me, and I fell hard. When I got up, they fled with the dog.”

“They let their dog roam unleashed! Such a large mutt—if I contract rabies, who’s responsible? People like that should be locked up, and the dog should be put down—slaughtered!”

The officer on the left didn’t waste time arguing. He pulled out his phone and showed the man a three-minute surveillance video from the property management office.

In the footage, Qi Jingang was walking Beibei near the fitness equipment when a male homeowner—accompanied by his wife and child—began yelling at him. Jingang kept his head down and tried to lead Beibei away, steering clear of the family. But as soon as they stepped onto the grass, the man chased after them, picked up a brick from a flower bed, and hurled it at the dog.

Beibei dodged, bared its teeth, and growled at the man. The man’s wife screamed while clutching their child. Undeterred, the man charged forward and kicked the dog in the stomach. Beibei yelped in pain, broke free from its leash, and fled toward Building 6 with its tail tucked between its legs. Seeing the man pursue, Jingang clenched his fists and charged, knocking the man flat on his back.

Pausing the video, the officer pointed to the brick in the man’s hand. “Is this you throwing the brick at the dog?”

The man’s face flushed red, then pale, but he stubbornly defended himself. “This is our residential area! There are children playing on the grass. If the dog bites someone, who’s responsible? Who allowed these public housing tenants to walk their dogs in common areas? We paid real money for our homes, and they don’t pay anything to live here. They’re uncivilized savages—why should they enjoy the same rights as us?”

“How do you know they live in public housing? Do you know them personally?”

“No,” the man muttered, his voice quieter now. “After he pushed me, he ran off with the dog. I went to the property office to check the surveillance, but they said I couldn’t view it without filing a police report… A security guard told me. He said everyone on the twelfth floor lives in subsidized housing, and he recognized the dog—it belongs to the female tenant in Room 1203.”

“The guard also said the dog frequently poops everywhere, roams unleashed, and even urinates in the elevator. It bites children too. I was just seeking justice.”

This particular security guard was the same one who had argued with Shi Ying days ago. Still bitter about being kicked out, he often stared up at the twelfth-floor windows whenever he passed Building 6 during his rounds. He regularly watched the surveillance footage for that floor.

Today, he saw his chance for revenge. Upon hearing about Room 12, he eagerly spread false rumors to the man.

“So you went to confront them. Isn’t this provocation?”

“He pushed me first!”

“If you hadn’t kicked his dog, would he have pushed you? Why didn’t you report the incident to the police? Could it be because you knew you were in the wrong? Furthermore, let me tell you—the person who pushed you is disabled and doesn’t have full legal capacity. Later, when you stormed into someone else’s home to seize the dog, did you assault or verbally abuse the disabled person? You bear full responsibility!”

“Don’t lie to us—we’ve reviewed the hallway surveillance footage.”

“I didn’t know he was disabled…” The man hesitated, then blurted, “But the woman from Room 1204 hit me too! I merely suggested calling animal control to confiscate the dog, and she went berserk, tackling me and beating me. Why did she attack me? Besides, the dog isn’t even hers. They’re all in cahoots—a gang working together!”

The officer on the left chuckled at the man’s overly dramatic tone. “You just admitted they’re a group. If you don’t drop your pursuit of charges against the woman from Room 1204, how can the disabled person from Room 1202 forgive you?”

“We advise you not to escalate this matter.”

“Furthermore, does living in public housing make them inferior to you? Is your mindset flawed? You bought your house, but theirs was purchased by the state. As long as they pay property management fees, they have the same rights to public facilities. Are you opposing the people? Opposing the state? Provoking a disabled person and deliberately inciting conflict among residents in the group chat—what exactly are you trying to achieve?”

The man wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, pursing his lips in silence. The two officers left him in the holding room to reflect and then moved on to question Zhou Yan.