Chapter 10

“Big brother, please let me go, I didn’t steal anything. I won’t do it again next time...”

The robber struggled under Jiang Chuan’s foot, his face twisted to the side as he tried to look up to see his captor.

Jiang Chuan pressed harder with his foot, causing the man’s head to stay pinned to the ground. He bent down and started searching the man’s pockets, pulling out two phones and two wallets. He squatted down, his body weight pressing down on the robber, and tapped the wallets against the robber’s head. “Didn’t steal anything?”

Caught red-handed, the robber couldn’t speak for a moment.

Qin Tang had already taken out her phone. “I’m at the XXX intersection. There’s a robber here... Yeah, the person has been caught.”

Jiang Chuan looked up at her and silently smiled.

The robber struggled, trying to escape, repeatedly begging for mercy.

Jiang Chuan pressed down with his foot. “Stay still.”

The police arrived quickly. Jiang Chuan grabbed the robber and pushed him toward them, briefly explaining the situation. The officers then took the robber away.

Before leaving, the man turned his head to glare at them, his eyes full of anger and resentment...

Qin Tang suddenly met his gaze. It was a young face, and the anger in his eyes quickly disappeared.

There was something off about the whole situation, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

Qin Tang looked at Jiang Chuan and said, “Thanks. But I could’ve caught up with him even if you hadn’t shown up.”

They exchanged a few seconds of eye contact. Jiang Chuan remembered how she had sprinted after the robber and found it somewhat amusing. “You didn’t shout for help?”

Qin Tang replied, “He ran off too quickly. I didn’t have time to call anyone.”

Jiang Chuan asked, “What’s more important, the person or the bag? Have you thought about the consequences if you encountered a more dangerous criminal?”

“No.”

Jiang Chuan looked at her, his eyes dark, probably speechless at her recklessness.

Qin Tang explained, “There are important documents in the bag, and a memory card and other things.”

These things were crucial to her; she couldn’t afford to lose them.

Many decisions are made in an instant, without time to think, and once made, they’re final.

Jiang Chuan kept staring at her and suddenly scoffed, “Sometimes, I really don’t understand you.”

You’re not delicate when you should be, but when you shouldn’t be, you go all out.

“...” Qin Tang shot him a glance. “You don’t need to understand.”

Jiang Chuan: “...”

No, he really didn’t need to. In a few days, she’d be gone.

She didn’t belong here.

Jiang Chuan watched her for a while and said, “Here, I’m responsible for your safety.”

Qin Tang: “And then?”

Jiang Chuan walked ahead. “You have to listen to me.”

Qin Tang walked ahead as well. This was the second time he’d said that. The last time, he had said the same thing when they encountered Zhao Qianhe. Jiang Chuan was different from other charity leaders she’d dealt with. Normally, those who paid were in charge, and everyone else was polite to her. But Jiang Chuan was always dominant.

She suddenly asked, “Why did Zhao Qianhe cause trouble for you?”

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow. “Want to know?”

Qin Tang replied, “It’s fine if you don’t want to say.”

Last time, she had heard Zhao Qianhe mention prison, and with the knife wounds she had seen on his back, it was easy to make assumptions.

“Mixed up in the underworld? For money? For power? Or for a woman?”

It was probably one of those reasons.

Jiang Chuan replied, “For money and power.”

Qin Tang glanced at him, but since Jiang Chuan didn’t elaborate, she decided not to press further.

They went to the hospital together, and Yue Yue had already fallen asleep.

Qin Tang placed the skirts next to her pillow.

Jiang Chuan noticed the bandage on her finger was soaked with blood. “Go have the nurse take care of that.”

Earlier, when she had been struggling with the robber, she had hurt her finger. The bandage had all bunched up, blood soaking through. The pain was numb, but she obediently nodded and went to find the nurse to have it rewrapped.

The dried blood stuck to the bandage, and when it was removed, it hurt. Qin Tang furrowed her brow but said nothing.

The nurse said, “It’s all stuck together. It will hurt when we take it off, so try to bear with it...”

Jiang Chuan leaned against the doorframe, looking down at her face, and said, “If it hurts, make a sound. No one will laugh at you.”

The nurse smiled a little, applying more force.

Qin Tang winced, “Hiss—”

She instinctively looked up at him. Their eyes met, and he really wasn’t laughing at her.

Back at the hotel, Xiao Bai and Ah Qi were standing in front of Jiang Chuan’s room. When they saw them return together, they were momentarily stunned. Xiao Bai quickly reacted, pulling Ah Qi forward. “Brother Jiang, Qin Tang, you’re back.”

Jiang Chuan asked, “Is there something?”

Xiao Bai tugged Ah Qi’s sleeve. Ah Qi bit her lip and pitifully said, “Brother Jiang, please give me another chance.”

Qin Tang glanced at them before turning and heading back to her room.

Her room was right across from Jiang Chuan’s, and the hotel had poor soundproofing. Even after closing the door, she could still hear their conversation outside.

Ah Qi said, “I really didn’t mean it. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Xiao Bai spoke up for her: “Brother Jiang, just let Ah Qi stay. We’re classmates, and if she leaves, I’ll be the only girl here...”

“Isn’t Qin Tang a girl?”

When Qin Tang heard Jiang Chuan ask this, she couldn’t help but feel a little speechless.

Their rooms were connected. Xiao Cheng and Xu Peng heard the voices and opened their doors, standing in the doorway watching.

Xu Peng also spoke on Ah Qi’s behalf, pleading for her.

Qin Tang was washing her face in the bathroom and could still hear Ah Qi’s soft pleading outside. She found it a bit annoying.

She didn’t listen closely to what happened next.

Anyway, she heard Ah Qi crying.

Jiang Chuan returned to his room, Xiao Cheng following behind him. After closing the door, Xiao Cheng whispered, “Brother, are you really going to let Ah Qi go? Look, she’s crying. She begged me for a long time. It seems like she really didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Should we just let it go?”

Jiang Chuan asked, “Is this your first day following me?”

Xiao Cheng quickly replied, “Of course not. I’ve been with you since I was 18. You’re like a real older brother to me. I just think she didn’t do anything too wrong, and it’s fine to forgive her. She looks really pitiful when she cries.”

“Her crying is annoying.”

Xiao Cheng said, “Oh,” understanding that Jiang Chuan didn’t like women being too melodramatic, speaking in a pretentious manner, and crying at the drop of a hat—exactly like Ah Qi. Anyone with eyes could tell Ah Qi had feelings for him.

Actually, Xiao Cheng thought it was normal for women to be delicate.

Jiang Chuan gave him a look. “She’s too full of herself. This time, it’s a small matter, but next time it might not be. We’re always having people come and go here. It’s best not to keep anyone who could cause trouble.”

The next day, they left Jiaxian. Yue Yue was especially happy wearing her new skirt, staying close to Qin Tang the whole time. “Sister, will you come back here next time? The jujube tree at my house has bloomed, and it will bear fruit soon. You can come in October and eat them. They’re so sweet.”

Qin Tang gently touched her face. “I’ll come see you whenever I have time.”

Yue Yue happily nodded. “Okay, you have to come for sure...”

Qin Tang couldn’t look her in the eyes because she wasn’t sure if she would actually come.

On the road, Jiang Chuan received a phone call. Lü An was shouting curses into the phone: “Our truck driver crashed! He hit a seven-million-yuan Rolls-Royce, and now we have to pay for it.”

Jiang Chuan slammed on the brakes, and the car jerked.

Qin Tang, holding Yue Yue, grabbed the seat in front of her to steady herself.

Jiang Chuan asked in a low voice, “Where are they? Was anyone hurt?”

Lü An responded, “No one was hurt.”

Jiang Chuan took a deep breath. “Got it.”

He hung up the phone, then turned to look at Qin Tang. “We’ll head back to Xi’an first, and let Yue Yue get checked out there. I’ll send her back afterward.”