Chapter 14

Qin Tang’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t transferred the money yet.

There were several loud “bang” sounds, the doors slamming shut with a force that rattled the air.

It was the same leader from last night. He said, “Tsk, no one here? How boring.”

Qin Tang pulled back her foot and closed the door, leaning against it to call Jiang Chuan. She waited for a while before the call connected, and his voice was deep and magnetic: “What’s wrong?”

Qin Tang heard the sound of the door downstairs being kicked. She took a deep breath and whispered, “They’re back.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, and then Jiang Chuan quickly replied, “Where are you?”

“I’m in my room.”

“Stay in your room. Don’t come out, and don’t listen to anything. Stay put.”

“...”

“Do you hear me?”

“Mm.”

She obediently responded.

Jiang Chuan seemed satisfied. His voice dropped lower, “I’ll be back soon.”

Qin Tang put away her phone. She could hear loud crashing noises downstairs. The old house wasn’t well soundproofed, and their commotion was so loud that every word they said could be heard clearly.

“Damn, this table’s broken, but it can be fixed. Jiang Chuan is really poor!”

“Is he really poor or pretending? That girl last night looked like she was from a rich family, not even blinking when she handed over such a large sum of money. She must have some special relationship with Jiang Chuan.”

“Damn, that woman is really beautiful. Her legs are so fair and straight. It must be a real thrill to hold her up like that.”

...

Qin Tang frowned, gritting her teeth, committing the voices to memory.

Downstairs, there was a loud crash, and it was clear that things were being destroyed.

With such a loud noise, the nearby residents must have been affected. An elderly voice could be heard, “What are you doing…?”

“Shut up, old woman! Mind your own business!”

There was a brief silence downstairs.

Then the sound of things being smashed started again, right beneath her feet.

“Go upstairs and check.”

Qin Tang clenched her phone tightly and pressed her lips together, staying close to the door.

Outside in the yard, she heard the screeching sound of a car’s emergency brake.

Her heart returned to its normal rhythm.

Jiang Chuan quickly opened the car door and got out. The yard was in disarray, and the TV in the living room had been smashed to pieces. Half of it was scattered by the doorstep. In the living room, not a single item remained intact.

Two room doors had also been kicked open, and they too were in a state of chaos.

Lü An cursed, “Damn it.”

Jiang Chuan’s face darkened as he walked forward and coldly said, “Are you done smashing things?”

The leader, Zhao Feng, crossed his arms, laughing as he looked at him. “Jiang Chuan, you’re finally back.”

Jiang Chuan’s eyes were cold. “Zhao Feng, I’ll pay the money back. There’s no need for you to provoke me like this.”

Zhao Feng laughed loudly, pointing to the yard. “Is there anything of value here? Brother Kun said that every time we smash something, it’s worth 20,000. If you can’t pay up, we’ll come every day until we’ve smashed 870,000. Oh, wait, no, it’s 850,000. We already smashed something last night.”

“Of course, you could choose another way.”

Jiang Chuan sneered, his gaze catching two big men heading towards the stairs. He looked up and saw Qin Tang standing on the second-floor hallway, her camera resting on the railing. She was calmly observing the scene below.

He shouted to the two big men, “You two, get down here!”

The two men paused briefly, then continued up the stairs.

Qin Tang set down the camera and turned toward the stairs.

Jiang Chuan’s face was cold as he quickly walked over, his hand pressing firmly on one of the men’s shoulders. The two men turned abruptly, fists swinging toward him. Jiang Chuan bent down to dodge, letting go of one hand and using the other to grab the man’s arm, throwing him in a shoulder throw.

The large man crashed heavily onto the stairs with a loud thud, his face twisted in pain as he let out a scream.

The other man immediately charged toward Jiang Chuan, throwing a punch at his face.

Jiang Chuan dodged and grabbed his wrist, twisting it sharply with a loud crack, then kicked him in the stomach.

Another scream followed.

The two burly men collapsed at the foot of the stairs, curled up and groaning, temporarily unable to move.

Qin Tang stood on the platform at the top of the stairs, looking down at him, her lips tightly pressed together, her pale fingers gripping the camera.

In the yard, Lü An and the other three men were also engaged in a fight.

Jiang Chuan looked up at Qin Tang, his voice commanding, “Go upstairs.”

Qin Tang didn’t move. Just then, someone behind Jiang Chuan swung an iron rod at him.

Qin Tang’s eyes widened in shock. Her mouth opened to scream, but before she could, Jiang Chuan, almost as if sensing the danger, dodged swiftly without even looking back. The rod missed, and Jiang Chuan yanked it from the attacker’s hands, pulling it hard and kicking the man in the chest. The rod slammed down onto the attacker’s shoulder.

“Crack—”

The man let out a miserable scream, clutching his shoulder and collapsing to the ground.

That sound was very familiar.

Qin Tang bit her lip, staring at the burly man on the ground, clutching his shoulder.

In the yard, Lü An had also dealt with the other two men.

Suddenly, Qin Tang rushed down the stairs, like a gust of wind, passing by Jiang Chuan and stepping on the man’s shoulder. The man screamed even louder, cursing, “Damn! Stinky woman!”

Jiang Chuan immediately pulled her behind him. “What are you doing?”

Qin Tang bit her lip. “He cursed me.”

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow. “What did he say?”

Qin Tang replied, “Stinky woman.”

Jiang Chuan: “...”

Jiang Chuan found it a little amusing. “Didn’t you kick him first? That’s why he cursed you.”

Qin Tang lowered her head and kicked him again. “He cursed me twice.”

Jiang Chuan: “...”

He didn’t understand why she was so angry, but found it inexplicably funny. He gave a small smile and pushed her behind him. “Alright.”

It was fine if a man got beaten, but what about when a woman did it? The man struggled to get up.

Jiang Chuan, with his peripheral vision, saw it and stepped on the man’s abdomen.

The force was heavy. Soon, the man could no longer move, only letting out painful cries.

Qin Tang let out a breath of frustration, her mood improving a little, and obediently stood behind Jiang Chuan.

Zhao Feng walked over. “Tsk, Jiang Chuan, you beat up Kun Ge’s men like this. How am I going to explain it when I go back?”

Jiang Chuan took out a cigarette box and threw one to Zhao Feng, who caught it with one hand.

Jiang Chuan squinted, lit the cigarette, took a few puffs, and said slowly, “I’ll go back with you and explain.”

Zhao Feng then realized he had fallen into Jiang Chuan’s trap. Jiang Kun didn’t really care about the 870,000, he just wanted to find an excuse to provoke Jiang Chuan and make him go back to do work for him. But Jiang Chuan didn’t want to return, and he couldn’t come up with the money either. Jiang Kun wasn’t willing to meet him either.

Both sides were at a standoff.

Now, after injuring a few of his subordinates, Zhao Feng indeed had to explain it when he got back.

Zhao Feng chuckled. “No need.”

Just as Jiang Chuan was about to speak, Qin Tang pulled her hand away from him, her smooth wrist slipping from his palm. He paused, then heard her say, “The money has been transferred. 870,000, not a penny less. Last night, you said it only needed to be 850,000.”

She glanced at the burly man groaning on the ground and said, “The extra 20,000, just consider it as compensation for your subordinates’ medical expenses.”

Zhao Feng: “...”

He bit his cigarette, then carefully sized up Qin Tang.

He chuckled lightly. Interesting.

Jiang Chuan furrowed his brows and turned to look at Qin Tang, his eyes blazing with anger. How could this woman not listen to him?

Zhao Feng chuckled a few more times and looked at Jiang Chuan. “Since the money has been settled, then this account is closed.”

Jiang Chuan crushed his cigarette and chuckled, saying nothing. There was nothing more to say.

Zhao Feng looked at the subordinates who had already gotten up and coldly ordered, “You can leave now. Get in the car, and don’t embarrass yourselves here!”

A few burly men helped each other up and quickly got in the car.

Two gusts of wind blew by, and the yard was empty and quiet.

Qin Tang still stood behind Jiang Chuan, watching the cigarette burn down to its end, the ash blowing away in the wind, leaving no trace.

Jiang Chuan flicked the cigarette butt away, turned, and looked at her, a clear smile on his lips. “Alright, tell me, what did that guy curse you?”

In his memory, Qin Tang wasn’t one to hold grudges. She was polite to everyone, and whenever she saw something nice, fun, or tasty, she would buy it and give it to the people at the shelter. Aqi had received a bottle of perfume, Guizhao had gotten some candied fruits, and Xiao Cheng had received a small gift, a lighter.

Even Lü An had received something.

Jiang Chuan hadn’t received anything, but that was a minor matter. Maybe it just wasn’t his turn yet, or perhaps she hadn’t found a suitable gift for him.

But earlier, the force with which she stepped on that man’s shoulder was no small matter—it seemed like there was some personal animosity there.

Qin Tang lowered her head and said, “It’s nothing.”

Jiang Chuan laughed. “Nothing? A woman like you hitting someone?”

Just as Qin Tang was about to speak, her stomach suddenly growled—a soft, muffled sound, but enough for those around her to hear.

Jiang Chuan remained unfazed and continued to smile. “Hungry? Didn’t have lunch?”

Qin Tang’s face immediately flushed.

Lü An was outside cleaning up the mess and didn’t come over to disturb them.

Qin Tang bit her lip, quickly overcoming her embarrassment. “I’ll go find something to eat in the kitchen.”

She hurried away, hoping the kitchen hadn’t been ruined.

The steamed buns that Guizhao made this morning should still be there.

Fortunately, the kitchen was unharmed. She lifted the steamer lid, and inside, there was a white bun lying there.

She picked it up, and it was a little hard.

She tried to take a bite, and it was still edible.

Jiang Chuan, who had somehow followed her to the door, blocked most of the light with his tall frame. He walked in, snatched the bun from her hand, and said, “Enough, don’t eat this.”

Qin Tang frowned. “Then what should I eat?”

It was a remote area. Delivery wouldn’t come, and the noodle shops and restaurants weren’t far, but she didn’t want to go out.

Jiang Chuan put the cold bun back, turned on the faucet, and washed his hands.

Qin Tang was about to reach for the bun again when he didn’t even look back and said, “Want noodles?”

She froze in mid-motion, unbelieving, and turned to look at him, asking, “You’re going to make me noodles?”

Jiang Chuan nodded. “Yeah, if you can wait, you can have dumplings too. It’s just a bit more effort.”

Qin Tang found it hard to believe. She asked again, “You can cook?”

Jiang Chuan chuckled, walked over to open the fridge, and pulled out a piece of beef, glancing at her. “When I was young, my family was poor. I had to do all kinds of work. Cooking was nothing.”

Qin Tang hadn’t heard about his family situation. She only knew that Aqi came from a poor rural background and couldn’t afford to go to college; Guizhao was also from a small town and helped out at the shelter, making breakfast and selling it at a nearby worker school; Xiao Cheng had started working at a young age and later helped Jiang Chuan at the shelter and with the transport company.

She hadn’t heard about Lü An or Jiang Chuan’s past.

She stood behind him, watching his skilled movements—boiling water, slicing meat, washing vegetables.

Qin Tang asked, “Where is your home?”

Jiang Chuan replied, “A small village, you wouldn’t know it even if I told you.”

Qin Tang noticed that he wasn’t paying attention and took another bite of the cold bun without asking any more questions.

Jiang Chuan put the noodles into the pot, turned around to look at her, and saw that she had already eaten half of the cold bun. He stared at her for a while, then pretended not to notice.

Turning his back, he asked, “Do your parents know that a delicate girl like you is so far away?”