Chapter 3

The door of the room on the farthest east side of the corridor was directly facing the hallway. As Jiang Chuan opened the door, he saw the woman leaning against the corridor, holding a thin cigarette between her fingers, the tattoo of a Gesang flower visible on her hand. Her fingers were delicate, fair, and translucent.

He stared at her for a while, his eyes dark.

Under such a gaze, Qin Tang couldn’t hold up for more than a few seconds. She lowered her head, stubbed out the cigarette, and looked back down at the ground, her ears growing a little warm.

With a click, the door to the room closed.

Soon, the door opened again. Jiang Chuan, dressed in a gray T-shirt and long pants, came out and looked toward the open room. A medium-sized rose-colored suitcase was leaning against the bed, and the room’s furniture and bed linens had been changed. He looked at Qin Tang and asked, “If you’re not comfortable here, I can take you to a hotel.”

The man’s voice had a magnetic quality. Qin Tang turned back and said, “No need, it’s fine.”

At that moment, Ah Qi came walking up from the stairs. She first gave Jiang Chuan a sweet smile, then turned to Qin Tang and asked with a beaming expression, “Miss Qin, Guī-sāo is going to cook. Is there anything you can’t eat, or anything you’d like?”

Qin Tang thought for a moment, then replied, “Nothing I can’t eat. Just make me a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes.”

Ah Qi nodded, “Okay, I’ll tell Guī-sāo.”

Ah Qi looked at Jiang Chuan, who had his hands in his pockets and was walking toward the stairs.

Ah Qi followed behind him, speaking excitedly in a soft voice, “Jiang-ge, is there anything you want to eat? I’ll cook with Guī-sāo later.”

Jiang Chuan’s tone was relaxed, “Can you even cook?”

Ah Qi replied, “I’m learning!”

Jiang Chuan chuckled, “Whatever.”

The sound of their conversation gradually faded, and two figures appeared downstairs.

Jiang Chuan walked toward Lü An, who tossed him a pack of cigarettes. Jiang Chuan smoothly caught it, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, then tilted his head, holding the cigarette between his lips, his chin lifted as he looked at Qin Tang still standing in the same spot. Their gazes met, and he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, the corners of his mouth curving as he looked at Lü An and asked, “Why is she staying in the small city room?”

The building’s east side extends two more meters, making the two rooms there a bit larger. The room on the first floor is used to store items donated by netizens.

The room upstairs is where Jiang Chuan stays.

When they first rented the building, Xiao Cheng chose the room next to Jiang Chuan’s, claiming it had better lighting. Later, when Ah Qi arrived, she wanted to switch rooms with him, but Xiao Cheng refused. There were two other rooms on the west side, but behind the building is a six-story building that blocks the light from that direction. Occasionally, when guests arrived, they were arranged to stay in those rooms. Ah Qi and Lü An stayed in the other two rooms on the first floor.

Lü An glanced up at the second floor and lowered his voice, “Isn’t she a VIP? She should’ve been taken to a fancy hotel, but you brought her here. You can’t just give up your room, can you? Ah Qi’s room is fine, though it’s a bit difficult to tidy up with all her things. For now, Xiao Cheng is staying on the west side.”

Xiao Cheng muttered softly from the side, “Lü-ge said, if she has money, she’s like a goddess, we have to cater to her.”

Jiang Chuan gave a short laugh, his eyelids lifting slightly. Qin Tang was no longer there.

“However, rich people tend to be particular, but she hasn’t noticed any problems yet. She’s a strange woman, keeps to herself,” Lü An said, stroking his chin.

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t it?”

“You’ll find out if there are any problems in a few days.”

After dark, two more people arrived, a man and a woman. The eight of them sat around the long table for dinner, with plenty of dishes, and the plate of shredded potatoes was specifically placed in front of Qin Tang. Lü An, being talkative and cheerful, kept trying to find topics to talk to Qin Tang about. The others joined in occasionally, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant. Ah Qi couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Qin, your skin is so fair, how do you take care of it?”

Qin Tang glanced at her and said, “It’s natural.”

Ah Qi: “…”

Women always love to ask about these things.

Everyone laughed, even Jiang Chuan couldn’t help but curve his lips.

Lü An said that occasionally people would come to volunteer, mostly college students from nearby, but some were from out of town as well.

Qin Tang asked, “Do they stay here too?”

Lü An replied, “Of course, some even come under the guise of volunteering just to eat and drink for free!”

Qin Tang couldn’t help but laugh. Her smile was radiant, and her eyes were large and clear, a stark contrast to her usual calm expression. Everyone paused for a moment. She had been here for a while, and they had never seen her smile this widely. She gave off the impression of a cold beauty.

So she could smile like this, and it was so beautiful when she did.

She asked, “And then?”

Lü An chuckled, “Then Jiang-ge taught them a lesson and threw them out.”

Qin Tang couldn’t help but look at Jiang Chuan. He was wearing a careless smile and looking at her. He said, “Don’t worry, I don’t hit women.”

Qin Tang’s smile slowly faded, and she retorted, “I don’t eat and drink for free either.”

After dinner, Qin Tang went upstairs to the shared bathroom to take a shower. When she came out, she ran into Jiang Chuan, who wasn’t wearing a shirt, his muscles taut, a towel draped over his neck.

Jiang Chuan looked at her with her long black hair still wet, water dripping from the ends, and reminded her, “The hairdryer is only in Ah Qi’s room. You can ask her for it.”

Qin Tang nodded. “Mm.”

Qin Tang sidestepped and walked past him. Jiang Chuan seemed to catch a faint scent from her hair, which was different from the shampoo in the bathroom.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a bottle of body wash, shampoo, facial cleanser, and a corner of a royal blue lace fabric peeking out from under the towel in her basin.

Qin Tang didn’t notice. She dried her hair with a towel and then went downstairs to borrow the hairdryer from Ah Qi.

Ah Qi plugged it in and said, “You can blow it in my room, so you don’t have to keep running around.”

Qin Tang took it, gently combing her fingers through her hair as she slowly dried it.

Ah Qi sat cross-legged on the bed, playing with her phone, occasionally looking up at her.

A few minutes later, Qin Tang put the hairdryer down and said, “Thank you.”

Ah Qi smiled and shook her head. “No need to thank me. You’re here to help us, so it’s only right that we treat you well.”

Qin Tang smiled, and Ah Qi asked again, “You’re a photographer, right?”

She nodded. “Mm.”

Ah Qi asked, “How long will you be staying here?”

Qin Tang looked at her. “About a week.”

Ah Qi smiled and said, “Actually, the troublesome ones aren’t the freeloaders, but some women who come here under the guise of volunteering to stay.”

Qin Tang’s brow furrowed slightly, then she smiled and asked, “They came for Jiang Chuan, didn’t they?”

Ah Qi nodded. “Yeah, Jiang-ge is handsome, and most importantly, he has a great body. Those women want to sleep with him. There was one woman who stayed in the same room as me. One night, she disappeared. I was so worried, and when I got up to look for her, I found her knocking on Jiang-ge’s door on the second floor.”

Qin Tang: “…”

She stared at Ah Qi for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. “You like him?”

Ah Qi blushed.

Qin Tang stood up. “Don’t worry, I’m not interested in sleeping with him, and I won’t be knocking on his door in the middle of the night.”

Ah Qi’s thoughts were exposed, and she felt a little embarrassed. She softly said, “I know, you’re not like us.”

Qin Tang looked down at her, speaking indifferently, “You’re wrong. I’m not like them.”

She turned and left.

Ah Qi stood frozen in place, frustrated as she grabbed her hair. It seemed she had said the wrong thing. If things went wrong, Jiang Chuan and Lü An would definitely be angry.

She hurriedly ran next door to find Lü An and knocked on the door hard. “Lü-ge, Lü-ge!”

Lü An opened the door shirtless, frowning as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ah Qi lowered her head. “I think I said something wrong earlier. I don’t know if Miss Qin is upset…”

Lü An asked, “What did you say?”

Ah Qi repeated what had just happened, and Lü An’s face darkened. “Who told you to say that?”

Ah Qi lowered her head, stammering, “I, I...” She couldn’t find the words.

Lü An gave her a light smack on the head and said impatiently, “If she really wanted to sleep with Jiang-ge, that’d be great. We could be with a rich young lady and actually do something meaningful.”

Ah Qi was stunned by the slap and pouted, asking, “What meaningful things?”

Lü An replied, “Money.”

The most practical thing.

With money, you can do so many things.

The next morning, Qin Tang woke up on time at 8 AM. When she went downstairs, she saw a group of people waiting for her.

Ah Qi had prepared milk and buns for her. Guī-sāo pushed a cart every morning to sell buns and pastries, and the buns she made were very delicious.

Lü An handed Qin Tang a piece of paper. “I’ve listed everything you need. Take a look.”

Qin Tang glanced at it and asked, “Do you need to buy a Xinhua Dictionary too? Xiaocheng said someone donated one last time.”

Jiang Chuan walked in from outside. “I checked it out a while ago. They were mostly using pirated versions, with poor print quality and numerous mistakes. I already collected them and burned them.”

The poorer the place, the more knowledge is lacking. If no one notices, some mistakes could last a lifetime.

Lü An added angrily, “Some people just want to get a donation award or honor. The things they donate are absolutely useless.”

Qin Tang pursed her lips, made a few additions with a pen, and handed the list back to Lü An.

Ah Qi and Guī-sāo stayed at the house, while the others went with her.

Qin Tang saw Jiang Chuan sitting in the clean black jeep and asked, “Is the car fixed?”

Jiang Chuan started the engine and, after looking at her for a few seconds, said, “Get in. Riding in my car won’t harm you.”

Qin Tang’s lips twitched, and she got into the passenger seat. “It better not.”

Jiang Chuan looked at her for a while, silently smiling.

The car drove off.

In the backseat, Lü An and Xiaocheng tried to comfort her, with Lü An saying, “Don’t worry. Jiang-ge’s driving skills are great. He’s tough. A few years ago, he fell off a cliff and didn’t die.”

Xiaocheng flattered him, “Being with Jiang-ge, our lives are tough too.”

Jiang Chuan scolded in a low voice, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Xiaocheng and Lü An fell silent.

Qin Tang glanced at Jiang Chuan. His side profile was sharp, with a prominent Adam’s apple and tightly pressed lips.

Everyone has things they don’t want to talk about.

Qin Tang was very different from other women when it came to shopping. She was even more decisive and efficient than many men, getting things done quickly. She agreed on the quantity, paid a deposit for larger amounts, and paid in full for smaller ones. Everything was arranged without hesitation.

The third time she extended her card, Jiang Chuan stopped her.

Qin Tang was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chuan glanced at her, then negotiated with the store owner. It turned out that she had missed a decimal point when swiping.

For the next few rounds, Qin Tang would hand over the card, and Jiang Chuan would handle the pricing.

After leaving the clothing factory, Lü An and Xiaocheng followed behind. Xiaocheng whispered, “Miss Qin is really a white, rich, and beautiful woman! It feels like we’re just freeloading by following her...”

Lü An laughed, and Jiang Chuan turned back.

The noise immediately stopped.

As the sky darkened, they passed by the Hui Muslim Street. Jiang Chuan dropped them off, then went to find a place to park.

Lü An asked Qin Tang, “Miss Qin, have you been to Xi’an before?”

Qin Tang looked at the lively street and slowly replied, “A few times.”

Lü An nodded. “There are many local snacks here. We might not have time to show you around in the next few days, but we’ll have dinner here tonight and take you for a stroll.”

Qin Tang had little expression and nodded slightly.

After walking for a while, Lü An turned around and asked, “Is there a shop you’re interested in? If not, I can recommend one...”

Lü An didn’t finish his sentence. His gaze suddenly froze.

Jiang Chuan quickly caught up with them. Lu An leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I just saw Zhao Qianhe. I don’t know when he got out of prison.”