Chapter 4

Jiang Chuan frowned and asked in a low voice, “Where is he?”

Lü An replied, “I just saw him on the street, with a woman by his side. He saw us too, but didn’t come over. He must have figured out where we are by now.”

Qin Tang, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, pointed to a shop, and said, “Let’s eat here.”

It was a shop called “Jia San Soup Dumpling Restaurant.”

Jiang Chuan, hands in his pockets, gave her a glance and said, “We had dumplings for breakfast. Are you sure?”

Qin Tang replied, “I just love eating dumplings.”

Jiang Chuan didn’t say anything else, and with his hands still in his pockets, he walked ahead, saying, “Fine, let’s eat dumplings.”

She ordered cold noodles and eight-treasure porridge but didn’t order any dumplings. She pushed the menu over to Lü An and said, “You guys can order.”

Earlier, she had seen the waiter serving cold noodles to customers at the door. She really loved the cold noodles from Shaanxi.

Jiang Chuan glanced at her, then smiled faintly but didn’t expose her.

The men had big appetites, especially Jiang Chuan. The table was filled with food, and they ate quickly. They occasionally exchanged a few words. Xiaocheng had a strong accent and sometimes spoke in dialect, but both Jiang Chuan and Lü An spoke very good Mandarin.

Shaanxi dialect wasn’t hard to understand, so Qin Tang could mostly follow along.

Xiaocheng said, “Bro, can I not go back tonight?”

Jiang Chuan asked, “Where are you going?”

Xiaocheng laughed mischievously, “I’m going out to have some fun... I’ll come back first thing tomorrow morning!”

Lü An clicked his tongue and chuckled but didn’t respond.

Jiang Chuan didn’t reply either, and Xiaocheng thought he had agreed. He happily dug into his food.

Jiang Chuan quickly finished his meal and called for the bill.

After leaving the restaurant, Xiaocheng waved his hand to leave, but Jiang Chuan grabbed the collar of his shirt from behind and yanked him back, saying, “Go back.”

Xiaocheng tried to resist, but Jiang Chuan shot him a cold glance, and he immediately deflated.

Lü An patted Xiaocheng’s shoulder and looked at Qin Tang. “Miss Qin, do you need to buy anything else or want to eat something? It’s still early. We can take a look around.”

Qin Tang glanced at the surrounding shops and said, “You guys wait for me here. I’m going to buy something.”

She walked into a small shop and bought some dried fruits and preserved snacks.

She was always quick when shopping. After leaving the shop, she bumped into a man at the door. The camera hanging on her chest was pressed, causing a sharp pain in her chest. Qin Tang furrowed her brows and looked down at her camera. The man quickly apologized, “Sorry, I bumped into you.”

His tone was casual, even with a hint of sarcasm, and it didn’t sound sincere at all.

Qin Tang looked up, noticing a scar on the man’s brow that made him look fierce. A woman, reeking of perfume, was standing next to him.

Qin Tang coldly stared at him for a few seconds before turning to leave.

Jiang Chuan rushed over from the side, grabbed the man by the collar, and pushed him back, his tall figure blocking Qin Tang from the front.

Qin Tang was momentarily stunned, then began to struggle. “Hey—what are you doing?”

“Stop moving,” he said without looking at her, his eyes fixed on the store.

After a few seconds, he released his grip.

He said, “If you want to shop, I’ll take you out another day. Let’s head back today.”

Qin Tang glanced at her reddened wrist, then coldly glared at him as she walked ahead.

Lü An also glanced inside the store, but Jiang Chuan didn’t pay attention and continued walking forward.

Lü An whispered, “You’re too rough. You should use less force with a young lady.”

Jiang Chuan replied, “I only used two points of strength.”

Who knew she’d be so delicate?

The car stopped in the yard. Qin Tang opened the car door and got out. As soon as Ah Qi heard the sound, she ran out happily, shouting, “Jiang Ge, you’re back! Did you eat?”

Lü An answered, “We’ve already eaten.”

Ah Qi responded with an “Oh,” and stood smiling in front of them.

Qin Tang saw that Guī Sao was watching TV in the living room. She walked in and handed her the preserved snacks and dried fruits. “Guī Sao, this is for you. You can eat a couple of them after taking your medicine to relieve the bitterness.”

Guī Sao was stunned, probably too surprised to say anything clearly, stammering, “Th-thank you...”

Qin Tang smiled and replied, “You’re welcome. The food and dumplings you made are delicious.”

Outside, the group of people, excluding Jiang Chuan, all exchanged looks: “...”

They probably didn’t expect Qin Tang to be so considerate and polite.

Lü An and Xiaocheng hadn’t expected the snacks to be for Guī Sao.

Jiang Chuan stared at her slender back for a moment before turning and heading upstairs.

Qin Tang sat downstairs for a while before going up as well.

Jiang Chuan was leaning against the corridor, a cigarette in his hand. He turned his head, his dark eyes watching her.

Qin Tang didn’t look at him, and opened the door while turning to the side.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

“...”

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow and leaned against the railing, saying, “You really hold a grudge.”

Qin Tang didn’t think she was holding a grudge. It just felt strange to be roughly yanked by him for no reason.

She didn’t think Jiang Chuan was a very easy person to get along with.

The area was suburban, with few high-rise buildings. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft glow over everything.

It was quiet, like a small town.

From downstairs, she could hear Ah Qi and Xiaocheng bickering.

Qin Tang turned to look at him and directly asked, “When are you planning to send the things out?”

Jiang Chuan took the cigarette from his mouth and replied, “We need to wait for two days.”

Qin Tang said, “Alright, I’ll go with you for one of the trips.”

Jiang Chuan looked at her and said, “Do as you like.”

Just as she was about to enter, she heard him add, “Don’t run around these next few days.”

The next morning, Qin Tang came downstairs and saw only Ah Qi. She asked, “Are you the only one here?”

Ah Qi smiled and said, “Yeah, Jiang Ge and the others went out to handle some business. They’ll be back by noon.”

Qin Tang suddenly remembered something and asked, “Don’t they usually work?”

Ah Qi’s eyes widened, and she shook her head quickly, urgently explaining, “How could they not work? We’re short on money. Jiang Ge and Lü Ge have a transportation company. It’s just that they have something to do these few days, so they couldn’t go to work, but there’s someone else in charge, so it won’t delay things too much.”

Qin Tang thought for a moment, and she realized that the reason they weren’t working was probably because of her.

Ah Qi continued, “We all work. Guī Sao sells breakfast, and I manage the volunteer station. I also keep the accounts.”

Last night, Qin Tang bought dried fruits and preserved snacks for Guī Sao, which made Ah Qi’s opinion of her rise significantly.

Qin Tang looked at her and smiled, “Hmm, you’re quite capable.”

Ah Qi lowered her head, “I just didn’t go to university. If I had, I’m sure I’d be even more capable.”

Qin Tang asked, “Why didn’t you go to university?”

Ah Qi kept her head down, her voice a little sad, “My family didn’t have enough money. They had to send two younger brothers to school, and my mom said that girls don’t need that much education. She wanted to save the money for my brothers.”

Qin Tang bit her lip and asked, “How old are you this year?”

Ah Qi replied, “I’m 21.”

Qin Tang glanced at her and asked, “Do you still want to go to university?”

Ah Qi was momentarily stunned, then slowly shook her head, “A couple of years ago, I still wanted to, but not so much now. I do envy the university students who come here to volunteer, though.”

Qin Tang asked again, “Do you get paid here?”

Ah Qi beamed, “Of course, Jiang Ge gives me money every month.”

Qin Tang smiled.

After a while, she glanced at the table where the car keys were placed. The red Jeep was parked under the big tree in the yard.

Qin Tang asked, “Can I borrow this car? I need to go out for a while.”

Ah Qi thought for a moment, “Go ahead, I’ll tell Jiang Ge later.”

In the evening, Jiang Chuan and Lü An returned. Not seeing Qin Tang downstairs, they looked up at the second floor where the door was tightly closed.

The red Jeep was gone.

Jiang Chuan asked, “Where is she?”

Ah Qi said, “Qin Tang said she was going out for a drive and would be back for dinner.”

Jiang Chuan glanced at his watch—it was seven o’clock.

Lü An, noticing the situation, took out his phone and said, “I’ll give her a call.”

After a while, he put down the phone, his face slightly changed. “It’s off.”

Jiang Chuan frowned, opened the car door, and got into the driver’s seat. “I’ll go look for her.”

He started the engine, stepped on the gas, and quickly drove out of the yard.

Ah Qi chased after them, “It’s time to eat!”

Lü An kicked the tree trunk, “Damn! Forget about eating! If something really happens to her, we won’t be able to escape.”

Ah Qi was also a bit panicked, “Why?”

Xiao Cheng said, “She’s a rich young lady. If something happens to her, won’t her family come after us for her?”

Ah Qi lowered her head, feeling extremely frustrated, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have given her the car keys.”

On the way, Jiang Chuan tried calling Qin Tang again, but her phone was still off.

He slammed his fist on the steering wheel, his face dark.

Zhao Qian had just been released from prison and would definitely cause trouble for him. If he involved Qin Tang...

His gaze was fixed ahead when he suddenly noticed a red Jeep parked by the roadside. The woman was standing by the road, staring at the car.

Jiang Chuan quickly turned the steering wheel and parked behind the red Jeep.

He opened the car door and slammed it shut.

In the dim light, his tall and strong figure quickly walked toward her.

Qin Tang also saw him and turned to glare at him, her tone somewhat resentful, “Your car broke down.”

This broken car had stalled several times today, and she had just failed to start it again.

Jiang Chuan couldn’t help but laugh in anger, “So my car is bullying you now?”

Qin Tang: “...”

Jiang Chuan opened the car door and sat in. He didn’t pull out the key but tried starting it again. It still didn’t work.

He then walked around to the front, lifted the hood, and used his phone’s flashlight to look around, unsure of what he was adjusting.

A few minutes later, he came back to the side of the car, stood outside the door, and turned the key again. The car started.

Qin Tang: “...”

Jiang Chuan casually stared at her and smirked, a bit mischievous in the dark, “Alright, it’s no big deal.”

He rubbed his hands, turned around, and said, “Let’s go back.”

Qin Tang watched him get in the car, then muttered quietly, “Knowing how to fix cars is impressive, huh...”