Chapter 6

“I have nothing to do with him.”

Qin Tang stared at the scar on the man’s eyebrow. She had seen this man before, in Hui People’s Street.

Jiang Chuan lowered his head and looked at her. It was clever of her to distance herself so quickly.

Zhao Qianhe clearly didn’t believe her. He fixed his eyes on Qin Tang’s beautiful face and sneered, “I spent a few years eating prison food, but you seem to be living a life of luxury—surrounded by beauties and followed by a crowd. I have nothing left.”

Jiang Chuan’s expression remained unchanged. His deep black eyes were unfathomable as he coldly asked, “What do you want?”

Zhao Qianhe’s face hardened, “Jiang Chuan, this won’t be over. You wait and see.”

He left quickly, disappearing into the night.

Only then did Qin Tang realize that Jiang Chuan still had his arm around her waist. She twisted her body to push him off and took a step back. Still shaken by what had just happened, she looked up at him and said, “I thought you were just a good-hearted volunteer, didn’t expect you to have enemies.”

Jiang Chuan looked down at her and said, “I never said I was a good person.”

Qin Tang was momentarily speechless. She turned and walked away.

Old Yuan’s investigation had failed this time. He decided he would return to Beijing in a few days and ask for a more reliable volunteer station next time.

Jiang Chuan followed closely behind her, like a tall and powerful bodyguard.

At the hotel entrance, they ran into the others who had just returned from the night market. Ah Qi looked at them and smirked, “Qin Tang, didn’t you say you didn’t want supper? Why are you out with Brother Jiang again?”

Qin Tang didn’t explain much, “I ran into him on the way.”

Xiao Bai tugged at Ah Qi’s sleeve and smiled, “We brought back some supper, let’s all eat in the room.”

Xiao Cheng raised the takeout box in his hand, which contained skewers of roasted lamb, knife-cut noodles, liangpi, and other snacks. “Yeah, dinner was early, everyone must be hungry.”

Qin Tang glanced at the liangpi and said, “Alright.”

Everyone gathered in Jiang Chuan’s room to eat supper. Qin Tang had some lamb skewers and then sat aside with a bowl of liangpi.

Xiao Cheng chuckled, “Qin Tang, I knew you’d like liangpi.”

Qin Tang smiled, “Thank you.”

Jiang Chuan sat at the edge of the bed, his long legs spread apart, back slightly arched, eating without saying a word.

After a while, he finally said, “Everyone get some rest. We’ll leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning.”

Xiao Cheng grabbed the bag of trash and walked in front. When he opened the door, two small cards slipped out from the gap. He picked them up and turned to raise his eyebrows at Jiang Chuan, “Bro, want me to call one?”

Qin Tang glanced at the cards with pictures of lingerie models on them. Her expression remained unchanged as she walked out.

Jiang Chuan barked, “Get lost!”

Xiao Cheng immediately shut the door and nudged Xu Peng’s shoulder, raising his eyebrows, “You need one?”

There were two other female classmates in the room. Xu Peng turned red and shook his head, “No, it’s dirty. You could get sick.”

Xiao Bai and Ah Qi also blushed. Xiao Bai couldn’t help but glare at Xu Peng, “You men think about nothing but filthy stuff.”

Xu Peng, confused, said, “Did I say something wrong?”

Xiao Cheng laughed hard, “Silly kid!”

…

The next morning, the truck driver stood by the truck with a worried look on his face.

Jiang Chuan walked over, about to ask, when he noticed the truck was tilted at an abnormal angle. When he went around the truck, he saw all the right-side tires had been punctured, flat against the ground.

He frowned and kicked the side of the truck. A loud “bang” echoed.

“Damn!”

Xiao Cheng hurried around to see, his eyes wide, “What the hell! Who did this?”

Qin Tang stood a few meters away, her face cold as she asked, “How long until we can leave?”

Jiang Chuan took off his jacket and tossed it to Qin Tang, leaving only a tank top. “Two hours. Don’t go too far.”

Qin Tang held his jacket, her lips moving a few times before she glanced at the three university students, “Let’s go, we can eat something first.”

Xu Peng had just turned around when Jiang Chuan called out behind him, “The men stay to help.”

Xu Peng scratched his head and turned back. “Okay.”

Qin Tang went to buy two bags of buns. Ah Qi frowned and asked, “They don’t have pork in them, do they?”

The Hui people don’t eat pork.

Xiao Bai said, “There are steamed buns. Or do you want to buy something else?”

Ah Qi responded, “I’ll just eat steamed buns.”

The truck’s tires had been punctured in four places, and there weren’t enough spare tires. Jiang Chuan made a phone call, arranging for new tires to be delivered.

Qin Tang returned with the buns and gave them out along with some water. Xiao Cheng wiped his sweat and smiled, “Thanks.”

Jiang Chuan squatted on the ground, pulling out the punctured tire core with effort. The muscles on his back rippled with his movement, wild and powerful, exuding a primal energy.

He looked up at Qin Tang, and she asked, “Aren’t you eating?”

Jiang Chuan paused for a moment, then glanced at her. His eyes were very dark as he curled the corner of his mouth. “Are you going to feed me?”

Qin Tang was about to give him a cold look, but he added, “My hands are dirty.”

That was when she noticed his large hands were covered in dirt.

She stared at him for a while, then placed the bun at his feet. “Eat it if you want.”

Jiang Chuan smiled, wiped his hands with a towel, but it didn’t clean them properly. He didn’t care, picking up the bun through the plastic and started eating.

After a short while, a motorcycle carrying two spare tires stopped in the open space. The man stood with both feet on the ground. Jiang Chuan took a glance at it, opened a bottle of mineral water, and tilted his head back to drink a few gulps. Water spilled slightly, sliding down his chin and following the curve of his Adam’s apple before disappearing into his collarbone.

Qin Tang paused for a moment with her camera in hand, then without hesitation, pressed the shutter.

Xiao Cheng shouted, “Sheng Ge.”

Jiang Chuan walked over to the motorcycle. “Come over and give me a hand.”

Cao Sheng took the wheel off the motorcycle, and the two of them each carried a wheel and walked under the truck to start fixing it.

Ah Qi kept staring at Jiang Chuan and couldn’t help but sigh, “Brother Jiang really has a great physique.”

Xiao Bai, who was more shy, scolded her, “Stop staring at Brother Jiang like that…”

Ah Qi laughed, “Looking won’t cost me anything.”

Suddenly, she looked at Qin Tang, who was leaning against the truck door, fiddling with her camera, and asked, “What do you think, Qin Tang?”

Qin Tang didn’t lift her head, just smiled and didn’t say anything.

Xiao Bai leaned over. “Qin Tang, can you take a picture of us?”

Qin Tang finally looked up at her and nodded, “Sure.”

Xiao Bai quickly pulled Ah Qi over, and the two of them posed, smiling and making V-signs at the camera.

Time passed, and after some time, Jiang Chuan said, “Alright, everyone get in the car.”

The men packed up their things. Jiang Chuan and Cao Sheng stood behind the truck, smoking. Cao Sheng asked, “Was Zhao Qianhe behind this?”

Jiang Chuan took a drag of his cigarette. “Mm.”

Cao Sheng frowned, “When you reported him back then, he lost his money, his woman left, and he went to prison for a few years. His release time isn’t up yet, right? I wonder who got him out.”

Jiang Chuan scoffed, “Who cares who got him out? If he dares to come at me again, I’ll kill him.”

Cao Sheng turned his head to look at him. “It might not be that simple.”

“How so?”

“Last night, I saw him with Brother Kun at a bar.”

“So what?”

“Nothing. Just be careful. If they really come after you, you won’t be able to deal with them easily.”

Jiang Chuan, expressionless, played with his cigarette, lost in thought.

The wind blew the ash off his cigarette. He tossed the butt away and stamped it out with his foot.

“Let’s go. If anything comes up, we’ll be in touch.”

Jiang Chuan walked around the two trucks and saw Qin Tang still standing outside. He pointed to the black jeep and said, “Get in the car.”

“Mm.” Qin Tang obediently put away her camera, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.

The truck’s tires had all been punctured—obviously, it wasn’t a simple accident. Xu Peng and Ah Qi had asked Xiao Cheng about it, but he wouldn’t say anything, only telling them it was an accident and to not worry.

Ji County, located in the northeastern part of Shaanxi, lies on the west bank of the Yellow River in the middle reaches, at the southeastern edge of the Mu Us Desert.

Xiao Bai asked, “Can we visit Baiyun Mountain?”

Jiang Chuan, eyes on the road ahead, replied, “No.”

Qin Tang didn’t say anything. She rolled down the car window, gazing at the endless yellow earth outside, the scorching sun shining down on withered grass, the land barren and empty.

She set her camera on the car window.

Jiang Chuan glanced at her and subtly slowed the car down.

Qin Tang felt the change immediately. She almost pretended not to notice, but he suddenly asked, “Do you need to stop?”

Qin Tang replied, “No need.”

Ah Qi asked, “Can we stop? I want to take some pictures too.”

Jiang Chuan curved his lips and pulled the car over to the side of the road. “Ten minutes.”

Ah Qi took out her digital camera excitedly and got out to take pictures. She asked, “Brother Jiang, can we take a picture together?”

Xiao Bai also looked at him, and Jiang Chuan pulled out a cigarette. “You can take your own photos.”

Ah Qi’s face fell. She walked aside with Xiao Bai, muttering softly, “If Qin Tang asked, he’d definitely agree. It’s just because she’s prettier.”

Xiao Bai pursed her lips. “Qin Tang is a photographer. She paid for everything in those two trucks. You can search for her name—she held a photography exhibition when she was 19.”

Ah Qi looked at Qin Tang, who had a large red silk shawl draped over her shoulder, fluttering in the wind, looking very beautiful.

“She’s from a wealthy family.”

“Qin Tang is really talented.”

Ah Qi looked down at the digital camera in her hand, silent.

Xiao Bai pulled at her hand and smiled sweetly, “Let me take a few pictures of you. Don’t you want to post them on Weibo? You’re such an artsy girl!”

Jiang Chuan finished his cigarette leaning against the car door, and Qin Tang walked over.

He glanced at his watch. Exactly ten minutes had passed.

They got back on the road. The mountain road twisted and became increasingly rugged, making her stomach churn from the bumps.

Mutouyu Township, located in the southeast of Ji County, is by the banks of the Yellow River.

In the evening, when the car stopped, a few children curiously ran over and surrounded them.

Jiang Chuan opened the car door and got out. Immediately, a few children ran up, hugging his big leg, calling out joyfully, “Uncle Jiang!”

Jiang Chuan smiled, bent down, and patted their heads. “Good kids.”

Qin Tang got out and looked at the group of simple children with their ruddy cheeks, their dark skin, smiling faintly.

Jiang Chuan stood up straight and looked at her. “We’ll stay here tonight. The mountain roads in some of the villages are too narrow for the truck to get through. I’ll notify the villagers, and they’ll transport the goods back later.”

Qin Tang nodded. “Alright.”

The day in the car had been uncomfortable, and she asked, “Where can I take a shower?”

Jiang Chuan was silent for half a second before saying, “There’s no way to shower here. There’s a water shortage. We’ll be able to wash up when we get back tomorrow night.”