WHCTIL - 23

Qin Tang’s mind went blank. Her eyes widened as she struggled to see his face clearly in the darkness. Staring at him dumbfounded, she stammered, “What did you say?”

“I said,” he lowered his head, tilting it slightly to the right, and placed a fleeting kiss near the corner of her mouth on her right cheek, “that’s where the little thug kissed you, right?”

A quick, light peck.

Qin Tang was utterly stunned. Her eyes slowly widened as she held her breath, staring at him, unable to utter a single word.

“Do you remember now?” Jiang Chuan had already released her hand, smirking slightly. “Didn’t you say it left a deep impression? How can you hold a grudge and still not remember?”

She lowered her head, touching her cheek. Only now did she realize how humiliated she felt. Her anger flared, and she raised her hand to hit him.

Jiang Chuan caught her wrist. Qin Tang’s face flushed red, feeling both violated and teased. Furious, she snapped, “Let go of me! You thug!”

Jiang Chuan: “...”

He was still a thug—just without the “little” this time.

Having adjusted to the darkness, they could now see each other’s expressions clearly. The anger in her eyes was evident. Jiang Chuan realized he had upset her, but he didn’t regret it. Some things couldn’t remain secrets forever. Since she remembered so vividly, and he did too, there was no point in hiding it.

---

It was an event from twenty years ago. Jiang Chuan had been ten years old at the time, and his memory was sharp. Life in the mountainous regions was poor; children rarely wore new clothes, ate candy, or saw the outside world. Back then, when Qin Tang accompanied her parents on charity activities, many children around his age likely remembered her vividly.

She wore a princess dress, was fair-skinned, small, and had big eyes. In short, she was beautiful and adorable.

In that impoverished Hope Primary School, like many other children, Jiang Chuan walked a long mountain path every day to attend school. City people were rare sights for them, especially someone as strikingly pretty as young Qin Tang, whom they had never seen before.

She handed out cookies and candies to children much older than her, looking serious despite her tiny frame.

Jiang Chuan watched her from outside the window. Then her mother noticed him, stuffed a bunch of snacks into little Qin Tang’s arms, pointed outside, and whispered something in the little girl’s ear. The little girl then carried the pile of snacks toward him. Midway, some of the snacks fell to the ground, and she squatted down, struggling to pick them all up but failing, looking utterly dejected and on the verge of tears.

She tilted her little head up, her small mouth pouting in委屈 (grievance): “Daddy, An’an can’t pick them all up…”

In the end, her father helped gather the scattered snacks.

Carrying the snacks, she approached him with a look of pride, her voice soft and childlike: “Big Brother, here’s some candy for you.”

Young Jiang Chuan had always been a bit unruly, different from the other kids. He wasn’t particularly interested in the candies and cookies, even though he only got to eat them once a year. He simply wasn’t tempted.

Instead of taking the candy like the other kids, Jiang Chuan just stared at her, finding her blinking eyes especially captivating.

The little girl was confused. She wanted to hand him the snacks, but when she loosened her grip, the items fell to the ground again.

She pouted, looked at him, then stared at the mess on the ground, resignedly squatting down to pick them up again—still unable to gather everything.

The little girl looked up at him, seeking help.

Suddenly, Jiang Chuan reached out and pinched her soft, chubby cheek. Startled by his unexpected action, she took a step back, tripped over the snack wrappers, and landed on her bottom, her lips trembling as if she were about to cry.

Jiang Chuan pulled her up and said, “I don’t want the candy. Kiss me instead.”

He stared at An’an, seeing her still on the verge of tears. His mischievous side kicked in, and he suddenly leaned down to plant a quick kiss on her cheek.

Once again, the little girl was startled.

The next second, she burst into loud wails, crying as if the world were ending, and ran off while sobbing loudly, “Waaah… Mommy…”

At that moment, everyone turned to look at him. Though Jiang Chuan was only ten years old, he panicked.

Fortunately, her parents didn’t blame him.

A little while later, the little girl, her eyes red from crying, came back carrying another bag of candy.

Seeing how pitiful she looked, Jiang Chuan had intended to accept it properly this time.

But instead, the little girl threw the candy at him and ran off again.

---

A couple of years later, Qin Tang’s parents visited the Hope Primary School again. Jiang Chuan remembered them.

Later, after leaving the mountains, he saw Qin Tang’s parents on TV and watched the movies and TV dramas her mother acted in, but he never saw Qin Tang. Her nickname was An’an, so he assumed her name was simply An’an.

Unexpectedly, after all these years, Qin Tang had come back into his life.

Jiang Chuan was well aware that they belonged to two different worlds.

Holding her wrist, Jiang Chuan clicked his tongue. “Are you really going to hit me?”

Qin Tang bit her lip and remained silent.

It was her own rule: if someone kissed her, she would slap them twice. Jiang Chuan had definitely done it on purpose.

After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Chuan released her hand and leaned closer, his mischievous side showing as he said, “Go ahead, hit me.”

Qin Tang’s hand hovered in the air. Seeing the wound on his lips, she hesitated—she didn’t want to hit him, but she couldn’t just let it go either.

Finally, she slapped his chest. His body was rock-hard, and the impact made her palm tingle.

Fuming, she turned around, climbed back into her bed, and pulled the blanket over her head.

Qin Tang curled up in bed, wide awake, thinking about where Jiang Chuan had kissed her earlier—it hadn’t even touched her lips. His lips were hot, and the warmth seemed to spread to the corner of her mouth, leaving a faint burning sensation. Unable to help herself, she kicked the bed frame lightly.

...

Leaning back against the wall, Jiang Chuan smirked in the darkness and said, “I gave you the chance.”

...

The next morning, they completed the discharge procedures.

Cao Yan drove Jiang Chuan’s car to the hospital entrance and tossed him the keys. “I got your car fixed.”

Jiang Chuan caught the keys with one hand. Cao Yan glanced at Qin Tang, who had been expressionless until now. Recognizing him as the man who saved her on the road the other night, she finally smiled.

Jiang Chuan glanced at her. “Cao Yan.”

Qin Tang said, “Thank you for what you did the other night, Mr. Cao.”

Cao Yan? She looked at him again and asked, “Is Cao Sheng your brother?”

Cao Yan smiled. “Yes, my older brother.”

Seeing him dressed in civilian clothes, Qin Tang asked another question. “Are you a police officer?”

Cao Yan didn’t hide it. “Mm.”

Qin Tang smiled at him again, glancing at Jiang Chuan out of the corner of her eye. Since Jiang Chuan was friends with Cao Yan, she wondered what he used to do. Her intuition told her he wasn’t just a volunteer station leader or a small transport company owner.

Jiang Chuan looked at her and said, “Get in the car first.”

Though Qin Tang still didn’t give him a friendly look, she obediently sat in the passenger seat.

Jiang Chuan and Cao Yan walked aside. Cao Yan handed him a pack of cigarettes, and the two leaned against the flower bed, smoking. Cao Yan said, “Zhao Qianhe left Yulin last night.”

Jiang Chuan took a drag of his cigarette, grinding the butt into the dirt with his foot. “Did you send someone to follow him?”

“No,” Cao Yan replied. “My brother said not to follow him for now, to avoid alerting him.”

“How did he get out of prison?”

“Zhao Qianhe earned some merits in prison, which reduced his sentence. But there were some strange coincidences—several times, Zhao Qianhe conveniently took credit for others’ achievements.”

“Tsk.”

“Someone must have helped him, but we don’t have any evidence yet.”

Jiang Chuan clenched the cigarette between his teeth, frowning slightly. “We all have our suspicions, but without evidence, there’s nothing we can do.”

Cao Yan patted his shoulder. “Go back and rest. Your injuries haven’t healed yet. Work with my brother, and we’ll eventually catch those bastards.”

Jiang Chuan extinguished his cigarette and threw it into the trash can.

With a casual turn, he said, “I’m off.”

...

As soon as Qin Tang saw him get into the car, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Jiang Chuan leaned back against the seat, staring at her for a moment before saying, “Put on your seatbelt.”

Qin Tang: “...”

She refused to comply.

He leaned over, half his body pressing against hers, and reached for the seatbelt.

Qin Tang immediately opened her eyes, only to find him looking down at her with a faint smile, waiting for her to wake up.

Qin Tang glared at him, snatching the seatbelt from his hand. “Move away. I’ll do it myself.”

Jiang Chuan sighed, leaning back and starting the engine.

Her temper was still as fiery as ever.

Qin Tang leaned back again, turning her head to continue sleeping.

She simply didn’t want to talk to this thug.

Jiang Chuan wasn’t in a rush—

The six-hour drive passed with a stop at a service station where they both had a bowl of noodles and used the restroom.

Afterward, they continued nonstop, heading straight back to Xi’an.

Passing through the city, Jiang Chuan found a parking lot and parked the car. Qin Tang looked at him but said nothing.

Jiang Chuan pulled her out of the car. She frowned. “What are we doing?”

Jiang Chuan dragged her along for a bit, stopping outside a mall. He let go of her and said, “Go buy a phone.”

He walked in first.

Qin Tang paused, surprised. She had planned to buy one tomorrow.

Glancing up, she followed Jiang Chuan inside.

There was no need to choose; she bought the same model she had used before.

Seeing her make her selection, Jiang Chuan prepared to pay. Qin Tang stopped him. “What are you doing?”

Jiang Chuan said, “It’s my responsibility since your phone broke.”

Qin Tang huffed. “What about my camera? Are you going to buy me a new one for that too?”

Jiang Chuan: “...”

He pressed his lips tightly together, staring at her. “The camera can wait.”

Qin Tang: “You still owe me 870,000 yuan.”

Jiang Chuan’s jaw tightened, his patience wearing thin. “Qin Tang!”

“What?” She felt untouchable, but seeing the dark look in his eyes, she felt a pang of regret. She shouldn’t have provoked him like that. In this world, a person’s worth wasn’t measured by money.

Qin Tang took the new phone, lowered her head, and lightly kicked him. “Go pay...”

After buying the phone, Jiang Chuan walked ahead and exited the mall.

Qin Tang watched his tall, muscular back and silently followed.

Back in the car, Qin Tang fiddled with her new phone.

Jiang Chuan drove back to the volunteer station.

A Qi and Xiao Cheng were sorting packages in the yard, playfully roughhousing. A Qi threw a package at Xiao Cheng, hitting him.

Hearing the sound of the car, they quickly stood up.

Soon, the black jeep drove into the courtyard.

A Qi exclaimed excitedly, “Big Brother Jiang is back!”

Xiao Cheng also stood up, grinning.

Jiang Chuan opened the car door and stepped out. A Qi and Xiao Cheng’s expressions changed. “Big Brother, how did you get hurt?”

“It’s nothing, just ran into a few... scoundrels.” He didn’t want to say more about what happened in Yulin. “Later, wash the car.”

Qin Tang stood on the other side. Did he mean to say “ran into a few thugs” just now?