Chapter 21 - Being Teased

Proofread by He Li

The man said indifferently, ” You can call the police. I’ve been quite familiar with that place, anyhow. You don’t have to worry. It will not involve you in. Then you can deny knowing me.”

“I don’t know about you originally. I don’t even know your name!”

“Daqin. My name is Daqin.”

“What?” Before Ai figured out, that man seemed to have found his position, inserting his card into the electronic lock. Then the iron door opened slowly in front of Ai’s wide-opened eyes. The gap was right wide enough for a man to walk through. Ai looked at him blankly, “So you are a thief.”

The man thought for a while, and didn’t deny, ” You can call me that.”

Ai was a good girl who grew up in a positive and harmonious family. Because of her parents’ strictness, she only went forth and back between home and school and had never met any bad guy like him. This was her first time that she met a real thief who even helped her open the door of school. Now she was in shock.

The man urged, “Get in quickly. I can’t stay long. Someone will find us soon.”

Ai was little anxious, “You are done if someone find you. I am sure. You’d better go quickly. Quit stealing and be a good guy.”

His eyes flashed, “What about you? You won’t be good either if someone finds you. Being dismissed is possible.”

“That’s impossible. Go now.” At least she thought that this man wasn’t too bad to be good again. At least he was a nice person. As long as he was led properly, he can go back from being astray.

The man smiled, “OK. You can help me press another end of the card, and then we let it go together when the door is about to close so that the alarm won’t be triggered.”

Being persuaded by his affirmative tone, Ai didn’t doubt him. She entered in haste and pressed the end of the card hard, asking nervously, “How is it? Can it be closed?”

“Yes.” The door was moved and closed with his voice.

Ai was so nervous that she began to sweat bullets. This was her first time to do bad things. She felt guilty.

“Is it okay? When can we let it go?”

The man was silent, surprisingly.

“What’s going on?” Ai raised her head up.

“Why you are so sure that I am a good guy? What if I am not? What if I have other purposes to follow you to school? Are you not afraid?”

“So are you a bad guy?” Ai asked.

“I am.” The man answered truthfully, but it could be fake or true.

Ai burst into laughter suddenly, “I hope you can try to be a good guy from now on.”

“…Idiot!” The man cursed.

Ai just pretended that she didn’t hear, “Go now. You offended me at the beginning though, you help me just now. Now we owe nothing to each other. I will not tell anybody that I have seen you. You can turn over a new leaf.”

The man intended to do nothing but sneer at what she said. He stepped closer and lowered his head to stare at her eyes, “How could you have not a bit of sense of right and wrong as a law major. Shouldn’t you turn bad guy to the police? But now you are helping him escape?”

“Law has nothing to do with favor. I believe gentle persuasion is much better than harsh punishment to cope with inexperienced thieves like you.”

“Humph! I am not an inexperienced thief. But you’ve said you wouldn’t tell anybody, right?” His eyes were brighter than they were at any other time. His eyesight was as sharp as an arrow aiming at her heart.

Ai nodded, “I’ve never seen you or known you.”

The man pulled the corner of his mouth upward, “My real name is Qinzhan. Remember it.”

“Eh? Your name isn’t Daqin?” Ai was confused.

“That’s my nickname. Do you know why I tell you my real name?” The man said with a bad smile.

“Why?”

“To make you become my ally. In case I am caught, you can not claim that you don’t know me.” His starry eyes flashed with a snicker.

Ai was irritated, “ You are such a …”

Without knowing anything, she became his ally .

“And, this is what I lied about.” The man let his hand away suddenly. The card was stuck in the electronic lock and there was no alarm.

“…” Ai was speechless. She felt she was a fool, fooled by this man named Qinzhan.

The man smiled proudly, “Go back quick. It is getting dark.”

Ai was still staring at him.

The man walked back and waved his hand to Ai, “I am giving you a lesson to tell you not to trust other easily. There are numerous liars in the world. So you’d better not be silly again.”

Ai couldn’t resist shouting, “Qinzhan!”

What did you say! What! What! You are the one who is silly!

But before Ai spoke out her words, Qinzhan had vanished. And it was day outside. She slept until 11am.

Thinking about what she promised to Yang, she had to get up even if she didn’t want to. She wahsed and went to help Yang make dinner.

Having had lunch, Ai, Yang and a chef named Liuzi went to downtown and bought things needed for Lantern Festival.

Yang said it took the whole afternoon to go to downtown by car. They would arrive there around 6pm, and had dinner first. Then they would live in a guesthouse for one night, and go shopping next morning. Then they would drive back at noon.

Ai knew that it took hours of drive when she first came here. So she was well-prepared. But this time she had Yang talk with her so the trip wasn’t as boring as she thought it would be.

After they arrived at the center, had dinner and found the guesthouse, Ai invited Yang to go out to walk around in night fair. But Yang refused her.

“Why? We got here after a long drive. Why don’t go out for fun?” Ai was locked in the troops for several days. There was no entertainment. She had been bored and almost gotten rotten, so she wanted to hang out immediately.

Yang explained that, “You just get here and may not know that this place is quite a mixed bag. There can be any bad guy here. You didn’t see when we had dinner? There were few people on the street. If you want to go out, tomorrow morning will be better.”

“Ah…” Ai was so disappointed. She didn’t expect that she couldn’t see anything after a tiring trip.

“Don’t complain any more. Get a shower and go to bed. You can have fun if you get up early tomorrow.”

Ai thought, it is true. And she went to bath excitedly.

Yang shook her head when seeing Ai acting like this. She was still really a kid. She couln’t figure out why Lu, such a calm and indifferent man, married an active wife.

Ai called Ji Xingfan after shower. She wanted to ask where she was. But her phone was off. So she left several pieces of messages on WeChat. When she was about to shut the phone down and go to sleep, that man who brought her to the remote place came to her mind—her grandfather Mr. Ai.

After thinking for a while, she dialed him and it got through after seconds.

Mr. Ai’s kind voice rang on the other side, “Hello. Xiaohuan.”

Ai’s eyes were in tears on hearing her grandpa’s voice. She resented him for marring her a man she had met for once though, he was her grandpa, the only relative she had. She didn’t resent him authentically.

Ai softened her voice, called him, “Grandpa.”

“Xiaohuan, you didn’t call me for such a long time. Are you angry with me?” Mr. Ai was a prestigious general in front of others, but he was nothing but a grandfather caring her granddaughter in front of Ai.

And because of the marriage, he was also afraid that Ai wasn’t happy about it.

Ai humph mischievously, “Yes. I am angry. How you gonna make up for it?”

“Speak it out. What do you want? I will buy for you whatever you want.” Mr. Ai replied generously.

“I don’t want anything. I just want to go back home. There is nothing here. I can’t adapt myself to it.” Because of physical work yesterday, her back and waist were aching now. Since she was born, Ai had been the one being spoiled. She had never undertaken trouble like this.

But who knew, this kind grandfather changed his attitude on hearing her words, refused determinedly, “No way. You have to stay there until giving birth to a kid for Lu’s.

Ai was upset. It turned out that it wasn’t enough to just marry Lu. She had to have kids for him.

She was on the point of telling her grandfather the secret that Lu liked man, but she held it back when thinking that the other man was Du Yucheng.

“Grandpa…” Ai could only beg on him, and even tried to win her sympathy by telling her illness, “Grandpa. I felt like I am sick. I don’t feel good. I had a headache and feel sick to puke. Am I having a weird disease?”

Having heard his dear granddaughter was feeling ill, Mr. Ai was on the point of compromising and letting her back, but he also held it back and sighed, “You can go to Lu. Let him to take you to hospital.”

“…” Her most useful trick failed. Ai was down, “He always kept bullying me.”

“What? How dare he bully you? Wait. I am going to talk about it with Lu’s now.” Hearing Ai was bullied, Mr. Ai acted emotionally as if he were going to have a fight with them.