ASA Ch21: Tenant

Chapter 21: “My intuition tells me that Qin Ge is missing me.”

The green light turned on, and the Meituan delivery driver left while the car in front began to move.

The cold rain and cold wind rushed in through the car window, making Qin Ge’s flushed cheeks cool down a bit, making him more comfortable than before. His palms were sweaty, and the steering wheel cover felt uncomfortably hot. Xie Zijing sat in the passenger seat, chuckling. Qin Ge suddenly became flustered by his words.

He turned onto a small road and pulled over to let Xie Zijing get out of the car.

Xie Zijing was stunned, “Are you really asking me to leave?”

“I want to go home for dinner,” Qin Ge lied.

Xie Zijing knew he was referring to Qin Shuangshuang’s home, but he didn’t respond immediately. He unbuckled his seatbelt, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, “Are you very resistant to this kind of reaction?”

“Resistant,” Qin Ge decisively answered, “especially when it has nothing to do with emotions.”

Xie Zijing said, “This is a normal reaction for a sentinel and a guide.”

Qin Ge replied, “I don’t like it. It makes me feel like a beast rather than a human being, especially when it has nothing to do with emotions.”

He thought Xie Zijing would act pitiful again to soften his heart, but Xie Zijing didn’t.

Xie Zijing quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and obediently got out of the car. After he left, the pheromones that filled the car gradually disappeared, and the suffocating feeling that troubled Qin Ge finally eased.

He didn’t want to admit that in some corner of his heart, a place not governed by reason but driven only by emotions and instincts, there was a hint of regret.

“Sorry for making you uncomfortable,” Xie Zijing bent down and said to him through the car window.

Well… Qin Ge still felt like this guy was pretending to be pitiful. Every action, every word of his, could make Qin Ge soften, and then he would reflect on whether he was too unkind to him.

“I’ll think of another way to pursue you properly,” Xie Zijing smiled.

Qin Ge: “…”

Xie Zijing: “Goodbye.”

Qin Ge: “Wait—umbrella.” He handed Xie Zijing a folded umbrella.

Xie Zijing laughed again. Perhaps he just made a simple and direct expression, but Qin Ge could always read a lot of unclear meanings. He felt annoyed and wanted to take the umbrella back, but when he tried, Xie Zijing quickly took it, pressed the umbrella against his lips, and blew a kiss to Qin Ge.

After driving away from that road, Qin Ge didn’t immediately go home. He had nowhere to go; sometimes he was thinking about his work that he hadn’t sorted out yet and sometimes he thought about Xie Zijing’s “sea area.”

Yes, his “sea area.” The reason he cared so much about Xie Zijing was all because of his extremely peculiar “sea area.”

This answer made Qin Ge relax slightly. He ordered Japanese tofu rice and deep-fried pork chops at a Japanese restaurant by the roadside and ate slowly.

The spring rain was neither dry nor humid, neither too light nor too heavy. The sky had turned completely dark, and the road was illuminated by car headlights and street lamps, creating a shimmering flow. Qin Ge sat in the restaurant, looking at the vehicles and pedestrians outside the window, thinking about Xie Zijing’s “sea area.”

He still wanted to enter Xie Zijing’s “sea area” again, but before entering, he needed to convince Xie Zijing to open up the tightly closed drawers, bookshelves, and closets to him.

What was Xie Zijing afraid of?

Qin Ge thought for a long time but couldn’t find an answer that could explain Xie Zijing’s peculiar behavior. He had resisted before the patrol, and during the patrol, he was still not open enough. Even after the patrol was over, his first words were, “You won’t like my sea area.”

It’s not like they’re in a romantic relationship, so what does “liking” have to do with it?

Then he remembered that Xie Zijing actually wanted to be in a romantic relationship with him.

As he continued to eat his meal, it started to lose its taste. He took a suppressant pill with water and sat on the stool, contemplating his and Xie Zijing’s lives for about ten minutes.

“Intuition tells me that Qin Ge is thinking about me,” Xie Zijing said as he walked out of the subway station.

Bai Xiaoyuan on the other end of the phone let out a harsh laugh, “Qin Ge is so happy to be rid of your harassment; how could he still be thinking about you?”

“He says one thing but means another.” Xie Zijing opened Qin Ge’s folding umbrella and looked at the constellation coating inside. “Qin Ge is truly mysterious. From the outside, this umbrella looks plain and black, but on the inside, it’s full of stars.”

Bai Xiaoyuan said, “Sorry, but the umbrella you have is mine. I left it in the car last time when we went to the hospital.”

Xie Zijing quickly changed his tune, “Well, after looking at it for a while, it’s quite nice; it has a cultural vibe.”

Bai Xiaoyuan held a piece of street literature that described complex relationships between special humans and happened to read the tense scene where a werewolf pushed a vampire down, so she didn’t feel like chatting with him. “What do you want to say when you call me?”

“Bai Xiaoyuan, your fortune-telling was wrong. You told me that today was a good day to confess, so I confessed, but it didn’t work. So, you’ve got to refund my money.”

Bai Xiaoyuan suddenly sat up straight, “Impossible! Let me tell you, I use my fortune-telling skills in the entire Crisis Management Office, and no one can argue with that. How did you confess?”

Xie Zijing said, “I told Qin Ge that he’s emitting the signal of courtship.”

Bai Xiaoyuan asked, “…you didn’t get punched?”

Xie Zijing replied, “I got kicked out of the car.”

Bai Xiaoyuan said, “My tarot cards have been blessed by Qing Meizi; do you know Qing Meizi? He’s a special human with precognition abilities. He opened a Taobao crown shop, selling a set of cards for 13,000 yuan. The cards are fine, and my fortune-telling is definitely fine. It’s your fault for misspeaking.”

Xie Zijing expressed doubt about Bai Xiaoyuan’s skills, the cards themselves, and the Taobao crown shop. Bai Xiaoyuan was angry about Xie Zijing’s doubt. After hanging up the phone, she didn’t even read the street literature and immediately took out her tarot cards to do another reading.

She did a tarot reading for Tang Cuo.

Tang Cuo had taken a nap on the subway and was awakened by the notification sound from his headphones when the train was approaching the station.

Bai Xiaoyuan sent him a shocking emoji:

[I just did a tarot reading for you, and you’ll encounter a great disaster today.]

Tang Cuo yawned and replied: [Asking the fortune teller to help me avert it.]

Bai Xiaoyuan: [The fee for averting it is 100 yuan. We’re close friends, so I’ll give you a 10% discount and subtract 3 yuan.]

Tang Cuo: [You’re out of your mind!]

When he walked out of the subway station, he saw a large real estate advertisement posted by the corridor and immediately remembered that Bai Xiaoyuan seemed to be saving money to buy a house.

Tang Cuo was initially pleased: he didn’t have the pressure of buying a house right now.

Then he felt a sense of sadness: he also didn’t have a partner right now.

The rain had already stopped, and Tang Cuo’s hunger was making his legs weak. He was about to grab a bite to eat nearby when he looked up and saw a girl in a wheelchair standing in front of the subway station steps, looking confused.

“The accessible elevator is at Exit A, not here,” he said, offering help. “Do you want me to take you there?”

The girl was grateful and said, “Thank you so much. It’s my first time here, and I couldn’t find the signs.”

Tang Cuo noticed that her left leg was in a cast and splint, so he suggested, “Why don’t you take a taxi? It’s past rush hour now, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one. Or should I help you call one?”

“I don’t want to go out.” The girl blushed nervously. “I… I just want to buy some things. There’s no supermarket inside the residential complex, and I’m not familiar with the area nearby. But there should be convenience stores in the subway station, right?”

“You can order food delivery with your phone. Nowadays, they can deliver anything.” Tang Cuo thought for a moment and said, “You don’t need to go out; you can get everything delivered.”

“I don’t have a phone.”

Tang Cuo was taken aback, and the girl lowered her head under his gaze.

Tang Cuo had initially wanted to ask why her family didn’t accompany her, but now he didn’t know how to continue the conversation. Afraid of stepping on landmines with further questions, he adjusted his backpack and said, “What would you like to buy? I’ll go and get it for you. You don’t need to go down; just wait here, and I’ll be back soon.”

A few minutes later, Tang Cuo went up to the street with a battery and saw that the girl was indeed waiting patiently in the same spot. He was now extremely hungry, so he mustered up the courage to offer further assistance by taking her home.

The girl introduced herself as Bi Fan and said she lived in a residential complex near the subway station. Tang Cuo took out his phone to check the map and, while escorting her home, provided directions to various places like snack shops and convenience stores.

“Is this a new residential complex?” Tang Cuo asked as he looked at the still-uncleared partitions in the elevator.

“Yes, there are several households still under renovation, and it’s quite noisy during the day,” Bi Fan replied.

She mentioned that shortly after moving in, she had broken her leg, and she relied on a wheelchair for her mobility. Today was her first time venturing outside the residential complex.

Tang Cuo opened his mouth, and in an instant, numerous questions swirled in his mind. Questions like whether Bi Fan had any family, why she didn’t have a phone, and how she usually communicated with others. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he remembered that they were strangers, and he had only helped her out of goodwill. There was no need to pry into someone else’s life.

“Come in and have something to eat,” Bi Fan said to him after opening the door. “I heard your stomach growling just now.”

Tang Cuo: “…”

He felt extremely embarrassed. He turned to leave but saw Bi Fan getting stuck at the slightly raised doorstep when she entered her home. He had to push her into the living room before he could truly relax.

Bi Fan’s home was neat and tidy—not very spacious—but it was evident that it was carefully decorated. Tang Cuo didn’t want to be too presumptuous and stood in the living room, looking at the photos hanging on the wall.

The photos were all of Bi Fan – graduation photos in a cap and gown, portrait photos, and travel photos with big hats and sunglasses.

After examining about a dozen photos on the wall, Tang Cuo noticed that, except for two group photos, all the others were solo shots of Bi Fan.

He instinctively scanned the living room but couldn’t find any traces of someone else living with Bi Fan.

Was she living alone? Then why didn’t she have a phone?

Tang Cuo was completely puzzled. Just as he was lost in thought, Bi Fan came out of the kitchen in her wheelchair, holding a glass of water and a glass of juice. “What would you like to drink?”

“Water is fine,” Tang Cuo replied, feeling embarrassed. “You really don’t need to treat me to a meal. I need to get back home.”

He quickly drank the glass of water, leaving Bi Fan to hold the glass. “Thank you so much, Mr. Tang.”

Suddenly, they heard a click from the door lock.

Bi Fan trembled all over, and her hand failed to hold onto the glass. Tang Cuo reacted swiftly and caught the glass in mid-air just before it hit the ground.

The front door was half open, and a man carrying grocery bags was putting away his keys. He glanced at Bi Fan and then at Tang Cuo, smiling as he asked, “Do we have a guest?”

Tang Cuo stood up to respond, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Bi Fan lower her head and tightly grip her dress, trembling with fear.

Prev | Table of Contents | Next