Suo Qingjun Chapter 84
byThe man behind the scenes
The afternoon sun was tilted to the west, but the heat did not dissipate much. Instead, it was wrapped in the wind in the alley, bringing with it a sticky heat.
The flower shop’s business was at a lull, and Xu Baiyan’s drawings covered half the table, and he was frowning at the composition that Song Xuxin had changed for him.Song Xu sat next to him, his fingertips pointed at the corner of the canvas, and his voice was very low: “The shadow here is a little heavier, which will bring out the depth of the flower stand. If you pursue the bright part too much, it will float.”
Xu Baiyan bit the end of his pencil and nodded, then he took out a charcoal pencil from the pen holder with a crisp movement.
Inside the counter, Qing Feng’an is handling the flower mud that will be used tomorrow.He was not wearing gloves, and his fingertips sank into the wet green mud, his movements methodical.Jin Xianling was sitting on the high stool opposite him, holding an unpeeled cucumber in her hand and using a small fruit knife to spin the peel slowly.
The cucumber skin is rolled into a long and slender spiral, and falls on the white porcelain plate, constantly shifting.
“Do you want to pat cucumbers tonight?” Qing Fengan asked casually without raising his head.
Jin Xianling said “hmm”, then flexibly turned the blade on her fingertips, removed the head and tail, and cut it into even pieces accurately.
Qing Fengan laughed and was about to reply when the wind chime at the door suddenly rang.
It wasn’t the crisp sound of the door being pushed, but the sharp sound of being knocked together by the wind.
The knife in Jin Xianling’s hand faltered, and the cucumber was cut a little crookedly.He raised his eyes, looked past the glass door, and landed under the sycamore tree diagonally opposite.Song Xu also stopped laughing instantly. He quickly tapped the tablet twice with his fingertips to lock the screen. When he looked up, his eyes had lost all gentleness.
“There is someone.” Song Xu’s voice was soft but penetrating.
Xu Baiyan’s hand holding the charcoal pencil tightened, and he subconsciously wanted to lift the curtains.Song Xu raised his hand to hold his wrist, shook his head, and mouthed: “Don’t look at each other.”
Qing Fengan put down the flower mud in her hand, straightened up slowly and picked up the watering can on the corner of the table, as if she was going to water the green plants at the door.He walked to the door, turned his back to the store, and seemed to be concentrating on spraying water on the pots of white roses, but out of the corner of his eye he could clearly see the scene across the street.
Two men, wearing black quick-drying T-shirts and trousers tucked into Martin boots.One person was leaning on a tree trunk, holding a mobile phone in his hand. The screen was on, but he was not looking at it. His eyes were glued to the door of the flower shop; the other person was standing next to the trash can, seemingly smoking, but his fingers were hanging on the Bluetooth headset, as if waiting for instructions.
Not plainclothes, not just an ordinary passerby.He couldn’t even hide the tight anger in his body.
After Qing Feng’an sprayed the water, she turned around and went back to the store. She closed the door gently and the sound of the wind chime stopped abruptly.
“How long have you been following?” He walked behind the counter, picked up a tissue and wiped his hands, his tone as calm as if he was talking about today’s weather.
Jin Xianling had already put the green melons on the plate. Hearing this, he raised his eyes and said in a deep voice, “I haven’t left since Lin Xingmian left.”
Song Xu nodded and added: “It’s not because of me. People in my company won’t use this kind of tracking method. It’s too rough, like…underground.”
Xu Baiyan held the charcoal pen and whispered: “Are you here for Brother An and Brother Ling?”
No one answered.
The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the refreshing scent of cucumber, but it was inexplicably a little tighter.
Jin Xianling put down the fruit knife, stood up and walked to Qing Fengan. She naturally took the tissue in his hand and wiped the mud from his fingers with meticulous movements.”I’ll go take a look.”
“Don’t go.” Qing Feng’an held his wrist.
His fingertips were slightly cold, but his strength was very steady: “They are waiting for us to move. Once we move, we will be at a disadvantage.”
Song Xu nodded in agreement, opened the tablet, and brought up the photo he had just taken while taking advantage of the situation – he had already attached a miniature lens to the back of the tablet, and when he lowered his head just now, he had already taken a clear picture of the person and the environment.”I’ll have someone check it, and the results will be available in ten minutes.”
With his fingers flying, he sent out the message, and the other party responded almost instantly.
Jin Xianling didn’t insist anymore and just stood half a step in front of Qing Feng’an, protecting him behind her.He looked at Xu Baiyan, his tone was rare and gentle: “Put away the paintings, don’t paint any more today.”
Xu Baiyan felt nervous, but he still packed up the painting tools obediently.He moved very quickly, but when he was collecting the charcoal pencils, he accidentally knocked one off.
The charcoal rolled to the door and stopped in the sunlight.
No one moved.
After three seconds, Qing Feng’an walked over.
Jin Xianling immediately wanted to follow, but Qing Fengan stopped her with her eyes.
Qing Feng’an bent down to pick up the charcoal. When he stood up, his eyes swept across the street again.He clearly saw that the man leaning against the tree suddenly picked up his cell phone, pressed a few times quickly, and then looked across the flower shop in the direction where Lin Xingmian left.
An idea instantly formed in Qing Feng’an’s mind.
He walked back to the store, handed the charcoal to Xu Baiyan, and said solemnly: “They are not here to keep an eye on us, they are here to keep an eye on ‘people who have come into contact with us.'”
Song Xu paused with his fingertips and looked up at him: “You mean, Lin Xingmian?”
“Yes.” Qing Feng’an nodded, walked to the window, and looked at the two men, “They are confirming whether Lin Xingmian really interacts with us. I picked up the pen just now and they took a photo. They should go back to report.”
Jin Xianling’s eyes were as cold as ice: “That boy, are you using us as a shield?”
“More than that.” Qing Feng’an’s voice was very soft, with some insight. “He was betting on both sides. On the one hand, he showed his goodwill to us, and on the other hand, he sold the traces of contact with us to the other party.”
Xu Baiyan understood and frowned: “Why would he do this? It’s very dangerous to please both sides.”
Song Xu sneered, with a hint of business-like coolness in his tone: “Because he has no other choice. Only by turning himself into a ‘person who needs both sides’ can he survive. But this balance will be broken in an instant once the person behind the scenes shows up.”
This sentence was like a needle, gently piercing the window paper.
Lin Xingmian’s fate needs no explanation.
For a person who is dancing on the edge of a knife, once his dancing shoes fall off, all that awaits him is to fall into the abyss.
At this moment, Song Xu’s cell phone rang.
He picked up and after only listening to a few words, his face darkened.After hanging up the phone, he looked at the three of them and said solemnly: “We found out. These two people are the peripheral members of the Gray Falcon. Behind the Gray Falcon is a boss named Yan, who is an underground moneylender and has blood on his hands.”
Jin Xianling’s fists suddenly clenched and her knuckles turned white.
Qing Feng’an suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.He walked to the counter, picked up the hosta that bound his hair, put it in his hand and rubbed it, with a firm tone: “Since we are on the periphery, we won’t do it rashly. Today is just a test.”
The setting sun gradually sank, dyeing the sky orange.
The two men across the street finally put away their phones and turned around to leave.
The door of the flower shop was pushed open again.
This time, it was Lin Xingmian.
The boy was still wearing his school uniform, but the zipper of his schoolbag was opened a little, revealing a corner of black fabric.His face was paler than in the morning, and there was sweat on his forehead. He walked to the door and forced a smile: “Boss Qing, I…I left something behind.”
His eyes quickly swept across the four people in the store. When he touched their tense expressions, he paused slightly, and then lowered his head, as if he didn’t dare to look.
Qing Feng’an looked at him and suddenly asked: “What did you lose?”
Lin Xingmian walked to the steps where he had sat in the morning and picked up a small, silver pen cap.”This.” He held the pen cap, his fingers trembling, “Thank you, today… I’m in trouble.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around and left.
This time, he didn’t look back.
When he reached the alley, he looked up at the sky, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he chased after the two men in the direction they left.
In the store, the four people looked at his back and remained silent.
Xu Baiyan clutched the drawing paper and whispered: “He…where is he going?”
Jin Xianling withdrew her gaze, looked at Qing Fengan, and said in a complicated tone: “Go on a business trip.”
Qing Feng’an picked up the hosta and tied up her loose long hair again with a neat movement.He looked at Song Xu and said solemnly: “Close the store.”
Song Xu nodded and immediately went to open the rolling shutter door.
Jin Xianling walked to his side and helped pull the other side.
Xu Baiyan quickly packed up his easel and held the painting in his arms.
The rolling shutter door fell down, making a “clatter” sound, cutting off the outside world.
The flower shop instantly fell into darkness, with only the small lamp behind the counter on. The warm yellow light illuminated the faces of the four people.
Jin Xianling walked to Qing Fengan and held his hand: “What should we do next?”
Qing Feng’an held him tightly with her backhand and looked at Song Xu and Xu Baiyan with firm eyes: “He wants to take his single-plank bridge, and we will take our Yangguan Road. But remember-”
He paused and said word by word: “Whether he is good or evil, once we are involved, we cannot stay out of it.”
Song Xu nodded: “I understand.”
Xu Baiyan also nodded heavily: “Brother An, we listen to you.”
The eyes of the four people met under the light.
There are no extra commitments, but there is a tacit understanding that needs no words.
Banxia novel, a lot of fun