TSIBAMS Chapter 85
by VolareAs the young policeman had predicted, even after being reported, Xiao Yu did not identify Chen Hui to the police.
Firstly, there was no evidence, and secondly, her kept boyfriend wouldn’t allow her to offend Li Zhendong’s group, simply put, he was afraid of retaliation. Therefore, based on the second point, whether the first point existed or not, it was not allowed to exist.
“So, Brother Xu went to seek justice for the girl, and ended up getting nothing?” Ye Xing held his phone in one hand and tapped on the menu with the other, then passed it to Li Ke.
“Probably,” Qi Guang said, “And… Brother Xu hasn’t been in a good mood these past few days.”
“Who would be happy? That ungrateful little brat,” Ye Xing sneered.
“That’s true, but it might not be entirely because of that,” Qi Guang said.
“What do you mean?” Ye Xing frowned.
“He and Bai Shu haven’t spoken to each other for several days,” Qi Guang sighed.
“Ah?”
Along with Ye Xing’s questioning tone, a series of beeps came from the phone.
“Wait, I have a call coming in.” Qi Guang brought the phone to his eyes; it was that number again, the one without a name saved but always made him upset every time he saw it, as if the three words ‘Qi Jingsheng’ were branded on the screen.
Since returning to Chen Town, Qi Jingsheng had been calling almost every day, but Qi Guang had not answered.
Qi Jingsheng had discovered that he had entered his mother’s room and taken something away. When Qi Guang first saw the questioning message he sent, he knew that this charade was over.
Or rather, in these hectic days, he had no time to play along with Boss Qi while trying to calm the cold war between Xu Ge and Bai Shu, and also guard against Li Zhendong’s group.
For the time being, not answering the phone seemed the best option; at least they were leaving room for maneuvering.
As for why he needed to leave room, Qi Guang couldn’t remember, but it felt like if he slipped up there would be some very serious consequence, and so even if he was very annoyed, he didn’t dare point the finger.
After pressing the red hang-up button, he put the phone back to his ear, “Where were we just now?”
Ye Xing was startled, Qi Guang’s sudden cooled down voice made him feel caught off guard, “What’s wrong?”
He hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but if he was being asked about it and still acted secretive, it would seem like he was sugarcoating things. Qi Guang didn’t want them to be like most couples who were used to guessing each other’s thoughts. He took a deep breath, “It was Qi Jingsheng’s call, I hung up.”
“Why is he calling you? Could it be that he wants to…” Ye Xing trailed off, “Never mind, just ignore him, he can’t possibly take you away.”
“Yeah,” Qi Guang replied. “Where were we just now?”
Ye Xing smiled, he had really forgotten it after being interrupted, “If you ask me, I really feel bad for Brother Xu.”
“Hmm?”
“I can’t get it out of my head, it’s making me furious,” Ye Xing said.
“What are you mad about?” Qi Guang couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh… I forgot you’re such a hothead.”
“Brother Qi!” Ye Xing suddenly became serious, “No matter what, you guys were too reckless last time, I wanted to say it to you a long time ago, but I held it in because you were kind of doing the right thing. But today you mentioned that girl… forget it, don’t get involved in things like that in the future, just hand it over to the police, okay?”
“If everything was handed over to the police, Brother Xu wouldn’t have been a big shot on this street,” Qi Guang said.
Ye Xing clicked his tongue, “It’s a society ruled by law now, Boss Xu doesn’t need to work so hard, really.”
“He’s just a bit stubborn, probably something he picked up from his days as a gangster, thinking he can handle small things like saving people, plus calling the police at someone else’s place would make him lose face,” Qi Guang said.
That was true, being concerned about face was a common problem for all big brothers!
“I think it’s not just him, everyone here has this problem,” Ye Xing disagreed. “Do you remember when we were fighting at the KTV, what happened with the senior? It could have been solved by calling the police, but none of you allowed it.”
This conversation amused Qi Guang, “And our little justice messenger, student Ye Xing, personally took care of that scumbag, clap clap!”
After he finished speaking, he really raised his empty hand and patted the back of his hand that was holding the phone. He patted his wrist again, probably because he was afraid the other person wouldn’t hear.
Ye Xing heard the series of clapping and laughed, “Why do I feel like you’re not clapping, but slapping my face?”
“Hey! Who was saying just now, so righteously, not to get involved in other people’s business?” Qi Guang said.
Ye Xing realized he had been over the top with his double standards and quickly backed down, “I need to go, Brother Qi, let’s talk next time!”
After hanging up the phone, Ye Xing looked up and saw Li Ke’s meaningful gaze.
“I’m sorry, bro,” Ye Xing clenched his hands, “I’m making you eat lemons every day.”
“Tsk!” Li Ke laughed dismissively, “If I wanted to, it would be easy. I have tons of young, eager guys on my phone.”
For some reason, the words “eager guys” sounded a little impure coming from his mouth.
Ye Xing was already used to his way of speaking. In the past, he would have immediately jumped up and moved away from him, but now he calmly pulled out a paper towel to wipe the utensils and put his chopsticks into the bowl to eat noodles, “Your harem of three thousand beauties…”
Li Ke shook his head.
“Unlike you, who only wants to scoop from one gourd…”
“Student Li Ke, you mixed up the idioms,” Ye Xing looked at him, “That’s ‘among ten thousand waters, only scoop one’.”
“Oh,” Li Ke lightly tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks, “Student Ye, the academic failure, is giving me a Chinese lesson! By the way, has that friend of yours given up yet?”
“Given up?” Ye Xing asked.
“You know, that one…the gay one, quite good looking, you said he was in love with someone else,” Li Ke said.
“Cough!” Ye Xing cleared his throat a little embarrassedly, “I was just saying it randomly, don’t take it to heart!”
“I was just asking randomly,” Li Ke smiled, “Just gossiping.”
To be honest, Bai Shu had completely fallen into Brother Xu’s trap, if Brother Xu didn’t respond, he would feel really sorry for Bai Shu. Especially now, when he was deeply in love with Qi Guang, it felt terrible to watch the person across from him still in a painful love situation… it felt unbearable.
Ye Xing looked up at him. Although Li Ke was only a year older than him, his clothes and appearance made him look much more mature, and his personality was rather silly too, sometimes he had a similar vibe to Brother Xu.
But he didn’t seem to have the right to interfere in other people’s business either, he shook his head internally and smiled.
“Are there any holidays coming up? Does the studio have days off?”
“Holidays?” Li Ke frowned, “It’s only been a few days since we got here, are you already eager to go back and find your little boyfriend?”
Ye Xing raised an eyebrow, “Just tell me if there are any or not!”
“Qixi Festival!” Li Ke pouted, “Guess if the studio will have days off?”
“Qixi Festival?” Qi Guang said these two words with force, as if gritting his teeth.
“Yeah,” Bai Shu looked at his expression, finding it a little funny, “Haven’t you heard these two words before?”
“No, what does this have to do with us?” Qi Guang asked.
Bai Shu sighed while opening the package, “It doesn’t have anything to do with us! It’s about preparing activities for the bar!”
“Oh,” Qi Guang laughed, feeling ashamed for the fleeting thought he had, thinking Bai Shu was going to do something, even a little regretful. He helped take the things out of the box and peeled away the foam padding, a little surprised, “Dried flowers? They’re quite pretty.”
“The other box is the vases for the dried flowers, open that,” Bai Shu put the foam padding on the ground, putting the flowers on it and slowly organizing them, “I’ll go to the storage room later and see if there are any balloons left over from last time when we prepared your birthday.”
“Last time…” Qi Guang thought of the last time they prepared a surprise for him, but he ended up running off with Ye Xing, “I’m sorry about that.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? Stop showing off your love,” Bai Shu said without looking up.
“I really didn’t…” Qi Guang widened his eyes, unjustly accused.
But it was also kind of strange. Since the day Bai Shu and Xu Ge argued at the police station, it had been half a month, and the two of them had not spoken since.
Although they seemed normal when they were separated, like now, joking and bantering, it still felt off. He couldn’t tell what was off, the joking was the same as before, but when they laughed, it seemed like…there was no light in their eyes?
It was a kind of smile that was a mixture of self-mockery and nonchalance.
It was especially noticeable on Bai Shu.
Qi Guang had never had a cold war with anyone close to him, let alone one that lasted so long, so long that he wished he could step in and put their hands together, pat them, and then, like a class teacher, say meaningfully “Friends forever!”
He almost sang it out loud.
Puh!
If they were really just friends it would be simple; if there was a conflict, they could fight and it would be over. But they had to go for a tragic romance. He felt like he was watching an immersive movie every day, almost feeling their pain.
Even if he couldn’t empathize with them, being so immersed every day was making him a little melancholic. He needed to send a message to Ye Xing every two hours to recharge, and if he was lucky and it was their day off, he could call and listen to his voice, not just a recharge, but an extension of life itself.
“What are you thinking about?” Bai Shu snapped his fingers in front of him, “Put the flowers in the vases, let’s put them in the storage room first, they can be taken out in a few days.”
“Okay,” Qi Guang pretended to casually add, “Brother Xu didn’t come today?”
“He drank so much last night, he’s probably still asleep,” Bai Shu said expressionlessly.
Seeing that he didn’t react much, Qi Guang tentatively asked, “You haven’t gone to his place to cook lately?”
Bai Shu was stunned.
This moment of silence pulled Qi Guang into an awkward abyss. He really couldn’t overestimate his acting skills!
Just as he was thinking about how to change the topic, Bai Shu suddenly spoke, “His door is piled with take-out boxes, are you worried he’s starving?”
He pulled the corners of his lips, a smile that was neither happy nor sad.
This smile was worse than no smile at all; Qi Guang looked at him and felt sorry for him.
Bai Shu and Xu Ge’s houses were not in the same direction. It was not easy for him to pass Xu Ge’s door every day. Bai Shu probably hadn’t cooked for Xu Ge for a while, and he also had not been cooking much himself, he had lost weight, and his collarbones were much more visible than before.