Shen Peichuan had drunk quite a lot, but his mind was still clear. Even though I have a good working relationship with Captain Song, how can I impose upon them by staying the night?
He wanted to refuse but did not know how to reject Captain Song’s hospitality.
After all, the man himself had helped him with his problems.
No matter what the reasons were, he had to accept this favor.
“Peichuan, you seemed troubled. Is something bothering you?” Captain Song looked at him meaningfully and asked.
The former’s expression had looked so conflicted that even Captain Song, who already had one too many drinks, could notice it.
Just when Peichuan was struggling to find an answer for Captain Song, the mobile phone in his pocket rang. He immediately responded, “Let me take this call.”
Saying that, he took out his mobile phone. Yaxin, who was sitting next to him, deliberately swiped a curious look at his phone screen, worried that Sang Yu would look for him again.
Consequently, the word “sister-in-law” was displayed on the screen of the mobile phone, and she was relieved. Howbeit, since he was not from B City, he had no relatives here. How in the world did he have a sister-in-law here then?
Yaxin gave Shen Peichuan a strange look.
In the meantime, he promptly answered the call after seeing the caller ID.
“Hello.”
“Is this Peichuan?” Xinyan’s voice could be heard through the phone.
After witnessing Su Zhan walking off alone, Xinyan felt uneasy. That prompted her to give Peichuan a call to request him to look after Su Zhan.
Shen Peichuan replied, “Yes.”
“Su Zhan said he’ll go over to your place. Please look after him, alright?” Xinyan informed.
Sensing something was amiss, Peichuan frowned and asked, “What happened to him?”
“He broke up with Qin Ya and he was in a bad mood. We had just bailed him out of the police station.” Xinyan tried to summarize the whole chain of events.
Shocked to hear that, Peichuan asked nervously, “How did he land himself at the police station?”
Da*n, man! What did you just do?
How did you end up at the police station?
“He got into a fight with someone. His injuries looked quite serious, methinks. I have invited him to come to the villa with me but he rejected me outright. Since I still have something on today, I’ll need a favor from you to look after him for a while. I’m just scared that he would do something stupid again.”
After all, they had agreed to throw a welcoming party for Shao Yun. Both Jinghao and her had to be at the villa. After all, they had planned to introduce Shao Yun to Zong Qifeng and Cheng Yuwen.
Hence they could not follow and accompany Su Zhan all the time.
Peichuan somewhat understood the situation as he replied, “I know. I’ll go look for him now.”
Xinyan breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Shen Peichuan had found a reason to go back to his own place. Turning to Captain Song, he said, “I have something to attend to so I need to go back tonight.”
Captain Song did not force him to stay either. After all, he could see that something had cropped up. “Sure, go ahead. But you’ve drunk just a wee bit too much, right? You can’t drive…”
“Dad, I’ll give him a lift.” Yaxin cut her father off before he got the chance to finish his sentence.
Captain Song glanced at his daughter, knowing full well what she was thinking. He sighed slightly and said, “Since Peichuan can’t drive under the influence of alcohol, you’ll be the one to send him back.”
Peichuan offered, “I can take a taxi.”
As usual, he did not want to trouble others. In fact, he was so worried about Su Zhan that he could not see Yaxin’s good intentions.
Then again, even without the matter regarding Su Zhan to occupy him, this dull-brained dullard could never read Yaxin’s thoughts.
Taking the car keys, Yaxin advised, “It’s not easy to take a taxi from here. Let me send you back. You have drunk so much that if I let you go off alone, my dad will definitely be worried. We’ll feel guilty if something happens to you on your way home. So please don’t refuse me since you’re drinking in our home. We’re no strangers after all. So what if I offer you a ride? Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid that I’ll swallow you?”
Yaxin had reasoned in such a way that Peichuan could not refuse but to agree to her offer.
On the way back, he gave Su Zhan a call, but there was no answer.
Remembering that Xinyan had mentioned that Su Zhan was in a bad mood, his worry peaked. He dialed yet another call but again no one answered.
Twice his calls were left unanswered. That made him even more anxious and unsettled.
Yaxin, who was driving the car, comforted him and said, “Don’t worry. Wait a while longer then give it another try.”
Peichuan mumbled in agreement.
Trying to perk up the atmosphere in the car, Yaxin chirpily asked, “Where are we heading to now?”
Peichuan asked her to send him home.
Xinyan said that Su Zhan was going to look for him. Since it was impossible to go to the police bureau at this hour, his residence was the only place left.
After a ten-minute drive, the car stopped at the entrance of the neighborhood where he lived.
As Yaxin parked the car, he got out and reminded her, “Please drive slowly on your way back and pay attention to safety.”
Winding down her side of the car window, Yaxin joked with him, “Since I’ve arrived at your place, aren’t you going to invite me in for a cup of tea?”
Peichuan did not know how to reply to her question.
Sensing his reluctance, she smiled and dismissed him. “I am just joking. Go look for your friend. I’ll be going now.”
With that, she wound up the window and started her car to leave.
Looking at Peichuan through the rearview mirror as she drove further away, the corners of her lips gently evoked a certain arc, like she was saying with a smirk. You can’t escape me.
Shen Peichuan turned and walked into his neighborhood. He took the elevator to the floor where he lived. The elevator door opened upon reaching the floor. The moment he walked out, he saw Su Zhan sitting slumped in front of the door of his house.
Walking over quickly, he found his friend fast asleep. He did not know if it was due to excessive drinking or the injuries he sustained.
Anyway, his friend slept while leaning against his door.
Opening the door, he helped him in and dragged him onto a bed.
During the whole process, Su Zhan did not show any reactions nor were there any signs of him waking up.
Seeing all these, Peichuan frowned and pondered, “How does he end up in this state? Does that mean that he doesn’t want to live on anymore?”
Xinyan had mentioned that he was brokenhearted.
Isn’t he always heartbroken in love, one way or the other?
Sigh. Heaving a long breath, Peichuan stripped off Su Zhan’s bloody clothes along with his pants and shoes. The smell was incredibly bad – it reeked of blood intermingled with sweat and alcohol.
Covering his friend with a blanket, Shen Peichuan saw that there were still some bruises on Su Zhan’s body. Standing by the bed, he wondered who his friend had gotten into a fight with.
Who’s the h*ll has beaten him up so brutally?
There were medicines stocked in his house due to his profession. Rummaging through the cabinet and first-aid box, he took out some medicines for treating minor injuries and rubbed them all over Su Zhan’s body, face, and head. Throughout the whole process, Su Zhan did not even move.
After finishing, Peichuan sat on the sofa. His house was not big with only a bedroom and a study. There was also a kitchen, but he rarely did any cooking at home.
He poured himself a glass of water and chugged it down, and that quenched his thirst and hydrated his dry mouth. After that, he got up and took a shower before resting on the sofa.
Even though the night was still young, he felt like turning in early due to his consumption of alcohol.
It was actually the time for dinner usually.
He started drinking with Captain Song on an empty stomach and had not had much to eat.
Even so, once he fell asleep, he would not feel hungry anymore.
On the other side of the city, Jinghao and Xinyan had returned from the police station. As they entered the door of their villa, they saw that Shao Yun and the others in the family had gelled together well. They had already gotten to know one another even before Xinyan could introduce them.
In addition, their two kids were already familiar with him from the get-go, hence it was easy for him to integrate into the family and get along well with everyone.
“Uncle, why are you here so early?” Xinyan asked as she walked in after changing her shoes.
Shao Yun smiled and replied, “I thought you said that you have a welcoming dinner prepared for me? If I show up too late, I’m afraid I won’t get a taste of it.”
This was his true nature, always a chipper, with chirpy jokes and a cheerful character, a good-natured chap through and through.
Xinyan laughed and assured, “I will always wait for the protagonist to show up. Let me get the meal started.”
Looking at Zong Qifeng and Cheng Yuwen, she introduced Shao Yun to them. “Dad, Uncle Yuwen, here’s my Uncle…”
“Right, right. I’ve already introduced myself before. I’m your Uncle. You’re my niece. Your father is my eldest brother.” Interrupting her, Shao Yun jovially introduced himself to everyone once more, repeating the very same script he had read out before, albeit with a tinge of satirical jest.
Xinyan could not help but laugh. My uncle certainly has the skill to fit in anywhere with ease. I certainly don’t have to worry about him not fitting in here.
“Let us sit down. I’ll go have a look if the dinner is ready.”
With that, she went into the kitchen to check if she could get the dinner started.
Jinghao did not go upstairs either and sat down on an empty sofa downstairs. Seeing him, Baymax scuttled over and laid on his feet obediently.
Meanwhile, Shao Yun was playing a game of riddles with the two kids, and Yuwen, who ‘did not want to be left out’, also ended up joining the fun.
On the contrary, Qifeng showed no jovial spirit. After learning about Shao Yun’s identity, he reminisced about the people and things of the past. Be it Wen Xian or Cheng Yuxiu, both were important women in his life. However, both had passed on, leaving him all alone.
Qifeng could not help but feel sad for himself, it was sort of wallowing in self-pity.
Contrasting to Qifeng’s silence, there was a lot of fun amongst the group on the side.
Shao Yun, whose education level differed from that of Cheng Yuwen’s, found that the riddles posed between them varied greatly as well.
Being the higher-educated one, Yuwen’s riddles involved mostly wordplay.
Meanwhile, Shao Yun’s questions were weirder as they involved mind-boggling and interesting riddles.
In the previous round, Cheng Yuwen had come up with a riddle: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
“Can you guess the word?”
Zong Yanchen was the one who managed to guess it. Short.
It was now Shao Yun’s turn for a riddle. After pondering for a while, he came out with one.
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
