After Jiang Zhi left, Qin Baozhu held Zhou Jingrui’s hand as the two of them wandered slowly along the old street of the small town.
Dejing Town was nothing like Hu City—much smaller, with just one private kindergarten, one public elementary school, and one public middle school.
If you wanted to attend high school, you had to take a bus to the county.
The county town had a train station, and riding the bus there took two full hours.
Qin Baozhu walked and paused, asking questions here and there. Before long, she more or less gathered all the information she needed.
Feeling pleased with her discoveries, she spotted a vendor selling candied hawthorn skewers. With a bold flourish, she took a one-yuan coin from her pocket and treated Zhou Jingrui to a skewer.
Since it wasn’t market day, the street was nearly empty. And rural towns in those years were far from peaceful—there were plenty of unemployed drifters hanging around. A young woman like Qin Baozhu, all dressed neatly and looking unfamiliar, walking with a child, caught the attention of a few street punks almost immediately.
She wasn’t familiar with the place, but as a woman, the moment she sensed several shady men following behind, her instincts sharpened.
“Rui-rui, isn’t that Jiang Zhi over there? Call out to her.”
Qin Baozhu pointed toward the street corner, at a young man selling various pirated DVDs on a tarp.
Jiang Zhi was sitting beside him, chatting happily.
So she probably brought them to town today just to find this man.
Zhou Jingrui spotted Jiang Zhi at once and waved excitedly. “Sister Jiang Zhi!”
Hearing his voice, Jiang Zhi reflexively looked up. Seeing them both, she froze, then quickly stood and hurried over.
“What are you doing here?” Jiang Zhi grabbed Qin Baozhu’s arm, sounding anxious. “Didn’t I say to wait for me at the shop?”
“We got lost,” Qin Baozhu said casually. “We walked around a few times and couldn’t find the way back.”
“You really are…”
Jiang Zhi opened her mouth to curse, but when she saw Qin Baozhu’s innocent little face, she swallowed the words. Instead she glanced behind them, frowned, and pulled Qin Baozhu aside, lowering her voice. “Come with me.”
Qin Baozhu walked a few steps with Zhou Jingrui, then casually looked back.
The four or five young men who had been following them for over ten minutes stopped in their tracks, clearly wary, and didn’t continue forward.
Qin Baozhu lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes hiding her expression.
“Brother Deng,” Jiang Zhi said as she brought them over to Deng Yuan, “this is my friend, Qin Baozhu. And that’s her son. Rui-rui, call him ‘big brother.’”
It was obvious at a glance that Deng Yuan was no law-abiding citizen.
He had a wildness and defiance that Zhou Fuguang lacked—and unlike Jiang Canran’s idle, careless vibe, this man radiated danger. His short-cropped hair revealed sharply defined features, and though he was somewhat handsome, the cigarette in his hand, the tattoo on his neck, and the air of a street thug made him look anything but decent.
Qin Baozhu had never liked this type of guy. When she was in high school in Hu City, she and her classmates would be harassed by punks on bicycles whistling at them. She found that type intolerable.
She never imagined Jiang Zhi would be mixing with someone like this.
And they seemed pretty close, too.
Zhou Jingrui shrank back, hiding behind Qin Baozhu, peeking out timidly as he whispered, “…big brother.”
Deng Yuan stubbed out his cigarette. Maybe because of Jiang Zhi, he didn’t put on any attitude. He fished out ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Buy the kid some snacks.”
Jiang Zhi accepted it. Seeing how generous he was, she felt proud. She passed the money to Qin Baozhu. “Baozhu, this is from Brother Yuan for Rui-rui. Later take him to the pastry shop and buy something to bring home.”
Qin Baozhu looked at the money, then slowly shifted her gaze to Deng Yuan. She reached out and took it, then told Zhou Jingrui, “Rui-rui, thank the big brother.”
Zhou Jingrui obediently said, “Thank you, big brother!”
Deng Yuan grinned and ruffled his hair. “This is your buddy’s brother’s kid?”
Jiang Zhi nodded. “Mm. Zhou Jingrui, five years old, in the upper kindergarten class here in town. Since you’ve met him now, tell your guys to look out for him. Don’t let traffickers snatch him away.”
“And she is…?”
Deng Yuan lifted his eyes toward Qin Baozhu.
He had already noticed she was beautiful when she walked over—beautiful in a way that left no flaws even when judged by a man’s standards.
Now that she was closer, he found her even more striking.
She didn’t look like someone a small town could have raised.
Jiang Zhi said, “She’s Rui-rui’s mother. Qin Baozhu—Brother Zhou’s wife. When she’s out walking around town, don’t let anyone bully her.”
She’s Zhou Fuguang’s wife?
Zhou Fuguang was a famous businessman in Dejing Town—every street punk knew his name.
But… wasn’t Zhou Fuguang’s wife supposed to be a fool? This woman didn’t look foolish at all.
Qin Baozhu nodded politely. “Hello.”
Deng Yuan replied, “Hello, hello. Want some DVDs? I’ve got romance movies, action movies, and romance–action movies. You can watch them with Brother Zhou tonight.”
Qin Baozhu blinked, confused. “What’s a romance–action movie?”
“It’s obviously—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Zhi kicked him hard.
Her face darkened. “Deng Yuan, I told you she’s my friend! Why are you talking nonsense in front of her?”
“Ha, just teasing a pretty girl.” Deng Yuan rummaged through the DVDs and pulled out a few with cartoon covers, handing them to Zhou Jingrui. “Rui-rui, take these home.”
Zhou Jingrui reached out, checked Qin Baozhu’s expression, then accepted them softly. “Thank you, big brother.”
The man in front of them spoke in a slangy, sleazy way that Zhou Jingrui didn’t understand—but even though he didn’t understand, it still made him uncomfortable.
Qin Baozhu had no interest in hanging around with punks like this. She said to Jiang Zhi, “Jiang Zhi, I’ll take Rui-rui to the pastry shop to buy something. You two talk.”
“I’ll walk you there!” Jiang Zhi said quickly.
But Qin Baozhu shook her head with a polite smile. “No need. The pastry shop is just ahead. I know the way. You two have fun.”
Once Qin Baozhu and Zhou Jingrui had left, Jiang Zhi finally turned on Deng Yuan.
“Deng Yuan, were you flirting with my friend just now? I said she’s Brother Zhou’s wife! Why were you spouting nonsense in front of her?”
She didn’t even like Qin Baozhu very much.
But Qin Baozhu was Zhou Fuguang’s wife, and Jiang Zhi would never tolerate anyone insulting or harassing her.