Courtyard 88.
Not long after Tiger walked to the courtyard gate and made his call, Qin Yu’s phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID and seeing Yuan Ke’s number, he immediately stepped over to his door and pressed answer.
“Hello, Team Leader Yuan?”
“What are you up to?”
“Oh man, I didn’t expect to disturb you over such a little thing.” The violent intensity Qin Yu had just shown while beating Tiger vanished without a trace, replaced by an obsequious grin. “Those guys who came to my courtyard, they’re friends of yours?”
“You could say that.” Yuan Ke blinked. “They know my older brother. They heard you’re with the Police Department, so they called me.”
“Talk about friendly fire.” Qin Yu spouted pure bullshit. He had already heard Tiger mention Yuan Ke while he was in his room and knew the guy was connected to Yuan Ke.
“How did it come to blows?”
“I really didn’t want to fight.” Qin Yu always planned his exits before making a move, so his response was crisp and logical. “The girl your friends wanted to mess with is the victim from that kidnapping case a while back.”
Yuan Ke paused. “The kidnapped girl?”
“Yeah. She works at the Online Broadcasting Station and rents a room in my courtyard. She was screaming and crying outside, so I had to come out and check on her. You know as well as I do that she’s got some connections. Otherwise, Bureau Director Li wouldn’t have personally come down to see her off the other day.” Qin Yu lowered his voice. “Since I bumped into it, I couldn’t just walk away. If things blew up, we could all be in trouble. I was originally just going to talk your friends into leaving, but… they got carried away and pulled knives on me. I didn’t know they were with you, and since they came at me like that, I obviously had to beat them down.”
“Do you know what kind of connections she has?” Yuan Ke frowned.
“I have no idea.” Qin Yu shook his head. “But the guy who picked her up that day was one of the media organization’s senior staff, and Bureau Director Li personally escorted her downstairs.”
“Ah. Are you close with her?”
“…!” Qin Yu didn’t hesitate to talk out of his ass. “Yeah, we’re friends.”
“Then this is all a misunderstanding. Put Tiger on the phone. I’ll have a word with him and tell him to leave,” Yuan Ke instructed with a smile. “Talk to the girl for me, too. Tiger probably didn’t know who she was connected to. Tell her not to take it to heart. I’ll set up a dinner later and have Tiger treat her to a meal as an apology.”
“No sweat, I’ll talk to her.”
“Alright, we’ll leave it at that.”
“Hold on a second, Team Leader Yuan.” Qin Yu took the phone over to Tiger. “It’s for you.”
Tiger froze for a second. He took the phone, walked to the side, and exchanged a few words with Yuan Ke before hanging up with a dark look on his face.
“Hehe, we’re all on the same side. You should have said something sooner. If I knew, I wouldn’t have laid hands on you,” Qin Yu told Tiger with a smile.
Tiger held it in for a long moment before snapping, “Go fuck yourself, you little punk. We aren’t done here.”
“Sorry about that, Brother Tiger. Guess you couldn’t successfully strip me of my rank after all,” Qin Yu replied lightly.
Tiger gritted his teeth. He tossed the phone back to Qin Yu, waved his hand, and barked, “Let’s go.”
Standing to the side, Zhu Wei had watched the whole thing play out in a daze. Completely baffled, he asked Qin Yu, “How the hell did you smooth that over? What exactly is your relationship with Team Leader Yuan?”
“What relationship?” Qin Yu fired back.
“Team Leader Yuan usually gives Tiger a lot of respect. You beat the shit out of him, and one phone call fixes it? I really thought you were gonna get stripped of your rank.” Zhu Wei couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Qin Yu thought it over, then leaned in close to Zhu Wei’s ear. “I’ve been keeping this a secret from you, but the highest administrative officer of the Ninth District is actually my second maternal uncle…”
“Fuck off, you never speak a word of truth.” Zhu Wei rolled his eyes but dropped the subject. “Anything else? If not, I’m heading out.”
“Thanks for the backup.” Qin Yu clapped Zhu Wei on the shoulder. “Go get some sleep. Just make sure you’re at the station by noon tomorrow.”
“At least you’re somewhat human.” Zhu Wei chuckled. “I’m out.”
“Catch you later.”
“Yeah, later.”
After exchanging brief goodbyes, Zhu Wei turned and walked out of Courtyard 88.
Over by the doorway, Lin Nianlei smoothed her hair and walked up to Qin Yu. “Sorry… for causing you trouble again.”
Qin Yu gave her a curious look. “Seriously, are you here to test my professional skills? Why does everything go to shit the second I run into you?”
Lin Nianlei pouted and sighed. “I’ve just had terrible luck lately…”
“Hey, let me ask you something. Why were they coming after you?” Qin Yu suddenly asked.
Lin Nianlei glanced at his clothes and said politely, “It’s cold out. Let’s talk inside.”
“Let’s go.”
Lin Nianlei turned, opened her door, and led Qin Yu inside.
Qin Yu glanced around. The layout was identical to his own room, but a girl’s touch was obvious. The place was spotless and had a faint, fresh scent.
“Do you want something to drink?”
“Do you actually have anything besides water?” Qin Yu asked.
“Uh, no.”
“Then cut the fake courtesy.” Qin Yu dropped into a chair. “Water’s fine.”
Lin Nianlei took off her coat and poured him a cup of warm water from a thermos. “I wanted to do an investigative piece on patients living in poverty, but I ended up stumbling into this medicine-smuggling ring,” she explained softly. “As I dug deeper, I realized these people have no scruples. They’re utterly ruthless. As someone in media, my job isn’t just to make a living; it’s my duty to speak up for the public. So, I took some photos of them… and the trouble followed.”
Qin Yu held his cup and asked bluntly, “Are you from a wealthy family?”
“…I guess we’re well off. Why do you ask?” Lin Nianlei blinked in surprise.
“Because you sound like someone with way too much time on their hands.”
“Bullshit!” Lin Nianlei instantly fired back. “You work in law enforcement. How can you say something so classless?”
“Hehe, why are you so naive? We’re just talking, what are you getting so worked up for?” Qin Yu downed his water in one gulp, stood up, and looked at her. “I can’t control what you do, but as a friendly neighbor, let me give you a tip. Destroy those photos right now and find a nice, uplifting topic to cover. Your report won’t change a damn thing in Songjiang. All it will do is make some people uncomfortable.”
“If journalists can’t make people uncomfortable, what are we for?” Lin Nianlei stared at him with wide, watery eyes, looking so intensely serious it was almost cute.
“You really are incredibly naive…”
“Shut up, you’re the naive one!” Lin Nianlei was getting exasperated. “You’ve insulted me twice since you walked in.”
“I’m leaving.” Qin Yu didn’t bother arguing. He turned for the door.
“Put my cup down.”
Qin Yu set the cup down and walked out with his hands behind his back. The playful smirk was totally gone from his face.
His naive neighbor had said Tiger was selling medicines, too. Did Tiger really just happen to know Yuan Ke by pure coincidence?
For the first time, Qin Yu sensed something was off. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was yet.
…
At the hospital.
Tiger sat in the surgical clinic, yelling into his phone at Yuan Ke. “I just don’t get it! Why the hell are you covering for some reckless rookie with zero backing?”
Author’s Postscript: Two chapters in the morning and three in the evening.