The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie

Chapter 20: 020: Zhou Xufang also has weaknesses

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ah Wan spoke up at this moment, “Mr. Qiao.”

He sniffled, having caught a bit of a cold from being out in the cold.

“What did you find out, Ah Wan?”

Ah Wan looked at his employer cautiously and said, “That Z seems to have taken a liking to my boss.” He might even be a scum.

The latter part, he thought it better to say in private.

Qiao Nanchu glanced at Jiang Zhi and laughed, “How so?”

Speaking of this matter, Ah Wan was a bit angry, “She actually stripped my clothes off and put them on my boss.” This errand runner turns out to be a looks-obsessed dog, utterly contemptible!

Just then, his employer’s cold gaze shot over. Due to being sick, a hidden anger colored his cheeks peachy.

“Get out.”

“Oh.” Ah Wan left the ward, full of worries.

At midnight, the clouds dispersed, and a sliver of the moon appeared, faintly visible.

Zhou Xufang returned to Yuquan Bay, changed clothes, and after applying medication, grabbed two cans of milk from the fridge. On the computer screen, SpongeBob’s avatar from Shuangjiang was flashing.

“Is the injury on your shoulder serious?”

Zhou Xufang pressed her shoulder and moved it a bit, “It’s already healed.”

Not on a mission, Shuangjiang didn’t use voice software but typed instead, “You should still apply some medicine.”

“I did.” She pulled the tab on the milk can, “Used two bottles of medicinal wine.”

Her healing ability was more than eighty times faster than the average person, ordinary medicine didn’t work for her; where others might take one pill for a cold, she’d need half a bowl.

“Ah Fang,” after a long pause, text rolled out on the computer, “do you have any weaknesses?”

She took a sip of milk, “Yes.”

Shuangjiang didn’t ask what they were, sending several warning icons instead, “Don’t tell me, don’t tell anyone. No one should know.”

“Got it.”

Her self-healing ability was too exceptional, with her unique constitution, if the medical community found out, peace would never be hers again… The milk was tasty, but one can was too little; she opened another.

“I placed a micro-monitor with Zhou Qingrang, and the police are there. Tianxing Entertainment probably won’t dare to go again. We shouldn’t intervene for now; I fear it’s not safe.” Shuangjiang reminded her, “The Criminal Intelligence Department has their eyes on you.”

Zhou Xufang nodded, drinking milk and eating cotton candy. She was in a good mood, legs swinging, pink bunny slippers on her feet shaking under the table.

Shuangjiang suddenly remembered something, “Who was that person you encountered at the scene?”

“He is Jiang Zhi.”

Jiang Zhi?

Shuangjiang had some impression of him and knew Zhou Xufang had seen him again after tying him up, “Are you well acquainted with him?”

Zhou Xufang put down the cotton candy box, finding this brand too sweet compared to the one she used to like.

She said, “Not very familiar.” Then finished another can of milk, “But he’s very good-looking.”

Shuangjiang sent a screen full of smiley faces, “Ah Fang, if you ever have someone special, will you take them to Moon Bay to live with you?”

Someone special?

The island had nothing; someone special would be hard to take care of.

So Zhou Xufang decided, “I’ll just take a dog.”

Moon Bay was a deserted island abroad, reputed to be the closest place to the moon, surrounded by the sea. Zhou Xufang planned to save enough money to buy it and live there alone. It had land and water, quite suitable for her as she could live on both land and water. The city was too unsafe for her unique constitution.

She could keep a dog on the island, maybe chickens and ducks. Keeping people might be difficult.

“Someone is tracking my IP; I’m logging off,” said Shuangjiang.

“Okay.”

At the Criminal Intelligence Department, the lights were still on.

It was already late, and a few technicians were still at work because of the Tianxing Entertainment case.

“Captain Qiao,” Yu Fang nudged his glasses up his nose, “found the address.”

Qiao Nanchu walked to his computer, “Where?”

“Jiangfeng Mansion, seven buildings, unit 208.”

Qiao Nanchu smiled, drew a cigarette from the pack on the desk, pulled up a chair, sat down, lit it, and took a puff. Under the light, his disheveled hair looked somewhat despondent, “Jiangfeng Mansion, seven buildings, unit 208.” He licked his lips, “That’s my place.”

Technician Yu Fang: “…”

Fooled by Shuangjiang again!

Nearing one in the morning, Qiao Nanchu finally returned to Jiangfeng Mansion.

The gate guard who had been dozing in the security room woke up at the sound of a car and helped open the gate, “Mr. Qiao, just now getting back?”

“Yeah.” He got out of the police car, said a few words to his colleague inside, holding a cigarette between his fingers, waved, and entered the villa area.

“Oh, by the way.” The guard suddenly remembered something, “The girl who came to see you last week came by again this morning.”

Qiao Nanchu stubbed out his cigarette, “Did she leave any message?”

“No, just left a box of eggs.” The guard went back to the security room and brought out the box of eggs, “Said they were free-range eggs from home.”

There was also an envelope stuck on the box.

Qiao Nanchu took the envelope off, inside was a piece of old-timey stationery. He unfolded it; there were only three lines, written in neat, elegant handwriting.

“Dear Mr. Qiao,

Hoping you are in good health and everything goes well.

Respectfully, younger generation.”

Respectfully? Qiao Nanchu gritted his teeth, smiling.

“Mr. Qiao, is she your girlfriend?” The security guard had worked at Jiangfeng Mansion for years and had never seen Mr. Qiao bring a woman home. Mr. Qiao looked handsome and drove expensive cars. Many single women in the mansion had an interest in him, but he never talked to them, so they thought he must have someone.

“Not a girlfriend.” Qiao Nanchu tossed the letter back into the box of eggs, “A student I’m sponsoring.”

The next day.

Early in the morning, Ah Wan arrived at the ward with soup. The employer had just woken up. Apparently, he didn’t sleep well; his face wasn’t looking good, and he seemed sluggish.

Ah Wan put down the thermos and saw the phone on the table.

“Boss, the screen protector on your phone is cracked.” Ah Wan, with a bit of a cold, thinking the employer’s health wasn’t good, wore a mask to avoid spreading germs, “Shall I replace it for you?”

“Leave it be.”

“Oh.”

Ah Wan’s back ached too, injured last night, and the pain was unbearable this morning. He pulled up a chair and opened the thermos lid.

Jiang Zhi wrinkled his nose at the smell, “Chicken soup?”

“Yes, yes.” Truly, he wasn’t fishing for compliments, “My mom knew you were hospitalized, so she got up early to make it with lots of medicinal herbs. It’s very nourishing, not greasy at all. I had some this morning.”

He only had a little; his mom wouldn’t let him drink much of it.

Ever since Jiang Zhi paid for his mother’s kidney transplant two years ago, she treated Jiang Zhi like a real son, saving all the best foods for him. Knowing Jiang Zhi was hospitalized, his mom scolded him for half an hour last night, calling him useless for not being able to protect Jiang Zhi. She even called him a big, dumb brute.

He suspected he might have been adopted.

“You guys killed that chicken?” Jiang Zhi’s sleepy eyes lost their murkiness, gaining a touch of sharpness.

Ah Wan explained, “No, my mom bought an old hen.”

Jiang Zhi responded with a hum, lifted his delicate hand, very genteel, “Serve me a bowl, just the broth, no meat, not even a bit.”

“Oh.”

In the evening, Jiang Zhi was discharged. Ah Wan came to pick him up. Maybe because of the previous night’s events, Jiang Zhi hadn’t been very friendly to him, a trace of displeasure on his face, changing like smoke, flaring up unpredictably—sometimes bright, sometimes dark.

The car pulled up under Ba Yi Bridge.

The person in the backseat, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, “Find a place to park.”

Ah Wan parked the car, the motion making his back ache, “You need something, I’ll get it for you.”

“Wait in the car.”

Leaving the words behind, Jiang Zhi got out.

At this time, under Ba Yi Bridge, stalls were set up with all sorts of things for sale. The opposite park was blaring dance music, making his head throb.

Jiang Zhi walked and frowned, paused, suddenly realizing why he came here. Rubbing the crack on his phone screen with his thumb, he remembered he was only here to get the screen protector replaced.

He walked to a stall, “Where is Zhou Xufang’s stall?”

The spot where Zhou Xufang usually set up was occupied by a man in his forties, eating fried noodles, who looked up.

Two slightly curved brows, a pair of eyes full of complex emotions… Damn! A man who looked stunningly beautiful.

The man looked twice, “Who’s Zhou Xufang?”

There were many passersby under the bridge, jostling, with many snack stalls along the way, the air filled with mixed smells. Jiang Zhi took out a handkerchief, covering his nose and mouth, coughed twice, walked to a less crowded area, “The woman in black, always wearing a hat, who sells screen protectors here.”

The man noticed his fine clothes and polite speech, “The people setting up stalls here change daily; I don’t know who you mean.”

With the black silk handkerchief against his face, Jiang Zhi’s skin looked very white. Clearly unaccustomed to the noise and mess, his cheeks were rosy, his breath slightly uneven, “The woman, always in black, wearing a hat.”

The man took a bite of his noodles, “Oh, I know who you mean. She’s not here today.”

“Why isn’t she here?”

“How would I know, we’re rivals, not friends.” Looking at this man, clearly someone important, the man asked, “Why are you looking for her?”

At this moment, a small child bumped into Jiang Zhi.

He immediately frowned, showing disgust.

The child got scared and ran off.

He looked displeased, “I need a screen protector.”

The man eagerly put down his noodles, “I do screen protectors too, any kind!”

Believing the other man to be rich, and assuming rich people never had small change, with a favorite phrase of “keep the change.”

Opportunity knocking!

Smiling broadly, “Do you want a screen protector? Free phone case with it.”

No response.

More persuasively, “She charges twenty, I only charge fifteen.” Seeing the man turning to leave, the man slapped his thigh, “Ten! Ten for a protector! Final offer!”

“No.”

Damn!

Instantly the man’s demeanor changed, “You’re crazy!”

Jiang Zhi: “…”