Walking out of the City Hospital, the night wind brushed against his face, fresh and cool. Li Xiaoqiang turned his head and stared at Xia Ke'er, saying, "Xia Ke'er, where do you live? Shall I take you home first?"
Xia Ke'er laughed and said, "There's no need, look at me in my police uniform, who would try to take liberties with me? Hee hee, unless they want to get beaten up."
After speaking, she even waved her little fists around.
Li Xiaoqiang found Xia Ke'er so adorable, and he smiled, "Yeah, who would dare to take liberties with a police officer, unless they no longer wish to live. But it's so late, I'll take you home, I'm free anyway."
Xia Ke'er pouted her lips, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Alright then, I'll grant you the privilege of being my Protector for the night."
Then, the two of them hailed a taxi. Xia Ke'er said, "Under the Mingyang building in Jinyang District."
Soon, the taxi stopped in front of the Mingyang building. Li Xiaoqiang paid the fare, and they both got out of the taxi.
Li Xiaoqiang gazed at the coffee shop across from the Mingyang building and smiled, "Xia Ke'er, you've been busy all day too, how about I treat you to a drink?"
Xia Ke'er waved her hand dismissively, "Forget it, I won't go. I'm really sensitive to red dye, and that coffee shop is practically all red decor."
Li Xiaoqiang felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.
However, Xia Ke'er suddenly changed the subject, "Why don't you come to my place? I'm all alone anyway. Of course, don't get the wrong idea. I'm just inviting you for a drink of water and to whip up some Ye Xiao. After all, the fast food we had at the hospital was hardly enough; I wasn't even fully satisfied, let alone you."
Li Xiaoqiang was, of course, overjoyed at the chance to enter Xia Ke'er's home, so the two of them headed towards room 312 in Building B of the Mingyang building.
Upon entering the room, Li Xiaoqiang saw that it was an approximately eighty-square-foot suite, decorated in an ancient style with lots of sandalwood and national patterns on the walls, which made it quite tasteful.
Li Xiaoqiang walked into the living room, where many plush dolls, mostly of the Grey Wolf, were placed on the sofa.
Li Xiaoqiang asked, "Is this your own place?"
Xia Ke'er shook her head and laughed, "Buying this apartment would cost five hundred thousand. I've just graduated from college, how could I have that kind of money? It's rented, and even if I were to buy, I wouldn't choose this layout. Look at that bathroom, facing the living room, it's so odd."
Xia Ke'er then poured Li Xiaoqiang a drink, she turned on the TV, set the volume high, and whispered, "You can watch TV for a while, I'll take a shower before making some Ye Xiao. The hospital has too many germs; otherwise, we might get sick."
Li Xiaoqiang started watching the news on the city's TV station; suddenly, they reported that an international fugitive had entered Jinnan City.
The public was advised to be careful, and the report included a photo of the wanted individual.
Shortly after, Xia Ke'er came out of the bathroom, a picture of beauty fresh from the bath. Xia Ke'er had shoulder-length hair, a baby face, porcelain-like skin, and the scent of a woman wafting in the air. Her towel wrapped neatly across her chest, extending down to her knees, she looked stunning!
Xia Ke'er then went to the kitchen to make Ye Xiao, and Li Xiaoqiang washed his hands, ready to help, but Xia Ke'er refused, insisting that guests should not work.
Li Xiaoqiang sat in the living room watching TV. It wasn't long before car horns and cries came from downstairs. Then someone sobbed, "Wang Xiaoya, I love you, why do you treat me this way, huhu, Wang Xiaoya, I'm willing to die for you, just come back to me, I'd even be willing to be a dog for you."
Li Xiaoqiang was stunned when he heard this. Was this guy dumped by a woman too?
Li Xiaoqiang could empathize with the man's feelings. When the person you deeply love leaves, it feels like your world turns bleak, with countless memories flashing through your mind.
It's like a needle, repeatedly pricking at your soul, until it pierces through and breaks your heart, fuelled by hate; perhaps this is an unconventional form of love.
Li Xiaoqiang walked out onto the balcony, where a man leaned on the car door, one hand honking the horn, crying out his love story with Wang Xiaoya.
Thanks to Li Xiaoqiang's good eyesight, he could clearly see that the man had been drinking, his face flushed red.
As the man continued, he fell onto the car door and started vomiting. After throwing up, he went back to honking the horn and cried, "Wang Xiaoya, I know you were after my money. Although I'm bankrupt now, there's still hope. I became wealthy once, and I can do it again. If you get back with me, I promise, within five years, I'll make sure you live in a mansion again."
Listening to the man's voice, Li Xiaoqiang felt a connection in their shared misery.
Perhaps love must ebb and flow, stopping here and there; only through appreciating the journey's scenery can you truly discover whether you cherish the mountains and plains or the faint blush of sunset at skyline.
Li Xiaoqiang didn't say much. Right now, this guy needed to vent, and maybe shouting it all out would make him feel better.
Before long, Xia Ke'er emerged from the kitchen, bringing Li Xiaoqiang a large bowl of egg noodles. Li Xiaoqiang admired the floating green onions and the bright yellow eggs on top of the noodles, a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. He complimented Xia Ke'er.
Xia Ke'er bashfully accepted the praise with modesty.
Hearing the crying from downstairs, Xia Ke'er asked Li Xiaoqiang what was the matter, so he told her the whole story.
Xia Ke'er sighed, "Ah, matters of the heart are so complicated. Knowing it harms the body, yet still they rush in like moths to a flame."
Li Xiaoqiang slurped a mouthful of noodles with a whoosh sound, savoring the delicious taste, and he too sighed, "Moths exist only to flutter towards the flame, maybe that's the curse of love."
By the time Li Xiaoqiang finished his noodles, the guy downstairs was still crying, now completely hoarse.
But as Li Xiaoqiang listened, something seemed off. The guy started hurling insults: "Wang Xiaoya, you rotten person, you dumped me when I ran out of money. I didn't care even when you messed around with other men. Now, I'll just set fire to this place; I'm gonna burn you to death, you rotten person."
As his words spread, the nearby residents quickly tried to calm him down. They hadn't stopped him from venting before because they understood – who hasn't encountered a lost love?
Letting him cry it out might have led to him moving past it, but they hadn't counted on him being so obsessive.
Li Xiaoqiang stood up and said, "I'm going to have a look."
Li Xiaoqiang didn't wait for Xia Ke'er to dissuade him and had already left the apartment, while Xia Ke'er hurriedly peered down from the balcony.
Li Xiaoqiang approached the fellow and said sternly, "Hey, buddy, I get that you're heartbroken, but let's not do something over a woman that could cost you money and even life. If you're broke now, just pick yourself up and make big money again. With money, women won't be scarce."
The increasingly corpulent middle-aged man pointed at Li Xiaoqiang's nose with a dazed expression and said, "Who the hell are you? Daring to preach to me here. If this were the old days, I could snuff you out with a single finger... snuff you out."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man even mimicked the action of crushing an ant.
Li Xiaoqiang took a deep breath and grabbed the man's collar.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Three slaps followed.
Li Xiaoqiang said with authority, "Are you awake now?"
Seeing the middle-aged man was still not responding, he kicked him straight away. The man crashed into a car, fell to the ground, scrambled up, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Awake... I'm awake!"
Li Xiaoqiang drew a deep breath and put a hand on the guy's shoulder, "Buddy, let's not get so worked up over a woman. If she loves you, you can give her twice as much. But if she doesn't, only wanting you for something else, and you can barely stand her sight, do you hear me?"
The middle-aged man nodded continuously, "Brother, thank you, I... I'll remember this."
Li Xiaoqiang shook his head, "It's nothing. Now go home and get some good sleep."
After Li Xiaoqiang finished speaking, the middle-aged man jumped into his car with the speed of lightning, fearing Li Xiaoqiang would slap him again!
Li Xiaoqiang quickly pulled him out of the car, "You're so drunk, and you want to drive? Want to die or what? Leave the car here. Come get it tomorrow. Take a taxi."
Li Xiaoqiang called a taxi for the guy. When he left, he was profusely thanking Li Xiaoqiang, tears and snot all mixed up.
No sooner had Li Xiaoqiang turned around than Xia Ke'er shouted from above, "Li Xiaoqiang, you looked so cool when you were hitting him, totally awesome!"
Oh my god, don't fall for me!