Chapter 90: A Change of Approach

The moment Police Officer Zhou appeared, Qiao Sanlang’s smile turned stiff and uneasy.

Police Officer Zhou gave a sly grin. “What’s the matter? Does Boss Qiao not seem very glad to see me?”

“Oh no, not at all. Of course not, Officer Zhou. Just say whatever you need.” Qiao Sanlang hurriedly put on a warmer face.

“That’s more like it. I’m not some man-eating tiger. What are you afraid of?”

“Zhou Sen, why is the owner of this bookstore so afraid of you?” Anna insisted on following him. Once they had reached the bookshelves, she asked in a low voice.

“I’m a policeman. On this street, there aren’t many shopkeepers who like people in our uniform. Leaving aside those who freeload on food and drink and never pay for what they take, this is a bookstore. If anything goes wrong with these books, it becomes an ideological crime. In serious cases, heads roll. Do you think the owner would be happy to see me?” Zhou Sen explained quietly.

Anna listened and nodded.

How could she not know what the city police were like?

Ordinary people avoided them as if they were a plague god, and shopkeepers had to pay an extra monthly “administration fee,” or else how could their businesses keep going?

“Look around as you like. Don’t come bother me.” Zhou Sen gave the order and began searching the newly stocked shelves.

Anna had no interest in choosing books. After staying a short while, she felt increasingly out of place in the atmosphere there and stepped outside for some air.

With a creak, the door was pushed open from the outside.

A slender figure entered, carrying two books in her arms, her cheeks rosy, a faint smile lingering on her face.

“Miss Su is here.”

“Hello, Boss Qiao. I’ve come to return some books.” Su Yun smiled sweetly and placed the two books in her hands on the counter.

“All right.” Qiao Sanlang took the books.

“Do you have any new ones?”

“There aren’t that many new books. Just some I managed to find from other places. They’re all on the shelves. Please have a look, Miss Su.” Qiao Sanlang said with a cheerful laugh.

Su Yun nodded, took the borrowing card from her bag, and handed it to Qiao Sanlang. Returned books had to be registered.

The moment Su Yun came in, Zhou Sen noticed her. He remembered very clearly the special scent about this girl.

But since she had come, he could hardly just avoid her. He had only been to the Ancient Books Store three times, and all three times he had run into her.

He even began to wonder whether there really was such a thing as fate. Of course, fate was not only about love between men and women; the meeting of enemies also counted.

Zhou Sen picked up a copy of The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants. It was an old book. He had read it in elementary school, though not in the traditional vertical format. Back then he had been utterly engrossed, looking up anything he did not understand in a dictionary, more serious about it than about studying his lessons.

Now, seeing the familiar sentences and scenes again, he could not help but feel a trace of emotion. The tricks of the ancients are still being used today; it is only the packaging that has changed, not the substance.

“Officer Zhou!”

A burst of fragrance swept toward him, and Su Yun’s delighted voice rang like thunder in his ear.

“Hush, Miss Su.” Zhou Sen frowned and reminded her, “I’m not deaf.”

“I’m just too happy. I’ve seen you again.” Su Yun quickly covered her mouth in apology, her eyes shining with joy.

“Thank you.” Zhou Sen returned a smile. What was there to be happy about in seeing him? This girl probably still did not know the relationship between him and her father.

“Officer Zhou, last time I wanted to buy you coffee to express my thanks. You won’t refuse me again this time, will you?” Su Yun asked.

“I’m sorry, Miss Su. I still have patrol duty later, so I really don’t have time to keep you company for coffee.” Zhou Sen refused without hesitation.

“Didn’t you already leave the Security Section? Why are you still on patrol?”

“I’m supervising their patrols...”

“You’ve been transferred to the Inspection Office?”

“Something like that...” How did this little girl know the police department’s structure so well?

“Then having a cup of coffee won’t take you that long. Besides, after being tired from patrol, resting a bit and having coffee to stay alert is perfectly normal, isn’t it?” Su Yun said with the air of someone determined not to leave without getting what she wanted.

“In that case, Miss Su, it seems I can’t really refuse the reason you’ve given me.” Zhou Sen thought it over. If he truly refused, would this drag on endlessly afterward?

Su Yun revealed a satisfied smile.

“Then shall we go now?”

“Aren’t you going to pick out books?”

“I can come back for that later. Anyway, it’s still early before closing.” Su Yun’s logic was airtight.

“All right, then let’s go to the same cafe we went to last time. It’s close by.” Zhou Sen considered it. Better to settle trouble early and be done with it.

He did not want to have too much to do with Su Wenqing’s daughter.

...

Inside the cafe, as soon as the two sat down, a young female server came over. Zhou Sen was a regular, and Su Yun was lovely and fresh, clearly of unusual breeding, a girl from no ordinary family.

“Officer Zhou, miss, what would you like to drink?”

Zhou Sen pointed at Su Yun, meaning ladies first.

Su Yun nodded slightly and said without ceremony, “A cappuccino, and two chestnut cakes.”

“I’ll just have a coffee.” Once Su Yun had ordered, Zhou Sen spoke directly. He only wanted to finish the cup and bring this to an end.

“Officer Zhou, I’m very grateful for your help last time with my wallet. The money inside wasn’t important, but the photograph in it was. It was the only picture I had with my mother.” Su Yun explained.

“Mm, I understand.”

“My mother was in poor health. She also damaged her health when she gave birth to me, so she died very early. My father was a man who only cared about making money and seldom cared about us. If he had cared a little more, perhaps my mother would not have died so young.” Su Yun said, her mood turning somewhat low.

Su Yun was probably looking for someone to confide in; otherwise, why would she insist on treating him to coffee and thanking him?

“The Reincarnation Paradise”

“Life is unpredictable. Your father is the sort of man who devotes himself to his career. He worked himself to the bone to make money, and wasn’t it also to give you a prosperous and secure life? We can’t be too harsh on him.” Zhou Sen said.

“You think so too?”

“In this world, it’s hard to find perfect people or perfect things. Only mutual understanding and tolerance matter. It’s the same between husband and wife, and between father and daughter.”

“Really, Officer Zhou?” Su Yun asked back.

Zhou Sen frowned slightly. Her reaction gave him a faint sense of foreboding. Had he stepped into a verbal trap of his own making?

“Whatever the case, there is no overnight feud between father and daughter. A little more understanding is always a good thing.”

“In that case, when I go home today, I’ll tell my father that if he truly wants to marry Bai Yuran of the Fragrant Orchid Pavilion, then let him marry her. I won’t oppose it anymore...”

Cough, cough...

Zhou Sen took a small sip of coffee and nearly spat it out.

As expected. No wonder Su Wenqing had made no moves lately; he had been restrained by his little cotton-padded jacket after all.

“Miss Su, that’s a matter between you and your father. There’s no need to tell me, is there?” Zhou Sen took out a handkerchief and wiped the coffee from the corner of his mouth.

“He is now trying every possible means to send me back to Peking so he can clear the way for marrying Bai Yuran.” Su Yun said.

Now Zhou Sen understood why Su Yun had persistently insisted on inviting him for coffee. She had something she wanted to discuss with him.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Our interests are aligned. I don’t want him to marry Bai Yuran, and neither do you. As long as I remain in Ice City for one more day, he cannot make that happen, so I must stay here.” Su Yun said very directly.

“I can’t help with that.” Zhou Sen refused without thinking. Persuading Su Wenqing to give up on Bai Yuran and getting involved in the father-daughter battle between Su Wenqing and Su Yun were two very different matters.

“When school starts, my father will certainly arrange for someone to escort me all the way to Peking. That person will definitely be my father’s adopted son, Feng Hua. You only need to make it impossible for him to go to Peking with me.” Su Yun said.

“If he doesn’t go to Peking with you, then you can stay?”

“He is the fiancé my father has chosen for me, and he also wants the two of us to get engaged and then go to Peking.” Su Yun said.

“Your father wants you two to spend some time together, turn the rice into cooked rice, and then come back?” Zhou Sen understood.

“That should be exactly what he means.”

“So what, you want me to kidnap Feng Hua, or set him up so he’s arrested and cannot attend your engagement ceremony?” Zhou Sen asked.

“I would never ask you to do anything illegal, but you can appear at the engagement banquet as my boyfriend.” As Su Yun finished speaking, she fixed Zhou Sen with a burning gaze.

Zhou Sen froze. This was no pure little girl at all; she was practically a dark-hearted woman disguised as a white rabbit. Her bloodline was certainly impressive.

“Miss Su, although for many men being your boyfriend would be something joyful and honorable, for me the risk is far too great.” Zhou Sen said.

A flicker of surprise flashed in Su Yun’s eyes.

Zhou Sen went on, “You know perfectly well what my relationship with Bai Yuran is, and your father surely knows too. If you choose me to pretend to be your boyfriend and disrupt your engagement with Feng Hua, that will utterly enrage your father. Not only will I be thoroughly hated by him, you won’t gain anything either. You’ll even become a laughingstock in Ice City’s high society. I don’t know whether this idea was your own, or some fool’s bad advice.”

A trace of panic flashed in Su Yun’s eyes.

“If you truly don’t want to marry that Feng Hua, then talk openly with your father once. After all, this is your marriage. Surely he can’t ignore your opinion completely?”

“I’m afraid that if I say anything, he won’t let me leave freely again.” Su Yun shook her head.

Su Wenqing was the hall master of the Seven Stars Hall, the leader of a gang. In ordinary matters he was naturally domineering and used to making all decisions himself.

Born into such a family, it was indeed difficult for Su Yun to take control of her own marriage.

“Actually, Feng Hua’s reputation is not bad. He’s also your father’s adopted son, and you two grew up together. Wouldn’t it be even better if your relationship advanced a step...”

“A marriage without love will never be happy. Officer Zhou, would you marry someone you do not like?” Su Yun countered.

“Yes, if necessary.” Zhou Sen nodded.

Su Yun stared blankly. This answer was completely different from what she had known; among people her age, almost no one would think that way.

“Miss Su, once you truly understand the essence of marriage, you will realize that the person you want to marry is ultimately not the one who will walk with you to the end. That is reality. Love is merely one side dish of life. Rice and bread are the staple food. Don’t get them mixed up.” Zhou Sen said. “I’m sorry, Miss Su. I can’t help you.”

Faced with Zhou Sen’s refusal once again, Su Yun’s face turned pale. Everyone she could think of, or rather everyone she could find to help her, had refused.

“Miss Su, engagement is not marriage. Why be so pessimistic? Your father may control everything in Ice City, but once you get to Peking, things will be different.” Zhou Sen said slowly. “Change your line of thought, and perhaps the result will be different.”

The moment those words were spoken, a glimmer flashed in Su Yun’s eyes. It was the light of hope.