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墨書 Inktalez
Autumn Wind barely saw Qiu Feng's movements before her bag was snatched up by Zhao from the Tea Table. Before she could react, Qiu Feng pushed her out the door and slammed it shut.
A slightly hoarse voice accompanied by the cries of children came through the thick door: "Money, I will write you an IOU. Hurry and leave, just leave!"
Autumn Wind, in a panic like a startled deer, stood anxiously outside the door. The Buddhist beads hanging on Leo's door suddenly stung her eyes, a sensation akin to having a brief dream during a midday nap.
Autumn Wind shivered slightly and pounded on the door: "Hey, Qiu Feng, are you crazy? Open the door! I just helped you!"
This time there was no response. After standing at the door for a few minutes, Autumn Wind could no longer bear the silence, so she pressed the elevator button and decided to go downstairs first.
After leaving Qiu Feng's home, Autumn Wind slowly walked along Xinyi Road towards 101. The white 101 building loomed like an unripe pillar reaching into the sky; aside from its height, it looked no different from an ordinary high-rise, lacking any awe-inspiring presence.
However, as she walked, Autumn Wind became unsettled. She vaguely sensed someone following her from behind, occasionally hearing crisp "click" sounds of photography.
The two men in sunglasses from Qiu Feng's house flashed through Autumn Wind's mind like ghosts, sending a chill down her spine. Her footsteps involuntarily quickened as she searched for a place to take refuge while dialing Liu Jian.
The moment Liu Jian answered the phone, Autumn Wind fortuitously found a sanctuary; the Securities Exchange, where Rahel worked, was welcoming her with open arms.
Leaning against the wall beside the entrance of the Securities Exchange, Autumn Wind pressed her hand against her racing heart and said into the phone: "Can you come pick me up? I'm on Xinyi Road, yes... it's Rahel's office. Right, how long? One minute? You're kidding... I don't believe it!"
As she tapped against the wall, feeling anxious, images of Qiu Feng and her daughter in their pitiful state floated into her mind, causing her to worry that those two men might go looking for them. No way, I need to go back and check.
Thinking this, she said into the phone to Liu Jian: "Hurry and come get me! Accompany me somewhere, quickly!"
Autumn Wind moved closer to the exchange while racking her brain to quickly formulate a reason for entering.
The electronic sensor door of the exchange opened automatically as Autumn Wind approached. "Okay, okay... I'll go into the exchange first. Ugh, if I see Rahel, what should I say? This is so troublesome!" she said while tapping her head playfully.
Yet it seemed all this was in vain because as soon as Autumn Wind stepped through the entrance of the exchange and looked up, she saw Liu Jian standing right in front of her.
Seeing Autumn Wind's excited expression, Liu Jian could only show a compliant demeanor and followed Autumn Wind toward Qiu Feng's house.
Qiu Feng had just managed to put the children to sleep, and she appeared quite startled by Autumn Wind's sudden reappearance. In fact, she looked a bit worried as she peered behind Autumn Wind like a scout.
When she discovered that Liu Jian was behind Autumn Wind, the relaxed expression that Autumn Wind had hoped to see on her face did not appear. Instead, Qiu Feng looked somewhat fearful and at a loss.
"Um, dear, I need to use the Toilet!" Autumn Wind turned his face toward Liu Jian, who looked utterly astonished.
Noticing Liu Jian's bewilderment, Autumn Wind realized he had misspoken. According to their earlier agreement on the way, it should have been Liu Jian who needed to use the Toilet, allowing Autumn Wind to take the opportunity to provide psychological counseling to Qiu Feng and secretly slip her the check he had prepared.
Autumn Wind's mouth twitched slightly as he frowned at Liu Jian. After a few seconds of hesitation, he still turned around and headed for the Toilet. "I'll be right back!" he smiled at Liu Jian.
At the sink, there was Qiu Feng's favorite cosmetic in a light green bottle, each one crystal clear. Autumn Wind gently touched it with his finger and noticed a layer of thin dust on top, indicating that Qiu Feng hadn't used these in quite some time.
Autumn Wind lowered his head to wash his hands; the water flowed gently like a trickling stream.
He looked up at the mirror, which also had a layer of dusty haze covering it, making his face appear blurry, like a photo taken out of focus. He smiled at the mirror, looking like an innocent high school girl in the haze.
Taking a deep breath, Autumn Wind pulled out his bag, rummaged through his checkbook, took out a pen and wrote down the amount, then took out the red ink pad and carefully pressed it onto the check.
He gently blew on the red ink to ensure it dried before tidying everything up and stepping out of the washroom.
In the living room, Qiu Feng and Liu Jian stood in the middle; they seemed not to have moved.
Autumn Wind cheerfully walked up to them and tilted his head to ask, "What are you two talking about?"
Hearing Autumn Wind's question, Liu Jian turned to look at him with one hand in his pocket, posing like a mannequin showcasing clothes in a magazine.
Liu Jian did not answer Autumn Wind's question but instead said, "Um, I also need to use the restroom!"
He blinked, as if he had just made an agreement with Autumn Wind.
Liu Jian turned and walked toward the bathroom. Autumn Wind heard him gently close the door, followed by the sound of water splashing.
Autumn Wind smiled as she approached Qiu Feng, who wore a radiant smile on her face. "Did Liu Jian say something to you?"
Qiu Feng retreated to the sofa, turning her uninjured side toward Autumn Wind. She looked up at Autumn Wind but then lowered her head again.
Just as she was about to speak, Autumn Wind slipped the prepared check into her hand.
Qiu Feng was momentarily stunned, and an inexplicable anger flashed across her face. Her voice was low and hoarse, tinged with accusation: "What do you mean by this!?"
"We? What's wrong with you?" Autumn Wind was taken aback, frowning at Qiu Feng.
Seeing Autumn Wind's confusion, Qiu Feng relaxed a bit: "Nothing, nothing... What about you?" She looked down at the check again, stunned once more. "What is this...?"
"I don't need it right now! No rush! Just return it when you're financially stable again; it's one hundred fifty, not two hundred!" Autumn Wind blinked.
Qiu Feng pushed back, "I can't take your money anymore, I..."
"Take it, take it..."
Just as the two were pushing each other, Liu Jian came out.
Autumn Wind stood up from the sofa. "Well, I'm leaving! Come by again sometime!" Then she ran toward Liu Jian.
However, Qiu Feng grabbed Autumn Wind's hand, tears welling in her eyes.
Autumn Wind had never seen Qiu Feng cry and felt a bit at a loss: "What's wrong with you?"
She released Autumn Wind's hand and deeply bowed to him, saying, "Thank you, Autumn Wind! I really apologize for what happened in the past!"
Autumn Wind was still thinking about something when Liu Jian came up from behind and wrapped his arm around Autumn Wind's shoulder. Autumn Wind's legs involuntarily followed him to the door.
Liu Jian said nothing and didn't even glance at Qiu Feng. He simply opened the door and pulled Autumn Wind outside, then slammed the door shut behind them.
The loud bang jolted Autumn Wind out of her daze. She forcefully shook off Liu Jian's hand that was resting on her shoulder and exclaimed, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
The elevator doors opened with a ding. He remained silent as he stepped into the elevator and turned to pull Autumn Wind in with him.
His series of actions left Autumn Wind so startled that she could hardly speak. She looked up at his expressionless face and suddenly remembered something.
Autumn Wind vaguely recalled that just moments ago at Rahel Exchange, Liu Jian had asked if Qiu Feng was renting her apartment.
How could he know that Qiu Feng is renting my place?
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