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墨書 Inktalez
"Dinner is ready,"
the Black Stocking Woman said as she lifted the light curtain and stepped inside, smiling, "Brother, come out to eat."
"That was quick. Alright." Zhang Qiu stood up, and the Black Stocking Woman walked in, looking around her room and chuckling, "Sister, this place isn't bad, right?"
"Not bad at all. It's quite cozy."
"If I didn't live alone, it wouldn't be cozy enough; life would be too hard." The Black Stocking Woman gazed at her small dwelling, a hint of endless loneliness in her eyes. If it weren't for her choices back then, she should be in the mountains now, married with children, living a simple and unadorned life. The Black Stocking Woman occasionally felt this way, but whenever she thought of her sister, she had no regrets about her choices.
Zhang Qiu watched the Black Stocking Woman lost in thought and quietly waited without interrupting. The Black Stocking Woman snapped back to reality and pulled Zhang Qiu out to eat. On the square table outside were a plate of stir-fried tomatoes with shredded potatoes, a plate of green beans with meat, and a steaming bowl of egg custard on the steamer of the rice cooker. The Black Stocking Woman sat down first and served Zhang Qiu a large bowl of rice, saying with a smile, "Don't be polite; eat more."
"Okay, okay." Zhang Qiu took the bowl with both hands and waited until the Black Stocking Woman had served herself before picking up his chopsticks. He grabbed some green beans; they tasted quite good. The Black Stocking Woman smiled and said, "I didn't have time to prepare much; this is all I have here. Let's make do with it."
"This is already great."
Halfway through the meal, the Black Stocking Woman began chatting with Zhang Qiu about Liu Xinru.
"My sister has had a tough life; she's been suffering since she was young and has endured it all until now. It looks like she's finally about to break free."
Zhang Qiu agreed, "Yes, once she finishes college and starts working, things will get better."
"What good is that? She doesn't even have a partner."
"With her looks, why would she worry about finding someone?"
"What good is being pretty? Being beautiful isn't always an advantage. Sometimes I really don't understand what young people think; there are so many excellent young people in college, yet my sister hasn't found anyone she likes. It's like they're missing something."
"Missing what?"
The Black Stocking Woman furrowed her brows in deep thought for a moment and said, "To put it in my sister's words, it's a feeling."
Zhang Qiu nodded in agreement, though he didn't quite understand what she meant. The Black Stocking Woman continued, "Xinru wants to find a boyfriend like you."
"Wow!" Zhang Qiu, who was eating, nearly spat out his food. How did the conversation shift to him?
Seeing Zhang Qiu choke, the Black Stocking Woman quickly got up to pat his back and brought him a glass of water. After drinking, Zhang Qiu felt much better.
The Black Stocking Woman remarked, "Why are you eating so fast? Look at how you choked yourself. Are you feeling okay? Let me help you again."
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Zhang Qiu waved his hand, thinking to himself that if she hadn't suddenly said that, he wouldn't have choked.
After finishing their meal, the Black Stocking Woman took out a large bag and a small bag of tea leaves from the room and handed them to Zhang Qiu. "Take these back for your dad."
"No way, no way! This tea is too precious; I can't accept it. My dad hasn't finished the last batch you gave me."
"Don't be polite; just take it!" The Black Stocking Woman insisted on stuffing the tea leaves into Zhang Qiu's hands. "The smaller bag contains the same kind as last time, and the big one is just regular tea leaves, but it's still better than what you can buy in the market. Take it back for your dad to try. I know you're good to me, and I don't have much to give you in return. If you're going to keep being polite, then I won't see you anymore."
With that said, Zhang Qiu had no choice but to accept the tea leaves. Jiang Xue was still waiting for him at the bar, so he bid farewell to the Black Stocking Woman. After he left, she went back inside to clean up the dishes and then sat on a stool at the door like before. A woman from across an empty room shouted, "Liu, stop staring; there's still plenty of time!"
The Black Stocking Woman immediately understood her meaning and retorted angrily, "Is there nothing else on your mind?"
"Oh come on, don't be shy! With such great resources available, when will you let me have a taste? I'd even take it for free!"
"Exactly! You can't keep it all to yourself; let us sisters have a taste too!" another woman chimed in as they all laughed heartily, drawing attention from passersby.
"Get lost!" The Black Stocking Woman cursed. "Don't spread rumors; I'm telling you that person is my brother."
She smirked and whispered in a tone only she could hear, "He might even become my brother-in-law."
The explanation of the Black Stocking Woman naturally drew a burst of laughter. The Black Stocking Woman snorted coldly, turned her head away, and ignored them.
Zhang Qiu bought Lotus Leaf Rice, which Jiang Xue loved, to take back. As soon as he entered the bar, before he could say anything, Rui Rui walked over and smiled, "Brother Qiu, why didn't you bring your wife today?"
"I went to take care of some business; she came by herself. Didn't you see her?"
"No, I didn't see her."
"Alright then, I'll go look for her." Zhang Qiu carried the Lotus Leaf Rice and headed upstairs. Rui Rui ran over and grabbed Zhang Qiu, saying, "Brother Qiu, you don't need to go up; Jiang Xue isn't here."
Zhang Qiu's mind buzzed as if he had been electrocuted. He stared intently at Rui Rui and asked, "What do you mean Jiang Xue isn't here?"
"She's not here, Brother Qiu. I've been at the bar counter watching; there were few customers today. If Jiang Xue had come, I would have definitely seen her."
With a loud thud, the Lotus Leaf Rice fell from Zhang Qiu's hands onto the floor. He dashed upstairs first to the office, where only Yang Yu and two brothers were sitting inside. When Yang Yu saw Zhang Qiu push the door open, he smiled and said, "Brother Qiu, you're here?"
Strangely enough, Zhang Qiu ignored him completely and walked straight out. Yang Yu sensed something was off with Zhang Qiu today and hurriedly followed him out, only to see Zhang Qiu searching each private room one by one. Yang Yu shouted, "Brother Qiu, what's wrong? What are you looking for?"
Zhang Qiu turned around and asked, "Jiang Xue, have you seen Jiang Xue?"
"No, Brother Qiu," Yang Yu shook his head in confusion but suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation and stared nervously at Zhang Qiu. Zhang Qiu nodded heavily and expressed his concern, "Something might have happened. I went to take care of business at noon; she came to the bar first. We agreed to meet here; how could she not be here?"
"Brother Qiu, calm down for a moment. Why don't you call your wife? Maybe she went to do something or ran into someone she knows and is on her way."
Prompted by Yang Yu's reminder, Zhang Qiu quickly took out his phone to make a call. Ever since Jiang Xue moved in with him, he had made sure she always carried her phone. In his panic earlier, he completely forgot about this point. Zhang Qiu entered three digits on the screen and dialed; this was a family number set up by the mobile company. Zhang Qiu's number was 610, and Jiang Xue's was 611.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off. Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is perff..."
The voice from the phone was loud enough for both Yang Yu and Rui Rui, who had rushed up, to hear the customer service message. Zhang Qiu stared blankly ahead while Rui Rui comforted him: "Brother Qiu, don't panic just yet. Think about it; did you have to turn off your phones when you were in school? Maybe Jiang Xue just forgot to turn hers on."
Zhang Qiu shook his head vigorously, "No way, no way. We've always been on silent mode; it definitely won't shut down."
Rui Rui asked again, "What if it ran out of battery?"
"It won't. I charged it myself last night." Qiu Wan started to leave, and Rui Rui shouted from behind, "Brother Qiu, where are you going?"
"To the monitoring room!"
Yang Yu and Rui Rui hurriedly followed him.
Inside the monitoring room, the working Brothers stood up and shouted in unison, "Brother Qiu."
Zhang Qiu nodded and directly asked, "Azure Blue Rose, has there been any activity?"
"No, Brother Qiu. We've been watching it twenty-four hours a day; everything is normal."
"Then has anything been different from usual, especially today? For example, has anyone been carried in or helped in?"
One of the brothers replied, "Brother Qiu, if that's the case, there would be many instances. Anyone who drinks too much inside has to be carried out."
"It's true that those who drink too much need to be carried out, but they don't need to be carried in when they're drunk. Think carefully—has anyone been carried in, hugged in, or lifted in?"
The brother thought carefully. Seeing Brother Qiu so anxious must mean something serious was happening. After going through it twice in his mind, he said, "Brother Qiu, I don't recall anyone being brought in, but if it's been too long ago, I might not remember clearly. Should I replay the footage at double speed?"
"Sure." Zhang Qiu immediately decided, "Then replay the footage from noon until now at either normal or double speed."
"Understood."
The brother sat back down and started operating the mouse. Zhang Qiu stared at the screen with a furrowed brow. He suspected that Jiang Xue's sudden disappearance might be related to Mao Tong. He would rather believe that Jiang Xue was delayed by something on her way to the bar; however, various signs indicated that it might not be that simple. Zhang Qiu had a very ominous premonition; what needed to be confirmed first was whether Jiang Xue had been taken to Azure Blue Rose.
The playback video was retrieved. At the entrance of Blue Rose Entertainment City, four burly men stood on either side. It was a quiet afternoon with very few people around. Several luxury cars were parked at the entrance, but there were hardly any comings and goings; even when there were, it was not the case of two people supporting one person. Zhang Qiu watched the video from start to finish, confirming that Jiang Xue had not been taken to Azure Blue Rose. Zhang Qiu began to ponder where Jiang Xue could have gone.
Zhang Qiu took out his phone and dialed Jiang Xue's number again, but it was still turned off. He started to regret letting Jiang Xue go to the bar alone; he shouldn't have been so careless, especially knowing that Mao Tong's side had been keeping a close watch on him. Zhang Qiu raised his head and said, "Yang Yu, gather the Brothers for a meeting."
"Understood." Yang Yu immediately went out to call everyone.
Rui Rui grabbed Zhang Qiu's arm and asked, "Brother Qiu, what are you planning to do?"
"I'm going to Azure Blue Rose to get someone."
"But how do you know it was them?"
"Who else could it be?"
"Brother Qiu, please don't do this. I'm scared." Rui Rui looked at Zhang Qiu with a fearful expression for the first time as she sensed the predatory look in his eyes.
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