Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 39

Chapter 39: She Wants to Disappear

On the way home, Jiang Yan asked Shen Yiyi what she liked to eat. Shen Yiyi was not polite and said she liked to eat fish and meat.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan told Qin Luo to take her home first, while she turned to go to the market.

Clearly, there was no fish on the Shen family’s table during the Mid-Autumn Festival…

If Shen Yiyi really liked to eat it, would Uncle Shen not make it for her?

Qin Luo felt that Shen Yiyi’s harmless appearance was quite deceptive. She had performed an extroverted personality in front of her mom and had almost fooled herself.

After the winter vacation, they would be divided into arts and sciences classes. Qin Luo didn’t know if this meal was a final farewell. So no one spoke on the way, and she silently led the way.

Qin Luo’s house was a self-built house, left to her by her maternal grandfather.

Originally, the municipal plan was to build a high-speed rail station on her family’s land, but after waiting for three years, the demolition had not started. The family couldn’t wait and had paid to rebuild the old house during the summer before Qin Luo started high school.

It was a three-story small building with a front and back yard. The family of three and her grandmother all lived here.

The house was big enough, but it looked messy.

Her grandmother had planted vegetables in a plot in the yard. Her father’s hardware and miscellaneous goods were piled in the corner of the courtyard, as well as fishing rods everywhere, and the plastic bags that Jiang Yan had collected and stuffed into every crack.

Qin Luo didn’t know what was in the bulging bags. She was out of place in this family, as if everything had nothing to do with her.

Qin Luo pushed open the main gate with a heavy heart. The big yellow dog immediately barked wildly when it saw a stranger enter the house.

The dog was chained to the persimmon tree in the yard.

It had been picked up by Qin Minghui on the roadside to prevent thieves from climbing over the wall into the yard. But Qin Luo was not familiar with this dog. Her father was the one who fed it.

So Qin Luo had never even given the dog a name. She would just call it “Hey.”

Qin Luo didn’t want to kick the dog in front of Shen Yiyi, but she was afraid of scaring her, so she stood in front of her.

“It doesn’t bite.”

Actually, Qin Luo wasn’t sure if it would bite or not.

In this family, besides her grandmother, with whom she could say a few words, she was not familiar with anything else, including this dog.

“I’m not afraid.” Shen Yiyi said she wasn’t afraid, but she held Qin Luo’s waist tightly, clutching Qin Luo’s school uniform, and poked half her head out from behind her cautiously.

All of Qin Luo’s thoughts went to her waist. Shen Yiyi’s hands were holding her so tightly.

It was a cold winter day, but suddenly everything started to itch.

***

Jiang Yan had specially bought sea fish, ribs, and her specialty, stir-fried dried bamboo shoots with dried tofu and mixed vegetables, for Shen Yiyi.

She had heard Shen Yiyi’s name more than once at parent-teacher conferences. It was all about her outstanding grades and excellent character. Most importantly, the child’s family background was also good. Just by tutoring her daughter for half a semester, Qin Luo’s grades had improved by leaps and bounds.

Jiang Yan’s expectations were low. Most of the children in the neighborhood would return to their hometown to work after graduating from college.

College classmates were scattered all over the country. How could they be as reliable as high school classmates? Besides, Shen Yiyi’s father was a small leader. A small town had its own unique social rules—classmates were future life resources.

At the dinner table, Jiang Yan used a clean pair of chopsticks to pick out the fish roe and put it on Shen Yiyi’s plate. “I know you kids don’t like to eat freshwater fish because it’s fishy. I’ll give you the best part. Thank you for helping Qin Luo with her studies during this time.”

Qin Luo stared silently at the fish head, meeting the empty fish eyes.

She rarely heard Jiang Yan speak so politely.

Qin Luo’s heart was in her throat. Every word her mother said made her feel choked.

Jiang Yan and Qin Minghui had worked outside for more than ten years and had given up their jobs in the provincial capital to come home and take care of Qin Luo in the first semester of her third year of junior high.

They said it was to take care of their daughter who was taking the high school entrance exam, but Qin Luo later heard that her dad’s pharmaceutical factory had laid off workers. Her parents had made a scene at the factory and had gotten a lot of severance pay before returning to Fengjiang.

Qin Luo still remembered seeing Jiang Yan in an apron that day, walking out of the kitchen with a plate.

Her mother had said, “Hurry up and wash your hands and come eat.” But she couldn’t even say, “Mom, why are you back?” So… let alone any happy childhood memories between the mother and daughter.

In these past few years, whenever Jiang Yan mentioned the mother-daughter relationship in front of outsiders, she would always talk about some trivial, painless life matters.

Qin Luo couldn’t empathize and was particularly tired of hearing it.

Therefore, she couldn’t predict what embarrassing story about herself would come out of Jiang Yan’s mouth next at the dinner table.

No matter which one it was, Qin Luo didn’t want Shen Yiyi to hear it.

But Qin Luo couldn’t stop it.

She couldn’t be like Shen Yiyi and directly interrupt Uncle Shen’s conversation without caring about face. She and her mother were as awkward as strangers. She was most afraid of spoiling a stranger’s mood.

The whole meal was a long one for her, but the Shen Yiyi next to her was particularly active.

She had eaten more than half of the braised fish that Jiang Yan had painstakingly made. The most tender fresh winter bamboo shoots had also gone into her stomach. She had even drunk the pig’s trotter soup.

While Jiang Yan was getting rice, Qin Luo reminded Shen Yiyi on the side, “Don’t you have poor digestion? Don’t force yourself to eat if you can’t.”

“I’m not forcing myself.” Shen Yiyi wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It’s delicious.”

Jiang Yan came back with the rice. Hearing Shen Yiyi say that the food was delicious, she said with a smile, “Yiyi, if you think my cooking is good, you should come to my house to eat often. Next time you want to eat something, just have Qin Luo tell me, and I’ll make it for you.”

Qin Luo pursed her lips and pretended not to hear, stuffing rice into her mouth.

Shen Yiyi nodded and took the bowl of rice with both hands. “Okay, Auntie.”

Hearing her answer, Qin Luo glanced at her sideways.

Shen Yiyi would never agree to do something she didn’t want to do. It was difficult to even get her to go to the cafeteria at school. But now she had agreed to come to her house for dinner often?

Jiang Yan moved the dish that Shen Yiyi had been eating most frequently in front of her. “I heard you’ll be divided into classes after the winter vacation?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re smart, you should study sciences. Qin Luo’s math!” Jiang Yan frowned at the thought, clicking her tongue several times, which annoyed Qin Luo and made the rice in her throat difficult to swallow. “If she were as good at sciences as you are, I would definitely have her choose sciences. It’s hard to find a job with an arts degree in the future!”

Cough—

Shen Yiyi was so choked by her aunt’s words that her face turned red. She covered her mouth and swallowed the rice. “No, Auntie. Qin Luo’s Chinese grades are particularly good in class, and her essays are often included in the outstanding selections. I think everyone has subjects they are good at and not good at. You don’t have to worry about her.”

“Oh my! Look at that.” Jiang Yan was extremely satisfied with Shen Yiyi, her eyes full of affection. When she turned to see her daughter anxiously patting her back, her eyes drooped again.

She added, “Qin Luo, you have to learn from Yiyi. This winter vacation, have Yiyi find you some more math papers to do. Ask her if you don’t understand the problems. Don’t always hide in your room and read novels!”

Qin Luo ignored Jiang Yan, unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle beside her, and placed it in front of Shen Yiyi. “Have some water.”

“You give me a sour face whenever I talk about math.” Jiang Yan waved her hand. “It’s not just math, but also English. You wear headphones at home all day. I don’t know if you’re really listening. I don’t think your English listening skills have improved much this time.”

Shen Yiyi put down the water, her expression numb as she was caught between the mother and daughter.

“Yiyi, if you have time, you should help Qin Luo more—”

Sensing the difficulty on Shen Yiyi’s face, Qin Luo finally put down her chopsticks. “Mom! Alright, I know. I will definitely ask her more.”

Jiang Yan reminded her in a low voice, “Don’t you dare sneak around and play when your dad and I are not at home. I’ll throw away those magazines of yours sooner or later. Is it good for you to read things that have nothing to do with your studies all day?”

Shen Yiyi spoke up in time. “Auntie, I’m full.”

Jiang Yan’s attention was instantly diverted, and a smile returned to her lips. “Are you full?! That’s good. I’ll have Qin Luo take you for a walk nearby in a bit. Wait for me to call your dad to pick you up.”

***

Hoo—

Jiang Yan was stuffing winter jujubes into Shen Yiyi’s pocket. Qin Luo stood in the yard with her hands in her pockets, staring at the big yellow dog.

She couldn’t figure it out.

Why was the big yellow dog more important to Qin Minghui than she was? Why did Jiang Yan think that she couldn’t find a job with an arts degree? Why did Shen Yiyi have to eat so much tonight? Why couldn’t she breathe peacefully in any corner of her home?

She wanted to disappear.

Shen Yiyi walked to Qin Luo’s side with the winter jujubes in her hands. The big yellow dog started barking again when it saw a stranger.

Qin Luo finally lost her patience. She walked to the yellow dog and pointed her finger at its nose, saying in a deep voice, “Go back to your doghouse.”

The yard was instantly quiet.

Qin Luo stood sideways, blocking the dog, and said to the Shen Yiyi who was holding the jujubes, “You go first.”

“You two just walk around nearby. Don’t go too far.”

Jiang Yan’s shout from the courtyard echoed in the alley. Qin Luo faced the wind and didn’t answer.

The two walked on the street. Shen Yiyi had walked a long way before she asked, “Where are your parents going for the winter vacation?”

“To my dad’s hometown, in another province.”

“Then why aren’t you going? Are you staying at home alone?”

Qin Luo smiled. “I don’t want to go. I still have to take care of my grandmother at home. And my mom thinks studying is important. There’s no time to study when we go back to our hometown.”

Shen Yiyi wiped the dust from a winter jujube and asked casually, “Then do you want to come to my house to study?”

The long and tedious night had blood flowing back into it. The empty fish eyes on the dinner plate were stuffed with glass beads. But Qin Luo was only happy for two seconds, and then fear came again.

Their friendship should have ended after they were divided into arts and sciences classes.

Why did Shen Yiyi reach out to her?

Clearly, she ate very slowly, was timid and self-deprecating, and was bad at math. She had no family to be proud of. It seemed that the only thing she had to offer was the Slender Gold style in her homework.

Qin Luo came back to her senses and smiled. “It’s fine. I can study by myself.”

Shen Yiyi said nonchalantly, “My dad is going to take care of my grandmother for the winter vacation. He… he won’t be at home either.”

“Are you afraid of being alone?”

Shen Yiyi shook her head, then nodded, and finally looked away and asked, “Are you coming to study or not?”

“Okay then.”

With that “okay then,” Qin Luo’s winter vacation was settled.

From the day Jiang Yan and Qin Minghui got on the train to Luoyang, Qin Luo had moved her books to Shen Yiyi’s house.

At first, she would only go in the afternoon. The two would sit at a table and study hard. When they were tired of studying, Qin Luo would read extracurricular books, and Shen Yiyi would watch TV for a while. In the evening, after they finished studying, they would go to a shop and order a bowl of hot noodles. After eating, they would go their separate ways.

Later, Shen Yiyi sorted out the math framework for the first year of high school, and Qin Luo had more and more test papers to do. She started going to Shen Yiyi’s house early in the morning with breakfast.

Jiang Yan knew that Qin Luo was going to Shen’s house for tutoring and gave Qin Luo enough pocket money to cover three meals a day, reminding her to remember to buy drinks for Shen Yiyi.

Qin Luo had enough money for food.

But Shen Yiyi’s stomach couldn’t take it first.

Qin Luo was writing her English weekly report while Shen Yiyi was taking a nap, but she heard a faint groan from the bed. Shen Yiyi was curled up, her hands clutching her body, hissing like a rattlesnake.

Qin Luo immediately stood up and went to check on her. She found a layer of fine sweat on her forehead, her expression twisted in pain.

“Stomachache?”

Shen Yiyi was in so much pain she couldn’t open her mouth and just nodded.

Seeing her in pain, Qin Luo was extremely anxious. “I’ll call your uncle.”

Shen Yiyi waved her hand weakly. “Don’t.”