Special District 9

The car stopped in an alley. Qi Lin turned to the two men and said, “Bro, don’t follow me into my house. Wait here for me. I’ll be back after getting the item.”

“We’ll wait here for you,” one of them replied with a nod.

Qi Lin opened the car door and alighted from it. He walked around 200 meters before finally entering a residence. He grabbed the handle of the door where he and Bella lived and tried to pull it open, but he swiftly realized that it was locked from the inside.

“Open up!” Qi Lin shouted.

“Give me a moment,” Bella quickly responded.

“Hurry up!” Qi Lin urged anxiously.

Around three to four minutes later, Bella finally put her clothes on and opened the door with unkempt hair. “Y-you’re back so early today? I thought that you’re working overtime?”

Qi Lin was in no mood to explain anything at all. As soon as he walked into the house, he said, “Where did you put the black bag I gave you the other day?”

Bella was taken aback by that question, “What black bag?”

“The bag I gave you together with our living expenses,” Qi Lin replied.

That day, when Ah Long gave Qi Lin money, the latter was still too overwhelmed by worry and the sorrow of separation that he didn’t pay any attention to the money or the bag. Furthermore, Ah Long’s words weren’t very obvious, and Qi Lin thought that the latter was just telling him that if he encountered any trouble or needed money, he would be able to get to Ah Long through the contact number in the bag.

So, Qi Lin didn’t even think that the contact number would be linked to the medicine supplier, and he didn’t bother hiding it properly either. He simply handed it over to Bella together with the living expenses, entrusting it to her to take care of it.

Bella quickly tidied up her fringe in a fluster as she replied, “That bag was quite old… After you gave it to me, I took out the money, and as for the bag… I can’t remember where I placed it after that…”

“What else are you good for then?” Qi Lin had never spoken to Bella with such a tone before, but he was really flustered at this moment. He glared at the latter angrily as he roared, “Hurry up and find it! Think about where you last found it.”

“Ah, I’ll find it for you.”

“We’ll find it together.”

“You should rest first… I… I’ll find it for you. Let me think where I have placed it…” Bella uttered in a panic. With her clothes draped over her, she began flipping through the cupboard beside the window.

“That thing is very important to me. It mustn’t go missing!” Qi Lin was feeling uneasy, and he simply couldn’t calm himself at all. He began flipping through the room as well.

Squatting in front of the cupboard, Bella glanced at Qi Lin in trepidation. The latter had searched through the other parts of the room, and he was already standing right beside the cupboard.

In a moment of anxiety, she spun up a lie and said, “I… I think I remember it now! I brought it out while I was buying stuff the other day, and I accidentally got it… dirty… so I threw it away…”

Qi Lin had just grabbed the door of the cupboard when he heard Bella’s words. Something snapped in his mind as he roared, “What did you say? You threw it away…?!”

Watching as Qi Lin pulled the cupboard doors open, Bella froze on the spot as her eyes widened round.

Noticing something amiss with Bella’s expression, Qi Lin quickly turned over to look at the cupboard, and in the next moment, he, too, froze on the spot.

There was a naked person inside the cupboard. He was holding onto two pieces of clothing as he blinked his eyes at Qi Lin.

Qi Lin retreated two steps with a pale face as he tore his eyes away from the cupboard to look at Bella with a stupefied expression.

“You… I…” Bella was at a complete loss as well, and her body began shuddering intensely.

“Goddamnit! You should have just remained at the Police Bureau and worked your shifts properly… Why did you come back to find what bag?” A familiar voice sounded from within the cupboard as the figure walked out barefooted from the cupboard. “Awkward now, isn’t it?”

Qi Lin clenched his fists tightly as he felt uncontrollable rage flowing through his body. All of the indignation and humiliation he felt in recent days burst forth all at once. He turned to Bella, kicked her stomach, and roared, “You bitch! I have been putting my life on the line and working myself down on the bone outside, but you are cuckolding on me at home?”

The naked person finally walked out of the cupboard completely. Under the illumination of the electronic lamp, his appearance finally came into Qi Lin’s sight. He was no other than the person who coincidentally attended Qi Lin’s wedding banquet the other day, Tiger.

Tiger didn’t appear to be panicked at all. He boldly walked over to the chair and sat down before putting on his clothes, “Those buggers at the Police Bureau. They should have done their job properly after receiving my money! Didn’t I tell them to put you on additional shifts?”

On the other hand, Qi Lin had completely snapped. He grabbed Bella’s hair, pushed her against the cupboard, and began beating her up.

Peng!

Peng!

“…!”

Qi Lin’s eyes were slightly moist as he kicked her and hollered, “I gave you food, clothes, and an official identity in Songjiang. I was the one who allowed you to live on like a human… But you cheated on me behind my back? Where the fuck did I let you down? We were only together for a few days, and you still can get caught up with him?”

“Hey hey, you are getting overboard here. What the heck else do you want?” Tiger interjected furiously.

Hearing Tiger’s words, Qi Lin felt blood gushing up his head. He turned around, pushed the wooden door open, and grabbed the metal shovel placed outside.

“Hah, you sure have grown a pair, huh? You even dare to stand up to me now?”

Tiger sneered coldly as he wore his coat. He walked over to the door as he bellowed loudly, “What are trying to pull over here? You want to kill me? Don’t you think you’re too small for that?”

“You bastard!” Qi Lin shouted as he raised his metal shovel to smash it into Tiger’s head.

“B-brother, is that you? Are you back?”

It was at that moment that a voice sounded outside. Qi Lin’s blind younger sister, draped in a coat, walked out with a walking stick in hand and asked, “Why is it so noisy here? Mum has woken up, and she’s quite worried… So she had me come over to take a look.”

Qi Lin looked at his skinny little sister, and the hot-bloodedness in his head suddenly chilled out. With a glazed look in his eyes, he looked toward his mother’s room, and the hands that were holding onto the metal shovel started to tremble.

“We are all grown-ups over here. Let’s not act out a scene of hot-blooded youths over here, alright?” Tiger said as he reached out to grab Qi Lin’s wrist. With a chuckle, he said, “Come, calm down a little and put this toy down. Let’s talk.”

Qi Lin turned over to look at Tiger with eyes filled with hatred and resentment.

“You don’t want your mum anymore? You don’t want your little sister anymore? Can you afford to pit your life against me, huh?” Tiger snickered as he looked at Qi Lin. He pressed the latter’s arm down before shouting to the doorway, “Little sister, you go back for now. Nothing is going on here. We’ll talk it out.”

However, Qi Lin’s little sister remained in the courtyard. She didn’t walk over or away, and she didn’t shout or say anything either. She simply stood there quietly.

Tiger walked over and shut the door before turning to look at Qi Lin, “You are the one who bought her, right? 4500, isn’t it?”

Qi Lin gritted his teeth, not saying a word at all.

“Let’s do this then.” Tiger grabbed out his wallet. Without counting the notes, he took everything out and tossed it on top of the cupboard. “I have 8000 here with me. You can have it. In return, I’ll take Bella away with me. As you have seen, the both of us are quite compatible with one another. Hehe…”

Qi Lin glared at Tiger with livid eyes as his body trembled in rage.

“Why are you not saying anything?” Tiger gazed down at Qi Lin. He jabbed his finger on the latter’s chest and said, “What are you acting so high and mighty for? Do I really need to spell it out for you? You bought her for 4500, so don’t you think I’m being very generous over here by giving you 8000? Do you honestly think that a person like you can afford to keep someone like Bella beside you? You should be glad that I’m willing to pay you anything at all!”

Qi Lin looked at Bella and said with a quivering voice, “Just because I’m shouldering some burden… All of you are going to take advantage of me like this?”

“Look at yourself in the mirror. I heard from the chefs of the Police Bureau that you would even wash their socks just so you can bring some food home! No matter how bad I’m faring, I wouldn’t need to bully someone of your caliber to boost my ego!” Tiger spat coldly on the ground before pushing open the door. “Take the money. I’ll wait outside for Bella.”

After saying those words, Tiger walked out.

Qi Lin stood in a daze at the doorway. A while later, he turned around to face Bella and said, “I worked so hard to earn money so that we can live a better life… But you stole the final shreds of my dignity…”

Bella lowered her head. She was silent for a long while before she finally replied, “Qi Lin… Have you ever considered my dignity when you haggled three times over me?”

Qi Lin was a little stunned by those words.

“We’re all doing this for a living. What feelings are there to speak of? You provide me with a living. In exchange, I sleep with you, clean your clothes, cook your food, and pack your house,” Bella said as she slowly rose to her feet. “Tiger can give me more than what you ever can. I want to leave with him. When the world wasn’t so chaotic yet, everyone preferred to talk with their clothes on and reserve some face for one another. The only difference from then is that we have become much more explicit. That’s all there is to it.”

“Scram.” Qi Lin closed his eyes as he pointed to the door.

Bella picked up a coat and tidied up her hair before walking calmly toward the door. “Twenty days, and you earned an additional 3500. You didn’t make a loss here…”

“Scram!” Qi Lin bellowed with clenched fists.

Bella pushed the door open and left.

Outside the room, Tiger grumbled as he watched as Bella walked out, “Damn, that’s 8000 dollars! I have spent a week of my earnings all on you!”

I’ll leave with you.”

“Of course! Why would you choose a pathetic dog over me?!” Tiger wrapped his arm around Bella as they walked out of residence together.

…

Inside the room.

Qi Lin slumped to the ground as he looked at the ceiling dizzied. He looked as if he had lost his soul.

He was not Old Cat. He wasn’t a scion which the Police Bureau was filled with. He had never been specially taken care of by someone else before.

He was not Qin Yu either. He couldn’t afford to willfully act as he wanted to and bravely leap right into the face of danger. For that reason, his back had to be always bent in the Police Bureau.

But even so, he still tried to face the world positively. He hoped to do what he could do in this world to feed his mother and his little sister.

But on this very day, life had shattered his dreams once more. As if a deranged lunatic, life punched him viciously again and again until he was left with nothing on the ground.

The death of his older brother, the betrayal of a woman he called his wife, and the implication of a major case…

The black bag which was the only hope for him to turn his fate around had been tossed away too…

In the past, Qi Lin would always choose to back away habitually whenever he encountered any problems, but he was already at the edge of a cliff now. If he were to retreat any more than this, he would be shattered to bits.

Wronged, indignance, and humiliation, these feelings surged into his heart and overwhelmed him.

Huaji!

The door opened, and Qi Lin’s little sister walked toward him with her walking stick, crying, “Brother, she isn’t a good woman. She isn’t worth us getting upset over!”

Qi Lin turned to look at his little sister, and his dazed eyes slowly became clear once more.

Did I live like a dog my entire life just so that I can die like one?

A voice was shouting in Qi Lin’s head. He slowly rose to his feet, rubbed his eyes, and said, “Head back into the house and help mum pack her stuff.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t ask. Hurry up and do it.” Qi Lin had decided to make a gamble this time around.

The black bag had gone missing, so he couldn’t rely on Yuan Ke anymore. If he were to return to the Police Bureau in his current state, there was a good chance that he would never come back anymore.