Chapter 50 – Thank You

Looking at the sudden appearance of the “female fan”, Chu Ge felt embarrassed to the point where he could dig out a two-bedroom and one-living room with his toes. He had no choice but to reluctantly sign her autograph.

The female fan seemed satisfied and left, and people’s eyes turned to admiration. However, Chu Ge felt that the rest of the gathering became unbearable, as if there were needles under his buttocks, and he just wanted to end it early and go find Qiu Wuji.

Fortunately, everyone was already settled down with a family and career, and their wives and children were watching them closely. Lin Wuyang and others had public positions, so they couldn’t afford to cause trouble even if they were drunk, and the gathering ended relatively early.

As they were chatting and saying their goodbyes, the one who paid the bill, Lao Hong, came back with a strange look on his face and stared at Chu Ge for a long time before sighing, “Great writer.”

Chu Ge asked curiously, “What happened?”

“Somebody in the upstairs VIP room said they were your fan and paid the bill for us,” Lao Hong replied.

“Holy crap…” The others were even more excited now than when the “female fan” appeared earlier.

After all, a fan is just a fan, and one may not necessarily be able to hook up with them or marry them. However, having someone pay for you is a real thing that happened right in front of them. Chu Ge’s style was completely that of a great writer, unlike the image people had of him sitting in a room writing pornographic stories.

At this point, everyone’s eyes were not only admiring, but also respectful. By now, everyone knew that they had misunderstood and couldn’t help but glare ocassionally at the one who spoke about Chu Ge writing erotic novels.

However, Chu Ge had no sense of pride at all because both the fan and the bill were fake. The female fan was actually Qiu Wuji pretending to be someone else, and the one who paid the bill could only have been Zhang Qiren.

He subconsciously looked at Lin Wuyang, who looked back at him with a meaningful look. “Shall we talk?” Lin Wuyang asked.

Chu Ge hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”

“Great writer, let’s stay in touch more often!” The gathering finally dispersed amidst people’s amazement and praise for Chu Ge. Chu Ge accompanied them with a smile and said goodbye to each of them, and finally he and Lin Wuyang slowly left the hotel and strolled towards the nearby riverside.

Passing by the parking lot, Lin Wuyang pursed his lips, “Look, Big G, Zhang Qiren’s car. At least it’s not a Rolls Royce.”

Chu Ge pursed his lips and remained silent.

Back then, the Tank 300 had just been launched, and Zhang Qirenren declared that it was his dream car. At that time, Chu Ge even mocked him for being refined and wearing glasses, but still having a wild heart…

Hmm, the wildness is still there, but the price is almost ten times higher.

A dead fraudster.

Lin Wuyang asked, “How much do you know about your roommate?”

Chu Ge felt a strange force influencing him, as if he couldn’t hold back from telling the truth.

He felt a slight movement in his heart and allowed this strange force to invade him. Then he found unable to control himself and sighed, “I used to think I knew him very well, but now it seems like I know nothing.”

Lin Wuyang nodded, the power was clearly effective. It was the truth.

He softened his gaze and felt a bit sorry for using his ability on his classmate. He whispered, “Well, it’s normal that you don’t know.”

Chu Ge followed up, “What does he do exactly?”

“Officially, he is the legal representative of a nightclub.” Lin Wuyang lit a cigarette. “Want one?”

Chu Ge waved his hand to decline and just asked, “Being the legal representative of a nightclub, does it mean that it’s not very clean?”

Lin Wuyang said, “People subconsciously think that the owner of a nightclub may not be very clean, but this is also a stereotype. In some cases, being the legal representative is just a scapegoat, and it can also give us a way to close the case and stop investigating further.”

Chu Ge’s face looked a bit unpleasant. 

A Scapegoat? 

Lin Wuyang continued, “Therefore, he can only represent the authority he should have on the surface, but not necessarily the real boss. So when you ask me what it means, I don’t know.”

Chu Ge asked, “So technically, he only took over for a few days. Does that mean he actually doesn’t have any problems?”

Lin Wuyang took a puff of smoke and shook his head, “I don’t know if he really has a problem, because our investigation has been called off.”

He laughed and added,  “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the time to come to this gathering today, I should thank them for giving me a day off.”

Although Lin Wuyang kept saying “I don’t know” and even gave some excuses for Zhang Qiren, Chu Ge could still tell that he clearly saw Zhang Qiren as an important lead. Combined with their behavior when they entered, it was obvious they had communicated before.

So his “excuses” were not sincere, but rather a judgment that he could not reveal to an ordinary person like Chu Ge.

Sure enough, Lin Wuyang’s next sentence was, “I can see that you were not clear about his situation before… But now, it seems like he has a good relationship with you. He’s not just an acquaintance to you, but a real friend. He may reveal something to you. If you learn anything about his situation in the future, please let me know.”

Chu Ge didn’t answer for a moment.

Lin Wuyang said, “You should know the difference between public and private matters. You wouldn’t harm yourself just for the sake of friendship…Besides, am I not your classmate?”

Chu Ge smiled, “I guess I wasn’t taken in for questioning because of an old classmate’s concern?”

Lin Wuyang waved his hand, “That’s not our business…  It wasn’t even that serious, how could they interrogate everyone he’s been in contact with? Like I said, he might just be a scapegoat. I’m not targeting him personally.”

“Hmm… If something bad really happens, I’ll let you know,” Chu Ge asked, “By the way, which nightclub does he work for?”

“It’s not a secret, I’ll tell you. It’s the Miracle Nightclub, you probably haven’t heard of it… It’s better not to go there,” Lin Wuyang said.

Chu Ge’s expression became very unpleasant.

“Alright, enough talking. My wife is waiting for me at home,” Lin Wuyang patted Chu Ge’s shoulder.  “I didn’t expect that there would be a great writer among our classmates. Looking forward to the day when your book is adapted into a TV series.”

Lin Wuyang left, and Chu Ge stood quietly by the river, as if he were thinking or waiting for someone.

As expected, Qiu Wuji appeared beside him when Lin Wuyang’s figure was completely gone. She smiled and said, “This police officer has a strong sense of justice. He doesn’t forget about his work even during the holidays, and even after being told to stop, he still wants to investigate on his own.”

“Well… it’s because of people like him that ordinary people can have peaceful and comfortable lives,” Chu Ge sighed. “At today’s gathering, I really feel that all those unruly kids from back then have grown up. Lin Wuyang is particularly obvious. He was caught with stag films in the dormitory before, and almost got reported to the whole school. I never would have thought that now he’s one of the guardians of our city.”

“What’s a ‘stag film’?” Qiu Wuji asked.

Chu Ge chuckled “Oh, it’s a type of movie that’s only meant for grown-ups.”

Qiu Wuji looked at him sideways.

Chu Ge said, “What were you doing today, pretending to be a fan and acting cute? What’s that all about?”

Qiu Wuji hummed and answered. “I had planned to do this before I went back. You always thought this gathering would embarrass you, so I came to support you.”

Chu Ge thought for a moment. It seemed that she had asked about the gathering time twice before and even said she would come back early. So, she had planned this all along? But her acting skills were just too cute, he couldn’t imagine it was something Qiu Wuji would do.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “How did you come up with this kind of play? Didn’t you say it was a vulgar thing?”

Qiu Wuji indifferently said, “Because I can see that you care, and I don’t want this mundane disturbance to disrupt your state of mind in practicing, from the perspective of your Master. From another perspective, you are my Creator God, and looking down on you is looking down on me.”

Chu Ge turned his head to look at her profile, and Qiu Wuji calmly looked back.

The river flowed slowly, quiet and serene. The breeze of the late summer night gently brushed over, bringing a strand of Qiu Wuji’s messy hair across her cheek.

Chu Ge instinctively wanted to brush it away, but Qiu Wuji stepped back and said with a straight face, “What do you want to do?”

Chu Ge withdrew his hand and whispered, “I didn’t feel ashamed…but still, thank you.”

“Why don’t you feel ashamed now?”

“Because you said I write well.”

The air fell silent again, as the only audible presence was the river’s gentle current, meandering alongside them and within their souls.

“It’s good that you don’t feel ashamed. Your state of mind has improved, and you are not so vulgar,” Qiu Wuji took a deep breath, changed the subject with a straight face, “Shouldn’t we talk about another matter now?”

Chu Ge didn’t react for a moment, “What matter?”

Qiu Wuji squeezed her hands together, making a “crack” sound, “How does someone who made me hit the door plan to die?”

Chu Ge expressed fear!

How could he forget about this? He was really in big trouble this time…