CH 11

The seventh of July was the Qixi Festival1The Qixi Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival, is a Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in mythology. The festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month on the Chinese calendar. The festival was derived from the worship of natural astrology.. Yue Xiaoman and Yu Ziyang went to see a movie, leaving me alone. At noon, I went inside the shrine to buy the four treasures of the writing room. As I went out, I saw a large number of soldiers surging towards the direction of the school which was located in the south of the city. Many people were pointing in that direction, saying that they heard the students of Jingde High School had committed a crime.

I hastily called a rickshaw and rushed down to the school. The army had surrounded the Jingde High School. Similar to the last search of Ye Xin Girls’ Middle School, many of the female students were curiously looking toward the boys’ school. I immediately saw Yu Ziyang and Yue Xiaoman, who were being poked by a gun in their spines. The corners of Yu Ziyang’s mouth were bleeding, staining the front lapel bright rose. Yue Xiaoman was crying and couldn’t catch her breath. I was anxious to rush over but was stopped by the soldiers.

“Let go of Second Miss Ye⎯⎯” 

Following the source of the voice, I saw Lu Xingjiu who was wearing a straight military uniform with a teasing smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

I had forgotten to act innocent and stupid and raised my chin in anger. “Lu Xingjiu, what are you doing?”

Lu Xingjiu also raised his chin. “I’m just doing my routine job, just catching two rebels.”

“They are not rebels. Xiaoman has been released by your father, which means she is innocent. They are my friends, I’m going to tell Uncle Lu⎯⎯” 

I tried to be nice again.

Lu Xingjiu began to laugh. “Bingqing, you are wrong. It was not my father who released Yue Xiaoman. It was me who did. Qin Shiyue came to tell my father about the 7th of July by the Willow Bridge, saying that the traitor was someone else. My father believed him, but I did not. However, I still let Yue Xiaoman go. This is called using a long line to catch a big fish. The handwriting on that letter was Yu Ziyang’s. I had someone to follow him. A few days ago, he went to Qin Shiyue’s apartment to thank him for saving his lover. It’s July 7th by the willow bridge. Do you want us to block all the bridges with willow trees along the Shanghai River?”

The man in front of me was not the oily-haired, untalented man that the outside world had made him out to be. Every time Fatty Lu arranged a date between him and a rich girl, it was at the Nine Fragrance House. And he always hid behind the curtain and made the oily-haired, sissy-looking singing man replace him as he hated those pretentious ladies. He also sent people to the Ye family with freshly baked pastries and a note saying hoping not to see you in the Nine Fragrance House next time.

I was dumbfounded for a moment, seeing Qin Shiyue being escorted out of the school being tied by rope.

Lu Xingjiu clasped his fist elegantly. “Mr. Qin, you are not a poor teacher. It is I who underestimated you. You can break into us as a secret agent, what an astonishing ability.”

Qin Shiyue’s mouth was covered tightly, and he stared at me fiercely, as if he was accusing me. I just felt my whole body go cold, and it took a lot of courage to even breathe. 

Lu Xingjiu looked at me askance, revealing an evil aura. “My little Bingqing, you should not plead anything for him. Your father should now be invited by my people to be a guest at the Lu mansion. Since he had committed a crime, the students and teachers in his school have also committed crimes. They can’t escape from it.”

Lu Xingjiu was completely crazy, I had no idea what he was trying to do. It seemed that in a flash, everything changed. The crisis lurking in the calm surface erupted, and we were all tightly bound like silkworms, powerless to break free.

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know what I want.” He came over and flirtatiously picked up my chin with his fingers, admiring it carefully. “But I kind of want you now.”

I took a frightened step back. I knew that Lu Xingjiu was not joking, and the look in his eyes told me that any woman he wanted, he must obtain. I’d rather stick to guns. 

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